Welcome to the next episode of Fire After 50! Today I talk with childhood friend, Susanne Graham Tartarilla, who after 40 years in education, has recently retired at age 63 and is fearlessly launching her own travel and tour business! We talk inspiration, love of travel, daring to start something big and new after retirement, and the exciting places she is leading groups of travelers around the world! Susanne is joyful, energetic, courageous and very lovely! Before we began recording today she sent me a photo of her recording space...laptop sitting on a beautiful Mark Twain book, a delicate tea cup filled with something delicious, and a view out onto her fall garden. Pour yourself something yummy, sit back and have a listen.

Susanne Graham Tartarilla recently retired from a 40 year career in public education and has happily returned to her home state of Maine. A certified travel agent, she is in the early stages of launching her own travel and tour company, Sterling Tours. She says, "I am passionate about travel, theatre making, gardening, and relationships with my woman friends. I am never happier than when I am with my family at our home on Sebago Lake, Maine."

*Photograph of Susanne taken by her husband, Paul Tartarilla*.

Susanne's next upcoming group travel adventure (and there is still space available): A Scottish Adventure

Susanne's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/startarilla

Susanne's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/startarilla/

Nanette's website: https://www.nanettefayegordon.com/

Nanette's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/nanettefayephotography/

Join me for an inspiring conversation with artist, teacher, entrepreneur, social/community/environmental activist, Kim Bernard! At 58 years old, Kim is living life to its fullest! Her new tattoo reads, "You've only got one life to live, and it's happening right now!"

Kim Bernard creates sculpture that is recycled, kinetic, interactive, public and involves the community. She creates installations upcycled out of trash and is currently focusing on transforming plastic waste into sculpture using her portable recycling machines. She shows her work nationally and has been invited to participate in many exhibits, some of which include the Portland Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Fuller Craft Museum, Harvard University, Art Complex Museum and UNH Museum of Art. Her work has been reviewed in the Boston Globe, Art News and Art New England. Bernard is the recipient of the Artist Advancement Grant, Kindling Fund Grant, NEFA grant, 6 Maine Arts Commission Grants as well as funding from the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation. She was an artist-in-residence in the Physics Department at Harvard University and at the University of New England. She received her BFA from Parsons in 1987 and her MFA from Mass Art in 2010. Bernard teaches at the Maine College of Art, Colby College, Haystack and as a visiting artist.

Kim's website:   www.kimbernard.com

FB:  www.facebook.com/kim.bernard.963/

IG:  www.instagram.com/kimbernardart/

Nanette's website: www.nanettefayegordon.com

Nanette's FB: www.facebook.com/nanettefayephotography

Nanette's IG: www.instagram.com/nanettefayephotography/

Join me as I dive quickly into a deep conversation with Kara Seymour who makes her biggest life decisions by intentionally, and with daily practices, listening to and trusting her intuition. We explore the questions, "Who am I without my old stories I tell myself and others?" and "How do we "code" today to let our lives beautifully unfold going forward?" and "What does feminine leadership look like?" and more...

Kara Seymour has a deep love for yoga, community, freedom, slow living and new beginnings. Having recently moved from her home state of Maine to Asheville, North Carolina she has been immersed in one of the biggest transitions and transformations of her life thus far. Letting go of attachment to former identities and narratives, she’s venturing into unknown territory with curiosity and profound trust in the process. As a full time yoga teacher for the past 20 years, Kara’s true gift lies in using yoga as a vehicle for transformation, exploration, and community building. She has been facilitating an online women’s yoga community for over five years and is profoundly grateful for the ever evolving container that allows women, including herself, the safe space to explore the deep inner workings of their lives, to commune, converse and create true soul sister connections, and have a daily devotional kundalini yoga practice. 

Kara's online community "Homecoming" : https://www.homecomingcommunity.com

Kara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kara_seymour_/

Kara's FB: https://www.facebook.com/homecomingcommunity

Astrocartography: https://www.astro.com/

Nanette's website: https://www.nanettefayegordon.com/

Nanette's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanettefayephotography/