Daryl and David Vogel study geography and history every day. Not only in books but also within their everyday lives. The ten-year-old twins are on a two and a half year bicycle trip from Prudhoe Bay to the most southern tip of Argentina with their parents, John Vogel and Nancy Sathre-Vogel. Read More...

Do you realize how rare this is a woman asked. She had just pulled up next to us in an overlook parking lot. I drive this road every single week and I only get a view like this once a month if I'm lucky. The entire Alaska Range spread out before us, showing off it splendor as though in a beauty pageant. Read More...

I live in the country, surrounded by farm animals and miles of corn and soybeans. I lived in New York City for close to a decade. My point being – I have not lived an isolated life – I’ve been around. I didn’t think there was much left on U.S. soil that could surprise me! And then my family attended our first rodeo. Read More...

I hate change. First of all, it’s work. You have to actually think about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re going to pull it off. It’s much easier to just maintain the old comfortable status quo, regardless of the dangers. However, positive change is always worth the effort and the arguments. And sometimes, it’s even tasty! Read More...

Summer in Maryland can best be described with three words: Hot, Humid and Colorful. We may be wilting from the heat during the day and battling King Kong mosquitoes at night – but we’re laughing through the haze as we devour the local flavor. Summer has yet again blessed us with a cornucopia of vibrant, savory foods from local farmers. Read More...

Do you realize how rare this is a woman asked. She had just pulled up next to us in an overlook parking lot. I drive this road every single week and have been doing it for years now and I only get a view like this once a month if I'm lucky. The entire Alaska Range spread out before us, showing off it splendor as though in a beauty pageant. Read More...

Do you have a cherished childhood place? A magical spot that blends the smells, tastes, sounds and adventures of your youth into a perfect pie of memories, fantasies and larger than life experiences? I do. My memories revolve around the private community of Hollywood Beach – six miles from the historic town of Chesapeake City, Maryland. Read More...

During a recent trip to San Jose, California, I fell in love. I fell in love twice, actually, with two amazing, wonderful women – Tova, owner of Tova Day Spa and Mary, a remarkable massage therapist at Tova. Both of them made such an impression on me that I have thought of them every day since my return a week ago ... Read More...

Like other people of my generation, I lament the passing of the summers I had as a child. The unstructured days of wading through creeks and running through neighborhoods, unadorned by adults, unaccountable, free. We played kickball and tag and games with loose rules involving "getting the guy with the ball." Read More...

Everyone has their own model of happiness and achievement. Some envision a happy little boat sailing across a calm sea. There are occasional squalls and the isolated shark, but their goal is the return to serenity, to calm. Read More...

I don’t always take good care of myself. I get caught up in the 900 daily things I HAVE to do – and I forget to make time for ME! You probably do the same thing. It’s part of being a woman, we tend to put everyone and everything ahead of ourselves. And then something wonderful happens, and we’re reminded how much we need to be nourished and nurtured, too. Read More...

We are in the Wal-Mart era of history: buy cheaply, dispose eagerly, repeat. We are the quintessential consumer – we consume. Literally, we devour, we eat up, we waste. In fact, the average American throws away 600 times his/her adult body weight. That means each of us leave behind over 100,000 pounds of garbage. That’s a scary number, and a disgusting legacy. Read More...

I watched this slideshow, produced by The Washington Times and I did not see women in Pakistan. I saw women. Women who are being found guilty of nothing more than being women. And I cried. Read More...

I’ve often thought I wanted to put time in a bottle – I’ve wanted to stash away precious moments with my children, knowing my boys will take off on their own all too soon. I, like most parents, want nothing more than to be with my children and watch them grow. Read More...

Tags: My first

My vegetable garden is growing! {now watch the crazy lady dance wildly with joy!} It’s a new “first” in my life. I have actually dug and planted a garden AND I haven’t killed anything! No blossoms, yet – so I have yet to figure out the intricacies of zucchini sex. Read More...

Last Sunday, IndyCar held its most popular annual US event, the Indianapolis 500. The 92nd running of the event, actually. That got me thinking about risk, and wondering whether risk-taking behavior is culturally determined. Read More...

Every weekend in Recoleta, Buenos Aires there is a huge sell and do anything and everything-circus-festival-tango dancing-hair braiding-musician performing-show, observed by locals relaxing on grassy knolls, while sharing a round of mate. Read More...

