You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Have reached a new milestone in old ladyishness today - brought my reading glasses home from work to use at night.

song: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet • artist: Bachman-Turner Overdrive

a couplet for Barry Manilow

Happy 70th Birthday to Barry Manilow

Writer of songs you'd rather not admit you know

Parenting is...

more often about the circle of laundry than the circle of life.

Photograph

Our parents took photographs with Eastman Kodak point-and-shoot cameras loaded with 12, 24, or at most 36, potential film exposures (maybe an extra two if you loaded the camera just right).
For comparison, I have 2403 photos on my camera right now.
In order to take pictures inside, they had to use flash cubes: six or eight flashes to a cube.
And still - despite the handicaps - they all managed to get at least one embarrassing photo of us in the tub.

song: Photograph • artist: Def Leppard

Ramble On

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West.
Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

"Mommy, why are you reading so slowly?"
"Because I'm sad. And the story is good."

song: Ramble On • artist: Led Zepplin

Stairway to Heaven

S continues to count stairs wherever we go. 
I think I mentioned this earlier since he's been doing it since he first got the hang of counting back in March. Not only does he count steps and stairs in new places, he continues to count the stairs in our own house (12). And it's not ironic counting, or just announcing from memory that there are 12 steps. Every time he descends the stairs he counts them which is sometimes frustrating when you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry as in "come on! there are 12 steps, we all KNOW there are 12 steps will you stop counting and come on already!" But when I'm not in a rush I find my son's step counting to be possibly the most grounding activity I've ever witnessed. 
In zazen we're instructed to focus on our breath in order to give us something to focus on in the present so our mind doesn't wander.  In a display of his Buddha nature, my son practices this without any instruction There's nothing more in the present than counting the steps you take as you descent a flight of stairs. And there's nothing that says things are in a constant state of change as counting the same stairs every day since it speaks to the possibility that that number could, one day, change.
Taking a page from S's example, C and I counted the steps up Scargo Tower the other day (37) but we didn't tell S about it because we figured he'd be mad to known we'd been somewhere (somewhere with stairs) without him.
It could, on the other hand, be some early warning sign of OCD but either way, when I feel as if I'm loosing my grasp on reality (which happens more frequently than I care to admit) I think I'll remind myself to count the stairs under my feet. It's not the stairway to heaven exactly but perhaps it is the stairway to enlightenment.

Parenting is...

pulling an orange, plastic, spider ring out of your pocket and having no recollection of how it got there.

One Bad Apple

So the apple's organic but what about the glue on the back of the giant sticker?

song: One Bad Apple • artist: The Osmonds

a limerick for Maurice Sendak (on his 85th birthday)

Maurice Sendak a writer of books
about wild things with fearsome looks
Mark his birthday we might
share a cake with delight
Baked by Pierre in the kitchen at night

No One is to Blame

One of the twins pooped in the tub today and even though they alerted me to the fact, they both vehemently denied having done the deed.
I couldn't figure it out myself. 
Was it the one who scampered off to get dressed by himself? 
Or was it the one who lagged behind to make sure I cleaned up the mess?

song: No One is to Blame • artist: Howard Jones

Cherokee Nation

Hey! I say that Western Fort Playmobil with Native Americans shooting flaming arrows at the frontier guys is unpc. 

I also say that a song about Cherokee Nation sung by a band called Paul Revere and the Raiders is ridiculously ironic.

song: Cherokee Nation • artist: Paul Revere and the Raiders

Love Stinks

Last week I posted about the unlikeness of a cat on a four-foot leash catching a chipmunk.
You'd think it would also be highly unlikely that a cat on a four-food leash would get sprayed by a skunk.
But you'd be wrong.

song: Love Stinks • artist: J. Geils Band

Walk This Way

When I go out for my nightly loop around Pine Bay I have to walk on Quaker Road for maybe 1/8 of a mile. It's the part of the walk where I encounter the most cars.

I've noticed that when I'm walking against the traffic (on my way out) the cars will generally pull way way over to the other side of the road when they drive past me. 

I hardly think this is necessary as I'm an averaged-sized person walking to the outside of the white line. I'd be happy if the cars just slowed down a bit - unless of course you're a really cr*ppy driver - then - by all means, pull way, way over and pass me on the opposite side of the street.

I've also noticed that on my way back, when I'm walking with the traffic (it seems silly to cross the street to walk against the traffic for 1/8th of a mile only to have to cross back on a curve to get to my road), the cars rarely veer to the other side of the road in fact they neither slow down nor pull over. You would think the cars would instead be more wary of me considering it's usually much darker when I'm walking home. 

My rationale for this is that because I'm technically not following the rules of the road and walking with the traffic the drivers figure they don't have to look out for me.

Kinda passive aggressive don't you think?

song: Walk this Way • artist: Aerosmith

Waiting on a Friend

 Waiting for my best friend to wake up. #1

Waiting for my best friend to wake up. #2

song: Waiting on a Friend • artist: The Rolling Stones

Parenting is ...

being the only UNO player out of five who is actually keeping track of whose turn it is.

When I Come Around

If I over steep my green tea until it's bitter and tastes bad - is it still good for me?

song: When I Come Around • artist: Green Day