SEARCH: Combining Households

Combining Households

by Emerian Rich

These days, people are combining households for many reasons. College graduates are moving back with their parents, parents are retiring and moving in with their adult children, and grandparents are selling their bigger homes to take up residence in mini-suites with family members. Living together makes a lot of sense when you look at it financially, especially if you live in a high-rent state like California. It can also be the answer to childcare or eldercare situations that otherwise may seem unmanageable. But for adults who have previously had their own lives and privacy, the act of sharing lives can be quite uncomfortable. There will be growing pains for sure, but to help you plan, here are some things you should consider before or during this sort of move.

Set boundaries: For adults who are used to having independence and their own lives, sharing space can be especially hard when someone is there 24-7, possibly in their space or knocking in the middle of their favorite television program. Setting boundaries may at first seem uncomfortable, since they are family, but communicating…

Read more in our Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: City Spotlight on Victoria, B.C.

City Spotlight on Victoria, B.C.

by Heather Roulo

If you want a taste of England without having to fly to London, consider a trip up the west coast to the beautiful island of Vancouver, B.C., where Canada meets Washington state. The harbor on Vancouver’s southern tip boasts one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest. Victoria shows its close ties to Britain with double-decker buses, high teas, and a historic Parliament building built in 1897. You will truly feel transported.

But of course, Victoria’s charm is all its own. Learn about the Coast Salish people who first lived in the area at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Take a boat out to whale watch, including the black-and-white orca pods. Visit the oldest Chinatown in Canada, second only to San Francisco in North America, and learn about its complicated relationship…

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: Tai Chi for the Health of It

Tai Chi for the Health of It

by S. G. Browne

Originally developed hundreds of years ago as a Chinese martial art, Tai Chi is more often taught and practiced today for health and exercise than for self-defense. The practice uses slow movements and controlled breathing as a sort of “moving meditation” that helps to balance the mind and body.

Not only can Tai Chi help to strengthen your core, but it can improve your balance, strength, and flexibility, while also relieving stress and anxiety. So, come for the physical exercise, stay for the mental relaxation! And because it’s low-impact, it’s generally safe for all ages and fitness levels. 

If you’re looking to learn Tai Chi for self-defense, you’ll want to enroll in a martial arts class taught by…

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: New Orleans Red Beans & Rice, Vegan Style

New Orleans Red Beans & Rice, Vegan Style

by Brian and Patricia Dake

Today, we want to share our original recipe inspired by visits to New Orleans, home to some of the best food in all the world. We have made red beans and rice in the traditional style, but on this occasion we had invited guests, one of whom was vegetarian while another was vegan. Authentic Louisiana red beans and rice, made with andouille sausage is delicious but obviously would not meet the dietary requirements of two of our guests. More and more, we find family and friends are more health conscious, and what works for one does not necessarily meet the nutritional needs of another. Since we want all our guests to feel welcome and not singled out as different from everyone else, it provides an opportunity to get creative. To accommodate our guests, yet not lose the essence of the sausage, we compiled a balance of spices that pays homage to the unique flavor the sausage provides. While the seasoning is not an exact substitute for the sausage, it is a fresh start, a “rebirth” of an old-style dish that pleased everyone, including our omnivore guests.    

This recipe starts the night before with the soaking of the beans. For our recipe, we chose actual red beans, not kidney beans. Red beans are a specific type of bean. They differ from kidney beans in appearance, size, taste, and texture. Also, note that we are using brown rice in this recipe which is considered healthier and is increasingly popular. Cooking brown rice requires more water than cooking white rice. Should you substitute white rice…

Read the full recipe in SEARCH Magazine‘s Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: Spring in the English Countryside

Spring in the English Countryside

by Elliot Thorpe

As winter finally begins to melt away, the notion of spring arriving is laced with a feeling of renewal. The trees around us start to blossom their delicate white and pink, flowers sprout, leaves begin to bud, and grasslands that have been dormant for so long finally reach upwards again.

There’s something quite special about spring. Certainly Celtic and Pagan beliefs dating back to ancient times saw it as a powerful time for magic and nature, symbolizing birth and rebirth. The Irish goddess of spring also encompassed fertility and life, as well as being the mistress of healing. Brigid–or the Exalted One as she was also known–embodies the very essence of what spring means for so many people and what it offers the world every year.

The crisp air seems to bridge the changing of the seasons, the winter chill lingering, as if unwilling to fully let go just yet. The countryside brings so much joy. Crops begin their growth cycle to yield. Birds reappear from their annual migration, following the same route every year, passed down generation to generation in some unexplainable inherited knowledge…

Read the rest in our Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: Deadline May 2! Submissions Are Open for our 2nd Annual Poetry Contest

The deadline for our second-annual poetry contest is quickly approaching. Submit to SEARCHMagPromo@gmail.com by May 2nd, 2023. No fee for entry. Win a $15 Amazon gift card.

It’s all about Bright Memories! Give us your softest dreams, warmest memories, and revive our nostalgia for times we never lived. Think about good times and sunny days. We want to be lifted up and renewed by what has already come or by echoes of the past just on the horizon. Feel free to be creative, the theme is just the starting place to inspire you to wrap us in feelings in just 20 lines (Suggested limit. If it’s somewhere around that length we won’t quibble).

