Not surprisingly I am a wandering blonde and have been most of my life. Over the past year or so I have wandered across America and now I am in the Pacific Northwest with my two black Labrador Retrievers. I’m on the Olympic Peninsula and count the elk, eagles, bears and more as neighbors. I am grateful that Teddy Roosevelt made a huge part of this region a National Park. One minute you’re in Costco and the next you can be in some very wild country. I arrived here a few weeks ago and so far this area is reminiscent of coastal Maine but with lots of big mountains, and without the crazy Maine cold. We’ll see.
The dogs seem to enjoy wandering too, and have proven themselves to be excellent travelers.
Now that I have begun this blog I hope it will motivate me to write more. I am the proverbial square peg trying to fit into the round hole when it comes to traditional forms of employment, but I’ve never been a traditional sort of girl. I’ve done many different things for a living but what I have come to understand is that who I am now is a writer, flexing her muscles and trying to find my voice.
Among other things I have been a chef and have a deep love, okay an obsession for great food and wine. Don’t be surprised to find a lot of my blogs will be describing what I cooked for dinner. My dogs, great literature, and all sorts of music are among my favorite things and like many of you I include my Macbook Pro in that group too. I’m interested in nearly everything so you’ll never know what you’re going to get. Enjoy.
June 3, 2009 at 8:01 PM
Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty intelligent stuff to say.
I’ll be watching you .
April 1, 2009 at 3:32 AM
No blog on OS nor anywhere else. But I do love words and stories and reading poetry aloud, even if only to myself, and islands and the comings and goings of the tides and salt air and solitude and somewhere warm and dry this time of year . . especially this year. My daffodils are wanting so much to open up.
March 31, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Neighbor –
I noticed your postings at salon.com and just kept following the bread crumbs.
Welcome to the PNW.
A poem comes to mind . . .
The Toast
May you always have art to charm
your days, a sensible hearth
and friends as dependable as gravity.
May the wind and creatures be as music
to your evenings alone and may your dreams
leave you renewed. May you have an appaloosa
to ride the outline of blue hills, and nothing
that sickens, and no black sticks.
- James Bertolino
. . . and also this dedication from the late William Stafford’s A Glass Face In The Rain . . .
Smoke Signals
There are people on a parallel way. We do not see them often, or even think of them often, but it is precious to us that they are sharing the world. Something about how they have accepted their lives, or how the sunlight happens to them, helps us to hold the strange, enigmatic days in line for our own living. It is important that these people know this recognition, but it also important that no purpose or obligation related to this be intruded into their lives.
This book intends to be for anyone, but especially for those on that parallel way: here is a smoke signal, unmistakable but unobtrusive – we are following what comes, going through the world, knowing each other, building our little fires.
I can see Discovery Bay from here . . . but no Right whales.
March 31, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Thanks for the welcome, it’s been an exciting winter but I’m ready for spring.
March 31, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Do you have a blog on OS? I’m curious to know!
March 25, 2009 at 8:29 PM
Hey there! Thanks for the note! It made my day! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed my blog and are interested in my Africa saga! I’ve posted more, and will hopefully find out what’s going on with my body tomorrow! NERVOUS!
Thanks again, and God bless.
March 19, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Glad you like the title of my blog. Have a look around and you’ll find a variety of stuff here. It’s a work in progress , as is life itself.
March 19, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Wanderblonde, what a great name for a title. I just happened to stumble on to your site. Aimlessly wandering throught the web, I suppose. It sounds to me as though you are looking for something, of which you are not yet aware. I do not know what type of writings you like (poetry, classic fiction such as Sherlok Holmes, or something popularly obscure like a Confederacy of Dunces) but it may be a good idea to write to yourself. Write about your wanderings and what you found. Your own perspective of what you see and not what you are looking for. I would love to read them. After all, life’s a journey not a destination. …or is that a commercial?
March 1, 2009 at 7:07 PM
I did enjoy the videos and I aqppreciate you sharing them with with me. Your bio reminded me of an Alaskan fishing trip I took a couple of years ago, and the captain’s assistant was also a trained chef. We had the freshest fish dinners you could possibly imagine and it was prepared as if we were in world class restaurants. She spoke of her life as a kind of wanderer as well.
Keep in touch. Let me know if your wanderings will bring you anywhere near the Jacksonville, Florida region.
If you have a Facebook page, find me at Ed Harper in the Jacksonville network. Take care.
March 1, 2009 at 7:14 PM
One never knows but I don’t envision Jacksonville Florida on the itinerary anytime soon. Twelve years was long enough for Florida, though I don’t doubt there are many interesting nooks in that crazy state that I have not even heard the names of. I used to think of Jacksonville as a potential traffic issue as well as a milestone signifying that soon I would be passing the state line.
Hope you liked the little slide show, a pain in the ass to figure out, but a learning experience.
March 1, 2009 at 7:22 PM
Not sure if you want me to publish your comment on my blog since it has your email addresses and things.