2025: Our Year in Review

The big story of last year (2024) was our change of venue from Florida to North Carolina, with all the tumult that moving and changing states entails. Things were a lot calmer in 2025, since we were mainly focused on getting established in our new community. We already knew several people before we moved here, so we’ve been working on turning acquaintances into friends. We also made progress in identifying the organizations we want to support and the places we want to spend time. One might even say that we are putting down roots, so it’s apt that I start with…

Gardening Galore

One of my principal means of community engagement is through gardening. Fifteen years ago, when we lived in Palm Beach County, I completed the Florida Master Gardener course offered through the Cooperative Extension Program and was a regular volunteer at the spectacular Mounts Botanical Garden. More recently, when we spent several years traveling the country by RV, we visited scores of botanical gardens in cities large and small, and it really helped us gain insight into local ecology and local communities. So after we moved it was an easy decision to apply to the North Carolina Master Gardener program here in Forsyth County.

Beginning in October 2024, I attended weekly classes in roughly two “semesters,” with our 40 hours of classroom instruction wrapping up in March. To complete the certification, I was also required to complete at least 40 hours of volunteer work with the program in 2025, including time spent on public information work as well as volunteering at each of the two demonstration gardens operated by Extension. I ended up earning the majority of my hours in the public information category, including the delightful Youth Education Program (3rd grade field trips) in April and shifts staffing a monthly Master Gardener information booth at the Cobblestone Farmers Market, conveniently located across the street from our place. Both my class and my volunteer shifts have given me the opportunity to meet and befriend interesting people who share my curiosity about botany and the natural world.

While I didn’t spend a particularly large number of hours doing actual gardening at the public demonstration gardens, I made up for that by becoming a regular volunteer at Reynolda Gardens. Between the splendid Brown Family Conservatory, the historic rose and flower gardens, the bountiful vegetable gardens, the inspirational demonstration gardens, and the native plantings throughout the property outside the formal gardens, there is no shortage of places to get one’s hands dirty. I’ve been having so much fun, in fact, that I was one of about 20 volunteers recognized for giving over 100 hours of service this year (in either the historic house or the gardens) at the annual Reynolda Volunteer Association meeting. This has also been an ideal setting for meeting new people and building friendships, and intentionally spending several meditative hours each week in a beautiful environment is a real balm for the soul.

 

 

Local Engagement

For me, finding places to volunteer is an important part of developing a sense of belonging. Ken’s way of connecting with a new community involves becoming a passionate fan of all the local sports teams. As a result, this year I attended (and watched on TV) far more Wake Forest athletic contests than I ever saw as a student. In the spring we enjoyed cheering on the excellent (and eventual NCAA champion) Wake Forest men’s tennis team in their final ACC match. Over the summer we took in urban bicycle racing at the annual Gears & Guitars event and also watched high quality professional men’s tennis at the Winston-Salem Open. In the fall we attended minor league baseball, men’s college soccer, women’s college field hockey, and a big rivalry game in college football. (I feel I should assure our friends and family in New England that Ken has in no way diminished his loyalty to the UConn basketball teams; ESPN is a fixture on our TV.)

 

 

For us, the sports and cultural amenities of a college town were one of the main attractions of Winston-Salem when deciding where to move. Looking back over the year, I think it’s fair to say that we enthusiastically embraced both these aspects of our new community. A spring exhibition of Andrew Wyeth works at Reynolda House wowed us with meticulous drybrush illustrations and startling portraits. A production of August Wilson’s Fences by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company impressed us with the powerful text and the quality of the performances. Outdoor summer concerts given by the Salem Band, the oldest continuous mixed wind ensemble in the nation, connected us to the colonial history of our area. The opening of a new space for art exhibits in a formerly vacant warehouse half a block north of us was a welcome addition to our neighborhood. And the Camel City exhibit at Reynolda in the fall used rare materials from the archives of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to demonstrate how the company shaped the physical, economic, and political landscape of the city. We also caught several thought-provoking public lectures by distinguished local and visiting faculty members.

