Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 10

Scotland ~ travel notes (packing)

“I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson, Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson

“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

Although I spent my childhood and beyond dreaming about visiting foreign lands, I am far from being a travel expert, however, I have learned a few things traveling to Europe over the last three years that may be of interest to others. Maybe even inspire others to explore new places and find adventures of their own. With these goals in mind, I will do my best with each travel-related photo post over the coming weeks to share a few thoughts and suggestions. Varied subjects, including flight expectations and preparation, travel courtesy, traveling solo vs. w/a group, safety, currency, electronic gadgets, photos, staying healthy, and mindset.

Because the reaction I receive from others is often disbelief at how light I keep my luggage; I will start my travel shares with the art of packing clothes. Thinking ahead and fitting “my world” into a small suitcase and backpack for a week or two is stressful for me. A level of anxiety that can overwhelm me if I let it and one that I manage by taking it step by step until the final item is tucked and my suitcase zipped. I prefer the two carryon approach vs. checking a bag because I don’t want to fuss with lost luggage after arriving at my destination. Been there. Less of a concern when leaving a destination. Take a photo of your luggage, make sure it is properly labeled, that the wheels work, and with so many similar looking bags, a standout identifier helps, too.

The following list offers an overview of preparing luggage for a ten-day casual overseas getaway with abundant walking:

First, I lay out what I will be wearing to the airport, taking advantage of layering, for fluctuating flight temperatures and to free up space in my suitcase (layered tops, light jacket w/pockets, and a sweater around my waist). Easy to start my packing here and this helps me to focus.Before selecting clothing, I check the weather of where I am going; this helps me determine if I need a heavier jacket/gloves/etc. If temperatures are moderate, my Eddie Bauer zip up jacket with a hoodie that squashes into a tie bag has served me well for several seasons (pictured). Purchased from the sale rack at an outlet store. I keep a large scarf rolled in my backpack. Extra layering that adds versatility and style! A hat, a few ponytails, and a hair clip are a must, especially if your curling iron stops working on the first day of your trip. Bummer but it freed up space and gave me one less thing to do before heading out on daily adventures. A sturdy portable umbrella is also a must!Wearing one pair of earrings from start to finish, I don’t fuss with jewelry.I roll my clothes tightly then put them in a compression bag (pictured), with what I need first toward the opening to avoid having to take everything out at the start of my trip. Easy enough to put together should that happen. I keep socks and underclothing in the interior zippered section of my suitcase. Toss in a scented sachet to keep things fresh. [image error]For Scotland, I wore yoga pants on the plane and zipped my four jeans. Yoga pants don’t require a belt (security hassle) and offer comfort and warmth on long flights. I pack more tops than pants, two pj’s, and only one dress (long, non-wrinkling knitted).Worn clothes are either rolled and placed in the back of the zipped bag or layered on top of bag, if room allows. I also take advantage of the outer zipped area of my small suitcase. Not needed for this trip, a laundry mat helped last year in Belgium.My grandmother, born in 1920 and raised on a southern farm, always said, “There are two things you shouldn’t scrimp on: quality shoes and a good bed.” Hopefully your travels include a good bed and quality sleep (bring earplugs and a blindfold). I’ll wrap up my wardrobe list with my grandmother’s words in mind. As hard as it is for shoe-loving me, I take only two pair. An easy to slip on/off sandal with a sturdy sole and a comfortable pair of tennis shoes for zipping around. I pack warm socks in my backpack (stored under the seat near my feet) should my feet get cold in the sandals – great for flight and walking but not warm. My shoes are pictured (chunky Dr. Martens and comfy Pumas).

When it comes to packing for a trip, individual plans and preferences vary and I acknowledge that being a petite person makes it easier to pack “small,” but I do hope you’ve found something(s) of value in my wardrobe list. Please take grandma’s advice, then get to planning and exploring! Thank you for visiting and a wonderful weekend to you. Michele

P.S. My strong desire to write a travel-related poem is paused for my next post, along with what I put in my backpack. Until then, you’re in good hands with Scottish born author, Robert Louis Stevenson, whose home I had the pleasure of passing.

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

A prickly prelude and gentle descent

Thank you for visiting my blog, affectionately called tumbleweed spirit. Grateful to return after a few weeks away, I’ve missed connecting with and reading the creative works of fellow bloggers. Having recently returned from Scotland; it is going to take me a few days to find my rhythm in this space. A flow and pace that may be forever changed by my expanding perspectives and professional commitments. As I have since my first blog post in 2019, I look forward to the journey.

