Sharry Miller

Exploring the Himalaya Mountains in India

No, darn it, I don't have plans to go to India...yet. Someday, I hope. I just wanted to take a moment to let you know about a book review I wrote which just went up over at the Women's Adventure Magazine website. Rana Chawla edited a beautiful book of real-life stories of adventures in the Indian Himalaya called aLoft @ the Indian Himalaya. If you have a chance to check it out, I highly recommend... Read more →

The Slaves Have Names – Book Review

It’s not often that we (well, I, anyway) get to see the process an author goes through to write a book. One of these years, I’m hoping to report on my own methods, but for now I have to be satisfied with living vicariously through others. I’ve had that opportunity over the past year or two as Andi Cumbo-Floyd generously shared her writing life as she struggled to create The Slaves Have Names: Ancestors of... Read more →

How Many Slaves Work for You?

What do you mean you're not a slave owner? Are you sure? There's a little survey that might set you straight. I personally have 50 slaves working for me. My friend Andi Cumbo recently released a book called The Slaves Have Names: Ancestors of My Home. It's about the enslaved people who worked on her family's plantations, and what she was able to learn about them. She was driven by a need to not allow... 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 →

Summer Reading

Over at Goodreads this year, I set myself a goal of reading 60 books during 2013. So far, I've read 54, and am ahead of schedule for meeting my goal. No great surprise there. If you have a Goodreads account, too, "friend" me - I'd love to see what you're reading. My to-read list gets longer every day. Andi Cumbo (internet friend, writer, editor, and writing teacher) hosted a Super Summer Reading Program this year.... Read more →

Lovin' Alaska

You know that old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Well, there's a related one: "familiarity breeds contempt." (Don't worry, husband, I'm not writing about you.) Perhaps in this case contempt is too strong a word, but ambivalence is certainly appropriate. Before I get too carried away here with verbal semantics, let me be clear in that I'm not talking about anything more serious than my surroundings: Alaska, The Great Land. I realize every... Read more →

Lamb's Quarters Pesto

It was such a delightful surprise. Ever since I took Janice Schofield's wild plants workshop, I've been searching Valdez for lamb's quarters. This unassuming little "weed" is vitamin-packed and delicious, and during the workshop we used it as a primary ingredient in several recipes. So, I searched as I pedaled out Dayville Road and along the Richardson Highway, and hiked up Solomon Gulch and behind my house. I couldn't find any lamb's quarters anywhere. Last... Read more →

Loving Wild Plants

View of the Copper River from the road to Chitina. As I pedaled, I peered at the brush along the bike path, hoping to spot some lamb’s quarters. Unfortunately, 14-mph botany isn’t much easier than 55-mph botany. All I could see was alders, fireweed, alders, yarrow, alders, and, oh, did I mention alders? Alder saplings are quite prolific along Dayville Road. What, you may ask, is lamb’s quarters, and why was I looking for it?... Read more →

Satisfaction, Not Success

Oh, dear – I see that I have been badly neglecting my blog this past week. I’m afraid my attention has been elsewhere with the onset of sunny weather and a shopping trip to Anchorage over the long Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like life is going to slow down any time soon. I figured out yesterday that I’ll be home only one out of the next six weekends. Fortunately, I’ll be mostly... Read more →

Women's Adventure Book Review

Exciting news! A few weeks ago, I was asked, along with three other wonderful women, to begin submitting book reviews to Women's Adventure Magazine. The magazine editors are regularly sent copies of books from authors who are hoping for reviews, so we lucky four will be sent these books to read and review. Yay, free books! What could be better? Anyway, my first review of Dangling Without a Rope by Barbara Belmont went live today... Read more →