Greetings from Carolyn and Rick
August 2023
Hello from Northeast Ohio! Lots has happened since our last update but we are finally all together again. We moved out of our apartment in Charlotte at the end of May and Carolyn has been living full-time in Ohio since then. It's wonderful for us to be back living under one roof, kitties and all!
Being back in Ohio has allowed us to visit our family frequently. With the kids in Columbus and Carolyn's family in Lorain County, it's easy to hop in the car and make a day of it. We're looking forward to more adventures with all of them.
We are also enjoying living in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park - especially getting back into birding. One of our favorite spots, the Beaver Marsh, is just a five minute drive from our house. During the next few months we will begin volunteering with the Cuyahoga Valley Park Association. There's no excuse for not getting into the park that we love so much!
We were finally able to go on our vacation to the Dakotas this summer. We originally planned it for the summer of 2020, we all know how that went. What a joy to be back out west and spending time in nature. We visited Badlands National Park (where the header photo was taken), Wind Cave National Park (prairie dogs galore! but sadly could not go into the cave due to the elevator being broken), Devil's Tower National Monument (talk about an igneous intrusion!), and Theodore Roosevelt National Park (60 million years of geologic history on view along the Coal Vein Trail). This brings the total number of National Parks we have visited to 34. Only 30 to go!
One of the last things Carolyn did before leaving Charlotte was join the Queens University Choral Union. This was her very first time in a choir, where she did her best to learn the music and blend in with the rest of the altos. Students, staff, and community members performed Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera Iolanthe, compositions by Dan Forrest, and pieces by Vivaldi and Rossini. The year concluded with a subset of the choral union singing at the Queens baccalaureate in May. It was an amazing experience and she is now seeking similar opportunities in NE Ohio.
The biggest news by far is Carolyn's retirement. Even though she moved to Ohio in June, she continued to work remotely for Queens University until August 1st. This is a big transition for her and we were fortunate to have lots of friends join us to celebrate the event. What comes next for her? You'll have to stay tuned!
We hope you all are having a wonderful summer! We hope to get to see each and every one of you before too much more time passes.
September Update
We have started planning the changes for the outside of our house. The first step is removing the 18' by 18' patio that was extended over the slope of our backyard. Unfortunately, the entire patio is slowly slumping down the hillside. We felt it wasn't worth trying to save it, so we needed to figure out how to remove it. The first part of this process was just completed. The concrete slab was broken up and taken away by the guys from Colt's Excavating.
Now we just need to figure out what to do with the remaining dirt and railroad ties. But, one step at a time...
Get Updates
We will be posting update messages here. If you would like to be notified by email when we post an update and are not already on our mailing list, complete the form below. I know that many of you already get too much email but I can assure you that I will only be sending updates a few (probably two) times per year. Of course if you subscribe you can unsubscribe at any time. I will not take offense if you unsubscribe. I unsubscribe from lists with a vengeance. And of course we can always stay in touch by phone, text, or email! My cell phone number and email address will appear on every message I send.
So if you would like to be notified about updates in the Radcliff-Wiggins household, complete the form below. And please stay healthy!