With many photos and travel details to share, beautiful flowers feel a fine way to start on this not-quite-wordless Wednesday. The first two blooming cacti photos were captured at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, during the start of my spring break. I had the pleasure of taking my visiting daughter there, before flying to a lush land five thousand miles away, where yellow tulips and orange poppies were found, growing magnificently. A wonderful week to you. Michele

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Spring in my step

Sipping coffee
from my favorite cup
watching yellow flowers fall
nature’s unrehearsed perfection
covering the ground with sunshine

Thank you for visiting. Following some bloggy reading, I will be stepping away for a bit. Catch up with y’all in a few weeks. Miss you already! Take care and warm regards. Michele

P.S. Proud mom share before I go… the image of the flyer is my daughter’s art, chosen as the cover for the art walk pamphlet in her city. Go Sammi! (the original is a painting)

my photos of blooming Palo Verde trees (morning & sunrise) / my recent Tempe Town Lake sunset photo taken by Larissa

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Returning to the Rhine River

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away – even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

Thank you for stopping by and joining me for a tour of photos I took last year while traveling down the Rhine River, in Germany. A beautiful location to revisit and a needed lunch break for me. I hope you enjoyed the gorgeous greenery.

I would also like to extend a generous thank you to two talented and creative individuals who included my own creativity in their recent posts. Thank you to Pat at e-Quips for sharing my poem, “A Little Secret,” and to Timothy at Off Center and Not Even for using my dancing likeness in an incredible AI video he designed, titled Michele’s Monday. The animated video features Teagan Geneviene’s vocals. Great fun and a great honor for me. Thanks too, to Rebecca at Fake Flamenco and John at Fiction Favorites for making last week’s Creative Call so very inspiring and engaging. All the best to you in your creative pursuits. Michele

graphic of typewriter, sunflowers, hands, and flying papers by Roman Samborskyi

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Waking up

Beyond the darkness
is a golden
that is where you’ll find me
Should you choose to meet me there
don’t rush or creep
let the gentle wind, be your guide
stepping softly and surely, trust the direction
let the warm rays burn away pretenses
let your truth sparkle in the softest light
should you find me
let few words be spoken
hold my gaze for as long as it takes
for us to discover
each other

Thank you for visiting and reading. Wishing you a warm and wonderful weekend. Kind regards. Michele

featured photo of a woman looking into the morning sun by Veronika Zelenina / my recent sunset photo

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

They named me Paradise

“A mighty sailing man”
taught me how to steer a boat.
During my eighteenth year
I was the one who steered
his stranded passengers home
in a ship built by a professor
who tinkered for years,
never giving up on
reaching a distant horizon.
My fiery mother was the wind
in my father’s sails
and a bright star who lit
dark nights with her lullabies.
My auntie Mary Ann
taught me how to cook
the finest fish stew out of
next to nothing,
and from my Godfather Gilligan
I learned the joy of laughter,
especially when we stumble.

Thank you for visiting and reading. Although my dad was a boating man and my mom came into this world as a red head, this is not autobiographical. Oh, and I also have an aunt Mary Ann. This post began with my Saturday photos of a solo sailor sailing at Tempe Town Lake, which then led me to searching for the photo of a sailing woman with the intention of writing about sailing your own boat. While pondering the possibilities, including the song Come Sail Away by Styx, my mind drifted to a show I watched as a child and what could have happened if two of the characters had a love child… the rest is history, as they say. Have a great day! Michele

P.S. If you have no idea which show I am referring to, here are two clips:

Pulling Down the Skipper’s Pants | Gilligan’s Biggest Blunders

Gilligan’s Island | Gilligan’s Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics

featured black and white photo of woman steering the wheel of a sail boat (Everett Collection) / a note about my lake photos: the lake is manmade and the Superstition Mountains are in the background

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

A pink petal pulse

In a world of dull drums, she finds herself offbeat.

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a wonderful week with your own beats and pops of pink. [image error] Michele

A note about the title: in drum terminology, the pulse refers to the underlying and regular beat or rhythm that gives a piece of music its sense of movement and flow. The pulse can be thought of as the “heartbeat” of the music.

featured photo of a woman wearing pink by ShotPrime / my photo of hanging flowerpot above a pier in Florence, Oregon

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Cracked Curses

She held a small, distorted view of who she was and what she was capable of. She only ever saw herself through one frame. The one that had cracks running through it and the reflective coating, faded and flaking.

A cracked mirror, around for generations. No one bothered to replace it. They just kept looking at it, for guidance and direction, of all things.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a lovely weekend and if you celebrate Easter, may it be full of laughter, joy, and yummy chocolate bunnies. Easter always has me reflecting on spending time with my mom, aunts, and grandma in the kitchen when I was a youngster and finding easter eggs with my brother and dozens of cousins. Real eggs, that turned a terrible stench if left undiscovered.

