Look at these chickens! This lovely 1916 Gustav Klimt painting, Garden Path with Chickens, always makes me smile. Klimt is famous for many works, including The Kiss, which I had in my living room in my late twenties. Klimt obviously loved women due to how generously and soulfully he painted them. However, I think he […]

“My idea of a great day is to work on a project, have something good to eat, and maybe do a little thrift shopping too,” said my aunt who was the queen of creativity. She loved to try new recipes, create with her hands, and find the beauty within the ordinary. She taught me the […]

Do you feel you must wait for inspiration to strike before you can write? It’s time to let that go. When you allow yourself to just write for the pleasure of it and not weigh yourself down with lofty expectations? Writing becomes a hell of a lot more fun. And the best way to start? […]

Let me know if this has ever happened to you. You have a writing idea simmering in your mind.  Perhaps you overheard something interesting at the grocery store. (Yes – all writers eavesdrop! I’m shameless.)  Or maybe you had an unexpected and thoughtful conversation with a stranger and you just can’t stop thinking about it. […]

Years ago, a friend of mine found this print of The Skating Minister in a thrift store. I was green with envy. I almost challenged her to a snowball fight for it. However, common sense prevailed and I secretly grumbled to myself. All is fair in love, war and thrifting. So why do I love […]

What you’re looking at is where I’d be living if I had a dollar for every person who said this phrase to me: “I don’t know what to write about.” Maybe you can relate. You have probably always had the desire to write and maybe you’ve dabbled in writing over the years. But more often […]

We’ve been immersed in wickedly hot weather the past three weeks. Fry an egg on the pavement kind of heat. Some people love these long, steaming hot days. Not me. I enjoy the beauty of summer, but you can bring on Fall, thank you very much. I’m a woman with a big head of curly […]

It has been blistering hot this past month. (Yes – even in Canada!) A few weeks ago, my husband and I were going to be out of town, so I asked my garden-loving parents to water my garden. This wasn’t a small request. They had to drive 30-minutes each way. But they quickly said YES […]

Today I want you to write in the wild. My childhood was spent in a peapod hamlet on the prairies. I was the kid with her nose in a book – maybe you can relate. The summers were long and my mom wouldn’t listen to me complain about being bored. “Go outside and get some […]

Writing can be a real bugger. Sometimes you have no idea what you’d like to write about. You want your writing to be profound and meaningful but your brain only comes up with the sound of crickets. This is a writing prompt about a time you needed to loosen up. You?? Yes. You. I’m a […]