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“Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.”  Jonathan Lockwood Huie, author Christina Rossetti wrote the lyrics to a beautiful Christmas Carol about the “bleak midwinter”. It celebrates finding hope when surrounded by feelings of being forsaken. The Holiday season is like that. Celebrating the birth of a savior, hanging sparkling lights, telling Santa stories, and carefullyContinue reading “A cup of kindness for Auld Lang Syne…”

My mom’s family was from Beaver Falls, PA, which, is not technically Pittsburgh, but it may as well have been. She had endless Pittsburgh pride. She had a deep appreciation for the hardworking, blue collar laborers, who made up most of the population of her hometown. Her brothers were good ballplayers, and she became anContinue reading “Santa’s coming to the Steel City”

As the days grew shorter and nights grew colder, I knew our time at The Cherry Hill RV Park was coming to a close. Moving on is always fraught with emotion. Life marches forward, but, as always, I was hesitant to leave family and friends. At least our last few weeks in Maryland were chockfullContinue reading “Bertha Takes A Break”

I’m not sure how it happened, but pumpkins and scarecrows are beginning to appear in stores, on lawns and all over the campground. The evenings are dark and chilly. The early mornings are starlit and downright cold. I stepped out of the camper to walk Gypsy the other morning, saw my breath, and had toContinue reading “Wait! It’s Already October?”

I’m back to work, at least temporarily. I’ve gone from lazy, leisure-filled mornings, sipping coffee and solving word games to 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls and battling the Beltway. Stars illuminate the path for my early morning jaunt with Gypsy, then it is off to the gym for a pre-workday workout. When I-95 is being kind,Continue reading “Fall, Football & Fearless Friends”

After a whirlwind of summer travel, we have temporarily settled down in the Washington, DC area. We are in a campground that is close enough to the kids and grandkids that we can enjoy some much-needed family time before resuming our quest for a quieter, lakefront life. It’s been a long, erratic expedition. Ten monthsContinue reading “Somewhat Stationary and Semi-Retired”

“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever.” ~ E.B. White I love summer. I love the long days, and the embrace of the sun. I like flip flops and tank tops and sultry, starry nights. I love wading in the warmish water. I love the smell ofContinue reading “Coasting into Summer’s End with a Lifelong Friend”

“You go through life wondering what is it all about but at the end of the day it’s all about family.”  —Rod Stewart, singer We have the type of family that is spread out all over the place. Some members are in New England, some are in the Mid-Atlantic, some are in the South, andContinue reading “Sand, Sun & Family Fun”

My amazing Aunt was a nun in the order of the Sisters of Divine Providence for 80 years. Her recent passing, at the age of 97, was difficult to digest. She was an inspiration to our entire family. She was open, honest, caring, devoted, educated, interesting, loving and admirably feisty. Because I was in ArkansasContinue reading “Wild, Wonderful West Virginia …and a Curious Campground Culture”

Due to the catastrophic flooding in Southeastern Kentucky, we had to alter out original plans, and took a more northern route across the Bluegrass State. Although route 64 remains high and dry, a great deal of it is under construction. It can be unnerving to pilot the RV down long stretches of one lane highwayContinue reading “Big Bertha and the Bad, Bad Barrel”