Author Elizabeth Gilbert described divorce as going through a car wreck every day for two years. That’s one of the best descriptions I have heard, because it contains all the elements of fear, adrenaline, exhaustion, surprise, hurt, anger, distress, disbelief, and a thousand other things you feel when it is happening. Read More...

Giving birth is a life changing experience. I could comfortably posit that it does, indeed, make you a better person. Motherhood allowed me to grow as a person in a way that no other experience could. It gave me the chance to care about someone more than myself, in a healthy way. Read More...

Everything I do, I have learned from my mother. Whether it is the way I create a first draft of a note, or the way I respond to my partner, or to my children, it is my learned belief in the power of the positive that allows me the life I live. Read More...

Ah! There’s nothing like those first seventy plus degree days after a windy, chilly winter! It’s time to rip off the bulky sweaters, put away the fleece lined shoes, pack up the quilts – and go shopping! Eagerly we speed-walk through the crowded store until we spy our destination – summer clothes! Read More...

This all plays like a bad country western song. As a fan of Miley Cyrus I have been rooting for the young Tennessean. My prayers to the Goddesses have issued forth offering hope that her father, Billy Ray Cyrus -- with lots of Hollywood, Nashville and music experience under his big belt buckle -- would guide her. Protect her. Read More...

Earth Day began 38 years ago, as a series of grassroot “teach-ins” about conservation and pollution. It’s a time to re-dedicate ourselves to honoring, protecting and preserving the earth that nourishes us. It’s also my birthday (I’m a wee bit older than Earth Day) and I always enjoy sharing my special day with Mother Earth! Read More...

I find the whole psychology of tattoos fascinating. (Read, “Until I Find You,” by John Irving, not only because I adore everything by John Irving, but also because it’s an interesting look at tattoo artists and people who get tattoos and the ultimate tattoo-ees, those with full-body tattoos). Read More...

What do a newly divorced artist with a rare genetic disease, an elderly woman who plans to live in a berm house in Florida after her home of 40 years is plowed down and a woman with big game trophies in her basement have in common? Read More...

All my life I have had three defined fears – small spaces, tunnels and brides. There is an odd feeling that comes over me when I begin to drive over a long expense, into a tunnel, onto an elevator or I need to reach a great height. Read More...

You know you’ve adapted to life in the country when you step off of your back porch and onto a small snake – and your heart continues to beat! In fact, after the initial gasp of surprise, you turn it into a learning experience and call the kids out to see – then carry the snake out to the field, in the hopes that the rye grass will protect the poor baby from predators! Read More...

Ah, spring! There’s nothing like taking that first cup of coffee outside into the dewy morn and reveling in the spirited songs of the birds, the low hoot of an owl, and the brightness of daffodils and tulips to make you long for….chickens! Read More...

One of my absolute favorite things to do is read. I'll read almost anything, although I tend to prefer fiction, don't generally like science fiction (love Robert Heinlein, though), and never read romance. I read like a starving person eats, my eyes flying over the pages, devouring the words, tone, characters, and story. I love books. I love words. I love stories. Read More...

According to the calendar – it’s Spring! Unfortunately, I’m still hiding under three layers of clothes, sipping hot tea and fervently hoping the woodpile holds out. I am SO ready for Spring! Balmy days, birds, blossoms and breezes! Read More...

It’s not the destination; it’s the journey, right? While traveling in Argentina we decided to rent a car for a few days. Our destination was Mendoza, which was about a 6-hour drive from Cordoba, which was where we were departing from. Read More...

I am old. At least by Internet standards. Well, I did get my AARP card the other day, but that is another stream of consciousness to share with you at another time. Read More...

Something that has been on my mind for a very long time is the question of why it is that despite tremendous strides in women's rights and opportunities, women often continue to have lower self esteem than men, continue to tend to pursue lower-paying jobs involving less risk, feel anxiety about appearance, back off from conflict and extreme competition, and worry ourselves to death over not doing things as well as we should. Read More...

Donna Reed, Carol Brady, June Cleaver and my mother had something in common – immaculate homes. And then there’s me. Read More...

It’s hard work, being a womyn today. We have so much to juggle, to plan for, to achieve. Read More...

