Dear readers, a couple of days after Christmas I went to the Zion Crossroads Walmart to pick up some milk. And thank goodness I did! Because the store shelves were already fully stocked with Valentine’s Day candy, and I was able to purchase some before they ran out. Everyone knows heart-shaped chocolate tastes best when it’s eaten with the last bit of Christmas eggnog! Read more

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to drive around and look at homes decorated for Christmas. You just can’t beat touring a neighborhood or two in a warm vehicle, while sipping a hot beverage. And as a bonus, this is a perfectly acceptable physically distanced activity to do in 2020. Read more

If you want a cheap tour of the Holy Land, check for a church group going in January – but dress warmly and carry a raincoat. That’s the rainy season there, tourists are scarce, and thus rates are low. Nazareth is about the same 33-degree-north latitude as San Diego and Phoenix, but you won’t be in either. Not even close. December and January are the rainy months and temperatures run in the low 50s.  Read more

This past election I served as a poll watcher at the Mineral Baptist Church. I had never done this, and kind of fell into it. I’d like to share my experiences there so that people can gain an understanding of how the voting process works from the perspective of the people who administer it.  Read more

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Once or twice a week I pass a local business sign which proclaims “Veteran-own and operated.” No doubt that’s supposed to make me favor this business over those not owned by veterans, but I am not convinced. There’s nothing here that guarantees “best work in the county” or “best prices.” We owe our veterans much—certainly better benefits and medical treatment than they usually get. But do they automatically go to the front of the line when you need a power washing or fridge repair? Read more

Halloween is a fun and festive time here in Zion Crossroads. Most folks around here decorate their front porches or yards. Decorations are mostly fun, with a few ghoulish ones thrown in here and there. I plan to change our front door into a fun Frankenstein’s monster, using crepe paper and big googly eyes. We also have a homemade life-sized wooden painted skeleton with jointed limbs, that my husband Rick has had for 40-plus years. He is adorable and each year we set him outside to greet the kiddos on Halloween night. The skeleton, not Rick! Read more

As my local radio station reminded me this morning, it’s nutting time. The Virginia Department of Forestry folks put out their annual call for acorns of various types, which they will use to start seedlings. My own sidewalk dares me to step on it barefooted—Legos cannot do more damage to a bare sole than a new-fallen acorn. Read more