and so it goes...

dinner fail

2009-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Actual comments from my family during supper tonight:".... what's in the potatoes?""This is a 'floss' meal.""The gristle's actually not too bad.""So... when are we having pizza?""I'm gonna top this off with a bowl of cereal."I concede that the meat was undercooked. My ravenous family, unwilling to delay supper any further, pulled the fresh beef brisket from the oven, sliced it and served it

Stolen bras recovered, but no bust made :: WRAL.com

2009-10-10T09:54:00.001-07:00

Best headline I've read in a while. Don't really care about the story! lolStolen bras recovered, but no bust made :: WRAL.comShared via AddThis

towanda

2009-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

With the soon advent of The Rain (this event in the Pac NW gets its own capital letters), A. decided today was "strip the garden day."We betook ourselves to our garden plot, which, once The Rain comes, will become a large field of chocolate pudding, hazardous to muck boots and small children. We lost a child out there once. (We did eventually retrieve her.) So the goal was clear: harvest the

begorrah

2009-10-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Something I've never noodled out before is the relative merits and deficiencies of bond weights of paper. Apparently 20 lb paper messes up our laser printer; 24 lb does not.I am supposed to remember this from an apparent tragic occurrence in my distant past: 20 lb paper messes up the printer, and it's a pain to fix. I only remember this dimly. However, I strongly remember that someone in

scenes from P-town

2009-10-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

My most recent wedding cake. The mother of the groom is a good friend of mine; I was honored to be asked to make this. The bride is German, so when you cut into the cake, it's layered to look like the German flag: from top to bottom, it's chocolate, strawberry, and lemon. Satin Ice fondant covering the cake-- (SOOO much better than Wilton. I will never put that rancid W stuff on any

movin' on up to the east side (well, kent, anyway)

2009-09-12T21:35:00.001-07:00

When, in the course of family events, it becomes necessary for a homeschooling family to dissolve the scholastic bonds which have connected them with one another, and to assume, among the other taxpayers of the school district, the separate and equal station to which the laws of compulsory education in Washington State and our Sovereign God (to whom every parent answers) entitle them, a decent

"put that thing back where it came from, or so help me...!"

2009-08-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

So apparently my son was "followed" by a kitten at the park today. It's a wee thing, so I'm sure it didn't follow him very far before it got picked up. Fuzzy and grey. I'm not holding out any hope for the kids, but it's coming on night soon so I guess it can spend one night here. Not like we don't have other animals around. Just not many mammals! Tomorrow: Pierce County Humane Society.

it's all about her

2009-08-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

I just had D come and clean up what he'd left piled around my computer: a bowl of salad plus fork from lunchtime (much salad left); an empty bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream plus spoon (empty), and a small bag of gummy worms (empty).D said, "Hey! Who ate the rest of my gummy worms?"I told him the last time I checked, there was one worm left, and I did not eat it.He stalked to the living room and

color me pink

2009-07-29T16:02:00.001-07:00

And I thought California was hot. :> SO good to be home in the nice, cool Pacific NW...

too much fun

2009-07-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we turned our children loose to summer camp. They went to Camp Wooten, which is near Pomeroy, WA. It's in the middle of NOWHERE. It took me and my friend 7 hours to get the kids there.....and then she and I turned around and came back home, all in the same day. Tuesday I spent recovering from Monday.Wednesday A. and I decided to tackle the household dungeon and get it cleaned up from

2009-06-25T17:55:00.001-07:00

strawberry shortcake forever

2009-06-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

Today was the perfect day for jamming. June Gloom has currently overtaken the previous weeks of sunshine, so it was time to pull out the pectin, sugar, and jars and get some strawberries from Spooner Farms. :) 1 flat will make 3 batches of jam (about 4 pints each), just in case you didn't know. I, however, bought an extra half-flat so I can snack on berries. They're especially sweet this

new pigpig

2009-06-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's our newest addition named Squirt, partnered with Julie. She's overcome her shyness since being paired with Julie, and she's turning into a really friendly animal. Jumpy and fast, as all young cavies are, but talkative and interested in people.Steve Williams posted a link to a Sims 3 ongoing blog. (I am still stuck in Sims 1 mode - it's an amazingly fun black hole of a time vortex, so I

