Bowie & his brother (Taken only when they were roughhoused out & tired enough to sit for five seconds)

Wow, wow, wow. @sagetyrtle.bsky.social captured the zeitgeist in this pointed, perfect flash.

I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war

Happy New Year! Wishing all y’all a year of curiosity, creativity & connection. May you find gifts in every challenge & feel exhilarated by your own life.

It is currently 7°F & I am slated to jump in open water in a short while. Surely this will cleanse me of 2025, right?

🚨General submissions close tomorrow night at midnight PST🚨

Dog currently chasing his tail til he tips. I get it, buddy, I really do.

Tfw you’ve secured your cabin but don’t know if you’re brave enough to head to the reception area check-in with bedhead & bathrobe.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Wishing you strong coffee, plentiful reading material, & people who are a balm for your heart.

So cookie night happened & I met a woman whose cats started a fire on the stove at 4 am & I’ve been invited back for next year & the green food coloring for the cornflake wreaths will not wash off & may still be on my hands in 365 days.

These are a few of my favorite things: orange shortbread cookies with chocolate & sea salt

You have no idea how much joy this chemo-port camouflaging tattoo brings me

Great editorial advice from @mattkendrick.bsky.social for the #WelkinPrize & beyond

O, horrible, O, horrible, most horrible!

Oh, wow! I barely published this past year, so this is an unexpected honor. Thanks @identitytheory.bsky.social and good luck to my fellow nominees!

If you see this, we IMPLORE YOU to post a picture from whatever device you're using without explanation.

Saturday morning reading

I was buying pie spice at a neighborhood store & the cashier invited me to her cookie baking party even though we don’t know each other from Eve & I’m really tempted to go.

4 year cancerversary today

Not a poet but something that was tumbling around my brain came out in poetic form and definitely does not want to be forced into prose. I blame Wendy Cope & @nikitagill.bsky.social for this uncomfortable development.

“It is the color of a corporate apology.” “‘Shh, shh…it will all be over soon.’”

Free third spaces are threatened & @the-big-quiet.bsky.social illustrates why libraries remain vital to the social fabric in another beautiful essay.

All those honks give me hope

Look at that face & then read the story & try not to get misty.

Behold, Snowbeard

The arts have the power to alchemize the sciences. As a recipient of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy, I’m living proof. Thank you Michael Baum & Tom Stoppard.

Minnesota cities as Muppets: Stillwater:

Bowie’s first snow

Timeline hopping provides the structure for this beauty by @anniejowrites.bsky.social

Please join us in congratulating our Pushcart nominees! Good luck everyone!

Feels right that my donated word (kerfuffle) was woven into a melancholy-tinged poem as part of the @donatedwords.bsky.social project

At long last! My copy of Bitter Over Sweet by @lumchanmfa.bsky.social

Thursday: friend’s reading + Friday: school play + Saturday: open art studio showcase + Sunday: reading for Pushcart noms & co-writing = Heart medicine for creatives

⚡️HAD call for a cause ⚡️

Texting with writer friends counts as writing

(words/word donors 1 of 3) APRICITY - @mishiepoet.bsky.social DAYLIGHT - @opwriter.bsky.social FREQUENCY - Julia Beach GOSSAMER - @authorlindamcrate.bsky.social HARBINGER - @madelinksi.bsky.social HEARTSICK - @midwesternskirt.bsky.social KERFUFFLE - @esfletcher.bsky.social

Bowie wants to remind you to stop and smell the leaves

Writing retreat yielded a new subtitle last night that will help me hew this revision!

Progress!

Current status: hiding out in an Airbnb with my manuscript

You read that right! miCRo submissions are OPEN! Send us your best work of 500 words or fewer.

I spy…prime real estate going to @ambersparks.bsky.social at @nextchapterbooksmn.bsky.social

Bowie delivering you a Happy Halloween!

Getting a watercolor tattoo today to redecorate after cancer.

Gone Lawn is one of those foundational lit mags that’s been around since before I started publishing & consistently puts out interesting work. If you can donate something to keep it viable, now’s the time.

Send us some art, please!!

Sunday chin scritches

Awake well before my 7 am alarm because I’m eager to fly home to my family. This trip for a yoga training was a tiny oasis from my regular responsibilities. An invitation to go deep, with space to sit with gratitude & grief. I return, slightly altered.

If only @dieworkwear.bsky.social would comment on how this cat is wearing his tux.