John and I set off to Mount Vernon with Uncles Gilbert and Frank and Aunt Katherine. We enjoyed the excellent new movie and the look at the model house. John and I opted out of the mansion tour which the others took and chose to romp on the front lawn and look in the outbuildings. […]
John and I made reindeer food Christmas Eve (oatmeal and sprinkles) and then went outside to sprinkle it on the lawn. Well, that was my plan. He thought a better approach would be to throw the bag on the roof. Which he managed after numerous tries. Apparently the reindeer were unable to open the bag […]
When it is 60 degrees and sunny you just can’t help but put the top down. Even if it is on the way back from Christmas shopping. We’ve also had window washing weather (which had to include hedge trimming weather so I could fit the ladder between the holly and the wall); kickball weather last […]
The name of the 7th Harry Potter book was revealed yesterday. Try as I might I can’t parse it into any form that hints that Snape really is good. But I’m still sure that he is.
The name of the book was revealed through the jkrowling web site, but I would have never even found […]
I found water on the upstairs bathroom floor last night and water on the basement bathroom floor this morning. With 10 days of guests on the horizon this could be a real problem. I’m hoping they are connected since two plumbing problems would be a little too much. In the nine years we’ve lived hear […]
Two of my favorite Christmas traditions happened this week. The second was Santa’s annual tour of our neighborhood from the cab of a fire truck. While he waves from one side his assistant tosses candy from the other. (Santa on top was outlawed years ago.) This year to my delight they threw plastic bags containing […]
Stratford Landing is undergoing a lock down drill under the watchful eyes of the county today. I was there for the test run last Friday. Since they had already practiced and discussed it I didn’t have to deal with any questions or kids upset by the idea of cowering in a corner of the darkened […]
I like white lights on the Christmas tree because they show off the ornaments much better. The rest of the family likes colored lights. I’m not sure there is a real reason for liking this, but they do. So I decided that this year the person who put up the outside Christmas lights or who […]
The calendar has turned from softball to basketball season. (Well, not for Caroline. Taking advantage of the 50 degree + weather Caroline’s coach has called a practice today.) Since Caitlin is not actually playing basketball despite the fact that her father is coaching several of her friends we have declared that she needs to find […]
We got word last week that the father of one of John’s kindergarten classmates, Trane McCloud, was killed in Iraq. The family had moved to Hawaii after first grade, but had rented out their house and planned to return here.