The weekend began with the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump, unleashing a wave of calls by his supporters for violence and an uprising to defend him. Once again, Trump dominated every aspect of American life, including a retreat to Loyd Park. The camping crowd includes a disproportionate number of Trump supporters, who have…
After spending time with Jon’s high school buddy, staying 10 days in Cloud 9 while Hampshire’s interior was painted, visiting Jon’s mom for Mother’s Day, and two weekends at home recovering and doing follow-up projects, we finally got back to the basics: a weekender at Loyd Park. We arrived at mid-afternoon and set up camp,…
Late on Thursday, the Texas Senate approved a bill that would require public schools throughout the state to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The legislation now heads to the state House of Representatives. The Republican lawmaker who authored the bill noted that his new legislation comes in direct response to the Supreme…
This weekend saw the rare confluence of Easter, Passover, and Ramadan, a time of high holy days for the world’s great religious traditions. Although our observance of the Catholic Triduum is nothing like it was when we were in active ministry, we nonetheless immersed ourselves in some favorite shows to get us in the proper…
When we welcomed Bella into our family nine years ago, she was “pair bonded” with Maya, her companion of several years. The girls caught our attention when they were featured on a segment of our local TV news. Their owner had multiple sclerosis and could no longer care for them, so she surrendered them to…
On this Presidents Day weekend, we had the opportunity to admire our own president being presidential. President Biden made a surprise and historic visit to Kyiv, a show of U.S. support and solidarity with a democratic nation battling for its survival after Russian forces invaded the country nearly a year ago. It was the first…
Friday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day when, 78 years ago, Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, the Nazis’ biggest concentration camp, during the final months of World War II. Established by the United Nations in 2005, the day commemorates the killing of 6 million Jews, two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population, as well as millions of…
A respite is defined as “a short period of relief from something difficult,” which is what we experienced this weekend as we returned to Loyd Park. Next weekend’s trip to Illinois will bookend last weekend’s trip home from visiting Jon’s mom, but this time we’ll be packing up her belongings and moving her to an…
We took the Thanksgiving break as a chance to return to Jon’s hometown for a few days to see his family. We do this roughly once a year — but this year was a little different. Jon’s mom needs to move to an assisted living facility, so the trip centered on touring Cambridge House and…
The arctic front that moved through North Texas wasn’t enough to break out the sleds or cancel school, nor was it a deterrence from a final weekender before our Thanksgiving trip to visit Jon’s mom in Illinois. However, it did require us dressing in layers even for quick dog walks and moving most of our…
Garinns on the Go 