On a tour at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, while looking at the equipment and reproductions of the photographs that were used to discover Pluto, we learned about Clyde Tombaugh, the man behind the discovery. The story as I remember it is that Percival Lowell believed there to be another planet because of oddities in … Read more
Climbing Daddy and I were talking about mulching a small part of the back yard and got to talking about wood versus rubber mulch. I’m generally not a fan of rubber mulch. It’s made from tires and has all kinds of crap in it that’s not good for plants and not good for kids to … Read more
Rocket Kid is attending half day camp. (We’re all very grateful for places that are maintaining COVID protocols.) We don’t have to leave the house until eight or so. On Tuesday, his first day, I woke up at about six and decided I was going to run before I had to get him up, then … Read more
We went camping in northern Arizona last week, and aside from the fun stuff, I came home with two messages I want to share with you. The forests are giant tinderboxes We stayed in a pine forest, and the ground was coated in a spongy blanket of dry pine needles. Because gathering was permitted in … Read more
Just be yourself! It’s the little things that matter. Follow your heart. Time heals all wounds. You can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t give up. So much advice is tossed around, getting likes and shares, cultivating warm and fuzzies. Also cultivating confusion and shame. The advice has a place, but it’s not … Read more
“The treasure is more fun when it’s lost.” That was the opening line from Gabe Anderson’s email. “Found treasure becomes normal treasure and eventually we forget that it’s treasure at all.” It was thought-provoking. His context was work (he’s a musician), but it applies to everything that we have on a sort of pedestal in … Read more
“People from the northeast are so rude/straightforward/abrupt.” Or so I’ve heard. My experience is more that if you ask a stranger for directions in those places, they’re going to give you directions and move on. No small talk about the day or why you’re going there or the weather or where you’re from. But I’m … Read more
Pet peeves. We seem to all have them. We can all identify little things that bother us more than perhaps they should. People who reply-all. People who write in all caps. People driving slow in the left lane. People chewing with their mouth open. People who do their hair and makeup to go to the … Read more
In most families as I’ve known them, Mom knows what’s going on. She is the keeper of the schedules, the appointments, the relationships between the kids and their friends, the homework, the extracurricular activities. She plans, shops for, prepares the food. Perhaps she nags for someone else to do the dishes, or perhaps it expends … Read more
A friend sent me an article recently called The Japanese Art of Grieving a Miscarriage (You can read it here.) It’s a beautiful article. I wasn’t sold on it at first then was glad I kept reading because the whole concept turned out to be lovely. I’ve long believed that the way we handle early … Read more