Nora has three weeks of recaps ahead of her in July, so I offered to write one about the nearly back-to-back girl trips we shared.
As long-time readers of this blog know, the spring trip to Nemacolin is filled with a weird duality: relaxing days, competitive evenings. Or, as I tenderly put it, Stupid Games. We’ll get to them in a bit.
Sarah and I joined Nora and Kayla in the party(ish) bus out. Why not let someone else do the work while we caught up (and sipped some Veuve)? On the way, BW texted me that we’d left the Switch (and all the games) at the house. I would have been fine shrugging that off as an “Oh, well!” but I realized Nicole didn’t plan to leave until noon. I heroically asked if she’d mind stopping by Nora’s to get the Switch. She said yes.
Darn it all.
After a smooth ride, we arrived by 1:30 pm to a happy welcome from the butlers and the door staff. Rooms were ready and so we all settled in, then took a walk over to the shops to stretch our legs.
Nicole and Kat arrived later in the afternoon, the former with the dread gaming console, the latter with bags of clothes for the annual spa clothing swap. We were so curious to see what Nora no longer needed, that the swap happened on night one, instead of games. A reprieve!
The weather in the first part of the week was lovely, and the sunsets were glorious. We came home to that miserably wet Memorial Day weekend, so every day spent outside was a gift.
On Saturday, Kayla, Nicole, Sarah and I went to High Tea in the “secret” room that opened in The Chateau in 2025. (Nora opted to stay back to take a walk, then dive into John Sandford’s Revenge Prey.) We’d gone there last year on Mother’s Day and it was too good to not go again. The room is a soothing blue and white, with tables placed neatly through the space so every guest had breathing room. We had the center table again and photos were mandatory.
Tea for four, please.
Place setting.
All the treats.
Once we reached the peak fullness on the treats, our hostess boxed up the leftover sweets. A walk sounded like the proper way process all that sugar. A sudden thunderstorm was blowing outside so we wandered from the Chateau through the Grand Lodge and over to the Art Studio. We were already scheduled for a group paint session with Claire Hardy on Sunday, but the team at the studio has added other activities.
As a post-High Tea activity, Nicole, Sarah and I made candles. Later in the week, the three of us plus Nora and Kat tried glass fusion. As always, it’s fun to chat while we debated colors, scents and textures then created to our hearts’ content.
That night, we started the games. First round of Scrabble for Kat, Nicole and Nora, while I bowled with Sarah and Kayla. I won that first round of bowling (!) while Nora took the first round of Scrabble – she opened the game with a seven-letter word! It was such a lovely evening with the sunset streaming through the windows and door open to the patio, and everyone was relaxed so we flowed through the next few rounds of bowling and finished the evening with Nicole as the first winner of a final.
Sunday was oil painting with Claire. Nora had chosen a floral picture that most of us used as the launching point. Kayla and Kat went off in their own directions. Nora now paints with Claire four times a year — 3x in oil, 1x in acrylic – and she has honed her technique in a lovely and relaxed way. (Someone’s got to give Nora the shout out she deserves.) Pizza dinner always follows painting – as did some more games, of course.
The image Nora suggested,
Our interpretations.
The weekend set the flow for the rest of the visit. Treatments, reading, movement, room service, then games. Kayla and Sarah had their usual one-on-one final in Just Dance. I happened to take the Trivia game and the Scrabble final. Kayla, who also took Reverse Charades and the Wild Card categories was named the Biggest Winner.
I won, despite these letters.
The Big Winner.
Final tally.
And just like that, it was time to go home. For four days.
On the fifth day we headed to Tyson’s Corner for Kat’s birthday shopping trip. I joined the group late on the first day due to a doctor’s appointment related to my upcoming hip replacement, but all reports were that everyone found wandered the mall and found items to their liking.
Nora’s personal shopper, Azita, has been with Saks forever. With the closing of all the Saks stores in the DC area, she and her team shifted to Neiman Marcus at Tysons.
Nora and the team.
We had loads of fun in the new location with familiar faces and new friends. And the lunch menu was based on Nora’s books. Absolutely delicious.
We had so much fun that the dates for this December and next spring are already set!
The very clever menu.
Nora and family head back to Nemacolin next week for their summer stay, then it’s off to Italy in early July. My hip replacement was supposed to be today, but was pushed back to July 16 – the middle of the Italy trip. I’ll do everything possible to keep the travelogues flowing!
Summer’s been a busy one for me and the family. The girls—me, Laura, Kayla, Kat, Sarah, celebrated Kat’s birthday with a two-day shopping spree, ending at Saks with our pals there.
Our group and the Saks team.
Nobody left empty handed—and we all had plenty of pretty new things to take on our upcoming vacations. *
Sarah and her family were heading to England to see the Black Sabbath concert, tour around London, head to Stonehenge. Laura and her husband flew off for England, Scotland, Ireland—and Mark had a side trip to Belgium.
Whew!!
We had about two and a half weeks in Ireland. Fun, lovely, wonderful in every way. And my daily travelogues are here for anyone who missed them. **
Days after our return, BW and I hosted our annual summer party. We couldn’t have pulled it off without Kat, Jason, Kayla, JR, Logan, Colt. We also got lucky with the weather, and the forecasted rain never showed up. So a full, busy, happy day.
Almost on the heels of that, it was girl time again with our annual week at The Greenbrier. A little work, lots of fun, and plenty of ghosts to make it interesting. ***
Home again to a house and garden, and dogs, who needed some attention.
I’ve had and am having, my usual battle with deer. They got my lilies, again, but I saved my hostas. Although I think maybe our newest member of the garden family helps with that.
Last fall we needed to take down a significant number of trees. Some dead, some learners—and too close to the house and/or lane. We’d had a couple of big ones come down in storms, so needed to deal with it.
BW had the idea to leave one of the stumps standing, at a pretty significant height, in the area across from our water feature where we have hostas and shade plants and pots. His idea: Commission a chainsaw artist to carve something.
This was an idea I could get behind. I wanted a dragon, and found an image I liked. Our clever manager at Gifts, Natoma, knows area artists, and put us in touch with Jason Stoner. One look at his website told me we’d found just the right artist.
He carved the dragon head and body in ONE day, right down to the fine details. After, he ran a torch over it—to strengthen the wood and give it character. Sealed it. And we have a dragon. For the wings, he created them in his shop—one day—came back and installed.
What a talent. This beauty grabs me every time I take a walk. And maybe, his size and fierceness convinces the deer they really don’t like the taste of hostas anyway.
Photo by BW.
At least for now.
Today, I spent some time out there weeding, deadheading. And trying to ignore deer damage. Everything’s blooming and spreading and spilling. All my pots have filled in. The basil which looked very sad when I left for Ireland (so much rain here in May) has not just rebounded but is tall and happy. I have cardinal flowers that self-sowed all over. And I said: Go right ahead, mix it up!
I’m as happy as my basil. I finished a book Thursday, so I’ve had time to take a breath—garden, tidy up and pack.
It’s off again, with the whole family, for a week at Nemacolin—and the last trip of the summer.
Nora
Some details from Laura:
*We also learned about orchids!
** Start here for Nora’s trip. Start here for mine. And Sarah was sad about his passing, but so happy she and her guys were at Ozzy Osbourne’s last show.
*** We had our usual fun time. On the work front, Nora wrote several mornings. We also spent a day filming content: The Q&A for the next season of In Death In Depth as well as one for The Seven Rings, the last book in The Lost Brides trilogy.
Speaking of the trilogy, I’ve been greatly remiss on a follow-up post. I mentioned a mirror at The Greenbrier several times, but on this trip I realized I meant the FRAME of a painting which contains 3-D depictions of implements of war. For some reason, Nora’s idea of snarling animals around the frame of a mirror is much more comforting.
Nora choosing a room service option under the watchful eyes of the boy with war stuff.
We also played with glass. This year we did glass fusion instead of glass blowing. And Griffin was old enough to join in.
