#wanderlust
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Reconnecting After Grief: Finding Your Way Back to Life
Grief has no time limit. I’ve heard that a lot. I’ve also read there are stages to grief. Some professionals say there are 5 stages, some say 7 stages. I’m not trying to tell you some doctor has all of the answers. Personally I think it’s all garbage because every person is different. Every person… Continue reading
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About My Leg: Putting Our Story in Someone Else’s Hands
St. James Here is the other tattoo story I told you I would get to. It’s about my leg. Well, my leg is where it landed, the tattoo was happening regardless. This tattoo idea actually started way back in the early 2000s. If you are a Louisville native, then you probably have heard of the… Continue reading
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New Tattoos And More Adventure
A different direction I got new tattoos. It’s a subject I haven’t talked about much. The whole process of thinking and doing was all very emotional because as we all know, my old artist (my husband Eric) is no longer with us. This left me with a lot of unfinished work. After owning a tattoo… Continue reading
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Pendleton Oregon
Portland to Pendleton Oregon I passed through Pendleton Oregon as I drove Interstate 84 out of The Dulles and the Columbia River Gorge traveling from Portland to Boise. I have driven this stretch of highway twice now and both times was in awe by this mountain that rises up in a distance. The climb is… Continue reading
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Lucy is Back
Lucy is Back To Feeling Better A new Lucy Update! Lucy is back to her old self. We’ve been back in Kentucky exactly 10 days. The first days were sketchy at first yes. I try to keep a routine but it isn’t always easy. She’s been back into a solid routine and now we are… Continue reading
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Four Wheeling In Colorado
Labor Day in Colorado I want to start off by saying I’ve never been four wheeling in the mountains. I don’t have any experience with four wheeling in general. It’s just not something I do however, who am I to say no to adventure? This day was just extra to an already incredible trip as… Continue reading
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Another Lucy Update- Travel Cat
Pre-Travel Cat Prep Hi there! Lucy (my travel cat companion) is doing as well as to be expected with all things considering. The new vet is working out great. All meds are filled easily now. I visited the pet store and stocked up on her favorites before heading out. Leaving was pretty straight forward. Before… Continue reading
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My Personal Tour of Chicago Lakefront Parks
Let’s Begin My Personal Tour I’m so excited to give you my personal tour. Chicago has been a favorite destination of mine for a long time. The city offers so much to do, see, and experience. Besides housing great works of art, these parks also host a variety of events throughout the year. The reason… Continue reading
#acrosstheusa, #adventure, #agora, #art, #blueskies, #bluewidow, #buckinghamfountain, #buildings, #chicago, #chicagoillinois, #city, #cloudgate, #downtown, #findingpeace, #flower, #fountain, #grantpark, #grass, #illinois, #journey, #lakefront, #lakemichigan, #lilies, #lily, #metal, #midwest, #milleniumpark, #park, #peace, #roadtrip, #sculpture, #statue, #thebean, #tour, #travel, #walk, #wanderlust, #widow, #widowchronicles, thewidow -
Traveling Alone After Loss: Learning to Keep Moving
The plans below were what I was looking forward to when I originally wrote this in 2022. Why I Started Traveling Alone After Loss Hi there, I think it’s time we address this topic. Yes, I have been traveling alone for the past 2 years. After losing my husband, traveling alone became one of the… Continue reading
#acrosstheus, #adventure, #alone, #bahamas, #beach, #blueskies, #bluewidow, #california, #cat, #companion, #death, #findingpeace, #florida, #freeport, #grief, #groovecruise, #highways, #journey, #keys, #mountains, #oregon, #peace, #personal, #pets, #plains, #portland, #roadtrip, #seattle, #sky, #solo, #thewidow, #trauma, #travel, #travelcat, #wanderlust, #washington, #widow, #widowchronicles -
A Castle in Colorado, Visiting Bishop Castle
First Impressions First off, I want to say when I decided to visit a castle in Colorado, this was not what I was expecting. I knew nothing about this place beforehand. After driving more than hour, what I encountered was easily something out of fairytales and days gone by. Parking was on the road and… Continue reading
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Lucy Update- Look At Meow
How She’s Doing Just wanted to post a couple of pics and give you a Lucy update. She’s been doing much better after switching to a urinary support diet. She seems to be doing well on Pro Plan Urinary Tract wet food. Everything is day by day of course, I have no illusions this is… Continue reading
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Three Bridges in California
About Three Bridges This past February, I was fortunate enough to get back out to Redding, California. I spent a couple of weeks with my good friends Sam and Kristian. One day Kristian wanted to show me a few of her favorite spots in Shasta-Trinity National Forest north of Redding, especially this one particular place… Continue reading
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About The Blue Widow Chronicles and Me
The Blue Widow Chronicles began after my husband, Eric, died suddenly in 2020. I became a widow overnight, and the writing became the place I went to make sense of a life that no longer made sense.
What began as writing through grief has grown with me.
Over the years, I’ve written my way through widowhood, PTSD and trauma, solo travel, love after loss, losing Greg to suicide, starting over, complicated relationships, and the ongoing work of figuring out who I am when the life I once knew no longer exists.
This isn’t a blog about having grief figured out. I write from wherever I actually am—sometimes healing, sometimes questioning, sometimes rebuilding, and sometimes admitting I have no idea what comes next.
Odin and Freija frequently find their way into these pages too, along with the people, places, memories, and ordinary moments that remind me life continues even when it looks nothing like the one I expected.
What You’ll Find Here
The Chronicles are personal essays about grief, trauma, identity, love, relationships, travel, rebuilding, and life after loss. Some were written from inside the experience. Others look back years later with a perspective I couldn’t have had when everything was happening.
There are more than five years of stories here. You don’t need to read them in order. Start wherever something speaks to you.
Beyond the Pages
Some stories can be told publicly. Others need a smaller room.
Beyond the Pages is the more intimate side of The Blue Widow Chronicles on Patreon—a growing private library of previously unpublished journal entries, deeper reflections on the Chronicles, member-only writing, and guided writing resources.
Membership is $5/month and includes access to the complete growing library.
Come further in —Beyond the Pages