One year ago, my husband’s sister, Ksana, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She was operated on, and was given a year to live. The doctors were right, and she passed away a few weeks ago. When someone is dying…
What to say, and what NOT to say, to someone who is terminally ill
Tagged with: communication with dying, Condolences, dying, family memories, forgiveness, terminal illness, terminally ill, what to say to the dying
Posted in observations, The Family Memory Project, writing
Posted in observations, The Family Memory Project, writing
10 Tips For Great Résumés
The other day, I had a call from a man who has been laid off after thirty years in the same job. He’s in his fifties and is faced with the prospect of sending out job applications—and he has no…
Tagged with: bio, Business Writing, cv, resume, updating resumes, writing, writing resumes
Posted in Business, writing
Posted in Business, writing
Four strategies for dealing with stress and overwhelm
Whether your sense of overwhelm is caused by work, family, both or neither, there are some serious strategies that can help…
How Do You Write Condolences?
How do you express condolences? Often, writing condolences is very difficult. You may not know what to say, or how to say it.…
Tagged with: Condolences, courtesy, emails, family memories, family memory project, the family message book, writing
Posted in The Family Memory Project, writing
Posted in The Family Memory Project, writing
Why keep on going?
Why keep on going? I’m sure many of you have heard the joke about finishing what you start: A doctor on TV said that to have inner peace we should always finish things we start. I looked around my house to…
Tagged with: change, giving up, moving on, persevering, problem solving, stopping, values
Posted in writing
Posted in writing
I’m sorry, but…
Do you find it hard to say you’re sorry? It’s hard to know what to say if you’re sorry that you’ve hurt someone. The hurt may have been intentional at the time, but now you regret it. It may have…
Tagged with: Business Writing, courtesy, saying sorry, writing
Posted in Business, observations, writing
Posted in Business, observations, writing
Ten Tips for Taking Care of Yourself in Business and in Your Personal Life.
Learn to say no. This means that you have more time to do the things you really want to do. Laugh. Everyone knows the health benefits of laughter. It lowers stress and has been shown to improve your immune system. It’s…
Tagged with: take care, taking care
Posted in Business, observations, The Family Memory Project, writing
Posted in Business, observations, The Family Memory Project, writing
The Wedding Blankets
Today’s post is fiction. It first appeared in Yarn Magazine, the magazine that I now edit (from the December issue onwards.) The Wedding Blankets It’s summer again. Nan used to love summer. I have this indelible memory of her knitting…
How to get rid of a client
How do you decide to get rid of a client or turn down work? Some clients are just no good for you. When you start a business, you take everybody who comes. You don’t vet them in any way—you’re just…
Tagged with: business, business emails, Business Writing, dropping clients, problem solving, saying no, turning down a client
Posted in Business, observations, writing
Posted in Business, observations, writing
Why my husband doesn’t help me
These last few weeks have been hectic. I’ve been preparing for our Spinners and Weavers annual exhibition and sale, and also for our trip overseas. I wanted to clear a lot of my writing work before I go—and I’ve had…
Posted in observations, The Family Memory Project
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