Moving Out of Cades Cove                    It was the day of our first move and everyone was busy getting their belongings together.   My few homemade play things were fondly stored in a badly worn black satchel.   The main articles of household furnishings...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The once-smart red and white gingham oilskin cover is battered and shabby now, with splotches and mysterious old stains on many pages. Mum’s treasured recipe book has a special spot in my early memories and has been a constant companion all of...

Remembering the importance of having a place outdoors that was our special place. Up in a big tree.

This journal contains events and stories about Stacy, my third child and daughter.

You can't have a family gathering without food!

A pile of dirt! That's all my brothers and I needed to create weeks and months of amazing entertainment. Dad was one of the most creative fathers ever. He would dump a pick-up truck full of topsoil right in the middle of the back yard. With a 99 cent bag of...

My earliest memories of music are from church, as my dad was a Methodist minister.  I am told that at the age of two I begged to sit beside the church pianist as she played.  When we got home, I then pretended I was the pianist, playing on the window sill....

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I only met Welsh singing sensation Tom Jones for a couple of  hours in 1965 but the memory of him has remained indelible in my mind. Tom was touring Australia with a ‘Best of British’ concert group, along with Manchester’s answer to...

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  Video: Ashokan Farewell (violin: Kathy Larsen, piano: Rachelle Larsen, tin whistle: Steve Smith) played at a retirement community in Idaho July 2009 as part of the annual Larsen Family Musicale.   Music flows through every aspect of my life.    As I write this, I am sitting at my laptop...

My first ever purchase of a record was the 45 rpm of Ruby Tuesday by the Rolling Stones. I must have played it 100 times the first night and wrote down the lyrics. I even went so far as to compose my own lyrics of a song. At this time I...

"If we ever get into an argument, take me dancing”, I said to my new husband. That is when I fully realized the value of music in my life.   I cannot remain angry if I’m dancing. I just enjoy it too much.  The funny thing is even though he did not dance...

Today is the 9th anniversary of the tragic 9-11 attack and I found myself watching the minute by minute replay on NBC this morning. I'm surprised at how emotional I got and in many ways I'm glad I was able to re-experience it as it happened. I remember the day it...

My family consisted of 10 kids. It wasn't easy for my parents to offer allowances. But, they did whenever they could. So, I would take out trash or rake leaves or things like that to earn my 25 cents a week. Does that count as a first job? Or, I suppose...

Discounting the babysitting and house cleaning jobs I had as a teen, my first real job was at a restaurant a few miles away from my home.  I worked at "Gino's Italian Restaurant" after school and on the weekends my Sophmore and Junior years of high school.  It was located on the...

Just trying to add a little humor to the site.

We went to the Snowmass rodeo-the kids got guns and hats ... Pet some goats in the petting zoo... and rode the mechanical bull! Johnny Ellie Abby Mikey

The gondolas were running at Aspen and Snowmass...  

And we visited the Grand Canyon. Mikey said "it\'s boring, can we watch a movie?"!