I am smiling as I write this because I know the ending to this part of Serenas’ story. It had been ten days since my dog, Serena went missing. Ten days with no word at all, made me assume she was dead, gone for good. After all, I had contacted everyone I could think of. I went door to door to the neighbors, begging for information. They all understood how much it meant to me. We had contacted the local…
One Christmas many years ago, our children surprised me with an unexpected gift. They told me they had a present for me but I had to wait in the living room, while they went to get it. They were giggling and acting very pleased with themselves. With much whispering and fanfare, they brought a rather unwieldy-looking tan-colored cardboard box adorned with a red ribbon on top. When I opened the large badly shaped box I was shocked. There, inside, was…
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…
The mask mandates have been lifted on planes and all sorts of other places. Thank goodness! Yet there are some out there still demanding to resurrect the mandates. It baffled me right from the start how people could have fallen for the mask mandate. It was easy to prove masks were ineffective and not worth wearing. Furthermore, wearing a mask was like wearing a sign saying, “I am compliant, I do what I am told.” It was also horrifying to…
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…
My heart goes out to the truckers in the Convoy that drove to Ottawa to protest the mandates. I applaud those headed to Washington DC, now. In fact, I am partial to all truckers everywhere. This is because I had a brief, semi-secret life as a trucker’s girlfriend. It may surprise you to know that I once traveled all over the west with a man in a Big Rig. I was simply besotted by that guy. The origin story of…
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…
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…
The sun shone behind a wall of clouds so diaphanous that it seemed to be made of sheer Mother of Pearl. Silvery, shimmering as if it would burst forth any second now in glorious glaring sunlight. But that never happened. Instead, the sky became thicker and smoother and the scent of snow was in the air. It felt damp and cold and invigorating at the same time. Snow-covered the turquoise-painted outdoor furniture on the terrace, and it covered the terrace,…
Remember being 10 years old? Such a milestone, 2 digits! I was thrilled when I turned 10 that I could say something happened 10 years ago. A new type of “me” arose by the time my life contained that august number of years. Everyone has an annual birthday whether it is celebrated or not. But some are more important than others. 12 was also a big year for me, as I became a woman on my 12th birthday, much to…
Christmas this year was one of the best ever. Our family is large and several members have birthdays in December. There is even one on the 23rd and one on Christmas Eve. These family members have parties in addition to the Christmas parties already scheduled by friends and families. None of the parties were canceled. And they were all a lot of fun. The weather was mild, and we were often outside for hiking and eating. At one birthday, the…
