Map Folded Again

Posted on: May 21, 2026

james-e-shepard-md

Gentle traveler seventy years beside her map folded again Dr. James E. Shepard, M.D., F.A.C.P., beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician, traveler, and lifelong student of the world, passed away peacefully at the age of 92. Born with a sharp int …

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Thermonuclear Corgis (in Sweaters)

Posted on: May 17, 2026

corgis

Cold station platform thermonuclear corgis snuggle in my gloves I have been slowly purchasing items for both my Fall and Winter Japan trips on Amazon. After reading reviews, I intended to buy “a few” Korean warming pads to test for Winter Japan. What a …

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Living Continuity — the Volcano, the Barge, the Sword, the Tea, the Candles

Posted on: May 14, 2026

living-continuity

There is a thread I keep discovering in my life that I did not consciously plan. Not travel.Not tourism.Not “bucket list” behavior. Something quieter. Participation. Or maybe more precisely: A desire to briefly enter living traditions. Not to master th …

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Japan Objects

Posted on: May 7, 2026

japan-objects

I think the objects knew before I ever did where we all would go After I wrote the Ariats post, several people messaged me some version of: “Only you could turn boot shopping into an existential archaeology project.” This is fair. But I have been reali …

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A Summary: What Africa Gave Me

Posted on: March 12, 2026

a-summary-what-africa-gave-me

This is shaping up to be the travel day to end all travel days. The morning began with a few-hour drive from the Cheetah Conservation Fund to the airport in Windhoek. Thankfully only a small portion of the route qualified as what Abraham liked to call …

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I asked ChatGPT to choose my nail polish. H had other plans.

Posted on: February 2, 2026

nail-polish

I’m about to leave for Africa, which means my life has entered its sacred pre-trip phase:lists, sub-lists, nested lists under other lists, and a level of logistical intensity that suggests I’m either going on safari with a weight limit . . . or launchi …

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Our Wedding (a/k/a The Best Wedding Ever)

Posted on: April 29, 2020

our-wedding

With my husband sick (dying) with Stage 4 Cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, I got to thinking back to our wedding oh so many moons ago. I only had one copy of the DVD from the wedding, but the amazing Joe Kenemore and Pat Roth of Cache Mediaworks we …

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The New Normal

Posted on: June 12, 2019

the-new-normal

I mentioned in my previous post that we had met with Michael Broffman at the Pine Street Clinic to get our protocol during the “cyberknife” treatment and as an overview for what we need to think about not only at Sanoviv, but also into the future. Pine …

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Travel Tips – 20 quick trip tips you might not have thought of

Posted on: March 3, 2018

travel-tips-20-quick-trip-tips-you-might-not-have-thought-of

The section of my book entitled “Preparing for Paris” gives you a  LOT of suggestions (flip to page 69 if you have it on your shelf). However, in the 11 years since I wrote that book (and 8 since the Companion Playbook!),  I have come up with a few mor …

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Try these pancakes! ( WAG IIFYM ) 1g fat 10g protein 2g fiber 72 cals

Posted on: January 18, 2016

try-these-pancakes-wag-iifym

Hey there! As usual, there’s a lot of me chatting to you before you actually get to the recipe for these pancakes (one serving = 9g carbs, 1g fat, 10g protein, 2g fiber (72 cals)). If you want to skip to it, scan down for the heading “Surprise! Here’s …

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