THE SCENE: Our dining room, last night. We are finishing up a dinner of Honey Baked Lentils and baked butternut squash. Nicholas, age 7, has gobbled two chunks of squash but only a few bites of lentils. NICK: Okay, I'm done. Can I have dessert? MAMA: (noting lentil level) Hmmm. You could have Bean Fudge. … Continue reading Dessert: A Matter of Emphasis
What to Serve for Coffee Hour
Many places of worship, and a lot of non-religious organizations, have a "coffee hour" or "fellowship time" or some other name for "when we all mill around and have a little something to eat and drink." At our church, this is a particularly vital time. Many interesting conversations happen, friendships are formed, and plans for … Continue reading What to Serve for Coffee Hour
I wish I was a crayon.
Nicholas, age seven, recently remarked--seemingly out of nowhere, but I'm sure there was plenty of context in his mind-- "I wish I was a crayon. Except that people would be scraping my head off all the time."
“Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” Review
I was an avid viewer of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" when I was a little girl, and I renewed my appreciation of the show in my late twenties when I read that Mister Rogers was about to retire and programmed my VCR to record his final three episodes. I enjoyed them several times before my son … Continue reading “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” Review
Three Weeks of Pesco-Vegetarian Dinners for Early Autumn
A pesco-vegetarian is someone who eats no meat except fish. That’s what we do when we’re at home and most of the time when we eat in other places. Here is what we made for dinner (and a few lunches) the past three weeks, using many vegetables and mushrooms from our community-supported agriculture share in … Continue reading Three Weeks of Pesco-Vegetarian Dinners for Early Autumn
Sing a New Song!
I've had a busy few weeks with very little time for writing! But when I saw that today's Works-for-Me Wednesday headline post is about finding balance in your life, I thought of something I've been doing on my way to work many mornings that helps me to feel balanced within this vast and complex world. … Continue reading Sing a New Song!
Spaghetti Sauce, September 16 Version (with apple!)
This most recent in my series of spaghetti sauce recipes is good for "Guess the Mystery Ingredient" if you like to play that game. I added the apple, and added it early in the cooking process, because I was concerned that the mostly-green pepper would give this sauce a sharp, tangy flavor. I have disliked … Continue reading Spaghetti Sauce, September 16 Version (with apple!)
Clothesline Hangers for Basement or Porch
In my article on line-drying laundry, I verbally described these handy clothesline hangers that can be made out of scrap lumber and installed in any place that has exposed rafters/joists in the ceiling. I finally decided to share some photos of them, since this is the kind of thing that really is easier to understand … Continue reading Clothesline Hangers for Basement or Porch
Living on the Flip Side
The sky is so blue today. The sun is so bright, the leaves are still green, and the birds are singing. It's a beautiful day, just like the eleventh of this month eleven years ago. I remember walking home after my office closed early on September 11, 2001, thinking how impossibly wrong it felt that … Continue reading Living on the Flip Side
Things Not To Do: Toddler Toothbrushing Edition
Our son Nicholas is seven years old now and sometimes puts up a fuss about brushing his teeth, but he's nowhere near as resistant as he was when he was a toddler, and the lesson I learned then still seems to apply. Soon after his teeth emerged and we started brushing them, the novelty wore … Continue reading Things Not To Do: Toddler Toothbrushing Edition
The Toilet Seat Position Problem, Solved!
It's an age-old battle of the sexes (well, at least as old as toilets with hinged seats): When a male has raised the toilet seat, should he then lower it, showing courtesy to females sharing the bathroom? or should the female take responsibility for checking the position of the seat before she uses it, showing … Continue reading The Toilet Seat Position Problem, Solved!
Summer Vegetable Sunflower Blop
Sometimes I have trouble thinking of a good name for a recipe, especially when it's something I have been making for myself without talking to anybody about it, because in my mind it can be called "kind of like what I made the other day" or "mmmmm" or "RY3A0128" or whatever. The name for today's … Continue reading Summer Vegetable Sunflower Blop
Things Not To Do: Song in Your Head Edition
THIS IS A THOUGHT YOU MUST NEVER THINK: Hey, it's really great how I am focusing on my work, not like last Friday when I got "Total Eclipse of the Heart" stuck in my head and couldn't get rid of it and it was driving me nuts. Forever's gonna start tonight! has taken on a … Continue reading Things Not To Do: Song in Your Head Edition
Welcome to Earth Suburb.
This is one of my favorite games. I like to build these maps using the cards I designed in 2001. I must have built hundreds of suburban developments by now, but I have never posted enough photos to give a clear idea of what this free card game is really like. At first, it may … Continue reading Welcome to Earth Suburb.
Babies and Television
Children younger than 2 years old should not watch any television at all. The experts have been saying this for more than a decade, yet a lot of the parents I know think this is such an absurd idea that nobody could possibly comply with it. We did. Almost. We occasionally took Nicholas to restaurants … Continue reading Babies and Television
Treasure Chest
We've been having two main problems with our seven-year-old Nicholas since he was about three. Recently, I thought of a new strategy that just may be working to solve both problems! One problem is that Nicholas is sometimes rude, bossy, and defiant. Not all the time. Sometimes he's quite a delightful companion for hours at … Continue reading Treasure Chest
EASY Homemade Baby Food!
This is NOT a paid endorsement. This is my unsolicited review of a product I liked. This is an idea that's been around a while (both my mother and Daniel's say they had something like this when we were babies in the early 1970s) but I hardly ever see today's parents doing it or talking … Continue reading EASY Homemade Baby Food!
Pittsburgh Yam Fake (a sweet potato dish for summer!)
This is the dish to make if you wish you could make New England Yam Bake, but it's 85 degrees in your kitchen and anyway what you have handy is 2 cups of sweet potatoes that were sliced raw, frozen, and thawed (see the first Saturday of Three Weeks of Vegetarian Dinners for historical details) … Continue reading Pittsburgh Yam Fake (a sweet potato dish for summer!)
New England Yam Bake
This is Daniel's mother Elsa's traditional Thanksgiving side dish. I'm posting it in July because I'm about to post a way to make a similar but non-baked dish if you crave something like this (and/or have sweet potatoes to use up) in hot weather! We had made the original recipe many times, referencing a copy … Continue reading New England Yam Bake
Things Not To Do: Home Organizing Edition UPDATE!
More than a year ago, I advised my readers never to start a To Be Filed pile, explaining my seven years of guilty woe over not getting around to sorting and putting away those papers. Soon after, I reported making some progress on the pile using the power of Lent, but I admitted that I … Continue reading Things Not To Do: Home Organizing Edition UPDATE!
The Earthling's Handbook 