The glass creations. Upper row, from L: Nora, Sara and JoAnne. Lower row: Griffin, Kat, Kayla and Laura
Ready for our annual steak dinner.
And in other news: Kat finished that dratted mermaid puzzle from March!
Last Christmas Sarah gave Nora a puzzle that made for a much happier experience at The Greenbrier.
And finally, the happy Black-Eyed Susans greeted us when we returned from The Greenbrier.
Due to scheduling shifts and availability, we had our Girl Spa Week at one of the houses on the resort. Advantage, we’re all in one place. Disadvantage, distance from the shops, spa itself, etc. Pros and cons aside, we’re there to have fun!
Happy to be back. Photo by Laura
I needed to pack for the week prior to Derby as the car would be loaded. The Amazing Kat hauled all my stuff from here, to her house, then hauled it all up to Nemacolin. My suitcase, the Fabulous Prizes, the Bag ‘0 Games, the bags of clothes purged from my closet through the year. Champagne. It’s a lot.
Good thing as we stuff my G-Wagon—that’s Laura, Jo, Kayla and me in the driver’s seat along with luggage, snacks, wine and all the things girls need for a week away from home.
A nice, clear day for the drive up, and traffic isn’t too bad. We check in at the welcome center, and the delightful Mason comes to meet us, leads us to our home for the week, and hauls the half ton of stuff inside. Sarah got there right before us, so her stuff’s hauled in, too.
Snacks in the pantry, fruit in a bowl, drinks and whatever in the fridge. Open some champagne because the fun begins now. I don’t have much to unpack until Kat and Griffin arrive, but I check out my room. I’m on the lower level this year, have a wood burning fireplace—woo!—and they’ve set up a DVD for me in the living/game area down there for my workouts.
Pat should be there, and when we check, she’s lost somewhere on the property. We send out our search party and guide her in.* Some hang out time, take dinner orders—by text for Nicole and Kat, who are on their way.
Then the gang’s all here, and we eat, drink and make merry. There’s a pool table downstairs, and Griffin’’s fascinated. Pat and I show him how to play. Not really as we suck at it, but he enjoys, a lot.
We might have hauled out the clothes—Sarah brought tubs of her own (from which I bagged a very cool black jean jacket)—my memory fails me on that order of things. But whenever we did it, lots of fun, and lots of new-to-whomever stuff. We are all girls who like clothes. **
Early-ish to bed as travel days are travel days.
I’m up early, and am checking my email in bed when I hear: Hi!
And Griffin’s standing with a big grin at the foot of my bed. Up and at ‘em. He works out with me for little while, then plays with the pool balls. He claims Number Ten cheats. He instructs me to draw the pool table on a big sheet of paper. I draw a rectangle because I also suck at drawing. Together we draw the balls where he designates, number them, then he makes a maze out of it, and we put both our names on the masterpiece.
I go up to make bacon.
Kat’s made Bingo cards. Bingo begins at 8 a.m. Laura’s already up and out for her daily walk and an early treatment. Kayla’s out for a run. Jo and Sarah are at the dining table, and Jo’s hit Bingo. At about five minutes after 8. She takes this very seriously, though I’m told Sarah nixed her wondering if seeing a fly meant she could cross off See An Animal.
Big no.
Jo bags the first prize of the tournament.
Most of us decide it’s a good day to shop, so we do just that. Always fun to shop with girls.
It’s time for the games to begin. Kat’s made our scoreboard. First round of Scrabble. Laura, Pat, Kayla, Sarah. First round of Bowling. Laura takes Scrabble—big time—and Kayla does the same in Bowling.
We order ice cream.
Thursday cools off and brings some rain. The fireplaces come in handy. Griffin again joins my workout for a bit, then hangs out while I finish. He tries to teach me how to play a game on his IPad. I’m better off watching him play. Jo and Kayla are off for nails. I skip this as I just had mine done at Derby. And the afternoon is for painting. Always fun and challenging and fascinating to me to see everyone’s work. We’re all doing different things this time out, and with, imo, really impressive results.
Paint Day is also Pizza Night. Mason delivers! He’s also made sure we’ve had anything and everything we could want.
More Bowling, more Scrabble, and the first rounds of Just Dance. Kayla takes the Dance, Jo plays a seven-word at Scrabble. We play Monikers to much hilarity.
Another cool morning. Good thing I know how to build a fire. Pat has to leave us today. Nicole has to leave briefly—one son’s big lacrosse tournament, and her older son’s college graduation. She’ll be back Saturday night.
I have my Hot Stone Experience with the magical Autumn. It’s glorious. Kayla has her massage, and says the same. Her tech—new to her—is also Kayla. So she says it’ll be easy to remember and request her when we go as a family in August.
It’s the Bowling finals. Kayla and Laura are top scores. It’s nip and tuck, strikes, spares. Griffin invents a Strike Dance and gives high fives when the pins go down. He dances a lot as these ladies are hot! The scores are breathlessly close, the tension brutal!
In the end, Kayla nips Laura by two points. It may have been one. ***
It’s down to Kayla and Sarah in Just Dance. These are fierce competitors who routinely dominate the game. Who will get the coveted sticker and the fabulous prize? Once again, it’s neck-and-neck. And once again, Kayla nips Sarah by the thinnest margin.
Then because she’s a very good cousin, she does many dances for and with Griffin.
It remains cool on Saturday, and IIRC, a little drippy with it. Fires burning, and Sarah, Jo and I spend pretty much the entire day reading. I can’t remember the last time I spent the entire day in a book. Kat’s taken Griffin off for an adventure, and when they return, he has a Mother’s Day present for me. He’s made me a bottle of felt flowers, with buttons. It’s adorable. And as any mom or nana knows, there’s nothing like a home-made gift. It’ll go on my work station and make me smile every day.
He’s also decided I should have the gift he picked out for me. It’s nice to be known as it’s a three-wick candle in an oval wood bowl and covered with little crystals.
Kat, the Amazing Kat, made me a pillow for my new living room sofa. It’s gorgeous. She not only handmade it, but she SPUN THE WOOL! It’s so beautiful, so me, and will also make me smile every day!
It’s Laura Grills Night. I do my part by marinating the chicken. Veggies are scrubbed and prepped. It’s a beautiful presentation, along with Sarah’s and my request for burn-‘em-up dogs and toasted buns. It’s all seriously yummy. ****
Nicole returns. Her younger son’s team won their tournament, and her oldest had a happy graduation. And though we’d give her some recovery time, she’s ready for the Scrabble finals. *****
The sun comes back! It’s wonderful to go outside. Kayla, Laura, Sarah and Nicole go to tea in The Secret Room. I’m just too lazy for that. Kat and Griffin have another adventure. Jo and I have a Sloth Day. Everyone’s very happy with their choices. ******
She and Laura have unseated the Scrabble Queens, Kat and Jo. This is unprecedented. It’s the Underdog Story of the decade. Which of these upstarts will emerge victorious? They give each other no quarter as the lead shifts back and forth between them, with Jo carefully keeping score. After a long, hard-fought match, when the last tile is played, Laura claims victory.
She also claims she can bitch about games as much as she wants. *******
Jason FaceTimes to say Happy Mother’s Day. He asks if Kat and I got the flowers he sent. We have not. He checks, we check. Mason searches. Connor, the head butler for the estates, searches. And the flowers are discovered on the porch of an empty house. This mystery is solved when we learn they use that house’s address for the one we’re in.
The flowers are rescued, the lovely roses—thank you, Jason—freshened up. So pretty!
We decide on cards for the Wild Card match, and play Hearts for a prize. I don’t play, but keep score as six players makes it easier. It’s fun to watch these great, good friends get cutthroat over a card game. It’s a fairly close match until—and I saw this one coming—Sarah runs them. She was already at zero!
I will say Jo had bad luck, getting the Queen in the widow on the first hand.
