Welcome! I look forward to sharing some ups and downs along my writing journey as I wander through the publishing process and wonder about beauty, art and creativity.
All photos by Patty Mayeux, unless otherwise indicated.
Quote of the Week…
“My heart is beating, and I’m breathing, and nothing anybody has ever done has changed that.” Rupi Kaur, 1992 –
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“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
–Franz Kafka
About Me
When I’m not revising novel #1 or writing novel #2, I’m blogging about the process. Along the way, I share inspirational posts based on the 10 ELAN Principles that I strive to live by as well as a few book reviews and personal or found writings.
In addition to journalism experience, I’ve written and co-published, with photographer Linda Lapointe, a non-fiction book on inner beauty: “Beautiful Women: Like You and Me.” I am active in local and online writers’ groups and participate in conferences, classes and workshops.
Creative and fun time is spent playing piano, reading, traveling and playing djembe in the Joy of Djembe Drumming Ensemble.
Breathe…
We all do it. If we are lucky, it is automatic and pain-free. We don’t even think about it. Paying attention to breath is meditation 101, the most basic mindful awareness practice. I’ve used box breathing (four counts inhale, four counts hold, four counts exhale and four counts hold) during dentist visits. Six breaths per…
Quote of the Week…
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso, 1881 – 1973
Look It Up…
Raise your hand if you remember going to the library and shuffling through the card catalog to access not-so-secret codes leading to research information. Keep your hand up if you miss that. The worst was when one card led to another, and another. Then there was the toppling book stack from which you jotted not…
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Quote of the Week…
“Compassion is the desire that moves the individual self to widen the scope of its self-concern to embrace the whole of the universal self.” Arnold J. Toynbee, 1889-1975
Welcome, Stranger…
It is easy to dismiss or avoid contact with strangers; those who express their culture, love, gender, nationality and religious beliefs differently. I believe all people are deserving of equal treatment and acceptance, but living that truth is a different matter. While I work to fill social gaps created by a recent move, I encounter…
Wrap It Up…
My neighbor recently told me about her family matriarch; 103 years old, living independently and other than using a walker and giving up her car keys a few years ago, is still joyfully ruling their roost. She is my hero. I want to know what she eats. Has she cracked a code to create her…
Quote of the Week…
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley, 1894 – 1963
Upgrade…
I am choosing upgrades as a theme for 2026. Sounds good, right? I don’t mean the ones that come with a cost attached, I’m talking about self-doled upgrades. Like adding a few exercises to my morning routine and pre-mixing ingredients for morning smoothies, walking more and taking the right kinds of supplements to well, supplement…
Quote of the Week…
“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” Mary Ritter Beard, 1876 – 1958
Pretending…
I recently engaged in a pretend world with two experts, my 6- and 9-year-old granddaughters, while visiting our daughter and her family overseas (more on the joys of travel in Wednesday’s Substack post). We played the Restaurant Game because I had made them each an apron with pockets for their notepads and pens, because in…
Quote of the Week…
“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” Saint Francis de Sales (French Clergyman), 1567- 1622
Remember When…
Do you remember when a phone was just a phone? Way back when, before answering machines, a ringing phone as you unlocked your front door was an adrenal jolt. Your heart raced as you stumbled up the stairs or around the corner to answer. You lifted the top half of the princess phone and heard…
Quote of the Week…
“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” Helen Keller, 1880 – 1968
New Year, New Words, New You…
Welcome to a fresh start of new: habits, ideas, projects, paths. I eschewed the tradition of a New Years’ Resolution years ago (it’s the only one I ever kept). Still I love the excitement of turning the calendar to twelve months of blank squares, begging to be filled with forward moving plans and positive thinking.…
Quote of the Week…
“Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.” B.C. Forbes, 1880 – 1955
Delight in the Light…
Yesterday was Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and yet, it falls during the season of light; candles in various faith traditions flicker amidst strings of bulbs adorning houses and trees. While my family celebrates the birth of the Christ Child (in faith-based as well as commercial traditions), I appreciate and respect other…
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