I wrote about naming my prosthetic leg "Beverly" in a previous post. Here is a quick recap of how that went down. October 2023 my friend Jean and I had tickets to a David Sedaris reading/book signing event. I was still in a wheelchair and our seats weren't accessible, so Jean took my book with... Continue Reading →
Flop Sweat
If you’ve ever performed in front of a crowd, you might have experienced a physiological phenomenon called flop sweat. It happens when your self-confidence suddenly feels misplaced. Your frontal cortex shrivels in humiliation and bails, leaving your cerebellum, the ancient lizard brain that only cares if you’re breathing—in charge. The cerebellum is great for survival,... Continue Reading →
A Serious Girl
All our Labradors have come from our long-time friend Sally, who raises both Labrador Retrievers and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. One spring three years ago, Sally was having an exceptionally busy season of whelping puppies and was overwhelmed. We offered to keep one of her older puppies until the whelping season settled down. This was... Continue Reading →
Some Demo Reno
In the winter of 2024 we spent two short weeks in our usual Florida campground. For the rest of the year we took short shakedown trips to get used to the "new to us" RV. After a couple of these outings it became apparent that something needed to be done to make the rig more... Continue Reading →
Happy Anniversary, Baby!
I got my first prosthetic leg on February 26, 2024--173 days after surviving the worst vehicle accident of my life. I am incredibly fortunate that my only injury was to my left leg. I opted to have it amputated rather than attempt to reconstruct my shattered limb, something the surgeon said would be difficult, long,... Continue Reading →
Fiery Fishies
In the summer of 1958 I was five years old and my long-suffering sister Chris was 16. My parents decided this would be a good time for a road trip to Wisconsin. We didn't often travel with my parents; they lacked the required patience for keeping kids occupied on hours-long trips. My mother tried her... Continue Reading →
Same Time, Next Year
Author's note: As I put the finishing touches on this post, hurricane Helene is bearing down on Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, St. George Island and parts east on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It's due to make landfall today, September 26. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for the surrounding areas. In 2015 we started driving... Continue Reading →
Lucky 13
September 6, 2023 on a trip to Wisconsin our RV was wrecked. Nine days later my left leg was amputated below the knee. My memory of the early weeks in the hospital is foggy, but I do remember Ben squeezing my hand when he said "happy anniversary, babe," on September 10, our 12th anniversary. It's... Continue Reading →
“We All Heard About You”
March, 2023 was our inaugural trip in our "new-to-us" RV. There's not much difference between buying an old house or an old motor home. It may have been updated and renovated over the years, but there are still things that need correction or repair. After spending a couple weeks in Florida, we headed for Red... Continue Reading →
Saddle Up!
When we made the announcement that we got a new RV lots of people sent congratulatory remarks. There was one phrase that recurred regardless of gender, background or whether or not they even owned a horse: “Good for you, get right back on that horse,” or a more complete thought, “You get right back up... Continue Reading →