Not that I'm pretending anyone will notice, but I'm going to blame my lack of recent blogging on Minnesota's government shutdown. I'm only being a little facetious. For me, the Republicans' inability to negotiate in good faith, in St. Paul and in DC, is mind-numbingly scary. I didn't realize how frozen I was until Read More
Thatwhich
Born free. Live within the confines of the garden, please.
June 28, 2011
Churchy the three-legged turtle was waiting for this moment. The wind was just right to blow open the garden gate. It's a new gate, much more aesthetically pleasing than the old one, and we hadn't quite figured out how to keep it closed.
Meanwhile, we, his human family, went about our day, blue skies and upper 70s when Sven had predicted storms. Read More
Meanwhile, we, his human family, went about our day, blue skies and upper 70s when Sven had predicted storms. Read More
Telling stories on people
June 21, 2011
I read the obituaries almost every day. It's not an obsession with death. It's an obsession with people's stories. I can't possibly catch all the good ones, but I try to keep up. Years ago a friend clipped one from a small-town paper that described a beloved old lady renowned for her delicious fried children. Read More
What's this "we" $h!t?
June 12, 2011
"What's this 'we' $h!t?" That's what my dad would say in response to any statement that started with "we" and was followed by "should." He didn't enjoy being told what ought to be done, especially if it involved him. Hmmmm. Perhaps this is in the DNA.
The phrase comes to mind because lately Read More
The phrase comes to mind because lately Read More
Umm. I believe the sky is falling.
June 5, 2011
Grace came home a week ago with the idea that she should spend a semester abroad her junior year of high school. She thinks New Zealand sounds good, since they speak English and thus her grades would suffer less than if she had to speak a foreign language. "That sounds great," I said, summoning acting skills I haven't used since I played Henny Penny in the high school production of Story Theater. Although this time, the sky was actually falling and I had to pretend everything was cool. Read More
Grow your own garden-variety metaphors
May 27, 2011
My dad at about 15, looking a little weedy himself.
It's especially gratifying to pull up the weeds with deep roots. Pulling creeping charlie satisfies in a different way: I'll follow their wimpy little entrails wherever they've crept thus far. I got nothin but time, at least for the moment and as far as I know. But the sturdy-yet-innocent-looking weed -- the one that requires more of a tug than expected, the one that intended to stay for the duration, despite my big plans for basil and tomatoes -- that's the weed that gives me such pleasure to pull. And the earthworm that's exposed in the process? "Churchy, it's dinner time." Read More
Ironically ubiquitous
May 26, 2011
A coupla smart alecs in their ubiquitous tie-dye, 1998.
Grace, my 15-year-old, has been working on a final project for science, a video about motion. "Is it okay if I leave the computer on overnight?" she asked.
I don't really understand the process of film production, only that this was better than the alternative, building a trebuchet, which I was told involved a lot of parental know-how, oversight, and possibly power tools. Read More
I don't really understand the process of film production, only that this was better than the alternative, building a trebuchet, which I was told involved a lot of parental know-how, oversight, and possibly power tools. Read More
The raptured barber
May 20, 2011
This week, with all the talk of the end of the world, I took greater notice of the barber's rapture-fish sign. (I'm pretty sure the other side says "Open.") It's a new business, opened in the last year. He calls it Studio of One, or at least he did in the beginning. A sign Read More
Blog something funny.
May 19, 2011
"So I'm having this problem," I finally confess to my husband and my teenage son over dinner. "Ever since I started blogging on my website, I have writer's block. Never had it before in my life. But I figure to drive traffic to my website, I have to blog fairly regularly. So last week I wrote on my to-do list 'Blog something funny.' And after that I froze." Read More
Don't dis my ability
May 7, 2011
We don't know why Churchy only has three legs. To be fair, it's really three and a half. He came to us this way, and he doesn't like to talk about the past. Or anything. On the other hand, he is a really good listener.
Maybe it was a fox or a hawk that Read More
Maybe it was a fox or a hawk that Read More