Artwork by Cindy La Ferle
According to scientists, our sixth sense — otherwise known as intuition — improves with age. In the June issue of Michigan Prime, I discuss how this inner radar can help us make better decisions, avoid danger, and improve our relationships. You’ll find the print edition of the supplement in your Sunday Detroit Free Press, or you can read it online (page 3) here.
Photo: Cindy La Ferle
As a lifestyles columnist, I’ve been concerned about new research on how social media use impacts our mental health, productivity, and well-being. I’m also watching new developments in social media privacy issues.
Which is part of the reason I decided to start a personal blog, Things that make me happy. I like to think of it as an online journal, a safe place where I can share my creative projects or whatever strikes my interest at the moment — new books I’m reading, political musings, family updates, inspirational quotes, photos of my gardens and places I’m visiting — and anything else I’d share with good friends. (I’ll continue to use Cindy La Ferle’s Home Office strictly as a professional resume and for public writing workshop announcements.)
One of the advantages of personal blogging, in my view, is that it’s not as “in your face” as most social media sites. Readers can choose to bookmark or subscribe to a blog — or totally ignore it — which frees the blogger to post content with a greater sense of candor. (Unlike Facebook, privacy settings on Google Blogger are easier for me to handle.)
I don’t keep track of subscriptions to my posts, nor am I trying to build an audience. I’ve simply created it in response to friends, readers, and family members who tell me they miss my postings on Facebook. To view Things that make me happy, please visit here.
Accessories at the Studio Sandra clothing boutique, Royal Oak. Photo by Cindy La Ferle
Here in Detroit, there’s no shortage of stylish, creative women. In the May issue of Michigan Prime, I return to the topic of discovering and celebrating our individual style — despite the fact that most fashion magazines still overlook women over 50. For this story, I interviewed several local women of style, including Sandra Rome, the owner of Studio Sandra, a tres-chic boutique in Royal Oak.
Look for the magazine in your Sunday Detroit Free Press this weekend, or click here to read the feature online.
Click here to read an earlier fashion post that includes links to a few of my favorite fashion blogs for women over 50.
“I’ve never met many of my best friends. I’ve read them, as if all their words were letters meant for me. You have no idea who’s waiting for your work. Don’t leave them friendless.” ~Martha Beck
There was a time — before I used a computer — when I wrote my columns and essays in my journals, and later typed them into manuscripts for my editors. Even today, when I’m feeling stuck or blocked, I start scribbling random thoughts in a notebook.
If you live in the Detroit area, please join me at the Royal Oak Public Library next week for “Write Where You Are,” an evening workshop on how to use journaling prompts to jumpstart your memoirs and personal essays. The prompts will help you recall valuable life lessons and experiences that can be used as material for your memoirs, blog posts, or personal essays.
When and where: April 24, 2017, 7pm in the Royal Oak Public Library Friends Auditorium. This program is free to the public, but space is limited. Please phone the Royal Oak Public Library (248-246-3700) to reserve your space. Copies of my book, Writing Home, will be sold after the workshop at a special discount.
My garden photography is featured in the Spring 2017 Gardening Issue of Your Home & Lifestyle Magazine, a publication for real estate professionals and their clients. The article (by Detroit design journalist Jeanine Matlow) talks about how I’ve “decorated” my garden beds with outdoor ornaments I’ve collected over the years. I’m thrilled to see my photo blog mentioned in this lovely article, too.
Cindy La Ferle