2024-05-10 01:37
This week I’ve been contemplating how to balance other activities with my training plan for rowing, which my husband and I do together. It includes strenuous exercises crafted (more o… Read More
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Stories and Musings on Modern Life
2024-05-09 03:23
The river was full of cottonwood fluff when my husband and I went rowing this afternoon. We had an easy day on our training schedule, so we were just paddling along and enjoying the peacefu… Read More
2024-05-03 03:58
I recently saw a word-art image that left me smiling after I looked at it, and it made me happy enough that I decided to share it—in hopes of making readers happy too. Enjoy!
Nurturi… Read More
2024-05-03 03:55
Over the weekend, I spent a few minutes just lying down in the grass under a tree, looking up through the bright green leaves and watching the clouds go by.
That wouldn’t have been par… Read More
2024-04-26 03:49
I had a rather long day. Work, hair appointment, race-practice exercises on the rowing machine, more work, then some easy rowing outdoors to unwind. This wasn’t anything out of the o… Read More
2024-04-19 02:04
There isn’t much left of the gravel path between my rowing club’s boathouse and the dock. It got neglected during the pandemic, as many things did; and by now, the grass has gro… Read More
2024-04-18 01:41
This is the 11th story in a series. Click here to read all parts from the beginning.
I stomped through the slush on my way back toward Ira’s cabin, mentally rehearsing how I would dem… Read More
2024-04-12 02:14
Eclipse day was beautifully clear here in western Ohio. My husband and I went down to the river to watch from our boat. We brought extra shirts so we wouldn’t be chilly, but Monday w… Read More
2024-04-04 15:30
I’ve had more than usual going on this week and have felt somewhat distracted, like I am ping-ponging between too many activities without enough time to rest and reflect. When that ha… Read More
2024-04-02 02:04
As a trustee for a nonprofit organization, this past week I worked with the other board members interviewing candidates via Zoom to replace the departing executive director. It wasn’t… Read More
2024-03-29 03:46
Although I knew that my old plates and bowls needed replacing, I hadn’t yet gotten around to doing it, mainly because of having fond memories of family dinners. The plates were gettin… Read More
2024-03-28 18:59
All parts of this story are consolidated on one page here.
Ina stepped on another jagged fallen branch, tearing what little remained of her stockings farther into shreds.
She had lost her sh… Read More
2024-03-22 01:28
Several chilly, windy days this week left me feeling impatient for warm spring afternoons in the sun. Tomorrow’s forecast does indeed call for warmer temperatures, but rain will be mo… Read More
2024-03-19 00:54
This is the tenth story in a series. Click here to read all parts from the beginning.
Dragons wheeled and dove in a clear sky, their mouths open as if screaming in anger, but producing neit… Read More
2024-03-14 15:59
Today felt a bit hectic. A required meeting turned up on my work calendar for this afternoon, conflicting with an appointment I then had to call and change, and I had to go out and get groc… Read More
2024-03-08 04:59
In today’s world, most people are not sailors, and metaphors about anchors tend to be negative. Anchors are things that weigh us down, burden us, and keep us stuck in bad circumstance… Read More
2024-03-08 02:28
When I last did my favorite “four directions” meditation, in which I visualize myself turning to each of the directions and asking it what advice it might have for me, the messag… Read More
2024-03-01 04:27
I didn’t have much energy on Tuesday after the regatta on Sunday and the long trip home from Sarasota, but I got on the rowing machine for 25 minutes anyway, going slow and steady. Al… Read More
2024-02-29 01:34
My spring break vacation last week, which ended with a rowing regatta on Sunday, was a lot of fun. My husband towed the club’s boat trailer with his SUV, as he often does, and we also… Read More
2024-02-22 13:00
I’ve been enjoying time in the fresh air and sunshine this week, letting winter’s indoor routine fall away. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say that being in the house dur… Read More
2024-02-16 02:22
I’m packing tonight for a spring break vacation. A road trip to the South is always fun, and this time of year I enjoy seeing the trees along the roadside change from bare, leafless n… Read More
2024-02-14 02:25
Coming out of the pandemic, I set my ringtone to “Way Less Sad” because that song suited my mood at the time. I still had some anxiety from all the disruptions, and I couldn&rsq&hell…Read More
2024-02-09 04:47
Having been married for almost all of my adult life, I sometimes wonder (as I would guess many people do) what might have become of us if we’d never met each other. I can’t imag… Read More
2024-02-09 02:30
This is the ninth story in a series. Click here to read all parts from the beginning.
