Entries by Barbara Eikmeier

The Tenth Child

By Barbara J Eikmeier I have eight siblings. The nine of us were together recently for my dad’s funeral. It was a bittersweet day.  My dad was 92 years old and yet, despite the wind, rain, and mud, over 350 people attended his service. The church ladies served lunch at the church hall. They came […]

After the Hurricane

By Barbara J Eikmeier The Wood Stork lifts off from the edge of the pond. His long slightly curved beak points the way like a menacing weapon, and his shaggy head droops, in sharp contrast to his elegant body. My hostess calls him The Professor. From the lanai I also see the Great Blue Heron, […]

The Best Thanksgiving Movie Ever?

By Barbara J. Eikmeier The Last Waltz was showing at the Sunrise Theater at 730 pm on Thanksgiving night. Our hostess attends every year. I was intrigued. What movie can possibly be so great that a person would go to see it every year? As it turns out, The Last Waltz isn’t an ordinary movie, […]

The Poet

By Barbara J Eikmeier One of my writing teachers is a poet. I saw him last week in the coffee shop. He wasn’t at his usual table, near the window where the light is best. This day, his table was next to the fireplace, where it’s warmer.  Sheets of paper spilled across the table with […]

Road Research

By Barbara J. Eikmeier My favorite place to find details for a story is on a road trip. My regular job is presenting programs about quilts to small and regional quilt guilds. Bookings take me off the main highways to “Blue Roads”, through tiny communities and sometimes even down dirt roads. Ninety percent of the […]

The Unpackables

By Barbara J Eikmeier I was prepping a sheet pan for a dinner of oven roasted veggies when I ran out of non-stick spray. Shaking the container I didn’t hear or feel even a drop sloshing around in the can. In 38 years of marriage, I’ve rarely emptied a can of Pam. It isn’t that […]

Getting Stronger

By Barbara J. Eikmeier I lift weights. Twice a week my husband and I go to the gym. The nutritionist at the army health clinic told me about the weight training room. She said as we age it is important to do weight bearing exercises to keep our bones strong and joints limber. “Just go […]

Fake Eyelashes

 By Barbara J. Eikmeier Not long ago while watching the news my husband said, “That lady must have something in her eye, look how she’s blinking.” I watched for a few seconds, noticing her beautiful eye makeup and said, “Nah, she’s doing that because she’s wearing fake eyelashes.” I recognized the rapid blinking from my […]

The Year of the Tiger

 by Barbara J. Eikmeier 2022 is the year of the tiger. As images of Lunar New Year celebrations scrolled across social media, I remembered that my son was born in the year of the tiger. Immediately I knew, with a little shock, that he will be 36 this year.  It’s not that I always know […]

Write What You Know

By Barbrara J. Eikmeier Hi! I’m a newcomer on the blog. Let me introduce myself: Most people call me Barb but I always use my full name when I’m writing. I live in Kansas where my full time job is a quilting designer, teacher and author. I travel all around the country (and via Zoom) […]