Mindfully putting away the cigarettes

Posted on by Richard Kirby

As of this writing, I am a non-smoker for a month-and-a-week-plus, after smoking a pack of cigarettes each and every day for almost 30 years. Ridding myself of cigarettes is a wonderful feeling, and I am certain I will be smoke-free for the rest of my life. That certainty -- knowing that I will succeed in my effort -- is new to me. I cannot say how many times I have tried to quit before and failed; all I know is that there have been too many. In the past, my success rate varied before I... Continue reading

A quick-and-dirty greenhouse

Posted on by Richard Kirby

Readers of this blog know that Jean is an avid gardener. One of the problems we face each year is what to do with many of our plants during the winter to protect them from the cold. Most of the time, our decision is to bring all the plants inside -- and with our small house, that is no easy feat. This winter, we decided to do something different. We had taken down our frame pool for the season and were wondering what to do with the space in the backyard when Jean came up with the idea of... Continue reading

Play it again, Sam!

Posted on by Richard Kirby

I know, I know! It's already way into January but we've had requests to run this thing one more time. Register by midnight, January 20th, 2013 for email updates from the ADAT Journal to be entered to win your very own "2013 Deluxe Life Planner". It's a fabulous day runner/workbook, you can unsubscribe at anytime and we'd sooner stick bamboo shoots up our fingernails than sell your email address or send you spam so there's no risk. Follow this link to register and good luck! Continue reading

It’s a small (and fairly-traded) world at Sojourns

Posted on by Richard Kirby

Several years ago, I took my youngest daughter on an excursion to downtown Birmingham for her birthday celebration. We spent the morning enjoying the McWane Center, then wandered around on a photo safari, exploring the various nooks and crannies in the city center. During our adventure, we came across a little shop that was filled with wonderful and exotic items from across the globe, and my daughter found a necklace she adored. Needless to say, I ended up buying it for her, and she wore it... Continue reading