While Ira washed the dishes, I took off my shoes and folded my dragon-protective suit into a neat recta… Read More
2024-02-02 04:59
I never did get around to taking down the Christmas tree in January. Whenever I thought about doing it, we had another dark morning that made me feel sunlight and spring were very far away… Read More
2024-01-26 02:20
Last week, I scheduled my time off for a February spring break trip to Sarasota, Florida. My husband and I enjoyed taking a winter road trip to Sarasota the past two years, and by now it fe… Read More
2024-01-26 00:53
I like my new Garmin tracker, which allows me to customize activities much more than my old Fitbit did. In addition to pre-set activities such as walking and running, it has a menu with oth… Read More
2024-01-19 03:01
Sometimes it can be hard to stay confident in a world that seems full of challenges. I just did a rowing machine workout this evening with 25 fast intervals and not much rest. Even though… Read More
2024-01-14 02:14
This is the eighth story in a series. Click here to read all parts from the beginning.
I hadn’t been walking much more than ten minutes before I saw a cabin through the trees, but by… Read More
2024-01-11 20:34
The wind has been howling outside my house this afternoon, and colder temperatures are forecast to arrive over the weekend. As adults, we tend to grumble about winter weather because, for m… Read More
2024-01-05 04:27
Last night my husband and I went to our rowing club’s white elephant gift exchange party at a pub. As usual, there were funny gag gifts, including a calendar of “Sexy Men Doing… Read More
2024-01-01 22:21
Considering the outcome of my previous New Year’s resolution on a dark, misty afternoon, I judged that it hadn’t amounted to much. Although I had resolved to feel unburdened by… Read More
2023-12-29 04:38
While I’ve been on vacation this week, with no concerns about getting tasks finished on a schedule, I have found myself wondering why I felt so constrained in the first place. After a… Read More
2023-12-29 01:26
I’ve been trying to make sense of a dream I had last night, in which my family lived in a comfortable townhouse in a large apartment complex. We had bought a wooded lot in the country… Read More
2023-12-22 02:57
This morning, while I was sitting at my desk, a bird chirped outside the window of my home office. Maybe it had hopes of an early spring, as this has been a rather warm December. But, alth… Read More
2023-12-15 04:41
My husband was busy with his work today, and he ate dinner at his desk in the home office. I sat in the dining room across from his empty chair. It felt quiet and still, except when his vo… Read More
2023-12-12 02:22
Last night I went to bed wondering what I might do to be happier. It’s not that I was unhappy about anything in particular, but staying cheerful when winter’s short, dark days a… Read More
2023-12-08 04:09
I recently slipped on acorns while walking on a hilly area under some tall oaks. That was, of course, a natural consequence of taking that particular path, but I still felt annoyed while st… Read More
2023-12-07 18:49
Now that people are living longer, “would you want to live to 100?” is a question more often asked. Some answer it by saying, “yes, but only if I am healthy and don’… Read More
2023-12-01 04:29
By early afternoon, I was feeling somewhat distracted after a few minor annoyances, such as my headphones weirding out when I joined a Zoom meeting. After it was over, I went to get gas and… Read More
2023-11-28 17:55
Perhaps because I’ve been reading historical novels, I dreamed that I was a young medieval princess. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a good thing to be. Some rebel faction had kille… Read More
2023-11-26 01:51
All parts of this story are consolidated on one page here.
The lake wasn’t very deep where Mabel had fallen from the tree. Ina could stand up easily; the water didn’t quite reac… Read More
2023-11-23 20:55
I got up early this morning before the sun had come up, getting ready to head out to the Turkey Trot with my husband and our grown children. We’ve done this road race together for the… Read More
2023-11-21 02:15
I woke up this morning with a dream in my head that wasn’t entirely clear, but its theme definitely was mindless repetition. I had been banging my hands against something hard—m… Read More
2023-11-17 02:37
Today was a gloriously warm and sunny autumn day, so perfect that I took the afternoon off from work. It probably was the last one of the year; rain will be moving in tomorrow, with falling… Read More
2023-11-17 00:23
This is the seventh story in a series. Click here to read all parts from the beginning.
As the lantern came closer through the forest, I couldn’t quite make out who—or what&mdas&hell…Read More
2023-11-09 13:00
Once again, I’m scheduling my Thursday post in advance because of travel plans for another long weekend. I’m heading south this time, visiting my mom, who lives in Spartanburg… Read More
2023-11-02 18:33
Although it is chilly here today, the bright sunshine coming through my windows leaves me feeling cheerful anyway, and I don’t mind that the calendar shows it’s getting close to… Read More
2023-10-30 01:37
I dreamed last night that I was walking through a muddy and cluttered construction zone, full of heavy earth-moving machinery, while holding a baby.
