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Spring/Summer 2026 Part 1

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 Since May, we have been busy, on the road and hosting guests. It has been a great season of reconnecting with friends and getting to know our grandchildren better. Here are a few of our guests/friends we have had the privilege of spending time with.  John and Deb Shanks were our first and best friends when we moved to Mebane in 1980. They had two boys and welcomed our daughter, Lily, like family. We visited them in May with the intention of doing tandem jumps near Salisbury, NC. the weather decided not to cooperate, but we had a good time reminiscing and getting to see their oldest son, Josh, who is now a grandparent himself! Bobbi is a Peace Corps friend who now lives less than an hour from us here in NC. We get to hike with her and enjoy some time with her and her fiancé whenever we are both home at the same time (rarely!). Bobbi and her former husband George were influential in getting us to NC in the first place and we treasure the memories of our first years as a married...
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In Loving Memory of Dr, Claire Shaw

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 Dr. Claire E. Shaw  December 18, 1949-June 29, 2026 Claire was married to Wendy's dear sister Michelle and was a part of our family for the last 15 years.  Claire was a beloved dentist in New Hope, PA for many years and built a thriving practice based on excellent service, humor and love for her patients. She collected friends like other people collect knick-knacks and it was not possible to walk down the streets of New Hope without meeting someone who just had to stop and talk to Claire. She will be missed by so many.  Upon hearing that Chris' favorite movie was "The Princess Bride" Claire gave him a hard time for choosing such a girly movie as his favorite. Obviously, she had never seen the movie. But, we all had a good laugh. Upon her death, I reflected on this anecdote and realized that while Claire never did see "The Princess Bride" she epitomized the story. She was Wesley to her beautiful wife, Michelle, her princess. Anything that Michelle wanted, Cl...
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Lost Money

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Last weekend, I attended a local festival as a volunteer, but I also got to wander around and spend a little money. When I got to the festival, I realized I had only $30 in my wallet and had forgotten to bring any credit cards, so would have to spend wisely. I put the money in my pocket so it would be easily accessible and went about my day.   I bought a few food items for a total of $15 and still had $15 to blow but didn’t see anything else I needed or wanted and was relieved that I was able to get by with so little money. After enjoying a great concert from a local group called Chatham Rabbits (if you haven’t seen them, check out their  website ), we ended our day and packed up, heading home.  When I got home, I realized that the extra $15 had fallen out of my pocket. My first thought was, I hope someone who really could use that money found it. There have been many years when an extra $15 would have made a huge difference in my budget. Chris and I lived much of our chi...
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Winter is Finally Over

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 We were busy in February with several small trips for Wendy and lots of work at home, church and the HOA for Chris. March seems to have flown by, and here we are on the first day of April, 2026 with a rundown on some of our activities for the end of winter.  We were happy to see our grandson, Jackson for the first time in several years as he made the trip with his Dad out to NC in January and again in March.                                    Wendy and Lily got a chance to get away at the beginning of February. We were in NY City on the coldest day in several decades. But, we managed to to have a great time. We saw the musical of The Outsiders, one of Lily's favorite books from high school. We also spent a great evening with cousins, John and Britt, and John's partner, Alex. Good food and wonderful company.  .   Continuing on in NY, Wendy spent a week with her Mom in Wyomi...
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Favorite Books from 2025

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My reading was up slightly from 2024, I read over 190 books this year, a few were books for middle grade children, so that padded the number but most were books for adults. I have picked my top ten fiction and nonfiction to share with you and hope that you will share what you have been reading with me.  FICTION Big Novels         The Wind Knows My Name   by Isabel Allende In telling this intertwining story of immigrants, Allende begins with a young Jewish boy who is sent alone to England when his family is being destroyed by the Nazis. Samuel is alone but for his violin. His life continues with music playing a large part in his happiness. Many years later, he is again alone but this time he is wealthy, divorced, and  living in California. His life intersects with Anita Diaz, a child refugee from Ed Salvador, separated from her mother. Allende’s prose is poetic and mesmerizing. She gives a voice to the thousands of immigrants wandering our world today. ...
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