I think winning this one might have taken some of the sting out of losing by a hare’s breath in Just Dance.
Last day, and the sun’s shining again. Walks, runs, workouts, books, treatments. And for me, packing. Kat’s going to haul most of my stuff back again, bless her heart. Still, we eat, drink and make merry. And have our Crowning Ceremony. The scoreboard shows Kayla has dominated. While everyone takes home prizes, she is the undisputed queen of Girl Spa.
When Sarah, our queen and Griffin have retired, the rest of us sit around. I comment how everyone always has their phone, and why is that. Discussion. My phone’s been down on the charger all week. And when I’m espousing the benefits of disconnecting, Nicole’s phone signals. It’s Sarah. And when I say Sarah’s just downstairs, why didn’t she just come up? Nicole says: Sarah saw a mouse!
We went through this on a much more intense basis the last time we stayed in this house. I blogged about it at the time. Nicole rushes into the kitchen for a bowl—with which we would capture the mouse as before—and we all go downstairs.
A hunting-Nicole-will-go.
We hunt. It’s a large area, lots of rooms. Kat using the flashlight on her phone to look under Kayla’s bed. After a thorough search, we find no mouse, and conclude it’s gone into the (locked) utility room, and deduce we disturbed it that day because several of us did laundry.
The 2021 capture — four years ago today. Photo by Laura.
Mason arranges for Heart Traps as don’t want to kill the mouse.
I discover the heat’s suddenly not working in my room. It’s 66 degrees. I build a big fire. And build in up in the morning when I wake up to 64 degrees. Brr! It’s raining, and pretty hard on Departure Day.
Sarah leaves early—hugs!—she had work waiting. The rest of us take more time, and Mason—what a guy—loads everything up. Nicole’s next, more hugs. Sarah texts to let us know the rain’s bad and so’s the traffic.
Nora, Mason and JoAnne. Photo by Laura
Oh well.
My group gears up. Hugs for Kat and Griffin (it’s his last Girl Spa), and we head out.
Yes, the rain’s bad, and so’s the traffic. The first 90 minutes of the drive is anything but pleasant. Finally, on the last leg, the skies clear. Ahhhh. And home again to insanely happy dogs, BW who hauls luggage to various cars.
Many hugs after a really wonderful week. Can’t wait to do it all again.
Nora
Note from Laura: Did you think I wouldn’t stick my nose in on this???
* I call Pat on her phone, Kayla was sitting next to me. Pat’s dealing with a lovely illustrated map from the hotel that doesn’t quite list all the roads from the welcome center to the house. I try to send her a google link to direct her. She tells me she’s going to park and let us find her. Now, I’d sipped some champagne so Kayla offers to drive. Pat’s five minutes away from the house, but it felt like years after all the circles she made. She has champagne.
**We do the clothing exchange on the first night.
***It was one point in the semi-final, two in the final. And someone’s Nana was calling it for me since I had a couple strikes in the final frame. The shock in Nana’s voice that I might win was apparent until the final score showed up and Kayla won.
****In 2021, I missed cooking for big groups since we were all still living separate lives. The gang said it was one of their favorite meals of the trip and loved the idea of doing it again. Made me so happy to grill veg, chicken and hot dogs — something for everyone. And Nicole made it back in time for dinner!
*****Not quite, we wait until the next evening.
******Actually, Nora and JoAnne go with Kat and Griffin to the first arts & crafts and make candles. THEN they head back to the house and hang on the deck in the lovely Mother’s Day sunshine.
Nora’s candle and a closeup of Griffin’s button flowers. Photo by Laura
*******You bet I will!And a PS: give Nicole a follow on Instagram. She’s so very entertaining.
Nora’s deep into the second In Death book for 2026, so I thought I’d share some updates. She’ll be back here soon enough with The Garden updates, a Kentucky Derby recap and, of course, a full Girls Spa Week post. Promise.
A late winter break
The first week in March saw the 3rd annual Do-Puzzles-Do-NOT-Play-Games Week at Nemacolin come to pass. In a fairly new tradition, Nora treated her business manager (and lifelong friend) JoAnne and me to a week of relaxation, treatments and business discussions at one of her favorite destinations – Nemacolin.
We all met at Nora’s house for the ride out. BW mentioned it was the first time Nora was leaving the house since their last visit to Nemacolin in January. I’ve been walking every day this winter so I had a good laugh at that one.
When we arrived after a very smooth drive west, the team at Nemacolin greeted Nora with the news that our first night would actually mark the 1001st night she’s stayed at the resort since 2003. (See? Told you it was a favorite!)
This was what greeted us when we walked into the Presidential Suite. Later in the week, Maggie Hardy, the owner of Nemacolin, and her son, PJ Magerko, sent a lovely gift and note to thank Nora for her loyalty to the resort.
It was the first time JoAnne and I visited the reimagined Chateau (last year we stayed at the Grand Lodge). We were both looking forward to seeing what was new and different. Lighter colors, wood floors, a bit more space added up to a stunning set of rooms.
There’s now a tv above the fireplace (the better to view games, I suppose). Nora and JoAnne used it for their daily workouts. And we all settled in to watch the Oscars on a cold Sunday night. The butlers supplied us with popcorn and a reconfiguration of the furniture so we could all see the screen. A fun night.
At one point during the week, Nora said all she really needs during her stays at Nemacolin are some treatments and a chance to paint. The delightful, talented Claire Hardy and her current co-Artist in Residence, Julia Lamothe, came up to the suite to lead us through an oil painting class.
While we waited for our mani-pedi session, I saw this piece of art in the salon. JoAnne liked it too and we sent a text to Claire that we wanted to try it. Nora went in a more colorful direction and I sent off another text to Claire with a photo of a vivid floral she’d brought along.
We dived in to explore colors and technique. Julia was a fun addition to Claire, bringing along some textured palette knives and suggestions on how to use them. Nora was pretty fine using a variety of paintbrushes.
Her final product was absolutely stunning!
JoAnne and I were pleased with our results as well.
The overall theme to the week was the puzzle. Remember, the first year we did that insane cupcake one? This year was a gorgeous, glowing mermaid surrounded by elements of the deep. And when I say deep, I mean black/purple/crimson colors. It was hard. Nora focused a great deal of her energy on the mermaid while JoAnne and I worked the perimeter.
OK, full disclosure, I popped in and out. Most of my evening time was spent reading The Seven Rings with a notebook in hand so I could create the final Clover’s Clever Playlist. (You’ll find Part 1 and Part 2 on Spotify.) The book was wonderful and Clover communicates through 100 plus songs!
But I digress.
Despite seven days of work, we didn’t finish the puzzle. Here she is in all her final-day confusion.
Nora packed her up in the puzzle bag and planned to let Kat have a go at it. Haven’t heard if that’s happened yet. But I’ll find out.
Departure day we woke to snow — that fortunately didn’t impeded our travel home. We’ve set the dates for the 2026 stay and that countdown has begun.
Video time
For me, there was work amid the fun. Early in the week, I posted the cover reveal for The Seven Rings. You can find all the ordering options at this link: Pre-order The Seven Rings. As always, you can order a signed copy from Turn the Page Bookstore.
And late in the week, I unveiled a new series of videos: In Death in Depth. When we were at Greenbrier last summer, Nora and I sat down for a video interview about the In Death series to celebrate Bonded in Death (the 60th full-length title).
We covered a lot of subjects from how the series evolved to specific characters. We’ll release a new video every Friday for the foreseeable future. Bookmark that page to check for new episodes.
Some housekeeping notes: Nora and I divided the 2024 summer travel stories. I’ll handle Greenbrier, while she’ll send a recap of the family trip to Hatteras in the next few weeks.
There is no overseas travel this year due to a ton of stateside family events. We’ll resume the longer travelogues in 2025 when Nora and family head back to Ireland. More to come on that trip when we get closer.
