I'm thinking about my friend Shane today, so I'm going to write about food. I had an amazing meal last weekend with a nice new friend here in Bogota, Raha. Here she is explaining the dishes: [wpvideo W5bbm7rk] [wpvideo 6FxkhzVe] She made us feel really welcome and...
Kyna and Lauren came to visit me last week and it was a riot! They became summarily addicted to limonada de coco en leche - much more like a milkshake than a beverage. Here they are on opposite sides of me at San Jorge Pesquera in the small city of Armenia, the...
You know when a little kid falls of a swingset and starts wailing, half from pain and half from the surprise of suddenly being in the dirt? That was my Monday. I'm running along with my favorite Colombian running partners (Jaime and his Great Dane, Teo), on our...
Today, tonight, my dear niece Lauren arrives in Bogota. She is probably just getting on the plane in Houston as I write. I'm so excited! Fully chuffed! Still have NO plans on where to take her, and my sister Kyna who arrives Friday night. But I will! Medellin is...
It's cloudy today, but the clouds are so high I think it might not rain. Maybe 60 degrees? 65? Pretty pleasant, if gray. We usually get 3-5 seasons per day here. I leave the house laden with sweater, coat, low-heeled water resistant shoes, sunglasses and...
The Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City is lovely. It's still in the process of being renovated - passing one or two or three beautifully restored buildings, the next one is still a shell, with palm trees growing inside. But the restored ones are fantastic. ...
I read a review today of The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship, by David Whyte. He questions the concept of "work-life balance": Poets have never used the word balance, for good reason. First of all, it is too obvious and therefore...
I am shaking like a leaf... I don't know if that's good or bad. Since my last post I've worked very sporadically on my book. If I had to guess, I'd say I was chickenshit about getting more rejections, so I've worked but without direction, without deadlines, without...
Here's an idea, for all my thirty- and forty-something friends out there. Get long term care (LTC) insurance. You think I'm nuts? You think it's a weird thing? I'm watching family and friends needing long term care right now, fighting systems, facing bankruptcy,...
Ooooh, if good wishes made a difference... and it turns out they do. I got GREAT advice from friends far and wide on my "Boohoo, I'm homesick" post last week. Amazing folks with great council and some of it very targeted while other recommendations were slightly...