I keep reading that writers should have a dedicated space to work without distractions. Serious writers probably do this, especially if it's their primary source of income. I write for my own enjoyment in an old country house built in 1879. You might think living in the country would be peaceful where everyone sits in their rockers on the front porch sipping lemonade.

When I fly I like to sit at the back of the airplane. It's loud back there next to the rear engines but the sound is soothing to me. I put my books and water bottle in the back pocket of the seat in front of me, and make sure there's a barf bag there. I've never gotten sick on a plane but I have a fear of vomiting, which then creates a scene where everyone starts barfing around me.

Retirement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons couldn't come soon enough. It was the bureaucracy that drove me mad. I took the job out of necessity. It wasn't easy finding a job during the 1990's recession. I was fortunate because working in law enforcement is recession proof. The business of crime never slows down. I retired in 2019 with ambitious thoughts of starting a printmaking/letterpress business, but things didn't turn out as planned.

Debi and I have a tradition of getting outside during the winter to make tea, preferably alongside a river. When I lived in Tecumseh (Michigan) we made tea along the River Raisin. Now that I moved to ...

Facebook was deleted. Threads was too. I unsubscribed from Amazon Prime a few weeks ago. A friend recently said, "Facebook felt dirty". I feel the same way. A lot of my friends are moving to Bluesky (my tag is 3gperez). They recently announced a new photo sharing app is coming soon. When that happens I'm deleting Instagram. People say, "I can't leave Meta or X because all my friends and family are there." That's cool.

Every January, Debi and I take time to reflect on the previous year. Last Spring we improved our working space for both ceramics and woodworking.  Debi really enjoyed spending more time in the studio ...

Art and Observations by Gregorio Perez