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Tag: family
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Heigh ho, Heigh Ho
Oh, wait, wrong dwarves. I woke up this morning to my mother having shared this medley of Tolkein songs, performed acapella, and, well, it’s fun! But before that, my husband invited me to sit outside in the pre-dawn dark with him. Ohio being Ohio, it’s currently in the mid-60s, rainy, and positively balmy out there.…
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Goal Setting for 2017
I don’t really do resolutions. For one thing, they are too easy to break, feel guilty over, and simply ignore. What I do, is set goals. Goal-setting is much more substantial than a vague resolution. I can resolve to write more in 2017. Or I can set concrete goals, broken into manageable chunks, and have…
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2016 In Personal Retrospective
It’s been an amazing year. It really has. It just has also been a roller coaster of ups and downs and sudden left turns I didn’t see coming. There were definitely times I had whiplash. But in the end, sitting here at my desk in a new house, listening to my children, I have a…
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In the Briars
I made a comment on facebook the other day about how much fieldwork I have in classes this semester, and a week ago tomorrow I took a long ramble in the woods armed with camera and neck-knife, collecting specimens… and it was homework! One of my friends commented, laughing “don’t throw me into that br’er…
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The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker
As I was standing in the kitchen early this morning making Sunday Breakfast, I was thinking about something. It started with bacon, as I was laying out odd pieces as neatly as I could to bake them. We’re having monkey bread and baked bacon, and eggs for those who want them (the First Reader). One…
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The Invisible Tether
This morning as I made the rounds of the house, waking children, helping them find things, tucking notes into pockets… I noticed that I had a shadow. Everywhere I went, the dog was. She wasn’t up and moving about, she would flop down with an ostentatious sigh, and lie flat until I went to another…
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Rain and Pancakes
For the first time in a month, it’s not going to be over 80 degrees today. That may not seem like much to my friends and family in more southern climes (I’m looking at you, Texas), but it’s been hot and miserably hot here. We have had a lovely summer vacation that is winding to…
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Pavlova: A Sweet Cloud Confection
I had the privilege of attending a friend and fellow author‘s citizenship ceremony this last month, which was an amazing thing to see. Those of us who are born into it don’t think enough about the privileges we take for granted. The individual liberties, freedoms, and responsibilities we bear. It is our solemn duty to…
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Geeky Kids: Adventures in the Park
If you have a park near you, be sure to check it out. I’m not really talking about the little parks that are a playground and not much else – no, these are the big, spacious places with trees and water and hiking paths… Next step, pick up a good guide to wildflowers and one…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Dogs Can Be Jealous
(Cedar here – I wrote a funny metaphor story today over at the Mad Genius Club in which said jealous dog plays a part. You may enjoy it.) Written by Sanford Begley My stepchildren are in for a visit this summer, well number Daughter units 2 and 3 and Son unit 1. Their mother is…
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Rest In Place
I’ve been contemplating being content where we are, today. I’d been scrolling through Instagram admiring my cousin Charles’ wonderful photos of the Pacific Northwest, and missing it badly. It’s so beautiful, and after yesterday’s battle with the sun here in Ohio the idea of living with 300+ days a year cloud cover is actually appealing.…