Bravo: Carole May’s Photos Published in CRUISING

Cruising Magazine’s May/June 2010 issue showcases the marine photography of Carole May.  A dreamy photo of a marsh near Anacortes, WA is on the cover, and there is an extensive gallery of her work starting on page 16.  In between, the magazine has liberally published her photos. Bravo, Carole!  Bravo! This is one of my favorite marine photos by … Read more

RIP: Karleen Koehler, Founder of Jeepers Cheepers

   Karleen Koehler was a bird-lover without equal.  She founded Jeepers Cheepers, a sanctuary for birds rescued from neglect and cruelty.   Photographer Carole May introduced me to Jeepers Cheepers after I adopted the Byrds.  It was an amazing place with about 200 birds of every feather from humble parakeet to zebra finches, cockatiels, and majestic parrots.  To … Read more

Bravo, RightsforMothers & Claudine Dombrowski!

        You want justice?  Pack the court room with people wearing purple ribbons.     Vernetta Cockerham and RitaAnita Linger proved this strategy worked in North Carolina.  PETA proved it worked when a couple of punks savagely killed a stray dog.  Sadly, nobody showed up to pack the same judge’s courtroom when a little girl was allegedly raped … Read more

Breaking Down the Wall of Silence: Sophie Littlefield’s A BAD DAY FOR SORRY

   Do your holidays need an infusion of happy?     I was in a terrible funk.  Bad case of the blues.  Down in the dumps.  I needed myself a badass read to cure me of my bad attitude.     On her blog, Susan Wiggs recommended Sophie Littlefield’s A Bad Day for Sorry.  I almost missed the review, … Read more

My Protection Circle

We all need “protection circles” ~ to be surrounded by people who are there for us ~ to celebrate the good times and to weather stormy seas. Yet, by definition, domestic violence is isolating.  We can become alienated from those who were once dear to us because we are ashamed about what’s happening behind closed … Read more

Carolyn Jessop: Safety in the Spotlight

Six years ago, Carolyn Jessop achieved a miracle. She escaped from an abusive polygamist marriage to FLDS leader Merril Jessop.

The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

Marilyn Stanton, my guardian angel at the Watseka, IL Public Library, recommended this book to me. It is one of my favorites. I hope y’all will read it and decide to make lots of quilts for Shalom Bayit’s clients. “Persian pickle” is an old-fashioned term for paisley scraps used in making quilts, and the Persian Pickle Club is the name of the quilting bee at the heart of the story.

Let’s Create Protection Circles

People experiencing domestic violence need to be encircled with protection.