• What I Learned in October

    Leaves can clog a vacuum cleaner.  Big time.  I also learned how to unclog all the possible parts where my vacuum cleaner could potentially be blocked with debris. Navigating a super-polarized, largely inappropriate election season with a middle schooler and high schooler is very, very challenging.  Yikes.  I’ve had more…

  • A Memory for Footwear

    The other day we were out walking, and The Banana said to me, “Remember that time when we took Christmas pictures on this trail and I wore those special sparkly shoes?” I did not remember those sparkly shoes, but the year we took Christmas pictures on that trail she was…

  • Scenes from a Saturday Hike

    Last Saturday was the third glorious October Saturday in a row.  It’s not very often you get three amazing October Saturdays in a row, and we took advantage of the beautiful day by getting out for a late afternoon hike near Amity Creek on a trail that we haven’t visited…

  • On the City Sidewalk

    Next to the house of our neighbors half way down the street there is a city sidewalk that connects our street with the next street up in a place where you would expect there to be a street, but there isn’t.  This sidewalk is affectionately known in our neighborhood as…

  • Concerning Grey Hair

    Me:  I am so surprised that I don’t have more grey hair by now.  I expected my hair to be almost all grey and white by this age.  Grandma Robbie was pretty grey by this age and already dying her hair. YaYa:  Maybe God just knew that you wouldn’t be…

  • A Dramatic Morning

      Guess who has begun a MAJOR, fast paced growth spurt?  Guess who inherited his father’s teenage hypoglycemic tendencies?  Guess who passed out in the middle of church this morning because he ran out of time to have breakfast? Mmmmmhmmmmm. I was standing next to him, singing, when all of…

  • Famous

    Mr. TOF’s picture ended up printed large in our local newspaper last Sunday.  He’s been flying high all week.  I’ve never known someone to be so incredibly excited to have his picture published.  He believes he’s officially famous, and is waiting for people to ask for his autograph.  No joke.…

  • Milk: The New Wine

    I don’t drink alcohol for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that is simply hate that fermented taste.  The smell gets me before my tongue gets involved, and when I can taste it . . . yuck! However, I really, really happen to appreciate a great glass…

  • Trolls Under the Bridge

    We were out for a walk on a hiking trail that we have affectionately named “Broken Bridge Road” because it used to be a road and has several broken bridges.  It was a beautiful autumn day, and we were exploring one of the broken bridges when I looked over and…