Bookworm Press

About thirty years ago, four of us poets and artists, Gwynne Garfinkle, Mary Striegel, Ann Braeff and I, founded a group called Los Angeles Poetry Ensemble. We read our poems at different venues in the Los Angeles area and some of us traveled out of state to participate at readings and performances. We created a chapbook of our poems and art work, titled Under the Surface of Childhood.

It was an exciting, creative, and fun time.

After years of collaboration, we all went our own ways but kept in touch. Ann Braeff wrote poetry and taught school. Mary Striegel moved to Louisiana where she worked in different functions in her community and kept on writing and painting. Gwynne Garfinkle wrote and published poems and short stories and this year published her debut novel, Can’t Find My Way Home, through Aqueduct Press. I, myself, published poems in poetry magazines as well as a collection of poems, Path of Fire, through Finishing Line Press and then tried my hand at novels and wrote and published two trilogies, Family Portrait and The Wine Lover’s Daughter as an independent author.

At the reunion after ten years, it was exciting and inspiring to realize that all of us kept our creative dreams alive and made them reality. Unfortunately, Ann Braeff couldn’t meet with us this time, but I hope she’ll be ready to join us at our next get-together–and, hopefully, we won’t have to wait another ten years!

And the brunch was delicious!

Now, that my friend, Diane, and her five Chihuahuas are settled in their new home in Sun City, Arizona, it was time for another trip there. We had plans to celebrate my birthday in Sedona.

 

I’ve read and heard so much about this place, made famous by the New Age crowd and spiritual seekers in general that I wanted to experience it myself. Sedona is famous for its natural beauty, the amazing rock formations, and the vortexes of energy, one the main attractions during the sixties and seventies.

We started out on a sunny but slightly cool day. Sedona is higher than Sun City. The average altitude is around 5000 ft. or 1500 meters. We definitely felt our ears pop as we drove there. The first view of the rock foundations from the Ranger station at the beginning of the town was breathtaking and the closer we got, the more overwhelming it became. The best way to show this is through pictures, although the don’t full justice to the live experience. But here are a few.

 

 

Courthouse Butte

 

 

 

Bell Rock

 

I have to admit I forgot the names of some of the rocks. This was, however, an introductory exploration of this fascinating piece of earth. We’ll be back to explore it in more detail.

Wishing you all Happy Holidays. Stay safe, stay positive, and enjoy the small treasures of life!

 

After exploring the immediate neighborhood of Diane’s new home, we took a short trip to a neighboring town that was recommended to us: Scottsdale. This is a quaint place full of Native American art and arts and craft as well as Western folklore. Here are a few pictures.

 

This interesting and fun store sells and supports Native arts and crafts from artists in the area.

Check out the floor below!

It was fun–but HOT! It’s definitely the desert in summer. But look at the awesome sunsets! We are enjoying the evening at home.

 

 

The time has come for me to return to California and for Diane to get used to her new home. There will be plenty for her to do and she won’t get lonely with her five companions! I’ll miss our time together. During my next visit–when it’s a little cooler–we’ll explore Arizona some more. I look forward to visiting Sedona, which has been on my “bucket list” for a while.

Bye bye for now!

 

 

 

 

 

All right, we’re driving through New Mexico. I’ve been to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos many years ago and loved it. There wasn’t time during this trip for sightseeing but we’ll do that once Diane is settled. Right now, we’re eager to reach Arizona, her new home!

Getting closer!

And here we are! Sun City! Yay! Thank you, Mike, for your perfect transport!

 

Beautiful desert!

 

Of course, now the unpacking begins. Chaos once more for Diane, but we are here. We made it. While Diane is unpacking a few things for the first few days, the dogs are trying to get used to their new environment. I try to calm them down a little. I’m now officially Auntie Christa to 5 pups!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first relaxing meal. Aida, Diane’s realtor who got her the house, not only made sure the electricity and the water were turned on and everything was in order but even got us a few bottles of wine and beer! What a kind woman!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day was mainly settling in. Now, that the pups had a place to stay, we took a short trip to one of the beautiful towns in the neighborhood. Stay tuned.

Refreshed from a good night’s sleep, we continued on our way. It was Day 2 of the 3-day trip. From Missouri we drove through Oklahoma and Texas and as you can see from the pictures, the landscape becomes increasingly dry and desert-like. The second to last state before Arizona was New Mexico.

