“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” –William Faulkner
Shine On!
In Minnesota, about two seconds after a stellar public firework finale, a voice in the darkness will utter, “!@#$, summer is over.” That sound is quickly followed by beer cans, tossed in the general vicinity of an overflowing garbage can, hitting pavement. If lucky, the smells from the porta-potties waft elsewhere. It’s a dismal punctuation mark to the giddy period of… Read More
Happy thought for the day…(along with a new photo from me!)
Fortune Cookie Wisdom: Focused On Me?
Yes, forgetting can be a curse, especially as we age. But forgetting is also one of the more important things healthy brains do, almost as important as remembering. Think how quickly the sheer volume and multiplicity of sensory information we receive every waking minute would overwhelm our consciousness if we couldn’t quickly forget a great deal more of it… Read More
Maybe I’ve had enough turkey…
Ask Yourself…
Defending Beauty For Beauty’s Sake: Letting Go Of The Rules
If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important Rule of Beauty. “Who cares?†–Tina Fey A tuft of milkweed floss fluttered in the late afternoon sun. Attached to its dehydrated stalk, and entrenched in a meadow of past-perfect grasses, enchantment clung to the glimmering silk threads. I had my camera in hand and felt deeply drawn to the… Read More
The Death Of Impossibility: Why A Moment At Kitty Hawk Made Me Cry
You haven’t seen a tree until you’ve seen its shadow from the sky. -Amelia Earhart Four large rocks. I looked at the gray lumps from the comfort of the Wright Brothers National Memorial visitor center in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and… felt nothing. (https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/planyourvisit/placestogo.htm) My husband—a guy who absorbs history like I absorb chardonnay in awkward social situations—pointed out that… Read More
Breathing Hard For All The Right Reasons: Laughter As Catharsis
Sometimes I crave the kind of belly laugh that comes so hard, fast, and long that it makes me hurt. The cathartic effects are kinda-sorta like a good orgasm…I feel weak, happy, released. But those darn giggle-fests are difficult to come by. (And, it’s none of your business about the other!) This past week my hubby and I were driving… Read More
Scary Good Advice From Stephen King…
Being Beautiful In Your Lover’s Eyes: Realistic Or Not?
Do I love you because you’re beautiful,
Or are you beautiful because I love you?
~Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella Licking a bit of egg roll off my finger, I squinted at my husband with suspicion. Whenever I do things with my tongue, he pays attention. Whenever I squint at him he gets nervous. “Whaaat?†I settled back in the… Read More
Midlife Woman Vs. Cat: Paws-atively The Best Part Of My Day
“Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.” —Jim Davis Our cat, Pudgy, is more than a little eccentric. What? A cat with odd behavior? Whoever heard of that? Yeah, yeah, paw-leez hear me out. Although Pudgy purrs and then bites, although she seeks attention and then hisses when she… Read More
Customer Service: Women In The Second Half Speak Your Truth!
“Service, in short, is not what you do, but who you are.” –Betsy Sanders Is fabulous customer service a memory? A once caring corpse trampled by indifference? Still around, but on slow-drip life support? Are we so used to being treated with a “take it or leave it” attitude that we accept poor service as normal? Well, I’m inviting… Read More
Flying Blossoms: A Head’s Up On Midlife Creative Inspiration
“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”― John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne We were warned early. If a butterfly chose you, don’t try to remove it. If… Read More
Timber Ridge Trading Company And Me…the best part of my day!
I’m not great about letting my little light shine. As a child I was told people who brag, or mainly feel good about themselves because they are brag worthy, go to hell. Even now, when given a compliment, I duck my head and begin to explain why the praise and complimentary person are wrong. I know. I’m messed up. Try… Read More
Bee Balm Bliss & The Natural Healing Properties of Honey
“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.†― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Flavored Honey And Other… Read More
So What’s Fair And Not Fair?
