When the brush hits the paper the bristles lead the way.  The colors are picked randomly as they come to me.  Today I sit in my cold studio and open the palette of options.  Watching...

"When The Going gets tough, the tough get going."

This phrase came about as a motivational technique to entice athletes to overcome the hardship of competition.  It is meant to...

"No wasted time, we're alive today

Churning up the past, there's no easier way

Time's been between us, a means to an end

God it's good to be here walking together my friend"

Stevie Ray Vaughan

...

"I am not okay

I'm barely gettin' by

I'm losing track of days

And losin' sleep at night"

Jellyroll

If there ever was a theme song that describes the life of a trauma survivor, this is it. I...

We have entered rainy season at the lake. Today is day six of rain and swarms of fish flies creating a loud buzz in the dark skies. It feels like a scene from a horror movie when walking out to the...

OK where are all the people who, when triggered go right into anger mode? You are my people, unfortunately we share the inability to keep our lids closed when a trigger cuts deep into a trauma...

Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant.

You can sit down to dinner and life as you know it changes"

Joan Didion

This week I have been overly triggered. It started when I was working outside...

"Trauma comes back as a Reaction not a memory"

Bessel van der Kolk

A childhood filled with never knowing when the temperature was going to turn to rage - 200 blocks
Raised in a home lacking...

"Stay with me,

Let's just breathe

Practiced on my sins, never gonna let you win, uh-huh

Under everything, just another human being, uh-huh

I don't want to hurt

There's so much in this world to make...

"Fear is a mile wide and an inch deep"

Edgar Nye

 I grew up on the North side of Manning as the youngest of 4 girls. Our home, like many others in the 70's was dysfunctional, with lots of...

I am fresh off of the snowshoes this morning. It is a warm day in March here on the lake and the entire hamlet is prepping for the annual ice fishing derby. Soon the ice will begin to melt away and...

"Mother, teacher, writer, betrayer, jokester, bitch, genuine, loudmouth, boat rocker, lover, analyst, bean counter, victim, bully, daughter, niece, grand daughter, friend, enemy, confidant,...