Hi, I’m Carol. My life is full of solid joys, deep sorrows, and aggressive hope.

I search for truth, beauty, goodness, amusement, and comfort in books, music, worship, photos, conversation. I’m attracted of the *idea* of gardening, writing, exercising and practicing scales. Consistent follow-through is an ongoing challenge. Cooking is best done with a friend.  I like to talk, but I want to be a better listener. Ambivert best describes me: part introvert and part extrovert.

I’m Mom to three grown sons, mother-in-law to two amazing daughters-in-law, Babe to my husband, Nana to seven grandsons and two granddaughters. I’m the youngest of seven children. My mom died when I was ten; my dad died when I was thirty.

Words. They occupy me, friendly invaders. Knowing that when Jane Austen uses the word ‘nice’ she means ‘excessively precise’ is delicious. I’ve had a five-year affair with be- prefix words. Befitting. Beleaguered. Bemoaning. Besot. Bereft. Belong. En- and Em- prefix words are enticing, too. Encompass. Embarked. Embraced. Enfold. I’ve added a-prefix words to my collection. Astray. Aplomb. Afoot. Abuzz. Akimbo. I guess I’m just fixated on prefixes.

History. The connections. In order to understand WW2 you really must grapple with the Great War. But how can you understand 1914 without knowing 1870? I am indebted when an author makes a historical period accessible.

Music. Singing saturated my childhood. I learned and have since forgotten how to play the cello; there is no lovelier instrument. Sometimes I roar with joy when I hear the power and glory of a pipe organ. I play the piano. I periodically have musical fixations where I listen to a piece twenty or thirty times in a row. Although I’ve never EVER wanted to sing a solo, my hairbrush is my instrument of choice. My youngest brother makes a living singing in operas.

Science. I stink at it. Periodically I try to remedy that, then the effort gets tabled. I’m not in my element. However. Learning about insulin and hormones and autophagy has awoken my interest in science more than anything.

Fascinations:   Architecture. Cultural studies. Pioneer settlers and homesteading. Community. Island living. Conversions. Poetry. Mortality. Travel. Trollope. All things British. Buoyancy. Impressionists. Russian writers. Numbers, especially dates.