Dover Beach—Matthew Arnold (...to his new bride, 1851) The sea is calm tonight. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!…

Our old apple trees are gnarled and knobby, misshapen with missing limbs. Only a few remain. They produce a small green red-blushed apple. I line the most perfect of them up on the kitchen windowsill, enamored with their beauty in the splash of afternoon sun. Wealthy and McIntosh, the fruit has become smaller over time,…

What did you use to do that fed your soul? It was my last year at UCSD. Two long twelve-hour days each week down in San Diego. Busy young family life at home. I tried to keep mornings normal the days I wasn’t in school—making breakfast, packing lunches, fluffing dirty gym clothes in the dryer…

When we finally moved to the cabin, it had been nearly twenty years since the birth of this dream. The grand plans for restoration and building were gone. We came with only what would fit in the small space and settled in, waiting to see how our dream would unfold. At first we filled our…