I think each person has a particular feature that they really see as symbolic of self.  For some people it’s a feature they love, for some it’s one they dislike.  Mine is something I like, and something I also attach a lot of meaning to–particularly relating to how other people react to it. I have […]

Which is a pretty hard thing to photograph, particularly since it’s all about the oral tradition and poetry and sound, rather than sight. I’m a bard, as I’ve mentioned.  I translate pieces of mythology from Middle Welsh and Irish into English-language poems and songs, and tell about vital events from ancient history to people who […]

My husband’s aunt and uncle have llamas out in Utah, as I’ve mentioned.  They are fascinating, beautiful, funny creatures.  Most of their llamas are excellent packers, and a real treat on hikes.    I think most folks could easily develop an obsession with scratching those long, elegant necks.  Watching them gambol once they’re released into […]

As in “yippie kai yo,”  and as in Coyo(te), and as in our wonderful dog, half Chesapeake Bay Retriever, half Siberian Husky, and quite possibly the dog of a lifetime.    He is officially elderly now, though you wouldn’t know it to look at him most of the time, so we have dedicated ourselves to […]

If I go out of my way to do anything, it’s to travel with and to see friends, particularly if it means we’ll be together away from television and computers and work and all of those things that get in the way of people really looking each other in the eye and hearing each other […]

I’ve been studying Ireland in particular and the Celtic world in general–from Paleolithic to Present–for almost as long as I remember.  I’m sure I’ve dedicated more hours to my subject than the average medical or law student has to theirs.  And yet I can’t really explain why.  I’m often asked to.  There aren’t many people […]

I say house, because it doesn’t ever really feel like home when you’re in the midst of a remodel.  We bought our house in 2000, not long after we got engaged and decided that buying a house was far more important than throwing a wedding right away. It’s a 1,500 square foot Cape Cod-ish (no […]

G is for gardening.  I come from a long line of people who like to play in the dirt.  I feel like I never get enough time in the garden, between my crazy commute and my copious hobbies.  But when I do get down into the mud, I love it.  I love blooms, and berries, […]

F is for felt. I’ve been making felt for several years now, using a couple of different methods.  I was first attracted to it for historical reasons, of course–felt was probably the first fabric we humans made, and that warms my Luddite soul to the core.  But as I’ve worked with it, I’ve fallen in […]

Embroidery was my first craft, as I explained a few years ago in a book about fiber arts. I feel I give it short shrift these days, using it now and again to adorn something else I’m flirting with, but rarely working steadily on a project for more than a day or two, and even […]