Love Notes

Sep 15, 2024 • #fall #travel

Slip Inn to Fall 9/9/24

If you're a longstanding Love Note reader, you'll know plenty about my end of summer blues + lackluster enthusiasm for falling into fall (if not, or if you're just looking for a kindred spirit on this topic, then have a read here). Fall, after all, is the season that brings us brown. It's also the season when you realize the pants that you haven't worn for three months might not fit so well. Need I say more? READ MORE

Sep 15, 2024 • #maine #summer

Fireflies 8/29/24

I'm still in Maine, where the license plates actually do read "Vacationland". I still have another week to enjoy my beloved summer spot on this sublime coastline. While out on my ritual morning walk earlier this week, I found myself listening extra carefully to a lovely little ballad by singer songwriter Lori McKenna, in which she melodically reminisces about catching fireflies "in mayonnaise jars with holes poked on top". (Have a listen to her sing it here). * READ MORE

Aug 25, 2024 • #paris

Sun Shine On 7/28/24

I had been collecting images of Paris for today's note, with hopes of staying a leap - or more accurately, just a wee step ahead, in what has become a Sunday ritual with my proverbial pen. And yet, here I sit, still mired amid the first paragraph. Despite all the joy and inspiration from watching thousands of dedicated summer athletes gracefully dancing their way across the city of light and beyond, (the Olympic sailing venue is in Marseille - follow along here) ... AND despite a take-your-breath-away performance by Celine Dion, I am not finding much gold to be mined from my third party vantage point sitting here at my desk. Aaahhhh oh sigh. Maybe it's just that I'm ready for my August vacation. Let's keep it simple for today.

Shine on Olympian superstars. May we bask in the aftermath of your glow. READ MORE

Aug 25, 2024 • #italy #purpose

Where May Your Paths Lead You? 7/22/24

In searching for a header image for this week's love note, I looked, like I usually do when I'm seeking inspiration, to nature. Today I found it in a work of art inspired by nature's beauty.

Let’s pause and take a closer look at the exquisite painting above. The eye is drawn in by those wispy stratocumulus clouds, along with their reflections on the water. All these vectors seem to lead into a single vanishing point on the far shore. (You can see this better in a larger image here.) Say, isn't that what we all want in life ... to have a clear spot on the horizon towards which we should point our bow? No doubt we'll encounter some obstacles, like those islands in the foreground. It's likely that at some point, we'll have to tack back and forth to make any headway to windward. But how do we know where our mark is? How do we know what it is it that we are working our way towards? READ MORE

Jul 15, 2024 • #summer

Enthusiasm 7/15/24

So much of life is just diving in. Well, maybe not if you're hanging wallpaper. But you know what I mean. When I found myself newly divorced 14 years ago, I vowed that whenever a friend invited me for a visit - or to do just about anything, really - my reply would be, "Thank you so much, I would love to come!" (And to all of you who invited me, bless you, and we did have some fun!) READ MORE