The Off Ramp

Hi there. How are you holding up? Have you checked in with a friend lately? Whether you’re calling it lockdown, quarantine, social distancing…we’re in a challenging time in history, and it’s changing us all. Last April I was notified that my custom theme subscription for this blog was due to renew. I clicked over to…

And Hello, It’s a Reader Survey

It’s spring! Suddenly and spectacularly it’s here. Trees are flowering, tulips are blooming, the grass is in serious need of a cutting. Birds, bees, little wall lizards, they’re all here with it. At last. Doesn’t the shift from winter make all the difference? This winter my youngest son turned three, I solo parented for six…

~ End of Summer ~ Mixed Media

Mixed Media is a recurring feature on this blog of the books, music, movies and other media that I’m loving right now. All of the excitement for pumpkin-flavored stuff has started making waves, but I’m grasping the last straws of summer over here. Yes, the light is becoming golden and the nights are cooler. But…

The Things I Do

I’ve been mostly quiet about the things I struggle with internally. Because BOR-ing, right? So the short of it is that I’ve been working very hard this winter to head off depression and find/fix the source of its triggers. (You’ll recognize them as stress, self-esteem, unfair expectations, so on and so on.) A huge chunk…

When It’s Time to Get a Haircut

If you know me in real life, you know that I have pretty great hair. It’s healthy, it’s fine but thick and straight, and it’s a color that every stylist I’ve had screeches protests against changing. It is also attached to my head, which is attached to my style-deprived body. As such, I let it…

A Year to Make My Heart Sing

Things have been quiet since we moved to Alabama from England. Perhaps because life has been rather quiet? We’ve settled into a solid routine that makes our days fairly predictable and calm, if a little busy and noisy. Once I convinced myself that I don’t require as much “me” time as I used to hope…

100 Years

This weekend we drove to Indiana to celebrate my great-grandma’s 100th birthday! My sons are her only great-great grandsons and, thankfully, my husband is wholly on board the nostalgia train (and willing to drive ridiculous distances at a time). I tracked down a childhood friend of mine to take photos of family at the party.…

So Long, 2013

And here it is. The last day of 2013! It’s dark here. Sometimes windy. Sometimes rainy. I’m failing at keeping the winter from getting me down. So I’ll keep this short. I hope the sun is shining on you, wherever you are, as we welcome a new year. Cheers, y’all! To 2014!

What a Week

My husband took leave this past week to spend time with us. It was nice to have someone to share the parenting and the fun. We had to make a trip to Cambridge for the baby’s passport application. So we took the toddler out for sushi for the first time. YO! was perfect – there’s…

Lately

We have been lucky to have a lot of sun lately. Hanging out in our back garden (aka “yard”) is now a daily favorite. This week was my 8th wedding anniversary. I wish my husband and I could have celebrated together, but I sure am enjoying the beautiful bouquet he had delivered. It’s hard to…