I checked out some books on tape from the library to try out the concept of listening to family-friendly stories in the car while on road trips. Garrison Keillor told a story of an elderly couple in Lake Wobegon whose arguments over spending money to travel followed a specific form. The argument would leave them satisfied at the end, like playing a Chopin etude. “Why is that funny?” my son […]
Here’s the ad copy: JANE: I simply can’t stay late tonight to retype those letters, Boss! I’ve got to hurry right over to the Blood Bank to donate blood! BOSS: I know, I know. But look at these carbon copies! Fuzzier than an English sheep dog’s eyebrows! JANE: Well, don’t pin that on me! If you’d buy the right kind of carbon paper, that wouldn’t happen! Like this Roytype Park […]
I’ve been looking through old magazines again. The war was winding down by the time this one came out. No battle scenes graced the cover, just kids learning to sail. It’s full of hopeful ads. Oh, what a beautiful kitchen we’ll have! I can plan it all myself between chores! Won’t Mother be amazed? Note the fine print: We’re still in war production! But after the war you can have […]
While we were in Fredericksburg last weekend on our journey to see the wildflowers, my little family stopped in at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Back in the middle ’90s, when it was called the Nimitz Museum, The Big M and I had gone there and poked around in what was little more than a giant shed housing broken down planes and guns from World War II. It […]
Twenty-three years ago I sent an ancient, tattered, paperback copy of Gone With the Wind flying across my bedroom in a fit of rage, taking satisfaction as it thunked off the wall and landed on teal shag carpet, its red-edged pages askew. I was so mad at Margaret Mitchell. How dare she keep Scarlett and Rhett apart when they were so perfect for each other? What the hell kind of […]
We were out in the Hill Country this weekend, enjoying the beautiful wildflowers and panoramic scenery. This is the best shot I got. The bluebonnets flow in rivers out there. I’m lousy with a camera, but someone who is not posted pictures taken Saturday from the same loop, and I feel compelled to link them so you get a glimpse of how beautiful the Hill Country is right now. I’d […]
Since finishing the library build, I’ve been not particularly interested in taking on yet another home improvement project. But then my sister turned me on to this incredibly cool blog called Knock-Off Wood that got me thinking again. I’ve always had a dream of building my own furniture, and Ana is inspiring me to try something. Ana’s blog led me to Remodelaholic and another new favorite, Better After. Both contain […]
My book club recently discussed Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel about three women from Jackson, Mississippi who find themselves unexpected players in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. It’s a page-turner, and an entertaining read that led to a discussion of how people seek to right a societal wrong — and what a person of 2010 sensibilities would do if she found herself back in the ’60s. On that note, […]
This movie trailer seems apropos today. Sadly, I kind of want to see the movie!
Flabby Brain 