How a New Puppy Has Brought Me Joy
Many of you know this last spring was a tough one for me and my family. My sister passed away from pancreatic cancer and my mother-in-law passed away from a stroke (we think). When that happened, I started searching for dogs to adopt online. I couldn’t help myself. I yearned for some spark of joy in my life. And our kids had been wanting a new pet for over a year. During the pandemic, we lost a dog and two cats. We were ready for a new addition. But the…
The Leaf Your Troubles Workbook is Ready and Free!
Hey all, Just a quick post to let you know I’ve made and put online the Leaf Your Troubles workbook! This is a 25-page companion booklet of worksheets that dovetail with the exercises in my book, Leaf Your Troubles Behind: How to Destress and Grow Happiness Through Plants. What’s In There It’s a pretty simple format. I included Escape to Nature journal pages focusing on the Time Log exercises and Green Personality exploration. It also features a sample Stress Bramble you can add to along with daily Green Leisure worksheets.…
The Characters and Their Music in The Forgetting Flower, Part 2
Last week, I wrote about the music that’s heard or played when the characters Alain and Madame Palomer are “on stage” in The Forgetting Flower. In this post, I’ll talk about the music of my main character, Renia, and her parents. Renia’s choices are about her moods and about what she sees as best for the shop’s atmosphere. Her parents, still in Kraków, listen to more classic Polish composers. Renia’s Music When Renia’s by herself and feeling happy, oftentimes in her apartment, she listens to Chopin. This mazurka is one…
The Weird Magic of Intention in my 2018 Year
I’m not really a New Year’s resolution kind of person. I try to keep little resolutions throughout the year like exercising every day and not spending too much time on social media. But in reviewing my 2018 year, I realized I did have one resolution: to change my intention. It wasn’t anything big but, like a weird kind of magic, it changed my writing career. A Year’s Journey I started out 2018 realizing that though I was a writer, I didn’t have a book to offer readers, I didn’t have…
Plants Are Speaking Right Now, Probably in Your Backyard
Did you know plants make sounds? I didn’t up until a few years ago. The idea is fascinating, and surprisingly already proven in some scientific studies. For instance, at the University of Western Australia, researchers discovered corn plants created clicking sounds in their roots as they grew. Scientists found a similar phenomenon in pine trees coping with drought. The trees’ xylem tissue made snapping sounds when moving an air bubble. In 2017, the Yale School of Forestry produced a sound experiment where they developed a device to translate a plant’s…
