Today the weather was amazing. The temperature was perfect. The breeze was light. The leaves are orange, yellow and red. The sky was the purest of sky blues, not a single cloud in sight. I took a little time after lunch to read an excellent book in my hammock under…

My mom gifted Mr. TOF with a slingshot that shoots little helicopter like things into the air to flutter down. Currently they are scattered in trees and on the roof of the toolshed and all sorts of other places. He loves propelling them up and seeing if he can catch…

Our neighbors got a new golden retriever puppy this summer, and it has proved to be a major source of entertainment around here. Although Midas is now a young teenage dog, he still has plenty of energy and is showered with love at every opportunity. If a kidlet sees Midas…

September is really the best of both worlds outside in the yard. Late summer flowers are still going strong, splashing purple, orange, and pink in amidst the vibrant green grass that has revived from the miserable summer. Then the leaves on the trees and vines start to turn, and the…

When I had to rearrange a setting of Psalm 139 to make it work for Sunday School music with elementary students this month, I ended up learning to use the free version of Sibelius notation software. It involved a little bit of trial and error, but in the end I…

The Devious Snail plays in his school jazz band, which means that I get to hear more of this lovely trumpet being practiced in the evenings and sometimes even early in the mornings before he heads off to jazz band rehearsal before school.

The Banana had been looking forward to her golden birthday for years. It ended up being a ridiculously crazy busy day, but we managed to get a little celebrating in. One of her big requests was balloons!! Since it was her golden birthday, I splurged and purchased two bunches of…

I was gifted with a giant zucchini earlier this month, and it was so big that I had enough zucchini to make 5 dozen muffins and two chocolate cakes! I was very excited that my friend posted the recipe for her amazing zucchini chocolate cake on her blog. It was…

He’s growing like crazy. He’s also eating like crazy. He only has .25 inches to go before he passes me in height.

Since they will be in choir rehearsals every Sunday evening starting this week, I let them pick the beach for our Labor Day weekend Sunday night excursion, and they unanimously choose the sandy beach. They swam, turned cartwheels in the water, and ran races in the sand. The Banana brought…