Running uphill towards pizza
Training for the Pioneer Pride 5K, painting tiny watercolors, dreaming up LitRPG chaos, and migrating ten years of blog posts. Anyway, onward.
Blogging as a Way of Thinking
Rereading old blog posts has reminded me that blogging has never just been “content” for me. It’s a way of thinking, noticing, and catching small birds of thought when they land.
February, and signs of motion
January turned out to be a month of listening instead of publishing. As February begins, I’m noticing signs of motion returning—outside, in the studio, and in my own attention.
The Future I Stopped Pretending Not to Want
I thought that, when I retired, stepping away from goals and schedules would bring peace. Instead, I discovered restlessness, distraction, and a loss of meaning. This week I reflect on how I found my way back in 2025—not to obligation, but to making, learning, and respecting my real nature.
The Illustrators Who Raised Me
These past weeks of gratitude led me back to the illustrators whose pages first opened worlds for me. This post is a small thank-you to the hands that helped form my creative life.
September at the threshold
September is a threshold month; still hot and humid, yet shadows stretch longer and the leaves begin to turn. I’ve been feeling its melancholy this year: mourning missed summers, grieving family losses, and noticing how time races on. Yet in that same melancholy, I’ve found fuel for reflection, writing, and creating.
Every Fall Begins Like a Story
September brings stories, mishaps, and new beginnings—lost zines, moody computers, and plans for a bard’s wagon at Zine Fest.
In Praise of the Story-seeker’s Gremlin
A playful ode to creative chaos, mysterious glitches, and the mischievous gremlin who shows up just when you think everything’s under control.
Making Waves
Making Waves explores life’s stages through six illustrated messages—pleas, regrets, and acceptance—drawing inspiration from Zen’s empty boat parable and the idea that we are the boats, always moving, always changing. The zine ends with a space for your own message, inviting you to join the journey and pass it along to someone else who might need it.
The myth of the perfect creative space
This week’s zine didn’t make the deadline, but real life did. While catching my breath, I found myself pondering the YouTube myth of the perfect studio—and why creativity thrives in messy, real-life corners instead.
When Coffee and Computers Conspire
Half‑caff mornings mean more time for journaling, art, and apparently talking to my laptop when it stages a dramatic shutdown. Between cold coffee runs to the microwave and a machine dreaming of retirement in Florida, it’s a wonder I get anything done. But hey, I call it a win. Sort of.
The secret power of mini-projects
Sometimes the secret to finishing creative work isn’t more time or more discipline — it’s thinking smaller. Here’s why mini projects have helped me finish more in two months than I did in the last two years.
Barking at monsters
Dogs bark at rabbits. I bark at Elementor. A funny look at creative chaos, Barkyard Security, and how overreaction might just be our default setting.
The Return of the Studio
Studio Second Street is back — and this time, it belongs. A story about creative integration, purpose, and how one milk glass chicken still holds magic.
Sometimes It’s Just a Good Week (and That’s Enough)
A quiet week of porch-sitting, birdsong, and unexpected studio satisfaction. Zines are blooming, pastels are cooperating, and the dust layer has been vanquished (with a dish rag from the 1980s, no less). Sometimes, it’s good to pause and celebrate the small, quiet victories.
Back from Break: Notes from the Sun, Salt, and Story Fog
After a long-awaited creative break, I’m rethinking how I use Substack and WordPress—and reflecting on how artists can adapt in the age of AI. Less polish, more play. More zines. More voice. A travel sketch and a quiet shift in direction.
The Only Way Out Is Through: Zen, Art, and Doing It Yourself
A personal reflection on how Zen philosophy influences my creative process. I explore beginner’s mind, letting go of perfection, and why doing your own work—your own way—is the only real path to growth in art, writing, and life.
The books that shaped how I see the world
Books shape us. If I could If I could sit down with all the younger versions of me, and give her the books that would change her life, all in one worn-out backpack, I would. Because the truth is, each one holds a piece of who I am. Today, I’m sending letters to my younger self with all the reasons why her book choices were good ones.
My adventure writing a sci-fi murder mystery
Turning spaceships and chocolate into a murder mystery has been a wild ride—but Aliki’s adventure is just getting started.
Navigating the future of illustration (and my own)
I fell off the illustration bandwagon this week while working on a novel. But I did manage some drawing practice, learning “Weight Drawing,” and had a realization while reading Heller’s The Education of an Illustrator about how AI is just another evolution in the industry, much like photography and digital tools were.
Overcoming little struggles and rediscovering how tech can be good
This week’s progress in my Illustration Quest came with some challenges, like tackling flash pose drawing and rethinking my routine.
