On my cello I learned the final tricky movement of a Vivaldi sonata, half of another piece, and how to play in two new positions, along with some three octave scales. Curious one day about how people started eating mayonnaise in the first place (I don’t particularly enjoy the condiment…

I’m taking just a minute to share a simple idea that came from the children’s ministry department at my church.  A few weeks ago our church had a week especially devoted to the discipline of prayer across all ages, and our children’s teachers  and leaders decorated hundreds of popsicle sticks…

Mr. TOF and I had a lot of fun watching this group of bugs at the beach last Friday.  They are asian lady beetles, and they are kind of fascinating up close.  I’ve loved bugs ever since I was a little girl.  I used to catch butterflies and display them…

This picture of beautiful beach grass has nothing to do with the mess of the week. Today was a hot, sticky day.  The humidity was positively ridiculous for mid September.  I walked in the bathroom in the late afternoon with plans to shower before getting ready to go to the…

I’m a bit behind.   A week ago Friday The Banana turned eleven!  For months she had been planning to have her favorite cereal available at the COOP (organic) grocery store along with THE MILK.  THE MILK comes from a local dairy, and it is incredibly fresh and packaged in…

So today, it seems, I actually accidentally taught five piano lessons professionally dressed wearing a skirt that was completely inside out. The Banana discovered this when she came home from school.  She took one look at me and said, “Mom, your skirt is on inside out.  There’s a tag sticking…

We’re in the middle of some house projects here.  We’re still waiting for the door for our garage that we are renovating into a mudroom, so we are living with our big freezer in the family room.  At this point I don’t even notice it anymore.  It just feels normal…

Last Saturday Mr. SP got to fly in a a small airplane through a program build into our middle school’s sixth grade science curriculum.  You may recall that a couple of years ago YaYa also got to do this, and it sparked a small obsession with aviation for her.  Mr.…

Me:  Please don’t walk around eating that sandwich.  Either take it outside or sit down at the dining room table. The Banana sits down at the kid play table.  Me:  No, not that table, the DINING ROOM table.  You are getting crumbs on the Legos. The Banana:  It’s all OK…

Tuesday was the first day of school.  Mr. TOF headed to first grade.  The Banana settled into her last year of elementary school (Wah!).  Mr. SP began seventh grade, and YaYa started tenth grade.  We have kids in three different buildings. The first day of school was COLD and windy.…