(Photo credit: Clyde Robinson)
The baby… Read More
2023-10-27 00:29
During our recent travels, my husband and I both caught a head cold and have been feeling droopy this week. Although we haven’t had much energy, we are otherwise doing okay, cheering… Read More
2023-10-27 00:22
Last weekend’s trip to Boston was amazing! The Head of the Charles regatta, which has a 60-year history and many thousands of athletes, is MUCH bigger and more competitive than anywhe… Read More
2023-10-19 11:00
I’m scheduling this post in advance because of more traveling, to Boston this week—it will be my first time competing in the famous Head of the Charles regatta. It’s an exc… Read More
2023-10-17 14:25
I thought about calling this post “Embracing my Inner Couch Potato,” but then I decided that didn’t work because there was nothing “inner” about the way my rear… Read More
2023-10-12 12:00
I haven’t spent much time online recently because the fall rowing season is underway, but that is all right. Traveling to regattas with my teammates is fun, although it keeps me busy… Read More
2023-10-06 01:28
I did an indoor rowing exercise this afternoon, consisting of four intervals of 5 minutes each. It was part of a weekly plan that my husband and I get from our online coaches. Last year, I… Read More
2023-09-29 03:44
Many years ago, I lived in a neighborhood where an outdoor cat had a habit of walking in mud puddles and then jumping up on parked cars, leaving a line of muddy paw prints across the car. M… Read More
2023-09-29 03:28
Almost four years ago, I wrote about a dream in which my subconscious mind repeatedly gave me a very insistent message: “Avoid assumptions, leave space for improvement.”
Not long… Read More
2023-09-22 03:59
I had meant to post my weekly Thursday entry earlier, but once again, the day got away from me. One of these days I’ll get my life in better order. Of course, like anything else, it… Read More
2023-09-15 02:06
When I sat down to compose my Nurturing Thursday entry, I got distracted and spent some time browsing through old stories and posts I wrote many years ago. I had meant to say something abou… Read More
2023-09-14 01:27
What does it mean when you suddenly disappear in a dream?
I recently dreamed that I walked into a quiet, ordinary living room and was looking around. The room had white walls and white furn… Read More
2023-09-08 02:27
This week I’ve been having an email conversation with a friend about the common belief that when we are not feeling energetic, it is because we are getting older. Although I have felt… Read More
2023-09-06 17:13
All parts of this story are consolidated on one page here.
“Witch!”
Ina had tensed to run before she consciously knew it. The voice had come from somewhere on her right, high an… Read More
2023-09-01 03:59
Too much work and not enough play have been making me dull this summer, or at least it feels that way. My mind needs to wander aimlessly and refresh itself. The long Labor Day weekend will… Read More
2023-08-25 01:25
I’ve just finished an online restorative yoga exercise with the title “Finding Stillness.” It was as mellow as that name suggests, mainly involving supported positions whe… Read More
2023-08-18 03:59
I had a random conversation with my husband earlier this week about running hot water over a glass jar to loosen the lid. I thought it was mainly because the metal lid expanded, but he said… Read More
2023-08-11 03:39
My husband got his car back today, after several days in the shop. The torque converter needed replacing, which shouldn’t have been too hard except that in today’s vehicles, eve… Read More
2023-08-10 03:04
After I wrote last Thursday’s post about being thankful for all the fun little conveniences we have nowadays, such as an online pizza delivery tracker, I thought about it a little more… Read More
2023-08-04 02:41
I just put in a Domino’s pizza delivery order online, and, as of the time I typed this sentence, the tracker page said it had been in the oven for 4 minutes. Of course, the pizza will… Read More
2023-08-04 00:21
I’ve had a library book checked out for more than a week—The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work, by Simone Stolzoff. I’m not yet halfway through it but am still on… Read More
2023-07-28 01:57
Yesterday afternoon my husband dropped his phone and broke the screen, which left me thinking about how disruptive it feels to be temporarily deprived of our modern gadgets. Even the tinies… Read More
2023-07-26 00:19
Following up on last Thursday’s post, I got a bit more pushing than I expected at the rowing regatta. Eagle Creek in Indianapolis looks peaceful and calm in this photo that I took whe… Read More
2023-07-20 12:00
I’m writing this post in advance and scheduling it for Thursday morning because of travel plans. With a high number of entries in this weekend’s championship regatta in Indianap… Read More
2023-07-14 03:57
Last weekend my rowing club traveled to the Chicago Sprints. It was my first time rowing at the Lincoln Park Lagoon, which is famous, or perhaps infamous, for sprint racing on a very narrow… Read More
2023-07-07 03:58
With all the random associations that the human mind makes, it sometimes takes a bit of effort to turn aside old, stale worries and push them out of the way. Even though they are just memor… Read More
2023-07-03 22:17
The online library supporting my digital art display was shut down last week. I knew that was bound to happen sometime; the manufacturer went out of business six years ago, and the company… Read More
2023-06-30 03:37
My job has been hectic recently because of a big push for AI development, as is happening at many companies this year. Many people in my workgroup have been assigned to testing. As a resul… Read More
2023-06-23 03:50
Purple bunny or blue penguin?
