Riverhill Living Summer 2020

RIVERHILL Living IN THIS ISSUE: n Capturing

natural beauty n Views

from the front porch n Working

to save pets

Summer 2020 | Vol. 4, Issue 2

Riverhill Home Sales and Current Listings All residences including town homes and condos.

Data source is the Kerrville Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

All residents include town homes an condos.

Riverhill Sales January 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019 SALES PRICE

Riverhills Sales NUMBER SOLD

100,000PRICE - 199,000 SALES

0 NUMBER SOLD

200,000 - 299,000 100,000 - 199,000

60

300,000 - 399,000 200,000 - 299,000

3

2

400,000 - 499,000

3

500,000 - 599,000

1

600,000 - 699,000

0

300,000 - 399,000

7

400,000 - 499,000

2

500,000 - 599,000 700,000 - 799,000

0

0

600,000 - 699,000 800,000 - 899,000

In her 25 years as a real estate agent in the Texas Hill Country, Carolyn Northcutt has helped make a lot of dreams come true for her clients.

0

0

700,000 - 799,000 900,000 - 999,000

She has continued to increase her skills through the Floyd Wickman Real Estate Sales Training, which in turn has helped her to better serve buyers and sellers in the Hill Country community.

00

800,000 - 899,000 > 1,000,000

00

900,000 - 999,000

0

>1,000,000

0 Current Listings as of May 6, 2019

Current Listings NUMBER ON MARKET

LISTED PRICE

Carolyn also serves as a member of the Kerr County Rotary, Kerr County Women’s Chamber and the Christian Women’s Job Corps where she has taught career development for the past ten years.

Disignations and Honors: • Graduate, REALTOR® Institute (GRI) • Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) • Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) • Top Producer Award • Multi-million Dollar Producer Award

SALES 100,000PRICE - 199,000

NUMBER SOLD 0

200,000 - 299,000 100,000 - 199,000

40

300,000 - 399,000 200,000 - 299,000

80

400,000 - 499,000 300,000 - 399,000

23

500,000 - 599,000 400,000 - 499,000

4

2

600,000 - 699,000

0

700,000 - 799,000

1

800,000 - 899,000

0

500,000 - 599,000

3

600,000 - 699,000

0

700,000 - 799,000 900,000 - 999,000

2

0

800,000 - 899,000 > 1,000,000

00

1,000,000 +

0

Prepared by

830.739.8304 carolyn@c21thehills.com © 2020 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY21© and the CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC full supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

1726 Sidney Baker Steet, Kerrville, Texas 78028

RIVERHILL HOME SALES AND CURRENT LISTINGS

Carolyn Northcutt

Data source is the Kerrville Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Riverhill Home January Sales and Current Listings 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019.

1

Does Your Community Bank Not Feel Like A Community Bank Anymore? exas Hill Country Bank is a true community bank, which means we’re locally owned and operated. We have hundreds of local stockholders, many of whom have Texas Hill Country roots dating back to The 1800s. We’re here for the long haul, and we think we’re the best choice for your personal and business banking needs.

You’ll get a fast and fair loan decision with us because we make loan decisions right here in our local branch offices with bankers you know and trust. Our Hill Country businesses and families matter most to us, and our talented team is here to serve you.

If you’re wondering why we’re the fastest growing bank in the Texas Hill Country, come on in and see for yourself why good people make good bankers.

MEMBER FDIC

Roy Thompson President & CEO

Amber Dye Mortgage Loan Originator

Kenneth Early Senior Vice President/Lending

Jeff Fierst

Senior Mortgage Officer

MORTGAGE

TexasHillCountryBank.com

| COMMERCIAL | CONSTRUCTION | PERSONAL LENDING

BANDERA • 800 MAIN ST. • 830.796.3100 | KERRVILLE • 998 SIDNEY BAKER S. • 830.257.4771 | DOWNTOWN KERRVILLE • 200 EARL GARRETT, STE. 208 • 830.955.8331

