living well and dying with dignity
Aleia 
Happy September! This is one of my favorite months for so many reasons: the days are a bit cooler; apples are coming in season, and a hint of color is starting to appear on our mountain treetops. It is also a time to celebrate the Vernal (fall) Equinox in the northern hemisphere. This year the … Read more
August is here and with it, (finally) the monsoon rains for our mountain hometown. After July’s record-breaking hot spell, this rain is so welcome. Our morning skies are bright blue with cool temps; afternoons filled with the great gift of rain. Any rain for the desert is welcome, but this year it was as if … Read more
I just finished another letter of the ABC’s for Living Well. The post is entitled “U” is for Understanding. It took me three months to write it. The reason for taking so long is that the new “Me 2.0” was unable to write about understanding in any coherent way until now. I could not understand … Read more
In the A,B,C’s for Living Well, understanding has many dimensions and applications. This word has a complicated and mysterious etymology that includes both Old English and Latin. Scholars cannot agree on exactly what the “under” is all about as a prefix, as the root meaning of “under” is beneath or below. Also, the “stand or … Read more
Greetings Further Shore friends, Although summer was long in coming this year, it has finally arrived fully, and we are loving it! July is dressed up with high summer’s greenery and a dizzying array of wildflowers. I’ve lived here for 34 years and never seen this many wildflowers. I’m guessing it was the snow! What … Read more
Greetings Further Shore friends, Welcome to June and the season of summer! School’s out so there is plenty of fun to be had during these warmer months. A few special highlights include Father’s Day on June 18th; Juneteenth (June 19th) the holiday to mark the end of slavery in our country, and just for fun, … Read more
Greetings Further Shore friends, Happy month of May, when we celebrate Beltane, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day alongside warmer temps and the earth greening up. Today I’m starting with a bit of news about my own health. Some of you in the FS community are aware that since early 2020 I’ve experienced severe … Read more
Warning: Long Blog Post. . . and it’s personal this time! My entire professional (and personal) life has revolved around practicing and teaching strategies for wellness. I approach wellness from all angles; scientific, practical, energetic, and emotional. I’m working on a compendium of wellness practices on the blog called the A,B,C’s for Living Well. Having … Read more
April is the month of spring things: gentle rain, flowers blooming, baby animals, outdoor festivals, and warmer temperatures. Here in northern Arizona (especially in our small village), we are beyond ready for spring things! The infamous atmospheric river that has dropped so much rain and snow this year seems to be subsiding now that April … Read more
As a child, I recall standing on the long dock with my cousins at their lakeside cottage in upstate New York. We all had our own way of getting into water that was often cold and could be hiding underwater reeds that grasped at our ankles; or worse yet, eels! Some of the cousins just … Read more