Greetings!

Welcome to my home on the internet. This is a bit of a grand experiment, so I ask your patience and understanding in advance, as I learn how hosting a blog works.

When I wrote a first person column when my sons were in high school, they lived in fear that I would write about them, and embarass them in the ways only a mother can. I imagine that when they find out I am posting on the internet, they are going to thank God that they grew up and left home before I tried this broad a communication!

There are many people I will thank over time for this new adventure, but for right now, I would like to thank the Madrid based photographer, Ilana Panich-Linsman. I met her when I was Editor of my hometown newspaper, The Windmill. Immediately after she graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, she gave up her summer to raise funds to purchase medical supplies for those whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Katrina through Bike Across America. I remain in awe of the obstacles she and Colin Mortensen overcame as they planned and then crossed our continent-wide nation, powered mostly by the muscles in their legs and character in their hearts. Later, she was kind enough to share her own blog with me. Without her pioneering inspiration, I might not be brave enough to try this out.

So to those of you who read this, I wish you many blessings,

Lydia Plunk