humor
-
Nougat Non-Non
I should have bought the salted caramels. Then I would have some to share because they would not have ended up in the trash can at Paris Charles DeGaulle airport security. We were vacationing in Port en Bessin, Normandy. After enjoying coffee and pastries in the brisk morning sun at Café du Port, we explored Continue reading
-
Sleeping Beauty Gets Power Tools
Thanks to the miracle of 20 volt rechargeable lithium batteries, I now have my own weed whacker and hedge trimmer. It’s high time. After 17 years in this house, the woods are reclaiming the property. We’re close to the Sleeping Beauty scenario in which I (the Beauty) fall under a magic spell (my bed) and Continue reading
-
Emily and The Tree
Little Emily loves the Japanese maple in the Maywood yard. It’s over fifty years old, planted by Emily’s great-great grandmother Retta. And it is the perfect tree for little ones to learn to climb on. The main trunk divides into two very low to the ground, so little legs can easily climb into it. The Continue reading
-
Bees in the mancave? How cool is that?
It started as a joke at choir rehearsal. The bitter winter killed off all the bees and some wise guy suggested that we bring them inside for the winter. Roars of laughter as we all contemplated John and the bees watching football in his mancave. More laughter at the death glare I shot at my Continue reading
-
Squirrels with tiny shovels?
You know it has been a long winter when the woodland critters start digging themselves paths through the snow. This morning, I looked out the kitchen window to see not just prints but a regular daggone pathway leading from the house to a hydrangea bush. I figured it was a squirrel route, but squirrels (like my students) don’t have Continue reading
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Slightly Off the Grid 