Here's a photo of puffins that I took on the puffin island in the Bay of Fundy on a recent trip to Maine. We got so close to the nesting sites in the tiny bird blind that we could watch them fly in with silvery fish in their beaks to feed… Read full post »

I keep trying to get Pandora to play only meaningful, majestic, positive Christmas music and they keep sneaking in other tunes.

I want Heaven and Nature to sing... with a voice as big as the sea... while weary souls are rejoicing... as the soul knows its worth.

A man asked his brother to cat sit while he was on vacation. When he called home to check in, his brother said, “I’m sorry, but your cat fell off the roof and died.” 

“My cat!” the man cried.  “This is such a shock! Why did you tell me so abruptly li… Read full post »

 Awhile back, I drove for an hour and a half to visit an East Bay Spiritualist Church just to see what it was like, and I'm here to report back, in Yelp review fashion, that they get no stars from me.  In fact, that Spiritualist meeting was humorless and deadly dull!

 It… Read full post »

I took this spooky photo one night after a gallery opening at Riverfront. Read full post »

Death is unreal that's the way I feel

There's more to be revealed

Lovers and friends meet again and again

On the dear old battlefield.

-- Incredible String Band

Mom loved this song. She used to say when she and Dad met in 1948, they had a strong sense of… Read full post »

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When I’m in Pacific Grove, I walk from the cozy Bide-a-Wee cottages near Asilomar down the road to the cemetery to visit the family graves.  El Carmelo is a lush green graveyard with an ocean view, bordered on two sides by a golf course, created long befor/… Read full post »

 Got this joke from my friend, Georgia, who is a college professor:

A unionized college professor, a Tea Party member, and a hedge fund CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table is a plate with a dozen
cookies on it.

The CEO reaches across and takes… Read full post »

For years without fail my mother would call me on my birthday, not say "hi"or anything, but just launch into this incredibly goofy rock n roll birthday song that she knew.  It used to embarrass the heck out of me and I would try to get her to stop. But no,… Read full post »

The thermostat said 40 degrees inside the rustic 100 year-old train station in rural Penngrove, California where our co-working group shared a space in the winter of 2009.  I kept my coat and scarf on as I turned up the heat and plugged in my laptop at my desk./… Read full post »

“I found it in a redwood tree while I was walking in the woods,

And I found it in the passing clouds blowing over where I stood.

I found it in the wildflowers growing colors all around,

And I found it underneath my feet on the green… Read full post »

This gorgeous fir tree is now gracing our livingroom, decorated with songbirds and lights. Read full post »

I’m taking a short break from writing on a novel, soup simmering on the stove for dinner, cozy here in a recliner with my green-eyed Maine Coon cat, Bert next to me, Uggs on my feet, laptop in my lap, and staring at the good, glowing fire I just built against… Read full post »

To regain my balance while caring for my difficult mother, I needed to see an example of someone aging in a positive way. 

Call it “the secret” or the power of prayer, but I’ve noticed that when I’m tuned in and I ask, the universe provides.  

My call was answe… Read full post »

Dear Future Self,

Here’s a list of hints I picked up about staying independent in later years.  They come from a decade of caring for an elder who needed help, but fought me on every level as her dependence and anxiety increased, finally making it impossible to help her stay/… Read full post »

I got my chives, oregano, basil and parsley planted in redwood pots on the deck and it looks nice and tastes great on salad.   

The Scarlet Runner Beans I dug up from my old garden are growing before my eyes and emanating happiness in a sunny corner of my new patio, (wi… Read full post »

Don't you just love it when someone gives you the perfect present...  something you would pick out to give yourself as a special gift?

I got a present like that this week from my friend Dmitri.   It is branches of pussywillows,  but you plug them in and they glo… Read full post »

Ten years ago, my spirit guide followed me into waking life from a dream, and to tell you the truth, he seemed a little miffed about it. 

I got the feeling he wasn’t really supposed to do this, like it might be breaking the rules, but there was one… Read full post »

Ever since my hypnosis training began in 2004, I’ve spent a lot of time in hypnotic trance.  In class, I experienced Hallotropic Breathwork where we stayed in the altered state for hours at a time and went much deeper than our clients would ever go. 

I&rsqu… Read full post »

Has your foot ever talked to you during a massage?  Mine did on Wednesday.  I was lying there listening to beautiful, spacey meditation music at my friend JJ’s house in Sonoma and starting to trance out when it happened.  The lights were low, the day was rainy and dark, the house/… Read full post »

     I can’t write. I can’t write.  Why can’t I write? 

     I’ve stuffed my feelings down and they bottleneck at my throat with all of my unexpressed words. My writing is stuck because I can’t feel. 

 &n… Read full post »

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mJ3S8802NNIPF

I'm sharing a link to a musical trailer for the movie, "Once," a mini-story in itself.

This movie deeply moved me.  It's romantic without anyone ever even getting a kiss! 

Really the story of making a musical dream come true by collabor… Read full post »

Let me introduce you to a must-read blog about the creative process by my dear friend, Jo.  I've been blessed to have been hearing her writings for the past decade, as we've been in the same writing group all that time.

Here's a tiny excerpt from Jo's Creative Universe a… Read full post »

When I was 12 years old, I wrote this list: “Things Not To Do When I’m A Mother.”

It was like a time capsule, a message to my future self.  My list would remind me what was important and guide me to be the right kind of mother. 

However,… Read full post »

This is the best blog I've read on successfully working with a NYC literary agent.  Funny, too.   Seriously, you're going to love reading this!

www.agencygatekeeper.blogspot.com Read full post »