This will be a brief check-in, just so I have some sort of record of February when I return to the blog in May, after hiking the AZT. Too much has happened to catch anyone else up at this point in time. Read more
Author: Rebecca Rose Thering

[Book Notes] Mindfulness in Plain English
Last month my brother Luke recommended I read “Mindfulness in Plain English” by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, a straightforward text that teaches Vipassana (Insight) Meditation. (That link goes to a PDF of the full book, by the way.)
It looked right up my alley, so I made it a focus for February, reading a chapter per day or two. To take the information in more slowly, I took notes by hand in my journal. I did this for myself, to be more intentional about the learning and to have a future reference.
Now that the notes exist, I’m sharing them below—in case anyone is looking for a refresher or is curious about this book. To see any page bigger, right click on the image and select “Open Image in New Tab.” Read more

There Are No Rules
While reading Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge’s “Poemcrazy” today (which I highly recommend for anyone interested in writing poetry, by the way), I came across a sentence that made me pause: Read more

Now Accepting Commissions for February 2019
In December, a friend asked if I would do a painting for her—so she could gift it to her dad for the holidays. It was of their family dog, Buddy, who had recently passed. Here’s the final painting: Read more