smörgåsbord
Smörgåsbord is one of those Swedish words that sounds suggestive of its meaning. Smörgåsbord has a rich and satisfying sound, filling the...
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Melissa Westemeier
Apr 19, 20225 min read
kindness
Acts of kindness that I still reflect on: When I was sixteen I was riding my bike to the public library on a very rainy day. Somehow (I...
102 views6 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Jan 30, 20223 min read
smackdown
Monday started a new term and the first writing assignment I give my students involves crafting some flash nonfiction. I guide them...
65 views2 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Nov 8, 20217 min read
thorn
For just over five years we have had the sweetest cat. He turned up one summer evening in our back yard. The boys were playing outside...
128 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Oct 24, 20214 min read
killers
For years I've enjoyed the pleasures of a nature center up the road from my house. Purdy offers plenty of trails with hills, prairie and...
173 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Jun 9, 20216 min read
fresh start
I keep thinking of this song by Semisonic called "Closing Time" with the lyrics "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's...
209 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Mar 14, 20215 min read
ugh, March
Winter doesn't really reach its stride until January, so 31 days of cold and snow feels new and fresh. February is short, plus I have a...
88 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Feb 6, 20213 min read
Explorer Joan
We've hit what I refer to as "Deep Winter." February smacks us full in the face with bitter cold and only the unseasoned and stupid...
72 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Dec 24, 20202 min read
do you see what I see?
I ran some errands yesterday and as I drove around I was treated to a lot of Christmas decorations propped outside people's houses. Some...
56 views1 comment
Melissa Westemeier
Dec 23, 20204 min read
proceeding apace
A couple of bird feeders hang outside my window and flocks of visitors arrive all day long. Even on this dreary winter day, sparrows,...
127 views2 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Sep 6, 20205 min read
first one done
The report from Room 209: This first week of the school year was ... really different. My students' desks are arranged in rows per CDC...
183 views1 comment
Melissa Westemeier
Aug 25, 20204 min read
perspective
I'm different than I was yesterday. Every day I learn new information or have a new experience, and my knowledge expands and my...
84 views0 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Aug 7, 20204 min read
past pools
This strange summer I have worn down a path moving through my daily routine. Kitchen to make coffee. Library to write. Garden to pull...
112 views1 comment
Melissa Westemeier
Jul 9, 20204 min read
wild living
This quiet summer means I get to swim nearly every day. In order, my strokes of preference are: back stroke (my best and fastest), breast...
76 views2 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Jun 26, 20204 min read
how the plot unfolds
Last summer an idea for a story squeaked around the edges of my brain and I articulated it to my writing group. "Possibly my next book...
111 views4 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Jun 15, 20203 min read
another hungry mouth to feed
Long-time followers and friends know about Mr. D's strange proclivity for acquiring critters. He's responsible for one of our stray cats...
126 views3 comments
Melissa Westemeier
May 16, 20203 min read
closer
It's human nature to pull in tighter when we feel fear. Instinct makes us curl in to protect ourselves from a punch, we wrap ourselves...
75 views2 comments
Melissa Westemeier
May 2, 20204 min read
discoveries
This pandemic has revealed a few sobering truths to me. That's bound to happen when isolated with your own thoughts, there's no...
113 views5 comments
Melissa Westemeier
Apr 25, 20202 min read
kind words
A few early reviews of my new book have come in and they are very flattering (special shout-out to Musings of a Bookworm!). Thank you to...
75 views0 comments
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