Our annual pilgrimage to Toy Fair in New York City is now done. We came home a full day early brimming with knowledge of the new toys, the new waves, the new ideas coming down the proverbial pike that are guaranteed to keep our youngsters educated, entertained and enthusiastic. Read More...

A few years ago as my daughter went screaming into the adolescent years, with it’s dramas and tears, I adopted the mantra ”everyday is a new day”. It has proved invaluable as a sanity saver and a reality grounding meditation. Read More...

I believe the Universe tests us….for strength of belief, determination, resourcefulness and patience. It’s the Universe’s way to determine if we really mean what we say – if we are actually growing into the person we’re supposed to be – or if it’s all lip service.
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Fidel Castro announced on Tuesday he was stepping down as President of the Council of State and commander-in-chief after 49 years as the leader of Cuba.
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Valentine’s Day and I have a strange history. I was single – and alone – for a long, long. LONG time. Think eons. During this time – I detested Valentine’s Day. The lines of goofy-looking males lined up to purchase a cheesy pink bear and a single rose at the 7-11 always had me rolling my eyes in caustic humor. Deeper was the feeling that these womyn had something I didn’t, that they inspired such – devotion – from their mates.
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It is – as the song goes – the bleak mid-winter. There’s no green, no new life, no rainbows. There’s cold, there’s wind…..and there’s the thousand and one things to do every day so that our lives function. How easy it is to get caught up in the perpetual to-do list, and never stop and reflect on the actual moments that make up our lives.
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I took a deep breath as I weighed in and they wrote very boldly on my hand, my weight for all to see. I signed a waiver, acknowledging that what I was doing could be dangerous, I had no medical conditions and that I was sane, and was sent out to wait my turn. Read More...

In my next life – I want to be a better juggler. Seriously – I suck. There are SO many things I want and need to do each day – I end up getting that “deer in the headlights” look and freeze with indecision. I bowled the same way – whenever I got a split my bowling ball ended up going right down the middle – I just couldn’t choose which pin to go after, I wanted them both! (which may be why I gave up bowling about 20 years ago). Read More...

Despite the facts that my degree is in political science, I worked for the Federal government for many years, and I believe vehemently in the obligation as well as the right of every American to educate themselves and vote according to what they believe, I have to admit I don't follow the primaries as closely as I could.  I think it's a case of information overload.  Read More...

I have always been drawn to the company of creative, independent womyn. But I have always had difficulty getting to know – and getting known – by these womyn. I don’t make friends easily – it takes quite a long time for me to get beyond the superficial. Let’s face it – I suck at small talk. I have always been the wall flower at group events. Read More...

Some days I think my life is an utter disaster, bills and laundry piling up, correspondences unanswered, the dishwasher needing to be unloaded, again, inspections, insurance, reviews, and for heavens sake who could bear to look at those horrible fingernails? I find modern urban/suburban life just so overwhelming at times. I think anyone who’s house is immaculate, children are polite well behaved overachievers and who can sip martinis, politely knowing they haven’t overdrawn their bank account, again, must be freaks of nature, genetically superior in some way. Read More...

The last Christmas light has been taken down. Karl, the Christmas tree, is out by the curb waiting to become mulch. There is not even the hint of a sugar cookie within 50’ of the house.

Life returns to normal. But not really. Our normal has changed. This has been my 49th holiday season and one that I am very, very glad to see end. Read More...

I am a creative, artistic womyn. I design amazing quilts, orchestrate awesome paint schemes, and develop riveting fictional plots. I am constantly creating. Read More...

Before I start, let me say two things:

I don’t know Jamie Lynn Spears or the Spears family, so all my thoughts are just that…thoughts and conjecture.
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There’s something magical about rainbows. They are elusive, intangible, and infinitely beautiful. One would expect to find such mystical creations only in paradise – the finishing touch of perfection. But rainbows weren’t intended for perfect days. Read More...

A friend of mine commented that she found my blog a little, uh, distasteful, even a bit morbid. I would like to state for the record that I am not obsessed with deceased parrots or other dead things, just infinitely curious. When the universe presents us with an opportunity, we should feel at liberty to take advantage of it (though this is not especially good advice to offer kids - especially adolescents - without some sort of caveat). Read More...