11-11-11: Wearing Purple & Free at Last
Tonight I’m celebrating my 400th post with Bitzie curled up next to me and wearing her purple. We are celebrating the veteran survivors of wars fought with the terrorists in our own homes. In October, I wrote 31 survivor stories and invited everyone to wear purple to express their commitment to end domestic … Read more
Baa-Baa, Black Sheep, Bye-Bye!
Dysfunctional families love to have their black sheep ~ the scapegoat ~ someone who is sacrificed to the wolf to protect the flock from its own internal shizza. Oprah was on last week, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I had the television on so I wouldn’t miss the latest news about the debt crisis. … Read more
Happy Birthday, Nancy Carroll!
Nancy Carroll is the pen name for one of my favorite bloggers ~ she wrote the phenomenal Rights for Mothers blog. Today’s her birthday, and I’d like to invite you to join me in wishing her an abundance of joy, prosperity, great health, and happy memories. In the coming year, I hope all your wildest … Read more
Excellence Award: Everett Downtown Storage
Sunny Allen-Estes and Pat Sievers Lindsey Legaspi referred me to Everett Downtown Storage, where my treasured belongings were exceptionally safe while I was homeless for three months. Everett Downtown Storage is owned by Pat Sievers and managed by the phenomenally talented and resourceful Sunny Allen-Estes. Sunny lives up to her name. I met her … Read more
Shout-Out: Rodeo Inn
While I was homeless for three months, I stayed at the Rodeo Inn in Lynnwood, WA. I became quite fond of the team that operates the motel. Their mascot Rocky (a dachshund) could cheer up anybody on the most cloudy Puget Sound day. Steve, Luli, and Mark are warm, compassionate, exceptional people who bought joy into … Read more
Thank You: It Takes a Village to End Homelessness
Sixth months ago today, I became homeless. Three months ago today, I moved into my new home. Sixth years ago today, my father passed away from a stroke. Yesterday, I read The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg. It is about a woman named Caroline who struggles to recover from childhood abuse and the sudden death … Read more
Homeless No More!
First Sunset Thank you, dear readers, for your loyalty while I was AWOL. Some of you may remember that my mother threw me under the bus on New Year’s Eve, 2009. I very was fortunate to get an H-GAP voucher which kept a roof over my head for a year. And, I was even more … Read more
J2J Day 14: Gospel for Teens in Harlem
Vy Higginsen Be proud of the fact that you are survivors. . .It’s victorious. – Vy Higginsen Gospel for Teens was on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening. Vy Higginsen, a New York radio personality and producer, created the group to save gospel music. In the process, the music saved the teens ~ many of whom … Read more
Ma Nature’s April Fool’s Joke: Snow
David Merritt of Portland, Maine took this photo of his cat Kalliope and the April Fool’s Day snow.
J2J Day 13: Spring Snow in the Mountains Where It Belongs
When I lived in Chicago, I got weary of snow ~ especially when it was still snowing when the calendar said it was Spring. Out here in the Pacific Northwest, I am fond of seeing the snow in the mountains where it belongs. On a clear day, my heart sings when I see mountains in … Read more
