Funky Friday: The Tapestry of Our Lives

 Carole King sang,

My life has been a tapestry

Of rich and royal hue

An everlasting vision

Of the ever-changing view

A wond'rous woven magic

In bits of blue and gold

A tapestry to feel and see 

Impossible to hold   

I often have flashbacks, to things I have seen, done, heard, experienced, tasted, smelled, felt, that have woven the fabric of my life. The older I get, the richer the mix of experiences. Many of them bring awe and wonder, some funny, some sad, all together the make up the funky person I am today. 

My wish for you today, 

    May your day be filled with flashback memories of the tapestry of  your life.  

Rome to Milan at 150 miles per hour, on a train. What a wonderful way to travel. Milan is a new thread in the tapestry of my life.

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time, edited slightly, and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Thursday Ramble: Do Things That Matter To You

 I dreamed about going to law school, for a decade. At times I was sure I would and could do so, at times I gave up all hope. Then things changed, love and opportunities came into my life, and in my late 30's I took a leap of faith to do things that mattered to me, and allowed me to make a difference in different ways. I started law school in my mid 30s. 

I joined the American Bar Association when I was in law school, 30 years ago, through thick and thin, I have maintained that membership, including being a part of the staff of the ABA for 15 years. I am a member, not because I have to be, but because it matters to me. The ABA is an advocate for the legal profession, a major center of expertise, resources and training. In retirement I continue my commitment to things that matter, and that includes being a part of the ABA. 

It is important to do things that matter, that matter to you personally, and that make society a better place. And for me, to continue doing that as long as I have something to contribute.  

Do something this week, that matters to you. 

An edit to this post.  I revived an email while we were in Bermuda, letting me know that I have been nominated for a seat in the ABA House of Delegates, the policy making body of the ABA. The vote to confirm this will be in early August. It is a three year commitment, to doing work that matters to me, matters to the profession, and to society. A seat in the House is a bucket list item for me. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

My World of Wonders May 6, 2026

Where am I? All has gone to plan, Rome. 

Where are we headed? Milan, then Vienna. 

What am I collecting? Memories and experiences. The things that make us who we are. 

What do I think of Rome? Rome is amazing, I have been here a couple of other times, it can be crowded, noisy, dirty, it is filled with wonders. I could live here. 

Where am I? We are just a couple of blocks from the Vatican

How was the trip across the Ocean? Good, comfy, quiet. Cool and occasionally wet.  But no sea serpents or pirates. 

Being back on land with WiFi, I am able to do some editing, and visited many of my regular blogs this morning. All is going well.  

Where was I yesterday? St Peter's

An amazing shop near the Pantheon. 

I lit a candle in a church near the hotel, for a dear person who is doing much better, but still grieving. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and edited slightly to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Travel Tuesday: Grand Adventure

 

Monday Mood: Embrace the Day

Good Morning and Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life. Carpe Diem, Seize the Day. If you don't control the day, it will control you. There will be things beyond your control, don't let them bother you. Breath in, Breath out, drink a glass of cool water, let the world flow around you. Be strong, by being quiet.  Learn something today. Seek awe and wonder around you. Smile and wave at the child. Say please and thank you - make another's days just a little better. Don't be disappointed when you are disappointed; it happens all the time, let it flow like water off a duck's back. 

Find someplace quiet, and simply sit in peace. Take a moment to hear the sounds around you, to look deeply into what surrounds you.  Breath, smell, taste the wonders. Be present in the moment. Find something that makes you smile, something that makes you laugh. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

The Sunday Five: Music

1: Have you heard a symphony play live and in person? 

2: What instrument would you like to learn to play? 

3: How did your parents feel about you having a toy drum when you were a child? 

4: Have you ever taken music lessons? 

5: What is your favorite kind of music? 

My answers:

1: Have you heard a symphony play live and in person? About 6 times a year for the last 7 years. 

2: What instrument would you like to learn to play? Cello. 

3: How did your parents feel about you having a toy drum when you were a child? My father threatened bodily injury on anyone that gave his kids a drum. 

4: Have you ever taken music lessons? I was in the school band for a couple of years, I was not very good. 

5: What is your favorite kind of music? I have eclectic taste in music. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

The Saturday Morning Post: The Color Of Place

Washington DC, is shades of brilliant blue sunshine, warm white Indiana Limestone, at night the landmark buildings are brilliantly lit against the night sky. Art of DC, needs these colors. 

The first time we went to Italy, was in the winter, February, and I found exactly the color tone I was dreaming of, the color tones I had seen in art. Warm earth tones, terracotta and ocher.  The late winter light made it all the more perfect. Italy in art, needs these colors, these are the colors of place. 

I have a special place in my heart for the desert southwest of the United States. My father got a wild hair idea and we spent a winter in Phoenix when I was in the first grade. That experience left etched in my memory the warmth of the landscape against endless deep blue skies. The deep reds and purples of the mountains surrounding the city. Art of that part of the landscape is art of those colors. 

Florida is pine trees and palmetto scrub, shades of evergreen not brilliant or vivid greens. The surf is dark green, and brown, with musty foam. The lakes and rivers of Florida are brown, often murky or muddy looking, the deep springs emerge crystal clear out of coquina rock caves.  Paint it with caribbean blues in the water and it looks wrong, because outside of the shallows in extreme south Florida, that is not the color pallet of nature. 

Each place has a color pallet, look for it, see it, incorporate it into your art, or maybe not if you want the art to look alien to the landscape. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May. 

Fearless Friday: Go and Do

In her 50's my sister went to a funeral, picked up an old boyfriend and married him. The funeral was for Pete's father, she and Pete had dated in high school and gone separate ways. Pete had gone off to college, she had moved to the nearest town, gone to work, and married the guy down the hall. Pete finished a Phd, worked as a professional counselor, and had been married and divorced three or four times. She had three plus decades in an increasingly unhealthy marriage and had decided she needed to be treated better. Pete flew home for his father's funeral, and never returned to where he had been working.

Shortly after the dust settled on her divorce and moving in with Pete, my mother's health declined, and my sister and Pete moved to Florida, lived with my parents and provided care that made it possible for my parents to live out their lives in the home they loved. 

In the months before before being called to Florida, they flew to Amsterdam and had plans to go onto Paris to place a love lock on a bridge over the Seine. Things went sideways when the boat they were staying on Amsterdam took on water, they put off going to Paris, saying they would do it later. Then they were off to Florida and said we will do this when we move back to Michigan. By the time Dad died and they moved back to Michigan, Pete was already being treated for cancer. Still they said, as soon as he is better we will go and do. Except he bounced from treatment to treatment and never got better. And they never did go and do.  A dream, never to be realized.  

Define your dreams and go and do, now while you can. There is no guarantee that later will be possible. 

I am on a digital detox. This post was written ahead of time and scheduled to appear today. I have not missed posting at least once per day in over a decade. While on this detox, I will not have internet access many days, when I do have access it will be limited. Please continue to leave comments, but I may not reply to comments. I will read comments when I can. Normal service will resume in late May.