Mrs. Teabody Greets the Day

Back row: Richard Henry, Reed Henry, Pete Henry, Raymond Henry Front row: John Henry, Sally Henry, Wendell Henry Tomorrow is Father's Day. My father passed in May of 2006 so quite a few June Sundays dedicated to honoring fathers have passed without someone on the receiving end of a funny card, a poke of RedMan, a singing bass to hang on the wall and my life is poorer for it. I grew up in a home with three brothers and three sisters, a stay-at-home mom, a work away father, and I have always known what it means to be born a Henry but it is only in my very late years that I have come to fully appreciate the great gift of my heritage. Pictured above are some of the biggest influences on my early life. This photograph was taken in 1966 at a Henry gathering in Clear Ridge, less than a mile from where the folks in the photograph grew up--the five handsome and witty uncles, the beautiful and vivacious aunt and all of them so very happy in each other's company. With them came the ...

English Department and Friends May 2011 Over half of Mrs. Teabody's life was spent as part of the English Department of McConnellsburg High School among the women pictured above and today we will gather to honor our departed colleague,  Mrs. Gay Wooldridge, a teacher of inestimable influence. There was always a sense of propriety mixed with bemusement about Mrs. Wooldridge, a savvy but kind demeanor that engendered her to both the principal, Mr. Chester Creager and to the superintendent, Mr. Robert Swadley. What this meant to the rest of the English Department was  a kind of built-in respect for opinions, a "hands-off-they-know-what-they're-doing" attitude that resulted in a curriculum universally agreed upon to give MHS students the best possible skills and knowledge in a planned and well-considered sequence. The focus was on reading and writing meaning almost as many hours outside the classroom correcting/grading/evaluating student work as spent in front of...

This has been an unkind year. When I pause and allow myself to think that I will never again see the bright smiles or hear the wise and funny words or just sit in the company of so many people who have enriched my life and the lives of those around them in little ways, in big ways, I feel a loss I cannot begin to explain. Some of these lost friends have led long, happy, productive, influential lives; some have been cut down at the peak of their power when their due was at least another three or four decades; these friends have lived. They have known the range of life's ups and downs, its pain and pleasure, its triumphs and disappointments. I mourn them all. In the wake of their passing, we are heartbroken widows and widowers; we are bereaved grandchildren; we are uncomprehending children; we are devastated brothers and sisters. Our lives, our worlds are diminished by their loss. And that brings me, this sobbing senior citizen on this bright May morning, to the hardest loss to...

Antietam Ironworks Second Story Once Again Is Filled With Art It is just breaking dawn on this twentieth day of May and the long-awaited opening of "Generations" is only twelve hours away. When the doors open at 6:00 P.M., Mrs. Teabody hopes you will be among those who climb the stairs to the Second Story to share in the artistic successes of seventeen individuals in their respective galleries . You will also see a display called "Pet Project" featuring  poignant and youthful efforts to capture the charm of a beloved pet. Sprinkled among these will be some little surprises. Mrs. Teabody wishes to pass along a bit of advice just in case you have never visited an art show. As if. 1. Be respectful. The artwork you are coming to see reflects literally THOUSANDS of hours in effort. You know how you feel when you or someone else breaks or mars something you love. Please refrain from touching and definitely do not take food or beverages close to the artwork.   ...

Mom holding oldest brother circa 1940 May is always the definition of bittersweet because while few months of the year can rival May in beauty and sheer unbridled vitality, May is also the anniversary of loss--today of Mrs. Teabody's mother in 1997 and Friday of Mrs. Teabody's father in 2006. Mrs. Teabody is one of many siblings--the middle child of seven - - and Mrs. Teabody counts her parents, her siblings and her geography as the three most important cornerstones of her life. "Dorothy", "Dot", "Mom" was no shrinking violet. If truck manufacturers could isolate the gene that made her a successful mother of seven happy and resilient children, they would have "toughness" to talk about for decades. She was stubborn; she was opinionated; she could bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink his eye ; her bread floated out of the oven ten inches tall, and her table was large enough to include anyone extra who dropped by; she neve...

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green When I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be queen Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so? 'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so" "Lavender" window at Tickle Your Fancy A few weeks back Mrs. Teabody decided she wanted to celebrate lavender in a memorable manner this spring in her darling little shop, Tickle Your Fancy. The little front garden is already a tribute of sorts to lavender with two established clusters of this rambling perennial and inside the shop one can always find lavender soaps, bath salts and lotions from Pre De Provence as well as a number of teas including Earl Grey Lavender, The Dowager Countess, and Anna. Mrs. Teabody each year makes a few lavender wands and presents them to special folks who are especially enchanted by lavender's soothing fragrance. Clearly, lavender has a friend in Mrs. Teabody as well as many, many folks of Mrs. Teabody...

Good Morning from Chez Teabody where it is not quite sunrise but still light enough to see the outlines of the towering and leafless trees this second day of spring. Nonetheless those with a few dozen springs in our experience  can easily spot favorite hedges of starting-to-yellow forCynthia, crops of emerging daffs and that most ephemeral of blooming trees, the magnolia. Mrs. Teabody is most grateful for this bright new season and for the warmish days that permit garden preparation. Just two days ago when the fierce air blew cold and damp Mrs. Teabody visited a garden center where she held the door for a gentleman pushing against the wind with a cart laden with cabbage plants and lettuces. "Are you going to plant those on such a day?" The gentleman paused, snorted, wiped his nose with a handkerchief pulled from his pocket: "No, I'll have my STAFF plant them," he replied and his eyes sparkled. "Is yours a very large staff?" "Well, ther...