For now, here’s my interpretation of our week at The Greenbrier:
We had an easier ride down this year — with no sudden moves to the shoulder of the road to avoid being hit by a semi. OK, it was smooth for me since I was a passenger and could look away from the busy I-81.
The first stop was to collect our good friend JoAnne . It was so good to see her since she’d missed Girls Spa during May. Sarah met us halfway, then Kat and Griffin came down a couple hours later.* Kayla had tickets to a concert on Saturday night, so she arrived on Sunday.
Check in was smooth as our concierge, Bonnie, and the team at the front door were ready and waiting. The suite felt fresh and renewed when we walked in. We quickly learned the HVAC was upgraded, some of the rooms were repainted and several sofas recushioned. And since the forecast was for up and down weather all week it was important to feel comfortable inside.
We all unpacked, then met on the patio for a toast to our 8th trip to Greenbrier and being together. Once we finished the first bottle — ok so it was more than ONE toast — I put together our outdoor centerpiece, something we’ve done since 2017. The hydrangea in an empty bottle of Veuve Cliquot marks the official start to the trip.
The perfect reuse for the empty bottle.
On our first full day we settled into routines. I discovered coffee is served at 6 am in the upper lobby of the main hotel. Honestly, it made my early mornings to find that coffee station. Sarah was grateful as well. While a big rainstorm was forecast for Sunday afternoon, the morning was lovely so Kat and Griffin took off for some pool time. Nora and Jo got in a workout.
I set up my work space in the card room. (Wish I had a photo for you.) Our first year, we played Euchre with Ruth Langan in the card room every evening and stayed away from the Red Room. As the visits stacked up, I’ve taken over the room and use the desk for morning work.
Nora put in a solid 3 hours of work — on the last book in the Lost Bride Trilogy, since I know people will ask.
Kayla arrived before the storm — and the very large group taking over the hotel for the week. We had Bonnie on call for the arrival time, but since she’s so familiar with the place, Kayla found her way to the suite by way of the patio. I was sitting outside painting when I heard a “Hi, Laura!” and watched Kayla walk through the patio entrance — a good 20 minutes before her ETA. She’d figured that someone would be outside or at least the door would be open and she could walk in.
While Kayla was absolutely right about both, that would change as the week went on.
Kat examined the daily schedule and realized there was a brand new theme to one of the escape rooms on property. Nora, Sarah and Kayla were all for it.
Blog family, you know how I feel about games, right? Escape rooms, to me, are just games in 3D. I declined. JoAnne did too, so we hung out with Griffin in the Red Room. We took our time and put about 30 pieces in the Girl Book puzzle Nora brought. I think that ended up being our entire contribution.
Finished puzzle. Photo by Laura
The Escapees returned pretty quickly — in spite of Kat’s stunned look. They learned that one of the two rooms changes every year so they have plans for 2025.
The escapees. Photo from Kat’s phone.
Before escaping, Kat, Griffin, Kayla and Nora went over to the arcade for what would become their daily stop (I passed up the Arcade in favor of the spa — what can I say? Games). Word from the quartet was Nana kicked some butt. And Kat had photo proof.
Nana, kicking butt in the arcade. Photo by Kat.
Then, as on most rainy afternoons, we settled in to read and chat.
Rainy afternoon means a group hangout in the red room. See that mirror on the far wall? I’ll talk about that later this fall. Photo by Laura.
Glass blowing has been a Greenbrier highlight over the years. This year, Mike, the owner of the glass studio requested that we break our sessions into two days because of heat and requests from the big group. Kat and Kayla took the first shift on Tuesday.
Kat had a vision of creating a piece that looked like twisted yarn or rope. Kayla wanted to make an ornament. After a reminder of all the safety rules involved, Mike helped them work toward those goals.
Kayla finishing off her ornament. Photo by Kat.
In the meantime, Nora, Griffin and JoAnne hung out in the Red Room, puzzling and playing Games. I went to the spa with Sarah.
Griffin playing a game with JoAnne while his Nana puzzles in the distance. Photo by Kat
Kat had arranged for a surprise joint birthday cake to be delivered on Tuesday night. My birthday was the day before we arrived, Kayla’s was two days after our return. As always, the bakers at The Greenbrier rose to the occasion.
And then, my friends, we played Hearts. Even me since it’s tradition.
The next morning, Nora, Sarah and I headed to the glass studio. I wanted to make a paperweight, Nora wanted a paperweight more like an obelish while Sarah was thinking a teardrop shape. It’s always fun to get back into that creative mode. Plus, this time Mike let us all experience handling the blob of hot glass in the furnace. Roll with all 10 fingers and don’t stop is the best advice.
After glass blowing, we went our separate ways until it was time to dress for our annual steak dinner at Prime 44.
All dressed up for dinner.
Of course, once dinner was over, half of us got back into comfy clothes, while the other half went down to try the Casino. After all Kayla’s nearly 22, so she wanted to give it a go.
There was a promise of a sunset, so I sat in my favorite place on the patio, alone. I was texting my husband and scrolling a bit, when I saw movement to the right out of the corner of my eye. Thought it was one of the others coming back from a different part of the property. But no.
It was a baby bear.
Six feet from me. And less than 6 feet from going through the open door.
I popped out of my chair, yelling. I was so quiet and my white sweater blended with the white furniture, it never saw me. Seriously. I scared it as much as it scared me. It took a step toward me in panic, then backed up and headed to the wall. With me telling it to leave.
As I yelled at it, my brain said, ‘take a photo!!!!’
I actually said “wait!!” to a fleeing bear. Then I hit the selfie lens on my phone and saw my very surprised face. So I never got a photo. And I didn’t take the selfie
Ran inside to tell the others, and we unanimously decided to keep the door shut from now on. The next morning, I shared my adventure with Bonnie. She listened, laughed, and said she was worried I’d say it was the family of skunks who played on the patio this spring. Honestly, I told her, I think we’d have handled skunks better.
Mainly, I was just grateful Mama Bear didn’t follow her baby onto the patio.
After we left, Bonnie sent me this photo from her backyard (!!) and yes, the little guy to the left was just about the size of my friend.
Usually Nora and I have some kind of media work to do during Greenbrier week. This year I took it as an opportunity to film Nora answering some In Death questions that I’ll put to good use to celebrate Bonded in Death (#60 and out in February). and we did a Facebook Live. (I tell the bear story there as well.
On Friday, we changed some things up. It was a sticky afternoon so most of us were hanging in the Red Room, reading. For some reason, I decided to check the Peacock app on my phone about the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and when it came on, there was Lady Gaga beginning her song along the steps of the Seine! It’s a Gaga group, so I ran into the Green room (below) to turn on the TV. And we all found a comfortable spot to watch the extravaganza unfold.
The Green Room. photo by Laura
Everyone – except me – hasn’t felt comfortable spirit wise in that room. I know why: it screams sporty men’s club! (I get a sense of racing forms and bourbon scattered about when I walk in there.) Plus the AC just roars in that room so you are either talking or shouting. But the spirits relaxed once I put the Olympics on.
When it was time for bed, I apologized to the spirit gang when I turned the TV off, and promised I’d put it back on the next morning.**
It was probably the most used it’s been since we started staying in the suite in 2017. On the first full day of events, we watched events all day – leaving the TV on for them even if we had to leave the room.
And then, all of a sudden, it was time to leave. We spent Saturday packing up everything scattered about, getting some last-minute patio time and making plans for our ninth visit in 2025. As always, it was a wonderful week.
Lots of color. Photo by Laura.
Laura
*While we waited for Kat and Griffin, we moved from the patio into the Red Room. Nora, JoAnne, Sarah and I heard some soft voices down the hall. Nora went to greet Kat and Griffin, but no one was there. Absolutely no one. Our first meeting with the spirits, done and dusted.
**Kat went back downstairs about 30 minutes later and the tv was back on. I spoke sternly to the spirits the next night and promised I’d get the tv on so the could see Simone Biles early on Sunday. I kept that promise and peace reigned.
