I have two hot dogs panting around my desk. They’ve both been outside with me for the last hour trotting beside me while I mulched the lawn. Well, that’s what Kiera was doing. Graidy was mostly chasing birds. I took a look at their tongues, decided it was time to quit, and had them jump in their wading pool. We’ll cool it for the rest of the afternoon. It’s too hot out for prolonged non-stop exercise for them.
Dogs only … Read More
Cait’s assignment at school was to “write a memoir;” an essay on something that happened to her that fit the structure of memoir writing. At this stage, her teacher is not as concerned about punctuation as she is with getting the kids excited about writing.
This is what Cait wrote:
… Read MoreA Memoir
It was a warm day and I was 5, I was out in the garden picking peas with my mom and two dogs. My mother had asked me
Ring ring ring.
Disembodied voice from Caller ID, “Call from wireless caller.”
Wondering what Andrew has forgotten, as he’s just left the house for work, I answer, “Hey, what’s up?”
“I need you to do me a favor. Can you walk down the road to the bridge by George’s house?”
Thinking that’s a very interesting request and assuming more details will be forthcoming, I say, “Sure.”
“There’s a big turtle that’s just starting to cross the road and I need … Read More
From the mailbag: Samantha writes: You and Caitlin seem to have quite an amazing relationship. Has it always been so peachy? Don’t you ever lose your cool?
Dear Samantha: Like Kiera, my daughter came into my life to slap me upside the head and wake me up out of any sleep-walking through life I might have been inclined to do. From the very beginning, Cait has had a way of getting and holding my attention. Right from the emergency C-section, … Read More
I’m true to my mostly Italian Heritage; I can find a way to add garlic to nearly any meal. I’ve long gone through all my garlic bulbs, and am down to the dregs of my minced garlic (above left). I’ve got another month and a half before my garlic plants (above right) are ready to pull. With the help of my brothers and sister cleaning me out (they fight over my garlic), it doesn’t look like I’m gonna make it. … Read More
“Mom, why do my eyes squint when I eat something sour?”
“It’s because of a pucker reflex.”
“Do you want some (Sour Skittles)?”
“No thanks, I don’t really like candy.”
“Mom, you’re not very kid-like.”
“I wasn’t very kid-like when I was a kid.”
“I’m a little kid-like, and a little not.”
“Yeah.”
“The kids on my bus are very kid-like. They had a burping contest this morning.”
“Can any of them burp the alphabet?”
“One kid got to ‘k’.”… Read More
Cait and I are always looking at clouds. We like to see what shapes we can find in them. Here are some clouds we saw recently. Take a look and see if you find a shape that jumps out at you. Then scroll down to see what I saw.
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I saw what I call “phoenix rising.” It looked like a bird rising up out of the … Read More
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