Check out our upcoming Mindfulness & Movement retreat Nov 9-13, 2022 Turks & Caicos
What I Love
Spending time with my family
Spending time with my family
Spending time with my family
I live on an acreage with my husband, son, our dogs, and a cat. We spend time visiting our extended family in Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Wisconsin. We fly often--my husband has been a private pilot for thirty years and our son is a professional aviator. When not flying to see family, we often meet up with them in other locales to spend time together. We are blessed to have such close family ties and because we live so far apart most of our vacation time is spent with them.
My sisters and I began our annual sacred sister trips in 2008. We have an absolute blast! Being blessed with the support of wonderful partners, the men in our lives to maintain the home fires our trips evolved from four day weekends in Chicago or New York, to weeklong destinations abroad. I am loving remembering all of our antics and laughs in my upcoming memoir. I highly recommend sister trips if you are blessed with sisters!!
No matter where I roam, I am always excited to get back to see my boys as home is still my favourite place to be.
Creating
Spending time with my family
Spending time with my family
I have been a creative as long as I can remember. I learned to knit, stitch, and bake from my mother and grandmothers at an early age. I have taken many courses to pursue my creative passions over the years including painting, fibre arts, photography, and writing. I love to master new creative skills! I addition to daily writing I spend time in my studio space, Starfish Studios–named for my love of the beach, creating jewelry, mixed fibre wearable art, sewing, and playing. I sell my work at a few local markets and boutiques.
Loving my fibre! Right now I am making wraps and ponchos from the softest woolens and cashmere that I have hunted for and carefully prepared and felted for new designs!
Loving my beads! Making jewelry is my mainstay using the finest semi-precious gemstones, swarovski crystal and silver!
Loving sewing by hand and machine. I quilt sew some garments from patterns, but mainly I'm an intuitive sewist and restyle often. I am an embroiderer and learning to do it with beads–tedious, but meditative. Sew much to learn!
Travelling
Spending time with my family
Travelling
I love to travel. In addition to travelling to spend time with family and friends, I love seeing new places, especially attending writing or yoga retreats in places I might not ever travel to otherwise. I need water–as in the ocean, in my life. Growing up in Nova Scotia, water was always nearby and a blessed gift. Travelling to any beach excites me. If I can, I will turn any trip into a writing retreat with beach time!
I invite you to check out my 'work with me' tab for any upcoming retreats and consider joining!
Reading
Yoga
Travelling
I am a voracious reader.
A few of my recent favourites
Kate Quinn: The Alice Network
Victoria Sweet: Slow Medicine
Tanya Talaga: Seven Fallen Feathers
Lorri Neilsen Glenn: Following the River
On writing creative nonfiction
Lee Gutkind: Keep it Real & You Can't Make This Stuff Up
Richard Rhodes: How to Write
Jack Hart: Storycraft
Roy Peter Clark: How to Write Short
One of my favourite things to do is spending time on a beach with a great read!
Yoga
Yoga
Yoga
I began my yoga journey in 2009 and never looked back. A former fitness leader, my fitness activities ebbed and flowed over the years through love affairs with aerobics, pilates, strength building and so on. I like to keep active and lower back pain, that was at times limiting my movement, led me to yoga. Within 3 months I had minimal pain and much more flexibility in my spine.
I strive for functional fitness. to me the end goal is what is important and that is to keep on moving.
I am a 500 hour certified yoga teacher and offer sessions to individuals, small groups and at workshops, conferences, and retreats.
Writing
Yoga
Yoga
My latest book, The Accidental Caregiver: Challenges and Triumphs of Intimate Family Caregiving published by Sutherland House will be released Fall, 2022.
I am working on four other books that will complete the family caregiving series.
I also write academic articles for peer reviewed scholarly publications about Home Care, Case Management, Family Caregiving, and the therapeutic aspects of arts based work.
In addition to writing my books and academic articles, I write essays on yoga, caregiving, creativity, and health.
I play with poetry, practice scene writing, journal frequently, and in general just try to keep my butt in the chair!
...and Yoga helps–a lot!