1. writing: "Sarah of Somerset" is a play I'm writing based on my friend Jeanne du Nord's book Makepeace. The play is scheduled for a debut production in 2015, in conjunction with the 350th anniversary of the granting of the charter for Somerset County, Maryland. In the meantime, various scenes are being produced at community functions throughout the area.

2. traveling: I am still my parents' satellite--always in orbit. My senior year college roommate, Alberta "Berta" Fields Sandow, and I will do an Eastern Mediterranean cruise aboard Cunard's Queen Victoria in the fall, to be followed by four days in Italy. Several items on my LifeList will be crossed off during this trip.

3. Jan & Bob Bird: Still trying to arrange a meeting with my Shaklee upline near Elmira, New York. Probably a four - five day trip.

4. Lillian Marriner Jackson: (This list is NOT in order of importance; if it were, Lillian would be FIRST.) Funny how grandchildren replace children when one plans visits to family and in the purchasing of gifts when one travels. Lillian and her mom (my daughter JaynaRae) and her daddy Hugh, live in Dunn, North Carolina, in the home where Hugh's mother grew up--about six hours from my Honey and me.

5. Honey: I don't live alone; I live with my Honey. One of these days, I'll figure out how to put a picture of my Honey on this website. He's a sweetie. Used to be a real wildcat, but now he's as tame as a kitten.

6. curiosity: I often wonder how Skipper is. And his wife Linda. Many years ago, his mother told me they lived on a ranch with horses in Orange County, California. I think of him sometimes now because it was at this house where I now live, that I returned his engagement ring about forty years ago. I trust they have a wonderful life.

7. Somerset County Fair: The fair will be here in less than two weeks. One of my favorite volunteer jobs. I think. It gets me out of the house. This year, I'll enter Red Velvet Cookies and Rum Balls, along with the usual photos and a scrapbook.

8. Somerset County Histerical Society: (That's not a typo.) I'm a shop girl one day a week and a docent at Teackle Mansion two days a month. Gets me out of the house.

9. Girl Scouts: Planning a road trip for March 2012. Plan to be in Savannah, Georgia for the Girl Scout's 100th birthday. Will be fun to visit with friends and volunteer at The Birthplace. Then on to visit with Berta in Alabama; Peggy, Sherry, and Kathy in Tennessee, Nancy in Georgia; and Lillian in North Carolina.

Friend Sandie and I cruised on the Queen Mary 2 in 2007. We went out on our own and swam with dolphins in Tortola.

I just identified my "poorly maintained" website to Richard Roe, the infamous Senior Bachelor of Oprah fame, so I'm motivated to update the site a little. Can't believe I've had this website for almost three-fourths of its two-year life and I've done almost zero with it. Gotta pay Jim to come over and teach me how to do stuff on here. He'd do it for free, but I won't. Hey, Jim, you listening? I've got MONEY for you!!!

What have I been up to since last September? I don't remember. It's an age thing. I've turned 64. Whoopy do! No biggie. In a few months I'll have to sign up for Medicare. Can't wait! (Seems I'm feeling a little snarphy today.)

So, what has been going on? My Honey and I are older. And so is Lillian. It's almost time to go to North Carolina for her second birthday party. It's only a month away.

Went to NC for Christmas with Lillian, Jayna, and Hugh (and Hugh's family). Great trip. Everyone behaved well. Including Paisley (my grandcat) and Bonnie (my granddog). It was a first.

I DID substitute for my friend Peggy back in November. But not all of the five days. Only did Monday, Tuesday and Friday. After two days, my blood pressure was so high the nurse told me not to come back on Wednesday, so they got a substitute for the substitute. She was GREAT, and I went back to tie things up on Friday. Have only subbed at Wi Middle a couple of days since then.

Since Christmas, I've only subbed for my friend Jerry, who took over the adult class when I "retired" from that job. I do enjoy going back into my former adult class. And it does provide travel money. Which is a good thing.

I'm doing three volunteer jobs and enjoying them all. Mostly. I'm the Friday "Shop Girl" for the Somerset County Historical Society's antique shop. I serve on Antioch Methodist Church's Sharing and Caring Committee, but the biggest job of all is with the Somerset County Fair. I volunteered to be the one to update the ads in the program book. For this year, the job's almost done.

