Books – Aging with Grace

More Than Shelves

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”— Cicero I recently came across the French word bibliothèque—library. It made me stop and think. In a home, a library is not simply a collection of shelves filled with books. Shelves are where books are stored. A library is something more. It reflects who you are.…

July 9, 2026

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Inspiration, Lifestyle, the Arts, writing

authors, bibliothèque, book lovers, Books, bookshelves, Cicero quote, French lifestyle, home library, lifelong learning, literature, living well, personal library, Reading

Finding Joy

Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead Hans Christian Andersen Red Alstroemeria, peanut butter, the ocean, autumn, old books, and crisp white shirts—these are some of my favorite things. What are yours? It would be wonderful to be surrounded by our treasured things, every moment of every day, indulging in their beauty and…

February 26, 2026

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Aging, Inspiration, Lifestyle

Aging, Books, Coping, enjoying life, Hans Christian Andersen quote, Inspiration, life, Living with intent, Reading, writing

The Grace of Serendipity

Auraria Neighborhood You can have the other words- chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. I’ll take grace. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’ll take it. Mary Oliver Over the past few days, two extraordinary events unfolded, which I can only describe as acts of grace. The first was discovering a framed photo at a…

February 19, 2026

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Faith, Inspiration, the Arts

art, Books, faith, grace, Inspiration, Mary Oliver quote, photography, poems, poetry, synchronicity, writing

A Time Before Digital

We are analog souls in a digital world. Neil Gaiman There was a time when life arrived without notifications. We waited for letters, not replies. We listened to entire albums, often played on a turn table, not just the songs that surfaced on the latest streaming service. We knew phone numbers by heart, trusted memory…

February 5, 2026

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Aging, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Social Commentary

analog reflections, Books, digital world, importance of human connetion, jigsaw puzzel, mindfulness, Neil Gaiman quote, social media, technology, writing

The Art of Selectivity

A person must be selective with their time and energy because both elements of life are limited. Kilroy J. Oldster I captured a photograph of this O’Keeffe watercolor when I visited the O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe last fall. It was painted late in her life, after she lost her vision, with the assistance of…

January 15, 2026

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Aging, Inspiration, Social Commentary

Books, choices, Georgia O’Keeffe, Quote by Kilroy J. Oldster, Reading, writing

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

There is a charm to letters and cards that emails and smses can’t ever replicate, you cannot inhale them, drawing the fragrance of where they have been mailed from, the feel of paper in your hand bearing the weight of the words they contain within. Kiran Manral A friend was telling me about a book…

October 9, 2025

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Inspiration, Lifestyle, Social Commentary, writing

Aging, book-review, Books, correspondance, epistolary novels, Inspiration, Kiran Manral quote, letter writing, writing

Writing Fiction

A Favorite Book Everything that is real was imagined first. The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams Rosamunde Pilcher, one of my favorite authors, captivates me with her meticulous attention to detail and compelling mature characters. Among her numerous works, “September” stands out as one of my favorites. I find myself returning to it for comfort and…

September 25, 2025

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Biography, Inspiration, writing

Books, character development, fiction, Margery Williams quote, re-writing, Rosamunde Pilcher, writing, writing fiction

Influence

I believe that, more than anything else, the grief of constantly having to face down our own inadequacies is what keeps us from being writers. Forgiveness, therefore, is key. I can’t write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing. Again and again throughout…

May 15, 2025

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Inspiration, Lifestyle, Social Commentary

Ann Patchett quote, ann-patchett, Bel Canto, book-review, Books, fiction, forgiving ourselves, influence of authors, self critique, writing

Self Refection

Is there nowhere in an American house where one may be one’s self? Edith Wharton Next week we celebrate another Thanksgiving. Winter will soon be here and Christmas is not far behind. 2024 is racing to a close. I want to slow down the time and enjoy each moment. This morning I put the duvet…

November 21, 2024

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Lifestyle, Social Commentary

Books, control, Edith Wharton quote, holidays, personal libraries, self reflection