Like most Americans, I’ve been feeling empty, numb, shell-shocked and dumbfounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve been socially isolating as directed, except for daily walks. I am used to working from home as a freelance writer, but I’ve often had troub… Continue reading
When she was growing up in New York, Gloria Ascher was eager to learn Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language her parents brought from Izmir, Turkey. “Teach me that song,” Ascher would say to her mother, who didn’t encourage the language that she told her d… Continue reading
Sitting at my desk, I glance out the window at the sun and ponder where I am relative to the monastic hours. 7:30 a.m. is about halfway between Prime, the traditional morning prayer time for Christians, and Terce, which originally meant three hours aft… Continue reading
Maybe you are sorely missing your weekly watercolor class. Maybe the shelter-in-place mandate brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has given you unexpected time or is compelling you to take this opportunity to fold some creativity into your new routi… Continue reading
Traditionally on Easter Sunday, the Church of the Assumption is awash in beautiful spring flowers, with hydrangeas and lilies covering the marble steps on the altar of this 145-year old Catholic church in St. Paul, Minn. Every pew is normally filled, a… Continue reading
You know all those things you say you want to do — then don’t? As disruptive as the coronavirus is proving in all our lives, there’s a silver lining: confinement is creating the time, as well as the hunger, opportunity and need, to pursue those interes… Continue reading
Rich and Kirsten Meneghello and their daughter Lucy have dinner with Rich’s mom Margaret “Marge” Meneghello, 75, every Sunday, trading off between gathering at their house in southwest Portland, Ore., and Marge’s apartment a few miles away. But they’ve… Continue reading
So many books, so little time — but soon I’ll be rid of most of them as I prepare to move to a smaller apartment. I’m unsure when that will happen, but I do know that now, while so many of us are staying in, is the perfect time to work on downsizing. M… Continue reading
A sneaker designed for runners who want to move slowly, rather than sprint. An app that helps caregivers keep track of their schedules and communicate easily with their older clients. A company that helps retirees who want to reenter the labor force — … Continue reading
When you meet Tisha Kenny — vibrant and enthusiastic — you’d never believe she’s a cancer survivor, not to mention a three-time survivor of breast cancer in her 30s. “I never thought I’d see 40,” says Kenny, 74, a San Francisco artist who’s a retired n… Continue reading