I’m out and about spring and summer more than any other time of the year. And there’s been plenty of that already this season.
After our annual girl spa week, came Kat’s birthday spree. Such fun for all of us! We make this a two-day/two-night deal so we don’t feel rushed and can have plenty of time to enjoy.
It’s me, Kat, Kayla, Laura and Sarah, and we meet up at the hotel—except for the birthday girl as she and Jason had a parent/teacher meeting. She catches up with us at the mall.
Shopping fun for all, but I think especially Kayla as the mall has several of her favorite shops. Some of mine, too, and I score here and there. Easy-breezy summer pants, a fun RuPaul tank for Pride month.
We have lunch with champagne. Hey nobody’s driving for a couple days! Seasons 52 has lots of good choices for vegetarians, gluten frees, and so on, so everybody’s happy.
More shopping!
Shopping with girls is a kind of Zen experience. Nobody rushes you, everyone’s into it. And you can count on a girl to tell you what works for you, and what doesn’t.
We call for the shuttle, and back to the hotel we go, to hang out, enjoy each other and our good shopping jobs. Room service dinner caps it off. Pretty early to bed as shopping’s work!
Then the big day we’ll spend with our friends at Saks in Chevy Chase. Up early to work out, shower and dress, and we’re off. Our Saks family sends a car for us, and the ride’s smooth on a really lovely morning where, somehow, we avoided rush hour traffic.
It’s so good to see everyone again! On the Club Level, we all have rooms with wardrobe selections curated for each of us. And mimosas! A Cucinelli fashion show! I’m a big admirer of Cucinelli, not only for his gorgeous designs, but his ethics and world view. A large portion of my closet in Cucinelli, not only because my girl Azita showcases his work for me, but because I love the lines and fabrics, the colors and workmanship.
Snacks and Cuccinelli. An excellent mix.
We all go to our rooms for the trying on, the yeses, the nos—and wander into each other’s to show off an outfit or to see what others are trying on. Such fun, and boy, do I love seeing Kat so happy!
We have a beautiful lunch—everything is gorgeous. Flowers everywhere—and a whole selection for each of us to arrange as we like after. We have lovely entertainment. The beautiful voice and acoustic guitar of Jessica Allossery.
Celebrating Kayla’s graduation….
and Kat’s birthday.
What a treat, and what a talent.
Another treat is Jared Lehr joins us. A jewelry designer—second generation, I believe—he creates pieces with the skill and creativity and unique beauty that speaks to me. Plus, he’s just a fun guy. (He brought along his adorable little rescue dog that just added to it.)
We play with flowers, and Saks Scott serenades us with his amazing voice on Impossible Dream. Wowzer. And Laura joins him to make it a duet. More Wowzer.
The Saks team gifts me with terrific garden presents. Apron, bag (with tools) elbow length garden gloves (especially handy when I’m deadheading and pruning roses.) I love this! So perfectly me! Needless to say, this gift has already been put to good use.
More trying on, some alterations, then a hunt for a purse for Kat. She knows just what she wants so we scour the bag department, bit by bit, until we find one that’s exactly right. That’s how girlfriends shop!
And I’m enchanted by a ring Jared shows me. I had no intention of buying any jewelry, but. It’s special, like an heirloom, and, well, it speaks to me. I end up buying a beautiful bracelet, too. It’s not my fault he designs such gorgeous pieces!
We say goodbye after a wonderful, happy day, and take our haul back to the hotel.
Room service again, and some time for each to show off what they’re taking home.
What a day.
Home again for reality and work, and that feels good, too.
Then, barely time to turn around and it’s family week at Nemacolin.
There are a lot of us, including friends who are family in Bill and Nicole—their older son is off at the beach, but their younger comes. Like Colt, he plays Lacrosse—and has been playing for several years. So they both bring their gear.
We’re back in the newly re-imagined Chateau, and it’s wonderful. It’s always special for me to have the grandkids for a good stretch of time like this. Everyone settles in, and the weather cooperates. Griffin has a bubble shooter for our patio. What’s more happy than bubbles? Except a week with family and friends that involves no cooking!
One of the reimagined rooms. Photo by Stacie.
We eat, we hang, we play.
Mornings are for my workouts, and Jason and Griffin coming in for breakfast. A family run for Kayla, Colt and their mom, J.R hanging with Griffin over video games. Kat and Savanna (Logan’s girl) do an oil painting session.
Some wander about, some have treatments, some laze around and read, and we all gather together in the evenings.
A craft session (I think Griffin outdid me by a mile there), mini-golf where every one of us got a hole in one. Not sure how, but we did. Long walks, days in a cabana by the pool. Many swims for Griffin. Colt took him in several times. That is so sweet.
An amazing massage for me!
We have to fit in a foundation meeting, which brings in more friends with our fabulous staff, Morgan and Adonna. Kayla is now official staff as well. And we have our fancy dinner night—though Kayla, Logan, Colt, Brendan J.R. , Savanna and Griffin have their traditional kids’ night.
What happens at kids’ night stays at kids’ night.
Kids at sunset. Photo by Stacie.
Ropes course! Kat and Jason have foundation work—I think that was it—so I’m in charge of Griffin. He does pretty well on the kiddie course, though he says often it gets harder as he goes. He looks so cute!
Above the rest of the younger team are swinging, tight-roping, navigating way, way up there on possibly the hottest day of the decade. The resort staff brings them water, and they keep going. When Griffin’s finished, we sit in the shade, have some water, and watch.
Older kids at work…
and at rest. Photos by Stacie.
It’s kind of harrowing!
The Amazing Kat has created an escape room. Jason, BW, Bill and Griffin skip this, but the rest of us are all in! Ridiculous fun, though some of the clues are really hard! I like that Logan, Savanna and I found a clue in invisible ink.
Lots of laughs, lots of headscratching.
The annual painting tradition for the whole group. Photo by BW.
We escaped, and I’m hoping this becomes an annual tradition.
One of the new attractions at Nemacolin, Nightcap. A group, not including Nora, went over. Photo by Kayla
A busy, chaotic, noisy week. Just perfect.
Home again. Needless to say Milo was insanely happy to see us (especially BW). Atticus was also happy, though his joy is less crazy.
I’m home until the end of July, and back at work—and that’s just fine with me. I love home, and this time of year love the gardens. Milo, fortunately, seems to have lost interest in pulling plants out of pots and digging. So much blooming out there. Every evening after work and workout, I take a walk around, and am always so delighted to see what’s blooming and thriving.
We finally got a good, drenching rain last night, and the gardens are happy about that. Me, too!
Today’s sunny and the temps are climbing again. But as I write this at my kitchen counter, there’s a woodpecker at the suet feeder, and I can see Black-Eyed Susans blooming out another window.
Away is great, especially when it’s with people you love. But home’s home.
We had a smaller group this year as our great friend JoAnne’s on medical leave, and her daughter, Jeanette—a nurse—stayed back with her. We missed them!
And some of us had to dribble in. Sarah had a work thing, so came up a day late, as did Pat. Laura had a family issue come up, so arrived two days after the start.
The rest of us didn’t let that stop us!
A pretty easy drive up for Kayla and me. We’re staying in the new Grand Lodge as the Chateau isn’t quite done. Fun to show that space off.
Kayla helps me arrange the Fabulous Prizes before getting a bite to eat. They brought us an easel for the score board—with giant post-in notes. Score board and prizes in place. I pour my first libation and unpack.
All settled in.
When Kayla’s room’s ready, she does the same.
Nicole arrives! Then Kat and Griffin. Griffin does love him a nice hotel. He shows off his new Mario sunglasses. Pretty cool! Then enjoys showing me what toys he brought with him, and exploring.
Just a boy and his Mario glasses. Photo by Nora.
Room service dinner all around, and a first round of Bowling.
Hang out time followed by bed time.
Kat and Griffin have the second bedroom in the big suite, and in the morning we start what becomes our routine.
