Carolyn Erickson

It’s an “awareness” month. Can you guess from the title which one?
No Buts About It

As my daughter nears those pre-teen years, I’ve found myself reminiscing. This is an article I wrote back during the toddler years:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love cliches.
But before you run off to report me (tattle-tale), or to cram your copy with them because “Carolyn said it was okay,” let me clarify:
I love cliches with the kind of affection people bestow upon puppies and kittens. And while puppies and kittens can be [...]

I made the shortbread cookies again. This time, I didn’t have the distractions of the post-school/supper-making frenzy, and they turned out perfectly. (Although I still blame my oven for that last attempt.) I also did not slather them with chocolate, since they clearly are meant to be enjoyed in all their buttery simplicity:

Here’s my attempt [...]

How do I write an article about thank-you notes that is factual, but not yawn-inducing? That’s the question I asked myself when I received this assignment. The answer? It ain’t easy.

But I guess I’m pretty pleased with the result, because I’m showing it off.
Read it, if you like, at Women’s Focus Magazine. Then please tell me [...]

(Note: I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. The religious right would never have me for a member, and the feminists count me as a lost cause. I’ve never found a pigeonhole I’ve felt comfortable in. But this year I voted for McCain/Palin along with about half the country.)
For the most part, the Obama [...]

Take a photo of a white object outdoors using the different White Balance settings on your camera

Take a photo of a white object inside, using the different White Balance settings available on your camera

You know how cool it looks when you get a subject in focus and a blurry background? Point and shoot cameras aren’t great for getting that effect, but it is possible under certain conditions.
Sometimes the effect is subtle. You can use it to highlight a particular part of your picture without completely obscuring the background [...]

Excuse me for a moment while I think out loud and try to figure out a perplexing problem here.
I might have mentioned this incessantly once or twice before. My “freelancer” brain and my “homemaker” brain exist galaxies apart from one another. Every afternoon, at about 3 p.m., I smash them together in the humongous Hadron [...]