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Spinning Wheels
Let’s start with a poll: When I came home yesterday, I immediately noticed footprints leading to the front door. We hardly use the front door, so we don’t shovel to it. Maywood Man has enough to do with plowing and there’s no reason for me to shovel a walk that no one ever uses. There… Continue reading
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Behind Closed Doors
It’s another snowy day and, while Maywood Man braves the elements to keep tractors running, slays a tree for firewood, and plows us out, I need to do something more than read by the fire to justify my existence. Pumpkin soup, venison chili, and fennel tea cookies are not sufficient offering. No, I must do something… Continue reading
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Fine…really
Every now and then I wake up and feel…fine. No complaints. Quite satisfactory. (To some Brits that means “deliriously wonderful” but I do mean “quite satisfactory.”) This naturally involves waking up to daylight. (It is never fine to wake up at 5:30 a.m.) And it may coincide with not having to hurry up to be anywhere. (Like… Continue reading
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All that glitters
That extra sparkle about me this season? It ain’t Christmas cheer. It’s that daggone glitter on the wrapping paper. Seriously, wrapping paper with glitter on it should come with a warning label. CAUTION: Contents of this shrink-wrapped tube of paper contain microscopic bits of green sparkles that will stick to every surface they contact, including… Continue reading
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Bee-bopping the Christmas Bread
It’s raisin bread day. And I’m hopping around the kitchen with Pentatonix “Carol of the Bells” on repeat, trying to nail my part. The KitchenAid mixer is thumping bread dough in time to the music. Maywood Man joins in with the tenor part. Oh how they pound, raising the sound. Who knows what the bees… Continue reading
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Where’s Mom?
Originally posted on Slightly Off the Grid: When we were little, my siblings and I used to do hide-and-seek with my mother. It wasn’t a game. She was really hiding. And we were seeking. It was a big house–three floors plus a basement–and as we climbed the stairs calling, “Mom! Mooooooooooooommmmmmm!” we were sure that… Continue reading
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Where’s Mom?
When we were little, my siblings and I used to do hide-and-seek with my mother. It wasn’t a game. She was really hiding. And we were seeking. It was a big house–three floors plus a basement–and as we climbed the stairs calling, “Mom! Mooooooooooooommmmmmm!” we were sure that she must have gone down to one… Continue reading
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The Ghosts of Vegetables Past
This is not a refrigerator story. It’s a tribute to the dead mutant pumpkin on our front porch … …and a reflection on why white blobs embalmed in red liquid creep me out.The dead mutant is one of three giant pumpkins produced in the garden this year, grown from giant pumpkin seeds. One of them–a white pumpkin– cracked… Continue reading
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Embracing the lunatic fringe
I was called a lunatic this weekend and it made me really happy. Why? Because I was in an auditorium filled with other lunatics and it was so nice to have company. We were all lunatics. Language learning loonies who sold out a conference to hear a linguist. Stephen Krashen spoke at the MDTESOL conference. For… Continue reading
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The Reluctant Pioneer
Hear ye, hear ye! I’m changing the name of this blog from Maywood Living to The Reluctant Pioneer. (I’ll make the switch after I post this, so you dear subcribers don’t get all confused.) Why the name change? A cousin once told my mother that he didn’t read the post she sent him because he… Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 