I’m up first, start my workout. Griffin wanders out, says hi. I invite him to join me, but he opts to watch. Breakfast arrives, and he calls out: I got it! I got it! And runs to answer the door. He says: Hi.
He will do this all week whenever there’s someone at the door.
He settles in with his breakfast, I finish my workout. Kat gets up, joins Griffin for breakfast while I clean up.
Kat makes use of the giant post-in notes and creates the day’s agenda, including the weather. More cool!
Kayla arrives. It’s shopping time! And off we go.
Meanwhile, Nicole has also wandered out, made a wrong turn and somehow ended up in what’s still a workman area. She did find her way out again.
I believe Kayla and I had massages that afternoon—time blurs. I recall Kat and Griffin had an adventure at the Wildlife Center, but that all might’ve been the next day as I no longer have Kat’s clever daily agenda.
Pat and Sarah arrive. Yay! Some catching up, some hanging out, more libations, dinner, Bowling, and a first round of Scrabble. I think!
Bedtime comes around.
And morning routine follows.
Everyone usually does their own thing during the day, then we meet up later.
Laura arrives. * After she takes a breath, settles, the evening fun begins. Dinner! Just Dance, Scrabble, Fabulous Prizes! Griffin likes watching the dancing, and he does do his own little dance when no one’s watching.
Bed!
An addition to morning routine. I spy Laura heading out for a morning walk while I work out. After his breakfast, Griffin wants to draw on the big post-its. I just turn around an old agenda, stick it up. He creates much art. A wild race track where he requests I draw a car. I believe he could draw one better than his non-artistic nana, but I comply. Over the rest of the week, he draws mazes, what turns out to be large rubber duckie and more.
Griffin adding to the daily schedule. Photo by Kat.
Pat, Kat and Griffin go to the petting zoo early as the ladies have plans.
Today, we’ll create art. Griffin has his favorite baby sitter as the rest of us head out to paint—and sip.
This is always so much fun. I really like trying to paint the image we’ve chosen, and to see how everyone else interprets it. I think we all did great. Kat, who’s actually an artist, added a lamb to her landscape. She had sheep on her mind as they’re sheering, and she learned they don’t keep the fleece.
Kat also spins, and then crochets and knits from yarn she makes.
So later, they brought her a big bag of fleece. I don’t think she’d have been happier if they’d given her a big bag of diamonds!
In no time she’s spun some into yarn and crochet some to show the staff.
Laura note: we pause here for a gallery representing the beloved #randomkatness of the family trips. Here she takes us through her process with the fleece. All fleece-related errors are mine.
BTW, Nora is definitely underplaying Kat’s joy with this gift.
Kohler, the newly shorn sheep, as a lambUnwashed fleeceWashed fleeceFractal spun outer coatFractal spun under coatKnitted coats (top is outer/bottom is under)
We have salad and pizza for dinner, picked up for us by the excellent butler, Mathew, who recommended the pizzeria. And yum—good call, Mathew!
While we wait for the pizza, we have the Big Bags O’Clothes giveaway. I do not organize this. My method would be to dump everything on the floor and let the ladies jump in. But Kat begins to separate by type. I am more than delighted to se those big bags go!
More games, eliminations for some, advancement for others. Prizes galore!
Bed time, morning routine—and we say goodbye to Pat who has to get home. Then Kayla and I are off for mani-pedis. My feet are wonderfully pampered while I enjoy Sandford’s Toxic Prey. ** Bliss all around.
Kat arranged a jewelry making session for all interested. I made three pairs of earrings, Kat and Kayla created bracelets while Nicole made a necklace that suited her to a T. Griffin took on the challenge of finding and stringing beads for a necklace for his mom.
Libations, more food none of us have to prepare, games and prizes!
The next day, our best weather day, though we really lucked out there most of the week—we book a cabana at the big pool for the day. Kat’s off for a treatment, and Griffin goes with Nana and Kayla. Sarah and Nicole join, then Laura after her treatment, then Kat.
We hang, we read, we have lunch, Kat and Griffin have a swim. I have a margarita. Just right.
Then we head back to take a tour of part of the Chateau. The family, and Nicole and her family will be back there in a few weeks, and I’m delighted with the changes in our usual suite. It’s so bright and airy!
Can’t wait to settle in there next month for a week.
Back for dinner, and final rounds! The tension is palpable!
Laura will bitch***, but her Scrabble game has much improved, and she made the semi-finals. So’s Kayla who also hates Scrabble. It’s Kat, Nicole, and the two reluctant semi-finalists. With the reluctant players eliminated in the end.
I should say I was eliminated my first round. But it’s really hard to get major points when, for three or four turns running you have seven freaking vowels! Since I recuse myself from actually winning a prize, I take it like a woman.
Okay, not really. Though maybe some in the Scrabble face-off.
Nicole and Kat are the finalists there, Sarah and Kayla final in Just Dance, and I think it’s Kat and Kayla in Bowling, but could be wrong.
Kat takes Scrabble, by I believe it was three points. Kayla nips Sarah in Just Dance by a hair or two. I can’t for the life of me remember who won Bowling.
Anyway.
We’ve played a few rounds of Moniker—a fun game the game-hating Laura**** gave me. It’s ridiculous fun. I think Kat took that one.
The next day, Kayla up, Kat and Griffin are at breakfast. I go into shower.
When I come out, no one’s there. They’ve vanished.
I am confused. And a little weirded out. I text Kayla. Nothing, and she’s never without her phone.
I text Kat.
They’re down at the newly improved rope’s course, a plan I completely missed hearing about the night before.
I head down.
I missed Kayla on the adult course, which she says is harder than the one they had before. Then Griffin tackles the kid’s course.
Kat caught Kayla on the ropes course.
God, so cute in his harness and helmet! He says it got harder as he went, but stuck it out.
Griffin conquers the Kids Course Photo by Kat
Then Kayla wants to do the Quick Jump. You go up and up and up stairs to a dizzying (to me) high platform. You’re harnessed and well, you jump.
Fast! Whew, not for me. Ever!!
Griffin watches then says: Where’s my harness? He wants to do it, and meets—barely—the weight requirement. Kayla will go with him.
I have to work at holding in the nerves. He’s such a little guy, and it’s really up there.
But up the steps he goes, then I see him and Kayla on that platform. She’s going to sit and jump as she did the first time. He sits, then decides, no, he wants to stand and just jump.
Okay, on three, she says. She pushes off on three. He quickly sits, is within a breath of pushing off. Then stands. It’s too high for him, he tells the staff guy who’s up there with him. Maybe next year.
I think my legs stopped shaking when he was all the way down the steps.
After that, I can take some breaths with the treat of oil painting. I’ve discovered oil’s more forgiving than acrylics—though I have fun with both since my personal expectations are not high. For reasons!
Everyone has fun, everyone creates something of their own.
But now it’s back to the Lodge, for dinner, then the crowning of the Queen of the Spa.
Turns out Kat and Kayla tied—a first! So Kayla wears the crown, Kat holds the scepter. And each chooses the Fabulous Prize of their choice.
Photo by Laura
Well earned, ladies!
In the morning, after the routine, it’s pack up, hugs goodbye, and head out.
A fun, happy, lovely week—and we’re already booked for next year.
Nothing beats real time with girlfriends.
Nora
*I timed it. Nora waited just under 7 minutes to tell me I had to play catch up for many games. ** Did you know that in Toxic Prey, Letty Davenport reads J.D. Robb’s Celebrity in Death? A delightful surprise for Nora who’s a Sandford fan of the first order. I loved this quote from the book: “While not as prestigious as the [Quarterly] Journal [of Economics], the Robb novel was distinctly more intelligent and certainly better written…” Toxic Prey, John Sandford *** My spelling is fine, my strategy sucks. Sexy was the first word I played in the first game and remained my highest score. Because silly me didn’t play a Q when I should have. **** Game-hating? Maybe it should be scarred eldest of seven who always had to play younger siblings to give her mom a break. Besides, it’s more the Stupid Scoreboard I dislike.
