I wrote two articles in the Spring issue of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses Care Magazine. One was the feature on LPNs in pre-hospital practice called (cleverly) Care in the Air, where I learned about the exciting world of emergency care.
The other piece is one of my favourite articles I have ever written. I wrote a short bit about a woman named Emma, who is 102 years old and lives in an assisted living facility. I had a great amount of reverence when I walked into her room with my notepad and my camera, and learned that people’s seemingly ordinary lives are always extraordinary when tempered with love.
I’ve been doing a lot of corporate work lately, which means it doesn’t pop up in my portfolio because I don’t actually own the words.
I’ve been writing a lot on my food blog, which is fun. I have regular commenters – many of whom have their own food blogs in Edmonton. I just returned from a Food Chick Weekend in Seattle with my daughter Ella, who is 12, and I documented our adventures in food here.
We were blessed with some rare sunny days, which made for fabulous picture taking. But my favourite time? Our pit stops in our hotel room, where both Ella and I read books. Ella finished Scat by Carl Hiaasen and I consumed A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, which is a lovely read about food and love.
Here’s my favourite photo of our trip – Ella reading. She’s my girl…
From Jay Smooth, host of a New York City hip hop show. Now, I might not be American, but the story of Obama has captured my heart and my imagination. All the lessons learned by Americans can be transferred elsewhere. The influence of Obama has a wide-reaching net.
I ghost-wrote an editorial for a magazine that drew upon my experiences campaigning for Obama in North Virginia. The piece that I use every single day is: let’s make decisions based on hope, not fear. This is a powerful concept.
And I think Obama cranks the standard up for our Canadian politicians, don’t you?
Library Thing has been around for a while. It is a listing of books people have read. Basically, you put your personal library up on the Internet for all to see.
Here are my entries. Click on the ‘cover’ option to see the full effect. I don’t necessarily think you can see into someone’s soul by knowing what books they read, but it is interesting nonetheless. Plus, by seeing the books that others read, it is a great way to get book recommendations and helps with the aimless wandering around bookstores. (Although I have to admit aimless wandering around bookstores is one of my favourite things to do).
I tend to go on jags with my book reading and lately I have been on a food memoir kick. My favourite book so far? Heat by Bill Buford. The writing in it is sharp as a knife, and he seamlessly jumps between trips to Italy to a famous Mario Batali kitchen. I savoured this book one chapter at a time, because I did not want it to end. Please Bill Buford, write more books.
Last week, I interviewed a woman who is turning 102 years old next month. This is for an article in the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta’s Care Magazine. I’ll post the link when it is published in March.
I was thinking how fortunate I am to have a job where I get to meet people who are 101 years old. And chat with them and take photos, too. Meeting extraordinary people I would never ordinarily come across is a definite perk to my job. I’m continually humbled by it, and thankful for such opportunities. I mean, have you ever met anybody who has lived through two World Wars?
Here is a beautiful photo essay by Philip Toledano. It is called Days with My Father, and it is pictures and words about Philip’s dad, who is 98 years old. Philip is a New York based photographer.
Days with my Father is a lovely (but sad) piece about being a child of a parent who is becoming elderly. It beautifully honours Philip’s dad in the most authentic and true way. Read it and weep, especially if you are over 40, because I know you have aging parents/grandparents.
I am in the midst of taking a two-Saturday food writing course from Grant MacEwan. It is called Eat your Words, and is taught by well-known food writer Jennifer Cockrall-King.
I’m immensely enjoying the experience. And while you might think that I’m old and too seasoned to take a course, it turns out that even old dogs like me can learn new tricks. Jennifer is passionate and enthusiastic, and it is contagious. The students are a variety of folks – from fellow bloggers, freelancers, food scientists, dieticians, to others who are looking to make the leap from cubicleland to the world of freelancing. So I’m in good company.
I went to Washington DC last week for three days to canvass for the Obama campaign. I went down because I believed in Obama’s message.
I hooked up with dual-citizen friends and we worked in Northern Virginia. We went to Obama’s last campaign rally in Manassas Virginia. And we celebrated hard at 11 pm EST when CNN declared Obama the 44th president of the United States.
I pitched my trip as a story idea to a couple of places. Nobody was interested. But that’s ok. What I came back with from this experience was the knowledge that people are decent and good. And that hope is a more powerful motivator than fear.
And a re-realization in the power of storytelling. If you listen to Obama speak, he always weaves in a personal story in his speeches. People respond to people – not to political machines or corporations. I was very proud of the Americans on November 4. Hope. Believe. Change.
