As I write this I’ve just returned from dinner at my mom’s. It was Easter Sunday as celebrated by Orthodox Ukrainians. My day began very early. I was up at 5:30 to get to church by 6:30 for the culmination of the Easter services and the annual blessing of the baskets. It has been a… Read more »
One of the benefits of coordinating Babas and Borshch Ukrainian Festival the last couple years has been the personal satisfaction of facing a challenge head-on and succeeding. Regular Voice readers may remember that in January 2013 I pitched the idea of a brand new festival and 227 days later saw it come to fruition. It… Read more »
On the last page of every issue of O magazine, Oprah has a column entitled ‘What I Know for Sure.’ In those few words she summarizes the life lesson that supports the theme of that issue. Some recent topics included: 1. “The only thing you shouldn’t miss is what matters to you.” 2. “What daring,… Read more »
For a while now I’ve been making a list of the books I read in a calendar year. It’s nothing as fancy or official as entries in a book journal but it’s better than nothing. I list the month, book title, and author. Period. If I could locate the lists I’ve made in previous years… Read more »
While on our recent cruise I was pleased that each morning the ship provided three distinct four-page leaflets bringing news from Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. In fact That’s how I first learned that John Baird was retiring from federal politics and that a man from Lamont, Alberta had won fifty million dollars… Read more »
During our recent cruise there was no shortage of programming to keep passengers engaged, active, entertained, or learning. One of the things we attended was the much-lauded presentation by the ship’s shopping ambassador. Indeed, such a person and position exists. Here was our thought process. We were going to be spending at most a few… Read more »
“Just keep breathing.” No one should have to say that to themselves, or anyone else, about the most basic, most life-giving parasympathetic function in our bodies. Often we just need reminding. Breathing is the basis of a yoga practice. And It’s only when we try to synchronize our breathing with a particular slow mindful motion… Read more »
If we’re really lucky we get a great launch into life by growing up in a loving family. Prior to that, we hope we scored in the gene pool game and inherited some strong healthy DNA. Between those nature-nurture influences hopefully we grow into self-actualized, well adjusted, happy, contributing members of society. And of course,… Read more »
Some days when a poor columnist’s brain seems shriveled and bereft of a fresh new idea (or a new take on an old idea) she is forced to create one of those compilation or list type pieces. Having a theme is preferable of course but sometimes a selection of interconnected bits that could be skillfully… Read more »
We’ve been hearing about how much people enjoyed their cruise ship vacations. The destination or specific cruise line chosen didn’t seem to really matter. “You should try it, you’ll love it. Oh, yeah, we go every year.” Remember mom asking, “If all your friends were jumping off a bridge would you jump too?” Apparently the… Read more »