A Cottage by the Sea
  • Home
  • On My Mind
  • Quotes
  • Secrets of an Old Woman
  • A Solitary Traveler
  • Compassionate Reading
  • Comfort food
  • Books
  • Suggested reading
  • Poems
  • About me
  • About me and my blog

Switching to PAGES

1/2/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A new year, a new post, a new try at this new computer program that I have to adapt to!!! It seems that the current Microsoft Word program that I had to purchase when I got this new computer, doesn’t have the NoteBook format that I loved using for years. Whenever I begin a new file, NoteBook disappears as an option. Vanished; gone!
     My complaint may be an age thing—my age, that is. I’ve been word processing for a mighty long time (I had an Apple C). I kind of understand that things have to change; I’m talking about marketing. I know that if companies stayed with a good thing, there would be nothing to sell! Madison Avenue doesn’t mean a thing any more (you have to have been around for a long time just to know what I’m referring to). 
    Okay, enough of that. I’m going to keep a sharp eye out for the bill to renew (pay for) the Microsoft Word program. I have to be alert so I can click ‘No thank you,” and not be charged for another year. 
     While I wait I’m going to give Pages, the word processing program that comes free with Macs, a try. When I bought this computer last summer, my son-in-law, who knows a great deal about computers, told me to forget Word and go with Pages. But I wasn’t ready to give up what I was used to, what was part of my computer DNA. Finally, I’m listening. 


    (I’m writing this on Pages and love how easy it is save on my desktop. I’m not certain that it has the NoteBook features, but the other features seem more accessible.)

0 Comments

Spend time with positive people

2/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Spend time with positive people is one of the ‘nuggets of truth’ I wrote about in The Teacher Book: Finding Personal and Professional Balance, a book I published in 2000. That nugget is still with me twenty years later. It is not that I avoid all negativity. We all have difficult things going on in our lives, and at times we need to pour them out to someone. I can listen to that, and I am very grateful that I have friends who do the same for me. By positive people, however, I mean those who desire to get out of despair, not those who seem to want to remain in a ‘poor me’ state.
     I believe that good conquers bad, that every human being has a beautiful soul, and that we each have a choice to go high. Those who are profoundly stuck in negativity need a listener who will remain with them through to the other side. I know when I am not that person. I know my limitations. That’s what I mean by my choice to spend time positive people. 

0 Comments

Hopeful speaking and writing~

11/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​During these contentious political times the words Richard Rohr posted last week prompted me to reflect on the tone of this blog and the underlying message I want to convey.
 
My hope, whenever I speak or write, is to help clear away the impediments to receiving, allowing, trusting, and participating in a foundational Love. 
 
     Yes, Richard Rohr, my hope and your hope are similar, but sometimes I think my posts are rather boring and self-involved. The two go together; boring because I don’t tell stories about other people, and self-involved because I only tell stories about myself.
        Thus I don’t let you know about the many friends I see in person, talk with on the phone, and keep up with over the internet. On this blog they are pretty much invisible, although their lives, with both joys and concerns, are blessings in helping me lead my life and write about silence, solitude, simplicity.
     It would be much easier to share my friends’ stories, and it would be much more interesting for you readers to hear a good story. But as you know, I work hard/struggle not to judge, gossip or speak at another’s expense-- impediments to Love.  
       Consequently, I’m left with one main character—me. My word choice is  self-involvement, but hopefully not self-promotion. I want to share my thoughts as I strive to receive, allow, trust, and participate in love. 
​

0 Comments

Journal writng

9/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​When once in a while on my travels I see someone (usually a woman) writing in a journal. I am intrigued. I want to strike up a conversation with her. I want ask her what she writing, I want to read what she written. Of course, these are against all my rules of privacy, ethics, moral values, confidentiality, solitude, secrecy (my computer thesaurus just gave me those). Never, never, never read anyone else’s journal/diary!
    The other day at one of my go-to-writing cafes, a women sat down at a nearby table, took her journal our of her purse, wrote for a bit, put the journal back, and sat pensively; she repeated the procedure two more times. She purchased no coffee.
     This journal writer wore a print frock with a matching bow in her graying hair. She appeared to be in her sixties, but trying to look younger. When she left I was tempted to follow her, but alas, I didn’t because of all those rules that extend past reading someone’s journal to include prying into her life.   
     Sometimes I just hate my rules because I want to discover secrets that are not mine to know.
      (I’ve thought long and hard about breaking my rules by posting her photo, but have concluded she will remain anonymous. You may agree, you may not. It’s a decision up for grabs.) 