The next state after Texas was New Mexico with its amazing rock formations and orange and red colored rocks.

 

 

 

 

Again, trying to take pictures of the landscape through the car window just doesn’t do it justice. Here is an example I found online of the awesome rock formations of New Mexico.

 

After another long day, we arrived at the motel in New Mexico where we spent the second night. Relaxing in the pool was just what we needed.

The second day came to a satisfying conclusion. The next day will be the homestretch!

Now, people and pups are finally ready for the awesome road trip from Ohio to Arizona. We will be driving through nine states: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

AAA Triptic Cincinnati to Arizona

Good luck to all. Have a safe journey, no flat tires, no sick pups (or humans). May the Force be with you!

Goodbye old house.

 

 

And off we are. Goodbye Ohio. Welcome Kentucky.

 

 

It didn’t take long until a very insistent Gulliver declared in no uncertain doggy terms that he didn’t want to sit in the back but insisted on a premium front seat!

 

Now, that’s much better, isn’t it! His brother in the back is of course jealous.

Fortunately, Gulliver settled down quite nicely on the floor, which is much safer, and slept through much of the journey.

 

At the eastern and middle part of the journey, the landscape was lush but the farther west we got, it became more savanna and eventually desert-like. Here are a few pics from Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. We missed some of the welcome signs and in some cases there weren’t any. So I have to depend on my memory. Well forget that!

 

Lots of wide-open space and windmills everywhere.

Not to forget! The famous Highway 66!

 

Taking pictures through the car window is of course not ideal. With limited time and five pups in the back, we couldn’t do any sightseeing. Bathroom and rest stops at gas stations don’t make for beautiful imagery. Oh, well. I tried my best to at least capture the changing scenery.

And here is our first pet-friendly motel in Missouri. Time to relax after a long day. The first day went without a hitch. Two more to go!

 

More later!

As I mentioned in my last post, I didn’t know Cincinnati before. I was pleasantly surprised  find out what an interesting and beautiful city it was. Here is a link to an article about the city on the Britannica website. What alerted me to it was the statement that “in 1842 Cincinnati was one of the few American cities admired by the British author Charles Dickens.”

Cincinnati | Ohio, United States | Britannica

Since I was in the city for a couple of days, we didn’t have too much time to explore it. My friend Barb Piatt with whom I stayed drove me through the different parts of the city. One of the high points was the visit to Krohn Conservatory with its beautiful botanical gardens and its Butterflies of Bali exhibit. In an enclosed part of the gardens, thousands of butterflies in all colors were flying around and, if you were lucky, even landed on you. Barb was one of the lucky ones. Obviously a butterfly loved her reddish hair!

 

The butterfly exhibit as well as the botanical gardens were very special and a real treat. Here are a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

Outside the conservatory we had a great view of the Ohio River.

 

All this sightseeing made us hungry. The next stop therefore was at a restaurant, called Skyline, where they serve some of the most typical “Cincy” meals: “Cheese-Coneys” and “3-Ways.” They are based on a recipe from the Lambinides family, which originated in their hometown of Kastoria, Greece, and was handed down through generations. Here is some background: Skyline Chili – Local Restaurants Near Me | Skyline.

Of course, I had to try the somewhat unusual meal (unusual for me at least). I’ve never had anything like it. I wouldn’t eat it every day, but it was indeed very tasty.

 

Our visit to Skyline was the perfect ending to the interesting and very pleasant sightseeing drive through Cincinnati. Thank you Barb! More later!

A couple of weeks ago I flew from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, Ohio, to meet my friend Diane and accompany her (and her five little Chihuahuas–all rescue dogs!) on her move to Sun City, Arizona. The furniture was being transported with a U-haul truck, driven by her friend Mike. Diane and I drove her SUV (with her precious “cargo” on the backseat.)

 

Here are three of the pups! The one in front is Griffith.

 

It took us three days and we spent two nights at a pet-friendly motel. But before our trek through the country, I spent a few days sightseeing in Cincinnati, a city I didn’t know. Since Diane was finishing up her packing, trying not to go completely crazy, I stayed at her friend Barb’s gorgeous house and let myself be spoiled with yummy food and tours through the city.

Cincinnati is a very beautiful and interesting place. Many German immigrants made the city their home and a few of the historical parts of the city have a German feeling about them.

