Four years ago on May 11th, Nathan and I hit the road for the Southwest. We really only look back when Facebook sends us the Memories of life in Florida. Our new life here is very different and very satisfying. At least once a week we celebrate the barely explainable freedom we feel from making a major move in our senior years. The most recent benefit is the new friendships we have found by joining clubs in our area. Before leaving Florida, we just did not consider how a cross country move (and a pandemic) would strip us from in-person contact with nourishing community interaction.
For me, joining the Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild has been a life saver. The extremely talented resources there are well established in their artistry, and they are encouraging and motivational. They accept me as an artist which helps me see myself as an Artist.
As a result of my growing confidence in that role, this week I'm celebrating having been...
Hello to Friends far and wide,
Blooms - Right now the roadside and the desert scrub is flowering in all shades of yellow on all kinds of plants which will take the rest of my life to learn the names of. Very soon, cactus flowers are going to follow suit and burst into flame with yellow, white, and red flowers. I am particularly drawn to the...
WOW. Almost two years have passed. I cannot cover the whole timeframe in this post but suffice it to say we love living in Tucson, Arizona. In 2019, we started out in St. George, Utah, moved next door to La Verkin for the pandemic, and as soon as we got that second covid vaccine in March 2021 we hightailed it to Tucson to find an apartment. Before the lease was up, we knew Tucson would be our permanent home. If you don't follow me on Facebook then you have no way of knowing that we bought a manufactured home in a senior community last March 2022. It's quiet but very active!
I have found my tribe of beaders and artists here. I was lucky to get some guidance on where...
Author’s Note: Life has forever changed from the Pandemic of 2019. My perspective on it continues to morph as I hear about friends sickened by it, friends vaccinated because of it, and those who choose not to participate. For at least the next 3 to 5 years, I think I’ll be reflecting on life after Covid-19 and the challenges and opportunities it has brought us. Some of us will be calling it the “new normal” for a very long time. Personally, I see no point in looking back at pre-pandemic living, just to ache for its return. It's time to move on...
There will never be a better time to start recording your thoughts and experiences than right now. It is never too late. There are many forms it can take. Write letters, write short stories, write a novel, author a blog. Depending on the amount of time you have on your hands, you...
Author’s Note: I continue to qualify my perspective on the Covid-19 pandemic out of respect for those who have suffered emotionally, financially, and/or physically from this cruel virus. I have suffered little compared to so many who have. I write this from the viewpoint of a retired person, yet still a striving, small business entrepreneur. My blog posts reflect life after a cross country move from Florida to Utah which, in itself, has presented its own set of difficult challenges and rewarding experiences, followed very close behind by this awful pandemic.
As I continue to assess our pandemic life, I can’t help but notice a seismic shift taking place. It’s called “hope”! Just thinking of eating in a restaurant: “Ohhh, Pad Thai, here I come!” How about you?
With vaccinations slowly becoming more available, there is reason to believe that life is evolving to a new stage. My husband and I got our first...
My blog posts are beginning to organize themselves into Series. I just finished a four-part series on DIY Jewelry. As a change, this post contributes to other blog posts I’ve written on pandemic living. It seems there is always more to say about any subject on which I’ve written. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us all plenty of time to think, right? When I'm not creating artistic jewelry, I have to clean. Yuck!
So I want to talk about cleaning during this pandemic season. Now, let’s be real, this pandemic year is a better name for it. With the daily grind of self quarantining, I have yet to figure out how to resume a habit of cleaning the house. My need to clean has always been driven by a need to kill germs so we don't get sick. For me, dirt is sort of secondary. As I steer clear of public gatherings, enclosed spaces, and hopefully the virus, my time at home is filled with crafting, jewelry making, reading, and cooking. I feel like I'm living in a waiting room. I have to do laundry, for obvious reasons, but why should I clean? No one is coming over...
