The Scampering Horse

My cat, prince, has been cheating on me for the past two years. He has lived months at a time at the neighbor's house. We've had kittens, puppies, another male cat, all of which Prince did not like. Instead of working out his problems through talking, he took off. Occasionally we would catch him and bring him home where he would hiss at us for a few days, and then he would be off to the other woman's house. When he would return, he was thinner, smelled heavenly, and had remarkably shiny fur. Well, on Sunday, I finally met the other woman at a block party. And she is delightful! I kind of thought she would be, but my suspicions were confirmed. Prince has been home for several months now. We made the choice to take the other cats at our house to live on a Nebraska farm in a barn, and keep Prince happy. It's been working. He meows at our door, and no longer hisses, and sleeps on various beds at night. He hasn't smelled like the other woman for months. "Did y...

The evening before the solar eclipse I talked to a man who came from California to Nebraska to see it in totality. He told me about watching a solar eclipse in Hawaii next to the hot flowing lava of a volcano. "The lava was nothing compared to the totality of the eclipse. It is the single most spectacular event in nature I've ever seen." Oh, so I guess it's worth me driving an hour and a half to Alliance to see it? Let me get in my van and do this thing. Since we were going to Alliance, I really wanted to watch the solar event at Carhenge. Carhenge makes me laugh. And I like to think of the people who created Stonehenge and tracked the astronomical events, maybe even watching their own solar ecplise, and I feel connected to humanity in a tribal way. But the connection comes with satire, because, cars stacked in representation of gigantic pagan stones. It's funny, people. Turns out, I was one of many who thought watching the eclipse at this location would be...

I think there are going to be 20,000 extra in people in Sidney this weekend to watch the solar eclipse. We are in a good spot. 97-99% completion. I hear the sky gets dark. Will I see stars? I'm not teaching this year. I made the decision last year. It was a tough one. I love my students. I love researching, and getting dressed, and having fantastic discussions about interesting things. I love CNN student news, eating lunch in the cafeteria, and having the same work schedule as my children. But committing for a full year felt too much. There was also a lot of unknowns with teaching. I wasn't sure about the status of my husband's job with the Cabela's/Bass Pro merger. I knew the school I taught at would suffer if I had to break a contract for some reason. And, the fire in my belly for writing was burning. It all aligned. Write. Provo, Seattle, Park City, Sidney, Potter. These have been the location of my writing adventures this summer. Right now I am in Park City,...

Bunny Nest Dead baby nearby But a heart beats in the nest Mommy please come back. Baby Jesus and Baby Bunny Both were born outside Jesus had wise men visit The bunny gets us Julieku to the bunny...she follows no syllabic rules I love my bunny friend With it, adventures never end. And it's cuteness has no end. Sleeping On the Trampoline Near the Bunny Nest Someone must keep guard Julie and I listen close Crickets sing their songs Julie's Feelings About the Bunny Our dog makes her scared She thinks now of the nine puppies Both furs feel so soft Background On the Nine Puppies We fostered Margot She ran away and did it Puppy Christmas came What if Baby Bunny Dies ? Trying feels hollow The bunny is so tiny Our tears will make mud The Sounds of Night No crying bunny Crickets and cicadas chirp The moon stays silent Morning Came No bunny tracks found The baby is an orphan Now it’s up to us Feedi...

I told my psychiatrist I'm tired. I've been telling my doctors this for years. "How many children do you have?" "Four." "Oh, yeah. It's probably time of life. I'll order labs, though and we can check everything over and make sure there isn't an underlying condition." My psychiatrist ordered labs. We're checking my thyroid again. It has something to do with the gigantic growth on my thyroid. It is the size of a something. I can't tell because I only see a little bit of it that is protruding from my voicebox region.  I had the bump biopsied years ago. Throat bumps are named Nodules. I do not reccomend naming a child this. Nodule is not a beautiful name. Biopsies are an uncomfortable experience if you don't like sharp things near your throat. I don't. I know, weird. I also had it nuclear imaged, or something like that. I swallowed a dye. And then there were swirly colorful ultrasound images. And then I thought I would ...

I feel like I need them in my house. Always. I like them with peanut butter for breakfast. Or sometimes I like toast with bananas and peanut butter. Or if I'm feeling crazy, bananas with Nutella. Or bananas cut up in ice cream or yogurt, or sliced into my morning Frosted Flakes cereal. Bananas make life better. When I was younger, my life was made up of banana shakes. Recipe: frozen bananas powdered milk (like the actual powder folks. Don't turn it into milk) ice protein powder or malted milk if you have it sometimes vanilla a little water Blend until creamy. Then drink that glorious liquid up. My Grandma Helen who lives in southern Arizona makes THE BEST banana shakes. She always has malted milk. Our portions of banana shake are served in yogurt cups that had been washed out. (Fruit on the bottom guys. How was that ever a thing? Ewww. Pre-stirred is way better. Unless it is Noosa. Somehow Noosa figured that out). So I buy bananas. But here's the thing. T...

I finished reading "A Handmaid's Tale" yesterday by Margaret Atwood. What a book. It made me think a lot about what women expect other women to do, and how we punish each other. I totally do this, and I have ever since I was little. Growing up I was told a lot about "modesty." For me, this meant not showing my shoulders, and having shorts that were only a couple of inches above the knee. I never wore bikinis. Like, I've never worn a bikini. These rules were enforced by my mom, especially. Modesty in this sense were important to her. I'm not sure exactly why, but I do remember her telling me that boys would see me in short shorts and think it was awesome because it was only a short way to my lady parts. I remember saying, "That's on them. Their thoughts are up to them." Ok, so my thoughts on modesty have changed a bit, and I am sort of confused about what I think and what I want to teach my girls. In the book the women were completely c...