The Virtual Vacation

Good Morning, Bali!

Thanks to Ativan I slept through my first night in Bali and woke up at 5 this morning, which is pretty close to when I awaken in California. I did my business in the outdoor bathroom, checked around for geckos (nope, haven’t seen any yet), threw on some new light-weight harem pants, a green linen

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Well, I Tried

I really, really, really tried to pack light for my departure to Bali tomorrow. I mean, I have all kinds of excuses. I’m the teacher—I bring special things for my students—beautiful hand-sized notebooks as gifts—so in this case with two groups in a row, that’s 32 little notebooks, giant name tags I hand-wrote on file

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I’m Already Packing for Bali!

When we were discussing travel recently, my writing teacher Carolyn Brigit Flynn said, “Your soul begins the journey weeks before you physically go.” I’m leaving for Bali in less than a week and I’m definitely feeling it! It will be six years since I’ve set foot on Bali. Six years since I heard the tinkling

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Deep Dive into Writing

I’m sitting in our retreat room in Seminar House at Mount Madonna. It is dusk and the sound of wild turkeys is rising over the deck through the open sliding glass doors on the back wall of our meeting room. The sound of crickets fills the air and as the sun sets, a pink glow

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A Living Altar

One of the things I love most that Evelyn brings to our writing through grief retreat is the living altar she creates and tends. Each day it changes; every day it evolves. People are invited to add things they find in nature and to place an item on the altar that represents a loss they’re

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School Bells Are Ringing

I am finally starting to get over my jetlag (which gets harder as I get older) and my post-Covid symptoms are subsiding. I am feeling more grounded and stronger day by day. Less than an hour from now, I will be welcoming new students to my Wednesday morning writing practice class for an orientation. And

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Home Sweet Home

I always feel so blessed to come home from a long trip to see my front door, Karyn’s garden, the house clean and welcoming, usually something warm cooked in honor of my homecoming, and all the familiar artwork and cozy places in our house. I feel blessed to have a home and a wonderful spouse

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I’m in Portuguese Spa Heaven

I have always been a huge fan of hot water: saunas, hot tubs, sweat lodges, steam rooms, steaming bathtubs filled with bath oil, scented Epsom salts or both. Relaxing in a hot bath at night is my top tier coping mechanism for just about every stress life has to offer. Twenty-three years ago, we had

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I Spent a Long, Dreamy Day Resting in a Tiny Village in Portugal and Here’s What I’m Thinking About

When Brenda Porter and I were talking the other day about running another Creative Camino trip next year, I was clear about my position—it was a definite yes! I wanted to do it again. But I hadn’t been the person who had organized all the logistics, who had sent those hundreds of emails to hoteliers

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