2 Summer 2020

RIVERHILL

Living

The Kerrville Daily Times’ Staff Carlina Villalpando Publisher

Louis Amestoy

Managing Editor

Nicole Crapps

Page Designer

John Doran

Advertising Director

Jonathan Toye Staff Writer

Contributors Nancy Foster Steve Boynton Rhonda Wiley-Jones Michelle Layton Photography Tom Holden Advertising Luly Bliss Brandon Baldwin Valerie Tucker Composition Dean Heep Johanna Rangel Contact Riverhill www.riverhillpoa.com Send story ideas to riverhill@dailytimes.com Contact The Daily Times 429 Jefferson St., Kerrville www.dailytimes.com 896-7000

Message from the President Speaking of our website, all Our vocabulary has changed tremendously in the past kinds of information can be several months. Normally found, including our covenants, this time of year we would conditions and restrictions, be discussing the trip we just upcoming events, board booked, the NBA playoffs, meeting dates and contact upcoming graduation plans information for Board members. or visiting a new restaurant If you are not a member of the down the street. Today, our association, please look on the conversations revolve around MINDY WENDELE website, find the application terms like social distancing, President – APOR Board for membership, complete it PPEs, essential or non-essential and mail it to us along with and virtual learning. $45. This small annual membership fee is During the same time, we’ve had optional, but I encourage you to join so to change our daily habits due to the you will be able to get all the information COVID-19 virus. In many ways it’s been very you need about the happenings of your strange to see empty parking lots, masks on people in stores and “attending” church neighborhood. Membership will also services via the laptop. But in many more give you a voice when the association ways we’ve seen the best of people as they is considering issues affecting all of help their friends and neighbors through us. Approximately 350 households are this unique time in our lives. currently members of APOR. In this issue of RHLM I hope you enjoy Recent emails and articles concerning the articles on and from your neighbors. our Landscape Entrance Project have Our spotlight resident is Karen Guerriero yielded positive responses. Dedicated highlighting her passion for animals. Karen friend and neighbor Kenneth Ricks has been instrumental in changing the way accepted chairmanship of the newly Kerrville and Kerr County handle homeless formed landscape improvement pets and educating the community of the committee. A goal was set to collect needs of our four-legged friends. enough funds to complete one of the Author and workshop facilitator Rhonda three entrances this year. Generous Wiley-Jones provides us suggested reading neighbors said yes to Kenneth’s request for travel adventures, while broadcaster and the first entrance improvement, and sports enthusiast Michelle Layton details modified fitness routines for stay-atat Riverhill Boulevard and SH16, is home times. Authors of these articles are completed. Take a walk to see the beauty your neighbors lending their expertise to of the new enhancements. Let Kenneth help us all. know if you would like to participate Our longtime resident Wanda Kemp in the next entrance improvement. He Maxson did a stellar job of updating can be reached by email at maricks@ the architectural control committee’s sbcglobal.net. applications. The applications are for new Yes, our vocabulary may have changed home construction or improvements recently, but one phrase we can count on to an existing home. Please visit our is neighbors helping neighbors. We are website to view the applications if you blessed to live in this beautiful part of the are contemplating a project. Our website world where neighbors do good for all. address is www.riverhillpoa.com.

On the Cover Photo by: Paul Stafford

To learn about nature photography and see a selection of Paul Stafford’s work, turn to Page 6.

Riverhill Living 3

Table of Contents Features Eye for nature: Paul Stafford ....................... 6-8 Resident spotlight: Karen Guerriero......... 10-11

Yard news See page 12 for more.

Karen and Bart Jones

Yard of the Month ....................................... 12 Welcoming entry: Landscape project ............ 13

Photos Front porch moments ............................. 14-15 Neighborhood brags............................... 16-17

Columns Armchair travels during a pandemic .............. 9 Stay positive and healthy ....................... 18-19

Bert and Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Did you know?

Did you know that if you want to install a new fence, paint your house, add a deck, build an addition or a new house you must apply with the Architectural Control Committee? This goes for POA members and non-members. All can be done via an application which can be found on our website at www.riverhillpoa.com. We appreciate you giving your ACC Committee proper notice so they may have time to look at your project and give it approval. Thanks!

1/8 Kerrville Funeral KFH Home KFH 8032

Support Local Business Be Safe and Be Well Registered Pct 2 Voters - Pledge Support Online!

1/4 Precint 2 Prosperity Program 0326 precinct2prosperity.com/pledge

Gene and Katie Allen, his family and the staff take great pride in being a part of the Kerrville community.

“Serving each family with dignity, pride and honor since 1967.”

