A couple of weeks ago while perusing the shelves of Tybrisa Bookstore, I came across a jewel titled “The Pat Conroy Cookbook, Recipes of My Life,” and, being a Conroy fan, I snagged it handily. Part memoir and part recipes with cooking tips, the book hooked me from the first page, as any Con…

I have been watching all of us lately navigating through the pandemic and simply living life. As an educator, I have also tried to be more in tune with what my students and colleagues have been feeling. I have, at times, suspended disbelief as we all learn how to live and adjust in an intens…

Two weeks ago, I attended the funeral of a friend’s mother, a woman beloved by an extended family and a member of the Greatest Generation. Funerals, if held at all, are difficult nowadays, and this one was no exception. With my face mask and spaced seating in the back of the partially filled…

Teddy Roosevelt remains a popular president. His energy and the strong commitment he displayed to “do things right” and give everyone a “square deal” is still heralded by many historians and business moguls alike.

During the last two weeks, four babies were born next door — at least four that I could see. I think there may be more. Calving season is here, and those wobbly-legged calves are coming into the world right here in the dead of winter. Sometimes we hear the cow delivering her calf as she bell…

At a time when racial issues seem at the forefront, perhaps it is well to look to the past when simple people found the will to overcome great odds. They did it with their dignity and their poise, but most of all with their feet and fortitude.

Lately my birdwatching world has suffered disturbance. Now, please know that I do not want to come across whiny. My life is good. I have eyesight to see birds and can afford a bag of bird seed now and then. I am accustomed to events like marauding squirrels around the bird feeders and, on on…

All of us win when we help and serve others. One of our missions in life should be to find a special niche and get involved with the attitude of helping and blessing people both known and unknown to us. Such an attitude might help all of us not get “stuck in a rut” and feel pressure and anxi…

Some of you may have wondered about my COVID-19 status after I shared that my husband contracted the virus. I did succumb to the disease, but I had only mild symptoms. I am deeply grateful for being spared. Even the milder version of this virus is no fun. At the end of my sickness, I dared t…