• The Well-Dressed Grandchildren of Grandma Robbie

    Here are just a couple of snapshots that I quick, quick, quick took before the mad dash off to church on Christmas Eve afternoon.  (We have a 4:00 service, and I had to be there at 3:00 for some music things).  Even though it was the middle of the afternoon,…

  • About that Santa

    Dr. Peds was on call on Christmas, yesterday, and delayed at the hospital, so in the early afternoon I sat down at the table with three ravenous kidlets to a plate of roasted ham and creamy mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.  Mr. Sneaky Pants put down his fork after inhaling…

  • Christmas Eve

    I am so happy to report that I've already taken the meat out of the freezer to unthaw for tonight's Christmas Eve supper.  I have a lot of difficulty remembering to take meat out of the freezer.  While I'm thinking of it I should probably go down and take the…

  • Missing Teeth

    Sarah's second front tooth fell out two weeks ago, but I haven't convinced her to let me take a picture of it until today, when I bribed her with a piece of Scandanavian almond cake.  (She liked it so much she decided that's what she wants for her birthday cake.)…

  • Random Midwinter Tidbits

    1.  This is the weekend for the Arrowhead Chorale Holiday Concert series, the preparation for which has brought considerable anxiety to me over the past few weeks, and feverish practicing.  The concert consists of a four course meal, separated by sections of music.  While the audience eats, various chorale members…

  • The Banana Gets Crafty

    When Auntie Dot came for Thanksgiving, she delivered a bag of craft supplies that Grandma Kathy had found at the thrift store (I assure you, Valley City North Dakota has the BEST thrift shopping in the entire midwest region).  In the treasure trove of fun supplies was a little zip…

  • A Long Weekend of Kazoo

    Last Friday Sarah sang "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" along with the rest of the first grade classes at her school who performed three times during the day  as part of the holiday concert.  In the middle of the piece, there was an interlude for kazoos, so the 90 first graders…

  • The Way to Warm a Piano Teacher’s Heart

    I came down the staircase from cleaning up in the bathroom to find sweet tinkling sounds on the piano keys, and a Banana who was singing her heart out (no words, but some amazing vocalaises).  Although she couldn't tell me with her still-limited vocabulary, it was pretty evident that she…

  • That Elusive Christmas Picture

    Today is the day I am finishing my Christmas card.  I am bound and determined.  All day long I've been on the quest to get some particular images I would like to include on the card.  For example, on the front of the card, I had envisioned three happy smiling…