Our kids grew up in a wonderland, at least it seems that way in retrospect. Now, like Camelot, it has disappeared. All that remains is a memory. But it colors all of our lives and enriches them. It was, in fact, our life at one time. We lived it large. We enjoyed it ‘in the moment’ for the most part. Even then, I think we knew it would soon be gone forever. Though we could never have imagined the world…
When you abandon freedom to achieve security, you lose both and deserve neither.Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin said similarly: Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Freedom of speech is the liberty I hold dearest, but speech is being censored day in and day out everywhere. If an organization is not censoring them, many people self censor. They are careful what they say for fear of people or institutions demanding…
I have so many photos of foxes, it is fun to share them with my readers. The featured image was taken by my daughter Helen. One of the joys of spring is the site of newborn animals and their mothers. Watching females feeding their young is special. From foals and calves in fields by the road to more hidden animals like foxes, opossums, groundhogs, rabbits, ducks, and geese, spring is the time of rebirth. It brings forth new life, and…
A treasure trove of information! The little book brings back a time in my life and old friends who are all gone, now. It was a Guestbook for people to sign when they came to the embassy for a party or even just to visit. And along with my mother’s diary for that period and my own, it paints a picture of our lives that first year in Luxembourg. The book was a pale nut brown leather rectangle wedged between…
How do you feel about change? The world we all inhabit has changed dramatically since I was a girl.There were a lot more rules of etiquette, manners mattered, and going to church was a virtue. People were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. or Miss, no first names until later, and there was a lot less swearing. There were general fears about war, even epidemics, but no one closed down countries as a result. Skirts used to be a certain length….
The other day I posted a photo of myself on horseback So many people commented on that photo or simply ‘liked’ it, that I took a second look. I posted it originally because it is sometimes enjoyable for me to see how I looked in those days with a trim figure and youthful features. Life was good. But there is more to that photo than just me. Foxhunting is a sport that requires guts. When I began seriously hunting in…
Being given the privilege of living in a place that gives you energy and good vibes every day is the best. Houses have personalities, and property exudes atmosphere and vibrations we may not always recognize. We just get a sense of a place. It can be intense. The property where I live now is wonderful. The rolling hills of Virginia are personified right here. It starts as you enter the driveway shared by a couple of other houses, that goes…
Being a woman is the best. We are so lucky. We have all the advantages and always have. Men want us and need us and protect us and basically revere us. What’s not to like about that? We have such advantages! We don’t have to go down into the basement to discover what “that sound” was! For many everyday scary things men will show us their bravery. It is they who get the snake out of the house, get rid…
The dog fight! This is the story of why we had to make the above rule in our house. I was standing in the sunny kitchen with Susie. The morning was bright, soft, and warm for November. Standing on the reddish-brown tiles of the floor we watched several of the dogs frolicking outside the French doors. Susie was holding her adorable baby girl. Helen was a little over 6 months old. As the big dogs belonging to Susie and Murdoch…
Once upon a time, the Orange County Hunt met on Opening Day at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Furness, Waverly, in The Plains Virginia. The Washington Post covered the elegant event in the section that used to be called For and About Women Looking at all of the color photographs, 55 years later, I was shocked to realize I knew every single person in those pictures. This happened when looking through old boxes of memorabilia. We found this…
Looking back on 80 years of life is sobering. For some time now, I have been trying to organize my files, label things and throw out things no one cares about. In the process I have found amazing items I thought were lost forever. I have found things that hurt my heart to see or read about. Then there are the things that bring such joy and fulfillment that it is thick in the air around me. But it can…
The voice spoke to me from outside my body but I was alone. There was no one with me. “You don’t want to live here. You need to leave and go to Charlottesville. You want to be with your children and grandchildren. Go!” I was alone in my mothers’ bedroom on a day in late February 2020. The room was dark, curtains drawn, and the blue silk wallpaper seemed to fade out to nothing. The cream-colored, French provincial, dresser I…
Are you one of those who make fun of people who talk about Free-dumb? Do you value “free speech”? Have you thought about what your life will be like when you no longer have any freedom to do as you wish? You will not be able to complain because that will be deemed “hate speech”. Can you see that the mandates are taking your freedom from you one thing at a time. And now with vaccine passports, all of your…
A nurse told me, “Your private doctor does not care about you. They just want to make money. They do NOT care what happens to you.” She was emphatic and she sounded angry. Everyone is on edge, these days. She was adamant that doctors were in it only for the money.This was interesting because she is a nurse at a hospital. Most people I know would say that “hospitals do not care about you. They just want to make money.”…
A ‘ conspiracy theorist ‘ is someone who engages in Critical Thinking. Isn’t that a good thing? When we are young the world is bright with promise and seems to extend out indefinitely. Even if our circumstances are dire, there is hope peaking over the horizon, seen from a distance maybe, but still possible. At the end of life, our gaze turns back to see how far from the starting point we have come. There is less time to begin…
