ABOUT ME
I recently made some decisions about what I’d like to accomplish in the second half of my life. (I’m planning to live to 130, if you’re doing the math.) On that list are some straightforward things—like learning to play the piano and entering a pie in a county fair (emphasis on entering). Also on the list is the wide-ranging goal of feeding the positive in the world by teaching and inspiring people to take good care of things.
Whether you want to keep your new air plants alive or prevent your car from rusting before you make the final payment on it, whether you’re wondering how to best store a treasured quilt from your nana or how to keep your sewing machine purring nicely for years, you’ll find useful, specific, how-to information on this blog.
And because I think about taking good care of things (and people) often, and because I’m a sucker for a good inspirational read, I’ll also share some of my musings and discoveries now and then, in hopes of providing encouragement.
On a personal note (everyone reading an “About Me” is looking for personal tidbits, right?), I love life. Now that statement might lead you to believe that pie I mentioned is in the sky. And there are plenty of things that continually delight me—like making a space more beautiful or coming upon an unexpected blossom or a moving passage in a novel, or even a bringing an old object (such as an old fashioned juicer) back into shining service.
But I’m also ridiculously practical. I love to help people. I love to problem-solve and to research. I’ve been a successful freelance writer for over 35 years—writing primarily about parenting, food, lifestyle topics, health, and cooperatives. I started working from home so I could snuggle our four babies between paragraphs, and now, well, I still love my work and am still a homebody. This is my first blog, and I hope to grow a big community of like-minded, caring folks.
Born and raised in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, I’ve now lived in the Midwest for over 40 years. Until recently, my hubby Alan and I lived in a lovely town of 650, where we raised our four kids in the middle of Iowa cornfields. Not long ago, we moved from that rambling Victorian built in 1890 (and always needing plenty of TLC!) to a modest home in Des Moines that we also love tending to.
A look around our home will tell you that my favorite things are both functional and beautiful (often in a wabi sabi way). You’ll find the first quilt I made in my twenties on a guest bed and a hand chopper that I’ve had since that same era in my kitchen.
I don’t have an aversion to new things, though. I recently invested in two new light-weight garden hoses, and I’m eager to find out how to make them last! And a stroll through our yard will divulge that I’m not all practicality—99 percent of what I grow is flowers. If it’s family dinner night, you’re likely to find one or more of our seven gorgeous grandkids out there, too.
Please tell me about yourself! Let me know what you’d like to learn to take good care of and what inspires you to take good care. Please join our community, and come back often!