Dear Readers,

I decided to attend the March 14-17th Algonkian Writer's Conference in New York. Thank you for all your support and checking in with me as I continue writing. March's Newsletter will have more of the writing process.

A special shout-out to my siblings! I started outlining my next novel and they took the time to answer my crazy questions about growing up within a large family in the 70's.

Mom, your questions are next 😉!

Writing has everything to do with paying attention to small details. We read because it's interesting. 13 children growing up in a small home in Lawndale, 1975: what were their chores, how did they eat dinner, how did everybody get ready for work/school in the morning? Arguments? Fires? Life with train tracks in the back yard? After school, carry your brown paper bag of clean clothes up from the basement and make sure you put them away in drawers!

I chose the picture at the top of this Newsletter because this plant reminds me about the importance of paying attention to details.

It took three years before a spathe and spadix grew on it. It had two blooms when it was given to my husband, Paul. But those blooms withered and died and no matter how much we nurtured it, new blooms didn't grow back.

I rotated it to different windows every few weeks, went to the gardening store for advice, and scanned every article on the internet for a clue.

"Some sun, but indirect light." Check.

"Water it, but not too much water." Check.

"Fertilize it, but only once a month." Check.

Nothing worked.

No matter how much sunlight, how much water, how much fish food, how much coaxing...Granny the Peace Lilly wouldn't bloom.

It was a trip Paul and I took to The Brooklyn Botanic Garden that changed everything, We noticed huge windows with bright sunlight

falling right onto the Spathiphyllum. And my God! They were in full bloom! They looked like they were worshipping the sun, reaching up to it for more. They looked... happy.

I did a quick calculation that direct sunlight was probably on the plants a few hours of the day. How could we create the same environment in the house?

Granny needed a solar lamp. I bought one with a timer and set it so the plant gets full sunlight, 6 hours a day.

Voila! Spathe and spadix. Four of them as of this morning. In February!

Just wandering around a green house offered a solution to the problem. At that point, we weren't even asking the question. We were just paying attention.

It's all about the details.

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Best Quote From This Past Month:

“If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things.”
Emily Dickinson