The Great American Road Trip is shaping up. We are driving 3,000 miles or so to see my father and stepmother in California, and then we’re heading back on a different route, making various stops along the way. Hotel prices are out of sight this year, apparently in sympathy with the skyrocketing gas prices. ButContinue reading “Plotting the Great American Road Trip”
Category Archives: Politics/Government/Current Events
SCOTUS Fails Us
“The moment of betrayal is the worst, the moment when you know beyond any doubt that you’ve been betrayed: that some other human being has wished you that much evil.” -The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood The Supreme Court this morning issued the decision overturning Roe v. Wade. We’ve known it was coming when theContinue reading “SCOTUS Fails Us”
Houseguests and Turtles
I’ve barely posted on this blog in the past week or so, except for quick, general stuff like lists of writers’ birthdays and photos in honor of the occasional weird holiday. That’s because we’ve been busy here with houseguests. I’ve managed to find some time to edit chapters of the science-fiction book I’m working on,Continue reading “Houseguests and Turtles”
Boosted Again
I got my second Covid-19 booster shot today! I was torn about getting the shot, when in many parts of the world, so many people haven’t even been able to get one Covid vaccine, let alone four. But ultimately, my skipping the shot would not mean that someone in Haiti or Malawi could get one.Continue reading “Boosted Again”
Stand With Ukraine
City Hall and the Masonic Memorial are lit up in blue and yellow. State liquor stores have removed Russian vodka from the shelves. A good portion of last night’s State of the Union address was spend in denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. My friends’ Facebook pages are filled with news stories about brave Ukrainians standingContinue reading “Stand With Ukraine”
Weekend at Home
It made me stupidly happy to have my son home for the weekend. It was a short visit. Friday morning I drove down to campus, two-and-a-half hours away and met him at his dorm at 1 pm, after his classes were over for the day. We packed up his laundry in the car and headedContinue reading “Weekend at Home”
Art Makes Me Happy
A new seascape will soon brighten my living room! Today was the annual Patrons’ Show fundraiser at the Art League. The Art League is based at the Torpedo Factory Art Center here in Alexandria, but for the second year in a row, this event was held online, due to the pandemic. Here is how itContinue reading “Art Makes Me Happy”
Catalytic Converter Kidnapping
Bob got in our 17-year-old Prius to go to work this morning, and it sounded like a monster truck. Clearly, something was wrong. He drove straight to the dealership, where he was told that our catalytic converter had been stolen! I wondered why anyone would steal a part from a car that old. Well, itContinue reading “Catalytic Converter Kidnapping”
Tea With Hagrid
I just finished having Tea With Hagrid. This was my Harry Potter group’s annual (roughly) get-together for an English tea, with Hagrid’s Hut as this year’s theme. But there’s still a pandemic on, so we had tea in our separate homes, shared together via Zoom. Of course, we each had to have appropriate refreshments. IContinue reading “Tea With Hagrid”
Postcards From the World: Calendar Girl
I received a Postcrossing card in the mail this evening that, for a moment, had me stumped. The sender, Emma, in the northern part of China, began her message on the card by complaining about the hot summer weather. Of course, it’s February. Then I looked at the date, and saw that she mailed thisContinue reading “Postcards From the World: Calendar Girl”
The Petrini Page 