My mom's been gone more than three years now. That's long enough for me to have winnowed through most of her possessions, but not all. There's still some papers. I somehow have the cemetery lot deeds for literally everyone in the family -- as if the land where they are buried might be repossessed at… Continue reading Revisiting my mother’s Jesus
Author: JOY journal
After a long career writing for local newspapers — and, on rare occasions, for publications such as The Washington Post — Nora is enjoying a second wind as an innkeeper. She still blogs and does writing projects of special interest. She lives in Appalachia with her husband and a dog named Finn, who is beside himself with joy when the family's daughters have college breaks.
A pocketful of wry
"Lucy Locket lost her pocket..." Mother Goose I found a pair of painters pants tucked way back in a closet. What they lack in style and grace they make up with their pockets. There's room for this and room for that, but now they're sun-like setting. All the things they've come to store will surely… Continue reading A pocketful of wry
My neighbor’s hive
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”― Henry David Thoreau I've never been sure who tends them. I suppose that someone does even though I'd like to imagine them coming and going from a hollowed-out tree on the hillside above our home. Wild honeybees are largely a thing of the past. Not… Continue reading My neighbor’s hive
On bears in the woods and a Psalms 37 & 91 world
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.”― John F. Kennedy "Did you hear that?" my husband asked. I did. A "phuff, phuff, phuff" that sounded like a dog panting --… Continue reading On bears in the woods and a Psalms 37 & 91 world
Molting vs. empty nesting
“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.” ― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick I threw my favorite dress away last night. It felt a bit disrespectful to leave it lying helplessly in the kitchen trash, its brown field and white polka dots crumpled next to… Continue reading Molting vs. empty nesting
Nora Edinger -- JOY Journal 