In what’s become a new winter tradition, Nora, JoAnne (her business manager) and I spent last week at Nemacolin. This is not to be confused with Girls Spa Week which happens in May with a larger group and The Stupid Scoreboard. This was a week to relax and brainstorm for the year ahead.
Last year, we extended the stay by one night because of a miserable storm that blew through the western part of Maryland. THIS year, we had three days of sunny, nearly 70 degree weather. Which is alarming and confusing. I mean, I did get out for lovely walks, but early March and late spring weather in the Laurel Highland of PA? I infinitely prefer cooler temps during my March walks.
On the positive side of the chart, for the first time since 2019 — due to the factors from Covid to bad leg joints — I hiked all over the property. Nora and JoAnne kept their workouts indoors with lovely views.
The view from the suite.
We stayed in the newly refurbished — or “reimagined” — Grand Lodge. It’s right next door to The Chateau (the usual accommodation) which is going through it’s own transformation right now. Girl Spa Week wll also be in The Grand Lodge, but Nora hopes to stay in her regular accommodations at The Chateau for her visits in June and November.
Meditation Chapel in the setting sun.
Our days fell into relaxing patterns. We all got in a workout first thing — Nora ran JoAnne through the paces from cardio to strength to yoga. I opted for walks, some Peloton rides and weights over at the gym.
Morning walk under glorious skies.
Nora put in a couple hours work on the May 2025 release every day. By the end of the week she was pleased with the progress of her latest draft. I dealt with social media and emails. JoAnne was fully on break and enjoyed her mornings.
Sunset over the Laurel Highlands.
The afternoons were for treatments or reading or starting the puzzle of the week. Friends, I’ve learned something about myself: puzzles are not my vacation jam. I don’t have the same feeling of trepidation as I do for games, but my ability to spend hours at a time on a puzzle is pretty low.
Fortunately, I’m an excellent pitch hitter so I was able to step in when Nora and JoAnne needed a break. BTW, this puzzle did not reach the levels of agony that the cupcakes from 2022 did, but converting an oil painting to a puzzle made for some interesting spots of light and texture.
Finished puzzle.
Speaking of oils, light and texture, in January, Nora tried her hand at oil painting and she suggested we give it a try during our annual afternoon paint class (wine included).
Nora’s January creation.
Clare Hardy — one of our favorite people and artists — came to the suite to teach us how to recreate a painting of tulips Nora discovered online.
I love watercolors so my first strokes were watercolor-y, flattening the paint onto the canvas. Nora and Jo got fully into the spirit of loading paint on their brushes and leaving color and texture in their wake. Then Claire broke out the palette knife and I got on board the texture train. Nora tried her hand at the palette knife as well, enjoying the process thoroughly.
Two hours later we had finished products that reflected each artist. By my count we’ve painted together at least 10 times and this was the one that made JoAnne the happiest. We left the paintings with Claire to dry and will pick them up in May.
Nora’s painting
JoAnne’s painting
Laura’s painting
Artistes.
On Thursday afternoon, Nora and I sat down for a Facebook live. This link should take you to our conversation: Nora & Laura Live
Morning fog bisecting the hills.
And then, it was time to go home. We’ll be back in 60 days with the bigger group. Gives me enough time to get ready to face The Stupid Scoreboard.
It’s been a little quiet here since the travelogue finished. I mean, how can you match Nora relaxing with family in Cozumel?
So I’ll start from the end of the trip.
Nora arrived home and immediately dove into prep for the first family barbequue since 2019. She had a few days of her at-home routine before the annual trip to Greenbrier followed by the family spa trip – which she keeps private. (She can’t share everything.)
In the meantime, I visited my surgeon and decided to go for a right knee replacement the last week of August (to match my new hip from January 2022). That meant three trips in quick order to clear the deck for recovering in September.
In short, we each had much to occupy our time outside of work.
Nora finished the In Death she worked on while in Cozumel. Title and more info to come. Now she’s begun the first draft of the second book in The Lost Bride Trilogy. We’ll have to wait a lot longer for that update.
I dealt with the pre-op checklist those moments I was home.
Then suddenly it was time to depart for the girls + Griffin trip to Greenbrier. We had a fairly easy trip down. I caravaned with Nora, Kayla and JoAnne since I had to leave a day early for family events up in NY and NJ. Traffic flowed pretty well, except for a five mile slow down. We all kept a sedate pace, then suddenly cars ahead of us slammed on the brakes.
I braked so as not to hit Nora then looked in the rearview mirror and the semi behind me was still coming. I swerved onto the shoulder, pausing for a nanosecond to not clip Nora, and somehow we all survived. (The car behind the semi also swerved to the shoulder). The margin for error was small since there was a hill down from the shoulder.
Talk about adrenaline! Nora said later she thought I’d be rear-ended. I saw it more as pancaked. Fortunately, it was the most adrenaline-fueled portion of the trip.
First sunset was a beauty. Photo by Laura.
The first order of business was to toast our arrival, then continue with the tradition of a huge hydrangia bloom in the used bottle for the outdoor decor.
One of the nicest things about our stays Greenbrier is that everyone spends the day as they please: Nora and JoAnne worked out each morning before Nora worked a bit more on that In Death. Sarah and I compared notes about books then went back to reading. Kat and Griffin headed to the pool or adventures in the arcade with Kayla.
A little moonshine. Photo by Laura
We all met up again for dinner out on the patio followed by puzzle time and the occasional game of hearts. (Yes, I played Hearts.)
The finished puzzle. Photo by JoAnne.
Overall, a relaxing week with one day of media work along with the annual Facebook Live — which you can watch here: https://fb.watch/mrj_tZ94qu/
Yes, I like to take photos of this exterior in the evening. Photo by Laura
As mentioned in the video — and in Nora’s letter about the Lost Bride Trilogy — we usually have a full complement of spirits on this trip. Most are happy and entertained to have the rooms full. But we decided before arriving this year to keep one door in the suite closed as the spirit in that room was rather unfriendly in 2022.
But that spirit may have been a little annoyed by the exclusion.
It happened the second evening as we headed up to bed. Now, full disclaimer, there may have been some champagne consumed but we have this on record.
My room is at the top of the stairs, then there’s a hallway and a left turn to another hallway. Nora and JoAnne slept in rooms off that second hall. Oh, and the locked door is down the hall too.
JoAnne and I were talking when we heard Nora say, “Why is there a table in the middle of the hallway? And why is there one spent match on it?”
This is exactly how she found it, blocking off the way into her room and beyond to JoAnne’s on the left and the locked door on the right. (Jo took this photo as evidence.) Much discussion ensued, until finally I moved it to the wall and walked JoAnne to her room.
The next morning we asked the concierge and housekeeping, who all reported no staff had been in the suite on Saturday evening. Kayla didn’t see it when she went to bed earlier than the rest of us — her room faces that hall and she’d have noticed. We also learned that room service no longer uses that type of table. The mystery remained unsolved. Especially the spent match part of it all.
But after that, it was quiet.
Not a mystery is how much we continue to love the glass blowing classes at Greenbrier. We spent a very satisfying Monday afternoon creating with Mike the new owner of the studio.
Kayla adding color.
Nora concentrating on the color as well.
Shaping her bowl.
Red hot bowl
The very interesting sculpture made from glass pieces we gave Nora as a thank you.
The variety of finished work.
And since it’s a time to explore creative stuff, I chose to paint some watercolors in the afternoons.
My interpretation of the Hydrangea in a bottle in my very pink room
Just before we headed home, it was time to celebrate Kayla’s 21st birthday a few days early.
The gang with the cake.
I left a day early to start the my next trip (up to NY/NJ) which included throwing a baby shower for my son and DIL who are due in October. Here’s the amazing cake we found for our little girl.
Nora and family had an action-packed week at the spa which included the annual paint night. I love seeing how everyone interprets the subject.
