A Year In England – November: Beverley

A Year In England November: Beverley with images of medieval minstrel figures.

November 1988 saw me more settled into the house, the village, and England. There were still plenty of new things going on. The first trip to Scotland was a visit to Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Aberdeen. Thanksgiving was the first holiday I celebrated outside the States. It was a bit surreal to realize that for … Read more

A Year In England – October

A Year In England October with tree on village green in Cranswick, East Yorkshire, England.

The picture window in the lounge looked out on the village green and directly in my view was the large tree. It was one of the first things I saw each morning, whether collecting fresh milk by the front door or opening the curtains in the lounge. Daily I watched the leaves make their annual … Read more

A Year In England – September

A Year In England September

September 1988 – my first full month in England A lot of new things to experience: bottles of fresh milk on my doorstep in the morning, lighting a coal fire, turning on the boiler to heat water and warm the house (and turning it off to save the oil in the tank outside, and driving … Read more

Road Map Skills: A Personal Essay

Paper road map of the United States.

On a warm Sunday morning, Daddy parked our blue Buick by the back door and opened the trunk. Handing him my suitcase, he added it to the other luggage in the massive compartment. Back in the house, I picked up a couple of books, a stack of Teen and Tiger Beat magazines, and the pillow … Read more

Creative Beginnings – A Personal Essay

Creative Beginnings with yarn, scissors, and sewing supplies.

It was a long day in the car driving 500 miles to visit Grandma’s sister in Alabama. Daddy drove and Momma sat in the back so Grandma, who got car sick, could sit up front. My sister and I were young, and alternated between the front and back seats when we got bored or started … Read more