If things don’t look up soon in the geranium department, I’m going to start thinking that my green thumb is turning brown. I’ve lost at least ten plants in the last two or three weeks, one to what I’m pretty sure was bacterial leaf blight (I’m so hoping that it didn’t spread), and the others… Read More A bit of disgruntlement

I’m a few days late, but I just realized that I forgot to post that the new issue of Mosaic Minds came out on Friday. Our theme this time is “Fears and Phobias” and we’ve got lots of great articles, as usual. Be forewarned: There’s a creepy clown header, so avert your eyes from the… Read More Housekeeping

When Lydia came home from her school’s dress-up day on Friday, she told me that her friend Ingrid had dressed up as Anastasia. “Really?” I asked, thinking that was a sophisticated costume choice for a second-grader. “You know who she is?” “Of course,” I replied, wondering further about what an Anastasia costume might look like.… Read More Not such a cool mom after all.

Yes, you would.

I haven’t much of interest to write tonight, so I’ll leave you with a picture of the resident vampiress on her way to school this morning:

As a treat for Lydia, who got up mostly cheerfully for her dad this morning and let me sleep in until 10:30, I made maple bars this afternoon. Midway into the first bite I was thinking, “Dang, why didn’t I make a double batch?” You never remember just how scrumdiddlyumptious maple bars are until it’s… Read More Thursday

I overheard this conversation between my daughter and her friend this afternoon as they were putting on fake tattoos: Sandra, importantly: My dad has two tattoos. REAL tattoos. Lydia, unimpressed: Yeah, my mom has five. Sandra, wide-eyed: Can I see?

The weather has taken a decided turn toward the chilly and I fear that Autumn’s days are numbered up here in the Great White North. It’s getting dark around six o’clock in the evening now, and we haven’t even set our clocks back yet. It won’t be long until Lydia’s going to school before it’s… Read More Tuesday

I just finished up printing and folding the invitations for Lydia’s Halloween party. There’s been some uncertainty about whether the date conflicts with some other kiddie event, but we couldn’t get any firm details about the other shindig, so I decided just to go ahead and stick with what we’ve got planned. We’re inviting sixteen… Read More Sunday

So the promised package did indeed arrive yesterday morning, promptly at seven o’clock, and it was, as expected, a birthday package from Lydia’s biological father (mailed four weeks after her birthday, despite his having promised her two weeks before her birthday–in his first phone call this year–that he was getting her presents and sending them… Read More Saturday