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	<title>Cindy La Ferle's Home Office &#187; Columns and essays</title>
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	<link>http://www.laferle.com</link>
	<description>a window on the writing life</description>
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		<title>Soul sisters</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/07/soul-sisters/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/07/soul-sisters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:12:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer surgery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friendship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intergenerational friendships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marilene Sawaf artwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's groups and circles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's retreats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=11996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a  sister?&#8221;  ~Alice Walker
A dear friend of mine is undergoing cancer surgery this week. It&#8217;s the kind of surgery I can&#8217;t imagine having to face, and while my friend is handling it with grace and courage, my heart is breaking for her.
She&#8217;s part of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/07/soul-sisters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
		</item>
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		<title>Vintage duds</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/07/vintage-duds/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/07/vintage-duds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:43:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogs and shorts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[background extras]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes and accessories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Little Guide to Vintage Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magazine editors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melody Fortier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retro styles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrift shops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vintage clothing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wardrobes for background artists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women's magazines]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=11774</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Clothes make the man.  Naked people have little or no  influence on society.&#8221;  ~Mark Twain
I have a love-hate relationship with fashion &#8212; or, should I say, fashion trends? I&#8217;m suspicious of magazines that try to dictate what&#8217;s in and what&#8217;s out. And I resent the fashion editors and &#8220;style experts&#8221; who make me feel [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
		</item>
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		<title>Zen garden</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/06/zen-garden/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/06/zen-garden/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:03:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My artwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[empty nest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[garden essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gardening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese garden design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife issues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife reinvention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victoria magazine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women and midlife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zen garden]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=11685</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All my hurts my garden spade can heal.&#8221; &#8212; Ralph Waldo Emerson

Titled &#8220;The Art of Midlife Gardening,&#8221; this essay was published in Victoria magazine in the March/April issue this year. With the editor&#8217;s permission, I&#8217;m sharing the piece with you while I&#8217;m off this week&#8230;
Last spring, members of our local Master Gardener Society invited me [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/06/zen-garden/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Survival tips for grads</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/05/survival-tips-for-grads/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/05/survival-tips-for-grads/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 11:51:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advice for graduates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college graduation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[empty nest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high school graduation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life lessons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life's milestones]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife parenting topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rites of passage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=11223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards. My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros.&#8221; ~Paul Freund
A blog pal recently asked if any of her regular readers had a few pithy words of advice for new graduates. I was reminded of an earlier column I [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/05/survival-tips-for-grads/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Playtime</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/playtime/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/playtime/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:27:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deep Play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diane Ackerman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife reinvention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[permission to play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[play]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recreation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time off]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tree house]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=10259</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.&#8221; &#8212; Plato
It wasn&#8217;t the designer showcase model for tree houses &#8212; but something about it appealed to my inner child and made her envious. Painted park-bench green, the simple plywood structure was perched high under the branches [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/playtime/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fine-feathered Easter</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/fine-feathered-easter/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/fine-feathered-easter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:22:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Easter essay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Easter gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[holidays and traditions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home and family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pekin duck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pet duck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[suburban pets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=9645</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have to at least consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.&#8221; &#8212; Douglas Adams
Americans do strange things to celebrate religious holidays. Consider Easter. There&#8217;s nothing particularly pious about hiding neon pink and blue [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/04/fine-feathered-easter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gotta have art</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/gotta-have-art/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/gotta-have-art/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:05:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Just for writers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My artwork]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA["Now I Become Myself"]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[altered art projects]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arts and crafts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bimringham Bloomfield Art Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Botticelli's Venus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[collage art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[May Sarton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan artists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan Fine Arts Competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife reinvention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visual arts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=9320</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn&#8217;t say any other way &#8211; things I had no words for.&#8221; ~Georgia O&#8217;Keeffe
Until recently, I was a bit shy about entering my altered art pieces in contests and competitions. More complex than my writing, my artwork is intensely personal &#8212; a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/gotta-have-art/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hallmark moments</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/hallmark-moments/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/hallmark-moments/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:10:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[domestic life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e-mail bombardment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[greeting cards]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keeping in touch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pam Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Phyllis Theroux]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[snail mail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women and friendship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=6789</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often &#8212; just to save it from drying out completely.&#8221; &#8212; Pam Brown
Shopping for sympathy cards recently, I realized I&#8217;d fallen away from my old routine of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/hallmark-moments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Parenting advice</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/parenting-advice/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/parenting-advice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:47:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogs and shorts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[college prep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[empty nest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home and family life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jennifer Wyatt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laura Kastner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letting go]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metro Parent magazine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mother and child]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenting essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senior year of high school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Launching Years]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=8154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.&#8221; ~Sloan Wilson
Note: This essay was published earlier this year (&#8220;A New Season of Parenting&#8221;) in Metro Parent magazine. It was written especially for friends whose children [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/03/parenting-advice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Winging it</title>
		<link>http://www.laferle.com/2010/02/winging-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.laferle.com/2010/02/winging-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cindy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Columns and essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baby Boomer issues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[caring for elderly parents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dealing with hard times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[early stage dementia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[elder care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing up]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospital recovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[midlife topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mothers and daughters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick Overton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sandwich generation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.laferle.com/?p=8286</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.&#8221;  ~Max Lerner
When the walls around my little world seem to be caving in, my first impulse is to isolate myself while I put the bricks back in place. Luckily, I have a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.laferle.com/2010/02/winging-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>17</slash:comments>
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