About Me

Little Tikes Kitchen: Pass it On

,9:03 pm

Today saw the passing on of a much-loved Little Tikes kitchen set, complete with dishes and real fake food. Sigh. When the kids were toddlers, playing make-believe with pretend foodstuffs (or worse, Barbies) made me see double, made me want to lie down on the carpet and go to sleep.  So you’d think maybe I […]

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The Windsurfer Stays

,1:47 am

In the upper recesses of our garage, an ancient windsurfer presides. It rests on the top shelf, tucked behind the leaf blower, an old bicycle tire, and tiny ski boots we’re holding onto for the grandkids. I think the grandkids may have actually outgrown the boots by now, but never mind. Project for another day. […]

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Things I Gave Away: Today’s Shortlist

,10:22 pm

• Parenting books, some of which I never read. In some cases, the title alone was lesson enough: “How To Behave So Your Children Will Too” by Sal Severe. Well-put Sal. • Booking appointments back-to-back, especially if any of the timing is contingent on my teenager getting out of bed on time. • Multi-tasking in […]

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From Thermos to Whine

,12:01 am

I dare not bore anyone to death with today’s toss list of torn lunchbags, old sunglasses and half-burnt birthday candles. The sheer agony of trying to decide – should I keep just four or five Thermoses – given their different sizes and accessories, just about puts me over the edge. Seriously? The left side of my brain […]

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Shelving Self-Help

,9:57 pm

I was half-napping in the family room today, beaten semi-comatose by the April rain, when a row of books caught my eye. A dozen or so, lined up neatly on the highest shelf of the bookcase. Self-help books. I studied them briefly from my position on the couch until seized, suddenly, by the urge to […]

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Just Stuffing

,1:35 am

At this early stage in my blog, I realize that I haven’t yet examined my philosophical interest in the physical aspect of this quest, that is, the giving up of material things. That may seem a trivial concern when we are talking about, say, a pink-and-purple beaded skipping rope with one handle missing, but, wait […]

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Things I Gave Away: Today’s Shortlist

,10:28 pm

to the Goodwill: a bagful of my clothes including some distinctly unsexy flannette pajamas (I think I can hear my husband cheering somewhere off in the background); a bagful of kids’ clothes, unexamined by myself, chosen and gathered by my older daughter — thus energized, she then went on to rout out and re-organizer her younger […]

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Keepers Shortlist: Easter Sunday

,12:49 am

In an email report from my mother: “We’ve not seen any great number of ants in the house. Just the daring few that show up in the bath tub and then get drowned for their audacity.” Watching my two year old grandson crack open an easter egg, carefully pick out the hidden chocolate chips and eat them one […]

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One Trophy I Kept

,1:30 pm

Scanlon Creek Mountain Bike Race 1995 Mountain Bike Race 3rd place, 1st place OK, I know this is actually a picture of two: one is mine and one is my husband’s. To see why I chose to keep these carefully chosen two out of a pile of glory, see Trophies I Gave Away, Memories to Keep.

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