Can't think of anything remarkable, so I'm done for now. I'm sure all kinds of ideas will come to me after I close this out.

Honey has lived in "This Old House" for more than five months now. We are adjusting very well to each other. The vet says Honey is five years old (Elizabeth had said two), and for such an "old" wildcat, he's doing very well. I've only seen his wild streak once in the last two months. Not bad.

I have lots of names for Honey. Sometimes, I even call him "Sonny," which was his old name. I call him Precious, My Little Wildcat, Playboy, and Creamsicle (because he's orange and white). Playboy is the most fitting name because he spends so much time entertaining me with his playtimes. He beats himself up chasing his tail when he hits furniture and walls as he spins around trying to catch his shorter-than-it's-supposed-to-be tail. He really gets into the action. And he LOVES the circle with a ball that spins and won't come out no matter what he does. Then he scratches the heck out of the corrugated cardboard in its center. One of his favorite toys is a cardboard box; he hides under the flaps and even rolls around inside it trying to catch the ever-elusive tail. He's better entertainment than the television.

The biggest news since July is that I "retired" from my adult education job after two years. It was time. It wasn't fun anymore. I was tired of the paperwork and the necessity of finding a sub whenever I wanted to travel. But most of all, it wasn't fun because of the children I was expected to teach in an adult class.

So, what am I doing for travel money now? I've signed up to substitute in Wicomico County. I'm set to sub for my friend Peggy when she goes on a cruise in November, the week after I return from a cruise. Can't wait. I EXCECT the behavior of children when I substitute. We'll see how it goes.

Took a short trip to Hollywood, California in August. Four days and three nights. I wanted to meet Matt Antrim, the Casting Director for "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" He'd called me in June to say he'd gotten my application packet (the third one), and to tell me the show would be taping in August. He hadn't called me to be a contestant, so I figured I'd do all I could to make myself available.

It was a fun trip and my mission was accomplished. Had tickets for tapings on two days, but the second day of tapings was canceled because they finished early. In the morning, three shows were taped, then there was a break. I finally found someone who located Matt for me and I was directed to a porch where he was sitting with a woman with fluffy silver/white hair and the most personable smile I've ever seen. So, as I talked to Matt, I included the woman with occasional looks at her. Then I went back into the studio for the final two tapings of the season. The second was a celebrity show with Paula Dean as the guest. I almost fell off my chair when Paula came onstage. She was the woman Matt had been talking to--the one with the superb smile. After the show, we talked when she was leaving the studio. She is a darling. So, I got to meet Matt Antrim AND Paula Dean.

Did something in August I've NEVER done. I entered things in the exhibits of three county fairs. Every item won at least one ribbon in the total of three fairs. And my Australia scrapbook, which I only thought to enter in the last two fairs, won first place and Grand Champion ribbons in both of them. The other things I entered were photographs. So, once again, I can joke that "I'm an award-winning photographer."

The visit to NC for Lillian's nine-month day was wonderful. Took lots of pictures, including some for the birthday present--a small scrapbook called "Lillian's Number Book Volume I."

The visit for Lillian's birthday was . . . Judy W., the neighbor-like-a-sister from Salisbury, went down with me. Since there were two of us, we stayed at a super B & B a few blocks from the house. The house was full with Erin and her three sweetheart daughters. The birthday party was wonderful. It was held on the driveway/carport. An absolutely perfect-weather day. It was a BIG party. Lillian changed clothes three times.

Lillian and her Mom came to visit the last weekend in June to help with a garage sale. It was wonderful having them here. Total fun! Lillian played in the sandbox where her mother had played whenever she came to visit her grandparents. Ah, history! A highlight of the trip for Lillian had to have been the visit to Sandie's and Jim's farm, where she met goats and Guinea fowls, along with Callie (the Westie), and Jesse, the big ragdoll cat. She LOVED all the animals. No fear or shyness at all. Truly her mother's daughter.

And speaking of cats, the house now has a resident cat, after two lonely years without one. It's been an adventure--adjusting to having a cat again. But it's been an even larger adjustment for the cat, who (poof) went from being a partly-tamed wildcat to being a 100% in-the-house cat. He's doing very well. As I write this on the 4th of July, Honey's been here for almost three months. I still see the wildcat sometimes, but its appearances are becoming fewer and farther between.

