We spent Christmas at my parents' in Hendersonville, NC, which is somewhere south of Asheville somewhere in western North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge mountains. A beautiful area of hills and hollows, Appalachian mixed with southern lite. One of my...

forgive me for I have punned I just read in the NY Times that the incidence of Americans who identify as atheists is 1.2%. That is the percent who self-identified specifically with the A-word in this poll. Another 12% described...

Have you ever played that team-building game where you have to give someone verbal instructions on how to do something to see if you're communicating each step clearly? Oh. Well, I have. The reason never became so clear to me...

Yes this is a repeat. So sue me. This is my all-time favorite cranberry sauce. I bring it to every Thanksgiving gathering, mostly for me. It adds a surprising and welcome contrast to the typical Tgiving menu, and goes great...

I said I was starting up this blog again. I'm trying. So here's a post. 10 fairly innocuous things that I have a really strong negative reaction to: vanilla candles Celtic music when someone runs their fingers along the edge...

Happy Monday. Feels like a good time for a grammar rant. Here's a few new favorite phrases I've been collecting: "Personal Watermelon" - as promoted by my local Safeway. 'Cause I don't share my watermelon with nobody. "Artisan Cocktails" -...

This chart has been making the rounds and you know I love flowcharts so had to share. Click on the image to embiggen it. Status conscious? Check out this social media flowchart. Clever thoughts bubble up constantly, but what’s the...

This is what Henry has been obsessed with lately: Flipping through the air. On a trampoline, off electrical boxes, into the foam pit. I've been driving him to gyms (and paying fees) several times a week so he can do...

Happy Halloween from the family, circa late '50's: You can't see it here, but I had a turtle shell strapped to my back. Cutest little reptile ever! But wait, there's more: Okay, one more, because you begged: But how come...

Ever since I stopped blogging in July, I have been wondering what event would motivate me to start up again. Many comment-worthy events have occurred since then, but I haven't been compelled to post until today. The must-blog event has...

Scene: The front porch. Robin and Melissa have just arrived from a restaurant. Melissa leans in the door and calls to her son. Melissa: Henry! It's Robin's birthday! Come out here and wish her a happy birthday! Robin: It's my...

My brother's "conservation of bustedness" theory goes something like: when you fix something, something else has to break, to keep the level of bustedness balanced. So of course when I fixed my car headlight (for the third time in three...

Do you know that joke about the comedians who know each other's jokes so well that they refer to them by number?* That's how I feel about my blog these days. Anything I have to say I've already said. I'm...

I opened my front door this evening after running errands and found this note. A surprise! I ran to my bbq. Here is what I found. A dozen mouthwatering cupcakes by our local cupcake specialty baker! Wow! Until I saw...

The ceremonial flags of invisibility We're all suffering through training the new dog, Bindi, on the Invisible Fence system at home. This is the buried electrical wire that surrounds the property that gives the dog a shock if she crosses...

Hamsters everywhere breathed a sign of relief this week. From the New York Times, By STEVEN ERLANGER PARIS — France was punished on Thursday for not taking proper care of its hamsters. The Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the European...

In the religion section of online dating surveys (so I've been told) there's a popular answer option of "spiritual but not religious." I need the opposite: "religious but not spiritual." I'll say it right up front here: I'm not a...

Rich, loamy (great word), homemade dirt. I finally cleared out the bottom of the composter and discovered a few things. Eggshells never decompose (or at least within three years), nor do corncobs, pine needles, plastic bags or pieces of clay...

Look, Mark! We finally made one! (Mark was my gardening partner to whom I owe my many many garden beds of which I can't handle the upkeep.) Just one. Not sure what happened to all the others. I can't bring...

I really should start a new category in my cloud for posts from computer hell. I've written enough of them. I've been dealing with problems with my new HP laptop since I bought it in September. (I know - I...

I'm feeling very earthy and springlike today, though it appears to be snowing outside again. I just got a precious pound of fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads are tightly spiraled fern fronds, not yet unfurled. These alien-looking curls are only available for...

from Fun and Nonsense by Willard Bonte, 1904 by H.M. Caldwell Company When you have a school child, there are no secrets. But there are always teaching moments... Driving up to school today, this is what I learned: "There's Rupert*....

In spite of a number of laser treatments, surgeries, and other weird procedures, I still need an eye drop daily to keep my eyes in long-lasting working condition. This is the same eye medication now being sold as a lash...

The blogging service I use has a terrific spam filter for comments, so we're spared the weird ads for health aids, if you know what I mean. (I don't plan to attract more here.) But occasionally I get the the...

I finally finished MyBigBro's second sock. Only eight months for the pair. I guess I'm not ready to join the Sock-of the-Month Club yet. Maybe if they weren't a foot and a half long each, I might have finished earlier....

Surgery update: all went well! I'm sore and woozy tonight, but not too bad. Henry made me buttered macaroni for dinner, my family's comfort food of choice. Haven't seen the aftermath in the kitchen yet... They sure were eager to...

There is nothing about the gallbladder that's appealing. The name itself, that fact that it holds bile, stones and sludge (yes, it's called sludge), or the pain it causes me at 3 in the morning. So I've decided to get...

to yesterday's riddle:

On our dog-walk early this morning, Bindi and I observed a man leave his apartment complex, cross the street, and start pulling blades of grass from around the mailbox post. He saw me trying not to notice and called over...

Bend is honored to have a Famous Knitter here this week. Non-knitting people are always surprised to know that there actually are famous knitters. But why not? Patterns, other than the simple scarf or washcloth, have to come from somewhere....