It is early Sunday morning and it is still dark out. It is quiet and I am sad, Ivy is not at my feet or curled up on her pad in the kitchen or whimpering because she wants to play and I want to work. She is in Ohio at the kennel where Olivia and momma are staying with grandma and grandpa – I know she is wondering if we left her, again. It has been busy and I have a fuller appreciation of the workings of the house, kids, and a dog. Granted, the week has been complicated by VBS and several doctor appointments, but nonetheless, keeping all of the plates spinning requires quite an effort and even more concentration. Continue reading There and back
Tag Archives: pets
Weather
Weather fascinates me. Really, the changes in the weather are amazing, especially in our area – the Midwest. Growing up in Texas, we had two kinds of weather hot and humid or cool. Texans would claim that my cool is cold, and I would have, too until I moved here. Here summer weather can be hot and at times, but for the most part, it is mild. Right now, it is 59 and cloudy with partial clearing forecast for later in the morning and into the afternoon. The forecast high is 70 and it will drop down to 57 overnight. After twenty years of Midwestern summers, I have gotten used to the weather and I enjoy sleeping with the windows open when I can, having to throw on a sweatshirt when I need to, and wearing shorts most of the time because it’s summer. Continue reading Weather
Father’s Day – 2011
Yesterday was Father’s Day and it was time well spent. I woke early, as usual, stayed up too late, and didn’t finish what I wanted – only what I needed. This morning the alarm woke me at five and I crawled out of bed. There was an unusual orange hue to the morning sky and I wondered what was up remembering ‘red sky in morn,’ sailor be warned.’ Sure enough, we had storms headed our way. The morning routine continues; Ivy out, coffee on, and reading, checking mail, or watching a television program I recorded to watch when I have time. Continue reading Father’s Day – 2011
Good Friday

We are off from school to allow students and their families to observe Good Friday as they choose. Sometimes the day comes as part of Spring Break as it did last year and other times, like now it comes as a separate holiday. Continue reading Good Friday
Railroading…
I pulled into the driveway this evening after a long day at school to find no one at home. Ivy greeted me enthusiastically, as she always does, and I searched the counter for clues. I found none and called Beth’s cell, only to discover it lying on the kitchen counter beside me. No help, at all. Continue reading Railroading…
Pridie Aprilis – last day of March
End of March, last day of the first quarter, March thirty-first, or the day before April Fool’s. The Romans used a different calendar and thankfully Julius Caesar reformed it and later Pope Gregory added his touches but for the ways to say a date no one beats the Romans. The Ides of March, which appears as a warning to Julius in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” is the fifteenth of Martius. Continue reading Pridie Aprilis – last day of March
Spring Break – Mr. Freeze style!

Minus four at the airport, five on the temperature gauge at the cottage. There is no other way to say it, it is cold.
We left yesterday afternoon for a short trip to the cottage and visit with grandma and grandpa. We picked William up after his merit badge class – Citizenship in the World – stopped at Trader Joe’s and we were headed north by four. Continue reading Spring Break – Mr. Freeze style!
Spring Break – It’s Here!

I set my alarm for 5.15 this morning, because I wanted to get a jumpstart on the first day of Spring Break, but instead I slept in until 6.15, dressed, and was out the door to get my haircut at seven. I enjoy the weekend mornings with time to read the newspaper and get a start on the day before everyone in the house is awake. Spring Break is here and I want to make the most of it. Continue reading Spring Break – It’s Here!
New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is meant to be a day to watch college bowl games or at least that is what I grew up doing. I remember my first memory of New Year’s Day and it was New Year’s 1971. 1971 was the year that cigarette advertisements on television were outlawed and the Marlboro man was history. I remember the Cotton Bowl from Dallas and watched Notre Dame defeat Texas. I was in third grade; I remember watching the game with my dad and rooting for Notre Dame with my dad who was a rooting for Texas, Continue reading New Year’s Day
Christmas week
The schools call it Winter Break, but it really is Christmas Break and the past week has been Christmas week. It has been busy and hectic since school let loose a week ago. We have logged almost 800 miles and have completed two legs of the triangle: Wheaton to Ohio, Ohio to Michigan, with the final leg to finish later this week after New Year’s Day and the trip home. Continue reading Christmas week