1221 Junction Highway • Kerrville, Texas 78028 830-895-5111 • www.kerrvillefuneralhometx.com TFSC Lic. #2355

4 Summer 2020

Claudia Richards, Program Director

830-777-3881

www.precinct2prosperity.com

Riverhill Living 5

EYE FOR NATURE

Wildlife photographer captures thousands of dazzling moments Story by Nancy Foster Photos by Paul Stafford

If

you’ve ever been fortunate enough to view the captivating wildlife or nature photographs that Paul Stafford has taken over the years, you’ve no doubt observed that your talented neighbor has an innate gift for capturing the natural world — and he has 72,000 images to prove it.

Paul, who lives on Antelope Trail, first discovered Kerrville on a hunting trip years ago. The area’s raw beauty stuck in his mind on each return trip, resulting in a comment to his wife Fay that he wouldn’t mind living there.

Fay enthusiastically said, “Let’s do it,” and they never looked back. Although Fay passed away two years ago, Paul still lives in their beautiful Riverhill home with picturesque views of the golf course and myriad wild birds and wildlife that inspire his photography.

FASCINATING CAREER While Paul is now known and lauded for his beautiful nature photography, his love affair with the camera started in a much different way. He spent 43 years with McDermott International, Inc., a multinational construction and installation company headquartered in New Orleans that serviced offshore oil and gas industries with nuclear and fossil fuels.

6 Summer 2020

Paul started out in the mailroom and soon advanced to opening their reproduction department. He credits his Director of Communications for being his mentor.

“He basically put a camera in my hand and provided the opportunity to do documentary cinematography and progress shots of a classified offshore installation for the U.S. Navy in the Tongue of the Ocean AUTEC,” he said.

Paul learned from watching contract photographers and eventually traveled around the world 24 times producing documentary photography. He and his staff of 41 amassed over one million photos and movies of dozens of construction sites. In later years, he coordinated industry-related exhibits and trade shows and oversaw executive travel accommodations for the company’s directors and VIPs. He took early retirement on Friday, October 1, 1997 and on the following Monday leapfrogged into a new career as VP of a major film, video and graphics firm in New Orleans before retiring to Kerrville in 2005.

“

I find it fascinating that you can snap a photo from a finely polished piece of glass connected to a metal box and make a picture that will last for decades.

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER Paul willingly shares a tip for amateur photographers.

“It takes patience to be a good wildlife photographer — lots of patience. Sometimes I’ll sit in one place for six to eight hours waiting for a suitable shot,” he said.

He favors Nikon products for his work and also has built up a collection of cameras. His hands-down favorite is the one gifted to him on his retirement, an Arri 16mm motion picture camera used in his global missions.

Paul doesn’t stray far from Kerrville for his subjects, saying he finds endless wildlife and naturally scenic landscapes throughout the area, including black buck antelope, whitetails, birds of all kinds and the occasional turkey that stop in his own back yard.

A Texas Naturalist, Paul has done volunteer work at the Butterfly Garden at Schreiner State Park and at Wings Over the Hills at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredericksburg.

A seasonal treat he looks forward to is capturing the vibrant beauty of migratory monarch butterflies when they flock to the area en route from Mexico to their homes up north.

He continues to do architectural photography on occasion and has recently shot six new homes in Riverhill and Comanche Trace.

A GENEROUS AND CARING MAN Paul is not a person to stay idle. If he’s not busy with photography, he enjoys devoting time to volunteer work and has helped out at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, Riverside Nature Center, Kerrville River Trail, Wounded Warriors and The Museum of Western Art. He served on the Kerrville Economic Improvement

Corporation (EIC) and since 2010 has served on the board of Playhouse 2000, currently as its secretary.

This benevolent and giving man ranks love for his family as his No. 1 passion. Years of good memories with Fay remain locked in his heart, and he is especially proud of daughter Alyssa, sonin-law Tom, granddaughter Dahlia and grandson Devin.

When asked how he would describe himself, he says, “I am a simple, honest, hardworking guy who loves his family, neighborhood and the Hill Country.”

Riverhill Living 7

“I take much pride in the people I have met and those I have worked and played with,” he said.

