Super Rachel Zana's Spot

I live in a house of fruit monsters.  Every week I purchase at least 5 bags of apples, and they are gone.  Yesterday they ate 3 tote bags of bananas in a matter of five hours, the kind the store sells for people to bake banana bread. When I walk…

It’s our lucky month at the grocery store! We walked past the plants and saw this terrific little Venus Fly Trap, and couldn’t resist bringing him home.  We haven’t had a carnivorous plant around here for quite some time, and Mr. TOF didn’t even remember ever having seen one before.  He…

Just a few hours south of here in Minnesota and Wisconsin, they are getting feet of snow.  But here,  gale winds are keeping most of it at bay, and we have some amazing waves to watch.  This morning Mr. TOF had swimming lessons.  Afterward, he, The Banana and I headed…

Despite the fact that Brutus is a strong willed, determined, and obstinate  cat, a cat too smart for his own good, he also offers up some great snuggles  . . . when he feels like it.

A few weeks ago I threw performance parties for my piano students.  This always involves lots of delicious refreshments, and it’s very much anticipated by my own kidlets because after they share their music, there are really no limits on cookie consumption.  Because I had fewer students able to come…

Every Wednesday The Banana has a violin lesson on the other side of town.  After violin we stop quickly at the west-side Coop grocery store to buy four gallons of milk (if they have it) because they carry a not-organic-but-better-than-normal kind of milk from a nearby dairy at a reasonable…

I use this giant purple ball when I practice my cello, but unfortunately after years of owning it, we still haven’t figured out a good place to store it where it is accessible but out of the way.  Henceforth, EVERYONE is always touching it!  I walk into a room and…

Hearing a piece of music at a concert inspired me to learn about Coventry Cathedral in England.  It has a fascinating history. Before my choir’s requiem concert earlier this week there was special lecture given by a guest choral expert about the history of requiems.  It was really interesting to…

He wrote some stories and poems this week while I was in the other room teaching students.  My favorites were these two pieces of writing that fit together like a puzzle.  Stories (and even better . . . poems!) written by kidlets make me very happy, and I’m always surprised and…