The silence between the notes

With the ever-tightening quarantine measures being taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like I no longer have the excuse of being too busy to write.   In fact, since  I’m working more hours from home, I’m being more intentional about switching from work to play time!  So for a creative outlet, I decided to create a challenge for all of my artsy friends who are also stuck at home! The first part of this project came to me when I was listening to a Paramore song which says ”We’re all alone now. I need something to sing about.” And I realized that future generations will probably interpret those words differently than the original context...before we'd all experienced large scale Social Distancing. As a former teacher of poetry and music, that made me want to start investigating other songs that will probably be interpreted differently during this isolation... or after this apocalyptic season (hopefully) ends!   The second part of the project came ...

Here I am again, after months of writing things and not posting them. I have in fact had a lot on my mind. (Those of you who know me personally are not at all shocked, I'm sure, but maybe someone out there doesn't yet realize that, so I felt it was fair to say.) But my whole life, I've done this thing where I have too much to say so I say nothing for a while while it bubbles up inside...then I try saying something and it all comes whipping out like a hurricane of nonsense...so then I go back to bottling it up and stating my need for "processing time." Guess that's what's been happening with my sporadic posting for the last few years too. Who would have guessed? Then there's this other thing I do when I don't know what to say--I obsess over a song, poem, essay, etc. in which someone else said what I couldn't. So to that end, I'm directing you to a few two articles by a cause that I admire very much: To Write Love on Her Arms. If you haven...

This new job of mine has taken me all around the Spokane area, and on a daily basis I find myself looking out the window thinking, "that looks like an awesome place to visit later." Well, summer is almost here, and that means I will soon have time to explore all these amazing places I have been wondering about! So please take a look at this list and let me know which one(s) you'll join me on!   Please also let me know if there is an awesome place I should add to this  list!  My goals for this list of activities: 1) To enjoy more of what this Spokane region has to offer! 2) To spend time with friends--or maybe even in solitude--while being active and proactive! 3) To spend a maximum of $0-10 on each experience. Of course, some outdoor adventures will be relatively FREE! Some days will be longer and possibly include multiple activities, so I anticipate that the cost per day will vary.  Locations I'd like to visit: 9 Mile Falls (hiking/picnicking,...

Full disclosure: most of the letters, emails, lesson plans, and blog posts I've written recently have not actually been "written" in the traditional sense. Since working on electronic devices has been causing more eye pain and headaches lately, I've put down the keypad and picked up the microphone. I have been using talk/text, voice memos, and my new best frienemy, Siri, for almost everything. Likewise, I've taken to listening to most of my entertainment. Sometimes I listen to the usual audio entertainment (Pandora, iTunes, radio, etc.), but other times, I want something more engaging. T wo of my new favorite activities include listening to books on YouTube and listening to my favorite Netflix TV shows. S ince my laptop might otherwise lure me into TV viewing temptation, I've started using the "pic mute" function. (I.e., I turn my screen to black so that I don't accidentally start watching.) Ironically, that means I really have no idea wh...