I really needed a weekend of nothing. It feels good. Things to be happy about, a list: -summer and all that it implies -friendship & family -dustless surfaces -orange-blueberry muffins -breakfast on a slow Sunday morning -fireworks on the beach…
Category: Personal
It is funny what you discover when you start doing work on a home. It starts with paint, then with the floors being replaced, then the closet doors (I have 6 closets!). As we painted, we discovered that who ever…
finding lost childhood toys fancy hats visitors homemade pizza the way the morning sunlight looks on the Baha’i House of Worship the look of glee when you play a prank on me brunch on a Saturday morning with nothing else…
What?! Yeah, well, I’m nearly as surprised as everyone else, trust me. 6 months ago I was all about leaving Chicago. Then, as time went on, I realized that I love Chicago, my job is amazing (almost as much fun…
This Gregorian year was full of changes, travel, friends, family, and many good things. I’ve been avoiding most of the “end of the year” lists that take over our media at this time of the year, but of course I…
A small group of us drove up to Wisconsin a few weeks ago to go apple picking. I spent more time taking photos than picking apples, but I still had a great time. For Halloween I had a lot of…
A few weeks ago, my friend Melissa Diep asked a few other ladies and myself to be models for a “Trash the Dress” photoshoot with about 20 photographers. First we went to a location under the railroad tracks in downtown…
Today can only be called the Day of Ridiculous. It really started last night, when I was baking and cooking up a storm, and set off the smoke alarm at 9:30 pm. My neighbors must LOVE me. This morning I…
I haven’t really been home for 6 weeks. I stop here to sleep, do laundry, refill my suitcase, and off I go again! Travels are over for the time being, life continues to be busy but I’m glad it is…
On sunset, there is a shadowed promise of the night my favorite time and I held my breath we closed our eyes there was everything surrounding in the stillness of the light. Today is my birthday. It really feels more…
1. Gluten-free sugar cookies dipped in chocolate pudding are heavenly. 2. Aprons never fit me correctly. I always have to adjust them, which makes me ignore them altogether. But I really like the idea of an apron. 3. Driving a…
These last few weeks have really done a number on me. I finished up my work helping organize the 3rd Annual Baha’i Choral Festival at the Baha’i House of Worship. The Festival was wonderful, you can read about it here,…
I worked. Did chores. Planted things in the garden. Crossing my fingers that they won’t die or get eaten by rabbits. Made chocolate covered strawberries and apricots. Another article that I wrote went up on Soulpancake. Enjoyed the tulips in…
Last night I went salsa dancing for the first time in nearly 3 years. I couldn’t believe it has been that long. And then I stepped out on the dance floor, and it was painfully obvious that not only was…
I read books like they are the last pieces of driftwood and I am drowning. They are my lifeline, inspiration, education, and friends. I learned to read before I went to school, my parents forming letters and words, using the…
I decided to change a few minor things on my blog, the most noticeable of which is the addition of a second sidebar, where I have linked to a number of blogs of friends of mine. I cleaned up a…
I now have a giant bruise on my leg that hurts every time I walk. I didn’t get this bruise from hitting the ground too hard after skydiving, or from fending off a vicious bear. I didn’t get it from…
Today was one of those days. I was woken by a call from a dear friend who I haven’t spoken to in years. She and I laughed and talked and agreed to meet this week for lunch.  While we talked…
The illustrious Sarah Lonning has a presence on the web. Be impressed. Navid shares music, often with commentary. Brilliant. I’ve been enjoying it very much. That odd fellow known as David Precht launched his site a while ago, and it…
It has been 9 months since leaders of the Baha’i Faith in Iran were arrested on 14 May 2008. They are still in prison, along with other Baha’is who have been arrested merely because of their beliefs. From a Baha’i…
It is quieter when the world around is blanketed with snow. The house is silent, my family asleep, and I am considering the pros and cons of going to bed in the next half hour. This morning, as I stepped…
As a departure from the last few rather serious posts, I’m going to write a bit about my recent adventures. I stopped in Madison, Wisconsin on my way home from Minnesota a few days ago to visit a childhood friend. …
I dreamed we were all standing on the shore staring across the bay and our feet felt the rocks beneath our shoes. There were clouds above and below in between our silent stares. We all gathered in an empty stone…
Georgia in the springtime Magnolia trees Bell the hound dog Southern charm and art galleries Tennis and the swimming pool Bell was a bad-tempered dog. I mean, we grew up together, in some ways, so she wasn’t too mean to…
Minnesota I was born in a hospital on the Mississippi River…but I don’t remember that part of my Minnesota story. When I was one year old, we left this state, but it has always been a second home, on account…
my childhood is split into memories of many places early: South Carolina wrapped in memories of the ocean trees and hills playing in the red clay with lizards and toads Baha’i Feast with just two families (homefront pioneers) wrapped in…
My friend Ronnie recently asked me to join a project that he started with Baha’i friends from several different countries. There are 6 of us, from London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Singapore, and Chicago (me). Every week we each…
There was this man that we saw every day. He was neither young nor old, tall or short. Slightly balding, with a mustache, the kind of man that would blend into the background. He walked up the four steps to…