I have decided to win this one. Many years ago, my husband and I identified the best spot in our yard for a garden, and began feeding it compost, thereby building up a raised area of rich soil that gets as much sun as one can reasonably expect in this part of the world. And […]
Author: Evelyn J. Willburn
In which I am terrified by a possum
Some years ago, my father went in for open heart surgery. It was bitter cold that winter, and my sisters were up to their eyeballs, so I went down there to stay at the house and keep the fire going while he was away and recovering. For that week or so I was the only […]
To absent brothers
In December of 1966, when I was six years old, my mother gave birth to a stillborn boy. When she got home from the hospital, she sat down with her three daughters and said, “He was such a beautiful little boy. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring him home.” My parents buried Baby Jervey in what […]
Oh, mighty wolf, what have we done?
I ask you, have you ever seen a more perfect example of feline beauty? This is my nephew’s cat Bebo. He is a rescue cat with no papers, and I think he knows that he is beautiful. In not-unrelated news, I recently discovered this meme, and have been laughing about it ever since: Ah, the […]
Fine motor control
My two hands have served me loyally for a great many years, but now they are making noises about a partial retirement. Since I am not a good listener, the signs have been growing ever less subtle: carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and this nasty tearing pain in my right primate muscle every time I knit […]
The journey is the destination
Recently, while digging through my pattern box in search of a new sewing project, I found the directions for a two-patch quilt that my Aunt Kathy had written up in her inimitable style and sent to me in the early 1980’s. In her words, it “is very simple and easy, and only requires one- and-one-half […]
Leaving well enough alone
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” These wise words, which I had heard more than once growing up, did not occur to me as I observed my son and nephew, ages five and eight respectively, happily playing a board game according to rules they had invented. The game, called “Pen the Pig,” was an […]
A teeny tiny act of kindness
“Would you like some fresh ground pepper on your salad, sir?” I ask dutifully. I am nineteen years old, far from home and family, and I am dressed like a tavern wench, complete with ruffled skirt and blouse, white stockings, cameo choker and mob cap. The scene is a since-defunct Anchorage restaurant known as Clinkerdagger, […]
The Saga of the Chocolate Almonds
Author’s note: I participate in a program that takes a holistic approach to health and weight management. In a recent conversation with my coach, she encouraged me to imagine a conversation with the chocolate almonds that I find so hard to resist. Here’s what landed on the page. Cast of characters: EVELYN: a lady of […]