From the Hip

It's been hard to read the past 18 days. There is something about the stillness that caused a new feeling deep in my guts...a instinctive feeling that reminded me we are not at peace. So, I was cleaning my basement. And I found another box of books. Some are from my early 20's like Real Boys by Pollack and 100 Most Influential Women of All Time by Felder. A copy of The Tempest by Shakespeare which was given to me by my high school Humanities teacher and a copy of Stories and Stones by Ellis in which I am mentioned as part of the dedication. There was a set of Funk and Wagnalls New International Dictionary of the English Language . Signed copies of My Sister's Keeper by Picoult, Cage of Stars by Michard and Ellen Foster by Gibbons. My grandfather's Smoke from This Altar by Lamour was in there and 5 Love Languages from Chapman too. There was a first edition (1970) of Our Bodies, Ourselves by Norsigian. There was a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabrie...

Over the weekend of March 8th the weather hit sunny and 55. The midwesterners were going crazy with short sleeves and open window. Spring is trying to worm her way into a daily appearance. We kicked off the weekend with a no-cook dinner nosh plate. Thanks K. Nags for her inspired idea. This mama was off her feet by 6:30 pm and spent time wrapping up the oldest book on my  The Unread Shelf :  Eggs  by Jerry Spinelli. The happiest hour: 3 glasses of red wine on the couch. Sitting in my house, I wondered about the projects and to do lists; dusty windows and leaf filled front porch. No time for the too lazy because in this house, March starts with an important event: my husband's birthday. I'm not an easy person to love and he's not an easy person to love and together we make a stubborn couple who loves fiercely out of tough and bitter younger years. My Daniel is the best of of me: steady and helpful and kind and sure. He is cornerstone of this house. Modern Ode to D...

It's been a week. This girl joined instagram. And this girl started a weight lifting regime. And this girl lost 4 pounds. And this girl is going to hit her threshold soon. And then this girl's 4:30 am writing session is interrupted by her potty training 3 year old who walks into the kitchen and wants to cuddle back in bed. And then this girl was grounded for 3 weeks from going to teach. Love in the time of Covid. I get to this sweet spot of a couple of good smooth scheduled days and then one wheel falls off and then another wheel falls off. And then I'm right back to a long period of sedentary living with me still with the pile of to dos, and what ifs, and I should. Also a worldwide pandemic sweeps the country and I’m working from home with no open gym and endless bottles of wine and two little ones under foot. Rachel Hollis talks about meeting the threshold in her book Girl Go Wash your Face. The gist of what she says is that a person tries to build a n...

Step two: creating a book nook location Make the library open and in plain site The Unread Shelf blog coaches to make a spot for the unread shelf. It feels like a little bookstore i n my house; a library open and in plain site. I’ve got my cozy couch, book reading lamp and my shelf right within reach.  Here is a copy of the 2020 calendar.  January Reads from the Halverson Unread Bookshelf Nook: A Princess in Theory by Cole Look Both Ways by Reynolds (audio)  I Like You by Warburg Cancer by Greenall Celebrating you by Cl ark Daddy-Long Legs by Webster Blue Horses by Oliver February Reads from the Halverson Unread Bookshelf Nook: When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Henry Gods in Alabama by Jackson The Selection by Cass What did I learn?: I can pick a book and read right here in my house. In the mists of a crowded home, I can carve out a space that looks and feels like me. Bonus: Zero books purchased in the month of Jan...

If you have ever lived in the Midwest, February is painfully long for being so short. Add on Leap Year, it felt like Miss February was dragging her feet. We got one snow day this year compared to 12+ days last year. It held strong at 32 +/- with dry winds and dark mornings. Then something happened: March arrived like the gentle lamb. And we are reminded that spring is coming. She's not here yet; we still have coats and gloves and frosty windows but the sun breaks the horizon earlier and the evenings grow longer. These little micro reminders that life can wake again bring me to a place of… What. Not sure of the word I want. I feel like a bear that is stirring after a long hibernation. I'm looking around at my to do list and my projects thinking what to tackle next? How does one attack or subdue or manage the to-dos in life while there is a hunger to move away shift from Neutral to Drive. So I return to this year's motto: In this house. My girls and I spent the weekend ...