Many people discover Paul’s work on his website www.wildfocus.net or via word of mouth. True to his generous nature, he has gifted numerous pieces to family, friends, and fans. He is still quite amazed at the miracle of a camera. As he puts it, “I find it fascinating that you can snap a photo from a finely polished piece of glass connected to a metal box and make a picture that will last for decades.”

8 Summer 2020

Travel

ARMCHAIR WANDERER How to get away in the age of pandemic

We

are locked-down, socked-in, and itching to travel. Since we cannot, let’s allow our imaginations to roam to new places we plan to see in the future or locations that we may never get a chance to visit.

In this issue of RL, I’ve asked residents to share their favorite book on travel and why they enjoyed it. Maybe this will offer you some surprising new reads for the coming weeks.

Niel Powers: “Lone Star Swing” by Duncan McLean combines three of my favorite subjects: music, Texas and travel. McLean, who is Scottish, goes on a road trip in his attempt to understand the origins and hidden meanings of Texas swing music. As a Scot, he has a lot to learn as he encounters Texas idioms, festivals and characters.

Hannah Schroeder: Jon Krakauer’s true story, “Into the Wild,” tells of a man who had everything, traded it to see the beauty of the world in his van. It reminds me while we fixate on material things, travel and adventure in the world will provide all that matter.

The world is waiting for us to open our eyes to experience it.

Tim Summerlin: Gavin Maxwell’s “Lords of the Atlas” is a history book, but one any traveler to the wondrous kingdom of Morocco should read. It chronicles the incredible influence of

Meet the columnist Rhonda Wiley-Jones is author of the coming-of-age travel memoir,“At Home in the World: Travel Stories of Growing Up and Growing Away.” Her stories, articles and essays have been published online, in anthologies and in magazines. Wiley-Jones hosts journal writing, travel writing and craft-of-writing workshops locally and in Mexico. Visit her at RhondaWiley-Jones.com.

the Berber Glaoui family, medieval yet modern, masters of much of Morocco from the 1890s into the 1950s.

Paul Stafford: In “The Wilderness Warrior, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Crusade for America,” Douglas Brinkley tells of Teddy Roosevelt’s insatiable travels of the U.S. wilderness when it was truly still a wilderness.

Rhonda Wiley-Jone: Rita Golden Gelman tells her story, “Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World,” as a single woman and anthropologist, who travels to remote places and stays long enough within a community that she helps me appreciate cultures vicariously that I will never get a chance to visit.

If you’re not already infected with wanderlust, hopefully one or more of these books will have you packing your bags and making reservations, as soon as we get a chance to travel safely again.

DISCOVER MORE

n Hidden Compass: hiddencompass.net The antidote to clickbait n Nowhere: nowheremag.com Brings back immersive, old school, longform travel writing n Deviate: rolfpotts.com/about/bio Potts is known for vagabonding, both the practice and the book by the same title

Riverhill Living 9

Resident Spotlight

HEART FOR PETS Story by Jonathan Toye / Photos by Tom Holden

K

aren Guerriero tried her best to concentrate during the interview. There was just one problem: Her friend, Bailey, was trying her best to divert Guerriero’s attention — and she was succeeding in that department.

Bailey whined while Guerriero attempted to give a thoughtful response to a question. Then, she jumped on Guerriero and began licking her face. That’s when Guerriero stopped midsentence and addressed her friend’s impudent behavior.

“Stop it!” Guerriero pleaded, laughing as she scratched Bailey’s ears.

“You’re acting silly.”

A few weeks ago, some good Samaritans found Bailey — a pit bull-labrador hybrid — abandoned at the intersection on Interstate-10 and Harper Road. They notified Guerriero, who decided to foster Bailey until they could find responsible owners willing to adopt the canine.

“She’s very adoptable,” said Guerriero, embracing Bailey around her neck.

For most of her life, it’s been Guerriero’s mission to find homes for homeless animals. In addition to fostering Bailey, she has four other pets she dearly loves. As a mom, she strives to teach her children to appreciate the life of every animal; she is also doing everything she can to preach that message in the community. She currently is the president of Kerrville Pets Alive!, which promotes animal welfare in Kerr County through education, pet rescue and adoption services. She helped launch the organization when Kerr County requested help with the burden of pet adoptions. She is also involved with Hill Country Animal Advocates and serves on the board of Kerr County Animal Services.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I have been trying to save animals,” Guerriero said. “I want to teach compassion to children, and I want to teach people about the responsibility of pet ownership, and valuing life and that pets aren’t disposable.”

