The second year I taught school, I decided to organize a student field trip. At that time, team teaching was all the rage and teachers were encouraged, when at all …
The story of a house
Friday night we were invited to dinner by the new owners of Dan’s deceased mom’s house. Initially, the house was sold to Mrs. Arp’s neighbors who intended to use it …
Women, mountains and stardust
I’m still smiling after last week’s yearly magical stardust-sprinkled Hiker Chick Retreat. Women only, this is not a lipstick and hairspray group. This is a group of women ranging in …
Sisters, brothers and Jimmy Hoffa
The other day after a funny, satisfying conversation with my sister, I thanked Mother for having the two of us. Mother’s been gone since 1994, but I still talk to …
Trees, chainsaws and fast-talking men
Dan and I have a Peruvian friend who takes down trees for a living. His name is Ruffino. We don’t know his last name. He is a busy man who …
Ladies, high heels and courage
As a younger woman, I frequently wore high heels. For women of a certain stature, heels allow one to aspire to 5-3 or, if one has good balance, possibly 5-4. …
Let’s hang on to what we’ve got
We are just back from a week in Maui, Hawaii, with our son, his wife, the world’s best grandbaby, the baby’s other grandmother, a friend who spent eight years off …
Daddies, daughters and bikinis
At a certain time in my life, I started noticing boys were no longer annoying creatures making car sounds while running around on the playground hitting each other. Now they …