Inadequate Materials

Still alive out here in the middle of nowhere! I've had some time-management issues this month that have made blogging and commenting near-impossible. The Captain has been away and Rosemary's Baby's tutor had to take a 3-week sick leave. Living where we do, there's no one to take over when our tutor gets sick. The major lesson I've learned from this is that MY KID NEEDS HIS THERAPY! Holy cow, he's been a little terror! I literally cannot spend more than one minute at a time on the computer or I go back upstairs to find the little monkey either raiding the cupboards and fridge of things he shouldn't have, or in the garage, trying desperately to figure out how to back the car out of the driveway for a joyride. He's suddenly napping at weird hours and appearing in my room expecting breakfast at 3AM. No-therapy-RB is killing me! However, all should return to normal next week and I am to be banished to the basement, as my presence on the main floor duri...

I've been thinking that if I don't post again soon, you're all going to think that my last post was a suicide note. So, rest assured, I'm still alive and well. Just buried in tomatoes. We got our first frost last night and it is CHILLY! There's still a lot to be harvested from the garden, and between that and having to do a lot more work than I'm used to for RB's program, time is at a bit of a premium for me right now. But I am slowly trying to make the rounds and leave some comments, and eventually I'll be back on track with my own posts. I hope... Before I get back to chopping tomatoes, on another very grave and important topic, I heard some news that rocked my world this morning. Maybe you heard it too. THE EASY BAKE OVEN IS LOSING ITS LIGHT BULB!!! That's right. In the interests of preserving our already crippled environment, Hasbro has redesigned the classic first kitchen appliance of aspiring little chefs to include a proper heating ele...

Between  this morbid song playing every single morning on the radio and then running through my head all day long, and my recent birthday (which was AWESOME!), I'm forced to face my own mortality. I've told the Captain many times that when I pop my cogs, there is to be no funeral, and that I'm to be disposed of in the cheapest way possible. But since stuffing me in a garbage bag and tossing me in the river (to loosely paraphrase the above mentioned song) could potentially get my family a hefty fine, and funerals are not so much for the dead as for the left-behind, I've decided I'm going to give them all an alternative option. I'm nothing if not flexible. Food : As I will likely have spent all my money at Old Navy, leaving nothing in the way of a will, the least I can do is insist that my kids have a bang-up send-off party for me. And the way we party in our family revolves entirely around the food. My favourite food (indeed, my favourite smell ) is barbecu...

People born on August 15th : Napoleon (had a bit of a complex) Princess Anne (horsey, but her dogs are as badly behaved as mine, so she wins points for that) Julia Child (my favourite!!) ME! (my second favourite) I'm taking off this morning to run a couple of errands and have a little 38th birthday fun, me-style (ie. rummaging through other people's junk at the thrift store). It's my gift to myself. Have a great day. I know I will!

As the old adage goes, when the cat marks its territory in your combat helmet, throw it in a sink full of vinegar (the helmet, not the cat), and cross your fingers. Wait, that's not a real adage?! Well it is now. As of today. At our house. If the smell doesn't come out, the Captain is just going to have to tell the Quartermaster he needs a new helmet because the old one has a bullet hole in it. Let's hope the Quartermaster doesn't call his bluff. Here's something the animals have not yet ruined: My kids had such a great time climbing on the fiberglass rocks at the zoo last month that I got it into my head that maybe I could buy a really big rock for the backyard. When I mentioned this plan to my fabulous neighbours, they laughed at me (I get laughed at out here a lot) and promptly drove me out to their pasture (closest I've ever been to a  huge herd of cows). It turns out the pasture is covered with huge rocks, and they told me to take my pick. Who knew?...

Staycation is over. Bring on the long weekend! We had a fun time vacationing at home this year. It's not the same as going away, but it definitely has its perks. Not dealing with overstimulated kids in a hotel room every night is one of them! The pictures: A marshmallow roast and camping out for Firstborn and the Captain, some fun with tie-dyeing, and a little fiddling around on my sewing machine so my Harry Potter nut could have his own Hogwarts robes. Various lunches in various locales. Taking the kids out to eat is so much less stressful than it used to be, and around here we can enjoy a scenic trip home down a back road. Firstborn won that disguise at the arcade in Booming Metropolis (scroll down for details) and insisted on wearing it for the rest of the day. We got some funny looks at the mall. Luckily we're very, very used to getting funny looks everywhere we go. We have reptile gardens nearby and decided to check them out. The kids had a great t...

Once upon a time when wrinkles and grey hair were things I associated with the elderly, I looked across a college classroom and saw this guy: He was quiet and grouchy-looking and I kind of got the impression he didn't like me because he never smiled. But he was cute and he smoked cigarettes and wore flannel shirts and coats that looked like they belonged to someone's grandpa. Who wouldn't want to be invited to that party?! Some 17 years later, he's off the cigarettes, but still as grouchy as ever. And today he turns 40. Happy Birthday, Captain! You're still the party I want an invite to! Just please, this time, wear a new shirt.