One of the biggest goals of Kerrville Pets Alive! is to create more low-cost spaying and neutering opportunities.

According to Guerriero, spaying and neutering is the most effective way of lowering the number of stray animals.

“

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been trying to save animals. I want to teach people ... that pets aren’t disposable.

10 Summer 2020

“It’s everything unless you are a licensed breeder,” Guerriero said. “There are animals I have printed pictures out of — cats and dogs who were completely adoptable and just due to funding and lack of homes they had to be euthanized. A lot of times the shelter gets a bad rep for euthanizing animals, but there aren’t enough responsible people who spay and neuter. … It makes them better animals, healthier, longer lifespan.”

It was a sad childhood memory that fueled this passion for helping animals. When she was a girl, she encountered a dog tied to a rope in a field. Guerriero wanted to take the dog home, but her parents wouldn’t let her. When she returned to the field several weeks later, the dog had died.

The memory still haunts Guerriero. It’s a major reason why she has spent the last 20 years preaching the importance of taking care of animals and why she still experiences joy whenever she helps an animal find a loving home.

“I usually get emotional when I see an animal has been adopted, especially if that animal is older or has health issues,” Guerriero said. “It’s easy for people to adopt a perfect puppy, but oftentimes they are taking on what someone else thought to be a problem, and that means a lot to me.”

Riverhill Living 11

Yard of the Month

VIVID HUES Congratulations to Janna Spurlock at 512 Rolling Green for winning the April Yard of the Month.

What a beautiful array of color!

12 Summer 2020

R

E FT

A

Project donors

(As of May 10)

WELCOMING ENTRY W

e are pleased to announce that, due to the generosity of a group of proud Riverhill residents, the neighborhood entrance beautification plan has hit a major milestone. The entrance at Riverhill Boulevard and Highway 16 has been funded, approved and may be completed by the time you read this. Each entrance costs about $5,000 and will be built and maintained

by Turtle Creek Landscaping. You may recall that this project was announced at the APOR annual meeting and declared a priority by the 2020 board of directors.

E

B

R EFO

Thanks to the proactive leadership of Ken Ricks and your neighbors listed here, this will enhance our community and allow us to showcase what lies ahead. Please take the time to thank these people and contact Ken Ricks to contribute to the other two entrances, Highway 173 at Rolling Green and Riverhill Boulevard. With your help, we will complete all three entrances this year. Donations for this project are still being accepted through www.riverhillpoa.com.

– Steve Boynton, Beautification Project Liaison

Doug Jones Steve Boynton Ken Harris Maya Christenson Stockton Williams O’Neill Griffin Judy Ferguson Joan & Mike Kelliher Jo Alice Hancock Barton Neal McLaughlin David & Jean Tritenbach Dr. and Mrs. Horatio Adlredge Lane and Deby Fowler Michael Smith & Virginia Dewolf Mary Ellen Summerlin Mindy Wendele Bill Moody & Jane McNally Wanda Kemp Maxson Mark and Cyndy McDaniel Ronny Stacy/Glenda Gossett Jerry & Dr. Kathy Wilson Bryant & Brenda Williams Don & Mary King Andrea O’Neal Ken & Margaret Ricks Larry and Diana Howard Lamar & Tennille Smith Max & Mary Ann Dreyling Pat & Acia Cagle Julia Finger John Westover Judy Webb-Smith Mary Amburn Barbara Diharce/Jim Holloway Craig Sebek Bettye Warnock Fred Lohmeyer Sue Cummings Don & Peggy Cook David Mohr James & Nelda Dunlap Craig and Andy Magee Lynda and Steve Ables Rick & Holly Perry Lynn Perilloux Laura & John Clemens Janna Spurlock Bart & Karen Jones Clay Harren Bert & Rhonda Wiley-Jones Randy & Shana Evans James & Barbara Posgate

Riverhill Living 13

Coronavirus Quarantine

FRONT PORCH

moments W

hile the coronavirus pandemic led more residents to remain safely indoors, these families took portraits just outside their homes.

