Greetings from Alison Wiley here in Portland, Oregon. I'm a writer/doer/thinker who lives happily by putting people, nature and God ahead of accumulating more stuff. Read more →
Are you wondering where to vacation this summer without fighting vast crowds of people, or spending an arm and a leg? I think you’d love the South Coast of Oregon. I recently spent one of the happiest weeks of my life there, and I’m smitten. Moonstruck. Head over heels. Like any person in love, I’ve got [...]
Tags: 1491·Alpha-Bit·Art Alley Grill·Bandon·Brookings·Coquille Indian Tribe·Face Rock Creamery·Harris Beach·Jack Lenox·Lone Ranch Beach·Mapleton·Nehomah Memorial·Revelle·Sea Star Guesthouse·Superfly·Thomas Creek Bridge
Last Saturday I was having a bad day. My head was spinning with the messiness of my house, the too-many tasks of building readership for my blog and my novel Revelle, and how controlling Thor was acting towards me. I felt discouraged and overwhelmed, to where I had no idea of what I should do with my afternoon. If our lives are our stories, I [...]
Tags: Cascadia earthquake·Donald Miller·earthquake preparedness·Katherine Miller·story
Earth Day is this Tuesday, April 22nd. Today’s post is the message (sermon) I brought to Lincoln Street Church this morning here in Portland, Oregon, where I am a member. If you don’t happen to believe in God, I suggest you substitute whatever you do believe in when I speak of God. I don’t know about you, [...]
Visitors at Diamond-Cut Life tend to learn quickly that I’m an Oregonian, specifically a Portlander. My posts, though, are usually relevant no matter where you live, yourself (at least if you can read English, you could find them relevant). But today I’m breaking that rule. This post is pretty much just for other Portlanders, because I’m making a [...]
Who is winning what, you might ask. Last month I announced a giveaway drawing of a great book that I reviewed: Wild: Lost And Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by fellow Portlander Cheryl Strayed. To enter, you would subscribe to Diamond-Cut Life (to your right; easy to unsubscribe with a click at any time). If you were [...]
Tags: Allison Hamilton·Wild·winner
You’re invited! I’d love for you to enter my drawing for a free giveaway of the great book I’m reviewing today. The book is Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. To enter the drawing, subscribe to Diamond-Cut Life by typing your email in at the right. (You’ll receive my posts on Thursdays and Sundays; you [...]
Tags: Cheryl Strayed·Daniel Suelo·giveaway·Pacific Crest Trail·Wild
In Part I of Small Towns Rock, I described how I feel I’m straddling the urban-rural divide since I live in Portland, Oregon, but steadily travel for my work into its small towns and rural areas. I love all these places — but wish they loved each other more. In particular, I
Tags: built environment·crime·La Grande·square dancing·Ten Depot·urban-rural divide
I’ve been thinking a lot about the urban-rural divide, i.e. the lack of goodwill and respect between the city-folk of the United States and the folk of its smaller towns and rural areas.* While I live in a big city (Portland, Oregon is the 23rd largest city in the U.S) my work takes me steadily to small towns [...]
Tags: urban-rural divide
Tags: biodiesel·Mount Tabor·Portlandia
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