In charge of doing things
Every now and then, I get a wild hair—this one’s #437—and decide to create something airy and colorful just because I love doing it. Being in the faux floral trade keeps me busy and pays the bills, but aside from curating the most realistic artificial […]
I can’t rightly remember how long I worked at The Orange County Register—nearly fifteen years or something close. Add five freelancing for the OCR, Los Angeles Times, and Sunset Magazine, and I’ve put in a solid twenty years of creating content. Considering that I didn’t […]
Sue Grafton’s mysteries are among the few I read straight through without pausing to study technique. It does no good trying to pin her down—I get completely sucked into the story, and before I know it, I’m surprised by the ending. She had a brilliant […]
We swoon over the soft teal fabric with a touch of citron and the orange accent lamp with the brocade shade. We fall for the red bedspread and the handwoven rainbow rug. Then, when it’s time to make a choice, we choose beige. Why? Susan […]
Not so suddenly, trailer lingo is on everyone’s tongue. There’s been a revival of vintage camping that shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, old-school trailers have become the new focal points at weddings and parties—serving as everything from dressing rooms to cupcake carts. […]
According to Orange County Public Works, Santa Ana has received only 1.58 inches of rain this year—well below our area’s average of about 12 inches. Every drop counts during the rainy season—not just for washing our landscapes clean and hydrating large plants like trees, but […]
Here’s an illustration I did a while back that fits perfectly with my novel The Victory Garden, about a Japanese farm girl interned at Manzanar. It turns out the word Manzanar means “apple orchard” in Spanish—an unexpected and poetic connection to the story’s roots. I’ve […]
6 Tips for Squeezing Out a Feel-Good Day Okay, so something special is coming up. You’re a bridesmaid in a wedding, your high school reunion is around the corner, or you’ve got a big day planned with friends or family. You need to feel good […]
I can’t rightly remember how long I worked at The Orange County Register—nearly fifteen years or something close. Add five freelancing for the OCR, Los Angeles Times, and Sunset Magazine, and I’ve put in a solid twenty years of creating content.
Considering that I didn’t apply for the newsroom job in the first place, it’s been quite a ride.
After Gary Krino retired, the editors were looking for a writer with home and garden experience to work alongside home-improvement guru Nick Harder.
There I was, minding my own business with my freelance work as Sharon Cohoon from Sunset Magazine was being considered for the position. Ultimately, she declined and recommended me.
Since it had never occurred to me to apply for a job, when an editor called and told me to “get down here,” my question was, Down here where? Seriously—I had no idea.
I was a little cavalier during that first meeting, telling a tableful of grumpy editors everything that I would change in the Home & Garden section. They asked, and it was my chance. As a loyal reader, I wanted something jazzier from my favorite features section than what they were offering. But sometimes, cavalier comes off as confident. I got the job.
My editor pointed me toward a beat-up desk and told me my deadline was the following week. It was going to be interesting—and folks, I’m here to tell you, it was interesting.
What I’m getting at is this: I’m retiring. My husband and I are ready for road trips. It’s hard to do much when you work as a journalist—deadlines loom even when you’re off the clock. There are always pages to fill, and those “news holes,” as they call them, don’t go away because I do.
I never broke a major story. I never blew the lid off an industry or brought down a corporation like some of my colleagues. But I can tell you this—it’s been a blast writing about mums while some reporter two desks over was discussing murders.
I’m not going away completely. I’ll continue to write—and I’ve finally finished my first manuscript, The Victory Garden, I’ve been waiting years to write. And just think, I can hike the Grand Canyon without checking my messages every two seconds.