Up and Down Dog
Finding balance in a topsy turvy world…
Phone A Friend
Remember the game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" where contestants chose to phone a friend when they needed help? We all want to phone a friend when we are in trouble, right? When I lived in Spain, my friend Henka was often my first call whether I had a bad...
Do Your Little Bit of Good
Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican Bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. I had the opportunity to hear him speak years ago and remember him telling the huge crowd, "I read the paper every morning, so that I...
Back Home in our Pajamas
The number one question I've been asked this month is, "What's it like moving back to the USA?" Most people seem surprised by my answer. I feel like I'm back home wearing pajamas! Two weeks ago, Rocky, Wilma and I flew out of Madrid, heading for Atlanta. We were in a...
Connecting From The First Bite
"Food is everything you are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go." Anthony Bourdain Would it surprise you to know that I...
Returning to the PNW like the Salmon
Like the fall-run Chinook Salmon which spend 3-4 years in the ocean before migrating to their spawning grounds in the fall, Rocky and I will be returning to the Pacific Northwest at the end of September. While we do not plan to spawn or die right away on our return,...
Rain Rain Fall Fall
The rain was coming down hard on Monday, hitting the windows of the classroom and creating a waterfall down to the sidewalk. I was sitting at a long table, watching my teacher write hiragana (Japanese characters) on the chalk board. Since it was my first class at...
When I’m Sixty-Four…
My high school boyfriend and I used to sing "When I'm Sixty-Four" by the Beatles. At the time, the lyrics had us imagining that we might have a long and happy life together. Of course sixty-four seemed ancient and so far in the future that we also found it hilarious...
One Step In Front of the Other
One of my favorite quotes to share on a Hiking & Yoga Retreat is from Ellen Degeneres. She explained, in her most serious voice, " You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven today and we...
Instructions for Living a Life
Poet Mary Oliver said, “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Rocky and I just returned from 12 fantastic days in Puglia, Italy, leading the Walking and Yoga Retreat. Mary Oliver's quote was on my mind more than once while we...
Healing a Broken Heart
This year Valentine's Day is not only a day to exchange boxes of chocolate and read the sweetest love poem that Rocky wrote for me in Spanish, but a chance to express my gratitude for a mostly-healed heart. Last September, while leading our Spain Hiking & Yoga...
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