Some artists spend their careers trying to recapture the sense of wonder and imagination they had as children.  I was reminded of that this summer while I sketeched and watched my friends kids create artwork from flotsam and jetsam on the beach.  Their sand drawings,  sand castles,  driftwood forts, glass and shell and mobiles, and [...]

One of the main reasons to take a vacation is to get some rest and recharge.  On vacation people tend to pack in more hours of sleep and exercise, as well as spend more time with family and friends–all of which are good for reducing high blood pressure.  According to a study conducted by  the [...]

I’m a container gardener and I grow vegetables, herbs, berries, and flowers in a wide array of containers on my deck for both culinary use and medicinal use as well. Even if you are an apartment dweller with a small patio or balcony you can join me in producing the vegetables and herbs you need [...]

I’m enjoying my vacation with friends and our catching up on each others lives and sharing new experiences has been so wonderful and so exhausting. I feel like I’m asleep on my feet or living a dream right now. We have developed an pattern of relaxing on the beach early in the mornings and late [...]

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” The intensity of the flow experience is [...]

The mind-boggling “celebrities – love em – hate em” behavior that afflicts so many idle and easily preoccupied people is the subject of this post. For the record I don’t “hate” celebrities nor do I “love” them. I don’t know them, or follow them, or give fig about what they do or don’t do. I don’t put them on pedestals and watch them slip and fall and then criticize them when they hit bottom. In fact, I don’t invest any energy into hating anyone.