Studies show that as people age they get happier. How can this be? We have more health-related issues: High blood pressure Faulty hips and knees begging for replacement Frozen shoulders Arthritic fingers Acid reflux Lower back pain We spend more time in doctor offices. We get colonoscopies regularly. Stress tests. Blood drawn. And we routinely find ourselves at rehab centers readjusting Continue reading
Author: Iris Ruth Pastor
How The Deland Arts & Crafts Fair Ultimately Played Out
It was a day of newness – beginning with driving a cargo van 125 miles to my destination, which was The Annual Deland Outdoor Art Festival, where I had secured a booth to sell my creations for the very first time. I knew going into this virgin endeavor that I’d never recoup my costs:CanopyWagonShabby chic Continue reading
The Secret to Trying Something New
By the time you read this, hopefully, I will have driven a cargo van filled with my craft show supplies safely to Deland Florida – 125 miles from my home. By the time you read this, hopefully, the person who was supposed to help erect my canopy when I arrive at the park will have done so. By the Continue reading
I Don’t Know Why This Gets To Me, But It Does
Fannie Landman didn’t live a long life. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 9, 1912 and died on October 6, 1919 at age 7 years, 1 month and 2.8 days – from complications of Scarlett Fever and Septicemia, according to her Certificate of Death. Her family, immigrants from Austria, were too poor to have her Continue reading
How to Get Out of a Jokerless Funk
I was looking through my “Joke Folder” in my computer. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like years ago, when e mail was more of a novelty than an everyday nuisance, people utilized this tech tool to send jokes. Nowadays I receive tons of E-mails bearing “enticing” subject lines: HelloFresh – new recipes are Continue reading
Down To The Wire
My weekly newsletter comes out every Friday at 3 pm. I started writing it when my youngest son Louie was about three years old and he is now pushing thirty-nine. So I guess I’ve written a couple of thousand. My columns used to run about 900 words, but over the decades – along with our Continue reading
I’m Afraid, But I’m Doing It Anyway
Have you ever gone to a craft’s fair and watched the crowds huddle at one booth but barely enter another? I always feel sorry for the craftsperson/artist who sits there – solitary – trying not to appear desperate for customers – perched on a stool staring mindlessly at her cell phone. I’m afraid that in Continue reading
I’m Afraid, But I’m Doing It Anyway
Have you ever gone to a craft’s fair and watched the crowds huddle at one booth but barely enter another? I always feel sorry for the craftsperson/artist who sits there – solitary – trying not to appear desperate for customers – perched on a stool staring mindlessly at her cell phone. I’m afraid that in Continue reading
Losing my mom – 5 years later
Five years ago today, my sister and brother and I lost our mom to a very short battle with pancreatic cancer. She wanted to die on her birthday and she did.She wanted to be surrounded by family as she drew her last breath. And she was.She wanted to die in peace, without physical pain, and Continue reading
The Strength of a First Love’s Bond
One morning, I am jolted by an e mail that pops up in my inbox. It is from him – my first love. “Iris, I have something I think you would like which I would like to send you. I need your address so I can have UPS ship it down. If you doubt the validity Continue reading