I reckon the biggest news is that my friend Sandie Leahy (the one who lives down the road; we went on the Queen Mary 2 together) and I have booked a BIG cruise for the last week of October and the first two weeks of November of this year. On October 25th, we fly from BWI to Rome, Italy. On October 27th, we board Carnival's newest ship, the Dream, for a Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean crossing into New York City. We're SO EXCITED!!!

The most important thing about Rome is that I want to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Sandie's already done that--many years ago, so she's willing to go back. It's supposed to be really difficult to make the arrangements, so if anyone out there has any tips, we'd appreciate them.

Well, the renovation of the house was technically finished on December 24, 2008, when the carpenter finished hanging the big, flat-panel TV over the new fireplace in the living room.

I've spent the last six months moving into the house, and the task isn't even close to being done. The way I'm going, it'll take at least another year. There are just too many other jobs that need to be done.

And now it's the growing season, and I don't plan to go anywhere until the October trip. I want to be here to water plants with Daddy's recently repaired well. My dream was/is to have a garden this summer. I haven't given up on the dream, but it seems so far away. It was the end of May when I realized I couldn't break the sod with Daddy's Bronco tiller. Even though it was a hard thing for me to do, I asked a friend and former classmate for help, but he never called back. Now I need to ask my brothers to help, and I keep postponing the call for a long list of reasons. Mostly, I'm chicken. I don't want to hear their comments on the subject. Gotta do something soon. They both laughed at me last winter when I said I'd have a garden this summer. They bet I wouldn't do it. And now, they are both in positions to see that I don't have a garden. Sigh.

Not having the garden tilled by mid May is my second biggest problem right now, so life is good! It's peaceful here in the house where the boys and I grew up, and I am no longer alone here (physically). I have a cat. For the first time in two years, I have a cat, and I don't know who's having the bigger problem with the adjustment. I think he is.

Sonny was a feral cat. He spent the first year of his life living on the streets of Princess Anne as a wild cat. He spent his second year as a half-wild cat, going to a bed and breakfast in his neighborhood for food. (He's a SMART cat.) Sometimes, he'd let Elizabeth and Peter pet him. Sometimes he'd use the cat door and go inside with the other cats, but they didn't get along. So, when I mentioned that I was going to get a cat, Elizabeth asked if I'd take Sonny. His name is now Honey, because he's the color of honey (red tabby and white), and for the most part, he's very sweet.

Sonny's lived here for two months and he is adjusting well. It's a BIG change for him--bigger than it is for me. He lives 100% indoors. He's safe and well-fed. He gets lots of attention and he loves it. He has toys he truly enjoys, especially the long, wavy one at the back end of his body. I think he's bruising his body chasing his tail. He beats himself against furniture, the brick hearth, and anything else that stops his swift, twisted movements. He's the best entertainment in the house!

The other hopeful news is that I've mailed the THIRD application packet to the game show called "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" I REALLY want to play that game and win lots of money for my retirement and my favorite charities. We'll see.

And that's all the news that is the news. Life is GOOD here! Hope yours is the same.

(not) all the news that is the news

Since this website started, have been to Nashville, Tennessee on a bus trip with the local chapter of the AARP. Great trip. Super people. First time playing tourist in Nashville. One of the best parts was that Peggy P. came to the hotel to visit. Hadn't seen her in about 20 years. Another good part was talking to "Little Sherry age 10," a former student who still lives in the old neighborhood in Morristown, Tennessee. People were the best parts of the trip.

On the home front, this old house is getting a new roof, and the living room now has a fireplace (electric one) in a bookcase wall with a big TV over the fireplace. Momma's and Daddy's little bungalow is hardly recognizable on the inside. I hope they're up there smiling. It sure is different. And next year there'll be a Christmas tree near the fireplace.

Gonna be a quiet Christmas and New Year's "celebration." But, life will perk up when I go to North Carolina for Lillian's Nine-month day pictures. Lillian. Did I mention Lillian in the original message? Lillian is my one and only grandchild. She looks like her Daddy, I think. She's cute as a bug! (Whatever that means.)