James and Imelda Horne

Devon and Scott Schneider, Andrea O’Neal and Molly

14 Summer 2020

Gabe and Pat Gabriel

Greg and Laura Shrader

Mindy Wendele and Raymond Holloway

James and Nelda Dunlap

Bryant Williams and Roxy on Brenda’s free neighborhood porch library

Paul and Patty Zohlen

Grace, Layng, Karen, Will and Quency Guerriero

Collin, Michelle and Barrett Gray

Jenny and Bedford Mitchell

Mary Ellen and Tim Summerlin

Steve and Lynda Ables

Cindy, Del, and granddaughters Presleigh Ann and Brianna Nichole Way

s y

Judy and Warren Ferguson

Craig and Andy Magee

Judy Standridge

Elle, Darby, Tyler and Parker Campbell

Pam and Steve Boynton

Riverhill Living 15

Neighborhood Brags

SOURCES OF

PRIDE From massive fish to high-achieving grandchildren, Riverhill residents had plenty to be proud of this summer.

Kaylee Edwards, granddaughter of Steve and Pam Boynton, plays on the golf team as a Tivy freshman. She lives with her family in Riverhill.

Rick and Holly Perry played in the national husband/wife grass court tennis tournament in Palm Springs, California, the week of March 8, held at Mission Hills Country Club in California. They won three rounds, making it to the quarterfinals and losing to the number one seed in three sets. They were also able to get in a few rounds of golf while they were there.

Chuck and June Motheral’s granddaughter, Savannah, has been accepted to grad school at NYU. The Motherals live on Preston Trail Loop.

Olivia Arriaza, left, graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M in December and is going to medical school in the fall.

Elena Arriaza, right, graduated in August from Midwestern University with a BS in Nursing and now is working at Medical City, Dallas.

They are pictured with James and Marjorie Ellis.

16 Summer 2020

Thank goodness fishing is an essential activity. Greg Shrader caught a nice largemouth bass and released it back into Lake Amistad.

Bryant and Brenda Williams with Easter Bunny (Ashton Gibson) bringing delight to many as they picked up their Easter dinners at RHCC on Easter Sunday. Brenda and Bryant provided meals to those living alone in the Riverhill community.

Bryant and Brenda Williams’ daughter, her husband and their two children are moving to RHCC. Paige and Whit Sumner; Clara,14; and Will,12, have purchased a house on Lakewood and are looking forward to joining the club and participating in tennis, golf and all the social activities RHCC has to offer.

Congratulations to Grace Guerriero, 2020 graduate of Tivy High School and recipient of the P.E.O. STAR Scholarship.

RIGHT: Thanks to the neighbors near 521 Oakland Hills Lane who provided free driveway concerts with music performed

by Jimmy Lee, Shelly and talented residents. What a wonderful way to social distance and still stay connected with our neighbors!

EVEN MORE FRONT PORCH MOMENTS

Teri D. and Emmitt Sutterfield

John and Dana Iman

Lucy, Lane and Deby Fowler

Riverhill Living 17

Stay positive & healthy

B

y the time Governor Greg Abbott issued his executive order telling Texans to stay home unless it was for essential business and to continue the now too-familiar phrase, “social distancing,” all of us knew we were about to be placed in some sort of Twilight Zone quarantine.

At first, the idea was secretly a tad bit exciting.

What’s not to like about an extended snow day/ vacation and finally being able to force your kids to have some designated family time? The first few days were a mixture of mashups of crash courses seen online promising us that we would speak fluid French within a day, extended Happy Hours,

18 Summer 2020

throughout quarantine and beyond and Netflix binge watching into the wee hours of the night. As the end of the first week of certified lockdown approached, almost everyone began to realize that a more formal plan of action was going to be needed.

Most experts agree that in these types of circumstances, it is extremely important to maintain a regular schedule while getting enough rest.

Continue your normal day to the best of your abilities, wake up, get dressed, do work/school, and take a break and venture outside.

Don’t treat this time like a day at the beach. After each passing day, many of us have felt frustrated, anxious,

Meet the columnist Michelle Layton is a writer and broadcast journalist.

She has worked as a TV reporter and anchor for more than twenty years. Currently, she is the news director for JAM Broadcasting. Layton has written numerous national articles relating to the Varsity Blues scandal and the role of parents in regards to modern day youth sports. She is the author of the teenage mystery novel, “Crossed Up.” Layton is the mother of three boys who continually inspire her to write. Her website is: mlrosynek.com.

and especially stressed.

