When Mother’s Day approached five months into my job as a church’s lead pastor in the late 1990s, I was surprised to see a small group of elderly women in our church parlor busily folding facial …

Were you ever robbed? It is a terrible feeling. Fortunately, I have never experienced theft from my person. I was robbed at my house. Twenty-five years ago, I traveled down the New Jersey …

A woman who visited my art gallery last week was carrying a crocheted tote bag. When I inquired about it, she proudly said she made it. It was roomy, not too big, and made of durable fibers about the …

I received the gift of an amaryllis bulb growing kit a while ago. At the time, my life was unsettled due to my husband’s ill health. I put the kit on a shelf in my garage and forgot about it. …

My father hardly talked about his childhood at all. He told me a few stories about my paternal grandparents. I saw them only in a few photos. They both died when I was one year old. They married …

I described the mourning dove nest in the leftovers of a dead plant in a hanging basket in my courtyard in my commentary on March 8th. Since then, I watched the mother dove sit on her eggs for weeks …

Earlier this week, I saw a photograph that brought tears to my eyes. The photograph was from 1958, when I was only 5 years old. It was taken at Christmastime in my childhood home. My cousin posted it …

I have had a medical test and exam every six months since becoming a breast cancer survivor. Things that make this process easier are a friendly staff and pleasant surroundings. Last week, I was …

We are at the Ides of March, which is in the middle of the month. We are subject to the whims of its weather. We go from spring to glimpses of summer, with gusty wind for good measure. Historically, …

The cold weather did damage to plants, bushes and trees, even to some that were covered. I covered plants on my front porch, but left the plantings in my courtyard to their own devices. I thought …

I am not a quilter. Like quilters, I love colors and patterns. I know my skill set well enough to know that the careful precision of quilting is not for me. Not to mention that I don’t even sew. …

This is a photo of the monks who are on the Walk for Peace as they were walking through Alexandria, Virginia, on Feb. 9. It was sent to me by a friend who was there. She also sent more photos, …

“What’s love got to do with it?” The iconic Tina Turner belted this question in her raw style. She followed that with, “What’s love but a second-hand emotion?” The singer-songwriter …

By the time you read this, we will have turned the page on a very long month. It feels like it should be April or May. But it’s not. It’s the beginning of the most misspelled and mispronounced …

I hope by now that most readers of the Fernandina Observer will have found the treasure in the Showcase section on Mondays, the “Kindness Matters” columns, put together by my treasured friend, …

I have been following the Buddhist monks on their Walk for Peace, thanks to videos posted online of their journey. About 20 monks, who are of the Vietnamese Buddhist tradition …

Dear Readers, I feel self-indulgent telling you about my personal experiences again. There are many ways grief surrounds all of us on a personal, national and global scale. I hope something I …

Dear readers, It has been a difficult week for me following the death of my husband on Dec. 27. Words of comfort and peace have overflowed into my inbox, and for that, I am grateful. I …

I went to the Gingerbread Extravaganza at the Jacksonville Historical Society, now at the Haskell Building by EverBank Field. There are categories for different age groups and subcategories for kinds …

This evening, Sunday, Dec. 21, is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. After tonight, the darkness will be incrementally shorter and days will lengthen as the earth rotates on its …