On our way to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, in northeast Arizona, I call ahead to the visitors’ center to ask about a Navajo guide who can accompany us into the canyon for several days. With a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle we can safely manage most of the … [Read more...]
Chaco Canyon–The Night Sky
There is a rhythm to a road trip and we have found it. After ten days exploring, from Oregon into Idaho and Utah, the desert landscape is a new palette of red and burnt orange, dotted with pinyon and juniper. It is still early spring in the Four Corners Region of the American … [Read more...]
First Garden: do unto your dirt
My very first garden is right up there with Italy, sex, and Spaghetti Carbonara. Some people won’t believe me but they’ve never grabbed the colander and raced out to the garden to dig fingerling potatoes, multi-colored carrots, Italian parsley and San Marzanos for the pot roast. … [Read more...]
Flash: Hospital Gowns Get Breezy
photo credit: mtsofan via photopin cc Why is the woman in this photograph so grouchy? You might be grouchy too in her shoes, wait…..make that crinkly blue booties. But maybe it’s not just the broken arm or the fetching cap or the beeping machines all around. Maybe there’s … [Read more...]
Susan Troccolo’s life beyond cancer: when the mind is not your friend
In the past year, I’ve lost two women in my family from cancer. I’ve felt the searing loss and pain that these deaths have brought, in part because I am in remission from cancer myself. Twice. Seventeen years apart. Because of that I know a lot about how my mind works with … [Read more...]