Today I said that I had started my 6th decade. My wonderful groupies quickly corrected me. How can I be starting my 7th decade?!? Oh, my. Now I really am a “senior citizen.” I remember when the word senior held so much anticipation and promise. I need to find another label for myself. “Senior” simply […]

Happy Boxing Day! And Kwanzaa, too! We had fun getting ready for our friends to come over for our traditional Kelley Ridge Christmas Open House. This year, as last, we had it on Boxing Day. And this year, as last, we combined Adkins–Willett Christmas with our Open House. We scaled down a bit, what with […]

The Solstice! Today was too short! Up early to go to church at St. William. What a precious church and congregation. They were having breakfast with Santa, but I skipped the pancakes and headed to the dreaded Wal-mart for some shopping before the crowds. I call Marty to see if he could help me with […]

The thing about being without electricity at Kelley Ridge was that I was thankful–thankful that I was trapped there and not somewhere else. Being there, I could burn wood and keep the house warm. This kept my pipes from freezing. Having experienced a burst pipe and a flood coming from my second floor all the […]

I’ve decided to write short blog posts. Maybe I’ll write every day that way. I am heading across the pond on Wednesday. I promise to let you know about the wonderful trip that Caitlan, Kyle and I are going to take. Anyway, here are a few highlights from this weekend and the past two months: […]

I love weekends. I actually slept in late (for me)—8 a.m.!! I headed off to Richmond to my favorite mechanics (Jay Edward excepted, of course)for an oil change on the Camry. They were able to replace my rear wipers (windshield, that is), but when they replaced my rear left turn signal bulb, lots of corroded […]

Friday Night: Went to Patti’s for Groupies. We were all there, which I liked, because frequently one of us has other commitments. We have decided to read Scott Hahn’s THE LAMB’S SUPPER which is about the Mass and the Book of Revelation. Patti had a chicken cacciatore sort of dish over pasta, salad, bread, and […]

Part Three (Many people let me know how they have learned lessons from things that have happened in my life. People have told me that after Wayne died, they realized how important a network of friends, family and church community support can be during a time of tragedy. I agree. When Joe died suddenly, I […]

I am so fortunate. On Friday I got to spend time with my mother. I got fed winter squash chili, broccoli salad, home-made whole wheat rolls, and banana pudding with my groupies at Beth and Jim’s house, and Mombo came along. My sweet friend Jerry joined us, and then we all went to Hayley’s game […]

After Hayley’s game last night ( a valiant effort in a disappointing setting), I brought Mombo back to the Valley since it was after dark. We had quite the Clan contingent at the game (me, Mom, Jerry R., John, Dana, James, Susan, and of course all the Hellyers). This morning I took her back to […]