Trippin' with Susan Straley

Greetings from Inverness, Florida.   I am back home and very much enjoying springtime in Florida.  My garden is happy, the monarchs are fluttering around the milkweed and laying their eggs.  The collard greens and parsley are prolific.   And the most amazing thing is happening...bit by bit, friends are gathering, still at a distance, but with less fear.  The COVID vaccines seem to be working to reduce hospitalization, death, and even infection rates in the United States.  Though we still have a long way to go to be back to normal, hope is blooming along with the spring flowers. Before I get into the stories around me, I would like to share with you a podcast interview that I was part of.  It was launched on March 15, 2021.  Author Marianne Sciucco interviewed me this summer while I was camping in Rhinelander, WI, for the AlzAuthors' Podcast for caregivers .   *** The last time I wrote to you I was at Hart Springs Campground which is near Chiefland, Florida and the Nature Coast Rai

 February 12, 2021 Today was the final day of the annual Caregivers' conference put on by Coping with Dementia .   This morning I was part of a panel of three authors talking about keeping a journal.  We had all been caregivers for someone with dementia, we had all kept journals in some form.  Vicki Veasey started out keeping her journal in calendar form.  This helped her keep track of her parents' symptoms, appointments, happenings.  By keeping track on a calendar she was able to see that her father experienced symptoms around the time of the full moon.  That realization helped her be prepared to deal with those symptoms. That's interesting!  The other panelist was Linda Burhans that does a regular radio show dedicated to caregivers .   Journal Writing 101 I write on paper and I write online. You don't need to commit to every day.  I don't do commitment. With a journal it can be private for just your eyes. You don't need to write full sentences. You can do jus

April 6, 2020 Each night I sit in my bed and write down the numbers in my diary. Last night it was: World Cases  1,272,860 World Deaths   69,424 US Cases  336,673 US Deaths  9,616 Florida Cases  12,350 Florida Deaths  221 Citrus County Cases  43 Citrus County Deaths 2 I look back and compare from a day or two ago trying to grasp and get my mind around it all and trying to see the bigger picture. Then I write down the things that I am grateful for that day.  Because it's all kind of scary, isn't it? I am grateful for blue sky, and butterflies.  I am grateful for conversations with friends.  I saw a humming bird today in the front garden.  I am grateful for the rain. I am grateful for farmers and grocery store clerks and truck drivers.  They are still working and exposing themselves and when they return home, the expose their families to possible infection. Since I last wrote the Governor of Florida issued a shutter-in-place order.  We are only to go out for

Howdy howdy! Can you believe it??? I posted yesterday that I was waiting for the audio book to be launched by Amazon and Audible and Itunes. This morning it was there! I made a short link for you. http://bit.ly/AlzTrippin1 So you can send the link to your friends and post it on your social media. Thanks again to Robin Siegerman the Voice Actor who put so much life and fun into my writing.  What a thrill. Here is a short link to the sample so you can share that with friends too if you want to. bit.ly /Alzheimers-trip-AudioSampl e Podcast Interview Coming Soon! And then, I went up on Twitter to let folks know and saw that the interview I had with Jennifer of the Fading Memories Podcast is going to go LIVE on November 5th.  It says 5 a.m.  Is that my time or her time?  She is in California. Whoo hoo! Can we stand any more excitement? Thanks for being part of this new "trip"!

Good morning!  Only 3 days to the launch of the first Trippin' book, Alzheimer's Trippin' with George, Diagnosis to Discovery in 10,000 Miles. I am up REAL early again this morning.  Too much excitement.  That's ok, I can get this post launched before heading over to the clubhouse for exercise and yoga. Here is the link to the Laidback Bike Report .  The audio for me was awful!  I need a new computer.  Something I will have to invest in after the launch and all the activity after the launch.  I am afraid of switching right now.  But maybe I should just for these kinds of opportunities... on-line interviews. A few months ago I arranged to have a service notify bloggers about the book launch.  They will be calling for interviews and posting about the book the week after the launch.  My former neighbors are hosting an event in celebration of the book launch on Thursday morning at their clubhouse.  And later in the day my friends Kiersten and Denis will be arrivi