 

 

We continue to be happy with the neighborhood we chose to move into. The weekly Cobblestone Farmers Market, which takes place Saturday mornings across the street from our building, remains a prime attraction. This year we dabbled in Community Supported Agriculture by buying a short (8 week) spring share from one of our favorite vendors. While we ultimately decided CSAs are not for us — we like the experience of shopping at the market instead of receiving a pre-packaged selection — we ended up on a first name basis with the vendors we frequent, and now we are trading recipes with them.

We already had several interesting restaurants in the neighborhood, and the renovation of a historic Coca-Cola bottling facility located a block north of us is greatly expanding the menu. This year brought the opening of an excellent bakery (second location in town), a “slaberia” (serving focaccia with pizza toppings), and a ramen noodle restaurant, all under the same ownership, with additional spaces set to open next year. This year we had several friends who visited Winston-Salem and stayed in Airbnb properties in our area, and it was a real pleasure to show off our neighborhood.

 

Home Improvements

Last year we waded through the pile of house projects that typically comes with buying a new place, from painting to changing light fixtures. This year we tackled far fewer projects, and they were the boring, necessary kind. After struggling for months to find a replacement part for a cracked stem in one of the bathroom faucets, we finally capitulated and replaced the whole faucet. It would have saved us a lot of grief to just start with the obvious solution.

We also replaced our paper-thin, misaligned, and not-fully-windproof front door. Normally the selection of a front door would be an opportunity for aesthetic upgrade, but since we live in a condo we were required to maintain the same appearance, making for the world’s lamest before-and-after photos (thus no photos). At least the new door keeps the wind out and closes smoothly with a satisfying “thunk.” Despite the architectural limitations, we are still satisfied with our decision to buy a rare-in-this-market condo, since it gives us the ability to effortlessly leave town for short or long trips.

Travels

We took advantage of this flexibility this year with one trip to Florida and six different trips within North Carolina. The Florida visit in February was more work than play, since the purpose was to provide logistical support at the annual fundraiser for a small literacy-focused nonprofit in Franklin County. I have served on the board and as the treasurer of the organization for several years, dating back to when we lived on St. George, and luckily most of my work can be done remotely. It was nice to reconnect with old friends in our former community, and thanks to a lot of hard work by many people the Love of Literacy fundraiser was very successful.

 

 

Our North Carolina trips were all for pleasure, and helped solidify some of our preferences and future plans. Blowing Rock and Asheville are both destinations that we visited twice this year and will happily visit every year, and the Outer Banks remain our favorite area of the North Carolina coast. Of course, the travel highlight of the year was the trip my mom and I took to Scotland in April to celebrate a milestone birthday for her. The historic ambiance of Edinburgh and the spectacular scenery of the Highlands made for a memorable experience for both of us.

On the Horizon

Our plans for 2026 are slowly taking shape. In January we are headed to South Florida for a brief trip to visit my mom. Over the spring and early summer we expect to make return visits to some of our favorite spots in North Carolina. In the spring I will also be finishing my seventh and final year of service on the Board of Visitors for the ZSR Library at Wake Forest, including serving as chair for the last four, which will doubtless be a bittersweet departure.

We are planning an international trip in August; this time Ken gets to come along. More details about that to follow, but here’s a hint: we were particularly excited to sign up for a six-week lifelong learning course at Wake this spring entitled “Vienna Modernism: The Making of the Modern Age.” In other words, next year we’re looking forward to more adventures along these lines:

 

 

Reading back through all this, I am struck by how positive it all is. I don’t want to be a Pollyanna, and there is no question that our country faces unprecedented issues. Some of the problems strike very close to home, including the assault on higher education and the utterly outrageous amount we will be paying for health insurance next year. But being part of a community of like-minded people who are doing good in the world helps us maintain hope and sanity. Together we can all get through this!