Did you know that more flowers are sold on Valentine’s Day than any other U.S. holiday? When it comes to buying and keeping cut flowers fresh there are a couple of tricks
Last week’s assault on our nation’s Capitol by an angry mob left me feeling shocked, ashamed, and sad. For a time I, like many people, was glued to their TV sets, radios, or devices. But before long
At the beginning of 2020, gardening was well, gardening. But these days, it’s been embraced as part of the “new normal”. I’d go so far as to say that gardening has actually become a new mandate for
I’m teaching myself how to play a 26-string harp. It’s a challenge and it’s not always pretty: My fingers aren’t as young and nimble as they used to be and I’m learning how to read music at the same time. But as the 2020 Christmas season grew near, I asked myself, what song would have
For today’s column, I dipped into my archives, mostly out of curiosity to see what I was writing about back in 2000. “Holidays are a time of joy,” I wrote, “but they can are also a time of stress.” Well, duh.
A certain man had a fine horse that was his pride and his wealth. One morning he got up early to go out to the stable and he found it empty. The horse had been stolen! He stayed awake many nights after that,
I spend many hours at my home computer, writing articles, and processing images. I’m not fussy about dress codes (I draw the line at bathrobes and bunny slippers) but I am fussy about
The sun was shining but the damp breeze felt like ice cubes rubbing my cheeks. A typical spring morning in coastal Alaska. But this morning would not be typical. A surprise was waiting…
There’s a silver lining in every crisis, from the economic meltdown of 2009, to cancer, to the COVID-19 issue. Tough times are reminders that we live within circles—family, nation, world. So, what’s our relationship with
Sometimes you have to cover many miles to discover relief during troubled times. For me, I traveled from Alaska to Antarctica, camera gear in tow. Little did I know, I’d be forced to focus on more than cute penguins…
It became my job to make the gravy the year my husband and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner. Easy-peasy. I’d made enough gravy to fill a hundred gravy boats. Little did I know, my gravy adventure would—oops,
Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” What is your attitude—right now, at this moment—toward your spouse? Your kids? Your
What are miracles? Coincidences? Lucky accidents reserved for saints? If you’ve ever wondered if magic is real, these stories will confirm that modern-day miracles do happen. And that you
On Kodiak Island, you’ll find a special beach at the end of a forest trail. We call it Glass Beach. Tides deliver colorful shards of sea glass, twisted copper bits, even World War II dog tags. One time, Glass Beach delivered not glass, but an answer to
Is Mother Nature a lovely goddess draped in green? Or an old hag that stirs up violent tornadoes? If you dare, I’m going to share one of life’s
When you look at Little Planet photos, you can’t help but smile. And they are easy to make, whether you have a smartphone or
If trends continue, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.* A sobering thought. But 10-year old Lilly Platt is attacking the world’s plastic problem. She began by launching Lilly’s Plastic Pickup to educate the rest of us. No small task. And to think