Cathy's Autumn Update
Welcome to the Long Dark
Greetings Everyone,
Now that we've resumed Standard Time, the sun is setting before 5 p.m. and will stay that way until January 27th here in the Pacific Northwest.The Long Dark is a natural time to turn my attention indoors, to resume knitting, cook soups and stews, and edit the short story collection I've been thinking about for years. Even with the ever shrinking daylight, Fall is glorious here in the Pacific Northwest and I'm never far from my camera. These are a few of my recent favorites taken close to home in Union, WA.
Earlier this year, one of my photos was featured on the cover of the local phone book. Now I have a several page spread included in the Shelton Library's newest publication: Mason County Panorama. You can find those photos and more Hood Canal Beauty on my website.
Wherever you are, I hope you're enjoying the beauty of your surroundings as you get ready for shorter, colder days.
Home By Another Road Special
I'm offering autographed copies of my newest book at a deep discount this holiday season so you can gift friends, family, and even yourself with poetry.
Order 1 copy for $10 and pay $5 for additional copies
Shipping included
Pay with PayPal or by check
Order by December 1st
After you and your recipients have read Home By Another Road, I'd greatly appreciate a review on Amazon. Thanks!
Another Home By Another Road
I usually focus on creative literary endeavors in my newsletter, but I have a wide range of skills and interests.
As a real estate broker, I take great satisfaction in using my expertise to find the perfect house to meet a particular person's needs. I just had the privilege of representing a young man in the Navy as he purchased his first home in advance of his next posting in nearby Bremerton.
His goal was very specific: to find a property in his price range that had two units so he could live in one and rent out the other. We toured homes together while he was in the area, and I handled the rest remotely when he returned to New York.
We were connected through my daughter on the East Coast who works with his girlfriend. I'm always looking for clients through personal connections. If you have friends or family looking to relocate to the Kitsap or Olympic Peninsula in Western Washington, or know folks in this area who'd like to sell, please refer me.
My husband Kevin, a licensed general contractor, and I also provide superior quality residential remodeling and home repair services throughout the region through our business, Yellow Ribbon Homes, and welcome new clients.
2020 WRITING CLASSES
I'll be offering some writing opportunities next spring myself thanks to my most recent Western WA University Lifelong Learning students who've located venues. Local folks: please help me spread the word.
Turn your ideas into stories. Learn & practice the elements of craft. Receive personalized positive feedback. Limited to 8 participants.
Enjoy a day of remembering, writing and relaxing by the water.
Special Offer (from my blog)
I opened my mailbox yesterday afternoon to find a “Special Welcome Back Offer” from Time magazine addressed to my mother-in-law.
“If we subscribe, will Mama Honey come back?” my husband asked when he came home from work and saw the notice on the counter.
Does Time have the power to turn back time? If so, who needs a special offer? Even cover price would be small price to pay to welcome my husband’s mother back, to be wrapped in her loving embrace, enfolded by the sweet sound of her voice on the other end of the phone.
It’s been more than two years since Mama Honey left this life. More than two years since I contacted Time to cancel her subscription, writing deceased as the reason.
Every day my husband and I remember that she is no longer present, he in ways more visceral and potent than I. Memories of her float in and out of ordinary days as my husband works with tools she first gave him, as I refill the spice jars she gave me at my bridal shower, as we share stories of her at family gatherings. Visitations come to my husband in dreams as he dances with her, or cares for her again at the end of her life. Ephemeral moments evaporating into morning’s light. And no matter how powerful they are, our memories and dreams never reunite us in person with the solidity of her physical body, the sound of her voice in the room, the sweet hospitality of her spirit that drew everyone close.
Was Time’s offer a cruel trick or a welcome treat? Was it a computer glitch omitting the instruction to delete her name from the database, or the inability of an automated system to honor our loss?
Whatever it was, the special welcome back offer arrived on Halloween, and I am writing this on All Saints Day. The veil between worlds is thin in these holy days, when we do indeed welcome back the dead, bring them to life in our mind’s eye, dress like our best and worst visions and nightmares, offer sweets to those who remain to ease the ache, and visit their resting places, which may be only in our hearts.
So, thank you, Time, for the opportunity to place my welcome back order. And thank you, catalogues and insurance and random special offer profferers, who manage to slip by my cancellation requests. Because of you, I open my mailbox on occasion and see my mother-in-law’s name in bold black print. I lift the envelope and carry it into the house as if my hand is cradling something precious and rare: Her memory bequeathed to me and those who love her still.
Wishing you well until next time