This post is coming to you very late. I've been recovering from my return home yesterday: up at 7:00 a.m. in Shannon, Ireland, 12:30 flight from Shannon to the States---Newark Airport, five-hour layover there, 70 minute flight from Newark to Raleigh-Durham Airport, and finally home and to bed at 11:00. Twenty-one long hours from rising … Continue reading Ireland: People in My Path
In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
We've anticipated this trip since August of 2019-- when Kim asked me to join her in bringing her mother's ashes to Skye. At that time, I said I was honored that she'd asked me, but inwardly, I wasn't sure how it would work for me to travel with her at the planned time--one year later, … Continue reading In Our Daughters’ Footsteps: Mission Completed
Saturday in Edinburgh
It was a clear, no-cloud-in-the-sky day in Edinburgh, with an expectant chill in the air like a late fall football Saturday in North Carolina. "Unusual for a day in Scotland," said our waitress . After a long night's sleep, my cousin, Kim and I sat down to a breakfast of scrambled cheese eggs, haggis, Scottish … Continue reading Saturday in Edinburgh
The Pipes are Calling: Scotland Bound
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
The Things That Hold Us Back: Solo Journeys
The countdown continues to September 8th when I take off on my trip to Scotland and Ireland with my cousin. I made progress this week on my to-do and packing list. There's enough time to get everything done now that I'm retired--unlike previous journeys where I was still working. It would seem that if you … Continue reading The Things That Hold Us Back: Solo Journeys
In Our Mothers’ Footsteps
It's less than three weeks now until my cousin, Kim and I will take off on our trip. The journey will bring us closer together just as our mothers were close. Her mother, Yvonne and mine, Mary were first cousins and best friends. Kim Casto McCaskill and Connie Rosser Riddle August 2022 Back around the … Continue reading In Our Mothers’ Footsteps
Mattie B : Beta Reader
Last Monday following my weekly post the day before, "Swimming Lessons," I thought about ideas for upcoming posts. I never know when the ideas will come, so when they do, I pay attention. I'd just completed a draft of my preface and Chapter I of the sequel to my memoir, He Heard My Voice, published … Continue reading Mattie B : Beta Reader
Swimming Lessons
When I was a girl, June brought the end of school and the beginning of swimming lessons at our city pool in my hometown--Sanford. That pool was built in 1935 by the WPA--Works Projects Administration, as part of the New Deal of President FD Roosevelt's administration. That huge rectangle of turquoise water was a magnificent … Continue reading Swimming Lessons
Music: A Gift Over Time
When I was doing Life Coaching sessions, I had clients who were trying to find their true selves. They'd gotten bogged down in life, being the responsible adults they 'should be'; they'd lost who they were before adult responsibilities weighed them down. I'd suggest activities that would help them go back to what they loved … Continue reading Music: A Gift Over Time
Non-Negotiables: Online Dating
Over the past months as I've ventured further into the world of dating, I've been chewing on the concept of Non-Negotiables. With the online match sites, I've read hundreds of profiles since I joined almost two years ago. In those descriptions of what that person is like, what they're looking for, they begin outlining their … Continue reading Non-Negotiables: Online Dating