Author Archives: janishaag

I awoke this morning in Vancouver, Washington, in a big, soft bed with a line from a song in my head: “We take so much for granted when so much comes free.” It’s a great song, “Falling in Love in … Continue reading →

It was the last day of our stay on Kauai. We looked at each other the night before and said, “How do you want to spend the last day?” Every time we get a little sad, hating for vacation to … Continue reading →

Well, not really. It was used as the model for the fictional Bali Hai in the movie, “South Pacific,” but here on Kauai, the famous triangular peak is known by its Hawaiian name: Mt. Makana. It serves as the backdrop … Continue reading →

The only problem with vacationing in Hawaii is that all your friends hate you for it. It’s impossible to write postcards (those old-fashioned 4×6 things with photos on them of impossibly beautiful, and sometimes faked, images) or emails or, yes, … Continue reading →

This is my annual Christmas poem, this year written to honor a new baby born Dec. 8, 2010. She’s the daughter of Christina and Mitch, Dick’s nephew and niece-in-law. (See my earlier post, “Welcome to the world, baby girl,” for … Continue reading →

Yesterday I visited my friend Judy at her home in East Sacramento. She greeted me at the door in a fuzzy winter hat. Her hair stuck out at odd angles from underneath it, and she immediately put her hand to … Continue reading →

It is significant only to me now, but 27 years ago today I married for the first and only time in my life. Clifford Ernest Polland married me on a cold but clear Saturday in a friend’s living room in … Continue reading →

One of the great joys of my life was my 29th birthday, which was when my sister Donna made me an aunt for the first time. Lauren Michelle Just was born six weeks early, and I like to think she … Continue reading →

If you read the previous post, you might be interested to know that after I wrote it, I walked down the street to my neighbor’s to pick up more downed gingko leaves, and I saw an older man out raking. … Continue reading →

I do this every fall now. I did it years before I started leading writing groups that required prompts. I’d go out in the neighborhood—sometimes even stopping by the side of the road if I saw lovely specimens—and load up … Continue reading →