When I was in high school, my sister taught me to crochet. At the time, crocheting seemed like some sort of novelty that I would try for a while and eventually forget. Diane had taught me to crochet left handed because she couldn’t figure out how to demonstrate right-handed crocheting to me. At the time, […]

 “Many waters cannot quench love. Neither can floods drown it.” –Song of Songs, 8:7. When I was struggling with something unpleasant or hard, my mother always said to me, “And this, too, shall pass.” As a middle school student (half a million years ago), I didn’t understand what my mother was telling me. In my

  Earlier this year, I moved into an apartment, and I had the opportunity to create a living space for myself. In the past, interior design was not a priority. I had places to go, people to see, adventures to be adventured. But, because of the pandemic, my move to the apartment slowed down until

 Today, I am starting the month-long Cornerstone Content Blogging Challenge by talking about a few of the books that have inspired me to stretch as both a writer and as a visual artist. These books offer information that helps me build my skills, as well as encouragement to step out of my comfort zone. When

  Today, I express my gratitude to the letter G. Yes, literally the letter G. It’s the first letter of my last name. Oh, and all of the pictures have something green in them because green begins with G. So I was thinking that it’s time to do a creative writing exercise. I was hoping

As I was walking down the Riverwalk to my watercolor painting class at Partners in Art on Webster Street in North Tonawanda, I noticed the busy birds about me, in the grass and on the trail. So I stopped to photograph them, these fine feathered friends, many of whom aren’t especially popular with us humans

  The sun is now setting just before 5 p.m. here in Western New York. Every day, you have to look just a little bit earlier for magic in the sky. Sometimes, you see the sky looking radiant and colorful and, other times, it flickers away before you even notice it. Because it seems as

  Every Saturday afternoon, I go with my friend Amy and my sister Diane to the Niagara Dance Centre in Niagara Falls. We bring our fun shoes and our energy and, at the door, we are greeted by our teacher, Miss Cathy, who points this little gunlike thermometer at our heads and pronounces us still

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been enamored with cats. They are graceful, funny, curious, and athletic. They can run, jump, and climb in a way that makes human envious. They sometimes love humans, but other times, they seemed enamored of just parts of humans, like feet. I’ve known cats who truly

  Tomorrow is election day, and that feels kind of stressful. I chose to do this gratitude challenge as both a way to distract myself and as an opportunity for me to look at my world and see its beauty and the kindness that exists, as opposed to the tension, divisions, and anger. My goal