The opening of Luciana McKeown’s catering and cooking business in January, 2007, was delayed when an ice storm hit the area and closed down everything in town. She successfully weathered that challenge and opened later that week. She has been meeting challenges head-on ever since. On January 19 of this year, she hosted a five-year anniversary celebration at her business on Commerce Street in Marble Falls.

Our family was a member of the Cross Plains Riding Club. The arena still sits near Highway 36 in my little hometown and after 60 years, is still an active place. Children started off with Shetland ponies and graduated to larger horses. Heard of goat ropers? We actually did rope goats, dogs, each other or anything else that moved.

Recently, my beloved and I visited Possum Kingdom for the first time. If you’ve never been there, it is a big, big lake. Flying into Graham, we could see the devastation of the recent fires and upon landing and driving from Graham to the lake, even more incendiary carnage was visible. When one lives on or near the water, the thought of fire is almost inconceivable.

Recently, I took inventory of my pals and their hair color and after all these years I didn’t realize that most of them are blondes. Those who aren’t usually have at least a few highlights. As a group, I just adore them, possibly because they are generally happy-go-lucky girls and charming as puppies.

Keller Williams Realty would like to say thank you to the residents and businesses in our community who so graciously donated money and items for the annual “give back to the community” RED Day project held May 12, 2011. This year Keller Williams Realty sent 46 “care” packages to overseas troops from the local area.

Recently, I read of some college students who had spent their spring break digging water wells for villages in a third-world country. Equipped with the tools of the trade and enough training to know how to use them, these enthusiastic young people were putting their Christian faith into action. While their contemporaries were soaking up sunshine on the beaches, the benevolent-minded students were engaged in selfless service in the name of Jesus. Imagine for a moment a scene that migh ...

Thanks to my family’s prolific use of fabric, needle and thread, I am the proud owner of a large collection of quilts. Not many women today make quilts. With the exception of my neighbor, Peggy, I really don’t know anyone who even owns a quilt frame or knows how to use one.

Santa arrived early at the home of Billye Fietz for some seniors in the Highland Lakes area. On Thursday, July 29, Fietz and Carolyn Thornton hosted a Christmas Party for Older Adult Rural Services (OARS), which serves seniors who need additional financial aid to meet life’s basic requirements. Approximately 40 women brought thoughtful, unwrapped gifts to the party.

Dr. Logan Wagner, Architecture Professor at Texas A&M University will be the guest speaker at the International Club luncheon meeting on Aug.8 at 12:30 p.m. at Quail Point. Wagner, an author and photographer, will describe the classes he conducted outside of Florence for A&M architecture students and discuss his research on historical urban design.

Nine pudgy, multi-colored Shepherd/Husky-mix puppies stare out from behind chain-link, fluffy and precious and just about the best poster-children imaginable for the Highland Lakes SPCA and its no-kill shelter. Selected to grace the cover of Sheltered, a newly released book by Greg Wilson, the photo depicts the rescue center’s central theme: dogs in transition. Wilson is a writer who lives and works at the shelter with his wife, Lea, the on-site caretaker.

Tom Stromgren, local HSB resident, was recently inducted into the College of Emporia’s Athletic Hall of Fame at a reunion in Kansas City. College of Emporia, located in Emporia, Kansas, was founded in 1872 and closed in 1973. Tom lettered 2 years in football and baseball and graduated in 1958.

During the past four years, International Club members have seen the stars through the eyes of the telescopes of the McDonald Observatory, have witnessed an archeological dig in pre-historic America, and walked in the shoes of a mountain climber in South America, all without ever leaving Quail Point Lodge. In August the club will begin its 5th year of learning about experiences, countries and cultures around the globe.

Half a century ago, young engineer Tom D’Arcy designed a bridge connecting two small cities in Michigan. In June, 2010, D’Arcy was honored as Grand Marshall of the Bridgefest Parade celebrating the bridge’s 50th anniversary. D’Arcy was a young engineer, just 27 years old, and employed by the firm of Hazelet & Erdal when he was tasked with designing the bridge.