Senior Women Create

Every morning, Sandy Johnson’s husband, Ron, makes his way into the kitchen, presses a button on the floor with his toe, and 1,248 white lights begin a bright new day. “After Christmas,” creative Sandy says, “I decided it could be my Tree-for-all-Seasons.”  This month Sandy’s tree glows with valentines. Next month, shamrocks. And for April—you […]

Many women I interview for Bright Ideas enjoy time alone. A case in point is my new friend, Constance Alexander. “I live alone–and I like it,” she said. “Maybe I’m an introvert.” Then Constance described how she posts lovely sunset images on Instagram almost every day–just to share the beauty with others. She meditates weekly

Remember how Libby “rode with the thunder?” In that post, she introduced us to the motorcycle ministry—motorcyclists who express their spirituality and generosity by supporting good causes with their time and effort. This is opposed to the Hell’s Angels element of motorcyclists. (Yes, the Hell’s Angels are still roaring around.) Anyway, Libby’s first novel, Port of

Meet Hunter, a dog with a very important job. He starts his day by giving 90-year-old Mary Theresa Henning a reason to get up—sometimes before dawn—and take a nice stroll outside in the fresh morning air while he does his “business.” Then, he gives her life a purpose, by requiring a bit of food and

Two weeks before Memorial Day, 40-50 motorcyclists visit local veterans’ facilities and give a presentation to wide-eyed children at Bowman School. Then, they hit Interstate 80, on a 13-day, National Veteran’s Awareness Ride, from Auburn to Washington D.C., paying homage to veterans at key points (veteran’s hospitals, cemeteries, etc.) Libby Worden follows the roar, blogging

Retired from a career as a nurse and hospice worker, Mary Daniels finally has time for her art … sort of! Mary has been an artist for 40 years. In all that time, she says, she has never wanted to do her art under pressure or obligation. Instead, she seeks a creative balance–enjoying life with

Thirteen years ago, Margo was single and feeling alone. So, she put on her high heels, got into her car, and drove to a restaurant where there were lights and people and music. She sat at a table by herself and looked around. She saw this person and that person, also sitting alone. She invited

Were they strokes or seizures? Even the doctors don’t know, but my dear friend, Karen Wells, was trapped in the hospital more than once this year. She’s home now, with strict orders: Don’t drive and don’t decorate for Christmas! (Well, only Dr. Scrooge said that.) If you know Karen, you know what an outlandish love

Late in October, paper-artists Susan Johnson, Janice Rosenthal-Rock, and Katrina Benny, started thinking about all the upcoming holiday opportunities for fanciful paper-art: Fall greeting cards, cheerful 3-D Halloween decorations, table decor for Thanksgiving, and then, Wo-La! Christmas!  Overcome with creative energy, they came up with a grand idea: “Let’s give a paper-art party for our

The books in Paula DePaoli’s Detective Joe Mouse series are easy to love. “But not so easy to publish,” Paula says.  As we talked about the steps it took to transform the colorful, fun books from an idea to the moment they are read to a child, I realized something about creativity: it takes heart,