After weeks of excited anticipation, Paul, Janice and Sebastien are here.  They arrived from England yesterday after a schoolyear in Oxford and almost a month of traveling through Europe.  They’ll be staying with us as they reorient themselves to a life here again, and I am thrilled.  […]

I love coming home to good mail. Blair’s still-sparkly-eyed 96 year old grandma has a mail system that I’ve adopted: handle each piece only once if possible. Since I’ve gotten serious about it, a lovely paperless-ness has settled over our kitchen. Yesterday was a very good mail day – I came home to a big brown Chapters Indigo box. […]

A few nights ago we were treated to a fabulous summer thunderstorm. The kind that sends the kids running into the bedroom, vaulting under the covers in one smooth motion, while I barely suppress the urge to wrap the curtain around myself and break into "When the dog bites, when the bee stings...". This particular [...]

I love a good conversation.  It’s my soul’s version of a deliciously satisfying chocolate-coffee-pinot noir-endorphin mix.  Whether it’s talking about long haul trucking with my husband’s cousin at the family reunion (note to self: remember to turn down high beams when approaching a semi from behind on the highway) or washing dishes, tears dropping into the sudsy water as I listen to a close friend talk about maybe giving up on her marriage, I’m never the same person at the end of a conversation as I was at the beginning.  […]