Hobbies

(Read this silly poem out loud to most fully enjoy it!) Mary McDermott McMaxwell McDuff Was asked by her teacher to spell the word tough. Because of her name, she replied “Tee-you-eff-eff,” which earned her Z-minus below treble clef. So here are some hints to help you if someone may
ask for help in spelling these troublesome words one fine day…

After returning from a trip to Colombia, I found myself looking at my old scrapbooking supplies in a new way. What had once sat in bins and drawers, waiting for the “right” project, suddenly seemed full of possibility. Discovering junk journaling gave me the perfect reason to start using those materials again, and the process […]

Television is the most popular form of entertainment as we age. It has probably been our most popular form of entertainment through the years also. We were bombarded with warnings of turning our brains to mush if we engaged with the boob tube, idiot box, squawk box…

As I listened to Becky Ann Baker’s wonderful narration of Laurie Frankel’s book Enormous Wings, I couldn’t help but think, What would I do in this situation? The protagonist, Pepper Mills, is 77, newly and unwillingly relocated to the Vista View Retirement Community in Austin, Texas. Her grown children strongly suggest (insist)…

As we know, even preschoolers can be introduced to squeegee painting. However, what we’ll be discussing here is a more challenging version of this technique. This means that squeegee painting is incorporated into an activity that cannot be done by young children, as it requires the ability to create a basic drawing…

Have you always wanted to quilt? Or are you on the hunt for a great hobby to dive into? Here is a quick and easy tutorial, suitable for beginner quilters. It’s the perfect place to start! In this short tutorial, you will learn how to cut, stitch, and create pinwheels from 7″ squares of fabric…

I devoured Sebastian Fitzek’s Therapy over the course of a single foggy, drizzly weekend, and in hindsight, the weather couldn’t have set a more fitting mood. I picked it up for a fairly simple reason: this year marks 20 years since Fitzek’s German original novel was first published, and the anniversary arrived with a new audiobook edition…

Have you awakened smack dab in the middle of the night only to have runaway thoughts start flooding your mind as an endless loop of worries, frets, self-criticism, financial doom, or any number of problems you need to solve? The trick of the trap when that happens is that the looping, ruminating thinking is very […]

My husband has always been a complete DYI person. Remodeling a couple of homes? Yep, did that. Build a 30×30 foot shop? Yep, did that. Rebuild an antique car by taking it down to nuts and bolts and putting it back together? A bit challenging, but yes, did that. Cleaning gutters, painting, indoor and…

Recently, I was asked by an interviewer if there was one moment that was particularly meaningful to me throughout my successful career. Of all my achievements, accolades, and encounters, one meaningful moment stands out. It happened after a performance backstage…