Almost six months

***Long post*** In a “normal” time, this Friday, September 18, I would be getting on a plane with my sister for our first trip to France (Paris first then the Riviera). The Paris days were our own, but the Riviera days were to be spent with a group to delve into creativity. This trip was…

NPM 3 / 30

Gardeners of Los Angeles I walk in my neighborhood now that trails are closed there are others walking or running we keep our required distance from each other though still offer a ‘good morning’ or just a wave or nod but there are those who are working city employees cutting park lawns hanging new street…

NPM 2 / 30

I should note that these pieces are drafts. Sometimes I go back and refine them, and sometimes they just exist here. The Day of 10,000 Butterflies  last March, I was visiting my mother we were a year past the death of my father only a couple months until I would move in to live with…

birthday eve

2nd post for today (11/18) I got up and went for a walk. Man, I like getting out and getting some exercise. I like it so much more than going to a gym. I may kind of dread getting my ass going, but once I’m there, it’s awesome. I went to Ralph B Clark park…

Day 14 – Ann Arbor

Shortly before the kids went off to school, I made my way downstairs at Laurel’s house to see the fairly typical morning at her house. Then, Laurel & I had coffee and chatted. I took a shower, then we left for breakfast at Anna’s House which was really good. It wasn’t raining yet, so we…

2 Years & Cookies

Today marks my 2-year anniversary of moving into my awesome downtown apartment. Crazy to think about that passage of time – how I’ve become more myself (I think), how I’ve lost a bit of weight, how I’ve become (maybe too) comfortable on my own, how my family unit has shifted, and how I can sit…

Vacation – day 3: Edinburgh => Inverness

I woke up around 7:30 am and searched for a place to go get some coffee. I thought about having the hotel breakfast again (not sure if I could have since I was checking out), but then I thought to myself, “Lizzie, you are in Edinburgh, go see what you can see!” So I located…

Best Day(s) of 2017

Thank goodness I keep a daily gratitude journal so I can look back at my year. Some days are very vague like “I am grateful for salmon,” while other days I really capture everything that transpired. It’s become a micro-journal which is much easier for me to maintain. Today’s December Reflection is “Best Day of…

Early

Turns out I’m an early-bird. I don’t think I would have ever predicted that. As a kid and in high school, I was known to sleep until noon on weekends. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to find that I can get up and get going pretty good in the mornings. Even on Sunday,…

a life well lived – Cathy Grawin

I just learned this morning that my dear friend, Cathy Grawin, passed away early Friday morning from ovarian cancer. I loved Cathy. I adored her. She was a role model to me in many ways. She was a woman who loved her life, who loved her work. She was an amazing plein air painter. We…