You are not alone! Staying connected to others is imperative, and this doesn’t mean sharing through social media. This is not the time to debate the combative family member on politics

or feel pressured to post the perfect selfie. Instead, have game nights, call relatives and friends, even write, not email, a letter. Since we do have much more time together at home, use it to really connect. A final tip of

Health & Wellness encouragement is to try to monitor your news intake.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Despite the current situation that is consuming all of us, checking a reliable news outlet once or twice a day is sufficient.

A silver lining in all of this is that for many of us, our fuel bills, clothing bills, and entertainment bills have plummeted to next to nothing.

On the flip side, a lot of us are seeing our weekly grocery bills skyrocket.

Unfortunately, some people are venting their frustrations that their bathroom scales are inching up numerically, as well.

Instead of viewing and dreading the mealtime schedules, try remembering that food can also be cathartic, if done right.

Besides providing us with nutrition, cooking and

baking can be a great coping strategy.

Cooking engages multiple senses and can be a form of mindfulness. The focus and rhythm of chopping or stirring can help soothe anxiety, and just the simple act of following a recipe can briefly keep our minds off of current events.

If you are a baker and had baking on the list of activities you were planning to do with your kids, swap it for healthier options. (Save the homemade chocolate chip cookies for Movie Night.)

Of course, for many of us, gym closures resulted in rummaging through our attics for those drawstring pants we had hoped that we would never have to unpack again.

While it truly might be difficult to maintain our ideal physiques, according

The Museum of Western Art

to the LA Lakers Trainer, Gunnar Peterson, “It’s about staying as close to normal as you can.” According to The American Heart Association, it is recommended that people should get 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, both cardiovascular and resistance.

One of the best methods for resistance training is to do body exercises, squats, push ups, and sit ups. Even with no equipment, basic items like tables can be used to do inclined sit ups or bags filled with extra weight to lift. A simple 30-minute walk, run, or biking session would be plenty to clear your mind, work out your lungs, and even benefit your dog if you are so inclined.

If you really want to embarrass your teenagers, plan a family scavenger hunt, practicing social distancing, of course.

Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to experiment with You Tube as you download hot yoga. You never know.

Yes, this pandemic is something that none of us could have ever predicted.

None of us have a guide book to follow giving us advice as to how to navigate our way through this current maze until we finally emerge on the other side. It goes without saying that it is not ideal to have our day-to-day normalcy totally uprooted.

Lemons suggest sourness or difficulty in life. All of us have heard the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

No one will claim any of this is easy, but it does bring us all back to what really matters in each of our lives.

Simple is always better. Try to stay positive, help one another, and stay healthy!

Proudly presents two exceptional exhibitions from award-winning western artists:

GENE ZESCH

“Looks Like We’ll Just Have to Tighten Our Belts Again”

June 19 - August 1, 2020 “Looks Like We’ll Just Have to Tighten Our Belts Again”

ROBERT PUMMILL

“Dawn in the Texas Hills”

August 7 - September 18, 2020 “Texas: The Land and the Legacy”

1550 Bandera Highway, Kerrville - www.museumofwesternart.com Riverhill Living 19

Our Club Members Are Our Passion Our remarkable golf club started with a friendship between golf legend Byron Nelson and renowned course designer Joe Finger. That tradition continues today with the friendships still formed and strengthened on the rolling hills of Riverhill Country Club just as Byron Nelson had hoped.

You are invited to be a part of that tradition and the present celebration of the game of golf, fabulous dining and events, world-class tennis, swim and fun for your entire family.

Many families have taken part in what Riverhill has become over the past 112 years when it began as the mansion at Cedarcrest. Many families return generation after generation to enjoy the important history of this estate and the wonderful part the club continues to play in their lives.

RiverHill Country Club has several membership packages that include resident, senior, junior, corporate and non-resident.

Summer Fun for the Entire Family!

Riverhill Country Club • RiverhillCC.com • 896-1400 •100 Riverhill Club Lane • Kerrville Please contact Membership Director Bryan Hargrove at (830) 896-1400 x2230 for more information about memberships and initiation fees.

20 Summer 2020