A few days after my Mom passed away in 2016, one of my brothers started a sibling text group. Side note: Most of my1 siblings live in Wisconsin and there are ten of us (yes 10!). With the exception of one reclusive brother, the group continues to keep in contact several times a month with …
The buzzer pierced the air, and the boats were off as the crowd cheered the woman’s 50 and older masters eights race. From my1 recollection, there were five boats in the race. As they moved through the water, you noticed this one boat rowing smoothly, steadily, and quite beautifully – albeit –in last place at …
In the midst of studying for my master’s degree in financial planning, I1 started looking for employment as a financial planner/investment advisor. It was 2005; average unemployment2 at that time was 4.3 percent and many companies were hiring investment advisors – often training college graduates. Currently, 27.7 percent3 of investment advisors are woman; in 2017 …
A multi-generation/multi-family vacation was December’s 2022 holiday schedule for me1 and several members of my family. Due to the destination being New Zealand’s South Island, Kris2, who does marketing and business support for White Raven Financial3, took the lead and booked several places well in advance for our large group. Destination one had each family …
“We are making mindful advent calendars1 for the holiday with plans to exchange them on Thanksgiving Day. Would you2 like to participate?” my daughter asked. The rules were simple: Make a calendar spending as little as possible and have it ready to exchange on Thanksgiving Day. My cousin, who was visiting from Wisconsin during the …
“I am letting you know that I will not be working this coming Friday,” the builder of our boat house informed us. (If you wish to learn what happened to the former boat house, you can read about it here1.) Through further discussion, we learned his brother was coming from Norway and they were going …
When I was a child1, approximately every other month a large box would arrive to our home on the family farm. The box was filled with assorted types of Campbell’s soup– unfamiliar to the average shopper. On various days my mom would serve us a few of these soups as part of our lunch. Our …
When I think about others or myself1, I do not think in terms of value. What comes to mind is someone’s laugh, or their smile or another personality trait that makes our connection a good one. When it comes to myself, I think on how I can make life a bit better for everyone no …
In late July, my faithful weed eater would start sputtering after working for several minutes and then quit. The weed eater was sorely needed to clear a piece of our property. This eventually required me/Diane1 and my husband to travel to the local repair shop with my sick helper in tow. Upon arrival at the …
The property had an obstacle during the winter months and early spring; it rains an average of 15.7 inches from October through May in the Pacific NW. With the rain, a seasonal drainage swale divided the north of the land from the south. Thus, wading through the water provided the only means of access to …
