On one perfect night in July, we ended up back at one of my favourite places, Stoney Acres farm in Athens, Wisconsin. It had been one hell of a day. My husband, Tim, and I had traveled from Toronto to Central Wisconsin with 4 kids: (almost) 2, 3, 6 and 10, in an epic whirlwind … Continue reading Storm #1000wordsofsummer
small towns
Salt Dip
Memories of my grandma Often include antiquing Treasure hunting Visiting garage sales, Flee markets, Antique shops, On a hunt For a special salt dip These small, glass dishes Pre-dating salt shakers in origin Became a focus Easy to carry and display (she had a special shelf) Cut glass Colourful (or not) We would hunt Maybe … Continue reading Salt Dip
20 Minutes: My First Job
My first job was at the pharmacy where my dad worked. My dad is a quiet, kind man who did whatever possible to care for his patients. He even took calls after-hours, driving the 15 minutes to meet a patient - if it was urgent. His pharmacy also accepted their own form of internal credit, … Continue reading 20 Minutes: My First Job
Mini-Slice: Kitchen Hockey
Inspired by my daily writing challenge around "a funny incident." My mom didn’t iron. And I have absolutely followed in her footsteps. As children, we went shopping. A lot. In fact, it was likely my mom’s biggest hobby – happily taking a mini road trip the 45-60 minutes to get to a mall and browsing … Continue reading Mini-Slice: Kitchen Hockey
20 Minutes: A First Date
I was around 9 years old when my parents decided to build a home just a couple blocks from our existing ranch house in our little Wisconsin town. We would spend many hours scoping out the lot, watching the progress, even helping out… Well – my parents would help out, deciding to take on the … Continue reading 20 Minutes: A First Date
Mini-Slice: An Accident
Inspired by my 20-minute writing exercise today around the theme: "Recall a time when you've been in an accident." It was the summer before I started university and I was working at a resort in a small town about 20 minutes from my childhood home. The resort and town were very evocative of Dirty Dancing … Continue reading Mini-Slice: An Accident
20 Minutes: A First Love
I've recently struggled with inspiration (and time) to write, what I would consider, more "complete" Moth-style, slice-of-life stories. I found a list of memoir-writing prompts and made a commitment (to myself) to take 20 minutes before starting my day to write. Starting at the top of the list, I've been making it happen (for at … Continue reading 20 Minutes: A First Love
Josie Bissett Hair
I’m about to start high school and am in a bit of an “awkward” stage… trying to figure out what I like – how I want to look and what I want to wear. These are the early-90s and 90210 was my show… but naturally that led me to Melrose Place too. And to Josie … Continue reading Josie Bissett Hair
True Confessions of a Valedictorian
Inspired by The Moth Radio Hour (August 16, 2022); theme: Confidence - Too Much, Too Little? I was the type of kid who knew how to give people what they wanted: teachers, piano instructors, coaches… even parents – not that I always gave them what they wanted, but I knew how to. This characteristic was … Continue reading True Confessions of a Valedictorian
Kid Detective
I have a podcast problem. I often spend hours each week with my headphones on, tuning out the world, immersed in a podcast. And, if I’m honest, Crime Junkie was my gateway drug. At a time when I was drowning in the non-stop backlog of dishes and laundry and meal prep and cleaning that tends … Continue reading Kid Detective
The [Unofficial] Moth Blog 