Chilly (as in weather, not my warmth I'm sending to you) greetings, dear Reader, from southern Oregon. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to spend time out here with my daughter every year. It's such a different lifestyle from the one I have back in New England. While I'm not interested in giving up my East Coast life all together, I really appreciate settling into this rural existence the Pacific Northwest offers me for several weeks. I also wish it wasn't so far, one

Hello, dear Reader, it's me again. I love sitting down to write to you, although I sometimes have conflicts of interest regarding my time. I have the most wonderful assistant who has been with me for more than 10 years! I don't always make it easy for her, and I want you to know that if it weren't for Michelle, you might not be reading this. Thank you, Michelle, for everything you do for me and with me. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage

A big, Pacific Northwest greeting to you, dear reader! Jinx the cat and I made our way from east to west covering approximately 3,200 miles last week. We saw some beautiful landscapes and the trip had its stressful moments. I started these cross-country drives in 2014 and they've taken different forms and various routes. As long as I have a daughter on the west coast, I will make the trip, however I'm not sure how the journey might evolve. At the very least, you know I will p

Hello, dear Reader! I'm "hanging out" at the KIA dealership while my car gets ready for my cross country drive from east to west. I was full of ideas of what I wanted to write as I drove here this morning. I also was thinking how the point of these essays is to share some of my hard-earned wisdom. At the same time, it helps to remind me of life's lessons. The word prepare comes directly from the Latin word praeparare, meaning "to make ready beforehand" -- direct and straight

Hello, dear Reader. The end of summer is rapidly approaching. It may be four weeks away officially, but once we get to the final days of August, it doesn't feel like summer any more. Let's soak up the last few weeks and days and get ready to rock the fall! I'm going to make this nice and short this week. Recently, a line from a 1976 Bob Marley song caught my eye and took hold of me: "Make way for the positive day, 'Cause it's news" The first thing I thought of was how delight

Several years ago, 13 or 14, I met a lovely, young woman at a conference for entrepreneurs. I had started to attend these meetings five or six years before, and I fell in love with the energy of it all. I was starting up my own coaching/consulting business on the side, but what I really adored was all the wonderful people I met. I suppose they were like-minded souls with a sense of adventure and a curiosity about building and becoming more. I made so many friendships in these

Happy end of July, dear Reader! Another month done in 2026 and the summer is winding down. Last weekend was a BIG birthday celebration for me, and it was delightful. A warm, but not too hot, sunny day, poolside with friends that have been in my life for over 65 years -- who could ask for anything more?!? Now, as I was sitting down to write this post, the stars and planets aligned and the topic of today came to me with ease and grace. As I was thinking about how much our lives

My dear reader, I must start with a confession. I sat at my desk for quite some time before finally starting to write this post. I tend to be a neat and organized person in my home; however, my desk often has little pieces of paper with quotes or random ideas scribbled on them. They are all potential topics, but what might have piqued my interest one day doesn't always inspire me on another. I pulled out a few of those pitches for a hopefully interesting essay and came up emp

Hello, hello, dear Reader! I'm back from my third trip this year and while I'm happy to stay in Boston through the summer, I'm also looking forward to my annual stay with my daughter in southern Oregon in the fall. At the same time, I'm exploring possible winter jaunts to different parts of Europe. I used to write a lot about the joys of travel years ago, pre Covid, when I often went on journeys outside of the U.S. Often I'd go for a retreat or seminar and then meander. I lo

Greetings, dear Reader. As this post goes out I will be embarking on another trip. There was a time when I traveled out of the country at least twice a year. I loved my trips and I must admit, I took my travels for granted. Of course I would return to Paris or spend a month in Portugal or have a decadent retreat in Tuscany -- that's what I "did". When my foreign travels stopped abruptly, there was a good reason -- COVID. As a nurse, I was deeply involved in the pandemic and m