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Ah summer! There’s something about this overheated time of year that makes us shift gears and relish the season and remember good stuff when we were kids. I’m no exception. For me, summer is: 1. Fresh-squeezed lemonade. 2. Snacks in a picnic cooler. 3. Reading a paperback novel under a beach umbrella. 4. The aroma of coconut oil. 5. Carnival …
Forty years ago my husband Tym and I moved to Catawba County. We had both grown up in in rural Illinois, a land platted in a grid. Directions were given by the compass. Go a mile north, turn left and go three miles west. But in this booming place with a gentler climate, we learned that locals navigate by where …
On May 26, I joined a small crowd at the Memorial Day ceremony in Eastview Cemetery in Newton, NC. I hadn’t been to such a ceremony in several years, and for me, it was a solid reminder of the phrase “freedom isn’t free.” We honored American service men and women for their sacrifice in the line of duty. There was …
There’s often something funny about the unexpected. One morning, I opened the refrigerator, as usual. Suddenly the entire door came off its hinges. Bottles of jam, salad dressings, drinks and condiments came crashing to the floor. My bare foot was in inches of being crushed. Luckily, none of the glass broke and my husband was home to help lift the …
It’s spring and the tree butchers are out. You know the crews that go door-to-door in search of trees to scalp. Recently I saw their handiwork south of Newton: beautifully shaped hardwoods reduced to the shape of surgical gloves. Glorious trees with full canopies were ridiculously pruned into GI haircuts, or shaved in half or worse yet, cut to become …
I’m a sucker when it comes to history—especially family history. Recently while perusing the “maps” and migration section of Ancestry DNA, I checked out County Dorset, the area in southwestern England where some of my ancestors originated. That’s what my DNA test claims, and my paper trail confirms it: Dorchester, England and nearby Weymouth were where my fishermen—Thomas Gardiner, John …
Last week I drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, again. This bridge, just east of Annapolis, is nearly 380 feet high—enough to clear the mast of a tall ship with 200 feet to spare—and more than four miles long. I’m not alone with my gephyrophobia (fear of bridges).This bridge is so scary that drivers actually hire a service to drive …
s Having been a Girl Scout as a child, and later, an assistant troop leader and employee of the local Girl Scout Council, the “green” month of March always reminds me of my scouting days. Girl Scout Week honors founder Juliette Low’s birthday, and as any good Girl Scout has learned—occurred on March 12, 1912, at the family home on …
It comes in droves six days a week. A flurry of flyers, a few bills and invariably, three or four sealed envelopes soliciting donations for everything from political causes to charities, religious groups and public television. Stuff we call junk mail. Some appeals brazenly enclose bait, trapped in glassine windows: a nickel, a dime… anything to get you to open …
Recently my pastor posted a photo of his overflowing office bookshelves on Facebook. “Marie Kondo has no clue.” The person he was referring to is the queen of neat. Kondo’s best-selling book is subtitled, “The life-changing magic of tidying-up,” and it has been a worldwide best-selling guide for those who want to be better organized. Kondo’s de-junking test sounds simple. …