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.
Posted in philosophy | Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in continuing education | Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in freelance writing | Leave a Comment »
The College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta has released the fall version of their Care magazine. In it is a feature on Dave Dearden entitled: Changing Gears – from trucks to scrubs. (Scroll down to page 18).
I did both the words and the photos for this piece, and I immensely enjoyed the entire experience. Dave is a fascinating guy with a colourful story…he was thoughtful and analytical about his life choices.
Dave taught me that everybody has a story that needs to be told. I hope he is an inspiration to other LPNs out there. Being an LPN is one of the toughest jobs in the health sector, and they deserve to be celebrated. Thanks to Dave for his openness, colleague Tim for his sportsmanlike conduct, and my two models: Kaitlynn and Ella.
Posted in freelance writing | Leave a Comment »
There is a new DVD coming out about being a mother and an artist. It is cleverly called: Who Does She Think She Is?
In conjunction with this, my husband sent me this quote from Einstein:
“Not everything that counts can be counted,
and not everything that can be counted counts…”
Albert Einstein
I do a fair amount of what I term unpaid work, too – volunteering on a Steering Committee, Advisory Committee, doing presentations, co-coordinating a program for a non-profit organization. And of course, mothering work is totally unpaid too.
And in writing, it is not only the paid work that is of value. Writing from the heart without editorial guidelines and deadlines can produce very important work. Alas, as with any art…unsold work doesn’t put food on the table! Aye, there’s the rub.
Posted in philosophy | Leave a Comment »
Here are a few photos from a shoot I did two weeks ago at the cast clinic. I’m writing an article and will post the link once it is published.
The girl in the photo is my home-grown model – my daughter Ella. She was a great sport, and got to keep her bright pink cast as a souvenir of the shoot. These photo shoots are just plain fun.
Posted in photography | Leave a Comment »
A bit of fun from wordle. Click to embiggen.
Posted in fun | Leave a Comment »
