Sharry Miller

Vagaries of Time

Alas, this is not a post about the wondrous miracle of time travel. The Doctor has not come to whisk me away in the Tardis to marvelous places and distant times. It is only a brief commentary on time zones. In a proper use of time and space, Alaska would have five time zones. Time changes infinitely and incrementally as longitude changes, that is, as one moves east to west (or vice versa). At the... Read more →

Carousing with Coasters

Okay, maybe actual carousing didn't occur, we were working with glass after all, but the six who took my fused glass coaster class last Saturday did all say they had fun. They created some wonderful art, too. I always delight in seeing the innovative ideas people have for creating in glass when they're uninhibited by the "limitations" imposed by the medium. I not only come away with ideas of my own, but also with a... Read more →

Leaf Leaping Time

Termination dust on the mountains, cold winds blowing, fireweed gone to seed - it must be time for one of my favorite activities: leaf leaping! Yes, leaf leaping, that delightful pastime in which I go for a walk on the bike path and end up bouncing around like a lunatic ball doing my best to land on all the crunchy leaves. I was on my own today, but I like leaf leaping best when I... Read more →

Packing for Peru

It's been almost a year and a half since I wrote a post I called Packing for Bhutan. Not surprisingly, my thoughts then were very similar to my thoughts now as I pack to leave for Peru later this week, and for much the same reason. I need to be prepared to spend time at high altitude in another major mountain range. In Bhutan, we never exceeded about 10,000 feet in the Himalayas. This year,... Read more →

One Week to Peru!

The sun was shining, but I should have listened to my gut and worn a long-sleeved jersey for my ride. I had light goosebumps the whole 20 miles. They got a little bigger in the shady areas. Regardless, with just a week left until I head for Peru, I had to get some more exercise. Sun-kissed fresh snow on mountain tops may be one of the most beautiful sights around, but it's one I am... Read more →

Family Fusion

No, this post doesn't have anything to do with blended families or anything else so serious. I just thought I'd share some photos from a recent glass class. My coworker, Donna, treated five of her grandchildren to a couple of hours of fun playing with fused glass. They opted to make suncatchers to bring a little color into the coming winter. I often try to take photos of my classes at work, but all I... Read more →

Goat Trail Hike

Have you ever noticed all the sounds wind makes as it travels through leaves? A dull, quiet roar through Devil's Club's oversized foliage, a dry rattling through autumn's aspen and cottonwoods, a soft hiss through spruce boughs. A windy forest is a very noisy place to hike. Add to all that wind noise the ever-present roar of the Lowe River, occasional Dopplerized vehicular whines on the highway, and the tumbling of numerous small rivulets and... Read more →

Five Sentence Fiction - Flowers

A little magick for this Friday the thirteenth, and for Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction challenge this week. Visit her site, and you'll be able to find more stories prompted by "flowers." Love Potion Sunshine and flowers, lightness and joy: love potions should contain all of wonders of life, Estrella thought, but maybe not just the wonderful. Perhaps a little reality should be included to help ensure that the relationship which arose from the potion’s... Read more →

A Fun Little Mystery

I received a package in the mail Saturday which led me on a merry little goose chase of no consequence. In the padded manila envelope was a copy of Alaska's Mushrooms by Harriette Parker. This slim volume contains basic information on 35 different mushrooms commonly found in Alaska, many of which are edible, some of which definitely are not. There was no accompanying paperwork in the envelope, and the return address was for someone I'd... Read more →

Visual Dare - Implore

Oh, it's been a long time since I indulged myself in writing a bit of flash fiction for one of Angela's Visual Dare prompts. I've missed it. I look forward to checking out the links to others' stories, too, and I hope you'll join me in doing so. Choices She stood balanced on a pedestal in the center of the room. Her rent depended on this gig, on not moving a muscle, but doing so... Read more →