A package arrived at my door today with beginner crochet kits, which my daughter had ordered as gifts for a friend’s children. She also bought one for me… Read More
2023-06-23 01:46
Although the training plan that my husband and I got from our online rowing coach provides for a rest day every Sunday, we haven’t been taking it regularly. Sometimes we practice with… Read More
2023-06-15 12:00
My daughter, who is married and lives in Cleveland, came for a visit yesterday. She crammed all kinds of random food into the refrigerator, almost ran the icemaker out of ice, and used my m… Read More
2023-06-11 22:53
All parts of this story are consolidated on one page here.
Birdsong, the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle, and a cool breeze came through the spacious windows of the infirmary. The hazy morni… Read More
2023-06-09 03:59
Last weekend I traveled with my rowing club teammates to a Saturday regatta in Tennessee, the Dogwood Masters. My husband and I had been competing in it for several years, racing our single… Read More
2023-06-02 03:18
When I was growing up, I had a wooden bed with carved pineapples decorating the four posts. It used to be my mom’s bed when she was little. I read storybooks before going to sleep an… Read More
2023-06-02 03:12
…it doesn’t feel like a to-do.
This random bit of advice bubbled up from my subconscious mind early on Monday morning, after I went to bed feeling that the long weekend was almo… Read More
2023-05-26 03:17
When I went rowing with my husband yesterday, we had a good workout on our windy river, but this morning I felt a bit tired. I did a midday erg workout and was going too fast because I didn… Read More
2023-05-19 03:59
It’s often windy when I go rowing on the river with my husband, and sometimes it can be a challenge to get up to speed during the faster workouts. That’s all right, though&mdash&hell…Read More
2023-05-17 16:53
This is Part 24; click here to read Breaking the Ice from the beginning.
Like the soft clouds over the California mountains, reflecting fragments of sunlight, the moment seemed bright with p… Read More
2023-05-12 02:59
I’ve been feeling calmer and more settled this week. When memories of past difficulties randomly wander into my thoughts, I am taking a moment to ask myself, “Okay, how is this… Read More
2023-05-09 12:59
I woke up in the middle of the night, face down with my arms stretched out wide, in Superman position. I felt as if I had been flying. But unlike Superman, I did not have long-range vision… Read More
2023-05-05 02:40
For this week’s Nurturing Thursday entry, I decided to change things up by posting a word-art image that makes fun of motivational sayings, rather than quoting one. It’s a satir… Read More
2023-04-27 12:00
Before I started my workday on Wednesday morning, I noticed that my house was in need of vacuuming, and I also had some general thoughts rattling around in the back of my mind about how auto… Read More
2023-04-26 03:42
I saw a family of mallard ducks a few days ago, with a dozen little ducklings, a mom duck watching them—and two adult male ducks. That left me wondering what was going on there. As f… Read More
2023-04-21 03:48
I mentioned in a January post that I had applied for an open position with my current employer. Although I went through three rounds of interviews, ultimately one of the other finalist cand… Read More
2023-04-18 01:14
Several times in the past week I’ve had dreams in which I am walking along a hallway or up a staircase. Sometimes it is dark, but there is light ahead. I wake up with a clear spatial… Read More
2023-04-14 02:55
The weather has been warm and sunny all week, just right for getting out on the river to row with my husband after work. Today I had a low intensity cross-training option on my workout plan… Read More
2023-04-07 03:57
My daughter came home for a long weekend with her two dogs, and the house feels happy and full of life. The dogs looked all around to make sure that every human in the “pack” wa… Read More
2023-04-06 02:03
When I wrote last Thursday that I had been struggling not to feel burdened by self-imposed tasks, something didn’t seem quite right in that wording, but I went ahead and posted it anyw… Read More
2023-03-30 19:02
Although I’ve been struggling with my resolution this year of not feeling burdened by self-imposed tasks, I can’t complain. My life has become more interesting in recent years… Read More
2023-03-30 18:33
I had a demanding interval workout on the rowing machine Saturday afternoon. My results were much better than a similar exercise I did last year, and I was able to stay more consistent from… Read More
2023-03-24 00:31
Although the past few years certainly have been disruptive, I would say that navigating the unexpected changes hasn’t been all bad. Being forced to examine assumptions long taken for… Read More
2023-03-18 01:32
It’s already Friday evening, but that is okay. The time change probably has something to do with my being more easily distracted than usual. I totally forgot I hadn’t posted my… Read More
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