Bad Gratitude Monday: WEEDS
That’s right – I said it. I’m grateful for weeds.Ordinarily, I try to ignore them. I tend to adopt a “live and let live” principle, and I’ve even been known to opine weeds are just flowers that no one wants. Unfortunately, Mr. Wright does not share my opinions. So, this morning, I took an antihistamine … Read more
New on My List of Cool Places
SweetRiver Bakery. Deliciously funky, amazingly friendly management, excellent service and a wonderful menu. What’s more, Mr. Wright’s band, Waterdog, is performing at this very minute in the courtyard. Also – and this is important – beer, wine, and superb coffee. Near Pateros? Head on down!
Bad Gratitude Monday: Family Treasures, Poetry & Cutter Racing
Did y’all know I’ve written a little poetry in my time? Well, I have. You can stop laughing, now. The thing is, I never had a gift for rhymed verse, though I wanted to. I totally wanted to rock that ABAB or ABBA or ABCBA rhyming scheme, but I actually sucked at it. I like … Read more
Upgrading Our Space, Downsizing Our Housing Payment
We’ve outgrown our house, as families do – well, like OUR family does. When we bought our groovy three-bedroom-two-bath-postage-stamp-sized-yard home, we only had five kids. I know. I say that like a guy might say, “It’s ONLY fifty baseball caps.” What can I say? Some people collect cars. I happen to collect kids. After the … Read more
Ugly American: The Gonzo Mama in Japan
A light dusting of snow covered us as we made the five-minute walk from Tokyo Station to our hotel. At the entrance, I stooped down to put something in the small trash bin near the door. The debris fell out of my hand and I crouched low, picking it up. I didn’t crouch alone. The … Read more
Kobe: How Do People In Japan Stay So Slim?
There’s food everywhere you turn. You can’t walk twenty paces in any direction without arriving at a bento vendor or a vending machine. On the JR (Japan Rail) trains, quiet girls with ready smiles push carts stuffed with snacks and beer down the aisles. Business meetings often seem to be centered around the activities of … Read more
Tokyo Breakfast
I had no problem finding seemingly vegan food at our hotel’s breakfast buffet. Photo (clockwise, from top left): miso soup, fresh pineapple and kiwi, coffee (thank God), roasted potatoes with carrot and squash, rice, an assortment of Japanese pickled things including lotus root Mr. Wright and I are going to tidy up our room and … Read more
Bad Gratitude Monday: Thanks for the Global Warming, Mr. Gore!
Last Monday, due to the holiday, both the school and the daycare were closed. Fortunately, the weather was glorious and most of the snow had melted. I took Curlytop and Snugglebug to the Japanese garden for a little run-around-a-lot-because-Mommy-wants-us-to-take-a-nap time. For once in my life, I had my camera with me and planned on posing … Read more
Table for One, Please…
Remember when I urged all of you mamas to break into spontaneous conversation about parenthood with any fellow mama you might bump into? I did that today. With Mr. Wright out of town and the kidlings safely deposited in institutions of glorious education, I slipped into a new-ish Pan Asian restaurant for lunch. Alone. I … Read more
Toddler Fashion
This morning, Snugglebug brought me my old beaded headband. “I gon’ wear this, okay, Mom?” she informed me. “Well, sure,” I answered, excited that she was interested in the headband. “I think that’s a great idea. Put it on!” Snugglebug’s sensory integration dysfunction manifests itself in different ways at different times, but some of her … Read more
(Funny) Dreams from My Grandmother
While going through suitcases and boxes full of Grandma’s photos, many from the 1930s, my aunt and I happened across poetry written on the back of shopping lists, humorous compositions scrawled into a stenographer’s notebook full of financial notes, and more treasures that revealed to me a woman whose sense of humor I did not … Read more
