Blog

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As a curious observer of life, I blog on writing, marketing, my prairie - anything that interests me in the moment. I like to have conversations with readers, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I'll respond.

Crystal Bridges - We the People opens exhibit integrating art and racial history

Integrating art and racial history in America

By Carol / 14 March 2022 /

How can integrating America’s art and racial history tell a broader and more accurate story of our country than we commonly see? A remarkable exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum encouraged me to see it can be…

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mystery, love of reading

“Eighth Day” reflects a love of reading

By Carol / 28 February 2022 /

“Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” – Lena Dunham After reading my post on struggling to read and write, my friend Jean Balser shared…

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Food and culture – Eating Greek style

By Carol / 22 August 2017 /

A country’s culture is embodied in its food and how the people eat. Nowhere was that more evident than on my recent trip to Greece. When my friend Mary and I planned our trip, we…

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Haitus over …. Did you miss me?

By Carol / 08 August 2017 /

I realize asking, “Did you miss me?” after such a long absence opens me to the possibility of all sorts of disappointing, maybe even disparaging, responses. All of which I’d deserve. I dropped out of…

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Word of the year for 2017? – Wonder

By Carol / 03 January 2017 /

Choosing a word of the year is popular. The Oxford Dictionaries chose ‘post-truth’ as their word in 2016, while Merriam-Webster settled on ‘surreal,’ and Dictionary.com tapped ‘xenophobia.’ All  good choices given the year’s events. A…

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Perkins Corner – love and comfort in a package “to go”

By Carol / 13 December 2016 /

My mother had a tradition. Whenever we visited, when it came time to leave, Mom put together food for us to take along for the drive. It didn’t matter if we’d just eaten and the…

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Happy birthday, National Park Service

By Carol / 27 August 2016 /

The National Park Service marks 100 years this week. One hundred years of preserving our amazing natural resources. One hundred years of educating people on our great outdoors. One hundred years of giving joy to…

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Language barrier? Don't the Irish speak English?

By Carol / 14 June 2016 /

International travel can be a challenge, especially if you don’t speak the local language or do so minimally. One of the advantages to traveling to Ireland is that they speak English, right? Yes and no.…

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Murals fuel & memorialize Irish conflict

By Carol / 31 May 2016 /

Murals as a form of political, social, and cultural expression rose in importance during “The Troubles” – a 30-year conflict that began in 1968 and divided Northern Ireland. Though The Troubles more or less ended…

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How important is “place” in writing?

By Carol / 24 May 2016 /

My recent trip to Ireland has me thinking again about the importance of place to a writer. Ireland has a rich written history, including literary greats James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and W.B. Yates. Those names…

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