According to PodcastPage, there are over three million podcasts in the US. More than 80 million listeners tune in. I’m one of them. I enjoy a smorgasbord of podcasts about the news, art, public radio, writing, books, religion, healthcare, medicine, ultrarunning, and more. I’ve always been intrigued by podcasters and what goes into creating and hosting a podcast. They work hard to inspire listeners, to support and promote their guests, and to grow their audience participation and engagement.  I recently conducted an interview survey via Google Forms of seven podcasters from the US, C ..read more

Faith and Gracie foraging and rustling among the autumn leaves. In March 2023, my husband Jon and I bought our first pair of hens from a local farm. Each hen cost thirty dollars. It was a beautiful sunny early spring day. Before I could have backyard hens, my town required me to enroll in a twenty-five dollar virtual course, take the test to become certified, and pay a one-time permit fee of ten dollars. I became familiar with the various types of hens and chickens, and the distinction between a hen and a chicken. A chicken is bred to produce more chickens and a hen lays eggs. I wanted two ..read more

February 29, 2024 is Rare Disease Day. There are approximately 7,000 rare diseases affecting 1 in 10 Americans; that's about 20 to 30 million Americans. Between 1 and 5 people per 10,000 in the US suffer from eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a rare chronic autoimmune disease of the esophagus. I was one of them. For twenty-six years, I endured EoE. I've blogged about my EoE journey and nightmare. I recently found this fatalistic position on the Mt. Sinai Hospital website: "There is no cure and no specific treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis. Treatment involves managing your diet and taking m ..read more

First Solo Art Exhibition — Nature: Mountains, Trails, Sand, Water, and National Parks— February 2024 In a journal entry dated Oct 2, 2021 after I painted my tenth acrylic painting, I wrote, "One day I hope to have an exhibition..." On February 8, 2024, I experienced the opening reception of my first solo art exhibition in the Waterford Township Public Library's gallery in Atco, New Jersey. It was a wonderful, gratifying, joyful experience! If you were unable to attend Nature: Mountains, Trails, Sand, Water, and National Parks, in this post I'll share the stories behind each painting, the sour ..read more

Although ultrarunning is a grueling sport, I find ultrarunning helps to heal the heart, soothe the soul, and overcome obstacles. One obstacle runners will stumble upon is the unexpected DNF (did not finish). I have completed 15 ultra endurance runs. I have had four DNFs. Each has taught me about humility, picking myself up and dusting myself off, persevering, and plotting my next ultra. A DNF is not failure. Humility at Mile 19 After completing four 50-mile ultras, I decided to tackle the ,2008 Laurel Highlands 70.5.,The course is very technically challenging. It was a hot, humid, cloudy, and ..read more

At mile 30 of the 2006 Vermont 50 - my first grueling trail ultra. Photo by Jonna Gilbert-Wahle I Was Never a Runner I never ran track or cross-country. I played field hockey, basketball, and softball in high school. In college, I didn’t play any sport but began running to mend a broken heart and to reduce stress. I ran my first road race — a 5K — when my daughter was fourteen months old. I ran my first half-marathon when my son was six months old. When he was two, I ran my first marathon. Five half-marathons and nine marathons later, I completed my first ultramarathon - the ,JFK 50 - in 2005 ..read more

Kaylee, the youngest 2023 Badwater135 finisher, made history when she crossed the finish line in 40:06:23. Photo courtesy of Kaylee Frederick. I first learned about Kaylee Frederick on social media after she made history at Badwater 135 in July 2023 when she crossed the finish line. My jaw dropped when I learned she was only eighteen years old. Beyond impressive and amazing. At the October 2023 Beast Coast Productions Hainesport endurance ultras, runners of all ages and skill levels—first-timers, seasoned, and elite—shared the course as they ran their event: the 12hr, 24hr, 48hr, or 100 miler ..read more

Photo by Tobias Tullius on Unsplash It’s now the middle of November. It’s been over four weeks since I last placed a follow-up call to the detective investigating who broke into our Cruise America RV rental in early August in the parking lot designated for visitors to Gateway Arch National Park. Apparently, the detective has stopped returning our calls. Long story short, after spending a wonderful few hours at Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri — our 28th national park visit — we returned to our Cruise America RV rental. A happy selfie next to our Cruise America RV re ..read more

Sweet figs picked from a fig tree. A couple of weekends ago, Jon and I went organic farm hopping in search of pumpkins to make pumpkin pies. The first organic farm we visited didn’t have pumpkins, but we bought a lot of apples and pears to make more apple and pear pies. We then headed to another farm. This farm didn’t have pumpkins either, but it had fig trees. We hadn’t planned on picking figs, but we were glad we did. The owner of the farm gave us a pint container and off we went into the fig trees now under the cover of a greenhouse to protect them from the winds and cold weather. Picking f ..read more

Verified organic apples and pears. Photo by Miriam Diaz-Gilbert I’ve been baking since I was a teenager. I love to bake cakes for the holidays, birthday cakes, breads, bagels, babka, bread pudding, brownies, pies, and more. My favorite season of the year is summer, but I love autumn because it’s pie baking season. This time of the year I enjoy baking apple pies and making homemade pie crust. The aroma of the pies and spices wafting in the kitchen and throughout the house is intoxicating. Unfortunately, in the US conventional apples and pears are heavily sprayed with diphenylamine, a pesticide ..read more