Downton Abbey Exhibit at Biltmore

Fans have until April 7, 2020 to still enjoy Downton Abbey: The Exhibition at Biltmore. Unlike Glamour on Board: Fashion from Titanic the Movie, costumes are not displayed throughout the mansion for context. The Exhibition is housed at  Amherst at Deerpark and The Biltmore Legacy at Antler Hill Village where you can enjoy a complimentary glass of wine at the estate’s winery. Entrance to…

48 Hours of Marrakesh Magic

Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion. —Leigh Hunt, English Romantic poet and critic I adore Europe, but it turns out after living two years in Morocco,  that Africa is my second home.  I found more beauty, adventure, and relationship (especially in Marrakesh)–the three things I seek most in life–than I ever imagined.  Sharing this place with my children,…

When the Crazy Child Writes…on Memoir, Loss, and Letting Go

I had thought the workshop would be good for me. I was thankful for a chance to focus on creating something rather than losing everything.

Wisdom Wanted for the New Year

It was a good day. My coworkers in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic  greeted me Latin-style after our being off for 3 weeks for Christmas break. Hugs. Kisses.  Big smiles.  “Happy New Year!” “Feliz ano nuevo!” On my way to the grocery an older lady saw me trying to cross the street in the rain and scooped me under her umbrella. She talked to me…

Knoxville & Smoky Mountains: Great Escape and Journey Home

Though I am writing this on a Dominican Republic beach a couple of hours from Santo Domingo where I’ll return to work on Tuesday, I’m reliving the mountain escape I had while home for the holidays.  I’m sorry I missed the snow in Tennessee that arrived just after I flew back to the Caribbean on Wednesday, but  I am glad my son and I…

Of Seeing and Believing: The Three Eyes

Yesterday I went spelunking. I was excited when my friends, Sana and Steve, invited me to join.  Though newlyweds, their kindness and inclusiveness from the day we met blessed Taylor and me.  Trusting them as history teachers and adventurers, I did no research but quickly scanned a few photos online and took off.  As I’d been thrilled by Venice last January, I wanted Santo…

First Two Weeks in The Dominican Republic

It has been awhile, too long since I’ve been able to write.  Summer was a six-week cyclone spent in the US–(to be read aloud in one breath) half of the time spent getting medical appointments, fingerprints, birth certificates, and other pieces of a 39-page work visa document stamped by government and federal authorities sent to the Dominican Republic Consulate…  the other half  waiting for…

Staycation in Nashville…Fond Farewell

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.–Henry Miller I’ve always enjoyed staycations in Nashville, my home for almost thirty years.  After two years of living in Morocco, I am in town for the summer, and, as friends said I would be, stunned by how much this It City has grown.   In a week I move to The…

Branson, Beldi, and a Birthday

Before moving abroad, my friend, Dana, told me how important–how vital–my expat community would be.  She and I were part of the same school family  in the US, and she had a network of close friends at church.  Still, having already taught in Morocco and having lived in France, she said the way friends live together, work together, do life together when family and…

In Cologne but Never Alone: Reminded by Christmas to Fear Not

  Christmas is charged with nostalgia. I’m in bed looking out my window at the Market of the Elves in Cologne, Germany. Under tents and trees all lit up, replicas of funny bearded men beckon below. Elf statues are more numerous here than in pictures of Santa’s workshop in the book Mama Lou read to my sister and me when we were kids. I…

My Marrakech: One Year Here

All we know about the future is that it will be different… So we must celebrate the changes. Because, as someone once said, everything will be all right in the end. And if it’s not all right, then trust me, it’s not yet the end. — Dame Judi Dench as Evelyn, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel  I’d said goodbyes. Hard ones. The kind that make…

Gone South…to Franklin

We drove the Tennessee backroad to The Loveless Café from Franklin where Taylor, Cole and I stayed twelve days in the home of friends, Kim and Andy.  Switching places, they went abroad while I stayed home with their cat and three dogs. As much as I love back roads, I adore back yards with big porches to grill and chill. Theirs backs up to woods. I…