Our TV room looks out onto our deck where we have a bird feeder set up with many avian visitors. One day this week one of the birds, a beautiful red-bellied woodpecker, flew into our patio door and fell to the deck. My dh, a lover of any kind of furry or feathered creature, immediately [...]
“I’m on deadline.” This is a valid and oft repeated phrase in the writing world. Other writers immediately know what that means and can commiserate, but it is something I don’t like to say out loud to people, even when it is so true and explains a lot of my behavior. I mean, it is [...]
This week Victoria Hinshaw came to town and my friend Julie Halperson and I met her for a day at the National Gallery of Art, one of my favorite places! I’ve talked about it before here and I’ll probably talk about it again. We came to see the special Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. The Pre-Raphaelites were a group [...]
Formal tea at four p.m. was a Victorian practice, but I am fairly certain that Regency ladies served tea and refreshments when their friends came to call. I had the pleasure of attending a tea at my friend Catherine’s house last Saturday and I could not help feeling a little bit like a Regency lady. [...]
I’m sick of winter! I want spring. A friend on facebook posted a photo of crocuses blooming farther south and it made me yearn for spring. Spring in Virginia so beautiful. The Cherry Blossoms The Dogwood Trees The Jonquils The Tulips Spring reminds us all of love and romance. It is nature’s depiction of how [...]
Last weekend we visited the in laws and took a drive to Gloucester Courthouse in Gloucester, Virginia. One of the things I love about Virginia is the history that permeates the state. We were, after all, the land of the first English settlement at Jamestown. Gloucester is about 35 miles from Jamestown and is directly [...]
This week I attended a talk by our friend Eugene at the Library of Congress where he and my dh were co-workers before they retired. Eugene is also the dh of my friend Helen and Helen is the coordinator of the Library of Congress Professional Association What If…Science Fiction and Fantasy Forum. Years ago Eugene [...]
I love the TV show House Hunters and its similar shows, House Hunters International, Property Virgins, and the like. Watching people search for a new home, seeing the variety of houses, neighborhoods, and housing prices, is fascinating. Each of these shows have similar structures. The show documents the house hunters looking at houses, showing what [...]
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? I do. The usual. Lose weight. Exercise more. Become more organized and disciplined. The fact that my resolutions are almost exactly the same every year does not deter me. To me, the new year is a signal for a new beginning. So, even though I added a few pounds [...]
We had a lovely Christmas this year, with all the family gathered at our house, but one that was not too hectic, which I loved. We did not open presents until the afternoon when my son and his wife arrived, so the morning was peaceful and quiet. And the tree was surrounded by wrapped presents. [...]
