For our anniversary, my husband and I spent the day exploring a local antique mall. Even before we started dating, visiting antique stores has been one of our favorite activities. As a woman with literary interests, I have always enjoyed looking through paper goods—postcards, letters, photographs, and books. Front cover of book On this particular trip, I found a little book called Oaksmere Mrs. Merrill’s School for Girls. The cover was hanging on by just a few threads, but th

I’m tired of people saying Lynchburg is boring. Just in the past month, I’ve enjoyed an excellent community theater production of Newsies; a concert from the Vitamin String Quartet; a fall festival with two corn mazes, a tractor ride, and a pumpkin patch; rave bingo; a hike through rolling hills and pastoral views; and an excellent meal at an authentic Peruvian restaurant. And these are just the highlights. No matter where you live, there is joy and excitement to be found.

The vikings beat longswords on their shields and erupted into a battle cry. Like the tide pouring in, the warriors rushed from their...