It's almost time to take off and the sounds of Scotland that I heard five years ago are calling me. The bagpipe player who stood at The Royal Mile provided the accompaniment that was Edinburgh on a sunny September afternoon. Thinking back, I'm reminded of a Saturday I had with Mama. It was the last … Continue reading The Pipes are Calling: Scotland Bound

Ten years ago, when I started going to the Swing Dance at the Raleigh Elk's Lodge on Sunday nights, I had no idea how that new activity would change my life. At first, my husband went with me to practice what we'd learned in our West Coast Swing lessons. But soon thereafter, he didn't want … Continue reading Go For It While You Can

This week I've been thinking about Mama. She passed away two years ago on April 30th after gracing this world for ninety-six years. People knew her for her kindness, her warmth and generosity, her adventurous spirit. They also knew her for her 'gift of gab' her Scotch-Irish roots that showed in her red hair and … Continue reading The Gift of Gab

In the past couple of weeks, in the midst of winter, I've felt a familiar restlessness-- one I've experienced at this time of year for a long time. There's a need to escape the gray of winter to a new place, a new experience; it's the time when the next Solo Journey starts to form. … Continue reading Can a Weekend Really Change Your Life?: Solo Journeys

This online dating journey has placed many interesting guys in my path. Last spring, I got a Like from "Ted" who had a nice profile with recent pictures that showed him with various friends and family members. He listed the activities he enjoyed that included playing and listening to music and my personal favorite, dancing. … Continue reading Blues Man: Online Dating

This week I finished my work as a part-time research nurse with UNC School of Medicine--Psychiatry Department. It's the position I took six months after retiring from my full-time job as a school nurse-- which I'd done for twenty years of my forty-four year career. UNC was where I began in nursing after graduating there … Continue reading Really Retired

Early tomorrow morning, we're expecting to be snowed or iced in throughout North Carolina. Part of me anticipates this with gladness, looking for something to slow me down; seems like there's no better place to rest than underneath a blanket of snow. Over the past weeks since the flurry of holidays has ended, I feel … Continue reading Snow Storm’s Comin’ : Time to Hibernate