Editor’s Note: Often we write our own memoirs, but sometimes we write other people’s memoirs which, of course, are called biographies. I have written many short biographies starting with my husband’s. Here’s one of our favorites that was published February, 2001 when I was a columnist for the Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff). The title was…
Some random musings . . . Awakened before dawn by my hungry cat, I set up my morning practice: a pot of tea, a lit candle, my notebook to write my Morning Pages in, a few books I’m studying (“Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise” by Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat…
Editor’s Note: This small artwork, only 8″ x 8″, is an original oil painting by Arizona artist Bev Johnson. I call it “Grandmother”. I talk to this old woman who represents to me the joys and sorrows of aging, especially for women — happier days sitting in a circle weaving her clothes with women friends;…
The last time we lived in Sedona, Arizona, there was a Buddhist nun living in our neighborhood. We were to learn her name was Metta, the Sanskrit word for lovingkindness. Buddhism teaches that metta is not just an emotion, but rather a cultivated mental state in which our attention and concern are directed toward the…
Editor’s Note: The story of our first sailboat, Gone Away, was published on February 29, 2024. Here is Gemini 1000, our beautiful catamaran, shortly after we moved aboard at Eaton’s Boatyard in Castine, Maine on Penobscot Bay. What experiences awaited us? Exciting, terrifying, and more. Hint: the the twin swim ladders on the stern. On a…
Author/Editor Note: This painting “Ride Like the Wind” by Debbie Criswell is a wonderful metaphor for my sister. In writing my memoir for my Storyworth book project, I ended up telling her story. As often happens with memoirists, we become biographers. My sister, Susan Reinke, was born with the horse gene. Those of you who…
It all started with sailing magazines that arrived in our mailbox. Seems innocuous enough, doesn’t it? But we weren’t living near a body of water, large or small; no, we were living in Sedona, the Red Rock country of Arizona. What was going on? Well, what was going on was husband Ken Normington was planting…
When you look at the picture of the artwork accompanying this post, what comes to your mind? Think about it for a moment . . . I’ll wait for you. What comes to my mind is focus, simplicity, and clarity. The stunning artwork immediately gets my attention causing me to be entirely focused on it….
This is our 9/11 story. In early September of 1991 Ken and I were living on our sailboat in Key West, Florida, again selling timeshare for Hyatt Vacation Club. Usually we were on Cape Cod this time of year, or maybe Virginia Beach on the Chesapeake Bay, but not this year. On Tuesday, September…
