Hobbies

In this digital day and age, we seem to be printing fewer and fewer photos because they are ‘safely’ tucked away on our computers. I think that’s a pity because there’s nothing like the tactile experience of holding a photo in our hands…

When it came to researching my family history, I was lucky. My aunt had done much of the groundwork for me. She spent her retirement years travelling between Australia and England investigating our ancestry going back to the 16th century…

In the pandemic, with days on end of isolation and worry, writing was found to be cathartic. Some of you may have used the time wisely and now you are able to look back and see that it was a very constructive time.

Have you ever thought about journaling or writing down the most intimate events of your life? Events that caused a cathartic shift in your perception and thought process, or ones that scared the living daylights out of you or left an indelible mark?

Do you want to write a memoir, but never find the time for such a big project? Or, are you not really used to writing? Do you grapple with the issue of not wanting to ruin any of your relationships, even after you are no longer alive?

Mindfulness is about slowing down, being fully present in the moment, and receiving that moment. The exact same words apply to the process of making photographs. For me, to photograph is to be fully present in the moment…

The first soldiers killed in battle are the musicians, for music’s power to inspire. It can change a person’s mood in minutes. It can give form to otherwise incoherent, nascent feelings. Music can take years off a world-weary spirit…

It was a damp Seattle evening in May, as I settled into my seat at Benaroya Hall to hear the Seattle Symphony. I was attending an event with a friend, and it was our “pre Mother’s Day treat” to ourselves…

A dozen years ago, I moved with my husband to Miami. I had done this before, moving to another country because of his job. One more time, we decided, and then we will be ready for retirement. Who would have known we were going to change our minds? Retirement is really not in our plans yet. That is alright. As long as we feel good about our lives, why change them?

I have loved words and written in one form or another most of my life. What felt like a small, isolated world became rich and full of grand adventures on the page. My early experiences were in making up stories for the lives of my dolls and the make-believe…