I was on the treadmill at the health club the other day. Two women near me were talking about their holiday plans and preparations. One of them was going through the list of people she still needed to buy gifts for, and saying how difficult it was to figure out what to buy for her young nieces and nephews. Plus, she had to ship some of the gifts, and she wasn’t looking forward to standing in line at the post office. “That’s why Thanksgiving is [...]
I’ll be spending much of this weekend on one of my favorite activities of the holiday season: baking Christmas cookies. The tradition goes back to one of my fondest childhood memories – being in the kitchen with my mom and sisters, rolling out the dough, then cutting, baking, frosting, and decorating the cookies. And eating them, of course. I don’t do cutout cookies anymore. I don’t have the patience for all that work, although I have no problem spending hours at a time in the [...]
I’m going back to school. High school, that is, and today was my first day. One of the organizations I’ve gotten involved with here is the Georgia Writers Museum. It’s part museum, focusing mainly on three famous authors who were born in this area (Alice Walker, Flannery O’Connor, and Joel Chandler Harris), and part Writers Center offering classes and other programs for writers of all ages and stages. A new program just getting started is called “Growing Up Creative in a Small Town,” and it’s [...]
For a while now, I’ve been experiencing mild aches and pains when I get up in the morning. It’s nothing serious, just annoying. And it’s making me start to feel old. I was talking about this recently with a friend, and she mentioned a yoga program she’s doing. Apparently, she’s been feeling a few aches and pains herself, and came across a 31-day yoga program online. She said that since she’s been following it, she’s felt great. So I’m following it, too. I’m not entirely [...]
For all those who are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday this weekend, I hope you’ve been having a wonderful time with family and friends, and that you have taken the time to recognize and acknowledge the many things in your life for which you are thankful. Gratitude is not something to be acknowledged on just one day or weekend during the year, of course. So I hope you will also take this opportunity to begin, right now, a practice of expressing gratitude every day – to [...]
“This must be what heaven is like.” It was in the middle of our book club meeting that one of our members made this comment. She wasn’t actually talking about our book club – although I certainly consider it heavenly to spend an afternoon or evening in thoughtful conversation with people whose company I enjoy and whose opinions I respect. However, her comment related to an excursion with an elderly relative. At one point during our meeting, our discussion led into stories about caring for [...]
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure. I’m hosting our neighborhood book club meeting next week, and the book we’re reading this month is one I wrote. It includes 30 of my columns from the Chanhassen Villager – most of them dealing with nuggets of insight and inspiration that can be found in everyday life. Our book club meetings begin with lunch at noon, followed by the book discussion. Since several of my columns mention different foods [...]
A friend of mine was going to a conference in New Orleans last week. Since she’d never been there, she arranged to stay a few extra days for a mini-vacation. The person who was going to join her ended up having to cancel, so she called and asked if I was available, and if I wanted to go. I was, and I did, so I booked a flight to New Orleans, and met her at her hotel as soon as the conference was over. This [...]
“We don’t take a vow of poverty,” he told us. “We take a vow of simplicity.” The person speaking was a Trappist monk who was leading the retreat I attended at my church last weekend. At the start of the retreat, he shared some of his background, answered some questions, and corrected some mistakes and misconceptions about what his day-to-day life is like, adding that the beliefs many people have about monks and monasteries come more from Hollywood than they do from reality. I enjoyed [...]
The beautiful fall colors haven’t fully made their way here to Georgia yet, but there’s no mistaking the change of seasons. I’m not really crazy about the dark of night coming earlier and earlier in the day, but the brisk, cool weather is a welcome respite after the heat and humidity of summer. These are changes we expected, of course. But there have been a few surprises for us in our new home as summer turned to fall. One is the sparkle on the water [...]