We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Seashells have fascinated me for decades! When I was in elementary school, Dad took the family to Galveston Beach. While I vaguely remember building a sandcastle, I fondly recall spending my allowance on a cellophane-wrapped basket filled with seashells. Years later, I would still spend hours sorting through the shells and organizing them by size - or shape - or color - or type.  This fascination continued through middle school, when I chose Seashells as the topic for my first research paper. I used big words like cephalopods, scaphopods, and bivalves. While I wasn't terribly interested in the creatures that lived within - or the scientific jargon - I sure thought they looked pretty 😊 To this day, I much prefer a beach that encourages shelling to one that sports large rocks or white sugar sand. Fortunately, Sargent Beach, Texas is the perfect fit. I like to walk the beach at low tide. The firm sand makes the perfect pavement, and the shells provide a nice distraction from exercis

  It's hard to believe it was only a week ago: Jan 15, 2022 -- the longest day of our RV career. And a day I hope never to repeat. The weather forecast called for spotty showers with significant wind: sustained wind speeds of 25-30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. The overly cautious one thought we should stay another night at the current camp spot and head out the next day. The more confident one thought we should get on down the road. If wind proved too difficult, we could always pull over. At 9:30am we broke down camp. The engine started right up but quit suddenly. Odd... but not concerning. We started Toto up again and headed toward I-45 and Dallas. As we accelerated onto the highway, Toto started chugging and sputtering. Perhaps we needed some gas to mix with the additive. Fortunately, there was a Love's truck stop five minutes away. We filled it up - no problem. Toto started - no problem. We drove to the access road and attempted to make a left turn. BIG PROBLEM. Toto stalled

  In 2011 Geoff gifted me with a solo two-week trip to Paris. Without going into the details, he allowed me to live out a thirty-year dream to spend my junior year abroad. I booked a one-bedroom apartment in the Montmartre section of the city and began to research all the possibilities: a wine tour of the Loire Valley -- daily walks through Tuilleries Gardens -- brunch at the famed Moulin de la Galette. I embraced the adventure... until it was time to board the plane. At which time my Enneagram 6 brain went into high gear. A litany of "what if..." scenarios bombarded my thoughts. The realization of facing the unknown threatened my extreme need for security.  As is typical of "what if..." scenarios, none of them came to pass. I breezed through customs. I hailed a taxi at the airport. I directed the cab driver to the right address.  However, every single morning I faced a crippling decision: dare I walk out the front door --- away from the safety of my apartment and i

  This is not the blog post I expected to write the first week of 2022. I expected to detail the packing process for our long-awaited snowbird trip --- which was scheduled to begin January 8th.  I expected to share, with great anticipation, our plans to leave the frigid Midwest for the warm Texas Gulf. I expected to report we are T-minus 2 days to take off. But sometimes the best-laid plans are just not meant to be. Unexpected Situation #1 We had to say goodbye to our dear, sweet Buddy. To be honest, I wasn't sure if Buddy would like RVing. I wasn't sure he could navigate the steps to get in and out of the rig. But he was a trooper! As long as he was with his humans, Buddy was content. In October the vet told us his internal organs were expanding. Due to his advanced age (he recently turned fourteen), the vet recommended we do nothing. Let Buddy enjoy life and he will let us know when it is time to go. In November, Buddy fell going up the stairs. He wasn't injured, just stu