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March 2, 2019
lisakunk

10 comments

Finish the Book Already: Ignore Distractions

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Have mercy! Between my husband chopping wood outside my office window, my cat lounging all over my messy desk, my dogs underneath my feet begging to go in and out, this book is on the slow track to completion.   My thought is, those who can’t do, watch. And be distracted. […]

19 comments

Chewing Dogs Pretend They’ve Outgrown It: Don’t Believe It

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman I saw my shoes by the front door when I left the house for writing class. I thought to myself, Tucker, our sweet grand dog seems to have outgrown his chewing phase. I won’t be gone long. Surely they’ll be fine. Yeah right. I am such a sucker for some big […]

July 30, 2018
lisakunk

13 comments

Long Live Mr. Treehouse: Only Now He’s Mr. Bridge Patio Thingy Over the Stream

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman After seeing our empty-nester treehouse come down last week, many people from all around shared how they felt the pull of childhood fun coming to an end. End? Never! Transform, yes. We live by rules such as Waste not, want not and all kinds of cliches like that. As we will one […]

July 27, 2018
lisakunk

26 comments

Empty Nest Flutterings: Come on Down, Mr. Treehouse

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman There comes a time, when the nest is empty, we push back the tears and make room for other things; like hammocks and memories. Today’s the day. Once a sturdy sight for kid’s eyes. Barn red siding, climbing pegs, and a yellow slide, you were a group project and a […]

July 5, 2018
lisakunk

17 comments

Shelling Out Wisdom From the Beach: Hints for writers, parents, or anyone who enjoys playing

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman   As a writer and parent, I know the importance of inspiration for new ideas. For me, nature and especially the beach are where my five senses heighten like hair standing up in gooseflesh. Thoughts flow in faster than I can put them into long-term memory. Taking photos helps me […]

June 29, 2018
lisakunk

15 comments

Dead Fish or Brunch?

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman An imperfect circle of dead fish littered the beach near the water’s edge. How sad. I asked another morning walker, “Do you think they were discarded by a surf-fisherman who was using them as bait?”   He lifted his brows while widening his eyes and said, “Either that or some sharks […]

June 26, 2018
lisakunk

22 comments

Distractibility at Its Finest: If You Give a Writer An Idea

  By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Distracted as usual from my to do list, I spend far too much time on line reading other people’s blogs and enjoying chats with some of those bloggers. Those conversations, often spur me on to write more blog posts, which is a good thing. I figure I should do so […]

June 18, 2018
lisakunk

22 comments

Hershey Nuggets: A surprising Memory Aid

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman My mother’s memory technique would never work in our house. She uses a kitchen table candy dish filled with dark chocolate Hershey Nuggets for more than maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. If she wants to remind herself to take the trash out to the street, she sets one nugget on the table. […]

April 24, 2018
lisakunk

5 comments

Sadie Hound the Celebrity

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman Who knew a hound dog named Sadie would become such a celebrity? Almost losing her to severe kidney cancer and her surviving the surgery is pretty miraculous and her thriving is incredible. My friends and family enjoy keeping up with her progress since her massive, cancerous left kidney was removed. This […]

March 26, 2018
lisakunk

13 comments

The Puppy Chewed up What?

By Lisa Batten Kunkleman You’re kidding me. That’s my new gazillion dollars heartburn medicine scattered all over the entry hall rug! So this is a slight cost exaggeration but those Dexilant pills cost about ten dollars apiece until our deductible is met and are my last resort in my relentless reflux battle.   So what […]