Medicine for the Soul

I am crazy about flowers. I’m pretty sure I can find some everywhere I look at home. From pink-flowered wallpaper in the living room to my stash of floral-printed fabric, it’s kind of a theme in my life. Our world seems pretty dark and ugly, much more so than at any other time I can …

Top ‘O the Mornin’

I was surprised to find I’ve never done a St. Patrick’s Day blog. So let’s share a wee bit ‘o history and decorations. St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain, kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery at age 16. He was forced to tend sheep for his master Milchu, an Irish pagan Druid …

My Return to Lonesome Dove

Do you remember the 1989 miniseries, Lonesome Dove? It was immensely popular at the time, drawing over 26 million viewers. Nominated for 18 Emmys, it won 7. My son became interested in the Lonesome Dove series of books after watching a recent western series called The English, an extremely dark tale where virtually everyone turned …

Episode Fourteen—The End

Since our plane didn’t leave until later in the day, Ken and Carol drove us around a beautiful neighborhood before we stopped at—ta-da-da-da—a quilt shop. It was fabulous. Marietta’s was so close and had the best reviews of any quilt shops around—and there were a lot in the Greenville area. Marietta’s had a decent amount …

Episode Thirteen—Destination: North Carolina

First stop in our action-packed day: Campbell’s Covered Bridge. This is the last remaining covered bridge in South Carolina. Really beautiful spot. Look at all that granite. The bridge has been closed for maintenance and painting. It looks like new. But not underneath. There’s water and green everywhere you look! Here’s a shot of Beaverdam …

Episode Twelve—All Around Abbeville

We headed off to Abbeville, a tiny town off the beaten path. With Wendy and two of her children, we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Indigenous Underground, a new hotspot recommended by local resident Brady who joined us for the day. I ordered southern eggs Benedict: biscuits and pepper gravy with pork and eggs. Oh …

Episode Eleven—Into the Wilderness

Just when I thought we couldn’t do anything more challenging, we headed off to Caesar’s Head State Park. First, we did an easy loop. I’m not a car person, but this beauty was parked near the trail head. We were on a granite ledge in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The incredible view is North Carolina. …

Episode Nine—Check-out Time

I was kind of sad to leave our room. We developed a routine that was comfortable and entertaining. But check-out we did. We stowed our gear with the porter and took a short walk to the National Museum of the American Indian. Hardly anyone was there, although there were tons of busses of schoolchildren parked …