First, let me try to avoid infringing on this brilliant book title. Yes, this is a book, with whimsical photos of the author and her chickens alongside recipes for garden-influenced cocktails (get it?). And it was the inspiration for a weekend party hosted by old friends in Atlanta. But more on that, below. Braver than […]
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Reunions in Atlanta
From the picture above, clearly, one of these reunions is between Banjo and my good friend Susan. It’s a little weird how well Banjo remembers people she met briefly; Susan visited us last little over a year ago, but when Banjo saw her here north of Atlanta, she buried her head in Susan’s lap and […]
Family Therapy, Retail Therapy, Storms!
We came to this state park (Gold Head Branch) as our final stop in Florida to visit with Tracy’s sister; that’s pretty much how we began this five-month run in Florida back in November (pic from that wonderful visit, below). The Family Damned if Darci isn’t still working way too much, though, so today instead […]
A Few Perfect Moments
I’ve been sad lately, thinking about a friend who’s been unexpectedly diagnosed with stage IV cancer. The fact that I can’t get on a plane or zip up in my car to see her is also like a gong echoing a reminder that I haven’t seen my son since May. Our one-year anniversary of living […]
Innocent Family Led Sloshing through the Everglades
This is Karen. You may remember Karen as my great friend from high school, the one who visited me in Imperial Bonita Estates on the west coast of Florida. This is Karen’s beautiful family (minus a daughter at college). Look again at that picture. This is the birthday cake that Karen brought for her very […]
You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
I’m saying goodbye to this most excellent RV park in Bonita Springs, Florida, but first I got to say hello to an old friend who graciously drove across Florida to visit—YAY! (And yes, her name is Karen. I get to have two old friends named Karen. It’s never confusing because one of them is “Karen” […]
The Beauty and Strangeness of the Deep South
We’re only an hour outside of the college town of Gainesville, Florida, but it feels like we’re on the moon. This is the Deep South, baby. We’ve moved away from the pine forests and small, scrubby palmettos of the panhandle into forests of huge live oaks entirely covered in swaying Spanish moss. The ground here […]
“The Show” Reunites!
Flashback The setting: 1978, a colonial home in rural Virginia: the living room has a stone hearth and stone benches surrounding a large fireplace. The characters: Two 10-year-old girls with a lot of time on their hands. The music: 45 RPM records on a turntable in the corner, playing I Will Survive, Cats in the […]
Better than Lakes and Sunsets
I’d lost sight of how long it’s been since we saw a friend. Heck, or even had an in-person conversation with someone else that lasted longer than a few seconds. Yesterday’s meet-up was a balm to my soul. Thank you, Tom! Tom’s the reason we came to Missouri, and just a couple of hours hanging […]
Happy Birthday to a Dangerous Man
When I first met Tracy, he had a beer coaster thumbtacked to his closet wall. If you know him, you know that’s not like him. He hates doodads almost as much as he hates sayings. But it’s an important beer coaster, and he still has it. It says, All men dream: but not equally. Those […]
