Red Earth (also known as laterite) from Johannesburg, South Africa (original photo by Corina Fratila) Dear Community, It is Monday, which means: NEWSLETTER DAY! And before anyone gets any ideas, I would like to reassure Emma D. that Saturday's invitation to join us for a Romanian șezătoare this Thursday was most certainly NOT this week's newsletter. Emma has already made her position abundantly clear, in no uncertain terms: "That better not count as your email for the

Dear Community, This email is for the women in the community. How lovely would it be to create a little circle for women who love good company, curious conversations, making things with their hands, and the particular joy of creating something alongside other women? So I'm starting something! and I'd love for you to be part of it. Think of this as the first chapter of a little in-person community we're creating together. I've put together a page with all the detail

The Sultan's Prayer Room, Topkapi Palace (original photo by Corina Fratila) Dear Community, It's a new week and a new month! I am determined to put to work all that new energy and get started on some projects I've been procrastinating on for months. I am also ready to re-start going to the gym, which I haven't been doing since June, since world travels have gotten in the way. I am going to start from where I left it off last week, when I started playing Scheherezade. I

The Basilica Cistern original photo by Corina Fratila Dear Community, I am back! I returned from South Africa approximately 36 hours ago. Ever since I first heard about the African bush and savanna, I have felt a desire to experience them. Stories of encounters with wild animals first piqued my interest. But I was equally drawn to stories of people experiencing a deep connection to the land and her energies. (Quick (or not-so-quick) detour:) I started referring to

Dear Community, This newsletter is coming in a bit early, because a very busy Monday is waiting to unfold tomorrow, and I don't like leaving things to the last minute and hoping "it will all work out". First of all, thank you to all who responded to last weeks' newsletter. I found Emma's response particularly thought-provoking. Here's what she said: "Here are my simple thoughts: vulnerability is so interesting because a truth that felt quite vulnerable to you, (from r

Dear Community, It is a fascinating and humbling process, this sitting down to write my Monday morning newsletter, especially when I have no idea what I actually want to say. It is an exercise in surrender and deep listening. There are things that clearly want to be expressed, and then it's easy, and sometimes there is a deep empty space. That is where I start going through the notes I made the weeks prior, in an attempt to solve this very problem. Being prepared is one of

Dear Community, My last newsletter received a flurry of responses and I am so thrilled that the conversation was sparked! Susan said: “HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! What kind of "drunk" is he actually referring to? Fall over sloppy drunk or just a female empowerment buzz which as we all know, is the "gateway to the truth telling" for most women. I myself can't drink any longer, however the "mild buzz" was always the best! It unleashes a side to most women that makes them lovable and

Dear Community, It feels like it’s been months since I wrote the last newsletter, approximately 7 days ago. This week's issue is coming out a bit earlier, because tomorrow morning I will be traveling to the mountains of Transylvania and I don't want to carry my laptop. Time has a way of expanding here in Romania, possibly because I’m on vacation and in no particular rush, but also because everything is so close. Most places take ten minutes to reach, and much of the getti

Dear Community, I have literally landed in Romania approximately 1 hour ago and am currently thoroughly enjoying the midafternoon light in my mother’s home in Sibiu, Transylvania. Travels were uneventful, and I am including some pictures: one from my stop in Vienna and one of my mother’s kitchen. I am thinking about you waking up and drinking your coffee as you are reading this. Today, I would like to discuss the very shady origins of the word “provider” as it relates t

Dear community, It is always so interesting to receive your comments to my newsletter. I welcome all your thoughts and hope to receive more of them. Special shoutout to Emma D., for entering the conversation and responding in writing! No pressure, by the way, but please keep in mind that when something is being stirred inside of you by the newsletter, I would love to hear about it. One of the great loves of my life is words. So when I found the Dictionary of Obscure So

Dear Community, I woke from a nightmare with the words “Weeping Woman” in my mind. Strangely, in the dream, “Weeping Woman” was the name of a compensation package(!). I searched for it after waking. No such compensation package exists. But The Weeping Woman is the title of a famous 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso. And La Llorona—“The Weeping Woman”—is also the title of one of my favorite songs. I am listening to it on repeat as I write this, and I invite you to listen with me.

Dear Community, A day before I returned from Germany, my husband almost died. He went into the backyard to take out the compost. One of the bins had been knocked over during a windstorm and he attempted to straighten it. Unfortunately, the compost bin had been claimed by a large and extremely territorial family of yellowjackets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket) They attacked him. He was stung approximately ten times, all over his body. At first, he attempted to man

Dear Community, I wrote this piece several years ago and I always loved it, but for some reason, I never published it. It feels especially relevant now. We judge one another, we rank people, we take our own customs, beliefs, and ways of seeing the world and mistake them for universal truth. Then we create stories about those who live differently—and forget that they are stories. I feel that this is the way distance becomes hierarchy, hierarchy becomes contempt, and cont

Dear Community, In the last newsletter, I intended to publish some of the answers I received to "My Neighbor, The Spy", but there was a glitch in the editing software and I ended up publishing only the pictures that Stacey B. sent. So here are some of the answers I received from you: Stacey B. said: "My favorite sitting spot is on my pool deck after a swim, looking into my yard. That’s where my butterfly garden is and the bluebird houses. I also love watching the bees

Dear Community, It is a beautiful summer morning. There’s the familiar hum of the busy street in the background. In the trees nearby, a bunch of Northern Cardinals have a lot to say to each other (or to me? or the ethers?). I can hear the chickadees, too, and the Carolina Wrens. And here’s the melancholy cooing that might belong to the Mourning Dove, or to one of the three owls that populate the little forest behind our backyard. A squirrel just lost her footing and is no

Dear Community, Today's newsletter is an Aquarium Sleepover Trip Report Who and why I wanted to celebrate the end of our 30-Day Reset. What a great success that was, by the way! Will most likely do it again. 5 women said yes. One almost chickened out of the trip (in her own words). Because who has aquarium sleepovers other than 10 year-olds? And why would anyone even consider an aquarium sleepover? Because on paper, it sounds incredible. Wouldn't YOU want to share

Dear Community, This morning, during the 30-Day Reset, inspired by my friend Alia, we made a list of the things we love (bonus points were earned if the things on the list were free). I was so excited by the shares in our group and by the things that I, myself have uncovered, that I have decided to make today’s newsletter about this list! Would love to hear from you, your list of things that you love and dream of. Here’s my list: Listening to the first three minutes

Dear Community, My family was away this weekend, and for the first time in fifteen years, I had the house entirely to myself for two full days. I felt excited and curious about what might unfold, and a little scared, too. Sleeping alone in an empty house has never been easy for me. Saturday morning, after a walk and a very slow breakfast, I found myself in a place of confusion. (I am not even sure why I eat so quickly most of the time. I suspect it is a habit I developed when

Dear Community, Did you know that having your smart phone in the same room as yourself will lower your cognitive capacity? Adrian F. Ward et al. (2017), "Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One's Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity." This is the famous study that looks at how the MERE PRESENCE of one's cell phone on your desk, or in the room affects working memory and fluid intelligence (defined as one's ability to think, reason, solve new problems, and make

Dear Community, As I have been diving head first into what I call my soul's work, a few legit questions are coming up. What is the soul? Does everyone have a soul? Do souls talk to each other? What constitutes souls's work? How do you know it is your soul's work vs. inflation of the ego? What is inflation of the ego? These questions are not abstract for me, they're coming up because I'm in the middle of something, building what I can only call my soul's work- and I keep r