0 Comments

Travel writing~

5/31/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Whew, finally I finished a travel article entitled “Free in Florence,” about the free things you can do in Florence for a week. I posted it on Thorn Tree, the travel bloggers section of Lonely Planet, where they have a monthly contest of what they consider the best blogs. Entering gives me impetus to get something written and the chance to see what other bloggers do.
      Very like all of the bloggers are younger than me. Many are young people who hope to write and travel for a living. They post from around the world, many from exotic place. They take physical risks and travel on a shoestring. 
      I blog about Europe—Italy and Scotland; and closer to home—Boston. I’m not interested in making a living out of travel writing, nor do I want to visit exotic places or take any kind of physical risks. I don’t travel on a shoestring, but I do keep an eye my budget.
    To read my latest entry, go to “A Solitary Traveler” to this blog.
 www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/welcome

0 Comments

Writing inspiration from Alcott and Emerson

5/21/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureEmerson's writing desk
     I’m again inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the many artists that gathered together in his parlor at Emerson House in Concord. This weekend we saw the writing desks of Louisa May Alcott at Orchard House and Ralph Waldo Emerson at Emerson House just down the road. Here’s how the stories were told by the engaging tour guides.
      Louisa wrote at a desk built for her by her father. It circled the window and there she sat writing throughout the light hours of the day.
      Emerson wrote all morning at the desk in his study. In the afternoon he walked to Walden; in the evening he chatted with friends in the parlor.
       We were told that Louisa’s mother worked extremely hard both inside and outside the home, cooking, cleaning, and sewing, thus giving her daughter time to write. Thankfully the family reaped the benefits of their hard work, for with the publication of Little Women, Louisa was able to support the family financially.
    The Emersons were not poor, nor were the rich. Waldo (as Emerson requested to be called) supported the family with lyceum talks he gave in New England and beyond. He had time to develop his thoughts and plan his talks, time to read, write, think, and discuss with others because, in part, his wife Lydian cared for the children and managed those hired to help in the household. That was the family social structure in the mid-nineteenth century.
       My point is that these two writers had TIME and permission to write without the burden of many of the distractions we have today. It’s a different world, so we have to manage our time in different ways. Now is now, then was then.
      I wrote about this October 2017 here.
www.acottagebythesea.net/a-solitary-traveler

Picture
Louisa May Alcott's writing desk.
0 Comments

What is enough?

4/17/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
     What is enough? A friend told me that every January 1st she chooses a word or phrase to live with for the year. Here in Florence I’ve been thinking about ‘enough’ as my word to embrace. How many cappuccini, views of the Duomo, walks along the Arno, or visits to San Miniato del Monte are enough? Can I be satisfied with these moments and give up planning my next trip? Can I be in the present, right NOW, and know that it is enough? Is it possible that whatever I have right NOW is enough?
    I started writing this in the cemetery surrounding San Miniato. Thousands of mausoleums, statues, and grave stones are there for those living now to remember, although memories are never static, and often not enough. And then, there is a mysterious NOW of the dead person.
    Every morning I give a euro to a man standing outside the café where I come to write. Today I notice that he came in and bought a coffee. Was it enough? I don’t know other than to believe that for him, as with any morning coffee lover, one coffee is better than none.
    What is enough? There is no definitive answer to my question, but in asking it, I become more present to this moment, and that feels like enough. Regardless, enough is enough of a word to live with for the rest of the year.

