Hobbies

This December I had some surgery and was laid up for a while. Because I knew my “taking it easy” wasn’t for an indefinite amount of time, curling up on the couch every day with my blanket, tea, and book was glorious. I read and read and read. And I started thinking…

On a recent trip to Ireland, Wales, and England, I was hoping to keep a daily travel journal. Although, I’m a writer by trade, it seemed a daunting task. Taking the time each and every day of the trip to consider what I had seen and experienced is one…

I have always loved live performances, whether it is a children’s nativity play, sumptuous ballet, dramatic opera, music, recital, comedy act, or anything where people are there to perform and entertain you. The work that goes on behind the scenes for the production is often…

My love affair with orchids began the day I received my first phaleonopsis from my brother-in-law, David, a flower grower who just last week passed away at the young age of 62. I miss him so much and will never forget our encounter over orchids. He kissed me on the…

Do you have a knitter in your life? Are you a knitter yourself? Knitting is a very popular hobby and is gaining a notable following. It once was thought of as a “grandma passtime,” but now younger generations are getting in on the trend…

Do you sing? No, I don’t mean, are you an opera singer, because there are precious few of those. I just mean do you like to sing, for instance, in the shower or in the bath? Or perhaps to yourself as you potter around the house. It is a joyous activity…

Whenever I counsel fiction authors about getting started in self-publishing, and they ask what they should concentrate on to become a success, I always advise them to be great storytellers. If you can’t tell a great story, no amount of marketing will make…

As Flannery O’Connor famously quipped, anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of her life. That’s good for us because memoir writing is one of the most popular pursuits in retirement, but also daunting for many people…

It’s raining and warm, yes warm, in Chicago this first week of November. Does this mean that the coming winter will be as warm as last year? I never wore my sub-zero coat. Regardless of the weather, books keep us venturing into other worlds. The following books…

A few years ago I was looking after a gallery exhibition. Sometimes artists have to share this duty for joint exhibitions and this was my turn. During a quiet moment on a Saturday morning I noticed a man stop outside the open gallery doors and look in. He then declared in a loud and smug voice, “You guys must really be suffering these days!” He then turned around and walked off…