I've already confessed that I'm not much of a meal-planner, although I do try some rough meal planning every week. One regular staple of ours, though, is homemade pizza. Pizza is one of two foods that I can make and be assured that the whole family will eat, L. included. The only other dish L. will eat with us is stir-fry--with noodles, though, not rice. And tofu cooked so it's not spongy. And broccoli that's crispy and not too mushy. And a certain type of sesame stir-fry sauce that I can only buy at the grocery store where I don't usually do my shopping. [more]

When I was a child and we'd make the trek to Greece in the summer to visit our grandparents, my favorite part of the arrival was rushing into the bedroom my sister and I shared when we were there and finding, like lost treasure, the books my grandmother kept on the shelves above our beds. It was an odd collection of novels for children--my favorites being the "Famous Five" books by little known British writer Enid Blyton. Oh, how I longed to be tomboy George and to have a faithful dog companion like Timmy! [more]

It snowed this weekend. Not just a tease-of-a-dusting, but a real winter storm, with snow topped by lots of ice. The snow started around 7:00 on Friday and when Scott called on his way home to tell us it was snowing the kids instantly catapulted themselves outside on the front porch, bare feet and all, hands outstretched to catch the flakes.

"It's snowing! It's snowing! It's snowing!" [more]

I gave a quiz in my 10:00 class yesterday. One of my students, who so far has always been ready in class with the right answers, and excited about the course material, and in every way just the kind of student I love to have in class, fell apart when he got the quiz. His hands shook, sweat beads popped out on his forehead. He second-guessed every answer he put down, raising his hand constantly throughout the quiz for clarification, reassurance, validation, his voice wobbling nervously every time he asked a question. My heart went out to him, over and over again. [more]

I had an uneasy dream last night. In it I was with a relative, who was attempting, via a Ouija board, to contact my grandmother. As I watched, the Ouija board began to spell out something, but I was too scared to watch, and ran away before I could see the words the letters made. When I woke up I remembered the dream right away. Why hadn't I stayed to watch? I wondered. What would the letters have spelled? Perhaps some important message, some meaning, that would forever be lost to me. Or maybe nothing--nonsense words, strung together in a frightening jumble. [more]