My husband and I were solving all the problems of the world this morning over coffee, and again, the discussion of violence in our nation was at the forefront of our thoughts. We were acknowled...
Because Ben and I are both artists, and experience a large range of emotions, we’ve had to learn about anger and how to handle it, manage it, subdue it, understand it and live with it. We...
This was put together originally by Ben and me as a Powerpoint Presentation for his Elementary School Talent Show during the last week of his Fifth Grade Year. I was to voice the narrative, and then t...
What a completely blissful day. These are the new rockers we picked up at a garage sale this weekend, and this is the view looking out onto our back field in Southern Oregon. It goes on and on and we ...
It is easy for me to think I’m learning a lot by bouncing around from web article to web article. And, I actually do have pretty good taste in reading, I think. I’m reading some of ...
Today, Bean and I had some errands to run, and I chose the Pandora Station “Peter, Paul and Mommy” for our musical background. We sang along to Feed the Birds, from Mary Poppins, and some ...
We’re so sorry Uncle Albert But we haven’t done a bloody thing all day We’re so sorry Uncle Albert But the kettle’s on the boil and we’re so easily called away This song ...
Somehow, the other day, having lunch with Bean, the idea of Tevya singing If I were a Rich Man, from “Fiddler on the Roof,” popped into my head. Bean was telling me about a dream he...
In 2007, a computer “solved” checkers—that is, went through every possible move to determine the optimal game. The number of possible moves in a chess game is dizzying, more than the number of atoms i...
This happened. Ben worked all through the summer of 2014 making prototype after prototype, until he was happy with all the moving parts. For his 5th Grade Halloween parade, he got to walk down the mid...
Just the other day the thought hit me that I would rather take a curvy road any day over a straight shot. On a long, straight road, there is no mystery, no surprises. It can become monotonous. ...
Or rather, we have a friend coming over this afternoon, and so the boys are cleaning, and I am cleaning, and we are all getting distracted by the things we are supposed to be putting away. I...
We went to a friend’s birthday party a couple of weeks ago. She had a Carnival theme with all sorts of fun games, and she is a photographer, so she set up a photo booth with props. My boy...
Ben gave me a 20-week Fitness Challenge which will take us right through summer and hopefully become so habit forming, that we never stop doing a little something every day that is good for us. Togeth...
Bean, my first-grader, was telling me over breakfast the other day how beautiful snowflakes are if you look at them closely, and how there are no two alike. He was very happy to share this info...
What would parenting be like if we used the Rules of Improvisation in our interactions with our kids? I’m not suggesting this entirely. I’m just wondering. Right now, I’m read...
When Scott and I were first married, and setting up our home together, I was unpacking boxes of files to put into the office, and came across an envelope full of sentences he’d had his boys writ...
Yesterday, on the way to music lessons, there was a lively conversation in the car between my six-year old and my nine-year old about whether the word muzzle and snout could be used interchange...
Yesterday, we got our first batch of chicks for this year. Scott brought one in to sit on Bean’s shoulder, with the resulting overload of cute! And our goat, Madrone, our very first goat –...
Have I mentioned that Ben has been building Guitars lately? Paper, tape, cardboard, Lego’s, duct-tape, wood. You name it....
For the last week, I’ve been mulling over the reckless idea of a Singleness of Purpose. It floors me, the thought. I’ve been wondering about it almost nonstop – as if the quest for a...
This weekend, in fairly typical fashion, Ben created about a bazillion new paper-craft projects. His imagination never stops. I spoke to Bean about doing a project with him every day when he gets home...
This Valentine’s Day was a Full Moon. We couldn’t see it because of the outrageous downpour of rain we are experiencing, but Ben felt it. He has been a little obsessed with werewolves late...
Here’s how the conversation went with my husband earlier today… “I’m afraid I complicate things,” I said. “No, Really?” he laughed. “But first you simpl...
