musings, life lessons & poetry from Theresa Jarosz Alberti

Category: Essay (Page 3 of 12)

Buying Small

This year more than ever, people are interested in supporting small businesses and individual artists/creators when shopping. So many people and small businesses are struggling in this wild ride called 2020. The mega-companies and their billionaire CEOs will be find, but maybe not the local businesses you love in your community, the restaurants and cafes, the small businesses. the creative folks selling their wares.

This year, an art group I’m in called MN Visual Journal Collective has put together a Handmade Holiday Buyer’s Guide. It features 9 artists/creators who are selling their work online. I’m grateful to be a part of it with my shop on Redbubble. There are a variety of artsy offerings including jewelry, prints, handmade crafts, cards, stickers, classes, and more. The guide is in the form of a PDF with active links. You can download it here:

2020-handmade-holiday-gift-guide-final Continue reading

Mirror Cats!

And now for some lighter fare…

I’ve had my two silly cats for a long time now. Black cat Jinx is 14, and white-and-gray Loki is 10. It’s only been in the last few months that I’ve noticed a strange behavior they both exhibit. Maybe it started after the pandemic, when I started to give them each half a can of wet cat food* every morning, to supplement their prescription dry food. They LOVE the wet food (not a surprise to cat owners!) and eagerly and loudly meow for it every morning.

[*Note: Jinx will gobble up almost anything. Loki is the prima donna who will only eat Fancy Feast flaked– not pate or gravy. He would rather starve.]

I started noticing that the two cats would align themselves to each other as they eat– parallel or mirroring each other. It was so odd, and happens every morning. I started taking photos on different days.

Continue reading

What I Want to Tell You…

Hi friends, I want to talk to you today about mental health and self-care. We are going into a really stressful week right now. Coronavirus cases and deaths are climbing, and tension around this election has been building for months and months. There’s a lot to be anxious about!

Today is a good time to think about how we can get through this week in a way that lowers our stress and is kind to ourselves. I’m talking to myself here, as well as all of you. What kind of self-care can I do to help myself this week? Continue reading

Here We Go Again, Round 2

Dear Readers, it’s time to tell you that Bob and I are separated and moving towards divorce. He moved out last May. It’s been hard and heartbreaking. It’s also been such an odd summer of learning to live alone amidst the pandemic and the racial reckoning in Minneapolis. We were together for 32 years, and for both of us, more than half of our lives has been lived with each other, intertwined, creating a family, close and sharing everything. It’s a big, sad change. Continue reading

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