It’s about time you guys got a cheerful post from me, so here goes! First though, I’m trying out yet another idea for a new blog name, above: the “Stay Amazed” I saw as graffiti in Utah, and I like it paired with a photo I could have taken anywhere, not associated with travel. I’ll […]
Author: Shelly
Rolling with the Punches Here
I’ve been thinking about resiliency: how as a skill, a character trait, a practice, it helps you lead a satisfying life no matter what changes come your way. You plan for one thing, something else happens, and you change your plan to accommodate. You roll with the punches. This sounds so sensible, right? And I’ve “rolled with […]
A Sad Farewell to Our Airstream Home
I know I’ve been obnoxiously alluding to something big in our lives that I couldn’t tell you about, but the time has come to spill the beans. Our Airstream has been declared a total loss by our insurance company. Which means they’re taking possession of it, as in, towing it away from us. This trailer […]
“Things” I’m Looking Forward To
My update is that there is no update: we’re still in the Airstream in Wisconsin, still looking at houses, still trying to come to terms with the idea of a life in place. There are so many complicated, changeable emotions around us right now that it’s like a swirling, stinky magic spell is in the […]
Photos to Frame, Pt 2
I began posting photos from our past five years of exploring in this previous entry, and, voilà, here are more. The same caveats apply: I’m just a point-and-click photographer, and some of these I love only because of the memories they evoke. Along with the previous set, though, they begin to tell the story of […]
The Girl Who Does Not Sleep
Once upon a time, a certain child was born (and you know who I mean. Me!). This was a much-awaited child, a beloved child, but she was born very small. To keep her alive, she was put in an incubator, basically a plexiglass box where only nurses could touch her to change her tiny diaper […]
Photos to Frame, Pt 1
As we continue to juggle this complex transition, I’m enjoying the small task of sorting through photos of the past five years, picking out favorites and imagining them as part of our (dream) house in a variety of ways. Maybe a coffee table book, or a large wall of framed prints, or a small collage […]
2025: Summer at Four Corners
Each year I’ve been on the road I’ve written a recap of our travels, and I’m not letting this one slide by without the proper Come Look at My Vacation Photos! post. We spent this spring and early summer at so many national parks, national monuments, and national forests in three of the Four Corners […]
Corn Sweat at an Old Orphanage with Tornado Warnings
It’s about time I tell you about where the heck we are. Stoughton, Wisconsin, is a rural town south of Madison, home of the infamous water tower typo. I believe that paint job missing the second T lasted only a day, but ain’t that something? That still cracks me up. Thanks, Doug! I shouldn’t laugh […]
The Shelly & Doug Fun-o-Meter
A funny thing about me moving to Madison is that it’s the home of a special friend, Doug (not to be confused with the other top Dougs in my life). Why funny? Because Doug and I have been running into each other on and off for 30 years, and now we’re going to live in […]
