This is new!!!! Hooray!

 November 15th, 2017

 Hello and welcome.  It's been more than a year since I added 
 anything here. I finally got a tech person over to help me. 
 Obviously a lot has happened since Feb.2016, the last time I blogged.
 I'm not even going to  try to catch up. I'm going to begin with now.

 My life has definitely changed...as have my goals.

I'm no longer working on the "getting old" with a smile book. After a whole bunch of research, I
decided that there was already material out there. The world did not need mine.

I did some travelling. To Madagascar and the Pacific northwest with Lars and Nirin (they are in 
the nomad book); and a few months ago, I was a witness at their wedding in Nantes, 
France. It was my first gay wedding; and as I signed the marriage certificate, I had tears in my
eyes. There were friends and family as well as government officials. What an honor that was!

But I'm not up to travelling on my own any more. My last big trip was with Jan to Rwanda----an 
amazing country. Safe, exciting, and bursting with energy....especially female energy!!

Lars and Nirin have just bought a chateau near the Loire River and they are planning to open a 
B&B.  It's undergoing a renovation at the moment. They promised to let me know when it's ready.
I will let you know.

At the moment I am being very lazy....although I just finished a kids' book about fun rhyming for 
Scholastic. (Fill in the blank:  Brooms are brushy, toilets are ____. Cats are silky, 
cows are _____.) It's a game I have played for many years when I visit schools.  Mort Gerberg 
(he has done several of my books) is doing the illustrations. 

This will be the first time I have ever actually worked with an illustrator; it has always been
the publisher's job to find and work with the illustrator. I call myself a "word salesman." But 
Mort called me and said, "Let's do a new one together." .........Why not?  His illustrated
More Spaghetti, I SAY! has sold more than three million copies. I love his whimsical art. And 
the rhyming game is great. Kids and teachers already love it! I think it will be out in 2018.


I just came back from a ten-day Vipassana Meditation Retreat. No talking or even eye-contact for 
nine days.  It was hard for me. I'm a connector. But I did like the many hours of meditation.

I am planning to be in the DC area for Christmas with my son, Mitch, and his family. Holler if 
you want to meet. I've been in Seattle, living in the downstairs apartment of Jan and 
Bill's house near Columbia City. 

That's all for now.  Hooray. I can blog again!  Oh, and if you want to join my Listserv, send me
an e-mail:   femalenomad@gmail.com         Have a great holiday.      Love, Rita

 

February 18, 2016

Online, that is. (Or, rather….on my blog; I’m always online!!) The problem is that I bought a new computer many months ago and the WordPress software that lets me post stuff to this blog, got lost in the transfer.  Last night, my friend, Patrick (24-year-old nephew-in-law of my daughter, Jan, sat down and in 15 minutes he put it all back together again. It’s amazing! I want to take him with me wherever I go, but in just 10 days he goes home to Germany!)

I’m currently living in Seattle. Jan and her husband, Bill, have a downstairs in their house with a few bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. Patrick and I are sharing the space with sporadic guests. And we also hang out with Jan and Bill. Everyone works; I pretend to. I haven’t been out of the country since last year when I went to Madagascar with my friends, Lars and Nirin. (You met them in my nomad book.) It was a great trip and the guys did all the planning. They even carried my bags!

My reasons for sitting still, rather than nomadding around the world, are: achy shoulders, a determination to write my next book (Getting Older with a Smile, Breaking the Rules of Aging), and a general laziness. Plus, there’s a lot to do in the area….more on this later.

I’m trying to ignore the arthritic, cartiledge-less shoulders; the dr. said “replacement.” I’m 78 and have no interest in surgery!  So instead I’ve decided to write about getting old. The wonderful thing is……I’m a very happy person, and now, even happier, because I’m freed by age to do whatever I want to do. The first chapter in the book is called “Liberation!” My collaborator (Betty Morgan) and I are committed to getting people  to learn how to have fun when they’re in their mid-fifties and more.. How to play, draw, sing, travel, be silly. Try things they’ve never done before. It’s going to be a terrific book and it will change a lot of lives. We just have to write it!!

I am, at the moment, avoiding writing……..something I’m very good at. We are in the process of looking for an agent and I’m not working too hard on that either!

I am having fun. Two weeks ago I spent a weekend singing at Rainy Camp. We sang all day and well into the night. There were guitars, banjos, violins, string instruments that sit on your lap, and all sorts of drumming things. It was incredibly exciting. I even took a workshop on yodeling!! (I have a way to go. They suggested we practice in a closet!) My heart was pumping the whole time I was there.  Days later I still felt my body bubbling with joy.  I will definitely go again next year. I love to sing!

That’s enough for now. If you want to send an autographed copy of Tales of a Female Nomad to a friend, send me an e-mail, a dedication-name, and your address. When you get the book, you can send me the check!!

I’m going to try to blog more often. Also, I have a listserv that I write to regularly….sharing my thoughts and whims. If you want to join, write and ask me to add you.      Thanks.                                Love, Rita

 

What I’ve been up to:

02/17/2016

I’m about to go back to writing posts every now and then (at least monthly).

It’s been so long, I totally forgot how to do it. This is a test.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a real post. Do stop by.  RG