Tag Archives: Santa Barbara

Cormorants

Posted on February 3, 2023 by PB Rippey

Loglines/writing break, waiting for the refrigerator repair person to arrive between now and 4 hours from now, recovering from the debilitating cold the teen had last week, took the puppy on a brief walk to the pond, where we quietly … Continue reading →

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December Writing Challenge Results

Posted on January 16, 2023 by PB Rippey

December ’22 was a zephyr on steroids, for me. For you, too? And yet–Christmas Day passed in slow motion: walks, long phonecalls with out of town family, cooking-while-socializing (sans panic), everyone snoozing by 10pm (except for the gaming teenager). So–Nephele … Continue reading →

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 26, 2022 by PB Rippey

Hope that on the 25th you were warm, dry (even if in an airport), or getting sunburned, but most of all SAFE. Yours in love, PB

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Memoir

Posted on November 23, 2020 by PB Rippey

Years ago, the Santa Barbara Independent published an essay of mine titled ‘When Reagan Came To Town’, in which I ratted out my mother’s dysfunctional/anger-riddled/bullying (all this despite being a pot-head) live-in lover for calling the police from our kitchen … Continue reading →

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Winter Busy

Posted on December 29, 2019 by PB Rippey

As the countdown to 2020 begins, I wonder how it is I forgot how busy the holiday season is. VERY busy. We’ve: been to Santa Barbara and back, hosted relatives and their little dogs, hosted a Christmas party, followed a vital … Continue reading →

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Window Out Of Revision

Posted on March 29, 2019 by PB Rippey

As I continue revising, it’s good to take breaks, even if only for a few minutes, as you probably know. If I’m working in a Starbucks or a library, I bring up pictures on my laptop that are gaze-inducing and … Continue reading →

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Fire

Posted on December 19, 2017 by PB Rippey

The Thomas Fire. 3rd largest in California, making its way to 1st largest. I watch the burning via my computer, 70-ish miles south of family who live in Santa Barbara, Summerland, Carpinteria. My family evacuate, return, evacuate again due to … Continue reading →

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Heat Wave Revision

Posted on April 21, 2017 by PB Rippey

Today’s spring temperature high is predicted as: 86F. Which, in my sweltering valley, probably means: at least 90F. If not more. The MG novel I’m almost finished revising (this time around) has everything to do with global warming, pollution, the (mis)use … Continue reading →

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April Is Poetry Month (As If You Didn’t Know)

Posted on April 7, 2017 by PB Rippey

  At the recent SCBWI Writers & Illustrators Day (see my SCBWI piece),  editor Pam Gruber had her workshop attendees write down a bit of world building. In honor of all those writing a poem a day this month (I am … Continue reading →

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Seasonal Conundrums

Posted on August 14, 2016 by PB Rippey

Researching summer camps for my 8 year old, round about last March/April, I became frustrated: Sports camp in triple digit heat? No. Great white shark and hammerhead shark sightings along our southern coast. Surf camp? No. Science Camp? He loves … Continue reading →

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Valley Chapbook

Posted on August 6, 2016 by PB Rippey

Part of our summer my son and I spent with family in my Ye Olde Hometown. We ate organic foods. Socialized con gusto. And my soon-to-be-3rd-grader attended a local summer camp. His hands were slobbered by the purple tongues of … Continue reading →

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Snooze House

Posted on March 31, 2015 by PB Rippey

Lately, instead of writing at night I’ve resorted to rising early in order to revisereviserevise certain projects and I’ve realized: The loudest sound in the house at 5am? Despite our small zoo? And the programmable coffee maker’s generous peeps? And the refrigerator … Continue reading →

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This Just In (Elusive World of Poems Edition)

Posted on February 7, 2015 by PB Rippey

Bigger than George Clooney’s marriage. Bigger than my son eating cheese flavored Chex Mix for the first time yesterday (wish it had been broccoli, but at least he’s branching out…double edged sword, this pickiness business), bigger than the beachwalk I recently … Continue reading →

