About

My site “Let Us Live Like We Mean It: My Life and Times, Here and There” is both a journal-type blog, as well as a topical one.

I’m a retired lawyer whose career was mostly in criminal law as a public defender working throughout the state of Ohio.  Before that I had several federal civil service positions on both the East and West Coasts of the U.S.A.

Music and art have always been major avocations of mine.  I began playing piano at age 5, flute at 8, and finally the guitar at age 12.  It in turn was a run-up to the Renaissance lute, which was my focus in performance from age 16 to age 60. Celtic harp was also a favorite of mine. Sadly, I cannot currently play any instruments due to arthritis, but I hope that will change!

My Celtic harp and new lute

Me at Columbus Arts Festival, c. 1984

Me with lute in high school

I have drawn and painted all my life. Here is one of my favorite old pen-and-ink drawings on a grocery bag from my college days, which I gave to my brother Chris and his wife Missy:

History is another big preoccupation of mine, particularly Medieval and Renaissance Europe and Asia Minor.  In 2006 I got to live for six months in Istanbul, Turkey, which will always be one of the peak experiences of my life.

I am now living without pets, my last two cats, Ophelia and Sissy, having died in 2019. It is strange not to have furry animals in the house, because that has been a constant in my life. Here I am at almost three years old, with my first cat Ballo, who I caught in a farmyard when I was barely two:

Social justice, nature and wildlife conservation are passions of mine, too, as is religion/spirituality.

In 2016 I joined the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where we research mostly European culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance up to the year 1600 C.E. (A.D.) and then re-enact those times in what we call the Modern Middle Ages.  Our motto is “Living The Dream.” I enjoy it immensely.

My SCA name is Unnr Olafsdottir, a fictional 10th century Icelandic woman whose family came from Norway via the British Isles.  I enjoy teaching classes about Viking history for the SCA, and also attending classes at The Ohio State University, where I’ve taken several courses offered by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Do you see a pattern emerging here? 🙂

Here I am teaching classes on Viking Age Women and then on the 10th C. Viking Rus’ Princess Ol’ga of Kiev for the SCA. I have a real affinity for maps, in part because I think that geography has so much to do with history. I also just enjoy looking at them.

I hope that you will find something in my blog to enjoy or enlighten, or at least not offend! 🙂