The power of evil

M’s tendency to mumble and slur words together has only gotten worse with the addition of orthodontia, so I finally went online and looked around for do-it-yourself speech exercises that might help. One site suggested having the child look in the mirror and recite something he knows by heart while exaggerating all the facial [...]

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Christmas advertisements

So far my favorite Christmas ad is one in the drugstore flier for a “Tranquility Fountain or Smokeless Ashtray — Wow! $5.99″
Wow indeed; you can stub out your cigarette in a tiny stream of water that flows over midget rocks. That would sure minimize the smoke.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be two [...]

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Listening in

S here, and I drove M and two of his friends home from math club after school today. On the down side, this meant I had to endure the smell of a car full of sweaty teens. (Don’t ask me how they work up a sweat at math club. I don’t want [...]

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We’ve done some re-organizing around the house

This is now the drawer we store the cat in.

And this is his spot at the table.

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The lesser-known skills that a Boy Scout needs

On Monday night M achieved 2nd Class rank in Boy Scouts. The way his troop handles the awards ceremony, not only does the Scout receive a cloth badge for his uniform, but he is also handed a small metal pin with a miniature symbol of the rank badge, and he is told “In recognition [...]

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Strange night for wildlife sightings

4:40 a.m. — Pack of several coyotes howling and yipping somewhere on the other side of the shrubs from our yard.  We reminded the cat, who was busy peering out the window looking for them, “This is why we don’t let you out at night.”
6:40 a.m. — 4 turkeys ambling along the main road on [...]

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