This year I accomplished my personal goal (the one I co-opted from my better half) of completing 50 half marathons before my 50th birthday with the Bridge of the Gods Half Marathon in August. This was over a period of about 12 years (the overall goal, not that one run), with the majority of the events […]
I’m not really a lot of help with house projects, which is okay because we don’t do them often. We’ve always known we’re not “house project people” and are (or …. at least one of us is) entirely comfortable with that. We are the kind of people who would call professionals to change out light […]
For Sale: Large, rustic-looking headboard with a story. Well, not really a story, story, as in: lovingly-hewn-of-ancient-willow-by-handsome-woodsman-for-his-beguiling-bride kind of story. Nothing so dramatic. There is a story, just a tad humbler. I’ll get to that in a minute. Said headboard is a handmade item, with slight imperfections and irregularities, and I’ll be honest, it’s a […]
Earlier this week, I was walking the dog and I came across the house of my new favorite neighbor. I don’t know if he does this every year for Halloween, just started this year, or maybe someone new moved in and is distinguishing him or herself as the new neighborhood Halloween master. I’d never even […]
I have a story for you guys, but first, it’s only fair to warn you. You may think you’re visiting what seems like a mild-mannered, sometimes goofy lifestyle/parenting/whatever-it-is blog, but you could be unwittingly putting yourself in the middle of some company you might normally avoid. Or maybe not. Maybe you do keep this kind […]
After a couple days of getting Jack situated in his new digs in Wiener Neustadt, we had some time for sightseeing. We’d contacted Hanna, a former exchange student who lives with her family in nearby Baden bei Wien, a spa town famous for its hot springs. Baden is a short train ride from Wr. Neustadt, […]
I don’t ever remember being that little girl who envisions her wedding. I don’t remember setting any particular expectations of parenthood, or thinking about what my first house might look like. There is one little daydream I have long entertained, though, without really ever thinking about it: that of our kids going to the same […]
For someone who has such a crappy memory, I remember pretty vividly that time I was late in my third trimester with our first son, feeling ginormous and crabby. Summer was coming, friends were gathering for an outdoor concert in the lovely late spring weather and I, too tired to go out, bloated, with a […]
It’s mid-summer and time to face facts: we have a kid bound for college in the fall, and I have some things to do to prepare. He’s not going to be close, either. He won’t be coming home on weekends to eat home-cooked meals or do his laundry. In fact, he won’t be able to […]
My dad liked to tell a story about a conversation he’d had with a colleague, maybe an intern or some other young employee, about how time passes faster every year the older you get. “Well, the years must just be whipping by for you, then,” this person pointed out, a statement my dad found particularly […]
