That Damn Cat!

How my mother was attacked by an enormous rasty-looking tabby cat…. (You can watch/listen to this story in a video at the bottom of this page!) My family used to live in a wonderful old 1880s farmhouse. Upstairs, my folks’ … Continue reading

Signals that There’s Something Going on Under the Surface

Speaking with my business coach about a plan we were creating for my own coaching, I started to get really sleepy. If I didn’t lie down right now, I’d simply collapse on the floor in a puddle… (Watch/listen to me … Continue reading

God Rays Under the Water

27 Days Sailing from KAUA’I to CALIFORNIA, Part IV Each day, just as evening began to shade the sky, an enormous, rippling line across the horizon in front of us appeared, darkly ominous, growing bigger and bigger. The first time … Continue reading

Sailing with Giants

27 Days Sailing from KAUA’I to CALIFORNIA, Part III As we began to plod our way through the Doldrums, I started having a recurring dream when I settled down in my bunk to sleep after my night watch was over. … Continue reading

I Was Tossed Around Like A Rag Doll; My Angels Took Good Care of Me

27 Days Sailing from KAUA’I to CALIFORNIA, Part II One moment, sunny sweet skies — the next, the Mother Hulk of a demon storm with hideous, grotesque grey-green and black clouds pelting us square on with sheets of ice-cold rain. … Continue reading

Almost Raped 400 Miles from Land; How One Tomato Saved My Life

27 Days Sailing from KAUA’I to CALIFORNIA, Part I I struggled to sit up, holding my head on with both hands. I couldn’t seem to stand, so I slid off the bunk, and inch by inch slowly creeped on my … Continue reading

Dreams of Devastation Morph into … Pickled Red Onions?

I keep having dreams where I’m standing in a dried up, deserted field. In the distance, I see the crumbling husks of hundreds and hundreds of houses, and the blackened, burnt skeletons of the once-magnificent trees that used to shade … Continue reading

Got A Recipe for Eating Crow?

Is it better to just let things go? Or risk being criticized or countered or even cancelled, because of making a mistake? In a post I read on medium the other day, the writer said something I thought was incorrect. … Continue reading

My Mind Starts Eating Before I Do

I’ll be sitting here writing, or doing some other task, and in the back of my head I’m busy preparing the juicy makings of a delicious tomato salad, or a nice spicy wrap around some cheese and micro-greens, or some … Continue reading

You’re Always Late! You’re So Annoying!

It was Sara’s 40th birthday party. I had barely walked through the door when she pounced on me, screaming. Right in my face. Behind her, the casual low-level murmur of party-din dissolved into a ragged silence. Every head swiveled toward … Continue reading

Last Does Not Mean Loser

(Published in Small Craft Advisor Magazine) We were in the last part of the first pack. The finish line seemed impossibly far away. It was right then that I made the most colossal mistake. I had been so proud! I’d … Continue reading

Why I Didn’t Follow You On Medium.com

And … a huge thank you to all the folks who have steadily supported me and liked, commented on and followed my stories. I appreciate you so much! 500! Never in my wildest dreams a year ago would I have … Continue reading

GIVE IT UP!

(Published in Small Craft Advisor Magazine) Sailing is more than ‘just a skill.’ It’s a life-and-death adventure every time you go out, and if you have even one smidgen of smarts in your head, you know you have to be … Continue reading

Ten of the Strangest Fears You Ever Heard About!

Tonight, when I was reading about fears, I saw this word: Kakorrhaphiophobia, so I decided to play google search. I love googling weird things. I’ll type two unrelated words in the search bar and hit go, just to see what … Continue reading

What Happens to You When You Watch Scary Stuff in Movies and Videos?

Sometimes I do things that drain my energy. I forget to stop, and end up an emotional mess. Have you ever done that? A video I watched a couple of days ago that a friend sent me was one of … Continue reading

My Thoughts of Peace Fly Out Far Beyond Me

Because love is a verb. And it acts a million times more powerfully than our puny little minds can imagine. At 13, my dentist decided that deflowering me right in the open, right on the dentist chair, would be a … Continue reading

Hope Is A Beggar. Or Is She?

I once knew a fantastically popular, immensely powerful man. Once his swooning fans had left for the night, he would retreat to his den. He’d try to bend his skeletal frame around the huge, impossibly soft pillows on his couch, … Continue reading

What’s the Difference between jpg, tif and png Image Files?

What do the different file type names mean and how do they affect your images? These explanations of file types will help you understand what kinds of files to use for your documents, print books, ebooks or websites. Cover of … Continue reading