“Is that a Girl Scout song, Mom? Because those are the songs you seem to remember best.”
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September 16, 2008
September 11, 2008
Old School, New School
Continuing my kick of including archival photos in this week’s posts, here is a shot that illustrates “back to school.” It was taken in Anaheim, CA in 1915, and that’s my bespectacled 15-year-old maternal grandma, Lorene, right smack in the middle of a bunch of classmates. She ended up attending the University of Denver, as [...]
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September 10, 2008
From the Land of Ahs
Quite by coincidence, Emily and I both wrote about Kansas on Monday & Tuesday. I’ve been meaning to post about my grandmother’s quilts anyway, and she was from – KANSAS. Not sure we can sustain this accidental theme all week, but three days in a row devoted to the Sunflower State ain’t bad. Did you [...]
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September 07, 2008
The Story of My Dad’s Life
My dad was born in a tiny dot on the map in Kansas, on September 7, 1924. Happy Birthday, Daddy! He’s the baby in this photo – one of the very few pictures from his childhood. Looks like the big brothers are propping the Humpty Dumpty baby up. His family’s life wasn’t exactly Little House [...]
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September 04, 2008
My Best eBay Story Ever
Labor Day is over and you know what that means. Thrift shops are open again! New old inventory! This makes me almost as happy as school being back in session. I’m a serious thrifter. I love old stuff, especially books and linens. I buy, sell, and occasionally keep what I find. It’s not my job, [...]
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September 01, 2008
My Shameful Volunteerism Career
As another school year begins, so does the great volunteer round-up. Parents are needed to head up gift-wrap sales, holiday craft projects, and class parties. Wanted posters come home pleading for moms and dads to volunteer in library time and art class. Attend PTO/PTA meetings. Man booths at fund-raisers. Brainstorm and spearhead enrichment projects. Chaperone [...]
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August 29, 2008
Good Night, John-Boy
We spent last weekend at a remote cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains. No running water, no mod cons. The cabin and gorgeous setting reminded me of The Waltons, that tear-jerking 1970s show in which a close-knit family weathered the Depression with grit and determination. Like John-Boy, my husband went to UVA, and we spent the [...]
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August 27, 2008
I Heart Strings
Here’s today’s #1 reason a child should study a stringed instrument. Cello and violin have never looked and sounded so cool. \”Viva La Vida on YouTube\” Our house contains one lapsed clarinetist, one lapsed violinist, and one lapsed violist. Actually two former violinists if you count me – I stopped at age 16. I’m a [...]
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August 25, 2008
Meet Me in Amsterdam
In 1986, Chris was traveling in Europe. He wanted to meet up with his college friend Rob, who had been living in Germany, Italy, and Egypt for several years. It was a pre-cell-phone era. Pre-email. Pre-text-messaging. Even pre-fax. And so Chris and Rob communicated old-school, by occasional phone call and letter. In August, a postcard [...]
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August 21, 2008
Life is Beautiful, Unfair
We were tooling north on NY’s I-81 for our annual rendezvous with friends at the Thousand Islands. Almost there, last exit before Canada! Chris drove while 17-year-old Ian rode shotgun, wearing giant white shades and giant lime-green headphones. And why was I not in the front seat, where grown-ups belong? Because I was sitting in [...]
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