Details may not inspire creativity, but they’re necessary. Here are the rules:

• Submission in the contest gives permission for publication if selected as winner or runners-up.
• Submit up to 20 lines of poetry. (Try not to go too much over. It’s poetry, we’re not quibbling if you need an extra line or two.)
• Must include the poem’s title, the poem, and your email address.
• You may submit up to three poems. You may put all three poems in the same email or submit them separately.
• All poems must be original (no reprints).
• The theme is Bright Memories
• Judging will be based on creativity, form, and appeal.
• First prize is publication in the Fall issue of SEARCH Magazine and a $15 Amazon gift card
• Runners-up may be selected for publication and a $5 Amazon gift card.
• Submissions are open now. The deadline is May 2nd.
• Winners and runners-up will be notified by May 15th.
• Submit to SEARCHMagPromo@gmail.com or use the form on our contest page.

Please remember to follow us on Instagram at search_magazine, on Twitter as @searchmagsf, and on our Facebook page. Share your story and tag us.

SEARCH: The Anne Rice Revival

The Anne Rice Revival

by Sumiko Saulson

Although she passed away last December, 2022 was a big year for Anne Rice. It kicked off in February, with a brand new novel, Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris, co-written with her son, Christopher Rice. The action-packed novel takes place on the brink of World War I and continues the saga that began with The Mummy–or Ramses the Damned–back in 1989.

Then in April, AMC released a teaser for its new series Interview with the Vampire, based on her 1976 novel of the same name. In the novel, vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (played by Jacob Anderson in the series) meets with a reporter in a San Francisco Victorian to tell him the tale of his adventures with Lestat de Lioncourt (played by Sam Reid) and Claudia (played by Bailey Bass). Like the popular 1994 film adaptation of Interview with a Vampire, the AMC television show is likely to create a revival of the fandom, and bring new fans to Anne’s work.

Every new sequel and adaptation of the 1976 novel has drawn new audiences into the Anne Rice fandom, even though there are sometimes decades-long gaps between new works. The first sequel, The Vampire Lestat came out almost a decade after…

Read more in our Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf
by Michele Roger

During spring, I play a lot of music while planting seedlings on my deck or walking in the glorious rain. Spring is a time–musically–to mix it up, try new things, or blow the dust off of albums long forgotten. One artist I like to revisit in the spring is Edith Piaf.

When I heard the music of Edith as a child, the words abandonment, illness, malnourishment, and blindness never came to mind. Nevertheless, the singing treasure of France faced all of these difficulties in her early life. 

Born to creative parents, Edith was raised by relatives while her mother and father chased their careers. Her mother, Annetta, was a singer in a cafe in Paris. She left Edith with her maternal grandmother when she was an infant. Infant and grandmother struggled with poverty and hence Edith was malnourished and sickly. Eventually, Edith’s father, Louis, took the infant to his own mother who was the owner of a brothel. While living in the brothel, Edith is said to have lost her sight for nearly four years.

Despite her inability to see, it was in this formative childhood that she found her voice. Edith learned to sing from patrons of the brothel as well as…

Read more in SEARCH Magazine‘s Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.

SEARCH: Submissions Are Open for our 2nd Annual Poetry Contest!

We’re excited to run our second-annual poetry contest and it’s all about Bright Memories!

Give us your softest dreams, warmest memories, and revive our nostalgia for times we never lived. Think about good times and sunny days. We want to be lifted up and renewed by what has already come or by echoes of the past just on the horizon. Feel free to be creative, the theme is just the starting place to inspire you to wrap us in feelings in just 20 lines (Suggested limit. If it’s somewhere around that length we won’t quibble).

Details may not inspire creativity, but they’re necessary. Here are the rules:

• Submission in the contest gives permission for publication if selected as winner or runners-up.
• Submit up to 20 lines of poetry. (Try not to go too much over. It’s poetry, we’re not quibbling if you need an extra line or two.)
• Must include the poem’s title, the poem, and your email address.
• You may submit up to three poems. You may put all three poems in the same email or submit them separately.
• All poems must be original (no reprints).
• The theme is Bright Memories
• Judging will be based on creativity, form, and appeal.
• First prize is publication in the Fall issue of SEARCH Magazine and a $15 Amazon gift card
• Runners-up may be selected for publication and a $5 Amazon gift card.
• Submissions are open now. The deadline is May 2nd.
• Winners and runners-up will be notified by May 15th.
• Submit to SEARCHMagPromo@gmail.com or use the form on our contest page.

Please remember to follow us on Instagram at search_magazine, on Twitter as @searchmagsf, and on our Facebook page. Share your story and tag us.

SEARCH: Author Spotlight on Kay Tracy

Name: Kay Tracy

Tell us a little about yourself:

I have an early retirement to thank for being able to do a bit of traveling and finally sit long enough to actually do things other than work! As a Sci-Fi geek of sorts–in addition to having worked in a laboratory setting–I have been lucky enough to have a varied background and access to some amazing people and sources.

You’ve been SEARCH Magazine’s go-to person for many articles on travel and science. How do your interests influence your writing for SEARCH?

I spent many years working with youth in scouting, local community centers, and as a Solar System Ambassador for JPL/NASA.  I enjoy sharing science in a fun way with folks, young and old. I also enjoy Historical Re-enactment, which has allowed me the opportunity to travel a bit.  It led to me meeting my current spouse and moving to Iceland! Together we have…

Learn more about Kay Tracy in our Spring 2023 #FreshStart issue.