 “It hit me that being hip was a full-time job, and I was only a part-timer. I couldn’t hide forever that I liked county fairs, particularly the goat booth at the 4-H tent, or that I once spent a week with my grandmother at her house in the giant retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, and it was one of… Read More
Hot Dog That I Did NOT Relish: Example # 3,415 Why A Bored Dog Is A Naughty Dog
 “If you live with dogs, you’ll never run out of things to write about.†― Sharon Delarose  Booker, Booker, Booker. Those soft blue eyes of yours tend to deceive me all too often. There was the infamous time you dug up the entire box of newly planted flowers. You didn’t even try to look embarrassed about it. “!@#$% Chipmunk,  Read More
Cat Collusion: A Cover-up Worth Sharing
“The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax-murderer.†—Paula Poundstone (comedian) Cats. Love them or hate them, you have to admit they are interesting. Like, what on earth are you doing now, interesting. We live with two vastly different cat personalities, and it’s a nonstop show. Pudgy, our… Read More
The 4th From 6 floors Up: A Holiday View While Avoiding My Fear Of Heights
Four of us stood on the balcony overlooking Gold Medal Park in Minneapolis. Just beyond, in the darkness, the Stone Arch Bridge teemed with silhouetted bodies. All were waiting for the fireworks to begin on a perfect summer night. Except, the thing is, I have a fear of heights and my toes dangled between the balcony floor and the railing…. Read More
Midlife Creativity: Finding The Perfect Mentor
“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people†– Leo Burnett There, on the wall of the gallery, was a large photograph of a peony. “That was taken on an iPhone,†said Matt Mathiasen, the kind-hearted man walking me through the art grant process. I walked closer to the image…. Read More
Love Notes: Midlife Music For The Playful At Heart
 He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began. ~Leo Tolstoy  How do you leave a note of love? Ever since I began dating the man who is now my husband, we have left little notes of love for each other. Sometimes we leave a trail… Read More
It’s Been That Kind Of Week…Something Good And Then, Wham!
 “It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way!” Author: Penelope Riley Rollercoasters are fun. Usually. This week has had its share of ups and downs, giddy happiness, and then will I survive the drop? moments.  For instance, just copying and pasting the above quote caused my Mac to say… Read More
Midlife Creativity: Opening The Box Of Colors And Ignoring Those Darn Lines
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” Ray Bradbury Roxy, Dee’s dog, met me at the door with soulful amber eyes. Two cats slept in nearby chairs. A second dog, Missy, came up for the sniff test. I passed, apparently, because… Read More
A Love Note To My Followers…
March’s Silk Scarf Giveaway Winner! Chali Valery! April’s Silk Scarf Giveaway Winner! Kathy Burton! May’s Silk Scarf Giveaway Winner…Drum Roll…Katie Smith!  “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.†~ Emma Stone The ping of emails coming in caught my attention. I was pretending to de-clutter my desk, because, let’s… Read More
A Frog Winked At Me Tonight…Good Luck or Bad?
Seriously. Is a frog winking at me a good omen? It’s been a bit of rough week. And while I won’t go into my personal strife, I’m always looking for signs from the Universe to guide me. Yeah, I’m woo woo and proud of it. There’s an astrologist I follow named Elsa. Today she said—“ The Moon in Capricorn conjuncts… Read More
Lipstick Story: A Midlife Woman’s Miss And Tell
Red lipstick, the color of blood on a white T-shirt, was my mom’s favorite. She rarely wore makeup in general, but lipstick was an exception. Whenever she left the boundaries of the farm she’d pull the silver tube from her purse and swipe on a layer of waxy red beauty. It was her touchstone to womanliness in a field of… Read More
Wisdom From Aging…
“I find my emotions are way more accessible than they were when I was younger and I’ve come to feel it has to do with age. I have become so wonderfully, terribly aware of time, of how little of it I have left; how much of it is behind me, and everything becomes so precious. With age, I am able… Read More
Dr. Tieraona Low Dog: Healer, Storyteller, Friend
“When I was a little girl,” recalls Prevention advisor Tieraona Low Dog, MD, “my grandma Jo—my greatest inspiration—took me to a powwow at Medicine Lodge in Kansas.” Jo was one-quarter Comanche, and these gatherings were powerful for her. They were transformative for Dr. Low Dog as well. Jo would say, “Baby”—that’s what she called her granddaughter when she was young—”when… Read More
Jodi Hills: Wisdom, Art, and Making Me Braver In Midlife
“She was strong, and oh, so beautiful. And every once in a while, she would relax into the leaves that held her, trust in them, and then, well then, she’d take your breath away.” –jodi hills The above quote, by Jodi Hills, accompanies her painting of a white calla lily. I love calla lilies, but more so, I adore Jodi… Read More
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