HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be Here: In defense of cell phones
You’ve probably heard some grumbling about the awfulness of cell phones. We spend too much time on them. They sap our attention. They contribute to ...
Karen Bellenir, Author at Farmville
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be Here: Time for Some Spring Cleaning
Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the world’s most famous groundhog, emerged from his burrow last month and predicted an early spring. He appears to be correct. Spring’s ...
by Karen Bellenir, Sunday, March 17, 2024 12:27 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy To Be Here: Questioning an established authority
For those who have wondered: Yes, I am still working my way through the dictionary. I started reading Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition at the ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, February 2, 2024 3:03 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Here comes the sun
We experienced our shortest day and longest night on the winter solstice, Dec. 21. In Farmville, sunrise that day was 7:22 a.m. and sunset 5 ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, January 5, 2024 5:46 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Empty chairs
According to many different calendars, we’re deep into the season of holidays. Depending on your outlook, the festivities may have started with Halloween or with ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, December 2, 2023 6:43 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Grateful for the years I almost didn’t get
As a young adult, I wasn’t making enough money for ends to meet, but occasionally those ends got close enough to shout to one another. ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, November 3, 2023 4:07 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be Here: Cryptids on the Loose
Welcome to the time of year when we delight in the mysteries that occupy the boundary of what we know and what we fear. Ghosts ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, October 7, 2023 11:11 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Celebrities and Celebri-Trees
Some people enjoy watching for celebrities, and Farmville has seen a fair number throughout its history. Generals. Civil rights icons. National political leaders. World-class performers ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, September 1, 2023 6:32 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: On the lookout for a Blue Moon
Some novels include tales of family members or lovers who will soon be separated. While they are apart, they promise to remember each other when ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, August 4, 2023 5:25 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Taking an alternate route
Summer provides an excellent opportunity to hit the road and visit favorite people and places. Some trips span days or weeks, others take just a ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, July 8, 2023 11:15 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Lessons my father taught me
A few weeks ago, I drove past a home where a father, maybe a grandfather, was teaching a child to ride a bike. The youngster pedaled ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, June 3, 2023 9:08 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be here: Finding the flowers
In 1955, Pete Seeger wrote a song asking “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Additional verses were later added by Joe Hickerson, and the song ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, May 6, 2023 2:17 pm
Columns
Happy To Be Here: The Wind Blows
When I think of the wind, I usually picture gentle breezes. I hear it whisper secrets about the places it has been. I watch it ...
by Karen Bellenir, Thursday, April 6, 2023 4:40 pm
Columns
Happy to be Here: A nostalgic viewpoint
I hadn’t been to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) since before COVID became a household word. Some neighbors suggested it was time for ...
by Karen Bellenir, Thursday, March 9, 2023 8:49 am
Columns
Happy to be here — Cozy comfort
Many people enjoy winter. Some look forward to skiing. They arrange vacations and plan travel to seek out snow. My daughter is a snowboarder. She ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, February 3, 2023 5:19 pm
Columns
Happy to be here — From cut to Farkleberry
Some of you have been asking about my progress reading Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. My original, overly optimistic plan entailed reading it, all 1,459 ...
by Karen Bellenir, Monday, January 9, 2023 8:36 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be Here — Listen and let the songs play
As the song says, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Nature sets the stage with starlight and moonlight. Human hands decorate it with ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, December 2, 2022 3:54 pm
Columns
Happy to be here — Observing with both eyes
A friend recently asked me about buying an inexpensive, fun telescope suitable for taking a first step into the hobby of backyard astronomy. It’s a ...
by Karen Bellenir, Thursday, November 3, 2022 3:51 pm
Columns
Happy To Be Here: Let’s talk about freedom of speech
Last August, author Salman Rushdie was attacked and seriously injured while onstage for a panel discussion at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. Chautauqua ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, October 8, 2022 11:43 pm
Columns
Happy to be here — Standing on new shores
Here in Virginia, the opening years of the seventeenth century are probably best remembered for the arrival of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. The ...
by Karen Bellenir, Sunday, September 4, 2022 11:41 am
Columns
Happy to be here — Keep distance from bears, despite the cute, cuddly look
Maybe you’ve seen amusing bear videos on the internet. There’s a cute one with a cub climbing onto a swing. Another shows a bear running ...
by Karen Bellenir, Monday, August 8, 2022 12:37 pm
Columns
Happy to be here: Bigger than any one of us
Among Christians, the prayer commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father is well known. I memorized its words when I was a ...
by Karen Bellenir, Sunday, July 3, 2022 11:52 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Called by a scammer
A few weeks ago, I received a disturbing voice mail message. The recorded announcement claimed that permission to place a call via my phone was ...
by Karen Bellenir, Saturday, June 11, 2022 10:47 am
HAPPY TO BE HERE
It is a small world
I remember when the earth seemed unimaginably large. It’s still easy to feel that way. If I spread a blanket on the grass and look ...
by Karen Bellenir, Sunday, April 3, 2022 3:24 pm
Columns
Happy to be here — Waking up
I’ve been watching the world wake up. As the year turns from its winter slumber, it reminds me of waking to embrace a new day. ...
by Karen Bellenir, Sunday, March 20, 2022 5:54 pm
HAPPY TO BE HERE
Multiple meanings
Many months ago, on page 42 of my reading ramble through Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, I encountered the word amphibology. In it, I discovered ...
by Karen Bellenir, Friday, February 4, 2022 10:00 am
Columns
An unfinished project
A year ago, when 2021 was brand new, I set myself a challenge. I planned to read through the dictionary in a year. An inspiration ...