We took a day trip last Thursday, spending late morning to early evening at the beach. I had forgotten the beauties of a short little hop. No stopping newspapers. No lining up neighbors to collect mail or water plants. No packing big suitcases or remembering medications. Ian was lifeguarding at the pool so only Hugh & Malcolm were with [...]
”I dunno, Boss, I just gotta feeling we forgot somethin…” (Chris’s suggestion for the New Yorker caption contest, which he DID NOT SEND IN because “it’s just too obvious.” The winning caption was not, in the opinion of Malcolm and me, nearly as good.) So, here’s a life lesson you have to learn the hard way. [...]
When Chris and I got together, we each brought certain things to the relationship. I introduced my Eastern boyfriend to my Midwestern family, college friends, and long-term wardrobe staple, shrink-to-fit 501 Levi’s, which in those days were available only west of the Mississippi and thus were quite exotic. Chris contributed his Pennsylvania/New York/London family, his sense of humor and amazing cooking abilities, [...]
Recently, Chris and Ian and I found ourselves at a diner for lunch. Diners are Ian’s favorite eating spots, because although he has been a vegetarian since the age of 3, this does not mean he’s a health food nut. He’ll have a strawberry shake and the mozzarella sticks, please, with ketchup standing in as his Reagan-esque veggie. [...]
WIth three teenage boys in the house, you can imagine how quickly a pan of brownies evaporates. “The brownies are GONE? I only got one piece!” “Who hogged the brownies?” “Hey, there’s nothing but crumbs!!! IAN! How late were you up last night?!!!” Outraged cries, denials, and lame justifications ensue, complete with self-righteous accountings of exactly [...]
Nobody but a kid would look at a crawdaddy and think “earring!” More scenes from our recent heavenly stay at the Thousand Islands, where there’s always a lot of relaxation going on, and also always a lot to do. Malcolm & Hugh had good luck fishing for bass. This photo looks like sushi, but we [...]
I had never heard of sky lanterns until last weekend, when we met our friends Todd and Suzanne for our families’ traditional late summer rendezvous. They had seen these breath-taking inventions at their children’s school in England, and ordered some to send skyward at their cabin in upstate New York. People had to pair up to launch [...]
They weave. They race. They tailgate. They thread the needle. I have a name for young guys who drive like bats out of hell on the highway. Video game drivers. These young dudes grew up playing video games, and you can tell that’s where they got their driving technique. Certainly not from driver’s ed, which – [...]
Chris was aghast over this “Donate Your Car” ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer a few days ago. ”First of all, children shouldn’t be driving. But blind children? What the BLEEP?!” And how stagey is that photo, anyway? *************************************************************** In other news, burkhinis have been banned in France, probably for showing too little skin and for being tres un-chic. [...]
Cicadas drone. Humidity rises. Gardens crisp. The dog days have arrived. That means one thing: we are starting to crack the whip around here concerning required reading for Hugh and Malcolm. Before school starts on September 8, Malcolm has to read HOOT by Carl Hiasson, and Hugh has to read EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck. Hugh [...]
