Shifting Gears   Baby Boomer…Member Life 2.0…Wife, Mother, Grammie…Bicyclist…GoldWinger…Mensan…Girl Scout…Reader…Knitter…Rotarian

When we had lunch a few weeks ago there didn’t appear to be an open date for us until July.  I was leaving on a trip, Vickie was going to Memphis and then to DC, and then I was having company.  In fact I was thinking earlier today about how much I missed Robin and [...]

Today is the 44th birthday of my firstborn daughter, Tammy.  I could wax poetic for pages on how wonderful she is but thought I’d do something different – so here are 44 reasons she’s so wonderful – written in no particular order: She taught me the true meaning of love when I first held her [...]

Today is my granddaughter Julia’s 7th birthday.  Her Aunt Tammy has already written a beautiful message about Julia on her blog but I’ll add my $.02 anyway! I remember so well 6/24/03 – Ralph was going to be induced the next day so I planned to get to the office about 6:30, work for 6 [...]

Well it doesn’t have quite the ring of “Debbie Does Dallas” but alas, this is more my speed!  My dear friend Robin always asks me to call her “Fatty Patty” when she thinks she needs to lose weight so I’ve borrowed that name from her for the time being.  Feel free to call me by [...]

When our grandson, Alex, was here last Christmas, Burl and I came up with the idea of him making a visit to see both sets of grandparents this summer in Springfield – by himself!  His dad was less than thrilled, his mom pondered the idea and Alex was gung-ho to fly by himself from San [...]

People who knew my dad always called him by one name – Keck.  It was a nickname for his last name and that’s what his grandkids called him too.  To me, he was – and always will be, “Daddy.” Growing up in a small town in the 50s I have so many wonderful childhood memories [...]

When I met Burl I was hoping to find someone to take me to dinner and a movie – standing at the altar and saying “I do” less than a year later was the farthest thing from my mind!  But fortunately I’m not always in charge of my life and I’m thankful God had better [...]

My last post left off in Asheville, NC while we were homeward bound on Sunday.  Knowing that we were going west and would get to see our grandson who was in Springfield really propelled us on Monday.  We made a stop at the Smoky Mtn. Knife Shop for Burl to tour the knife museum (seriously?  [...]

If there’s one thing Burl and I have learned in life, it’s to always have a Plan B.  This trip has been a shining example of why and we are now on Plan HH – Heading Home! We started our day with a visit to Myrtle Beach and before 9:00 we were walking on the [...]

When we planned a trip to North Carolina, we knew one of our stops had to be Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.  We had reservations for the first tour of the day yesterday and were there as soon as the doors opened.  The sheer size of the place was overwhelming and we loved following the [...]