Hello! I started this blog in 2010 to experiment with web design and write about things that interest me. I have always enjoyed writing – in grade school I wrote short stories with titles such as ‘I Heard a Small Voice Coming from the Blueberry Patch’, ‘A Day in the Life of a Shopping Cart’, and ‘How my Short Shoelaces Saved my Life’. Then in high school, I wrote articles for the school newspaper.
I grew up in New York, moved west for college, and lived in Arizona for many years. My husband, Michael, and I had two wonderful Labradors, Cain and Piper (brother and sister from the same litter). Cain passed away in 2009 – he was a big goofy, mama’s boy. Piper was with us for another two years and passed in 2011. See a tribute to Cain and Piper. After Piper passed, we became volunteer fosters with Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue and fostered 19 dogs over 1 1/2 years (meet our foster dogs). Fostering was an incredible, emotion-filled experience. Read a series about one of our memorable dogs – fearful foster dog.
A few years ago we moved to California, and after getting settled, we adopted a beautiful Labrador, Indy from California Labradors Retrievers and More. Indy loved accompanying us around town and making new friends. He could tell you where to find all of the best dog water bowls in the neighborhood. Indy passed in 2023 at age 14 (read a tribute to Indy)
I’m a big animal-lover – from friendly pooches in the neighborhood to mischievous monos (monkeys) in Costa Rica to dangerous beasts in Africa. (The photo on this page was taken at an elephant camp in northern Thailand.)
I have been doing community service for a long time and volunteered with several non profit organizations. I was the volunteer Webmaster for a tourism NGO in Uganda. After volunteering for a few years, I finally got to visit Uganda during the world trip and meet everyone. It was an incredible experience! Read the Uganda blog post.
I work in the information technology field and do occasional freelance website design for small businesses.
But this blog is not about work – it is about fun stuff like art, history, animals, and travel, along with topics that may make you think.
Did I say travel? I’m really, really, really into travel. My mother got me started at age seven when we spent a summer living in Guadalajara, Mexico. In high school, I worked several part-time jobs to finance a two-week trip to Spain with my Spanish class. Spain continued to call to me, so I returned for a summer study program in college. Since then I’ve journeyed to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. In 2013, Michael and I went on an 8.5 month trip around the world – really. Check out our travel blog.
Ok, back to this blog… In addition to the fun stuff, I also write about topics that inspire. Here are some things that inspire me:
• People who have overcome adversity
• Organizations and people who help others
• Innovators who bring us cool new ideas
Thanks again for stopping by!
I hope you can take a few moments to leave a comment and share your thoughts on some of the blog posts. And, feel free to contact me to say hello at loriebarber@hotmail.com.