Image source: Merlina McGovern A few days ago, I wrote about staying at the Stern Hall dorm when I went to UC Berkeley for college....

Image source: Merlina McGovern About three years ago, I lost 60 pounds, and I have kept much of that weight off in the intervening years....

Image source: Merlina McGovern I attended my daughter’s piano recital this evening. She has been playing since she was six years old;...

Image source: Merlina McGovern We’re getting close to bunny season, and these fluffy little lagomorphs are starting to overrun my yard. I...

Image source: Merlina McGovern. Photo mask source: Photo by Peter de Vink on Pexels. In the never-ending search for writing prompts, I...

Image source: Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/couple-love-sitting-evening-4009409/ There was a time when I would...

Image source: Merlina McGovern The next section of the short story book that I’m reading investigates the plumbing of dreams for story...

Image source: Merlina McGovern If you’ve read some of my past stories, you’ll see a bit of a theme of feeling down and stuck. This has...

Image source: Merlina McGovern I was feeling a little down today. The post-layoff funk comes in waves. Sometimes you’re on top of the...

Image source: Photo by Erik Scheel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-giving-fruit-to-another-95425/ I feel like I’ve finally grown up....

It’s been pretty interesting setting up a new schedule as a freelancer. I once set up a meeting with a friend, and I asked him what day...

My husband and I attended our daughter’s eighth grade band concert this past Wednesday. I’d had a pretty busy week, so I had neglected to...

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash As I’ve set my mind to writing short stories and attempting to get them published, I do what I always...

Image source: Merlina McGovern image following an Illustrator tutorial. We’ve all watched television shows and movies that glamorize our...

I stumbled across a writing prompt that asked me to look back at key moments that have shaped my life. I didn’t really think much of it...

We’ve all read those humorous hooks for getting into copyediting — get paid to read! Wow, sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? While getting...

Last night, we watched The Exorcist. I had already seen the movie, but hadn’t seen it for many, many years. Since I first watched The...

So, technically, my Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick is not dead. Sadly, it isn’t just hibernating for the winter either. It is actually...

I’m just a hobbyist artist. You know when you go to a community landscape art class, and you see all those retired folks chatting with...

Every day, I make sure to spend at least 5 minutes painting or drawing. Sometimes that time expands to more than an hour. Sometimes, I...