January Sunset One Snowfall (the table was empty before the storm): Digging out the solar panels: I found myself dreaming of summer:
Rational Mysticism? Surely she mistyped. But no, fair readers (I’ve been into the Austen recently), Rational Mysticism it is. I’ll give away the ending, shall I? “Mystical awe is the inverse of knowledge; it is a kind of anti-knowledge. Instead of seeing The Answer to the riddle of existence, you just see how impenetrable the…
We forgot to close up the chicken coop. It is one of our nightly tasks, along with putting children to bed, making dinner, bringing in the firewood. Every night, we must close up the chicken coop. Last night we had people around for dinner, my husband was out for the day, people were coming and…
… and then, halfway through the evening, the dance floor cleared. And I found myself hovering at the edge of an empty floor, with a great DJ and some hot music, and I finally didn’t care. I didn’t care who was watching, I didn’t care if I could do it, I didn’t care that I…
I was reading a Terry Pratchett book the other day (Unseen Academicals) and I came across the phrase, “Oh, it’s all crab bucket down there.” Fortunately, Terry Pratchett was so kind as to explain this to the character in question (although not until later in the book.) It was an expression I hadn’t previously heard,…
Sitting in the lounge at the mechanic’s this morning (don’t ask), I found myself in the company of a friendly sort, an older man who was definitely from here. I know this because as soon as I arrived, he asked me a question, I countered with a book, we chatted for about a minute, and…
Where are you from? I never know how to answer the question, “Where are you from?” I’m Canadian. Sometimes (outside Canada) that’s all that is required. But I was born in Scotland to Canadian parents, who are “from” Saint John, New Brunswick. I grew up mostly in Newfoundland, with a brief stint in England, and…

Welcome to the February Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting Essentials This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared the parenting essentials that they could not live without. Please read to the end to find a list…
My daughter and I were working on her social studies project last night about technologies that are important to her. She had to have 10 pictures to paste onto a piece of paper, and to be able to talk about why she picked them. She quite quickly looked around our house and recognized that pretty…
For a change of pace, I’m going to answer the Plinky question. It’s not for want of ideas, it’s just a good question. No suspense here: Yes. I could totally live without the internet. Unlike TV, cell phones, and constant access to music all around the clock, though, I wouldn’t *choose* to. We have a…