North State Voices Columns

Cold-weather water park vacation? Sheer Brilliance

With travel mostly off the table these days, armchair vacations through our televisions are filling the void. A few years back, we randomly flipped to the Travel channel and caught a show about the…

Need some timely entertainment? “As you wish”

Soft throw blankets, homemade macaroni and cheese, bowls of chocolate chip mint ice cream, the company of a loved one, a dog, and a great movie. These are all things that can bring comfort…

Cheering for a return to some form of normalcy

The list of things missed feels miles long. As we continually cross events off the calendar and put an ‘X’ through plans, the reaction has dulled. There is no option, there is no alternative,…

Thanks, and giving; Soroptimists serve helpings of both

I can say with absolute certainty that I never imagined when I joined Soroptimist International of Chico (SI Chico), that I would end up in a traditional Japanese bathhouse with four other members, in…

When Girl Scouts braved the blizzard of 2008

The annual getaway to Truckee began with four carloads ferrying 15 pre- teen girls, each having packed enough gear for a month on the tundra, along with six brave adults. This retreat was a…

Disney Magic; Making dreams come true

Much to my chagrin, my run as a North State Voices columnist will finish with this entry. When mentioning this to friends and family, many have asked what I will do next. My immediate…

I am a runner-and you can be too!

I am a runner. These are words I literally never thought I would string together in describing myself. I always hated running. I was the girl who walked the mile test in junior high…

Girls on the Run Gets Empowerment Moving

Hands reach to pile one atop another in a loose circle of our team of 11 girls at Neal Dow Elementary. Faces shine from the perspiration of running and from the afterglow of having…

RV Life; Another Pandemic Pivot for the Better

Featured Post On the Road Again… We put on our sunglasses, click our seatbelts, and prepare to launch in our new motorhome. Once ready, we start to belt out “On the Road Again.”  Despite…

On July 4, Eat All of the Ice Cream You Want

It’s 7:08 a.m. and I stand at the counter with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia and a spoon. Without a doubt, it’s the 4th of July. Our family tradition decrees that…

Oh the Sting of it; The Bear and The Bee

An eerie orange pall filled the still dark sky, despite it being a time of day when bright daylight is the norm. It looked creepy and surreal and was way too familiar, reminiscent of…

A Great Getaway with a Posse of Goats

As I jogged up the Vallombrosa trail from the One Mile parking lot in lower Bidwell Park, around this time last year, I was delighted to see the low white fencing that penned in…

You Can’t Put a Price on Our Little Free Library

Little House and Little Libraries I ease my car up to the curb, parallel parking adjacent to the Little Free Library at DeGarmo Park as I do every week. I hoist my overflowing book…