Elsewhere, a blog on walking

No one here will be surprised at this post that I wrote for  Writer Unboxed.   I knew some of you would enjoy reading it, but keep forgetting to post a link here. The Writer’s Toolbox: Walking One of the number one requirements of a commercial fiction career is that you must reliably produce good […]

The Practice of Giving Something Up

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the opening day of Lent, a period of atonement and abstention in the Christian, particularly Catholic, tradition.  Although I no longer attend Catholic masses or actively practice many of the traditions, Lent still seems to me to be a powerful time to practice mindfulness, to notice what excesses […]

A writing escape

As you may have guessed, I’ve gone slightly underground to finish the book-in-progress, 100 Breakfasts, which is due in six short weeks.  Last weekend, I spent three days in Pasadena, mostly holed up with the manuscript, combing and combing, unbraiding and reweaving.   In the spirit of my friend Anne Stuart, who often keeps track of […]

Dusk at Ylarra

This became very long.  Sometimes, a musing requires more time.  I hope you’ll enjoy walking with me through the outback. Since my return from Oz, the memory images that rise most insistently are about the days at Ylarra.    When I finally emptied my suitcase, the bottom was covered with a fine layer of red dust, […]

Training log, avon walk

Miles today: 16 Miles this week:  34 Ipod on shuffle, and heard things I didn’t even know were on there. Feet are sore tonight for no reason I can name, except maybe just being on them a lot.   I ran out of water for the first time ever.  And I saw a lilac bush […]

29 miles this week

A little late getting my log up this week.  Really busy day yesterday.   Finally managed to get two, back-to-back long walks in, one Saturday at 12 miles, one Sunday at around 6, a good hard climbing hike with my friend Renate.   We haven’t been able to hike much this winter and it was fantastic. The Saturday walk allowed […]

Walking meditation

Santa Fe Tail in Colorado Springs. Cell phone photo. I finally got out for a long training walk yesterday. 12 (or so) miles on the Santa Fe Trail, which runs in a ribbon between the railroad tracks and a fast-running creek. Ravens and blue jays were having skirmishes over best nesting locations. The sun was […]