Footloose & Fancy-Free

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Laurie Buchanan

As you read this, Len and I are on a little road trip—we don’t know where we’re heading.

We were supposed to be enjoying the Pacific Ocean from the Oregon coastline. But with over 500,000 people having fled because of statewide fires, we opted to head east instead.

The one thing I do know is that Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One, hits the shelves on April 6th. Here’s an excerpt. Enjoy:

“Much like a brilliant, multi-faceted gem nestled on the ragged hemline of the northern Pacific coastline, Pines & Quill, a wooded retreat for writers, sits Zen-like overlooking Bellingham Bay in Fairhaven, Washington, holding space to unleash possibility. The mango-colored sunrises and blood-orange sunsets compete in their breathtaking showiness, each vying for the rapt attention of would-be onlookers. One heralding the beginning of day, the other bids adieu, sending it off into the ink-black night sky.”

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I’ve turned comments off for this post, but I wanted to share a glimpse of this beautiful location with you. Enjoy!

ON hiatus – OFF the grid

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Laurie Buchanan

For the next three Tuesdays you won’t receive an email notification that I’ve published a fresh post. Why? Because I’m ON hiatus and OFF the grid from February 1-19.

I’m not going to share my exact location at this time, but here’s a hint. The photo below is a well-known landmark a stone’s throw from the location I’ll be at.

If you know where it is, shhhh, don’t tell anyone. It’ll be our little secret. I’m going on a deep-dive and won’t come back up for air until I return to Boise.

When was the last time you went on hiatus?

Adventure Awaits

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Laurie Buchanan

There are no two ways about it — I ❤️ TO TRAVEL!

When I mind-map each year, the four categories that I break down into small attainable steps are health, family/friends, travel, and writing/speaking. Stateside or international—planes, trains, or automobiles—for me, travel is a cornerstone.

Whether I go by myself, with Len, or with my sister, I enjoy the sense of adventure. I make a practice of packing light. Really light. I never check my baggage: just two pieces, a wheeled carry-on, and a laptop tote. And I enjoy arriving at the airport early so that I can people-watch.

The moment I buckle into my seat, I pop my earbuds in (the international signal for “please do not disturb”), pull out my Kindle, and read until the plane lands.

I currently have four sets of round-trip airline tickets waiting for use in my travel folder. My first adventure of the year is coming up soon. I’ll share more about that in next week’s post.

Do you have up-and-coming travel plans?

The Road Less Traveled

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

Metaphorically speaking, a person who takes “the road less traveled” is someone who acts independently. They’re free from conforming to others (who choose to take “the road more often traveled”).

I took this photo at the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge Center near Lake Lowell in Nampa, Idaho.

This person generally makes their own choices and perhaps leaves a new trail that will become the road more often traveled (until, of course, someone takes the road less traveled).

[bctt tweet=”When was the last time you blazed a new trail—took the road less traveled?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

When was the last time you blazed a new trail—took the road less traveled?

Going the Right Way?

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

When you’re barreling down the freeway, lickety-split, at 80 miles per hour (yes, that’s the speed limit on most of the interstates in Idaho) and you see this through your windshield…

… your first thought (after you change your underwear) is, Oh my gosh! Am I in the right lane? Am I headed in the right direction?

Then quickly switching to the left lane and speeding up to check it out, you see that the ginormous red truck is being towed, and your thankful that yes, you’re on track after all; you’re headed in the right direction.

Are you going the right way?

Knock, Knock

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Laurie Buchanan

I love to travel and when I do, I enjoy taking photos of doors. Each color makes a statement, and the color of our door says a lot.

BLUE exudes serenity, stability, and trust. It’s associated with knowledge, relaxation, and health.

YELLOW exudes community; someone who’s social. It’s associated with awareness, wisdom, and clarity.

ORANGE exudes warmth and wisdom. It’s associated happiness, independence, and confidence.

RED exudes welcome and hospitality. It’s associated with vitality, energy, and courage.

GREEN exudes ambition and growth. It’s associated with love, peace, and inner balance.

“Your teacher can open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” —Chinese proverb

What does your front door say about you?

The Space Between

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Laurie Buchanan

It’s the space between words on a page that make reading enjoyable. It’s the space between notes in a musical score that makes listening pleasurable.

Hint #3 — Globally there are eight species of pelicans. Only two of the eight species live in North America. During my sabbatical, I won’t see any because they’re wintering in states south of my geographic location. If it were summertime, however, I might be gifted with a sighting.

Life has spaces.

Some are shorter than others—the space between breaths, blinking, and heartbeats.

Some are longer than others—the space between cell phone upgrades, careers, and changing homes.

Life happens in the space between. And it’s meant to be savored.

Do you give yourself enough space?

Reminder, the caveat of the Looking for Laurie game stipulates: “The first person to type the accurate city and state of my sabbatical location into the comments section of the Mar 28 post will receive a personalized copy of Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth for themselves or as a gift to someone else.”

Shouting Doesn’t Help

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Laurie Buchanan

The road trip to my sabbatical location wasn’t much different from watching “I Love Lucy.”

SCENE: 70 mph, five lanes, one fork, two exits, lots of traffic, freezing rain, and slick road conditions at dusk. Oh, and did I mention the frequent bounding of mule deer across the highway?

LEN says: “There’s a fork in the road up ahead. When you veer right, stay in the left lane because the road we need to take is across from a shopping mall on the right.”

LAURIE shouts: “What?!”

SIRI grumbles: “Recalculating route…” (but I’m sure what followed under her breath was “Ay-Yi-Yi” with a Ricky Ricardo accent) as we missed the turnoff.

Hint #2 — The cat where I’m living during my sabbatical is usually indoor/outdoor. However, because wolves are down from the surrounding mountains hunting for food—one seen as close as the neighbor’s porch—he’s strictly indoor at this time.

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” —Robert McCloskey, American author and illustrator of children’s books

Can you relate?

Easy Rider

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Laurie Buchanan

My recent travels took me through four airports: Boise, Portland, Chicago, and Seattle. It provided the opportunity to see baggage of every size, shape, and color—some carried, most of it pulled.

An enthusiastic proponent of offloading [emotional] baggage, I had to laugh at the ingenuity of the young traveler I captured in this photo. Rather than carrying baggage and letting it weigh him down, he got a ride on it!

Photo by Laurie Buchanan at TusdaysWithLaurie.com

Have you discovered the joy of offloading baggage?

Levels of Difficulty

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Laurie Buchanan

Last week we talked about decisions, decisions, decisions. This week we’re looking at potential difficulty levels of that process. Decision-making involves choosing between two or more possible options/solutions. We can make it easy, or hard—the choice is ours.

The Karavolades stairs on Santorini, Greece — 588 steps that lead from base-to-top on the cliff side. (click on photo to enlarge)

On the island of Santorini, Greece you’ll find the old Karavolades stairs—588 steps that lead from base-to-top on the cliff side. To get from point A to point B there are three levels of difficulty to choose from:

The easy route is to take the tram.
The tolerable (odiferous) route is to ride a donkey.
The difficult (stinky and slippery) route is to walk.

Have you ever made things more difficult than necessary?

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Tag Archives: Travel