When I went to talk to David it was with resignation. It was the acceptance a piece of driftwood feels when half lodged in the sand, each successive wave makes its relentless blow. The fridge was out. Again. For about a year the best it could do was for the freezer to act as a…
I'm here in my Mayan granny rocking chair, enjoying the eye candy that is a tropical backyard. I'm also staring unashamedly at my very noisy neighbors. They don't seem to mind. There are four of them, sitting in a row on a swaying maculí branch having brazenly decided our trees are a nice place to…
This post was written last week with the intention of posting within a few days. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and it just felt wrong to plough ahead like everything was okay. This world is not okay and as the years go by, I find myself more and more disenchanted with this side of eternity. May…
Every year I have this weird block when it comes to my first post. Like maybe I’m supposed to be coming up with some great inspiring saga to set us all aglow with renewed spiritual fervor. But I have no fantastic stories, no slideshow worthy presentation. So maybe it’s better to just give you what…
The oval window is restrictive. Annoyingly so. I crane my neck this way and that, trying to get a better view and mainly just succeed in hitting my forehead against the glass which is surprisingly closer than I thought, even though I’ve flown on probably hundreds of airplanes. I hope the individual behind me is…
Thursday night I was getting ready for bed when David came in from several visits. “Penelope!!” he whispered lest he rouse little miss G from her light slumber. I heard his excitement but could little guess what the next words would be. “Doña I.... was saved last night during meeting.” “What?!” I replied, incredulous and…
and a few other points of Interest from the Alves Home Gone are the days of my coveted slow farmhouse breakfast. I distractedly shovel some cheerios and blueberries toward the teething baby who throws most of them to the floor while banging her tray for more. My mind is on Spanish adjectives and math facts…
My desk is a mess. It's covered in cut out foam letters and stencils and scraps. There's a stack of books and an even huger one behind me. File folders and spreadsheets. Leaning against the wall is a newly framed Rand McNally Map of the World, Classic Edition. I'm wondering how this is all going…
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.Deuteronomy 10:14 They say it’s Earth Day. I guess that’s some oral demarcation to mentally soothe politically correct city dwellers. They lift their banners of dirt love with a dainty, manicured hand, telling us all…
There are solitary, soul-feeding lanes, unmarked and unpaved we all must wander down. They are places of hidden beauty and comfort where one is safe to grieve, to forget awhile, to grow and learn. Oleander and Bismarck Palm That’s when I go for a walk down Oleander Avenue. A place where the Creator and I…
penelope alves 