When I arrived at Cincinnati airport (which is actually located in neighboring state of Kentucky), I was surprised how attractive and easy to navigate it was (compared to LAX, the Los Angeles airport). I flew overnight and at 5 am on Friday, Starbucks in the airport was open to welcome sleepy travelers and I was greeted by a sculpture of a mammoth.

 

Diane picked me up at the airport and drove me to her home which was, of course, full of boxes and five very excited and confused dogs who didn’t understand what all this commotion was about. The best thing to do was to take them on a walk to the park to wear them out and calm them down! The littlest and oldest one stayed home, sleeping. Maddy is a somewhat grouchy grandma. Here are the other four. The two black ones from left to right: Hope and Echo. The brown ones, the one on the right is Gulliver and the one showing his butt is Griffith.

 

After our walk in the park, it was time for the pups to relax at home and for us to have a leisurely breakfast/brunch at a great coffee shop in Cincinnati, called First Watch. The first thing I noticed, aside from the delicious breakfast choice, was the much lower prices than I was used to in California. The Golden State, as we all know, is not cheap!

 

 

 

 

The next few days I spent with Diane’s friend, Barb, who had invited me to stay at her gorgeous house.

 

 

 

 

 

And here is Mimsy, Barb’s little sweetheart.

 

The following few days, Barb drove me around Cincinnati where we visited a few interesting places. More about that in the next post.

Dear Fellow Bookworms,

I started to blog about some of my favorite books during the 2020 lock-downs and upheavals. Now that we, at least we in California and many parts of the US, are opening up our shops, restaurants, museums, and, ultimately, our lives, reading is still one of my favorite past times. Let’s hope that soon everyone here and abroad will be able to live a more normal life again. My heart goes out to those who still suffer great losses.

I’m always looking for new books and authors and there is nothing more enjoyable than diving into the imaginary lives of fascinating characters!

Here is another author whose books I really enjoy and my brief review:

Braxton Campus Mysteries by James J Cudney – Fun and suspenseful!

 

I’m in the process of reading this mystery series that takes place in the town and academia of Braxton. I thoroughly enjoy the quirky characters, the well-thought-out plot, the twists and turns, and the humor. Kellan Ayrwick, or “Little Ayrwick” as the obnoxious town detective calls him, professor and amateur sleuth, has his work cut out for him. All he wants to do is be a respectable teacher and devoted father to his little girl, Emma, but destiny seems to have other plans for him. Aside from having to deal with his mob in-laws and other calamities, he has the propensity of stumbling upon dead bodies. Together with his annoying but good-hearted Nana, he tries to catch the murderer before he or she strikes again.

These are fun and fascinating mysteries, real page turners!

Interested? Check out the series page on Amazon by clicking on the book cover above or click on the link to the Author Page on Amazon.

If you would like to receive updates on my writing, you can subscribe to my mailing list by clicking on the Mailing List link below and filling out this short form or by clicking on the Mail Chimp icon in the right panel. I can assure you I won’t flood your inbox with mail. I know how aggravating it is having to scroll through tons of unsolicited messages.

Mailing List

Stay safe and have a wonderful day!

Dear Fellow Bookworms,

I started to blog about some of my favorite books during the 2020 lock-downs and upheavals. Now that we, at least we in California and many parts of the US, are opening up our shops, restaurants, museums, and, ultimately, our lives, reading is still one of my favorite past times. Let’s hope that soon everyone here and abroad will be able to live a more normal life again. My heart goes out to those who still suffer great losses.

I’m always looking for new books and authors and there is nothing more enjoyable than diving into the imaginary lives of fascinating characters!

Here is a brief review of one of my favorite books and authors:

Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark

Fascinating, full of surprises, and deeply moving!

Two families in Whitley Bay, England, are unknowingly linked through acts of deceit and lies. Over the years, the lies are uncovered, peeled away, and discarded. Now the question is, will the family members be able to deal with the truth and move on?

Like many of the other novels by this author, this fascinating story is intriguing, heart-breaking, and at the same time hopeful. It is beautifully told, without sentimentality. The characters are psychologically interesting and genuine. Excellent work!

Interested? Check out the author page on Amazon by clicking on the book title above or on the book cover or click on the author’s website: https://imogenclark.com/

If you would like to receive updates on my writing, you can subscribe to my mailing list by clicking on the Mailing List link below and filling out this short form or by clicking on the Mail Chimp icon in the right panel. I can assure you I won’t flood your inbox with mail. I know how aggravating it is having to scroll through tons of unsolicited messages.

Mailing List