Long ago and far away, this domain was my business site. I retired at the end of 2012 and discontinued using it for a while. Now it houses some of my writing, poetry challenges and writing events, and course work. I expect the content of this blog to change somewhat frequently, as life changes. — Liz Bennefeld

Among the changes taking place, I have decided to drop my two .net domains at WordPress. As I have most likely said earlier, I am not writing as much as I had in past years, and more of it stays with me. I am collecting my poems by types and decades, and I am paring down my photography archives.

The photography workshop taught by Andy Ilachinski via Shanti Arts—Cultivating the Art of Simplicity in Photography—was quite wonderful. There were weekly essays, links to supplementary materials, assignments, constructive feedback, and discussions with him and other workshop participants. I would be tempted to take the workshop again next year if it is offered. So many ideas crowding in, I am slowly rereading the materials again, finding new things to do with ideas I’ve had since then.

As I get deeper into my seventies, I find myself taking more time to think. Sort of like being back in the nineteen-fifties and -sixties. Rebalancing…repurposing…discarding an awful lot that I’d always thought I’d want to have (or to be) forever. And, of course, rereading. I find it more satisfying, many times, to revisit favorite books and also series by favorite authors. When I read a compelling book or one that’s familiar, it is like watching a play taking place in the real world, staged without actors or props or acts and scenery. I know the places and their faces and the sounds of their voices. (See Rewriting the World.) At 2 to 10 books read each week for pleasure over the course of more than sixty-five years.

Is it too much to ask. that book characters be redeemed, reformed, transformed, and live?

Best wishes for the fast-approaching season!

Elizabeth