Cozy in Whatcom County

When I was asked to develop ideas for indoor activities for visitors to my area, it was easy to come up with a list of my favorite places. Many of them I’d already written about. Independent film, live music, indoor climbing, performing arts, and pub crawls are just a few of the options. Check out my Bellingham Experience Insider blog, 5 Ways to Stay Warm and Active in Bellingham this Winter, soon to plan your next visit to the Bellingham and Whatcom County area. One look and you’ll see why I chose this place to call home.

When winter is keeping you inside, there are a lot of options for cozy fun.

 

Outside the Box with North Sound Singles

I’m not single, but when I saw a tweet by Bellingham-based North Sound Singles (@NSoundSingles) I had to admit it made me curious. If I’m curious, then a whole lot of my single pals might be as well. That’s why I decided to meet their founder, Kimberly Kerr, and write about their approach to meeting potential partners.

Dating sites and the superficial nature of internet dating wasn’t working for Kerr so she created her own MeetUp.com group, with an old-school approach of just meeting in public places to do active, fun things…and then just seeing what happens. Check out this article I wrote for WhatcomTalk.com to learn more about the group that has now grown to more than 250 members.

 

Pacific Northwest Leads the Way in Green Building

I really enjoyed writing this article about Dan Welch of [bundle] and his award-winning ultra-green home. There’s something to be admired when someone lives their values every day, going off the grid in an environmentally-conscious way in order to test the limits of possibility and inspire others. Check out my article for WhatcomTalk.com to find out how one family is living in an experiment every day.

Big Changes for iDiOM Theatre

For the past several years, I have had the honor of performing at a saucy avant-garde little theater in Bellingham, the endearing iDiOM Theatre. They recently announced that they would be moving after 14 years to a new location for next season. I was so excited for them that I wrote about it for WhatcomTalk.com.

Do go read about all the incredible improvements planned not just for the iDiOM, but also for the entire Bellingham arts community. We’ll all benefit for all that Sylvia Center for the Arts will bring to our doorstep.

Thank you to Cass Murphy for the photos and to Glen Nelson Bristow and Patrick Timmins for their help with this article.

Proposed location for the new Sylvia Center for the Arts

 

Life is Full

In addition to managing social media for my writing and acting forays, in the past few months I’ve begun to help others as well.

My favorite local soul/funk/R & B/pop band, Baby Cakes invited me to apply my skills to help elevate their existing stellar social media presence. If you haven’t already discovered them, there are so many ways to find them. On Facebook we’re in the middle of a series of posts I created called, “We want you to get to know your Baby Cakes, one member at at time.” Baby Cakes is great because each of the musicians and vocalists are interesting, talented human beings, both on the stage and off. I am honored and thankful to have joined the Baby Cakes family. We’re also expanding their presence on Twitter @BabyCakesband and Snapchat as BabyCakesband. Instagram and a new web site will follow shortly.

Photo by Kenneth Kearney.

I’ve also been helping Bellingham Film become a consistent and educational presence on Facebook and have supported their campaign to claim and build #Bellinghamfilm. Bellingham Film strives to bring together the local film community to increase the number of film-related living wage jobs and paid work in our area.

I’m delighted to help these groups connect with their audience and look forward to more in 2016.

The Arts and Life

I love writing about the environment, music, and the arts but really, I’m writing about people and their joyous, complicated lives full of dreams, goals, and problems.

Each of the stories I’ve written lately for WhatcomTalk.com were really about the incredible individuals and groups in my community and their complex stories.

Pickford Film Center’s Dances for the Camera film series was a look at local dancers and filmmakers wanting to share with others about end of life issues, including what its like to live with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It will have an encore performance later this month.

My article about musician, Chandra Johnson, shares her story of perseverance and determination, both in pursuing her goals to protect our environment and to continue to share her creativity through music after a devastating car accident.

I’m so excited for the new stories that the world will bring to me in 2016. Wishing you and yours a very safe and fulfilling new year.

Playing with Birds, Bears, and Musicians

I had the pleasure of interviewing a fascinating photographer, Kenneth Kearney, about his adventures as a wildlife photographer, or at least a version of wild. Kenneth will photograph any wildlife that interests him, and that lately has included birds and bears of the West, and local musicians. Check out Kenneth Kearney on flickr and read more about the man here in my WhatcomTalk.com article.

Brown bear cubs watching their mother in Brooks River, Katmai National Park, AK 

 

Looking Toward Summer with the Kidlets

Check out my latest blog post over at Easy to Love… about my not-so-perfect plan for summer with the kids. Are you nervous, excited, overwhelmed that your kids will be home with you all day in a little less than a month? I can’t wait…and I’m scared to death. But I’ll rise to the occasion. Bring it on, summer!

Building Self-Esteem

I wrote a new post today over at Easy to Love But Hard to Raise. Check it out!

Introducing “Easy to Love But Hard to Raise”

I’m excited to announce that the anthology, Easy to Love But Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories, will be released by DRT Press in October 2011 and my essay, Finding My Way, will be in it. As the title so clearly explains, the anthology shares the stories of parents of children impacted by ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), PBD (Pediatric Bipolar Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) or any other situation that adds to the challenge of parenting.

I am also now a contributor on the new blog site that accompanies the book. Please check out my new blog post here, and subscribe if it’s a good fit for you. I’ll post there again next week. This blog  was designed to support and connect tired parents, and allow them to share stories, commiserate, and give tips in a safe haven.

You can also support the blog and anthology by “liking” it on Facebook. Simply search for “Easy to Love But Hard to Raise”. I’m learning a lot about marketing and promotion through this experience, and I hope you do too.