My dog Magnus died Saturday night. He seemed fine and was roughhousing with Sisi my small red smooth coated female at 8 o’clock but when I went to let him out before bed he didn’t come. I looked for him and found him dead in my closet stiff and cold. He must have gone in there to die soon after I saw them playing! It is always a shock to lose a dog. And Magnus was such a sweetheart! I…
On the night of my debutante ball, Richard Nixon, who was Vice President, and his wife, Pat, came over early with their two adolescent daughters, Julie and Tricia. They wanted to see the tent and the decorations before the extraordinary debutante party my parents gave for me at Underoak, our beautiful estate. Walter Sharon, the florist, was there, too, working on the flowers. Ridgewells Caterers were setting up for the breakfast to be served later. The “A 1 Tent Company”…
To please my father as well as myself, I became a debutante at several balls in 1960. Glamor and mystique attend the idea of making a debut into society. In fact, my father told me that when I was old enough, he would make sure I was presented at court to the Queen in London. Sadly for him, if not for me, the debutante balls of the court were canceled after the 1958 season.By the 1950s, life was changing in…
When I was waiting for my baby to be born, I was Christmas shopping and sending out Christmas cards. I was so late with the cards because I kept thinking the baby would come in time for a photo on the card. NOPE. She was due in late November, but she did not feel like being born yet. In fact, it was three weeks past her due date when she finally arrived on December 19th, a few days before Christmas….
It is hard to believe that people are still falling for it. But the other day I went to a consignment store that has wonderful things. I noticed a sign on the door saying, “Masks encouraged.” Sure enough, when I went up to the desk, I saw that all three women working there were wearing pointy white paper masks. Of course, they do nothing to protect the wearer from this virus. I guess it is some psychological “fix.” Do they…
My Oldest Daughter is Having a Big Birthday this month. Helen Dow Matheson Hilliard was born on February 24, 1963. (just after my 21st birthday ) Second of our children. She was born in Charlottesville, VA at UVA Hospital. Her dad was in the Architecture School at UVA. We were thrilled to have a girl. Our family was complete. A Mom and Dad and two children, a boy and a girl were the ideal in the 1960s. But in fact,…
Do you want to live a long and healthy life? If you are taking care of yourself, you should be seeing someone besides a typical “western” doctor. They are not trustworthy and cannot be believed any longer. Many people have lost all faith in them. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into the “system.” See an alternative healer like a chiropractor, naturopath or herbalist. Acupuncture and even hypnosis can heal you without side effects or drug dependency. I opened…
When he was born, I was 20 years old. It was thrilling. But I was clueless. I knew nothing about babies. I had never even babysat a child. Everything was new. The first time my pediatrician came to my house, I was embarrassed that I did not know how to change a diaper very well. I was such a baby myself. That was in the days when doctors still did that. And he encouraged me to nurse Charley, saying it…
When I was 16 I got my driver’s license. It was one of the greatest days of my life. Freedom. The ability to just go and do it all by myself was like a miracle. Because I was given a car this really was an option. The feeling was thrilling. Empowerment was not a word I had ever heard back then, but it describes how I felt. Empowered. Hurrah! At the height of my ecstasy, it occurred to me that…
It was a cold clear Christmas Eve and we were living at a house we called BonnieBrae. We had not been living there too long, only a few months. We believed we had sold our wonderful farm, Heathfield. It was supposed to go through on January 1 of that year Was it 2000? Or 2001? So we bought another house and moved into it before the actual settlement of the sale of Heathfield. A word to the wise: Don’t ever…
We had dinner every Monday night for years. She liked to have two drinks before dinner. So that meant there was a lot of chatter and conversation between us as we sipped. As we got to know each other well. A mutual feeling of friendship grew between us. I LIKED her. It was fun to see each other every week. I looked forward to Mondays. I had come to Washington DC to live with my aging mother. I needed an…
My favorite time of year! That time in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. It lasts nearly a week. The day after Christmas is traditionally my absolute favorite. It is no longer as much a necessity as it was in those chaotic days when we had five children still in school. While they were all still living at home, Christmas was extremely hectic. Charley, Helen, Lilla, Robert, and Murdoch were as excited by Christmas as I was. I loved it….
We had tree special birthdays this year. In January I turned 80 and my oldest son turned 60, my second-to-youngest son is 50. Amazing ages! We are all in excellent health! We celebrated these milestones with wonderful dinners. And we are grateful to various businesses, and for our many family members. Chisholm Vineyard and wine tasting venue is serving their wonderful wine and welcoming those who wish to taste their prize winning wine in their scenic localle. My family is…
Ice and snow were predicted for Wednesday. Yikes! If that happened, what could I do to protect myself and finish as many tasks as possible? In our family, there are some traditions that are simply carved in stone. Family gatherings for one thing, and decorations, christmas cards, presents, and at least one but more likely several family meals. There are five family birthdays this month. Those birthday people MUST have different presents, not just their gifts from Christmas. Decorations come…
Fifty Years Ago, I had a Baby!! I was thirty, and we decided to have another baby. We already had three lovely children. But many of our friends were just getting married. It just looked like so much fun to add to the family. After all, Charley’s family had two sets of children separated by seven years. And we started so young with the first ‘set .’We were twenty when our first one was born, and I was still twenty-two…
