Category Archives: Uncategorized

VIRTUE OR GOOD LUCK?

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Alexis

It’s easy to confuse good luck with virtue.  I learned that lesson this month in a tiny airport in Zambia. I had my heart set on buying some beautiful African textiles there; our plane was about to board and I rushed towards … Continue reading →

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THE GREAT MIGRATION II

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Alexis

Last month I had the good fortune to view one portion of the Great Migration of wildebeests, zebras and other grazers crossing the Mara River in Kenya. I took these photos of part of the crossing and its aftermath. Next … Continue reading →

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E. B. WHITE AND WEEDING

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Alexis

I have been taking time off weeding each day to read The Essays of E.B. White.  I have read that book many times but White can still make me laugh harder than any other writer, even David Sedaris. Consider this excerpt … Continue reading →

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MONKEY MIND

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Alexis

When I first heard the term “Monkey Mind,” I was pretty sure I knew what it meant and that it applied to me.  Here is one definition, from pocketmindfulness.com: Consider that we humans have around fifty thousand separate thoughts each day, … Continue reading →

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ALASKA! Part 2

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Alexis

Alaska is too beautiful to be captured in photos, but I’m trying. Last week I posted a few pictures from a recent trip. Here are some more, all but two concerned with Humpback Whale Bubble Netting. The BBC has an … Continue reading →

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ALASKA!

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Alexis

Last week Bill and I joined six strangers and the crew of the Northern Song for a week-long cruise of the Frederick Sound and its environs in Southeast Alaska. We left from Petersburg, a bustling small town that looks like … Continue reading →

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I LOVE ADS

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Alexis

 I spend too much time thinking about TV advertising because there is so much of it, and most of it is bad.  For example, Choice Hotels ads feature a pompous guy who promotes the slogan, “Badda Book, Badda Boom.”  That irritating phrase … Continue reading →

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AT HOME IN VIETNAM

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Alexis

Home…is where the heart is. (Pliny the Elder)h Home…is the nicest word there is.  (Laura Ingalls Wilder) There’s no place like…home. (Dorothy of Oz) Okay, so I fudged a little on the last quote.  Home and feeling at home are often on … Continue reading →

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IMAGES OF VIETNAM

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Alexis

We have just returned from a month in Vietnam.  Despite all assurances from friends to the contrary, I was concerned that Americans would not be welcome there after the long, bitter war that divided both our countries.  Boy, was I wrong!  For one … Continue reading →

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GETTING AROUND VIETNAM

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Alexis

I was forewarned that traffic in Vietnam, especially in the cities, is chaotic. And yes, it is, though it’s organized chaos. Somehow it works. Buses, taxis and thousands of motorbikes carrying unimaginable loads maneuver beside and around each other like … Continue reading →

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