For over a year, I’ve been dealing with three difficult circumstances that impacted everything, causing one downward spiral after another. Since I tend to handle things privately, I disappeared from social media. But this fall, I felt the urge to get back to thriving instead of simply surviving. Easy to say, but hard to do! […]
Kristi Holl
At home with C. S. Lewis…in Oxford!
Last week I got to fulfill a big dream of mine by attending a week-long summer seminar at The Kilns, the home of C. S. Lewis just outside of Oxford in the UK. There were 14 students, and we were together from breakfast till late every night, learning about Jack, his life, his family, his books, […]
Stop Adding, and Try Subtracting!
I woke up feeling sick today, and it is my own fault. I ate both gluten and sugar yesterday, and a lot of it, which is a no-no if I want to feel well. My writing to-do list was daunting, and while I wanted to make great strides ahead today, I just didn’t have the […]
Day 8, May 16, England
Day 8, May 16, England: Fun day today! My writing morning flew by, and this afternoon I had tea and scones at a museum coffee house with another writer friend, Sarah Lister. We met at The Folly, a café within the museum. I’m attending her school presentation tomorrow at the local church graveyard. Those kids […]
Day 7, May 15, England
I did more writing than walking today. However, even on short walks, there are things to see! (Delicate purple flowers growing out of the drystone wall) Yum! If I were home, I’d make a little pie. White lilac (more a tree than a bush), but […]
Day 6, May 14, England
Today, I’m going to show you the little “British touches” in my cottage that I love and will miss back in Texas: the architecture (crooked beams above the windows and slabs of stone above the fireplace and door), the skeleton key lock and letter box (the “plop” of the village magazine landing on the mat […]
Day 5, May 13, England
I walked to the train station this afternoon. It was 65 and sunny, and I never saw so many people walking around with ice cream cones. A steam train was scheduled to pass through (but not stop) about 4:00. Here are the train station, the stationmaster’s house, the old water tower and coal house (for […]
Day 4, England, May 12
Despite no rain in the forecast for two days, it feels like time to settle in today and do some solid writing. (But yes, I’ll take “walk breaks” today.) I’ve received a few questions about the cottage I’m staying in for three weeks. This is my third time here, and it feels like home. Here’s a […]
Day 3, May 11, England
Day 3: my walk with Julia… I met Julia Chapman five years ago, and she’s become a dear writing friend. This morning she took me up into the “bluebell woods” (Wharfe Woods) near the village of Austwick, where she lives. https://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/be-inspired/what-to-do/the-yorkshire-dales-in-spring/ We saw dozens of lambs, bluebells, wild lavender orchids, yellow cowslips, ivory primroses, wild […]
England: Day 2, May 10, 2023
I took three walks today, just to get reacquainted with the village and buy food. (England has the BEST gluten-free bread!) Photos today include a few historic buildings in the village plus the surrounding hills, limestone crags, fields with new lambs, drystone walls zigzagging uphill, and everything so GREEN! Everywhere you turn, something is blooming […]