Pushing on a Rope
Family
You gotta get up and try, try, try
We enjoyed a belated holiday celebration last night with our former neighbors. Now that we don’t see them over the fence or at the front door each day, it’s a great treat to spend time with them, see how big the kids are getting, hear the crazy things they say, see the youngest one (conceived … Continue reading
Can we talk?
Enjoying your in-between days, as a friend calls them? I am frantically trying to but they are moving too damn fast — it’s as though I’m watching the hours slip through my fingers. Still, it’s nice to spend time with family and friends, have a little time to breathe, a little time to sleep, start … Continue reading
Merry Christmas!
Wishing you peace, joy and love — today and all year through. From our house to yours, Merry Christmas!
Yes, Catherine, there is a Santa Claus
Reposted from December 20, 2011, because, well, we all need to believe. One of the great things about being a parent is a chance to reconnect with your own childhood –something Basil and I do with gusto at this time of year. Playing Santa is perhaps a parent’s biggest pleasure — even when the kid would rather … Continue reading
My own elf — not on the shelf
Had my own Christmas miracle today: Catherine jumped in to help with our last-minute preparations. She rolled out of bed before noon, helped make the gravy for Tuesday’s stuffed shells, emptied the garbage, made up a couple of plates of cookies, and found time between text messages to put away some of the stuff that … Continue reading
Looking back on a year full of laughs
We started 2012 with a walk at the beach and a promise to breathe and keep things in balance. It was the last time that happened all year. Like many of you, we had a year full of ups and downs, challenges, setbacks, milestones and, well, you name it. Through it all, we tried — … Continue reading
Onward
So, the world didn’t end overnight. It’s officially the first day of winter, four days before Christmas, and all the unfinished tasks that were here when I went to bed remain. Guess I really have no more excuses to avoid the housecleaning.
Remembering Christmases past
There she is, in all her glory: This year’s Christmas tree is dressed at last. As crazy as it is to get everything done this time of year, decorating the tree is great fun and a welcome walk down memory lane. I don’t do the tinsel and garland my mother used to arrange so … Continue reading
Save the last batch for me
It is time to declare the Great Christmas Cookie Bakeoff of 2012 complete. Sadly, I have fallen far short of my quota. My eyes and heart were bigger than the allotment of time on the calendar. But we will celebrate with Basil’s family in less than a week and the tree is only half-decorated, there … Continue reading
Mr. Vanech’s Christmas Tree
Longtime readers of this blog may remember The Great Christmas Tree Disaster of 2011. (You can read about it here.) Determined to keep the tree upright and the ornaments intact this year, today we returned the tree to its narrow corner next to the decorative moulding and trussed it up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Here’s … Continue reading
Pushing on a Rope 