Tell me about your hobbies!

Renaissance, my retired teacher's magazine asked us to answer these questions:

Setting the camera timer I took my photo

Have you made new friends through your hobby or does your hobby give you much needed time to yourself?
What motivated you to start this pastime? 
How has your hobby affected or changed your everyday life?

I wrote about Michele in my book.
Being her friend helped me be a better hospice volunteer,
and caring for my parents helped me figure out
what a good death might be.

My hobbies are all integrated into one hobby: blogging. When I moved to Muskoka, to care for my dying mother, I began a blog to let my adult children know what I was up to. This led to the book I wrote about my journey, . The blogging morphed into some new projects: how to take better photos, writing every day, and connecting with friends far away.


I write a blog on healthcare, this one on living in cottage country, and another on teaching. As a volunteer, I do the blogs for Habitat for Humanity Muskoka and Habitat NCR. I enjoy gardening, crafts, touring our local festivals for daycations, and photographing my world as a hobby. Learning how to integrate technology into my teaching, my students and I planned out what we wanted to do and how to accomplish it. We created personal web pages, documenting our classwork, and this was a fabulously creative endeavour. We thrived on it.

Recently I gave a speech at the
Heart of Hastings Hospice AGM!

My book

During the time when my parents were really ill, it helped to connect with others who were caregiving, as well as the friends and teachers I left behind.

I ended up having Skype chats with family, and others dealing with dying family members. I wrote about bullying, and helping kids deal with death and dying. Recently, I did a Skype video for TVOntario on poverty and healthcare. Promoting local fundraising opportunities helps give back to the community.

Blogging, as a retiree, has opened up a whole new world for me. I have honed my computer skills, begun to use Twitter to influence and educate

I blogged about my kids/grandkids camping!
We Skyped when I lived far away in Muskoka.

others about teaching and healthcare. The popularity of my blog page has led to various interviews, guest spots on radio, and people anxious to read my opinions on politics, healthcare, and Canadian issues. I often get requests for information, resources or help for those caring for loved ones, or those teaching.

I was interviewed for a TV show:
 TVO's Why Poverty.
  Dr. Brian Goldman, interviewing me for his White Coat, Black Art radio show. What a thrill!