I may share more about that tomorrow, Easter Sunday. This morning, my thoughts are elsewhere… fellow blogger, poet, and musician Cookie Nieves made a comment on my post, “Write your own flight plan.” Cookie wrote, “you make it look easy.” My response began with “Oh, if only… ”

My truth, that’s been tumbling in my mind since dear cookie wrote that note, is that there is nothing easy about finding and freeing your voice. At least, not for me. It took me decades and countless experiences to reach a place of courage to share even one blog post. A turning point for me was losing my dad, then turning fifty a few months later, and realizing that I didn’t have forever to figure it out, to let my own words spill out.

I’ve always been a writer — writing my way through personal struggles from an early age, filling up journals, school assignments, college research papers, handwritten cards, holiday announcements, obituaries for family, feedback for students, work-related proposals and guidelines, teacher grants, articles for local publications, and on and on, the ink flowed. I finally chose to let it flow for me, letting my suppressed creative soul have a say. Never easy, no. I have my share of demons, too. I’ve just learned to sit with them and listen to the lessons they continue to teach me.

One of the benefits of doing so, is chipping away at a generational curse of not nurturing dreams and talents. I’ve long felt that my mom and her six sisters could have been women pioneers in anything related to restoration, remodeling, decorating, cooking, and catering. Such talent and extraordinary beauty they were blessed with (and still have). Turmoil, too, that followed them from a troubled family farm in Arkansas. I can’t change the past, but I can do my best to write a new future. Thank you for the comment, cookie.

Grow (Freestyle) by FaceSoul (if video doesn’t load) The lyrics and tone feel right this morning.

Grow by FaceSoul

Don’t be afraid
After the darkness is light
So don’t you be afraid
And there comes the long night
Oh, long night
Have faith, journey along
If you don’t know, the path is long
But if you try, you’ll surely grow
To heal past the sorrow
That been keeping you low, you low, so

[Chorus]
Grow, grow, grow, grow
Grow, grow, grow, grow
Grow, grow, grow, grow, grow
You’ve got to grow, grow, grow, grow

[Verse 2]
Even if you’re on your own
Even if you can’t find your way
Even if the journey is cold
Believe in I to death
And I know that you will grow day by day
If you walk with love you’ll never be strangers

[Chorus]
Grow, grow, grow, grow
You’ve got to grow, grow, grow, grow
You’ve got to—

[Outro]
You’ll grow past the shortcoming
Slowly and surely
We’ll make it through

featured photo of woman looking into the side mirror of a vintage car by FTiare / my Good Friday photos (late afternoon) & this morning’s sunrise / photo of me (circa ’90) taken by my dad at his place

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Tulip UPdate

Encourage them to get their hands dirty
let them find worms, snails, and grubs
let them delight in the dance of ladybugs
let them know the scents of the earth
let them feel healthy soil between their toes
let them watch things grow

They may not remember
every seed pushed into the dirt
or every carrot or flower plucked
but the miracle of life will remain in their heart
quietly tucked

One day you might sit in their garden
digging for the words
that need more time
to fully describe
the breathtaking beauty of the flowers
blooming around them

Thank you for stopping by my tiny plot of paradise, albeit virtual in this moment. Thanks too, to those of you who visited my site last fall and expressed interest in a tulip update. They’ve bloomed! The flowers and my daughter who has taken on some difficult challenges recently. She is rising to the occasion, in her own artistic way. She inspires me. May your garden bloom in a way that best suits you. Kind regards. Michele

If you’re new to my blog, welcome! Here are the two tulip posts from last fall, that I am referencing: Special Delivery (w/audio poem) and Growing sweetly, for you

featured photo of a mom and daughter next to daffodils by Vladimir Borovic / my daughter’s recent tulip share

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife

Write your own flight plan

Beyond
the rusty noise
is the truth of your voice
waiting to be forever freed
by you

“Make up a story… For our sake and yours forget your name in the street; tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light. Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul.”
― Toni Morrison, The Nobel Lecture in Literature, 1993

Thank you for stopping by. I hope your week is off to a smooth start with pleasant possibilities and delightful discoveries in store for you. Kind regards. Michele

Created by American poet Adelaide Crapsey, my poem follows the Cinquain structure, a short poem with these simple rules:

five lines long2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth line, and just 2 in the last linerhyming is optional

featured vintage style photo of woman typing on old typewriter by Billion Photos / my Sunday photos of sunset and my jean jacket by Bougainvillea bush

© 2019-2025 myinspiredlife