The start of a new journey
When I retired, I thought I’d finally dive into art, but despite tutorials and new supplies, I felt stuck. I realized I needed guidance, not just inspiration. So, I’m creating a self-taught course to grow my skills. Follow along as I document my journey and share insights for fellow creatives!
SketchAwesome: a new sketchbook habit?
I’ve given up on an online business. But there’s one thing I’d like to do: make sketching a daily habit. SketchAwesome might help with that!
Walking Makes You More Creative
Did you know walking makes you more creative? It’s true! Adobe did a study (https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xlm-a0036577.pdf) with college students, putting them through a bunch of tests to see how walking influenced their creative thinking. Specifically, they looked at “novel” idea creation, meaning ideas that are unusual and/or new, and “unique” idea generation, meaning no one else […]
How Cancer Changed My Art, Part 2
Part Two This is the second half of the story of how cancer changed my art. It’s a somewhat long story, which is why I’ve broken it into two parts: Part One is about what I went through after my diagnoses while this part is about my renewed return to creativity. Prior to my cancer […]
How Cancer Changed My Art, part 1
Part One In June 2021, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. After abdominal surgery and a lengthy hospital stay (I’d also had an intussuscepted section of small intestine that had to be removed), I had four weeks of recovery time prior to starting chemotherapy. During that time, I could barely walk and needed a lot […]
My Zen Journey
The post that records the biggest change that I ever experienced.
Before the first oncology appointment
It’s been a week since the incision staples were removed and it still looks really bad. It keeps blistering and leaking yellow fluid. They did not place the port. Somebody dropped the ball with the insurance authorization, so I had to wait until that happened. Then it was a matter of the first available appointment […]
CanPlan Review
Today I had my first post-operative appointment, which was supposed to be for suture removal and port placement. It ended up being just the suture removal. I’m not sure why, but the office wasn’t prepared to put me under anesthesia to place the port. So I have to wait for them to call and reschedule […]
Thinking
While laid up in the hospital trauma center, there’s really not much a person can do. There’s TV, of course, or if you have a book you can read. Or if you have a tablet you can scan the internet; my hospital didn’t have great internet speed, so I doubt if I could’ve watched Netflix, […]
At Home (Cancer, Part 4)
I am finally home. The first night was tough. After my husband set up the shower chair, my first priority was to bathe and wash my hair. Even though I took sponge baths in the hospital, I could barely stand my stink. It would be wonderful if hospital toilets had bidets, but they don’t, and […]
Cancer, Part 3
Today’s post is about food. If you’ve ever gone a week without eating anything, maybe you can relate. Or if you’ve been in a hospital far longer than you wanted to be, you’ll be able to relate. I promise it’s the worst of the hospital stay. Things got better once I was able to go […]
Cancer, Part 2
On Friday I had a visit from a very nice doctor, a graduate student in the oncology center. He explained the technical aspects of my two types of tumors. THe first procedure was a segmental resection of the proximal jejunum and removal of a 4.5 cm lipoma. This was the intussception, the cause of most […]
Dealing with cancer, part 1
Hello friends! I’m sorry, I don’t have any artwork to share with you today. I haven’t had much opportunity to draw in the last couple of weeks. My life has turned completely upside down, and I need to process what is going on, so I thought I’d share this journey that I recently started. Let […]
How many ways can you knit a sock?
Does it ever seem odd that the month at the end of summer is often thought of as a time for new beginnings? September is here, and, for me, it’s always been back-to-school time, even though it’s been a long time since I’ve sat in a classroom. The time to begin a new grade year. […]
A Prayer for Cleaning the Bathroom
This is just a little something that came into my head while I was doing my weekly cleaning. I thought I’d share it along with a couple of recent practice watercolor pictures. It seemed appropriate to add a picture with some kind of water subject, hence the koi. But the coneflower seemed like something you’d […]
How to Find Your Lost “Why” in Art
Are you struggling with your art? It’s fun to draw and paint, no doubt about it. It’s nice when your artwork can also earn a few dollars. But what do you do when your creative work is no longer satisfying? Worse yet, what can you do when your creative time becomes a source of frustration? […]
Derwent Graphitint Experiment (My Search for the Perfect Colored Pencils)
Hello again! February is here already and the days are flying by faster than I can count. I have a hard time believing January is gone, but then I spent most of it traveling, and that always seems to pass quickly. I managed to get a good bit of writing done while I was gone, […]
Sculpting a Website: Reviewing 2019, Changes and Setting 2020 Goals
Developing your personal website is like sculpting something out of clay. Eventually, you get enough experience to form a shape, then you pinch it here and there to find a nice form. Finally, you can shave some little pieces off to see the details.
Lists. And the Flu.
