Completely random
Big Fat Cheater Pants
I am behind today. There are many reasons, including the holiday weekend (in the US Monday was Columbus Day) and the fact that someone was Put Out about having to run in almost rain conditions. Can you tell? Instead of rocketing along at near-heart attack pace, we took a more leisurely approach today. Which was…
Read MoreHead space
When I quit my job to start freelancing, lo these many years ago, I was very serious about my work space.I had a little office, and I would trundle up there each morning with my patient brown dog and sit in my seat until I had made the requisite number of phone calls or written…
Read MoreReview
Audio books listened to: Nine Favorite: No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko (Caveat: The Graveyard Book will always be my very favorite. As my children grow, I find it more mournful, but each summer that we listen it’s like running into an old friend.) Sharks sighted: None (Thank God!) Boat rides taken: Two…
Read MoreKeeping Cool
Is it hot where you are? It’s been brutally hot here. We’re keeping cool by dipping into the ocean, into pools, having water gun fights. Some of us are devouring our own weight in watermelon, others (ahem) are quietly turning into iced green tea addicts. Listening to The Graveyard Book again in the car —…
Read MoreGarden Spells
Summer in New England is short and temperamental. The warm weather comes and goes in a flash, the sun visits and then retreats. It’s fickle and gorgeous and a season to appreciate but not to count on. Because we were away for two weeks, and then recovering for another week or so, I missed the…
Read MoreDia Dhuit!
I’ve been cheating on you, my pretties. Whilst you thought I was here, slogging away at the computer, I was actually there, eating scones with clotted cream, drinking pots of tea, and walking about the Irish countryside. You know all that stuff about how poetic the Irish are? It’s true. One rainy day, I asked…
Read MoreSnark, Deleted
This was originally a snarky post to the driver who almost sent me into a ditch when I was out jogging this weekend, but cooler heads have prevailed. (Lady in the tan SUV, you can thank my husband. In the meantime, back away from the accelerator!) While I calm down, I’m sending you over to…
Read MoreSpring Has Sprung
It is spring, and the bloody bluebird, instead of laying eggs, is sitting on my bird feeder, gobbling up the grubs and then flying his fuzzy blue you-know-what off to someone else’s nesting box. (To be fair, the bluebirds DID begin a nest, but their nest has disappeared and a chickadee is happily building there…
Read MoreThe Bluebird of Happiness
Years ago, when we lived in Connecticut, our house overlooked a meadow. It was wide and grassy and bordered a copse of trees, the perfect habitat for birds. We’d put up a large bird house to attract purple martins, because we also had mosquitoes the size of eagles. And then one day when I was…
Read MoreFlyby
It has been pointed out to me that I’ve been sounding a wee bit melancholy lately. I suppose I am. Living in New England is a special gift. You see, first hand, how fast the time goes with the changing of the seasons, how quickly the buds blossom and disappear. Heck, sometimes we don’t have…
Read More