Some experiences are so grand that they beg to be shared with others. That is why I was happy to see 15 or so neighbors gather in our pool area at midnight last night. We were there to enjoy another Maples first—a Perseid meteor shower watch. Thank you to Sylvia for coming up with the concept and organizing it. After the pool lights went out, the others became dark shapes wrapped in blankets lying back […]
Would it surprise you to learn that I am in love with words? I didn’t think so. Retired English teacher, lifelong reader, writer, blogger— it’s totally predictable. Please excuse me if this post sounds like a vocabulary lesson. I freely confess that it is, at least in the beginning. And so, class, the word for the day is serendipity. I first encountered the word in the name of a ‘60s group, the Serendipity Singers. Although […]
Maples at the Sonatas is usually a nice, quiet place. Visitors and newcomers often comment on it. The rest of us have come to take the tranquility for granted. But we shouldn’t. Being able to hear yourself think is a wonderful thing and all too rare. We are a peaceful enclave, 24 acres carved from The Sonatas, a larger, separate subdivision of mostly two-story, single-family homes. But once I drive down Schumann St. into our […]
I was looking for something else in my pantry when I found the package of pumpkin spice muffin mix. Not just any muffin mix, it looked high end, probably from a specialty shop. It was a Christmas gift that I had decided to save for a special occasion. Then it kept getting pushed farther back on the shelf until I forgot I had it. I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty when I saw it, […]
Here in Woodstock, we take the minor holiday of Groundhog Day very seriously. We are proud that the movie, “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, was filmed almost entirely in our town. Since the film was released in 1993, there has always been a celebration on Feb. 2 on our town square. Every year the highlight is Woodstock Willie, our local groundhog, emerging from a tree stump and making his prognostication. With Groundhog […]
It was Kathy, a friend and former teaching colleague, who filled my head with dreams of owning an Abbey. Five years ago, she moved into her Abbey in a nearby Epcon community, though not Maples at the Sonatas where I live. After settling in, she invited me over to see her new home. I went, stayed long enough to fall in love with it, and left promising myself “someday….” But as I was driving home, […]
Home Sweet Abbey 