• Wilmington, North Carolina

    Wilmington, North Carolina

    Leaving the mountains and forests, I made my way to Wilmington, NC, where I have the privilege of staying with my daughter Robin’s family. I have been here about 3 weeks now, sharing a bedroom with my 6-year-old granddaughter, Tilly. It has been pretty chill, with a lot of hanging out and just living. There have been a couple of trips to spend time at the beach with family friends, a trip to Cape Fear Museum with Robin and Tilly, a visit to the North Carolina Aquarium with Tilly, cribbage games with friends, dance and gymnastic classes with Tilly, and…

  • Family Reunion

    Family Reunion

    I bet you are wondering why the photo of the cards. Well, I grew up with a deck of cards in my hands because of my dad and the Johnson family. Dad actually learned math by playing cribbage, and by the time he was 4 years old, he was playing cribbage so well that he would call you on any mistakes, or catch you if you tried to cheat. Cribbage is one game the Johnson family has always played. Between 30 and 40 people have been getting together for the annual Johnson family reunion for nearly 30 years. We always…

  • Bike Ride – The Adventure Begins

    Bike Ride – The Adventure Begins

    My life is exploding with change, a glorious firework of freedom and the unknown in front of me! As I approached the sale of my home in mid July, everything felt just a little bit off, though heading in the right direction. The adventure actually began the week before the closing with a bike trip in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I joined my girls, Joy, Robin and Sarah, on an unforgettable excursion with the plan to bike 109 miles of the George S. Mickelson Trail, beginning in Deadwood. Through planning, we knew the first 16 miles or so…

  • The Hunt

    The following story was published on Jan. 17, 2024 on The Raven’s Perch, an online literary magazine. theravensperch.com The Hunt Today is the day I go hunting for a moose. One year ago today, I watched the spirit of my grandmother pull itself free from her mangled earthly body. She always called that body a gift, a temporary vessel that allowed her to experience life, though towards the end it became more of a prison. “Take me home,” she said. “Where is home?” I asked. She had been living in a nursing home for a few years, which was difficult…

  • What do You Collect?

    What do You Collect?

    Declutter and simplify. Those words are thrown around everywhere right now. There are people who make a living showing us how to declutter, simplify and organize. I’m not one to jump on a fad wagon, but the urge to get rid of things has been pretty strong lately, especially things that I have been storing for a long time and haven’t even looked at, let alone used. You know, those beautiful nick-nacks that I plan to display when I have company, but rarely come out of the box. How about the duplicate items that “I might use some day”? I…

  • Creating a Self-Watering Planter

      I am so pleased this self-watering planter worked!   There are so many different ideas when it comes to building a self-watering planter, but they all head in the same direction: Having a well at the bottom of the planter with a wick to draw the water up to the plants’ roots. I pooled different ideas from my research and created two self-watering planters that have produced lots of lovely flowers.   The first design problem I faced was finding a planter with enough depth to plant gladiolas that was reasonable to purchase. Most large planters were way out…

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