Hi my friends,

Sorry, I dropped out of sight for a few weeks. The truth is that we went traveling, first to Salt Lake City for my great-niece’s college graduation, and then to Texas for a week, and I just ran out of steam every evening during the hours when I usually sit down to write my blog. But I’m back home now and fully refreshed after seeing lots of people I love, so I’m back in the saddle, as we like to say in Texas.

My great-niece is my late sister Leslie’s granddaughter, Sophie, and it was quite a treat to spend time with her and her family in Salt Lake City. We are very close to our Utah relatives: Jim, my nephew; Karri, his wife; Kevin, my niece; Scott, her husband; and Sophie’s brother, Eli. Nothing makes me happier than seeing their gorgeous faces, and we did just that while celebrating Sophie’s graduation.

I am so proud of beautiful, smart, and talented Sophie, a wonderful writer and gifted book designer, and was very pleased to be present for her graduation from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s degree in Writing and Rhetorical Studies and a minor in Book Arts. We saw several examples of book designs Sophie had created, and they were charming and whimsical, with pithy content. I expect we’ll be seeing much more of Sophie’s writing and artistry in the future, and I can’t wait to see how her life unfolds.

Our time in Texas was filled with attending to tasks related to our house and antique business, as well as seeing friends. As usual, we loved being at our Texas home, which is a special place for both Ray and me since we restored our Queen Anne from what was a teardown state. We’ll return in the next month or so to tackle more projects. We’ll set out again on another road trip so we can take our dogs along. That makes everyone much happier.

My best to all of you, and I hope you’re well. I miss my Facebook friends when I’m out of touch and am happy to be rested enough now to reengage.

Len, Ray, Karri, Sophie, Jim and Eli at Sophie’s graduation

Kevin and Scott at Eli’s graduation a couple of years back

One shot of our house in Texas