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Step Away From All Chariots (Burning Edition)

Posted on December 2, 2014 by PB Rippey

CONTENT WARNING: Vague to extreme silliness–and back again. Since 1990 I’ve been visiting Ana S. every other month, less when I was younger and single and living on a leaky  sailboat and a semi-working actress with miracle hair never listing towards … Continue reading →

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Sad Santa Barbara

Posted on May 27, 2014 by PB Rippey

My son and I were visiting his cousins when it happened. My husband, at home in Los Angeles, called me early Saturday morning with the news. I felt the same shock thousands of others were feeling in my town. The sun … Continue reading →

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A Weekend Of “Instead-Of’s” (Big Beach Edition)

Posted on April 13, 2014 by PB Rippey

Instead of the LA Times Book Fest, the beginning of my son’s Spring Break: Instead of the LA Times Bookfest Poetry Tent, this: Also a cave (!): This: Er–and this (at a different beach–a short while later–if whiles can be short–why … Continue reading →

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Spacks Street

Posted on March 10, 2014 by PB Rippey

Sunday, a memorial for the poet Barry Spacks took place. I arrived at Santa Barbara’s Museum of Contemporary Arts 10 minutes early for the service to find it mobbed. Wonderful! Seats went fast. I sat next to the poet Dan … Continue reading →

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Quote For The Weekend (RIP Edition)

Posted on August 8, 2013 by PB Rippey

I have learned that particularly clever ideas do not always stand up under close scrutiny. Elizabeth Peters, The Hippopotamus Pool Ah, but the above author’s ideas stood up and have never stood down. Armed in 2 pen names (Elizabeth Peters being my personal … Continue reading →

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In the Wake of a Rejection

Posted on July 29, 2013 by PB Rippey

The last day of July hurtles into focus as I prepare for mini-break #4: single-mommying 3 kids for 3 days. Will be intriguing to see how I fit in writing time. I’m thinking between breakfast and the day’s planned outing, all outings … Continue reading →

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Mini-Break 3: There and Back Again

Posted on July 20, 2013 by PB Rippey

The doctor said a slight fever would come. “Reaction” to a shot. He was feverish for a day. The next, he sneezed and went a little hoarse. But the fever was gone and he was uber-perky and when I meekly told him that maybe … Continue reading →

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Mini-Break 2: Undertow (with Wheels)

Posted on July 16, 2013 by PB Rippey

Children blinking through binoculars, squealing at scuttling lizards, swinging very, very high on playground swings, holding hands, but running too fast towards crosswalks, scaling small boulders, building sandcastles for naked Barbies and a collection of Skylander figurines that should never … Continue reading →

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Clues

Posted on March 3, 2013 by PB Rippey

So it’s time to leave the Little House and tear him away from several days of precious Pottery Barn living and Angry Birds on the Kindle at odd hours and foods we don’t normally eat at home, like grated-cheese-and-nitrate-free-bacon-quesadillas-for-breakfast-with-1-maraschino-cherry-on-top, and … Continue reading →

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Beach Break

Posted on January 14, 2013 by PB Rippey

This was last weekend, all Winter beachness, crisp, clear light, air cold enough for us to wear sweaters we haven’t seen in over a year, sweaters with jeans and sweats and bare feet as we ran on glassy beach, Anacapa, … Continue reading →

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The After 9/11/2001 Post

Posted on September 12, 2012 by PB Rippey

Last year I posted this piece on 9/11/11, the crux of which is: One morning, as my boss and I walked across campus after a 9/11 tribute during which she’d read a poem to hundreds gathered at the special ceremony, … Continue reading →

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Snow White Revisted (Part II)

Posted on August 15, 2012 by PB Rippey

I drove up to Santa Barbara by myself, for a change. High school reunion—the first I’ve ever been to, but not the first my friends have been to and it’s only because of Tdoll and Ddazzle and our nearly life-long … Continue reading →

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