Do you know about Stretch Lab? I was so wrong about them. The name scared me. I have seen the name on a storefront and heard an ad for the place on the radio. Yet each time, I was filled with dread because I have a lot of trouble “stretching.” The very idea is painful. So I was in no way interested in increasing my own stretching. But I did not understand. They need to improve their signage to let…
Do you belong to a hate group? Is it a political party, or a group of people whose sexual identity is off-center? Perhaps it is an ethnic group? Race is the sure way to peg someone “different”. What about a religious group, or perhaps it is a group of skeptics who revile other groups who believe differently? Do you know what your group believes about “others”? Or do you just assume that they are open-minded and balanced? Sometimes people find…
As I sit outside on this lovely Spring day, awash with pollen from the many flowering trees and the budding leaves of deciduous trees that are so early to leaf out this year, I ponder. While I sit here in warm sunlight watching my dogs accustom themselves to my new puppy there are hundreds of political prisoners sitting in disgusting, solitary cells in Washington DC. The rules have been changed and the government is holding these men without trial, often…
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…
We had three 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…
This week has been both icy cold and unseasonably warm, and last night, it was raining (but warm). It seems to me that there are many ways to enjoy the changing season. Here are my top 5. Number 1. Go out into the fresh air. Breath. Saturday was the Opening Day of the Keswick Hunt, and I went to the meet to see them off. It is lovely to be involved in hunting, even as a spectator. Thanks to my…
The number of places that still ask for masks to be worn or, worse yet, vaccine passports is shrinking. But it is NOT happening fast enough for me. It causes my heart to race, my blood pressure to rise, and my mind to fill with what I would like to say to them. There are so many false reasons why these people are suffering from fear. They are anguished and suffering for nothing. Terrified by lies and propaganda that they…
Alcohol is a tricky subject. A young person I know is having a tough time because he has Mono and is not supposed to drink. The reason this is a problem is that he is at college. Drinking is pretty much part of going to college unless you are a Mormon. This situation made me think of how much the culture of drinking has changed. The generation who grew up just after prohibition ended drank a lot. They often had…
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”~George Orwell A man I know had what he believed to be the beginning of a blood clot in his leg. He had been very sedentary and taken an automobile ride last 4 or 5 hours without moving his leg. When he woke up the following day, the leg was very sore, red, and swollen. The skin was hot and tight to the touch….
“We Are Adults Now.” We have grown up. We are adults now. We must learn to take responsibility for ourselves. We need to understand that our emotional intelligence is in our hands, no one else’s. Our health and our outlook on life are solely our own responsibility. Why do people expect someone else to save them? That is not only an unrealistic expectation, but it sets us up for being manipulated by unscrupulous characters, often the government itself. “Governments do…
I have been waiting impatiently for the 30th of June to arrive so that I could go to a luncheon I had been invited to. Yet on the actual day of the party, I forgot. Is this old age? Or is it the various distractions of my life many of which were unplanned but often very pleasant? I am distraught to have missed the luncheon. An author of a historical novel asked other authors to come to enjoy each other’s…
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…
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…
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…
