JOY JOURNAL BLOG

family life, women

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

books, writing

My new Sandscrest history book is live ❤️

West Virginia readers -- or history buffs with a special interest in the Ohio Valley -- may be interested in my newest book, which is live at Sandscrest.com. Sandscrest: A Sense of Place, A Sense of Past is a six-chapter work whose text and photos are posted in printer-friendly format. The free read is made… Continue reading My new Sandscrest history book is live ❤️

family life, spiritual life

A Life In Pieces

The mid-life lesson I'm learning from a winter's worth of frantic quilt completion is not about skill. As you can see, I have little. My stitches are free range and low on the count-per-inch chart. My seams rarely line up in proper fashion. No, the message in all those bits of fabric -- coming together… Continue reading A Life In Pieces

marriage

Why we’re not toast

Our "new" toaster ticks like something that needs to be defused. That's not its only unusual feature. When my husband decided to make late-night toast without turning on the kitchen lights for some reason, we discovered it also glows. In a hot-red-wire, pulsing kind of way. Like really pulsing. Pulsing that would have alarmed most… Continue reading Why we’re not toast