I was in Napa, California, with my sister’s closest friends (whom I’d never met), sorting through her possessions right after she’d suddenly died of an overdose. I remember feeling extremely cautious about what they might think of me, one friend in particular who had called me once from Hawaii to say that Kim was going […]
Author: Shelly
Former nomad, currently adjusting.
What If I Insisted on a Dressing Table?
That’s what I said to Tracy this morning, as we were getting out of bed and talking about disentangling our insurance woes. My mom had a dressing table—that’s what we called it, but really it was a nook off the bedroom of the house where I grew up, between my parents’ walk-in closet and the […]
That Sunshine Blogger Award Told Me My Writing Is Poop
Illustrated with Part #Who-Knows-How-Many of the How Funky Is Your Chicken images. A Major Award! I saw my name tagged in the blogosphere a few weeks ago by a blogger I really enjoy reading whose site is called @MyGenXerLife. I like his stuff because it’s different: he starts by reminiscing about something personal, yes, but […]
FOUR-inch Hail, and Other Larger-than-life Numbers
4 -inch Balls of … These photos of snowballs are not snowballs at all, they’re balls of ice, aka hail. Hail that fell on us for a few minutes a week ago. Some of these balls were made from several small balls smashing into each other and compacted into one, until they became so heavy […]
Grateful and Proud: Yukon—It’s all about the Tundra
I took a swipe at the basics of Yukon in my last Grateful and Proud post, and here I’ll try for the vagaries—my feelings about the land and the weather and my experiences: all things Yukon that seemed so foreign to me at the time. My problem, though, is that there’s a lot I feel […]
Podcast: What We’ve Learned from Each Other
Finn and I have, finally, restarted our podcast. You can listen to (and watch) our latest episode, here. Since the last episode in late September, I lost my voice after surgery, I moved, Finn found a path to finishing his Doctorate, I visited him, he visited me, good grief we’ve done everything but add a dang […]
You Don’t Have to Tell Me You’re on Drugs
Illustrated with part 4 of How Funky Is Your Chicken Initial caveat here: there is nothing funny about methadone. I’ve a good friend whose son, Tyler, died of a drug overdose. At several times as part of his recovery he tried to take methadone, and his local clinic made it difficult. The fact that I […]
The Beauty in the Mundane
Finn sent me a link to a book he’s reading, something about creating rituals in your life to make everyday tasks meaningful. I have to admit I didn’t delve into the link, but that’s because it sparked a realization for me that that’s exactly what I’m already doing—how I started living my life in this […]
Yes, We Made a House Decision!
Ever since we got off the road in June, our lives have been hanging in the balance. What do we do? Get an apartment and a trailer? Buy a house? Split up so I can get healthcare while Tracy goes back on the road, then reconvene when I have stable health? (That one was hardly […]
FAQs
I’m calling this post FAQs, but, frankly, I don’t have enough readers for questions to be put to me frequently. I could call it “Misconceptions” or just random observations from what readers ask me. Whatever they are, you can count on me for having categorized them! Let’s stick with FAQs. Leaving the Road If you […]
