Life has been good to me.
As a retired English teacher, I’m free to enjoy my north woods home with my husband Jerry, Jake the Dog, our new puppy Sally, and many adventurous friends.

I grew up in the Twin Cities (Hopkins) and moved north with my young family at 26 to the wilderness my husband and I had always loved. I have two grown sons who have moved to California and Puerto Rico (sigh...), though that offers me an excuse to visit them when I feel sunshine deprived (which happens in my north woods).

I love kayaking, canoeing, swimming, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing… the list goes on. One of the highlights of my life was my women’s canoe group, the Ladytrippers. Starting when our children were small, we explored the boundary waters every summer for 25 years. When that ended, I launched into long kayak trips on Lake Superior with The Old Fogies, my kayaking friends.

When I can’t be outdoors, I’m mostly writing, reading or knitting. I can’t imagine being bored. There’s not enough time in a day for all the things I’d like to do.

After 30 years of teaching (in Columbia Heights and Grand Marais), I opted to hop overseas and complete my teaching career in Istanbul. I taught at Koç Lisesi and Robert College, both prestigious prep schools. My goodness, what a stunning world! I wrote weekly “missives” about my experiences (amershon.edublogs.org). In nearly seven years of teaching there, I never once had a student talk back at me (a daily occurrence in the U.S.).

My years in Turkey changed my life, and I go back every few years, often with groups I put together. Though the adjustment to such a different world was difficult, I was fascinated with Turkey’s history and discovered what a warm and caring culture it has. I wrote a memoir about my experiences so others could experience the beauty of Turkey and its people: You must only to love them.

Turks make “Minnesota Nice” an understatement. I treasure my years in Istanbul, but I love being back in my north woods home, exploring the natural environment that drew me here.

I’m actually sort of a newlywed, since Jerry and I married in 2015. We both bike and cross-country ski, but I can only keep up with him walking and paddling. I drag him along on my travels—we’ve been to Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, and Puerto Rico together. He’s a good sport, a lover of wine, and a gifted storyteller. We’re pretty darned happy.

As my father always said, "Life is beautiful!"

But then, he also said, "We'll trade you in for a pig and shoot the pig." Maybe I haven’t always been perfect.

Dad’s good nature and humor helped make me who I am today. Not too sure what that is exactly— always in process, changing, growing, learning…