alexandrastoddard

Welcome

I love to connect with my readers, and in my monthly newsletter, I share my thoughts, updates about events, a discussion of what I've been reading, stories from life in Connecticut, and much more. Feel free to browse my past newsletters and stop by at the beginning of each month to read my latest note to you.

Latest Newsletter

I made this mask from bell-bottom slacks that I tailored. (Photograph by my granddaughter Cooper.)

October 2020

10/1/2020

The sweet song of September lingers in my heart as we move forward. “Onward and upward.” To embrace fall and October’s opportunities, we need to prepare for winter.

When we are in harmony with our immediate surroundings, we are most alive. How we feel as we quietly ritualize our activities is the key to our sense of well-being. I want to be prepared in order to live fully under the circumstances of the pandemic.

Because you and I are traveling in the same boat on this journey, my soul is bursting with memories I want to share with you. I’ve never been more intimately aware just how tenderly attached I am to our cottage. Thirty-two years ago, Peter and I were visiting friends who lived in Stonington; it was the weekend of our daughter Alexandra’s graduation from Connecticut College. An unexpected flash rainstorm interrupted the outdoor commencement ...

December 2003

12/1/2003

The entire month of November was made up of days as big as years. Peter and I flew back from San Francisco (where I gave a talk on the use of mirrors in interior design) to host a “happiness weekend” in Stonington Village on November 1st and 2nd, sponsored by ...

November 2003

11/1/2003

In April, 2002, just before going on a national book tour with Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life, Peter and I went to a three-day conference in New York City sponsored by the Omega Institute, “The Heart of Happiness.” I took notes and was excited to think that finally ...

October 2003

10/1/2003

September was a magnificent month in every way. The highlight was being in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness was in New York to teach ancient Buddhist philosophy. Peter and I attended two days of his teachings in a distinctive atmosphere of luminous radiation. His Holiness ...

September 2003

9/1/2003

August was full of surprises, full of hope, full of life. Early in the month a friend from my teenage tennis days invited me to come speak at The Madison Beach Club in Madison, Connecticut. I told Cinda I would need for my daughter Alexandra to be able to reach ...

August 2003

8/1/2003

I hope you’re enjoying happy summer days out-of-doors in the awesome beauty and dazzling light of August. Our roses have never been more opulent with blossoms. Our tiny garden is lush with bloom and color.

On the third of July a vacant brick factory caught fire a few hundred ...

July 2003

7/1/2003

I hope you are having a happy summer. This is a time for us to enrich our souls through spending time in nature’s miraculous beauty. Summer is a season where we live by the rhythms of the sunrise and the sun fall. Our days are longer, with hours of ...

June 2003

6/1/2003

I welcome June, busting out all over. The month of May brought great happiness. Peter and I flew out to see our favorite artist friend Roger Muhl and his wife Line in Provence What a magical time we had celebrating our anniversary, the art spirit, and friendship, in extraordinary beauty ...

May 2003

5/1/2003

Springtime is really here, giving us the gift of brilliant sunlight, flowers, flowering trees and the warmth we’ve been seeking. May is a magical time of year for all of us.

Our Easter was celebrated in Washington with our “grand” twins, Nicholas and Anna. They both love the word ...

April 2003

4/1/2003

APRIL FLOWERS

We made it through this winter and many of us are stronger, more appreciative and understanding than ever. Winter is the time when we are all tested to have faith that the promise of spring’s renewal is coming.

Peter’s knee is completely healed and he is ...

March 2003

3/1/2003

MARCHING INTO SPRING

I hope this past month of love was celebrated beautifully. Peter and I ended February in Florida, escaping from the snow to sunshine, palm trees, and spending relaxed time with friends.

Early in February we went to Atlanta, where I gave a talk in St. Philips Cathedral ...

February 2003

2/1/2003

Be My Valentine

January 2003 was an epiphany. Peter and I are out and about. He is walking without a cane and the surgeon took off his brace. Dr. Levine smiled at us and told us to live fully and have fun. We feel light as air.

We flew to ...

January 2003

1/1/2003

The word happy has never meant more to me than now. I’ve been fascinated with the emotion of happiness as long as I can remember and doing world-wide research and then writing Choosing Happiness intensified my excitement. I’m glad to say that Peter and I have never shared ...

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