I have a “To Do” list. It’s helpful when I have so many things to do that I can’t keep track of them all. This same feature is also the worst aspect of my To Do list, generally because the list makes it quite obvious that fulfilling my ambitions would require more time than is […]
If I Were President
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to write right…so to speak. Think Write Thursday. This week’s topic from Carole Knits is to write about 3 things I would do if I were President of the United States. Go read her blog. She makes good points. I support Carole for President! All joking aside, being President […]
Being Content
Isn’t it neat when you experience an “a-ha!” moment? Maybe it’s because we don’t have them very often. I can’t figure out what makes them unique…is it because (as Robert Wight puts it) we have fulfilled something we’re curious about, and by ending this state of ignorance we experience a subtle moment of bliss? What […]
Floppy Shoes
I’ve been a sometime-runner most of my life. It started in high school, when I discovered that running, unlike softball or basketball, was a sport I really could do. I’ve never had the skill for team sports, so when my friend suggested I run at the track with her, I almost didn’t do it. In […]
Eddies
“What the world needs now…” Sometimes I wonder if what the world needs now is spiritual unification. Not another reformation, not an attempt to purify an ideology “gone bad”. And something more than bringing in a prophet who promises something new and amazing. The type of unification I think about would do a deep dive […]
Planning the New Blog
Hello! Confession: I am not the kind of person who feels compelled to blog regularly. I like using the web site as a journal, and I’m eager to explore different ways to use the medium creatively, but I have no motivation to update it regularly. I’ve used the past couple of months to explore various […]
Personal Thoughts on Small Appliances
January is finally over. I think I can honestly say that January is my least favorite month. I don’t care for short, cold days, feeling trapped in the house because of the weather. When I lived in California, January rained. And rained. And then it rained some more. Here in Tennessee we got some snow, […]
2017 Year End Review
Things I Learned in 2017 ‘Tis the season for year end reviews, resolutions for the new year, and the top 10 lists for favorite whatevers. I think it’s necessary to have a time of the year dedicated to reviewing the recent past. How better is it to learn than from experience? So, for today’s post, […]
20 December Unraveled Wednesday
‘Twas the Wednesday before Christmas and all through the houseThe humans were stirring… CHRISTMAS COOKIE DOUGH! At least I hope it will be that way this time tomorrow. Since I am actually writing this blog a day in advance, I don’t know if the oven repair man will be here today or not. If he […]
Changes
Change. Life as we know it can’t exist without it. I suppose that’s why humans feel this innate need to control everything. To influence how things change. I’ve been thinking about this lately. ‘Tis the season when changes are hidden from us outside, but we all know that spring will be here soon enough and […]
To Be Human
A poem.
22 November Unraveled Wednesday
It’s the day before Thanksgiving but I’m already thinking of all the things I’m grateful for this year! Here are a few of them, in no particular order: I’m so thankful that life is so good! Knitting Progress This week’s knitting has been productive. I’ve put the Roan Highlands sweater on hold while I work […]
Childhood Ambitions
So here it is, the 20th of November already. Isn’t it funny how time seems to pass more quickly the older one gets? I missed blogging last week. That is, I didn’t write anything, mostly because I wanted to write something profound and impactive regarding current events and the unfortunate plight of our national state […]
Old Stone Mountain Highland Games
Guid gear comes in sma’ bulk… proved true this last weekend at the Stone Mountain Highland Games! It really wasn’t that small, but there was so much to do and we had such a great time that I can’t wait for the next one. It was the 45th gathering of the Clans at this beautiful […]
Back to Blogging!
So here I am again, after a long summer hiatus and lots of changes. In April we left California on our cross-country journey to find our retirement home. In May, we found a house we liked and in July it became ours. We moved in on August 2 and have mostly unpacked. We’re becoming familiar […]
Read Write Thursday: My Irish Heritage and St. Patrick’s Day
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not Catholic or Presbyterian, but I do have a wee bit of Irish in my blood, so I presume some of my ancestors celebrated the Feast of St. Patrick! By the way, do you know what the colors in the flag of Ireland symbolize? Green is for the revolutionaries; […]
Feb 15 Yarn Along: Epic Knits Scarf
Happy Wednesday!I’ve made some progress on the Epic Knits Heroes of Yarnia MKAL! I am very pleased with the Epic Knits pattern and the Yarnia quest. The purple colorway (Stroll Tonal from KnitPicks) is gorgeous. I don’t like the off-white/gray colorway, but it’s too late to change now! The picture makes it look better than […]
Retired!
