Back from Vacation

Sorry for the absence. I’ve been on vacation. It was my first vacation in a long time, and what made it even more unusual was I went without Joe. Instead, I went with my soon to be sister-in-law, Cathy, my sister-in-law, Kelly, my own sister, Roberta, and two of Cathy’s friends, Ally and Cyndie, who [...]

Read Full Post »

Originally Brewed

As I mentioned in my previous post, my class and I have been exploring various elements of theme vis-à-vis the human condition. One of the themes that ran through the story “Eveline” by James Joyce was the significance of family. For Eveline, this significance is “dysfunction.” Her father was a raging alcoholic who took every [...]

Read Full Post »

Funny Things My Husband and Sister Said to Me

I was in a bad mood Monday morning. I was stressing about work and finances, frustrated over the fact that I don’t have as much disposable income as I’d like. When I left for work, I snapped at Joe. When I returned from work, he had a late night dinner of fresh strawberries and cream, [...]

Read Full Post »

The Zen of Kyra

A few nights ago, Joe gave Kyra, who is in seventh grade, a pep talk about doing her homework. She has a tendency to forgo the assignments she doesn’t like and immerse herself in the ones she does. During his talk, he was emphasizing the importance of being responsible, of doing what she’s supposed to [...]

Read Full Post »

Taking a Closer Look

The other day a colleague asked me to participate in a panel discussion about movies. The topic was open; I could talk about anything. He simply wanted me and the other participants to generate an interest in panel discussions among the students. With the topic this wide open and with the purpose this inspirational—to have [...]

Read Full Post »

Exactly!

My mother came for a visit the week between Christmas and New Years. I’d like to say she came to see me, but I would be lying. She really came to see Joe and his band, Bad Rooster, play on New Year’s Eve. Seeing his posts on Facebook and hearing me rave about them, she [...]

Read Full Post »

Ugly Christmas Cookie Club

As the president of the Ugly Christmas Cookie Club, I’d like to welcome our newest member: Meghan Olson. Over the weekend Meghan made these chocolate chip cookies while we decorated the tree. Aren’t they U-G-L-Y? I’m so proud I could bust. I think she’s going to be our best member ever, though my brother Patrick [...]

Read Full Post »

The Memorare, The Memorare, The Memorare

Last week, when I was all excited about being banned from the ING web site and thereby classified as a porn/social network site, my mom offered up this observation in the comment section: “back to your old shenanigans/? keep it up. keep giving us those laughs. altho back then i am sure i SCOWELED.!!!!!! HOW [...]

Read Full Post »

Hello? Hello? Is Anyone There?

Here’s the next ditty about my grandpa. As I mentioned in a previous post, he recently turned 99. In that post, I mentioned he still has all of his faculties and is self-sufficient. He no longer drives, which drives him crazy. But people are more than willing to pick him up and take him where [...]

Read Full Post »

Grandpa and Bobbing For Fish

As promised, I’m going to share some of my favorite stories about my grandpa this week. One of them involves the near death experience I had with him when we were fishing on the Yellowstone River, one of the blue ribbon rivers in Montana known for its trout. As I mentioned in the 99 things [...]

Read Full Post »