Kate, Author at The Rest of my Time

Still Standing

February, 2026

I’ve mentioned this before – I have studied Qi Gong a bit, like I do many things, to satisfy my curiosity rather than to become a dedicated master.

There is a basic practice in Qi Gong called standing meditation. There are some nuances to the posture, but basically it’s about standing still. If you do it for a bit, your body will start to settle itself in a way that feels outside of your control, but exactly right,

When I was searching for quotes about standing still to accompany this post, most of what came up was about the dangers of standing still, how stillness will inevitably lead to falling behind.

Based on my limited experience, I’m going with Lao Tzu on this one.

A Welcome Break from Empty Literary Calories

February, 2026

Last week, Holly Ringland was a guest teacher inside Ink and Flame, a writing intensive hosted by Beth Kempton. She is the author of “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart”. I’m late to the party because it’s already an Amazon mini-series with Sigourney Weaver.

What a pleasure – it actually returned me to the time I could site and read for an extended period without “just checking” on some app or another to see what I might be missing.

To be clear, I don’t help myself. My reading often consists of the literary equivalent of empty calories, so I’m feeling pretty proud and satisfied.

Another 100 Days

February, 2026

It is the 100 Day Challenge time again over on Instagram.

I could deepen a practice I already have – apparently that’s not me.

Though I don’t do digital collage (yet), I’m intrigued by the idea of having an image bank of textures and patterns.

Maybe because at the moment I’m surrounded by a bunch of cool rocks and

trees, I decided to overlay a theme of the five elements from Chinese culture – Earth, Wood, Fire, Metal, Water. And maybe Air, which the Greeks liked instead of Wood and Metal.

This one is from a front garden in Palm Springs California.

Bonus: it’s kind of meditative to zoom in when focus is hard to come by

Words Failed Me, Stillness Sustained Me

February, 2026

When I found myself at a loss for words, for anything to say to center myself, I found this quote, and it explained to me that everything I was feeling is simply a core human experience, and that itself is comford

Square Peg – Square Hole

February, 2026

We were lucky enough to return to Europe this fall, a short stay in Ireland and a longer for stay in beautiful Nice France.

What does that have to do with this photo, you may ask?

Well, we are good travelers, but bad tourists. We are less interested in seeing all the usual places and more interested in exploring how people live. (remember the Sausages in Costume from last month’s newsletter?)

Ask yourself, why did we ever decide round was a better choice for canned goods? Cupboards have right angles, the things that go into them should have right angles too. Spam figured it out, why can’t Del Monte and Hunts?