My husband officially retired February 1. I’ve asked him twice since then how he is liking it. The response so far has been “it hasn’t sunk in”. I suppose that’s normal; we’ve had long vacations before and it probably just seems like another one. Still, we’ve been looking at travel trailers and thinking about what […]
1 Feb Yarn Along: Double Knitting
Happy February!I feel like I should be casting on something pink in honor of the new month. But not today.I finished the Mario star practice square over the weekend. It didn’t take very long once I got back into the rhythm. I’m not happy with the edges. But since this is going to be sewn […]
If My Mirror Could Talk
What would my mirror say if it could talk? That is the topic for this week’s Think Write Thursday. What would your mirror say? Would you want it to talk? In today’s world, it’s entirely possible someone could create and manufacture a talking mirror. The concept seems easy enough: insert a miniature camera or two, […]
A January Hike
After over a month of cold rain, the sun has finally decided to reappear in our neck of the woods. What better way to celebrate than with a January hike? It rained into the early morning, but the clouds were skedaddling by the time I got out of bed. I poured a cup of coffee […]
Jan 25 Yarn Along
It’s Yarn Along day! Can you believe it’s the last Wednesday in January? Did the month seem to pass faster this year? I am very happy to report that Shujin’s second sock is off the needles. In fact, both socks are blocked and were presented to him as a belated birthday present. And it didn’t […]
A Walk Through a Rainy Day Art Gallery
Happy Monday! How was your weekend?We continued to get a lot of cold rain and it left a good amount of standing water. Many places nearby are flooding, mostly in rural areas. Not here, fortunately, but there are some rather large puddles that make walking interesting. I don’t mean interesting as in “ah, I thought […]
Think Write Thursday, or More Cake Anyone?
Today’s topic for Think Write Thursday is: plan a dinner party, inviting 3 people, living or dead. I started thinking about this when I read Carole’s post this morning. Which, by the way, is absolutely wonderful and you should go click into her blog when you are done here and read it. Of course the […]
Jan 18 Yarn Along and Project List
Happy Wednesday! It’s Yarn Along day!Wednesdays always sneak up on me when Monday is a holiday. This week I’ll finish Shujin’s socks. The first sock left the needles the night before his birthday. I felt like I had to have at least one finished to show him and even thought of wrapping it up, but […]
Why Pen Pals are Better than News Media
This weekend was full of nasty weather here on the west coast. According to weather.com, it was apparently rough in many places across the U.S. That said, I’m not surprised to read lots of blogs this morning that talk about staying cozy indoors. Many of them have accompanying photos depicting everything from recently cleaned rooms […]
Think Write Thursday and the Month of Tao
Carole Julius at Carole Knits has a continuing topic called “Think Write Thursday”. I really like the play on words, the encouragement to set aside a day to write about thinking right. It’s so Zen, a way of getting you head around something more existential than the daily chores. And while I am hesitant to […]
Yarn Along Update
Hi Everyone!This is my second Yarn Along update post for Ginny Sheller’s Wednesday Yarn Along. I really was hoping to write about the new Mystery Knit Along that I joined on Ravelry that is also an RPG, but my mail-ordered yarn isn’t here yet so I’ve not had a chance to actually start knitting it… […]
2016 Year in Review
Although I’d rather be on the road right now, I thought it might make me feel better to look back at some of the places we visited this year. I’m looking forward to exploring many more in 2017! Enjoy the pics…Wishing you and your family a very happy New Year!
Yarn Along Knitting Update
A few weeks ago I found a wonderful blog called Small Things written by Ginny Sheller. I love her fresh, honest writing style. She is also a knitter and has a page dedicated to weekly updates of her projects. She encourages others to post their progress along with their current read. So I’ve been lurking […]
Merry Christmas
I hope you all had a wonderfully merry Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve eating lasagna and salad. We only have it once a year, which makes it rather special.For Christmas morning I fixed French toast made with my own homemade challah. A treat anytime, but especially good with the maple syrup we bought in Vermont […]
O Christmas Tree
Wow…It’s hard to believe there’s less than a week to go before Christmas. Did time fly faster than normal this year? I’ve always loved Christmas. It’s a time of the year spent reflecting on the past. As the days get shorter, I can’t help thinking I’ve lived such a relatively short time. But fifty years […]
The Big Day: Retirement
Today was The Big Day. Today we submitted the paperwork to the State confirming Shujin’s retirement. It’s now official! Okay, maybe it wasn’t as big as being born. Or graduation. Or getting married. Or (yikes!) getting divorced (not that I’ve ever experienced that particular Big Day)… Coincidentally, in two days we mark the 30th anniversary […]
Wandering Through Gray Lodge Wildlife Area
It was a gorgeous day in November when we decided to drive over to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area near Willows, California for a short hike. Gray Lodge is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game as a wildlife sanctuary for over 300 species of birds and mammals. The sky was mostly clear […]