The Event

2009-06-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Flopsy pig pig died yesterday afternoon. It was very sad, but good for the kids to experience a small taste of grief, even if only for a beloved pet. Her final resting place was a Grape Nuts box cut to size. A. let the kids pick where to put her grave, so they chose a spot next to the wisteria bush. S. put a little pot of grass on the spot and we went to Happy Teriyaki for dinner so we could

flopsy pig pig

2009-06-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

I am in here because it would be a sin to laugh right now. I am cursed with a tweaky sense of humor that crops up at inappropriate times.Early this afternoon A. discovered our oldest guinea pig Flopsy: limp and prostrate, shallowly panting. It's warm outside, so we don't know if this is the result of old age, or if she's just suffering with heat exhaustion. We gave her an ice pack and misted

a series of common events

2009-06-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

This morning, D. said his band at Maplewood was having an end-of-the-year party. Bring snacks. So I dropped the boy at band and drove to Safeway to get some suitable 9:30 a.m. party snacks. Only one register is open at Safeway, and they're stacked 6 deep with customers.... Success at last! Chocolate chip mini muffins purchased, I headed back to Maplewood. As I rounded the corner, I saw our

sowing and reaping

2009-05-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's almost June. Schools are winding down, the temperature is winding up, the neighborhood kiddie pools are filling up.And my kids are inside doing school. Only now do they bemoan the wasted hours, the frittered time. My daughter is in a rage right now because the kids next door are making too much noise as they swim in their pool and slip on their waterslide. She wants me to go next door

pulpit fail

2009-05-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

We receive many emails from different organizations of varying Christian stripes - so much so, that they tend to blur together.This morning, however, we received an e-newsletter from a church where I personally was familiar with their pastor and his ministry. Since it made a blip on my recognition radar, I clicked on the link and had a look around.Apparently they have a new pulpit - a gift from

deadline

2009-04-30T00:05:00.001-07:00

30 days hath September,April, June, and November...Just wanted to get one post in for the month of April, since it is now April 30....Harking back a bit, one month ago today I was in Quebec.I still have travel photos on my camera to upload, and travel stories to tell before I forget them (for instance - from Minnesota to Western South Dakota........it pretty much sucks. No offense, or anything,

guest book review: Don Quixote

2009-03-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

This is for Rebecca, who's been taking stabs at reading this.D. read an abridged version of Don Quixote for school, and here's his assessment (and I quote):"I can tell you the entire story in very few words.He reads too many books. He becomes a nut. So then he gets a squire, and he trains his squire to become a nut. Eventually he dies because he's a nut."

context, context, context.

2009-03-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

A and I are enjoying a quiet evening in the living room. He's reading, I'm playing games on my laptop. Here's the conversation:Me (playing Scrabble online): "I'm only coming up with four-letter words."A: "Why? Are you in that bad of a mood?"

spring is not icumen in

2009-03-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is not icumen inLhude sing poo-pooh!Snoweth snow and Bloweth noseAnd Groweth impatience anew...Lhude sing poo-pooh!**edit** Apparently my song reference above is too obscure. I based it on the old Madrigal song written in Middle English, "Sumer is icumen in." Here's the original poem with a performance of the song. Enjoy! Now, back to your lives, citizens!**I awoke to a winter

mother hubbard

2009-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

A, just moments ago, commenting on his inability to find a suitable lunch:"I'm beginning to understand why tigers drive away their offspring from their territory... otherwise, there's no prey left."He further queried:"What do you call something that just lies around, causes trouble, and eats food?"(Me: "A cat.")"No. A parasite. A lawyer."He'll change his tune once I rustle up some suitable

thoughtfulness

2009-02-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

My son has just brought me a cup of my favorite tea: Ginger Peach, by the incomparable Republic of Tea. I love it hot or cold.I wonder if he's trying to soften some blow that will fall shortly?... and I hate being all suspicious like that, but these children sometimes exhibit my worst behaviors, and I have been guilty of buttering people up.Maybe I should just stop fussing and drink my tea. Good

on kitchen countertops

2009-02-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like having a freshly scrubbed kitchen countertop, pristine and cleared of clutter.It's a battle, though, to keep it that way. There must be an inner compulsion in each member of this household that drives us to put things on the countertop. The empty space beckons us to spread out one's cartooning supplies, the monsters made of Sculpey, the assorted recipes that we'll be using