The Subaru pulled up in my neighbor’s driveway Friday afternoon. I ran outside with the bags, threw them in the way-back, and said “Clear to leave, let’s go.” It looked like a heist, and in a way it was. Lisa, Suzanne and I were leaving for our book club girls only weekend away. Way up the [...]
The #1 TV news station in Philadelphia is Action News, which begins its newscast with a list of some of the big events of the day. After reeling those off, the anchor finishes with “But the BIG STORY on Action News tonight is…” It’s almost always a murder, a fire, or a crash. I imagine that [...]
Regular readers of this blog know how I feel about books and libraries and bookstores. I love them all. Weekly trips to the library were a big part of my childhood. I’d stock up on picture books, then Dr. Seuss books, then chapter books, dragging home armloads or totebags full of hour upon hour of [...]
On Sunday, I drove Ian and a fellow student named Hunter back to MICA. We took Route 1, the old pre-I-95 road that ran from Maine to Florida, which was much more charming and much cheaper than the toll-filled alternative. And it’s almost a direct shot from our home to the campus – literally just one [...]
Part of being an artist is being a nonconformist. This explains why Ian, in recent years, has taken to: Wearing a wristwatch instead of checking his phone for the time Writing in cursive, in ink, on paper Sending letters, in envelopes, through the mail Wearing bowties Watching movies, in video format, on our old VCR [...]
When your baby turns 14, it’s time to: Get rid of the pre-school books you’ve saved all these years Ditto the smocked rompers and duckling-appliqued Easter outfits Box up the Legos Send off the outgrown hoodies and ski jackets which fit before Christmas, but don’t anymore. All this was done over the last few weeks, [...]
Since Emily explained that we’ll be sharing fewer words with you this year, on a macro-blogging level, I thought it would be appropriate to run a little survey here in a similar vein. First, a confession. I stole the idea from a Facebook post by etsy. The question was, basically, “What words are you sick of hearing? [...]
Hugh, the reluctant angel, in a long-ago church pageant. A semi-rural family in our congregation brought real sheep for the nativity scene. What all the kids remember most vividly is that the sheep were wearing Pampers – or Depends. The old oak-pewed candlelit church was beautiful, looking its most English at Christmastime. My mom took this [...]
For those of us who celebrate Christmas, we’re into the final mad rush of preparations. Most of my shopping and wrapping is done. Teenage boys mostly want new clothing and sports gear. Easy. And not that I’m complaining, but what was with all the free shipping this year? Did LL Bean and Amazon just tack $10 [...]
There was a bare spot on our Christmas tree, so naturally this is where we placed the polar and koala bears. I love the calico squirrel and his gold walnut, which were found in two different places at two different times, but must always be hung together. And one of our favorite ornaments was given [...]