0 Comments

Now I know~

2/7/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
     Most mornings I write what Julia Cameron has named ‘morning pages.’ I open my journal, pick up my pen, record the date and begin writing until I have nothing more I want to say. I then close the journal, never rereading.
      Today, however, I did glance up at two words I had underlined: know and now, noticing their similarity—just one added letter. I had been thinking of knowing as being certain of something deep in my heart more than in my brain--truth, not a fact. Now, as I had written it, referred to being present to the moment I was in.
    For now, here’s my new knowing. It is when we live in the NOW that we KNOW.

0 Comments

Follow your artist's way~

10/30/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
       I’m finishing up an article about my fieldtrip to Concord the other day--hope to post in on “A Solitary Traveler” on this blog tomorrow. Julia Cameron’s ‘morning pages’ and her suggestion that we enhance our artist’s way when we take solo fieldtrips once a week, has given me new energy. Bottom line: it’s all about meaning and purpose in life, and these are two ways to do it.
      So, whoever you are, wherever you are, you are an artist. Take time to do what you need to express yourself and feed your creative soul. Write every morning, go off by yourself, even you extroverts.

0 Comments

Those morning pages again~

10/26/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
     Remember Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way published in 2002? Remember the ‘morning pages’?
Julia recently published It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond. In glancing through (not reading) this latest publication I was inspired once again by her brilliant, and yet simple practice of ‘morning pages.’ I ‘did’ them years ago, I’m doing them again.
      First thing in the morning pick up your journal and start writing. Don’t think, don’t plan, just write. Let that stream of consciousness pour out of your pen. Don’t edit; in fact, don’t reread. When you’ve written three pages, close the journal, and go on with your life.
     I’m amazed at what has come to me since beginning this practice five days ago. Amazed at topics: I may be on my way to figuring out how Florence has shaped my life and why I keep returning. Amazed at insights: I meditate with less distraction when I write all about me first.

0 Comments
<<Previous
    Contact me: bobbifisher.mac@mac.com

    Categories

    All
    3rs
    3S's
    Aging
    Andre Dubus Iii
    Ann Patchett
    Anticipation
    Art
    Assisi
    Barbara Kingsolver
    Being Alone
    Beyond Words
    Books
    Cantice Of The Sun
    Celebrations
    Choices
    Churches
    Community
    Cor
    Cottage By The Sea
    Cottage Day
    Courage
    Curiosity
    Dad
    Dalai Lama
    Death And Dying
    Depression
    Desiderata
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
    Donald Hall
    Dr Alex Tang
    Edinburgh
    Eleanor Lerman
    Emily Dickinson
    Environment
    Esther De Waal
    Faith
    Field Trip
    Florence
    Follow Your Bliss
    Food
    Friendship
    Frugal
    Gifts
    Giving And Receiving
    Gratitude
    Health
    Heart
    Hermits
    Hope
    Impermanence
    Independent And Close
    Inspire & Affirm & Encourage
    Introvert
    Iona
    Ireland
    Italy
    James Hollis
    Jane Austen
    Jan Sutch Pickard
    Joan Chittister
    John Dear
    John Masefield
    Joseph Campbell
    Katherine Paterson
    Knitting
    Li
    Lonely
    Longing
    Love
    Marsha Sinetar
    Mary Oliver
    Max Ehrmann
    Meaning
    Memories
    Mom
    Moving
    Museums
    My Day
    Nature
    Nina Sankovitch
    Now
    Pamela Dalton
    Paris
    Passion
    Paulo Coelho
    Peace
    Philip Koch
    Place
    Play
    Prayer
    Present Moment
    Quiet
    Rachel Carlson
    Radical Compassion
    Read
    Reading
    Resolutions
    Restlessness
    Retirement
    Rita Golden Gelman
    Robert Kull
    Rome
    Routines
    Sankovitch
    Scotland
    Seen In A Draper's Shop
    Service
    Silence
    Sim
    Simplicity
    Skye
    Soli
    Solitude
    Soul Work
    Space
    St Catherine Of Siena
    St. Francis
    Stress
    Susan Gain
    Tenzin Palmo
    Thanksgiving
    The Uncommon Reader
    Thomas Keating
    Thomas Merton
    Three Sieves
    Time
    Travel
    Tru
    Viktor E. Frankl
    Walking
    Wonder
    Writi
    Writing

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.