And that’s pretty much the update from here.
What’s next? I’ll do the In Death teasers forPayback in Deatha little earlier than usual before my surgery, so look for them — in bulk — this weekend. Then I’ll open the discussion thread on September 5.
Our annual spa week just keeps getting better. And this year, the fabulous weather only added a great big plus.
It’s such a gift to have real time to hang out with pals, to catch up, relax, laugh, enjoy each other’s company and as much quiet time as you like. How much nicer can it be when you do all that when the sun’s shining and spring’s just blooming everywhere?
We took full advantage.
The car’s stuffed–though Kat took bunches, and Sarah came by and took more. We are loaded, and ready to go right on time.
We were greeted with a Derbt hat in the lobby.
Laura and I do have a tiny bit of work to do, and get that done shortly after our arrival. A quick video for Pen America to remind people book banning just sucks.
Then? Let the games begin!
We include our special guest Griffin in the mix who challenged many of our ladies to chases and races through the suite all week long. Who needs to work out when you’re getting your cardio running around with a four-year-old?
Jo and I do! Every morning our day starts off with a workout in the suite, and sometime during our sweat session, we hear his cheerful voice as he leads his mom in. The boy wakes up happy and ready for breakfast.
Mom needs coffee!
After that, who knows? It may be time for those chases and races, or for a walk outside. Maybe a treatment, a little shopping or a swim. Read a book, take a nap, have a cookie. The key word? Enjoy. *
Cocktail time. Room service mayhem.
Then? The games really begin.
Stupid Scoreboard
The scoreboard the Clever Kat made awaits. Some gather around the table for Scrabble, others grab controllers for bowling, then the first round of Just Dance. The Fabulous Prizes also await.
If memory serves, Kat takes the Scrabble game, and Sarah crushes her competitors in Just Dance and bowling. We round off the gaming portion of the day with a silly card game–Old Wive’s Tales.
Hilarity ensues.
We have our single day of rain, but that doesn’t dampen anyone spirits. Workout, hang out, races and chases. **
Nicole brought up her makeup kits–she’s a Seint artist. (I became a convert last year at girl spa.)
Makeovers!
Kat hauled up my bags of purged clothes so it’s time to Shop Nora’s Closet.
It’s entertaining to watch clothes winging around the room.
More games. Some of us can’t stay the entire week, but when we’re all there, we’re nine. So it takes awhile, playing four at a time, to complete a round. So more Scrabble ***, more Dance, and we shoehorn in some Bowling.
Another gorgeous day dawns, and Jo and I get it going. After breakfast, Kat slips out. My day’s clear so she booked a treatment and I’m on Griffin duty.
He caught sight of her making her dash, and tried to catch her. Had a sad at the door of the suite. Not a fit–thankfully–just a sad. I asked if he wanted a hug. He said: Okay. And after sharing a hug and some soothing, all’s well again.
Especially when I suggest a walk down to the toy store.
Nemocolin’s expanding it’s Lodge area, so lots of construction. There’s a long, enclosed (temporary) walkway to the spa and the shops. This includes many steps up, and steps down. So this becomes an adventure.
It’s a good thing Nana keeps in shape, as Griffin deems running’s necessary on some stretches.
He selects a toy in about two seconds. No wavering, no hesitation. It’s some sort of colorful marble run. Build the run out of plastic pieces, put the marbles in the top of whatever run you’ve constructed and watch them go.
It says 8 and up, but I’ve seen him with this kind of deal before. And he’s clutching the box like it’s Christmas morning.
More Adventures On The Walkway.
Back in the suite, I offer to open the toy.
No, Mommy opens, and he sets the box very deliberately in the center of the parlor.
Okay then.
When she comes back, she does, and the toy’s a hit.
Kayla had to miss the first couple of days, but arrives. Now I have my girl and my boy! But she’s got some catching up to do.
But first! It’s Paint Time.
Jo, Laura and I picked the painting we’d do back in March on our visit. **** It’s a big, gorgeous poppy. It’s fun to create, play around with our own visions. I like to get up and walk around the tables a couple times during the session, see those visions.
Group art.
It’s always amazing how completely different everyone’s vision is. And we’re getting better at this! They’re all so pretty, so individual. I put this session is the Artistic Success column.
It’s pizza night, and yum. And after pizza, it’s time for Kayla to catch up.
Which she does by topping the high school on Just Dance, AND then destroying the high score on Bowling by hitting NINE strikes in a row. Scrabble isn’t her game–or mine (I have no Scrabble strategy) so the first round there is complete.
Just another night of games.
The Magnificent Butlers send in an amazing gift. A cake fashioned into a gorgeous book, and one of my favorites. Jane Eyre. What a thoughtful and creative thing for them to do!
Plus delicious. A lovely way to celebrate the end of another happy day.
After the morning’s workout, Kayla and I have mani/pedis. I go for bright green–palm trees–on my toes with a bright blue–the sea–on the accent toe. I feel very summery, and relax with Dark Angel, John Sanford’s latest.
We’re down to 7 competitors. Kayla falls in Bowling, but triumphs in Just Dance. We have the four for the next round in Scrabble–Kat, Jo, Laura, Nicole.
Reverse Charades is always good for that ensuing hilarity. It never fails.
It’s hardly a wonder I slept like a rock every night.
Kayla has a massage. I have a facial–and more time for my book while I relax and wait for my appointment.
And the games are coming down to the sticking point. Kat and Jo will face off the next night in Scrabble finals. Kayla is victorious in Just Dance. Jo wins Bowling.
We play Exploding Kittens. This is a not-so-quiet riot. I can’t remember who won, but we had fun.
Kat has a solo paint session and slips out. Griffin does not have a sad this time. I watch him build a run for the marbles. Obviously, he inherited his parents’ mechanical abilities.
Kayla and I take him outside, down in a big garden area for many races, hide and seek and just sunshine.
Laura also has a paint session, and I run into her. Her painting–a crescent moon over blue mountains is gorgeous.
Our final meal together–more cake, lots of champagne. The Scrabble finals.
Jo doesn’t have a chance after Kat manages to play three 7-letter words. In a row. Nobody beats that.
Another round of Exploding Kittens.
It turns out Kat and Kayla tied in the overall, so this year we have co-Spa Queens. Well, done, girls!
One last workout with Jo, and time to pack up.
Somehow, even though we shouldn’t be taking back as much as we brought we us, we’re loaded. Enough Kat takes the bag of leftover prizes and games with her.
See you next year Stupid Scoreboard
More goodbye hugs, and I have a little bit of a sad myself.
But it was a fabulous week, and we’re already booked to do it again next year.
Here’s to girlfriends. They’re the best.
As we left, the lobby was transforming into the summer look
Nora
The Cranky Publicist take on things:
*For me, enjoy meant learning some new things. On the first day, Nicole and I made pasta which the chef paired with a red sauce. It was delish! (And we didn’t color coordinate, it just happened.)
Early dinner.
**I went to the other hotel a couple times for lunch.
Derby Hat in the Falling Rock lobby.
*** for some reason, the Scrabble gods feel I should always play Elaine. She was the first to go in our round, but opted to skip her play in favor of drawing seven new tiles. And then she played those seven tiles in her next turn.
Don’t feel badly.Damn.
****Back in March, when we asked to do that magnificent poppy with the group, Amanda and Sam of the amazing Nemacolin art team, told us that the artist would be in residence in May. Kathy Mazur was an absolute delight to meet and in turn was absolutely delighted to see all our takes on her art. Give her site a look, the art is lovely.
Back row: Elaine, Nora, Kayla, JoAnne, Pat and me/Front row: Sarah, Nicole, Jeannette, Kat and Kathy Mazur
Finally, this was an art week for me. Before the group paint class, I took an en plein air class with Sam. It’s one of my favorite views and I had so much capturing it with paint, instead of the camera.
And I still took photos of whatever caught my eye.
