The Day at Waldameer

This week I took a day off from work and took the kids to Waldameer Park.  We had discount tickets that were only good for June, and this seemed like the best combination of good weather and work schedules that we could manage.  The weather co-operated very well, although Water World was a bit cold. 
Between [...]

Read Full Post »

We’ll Call it a Draw

I can’t write a blog post with that title without linking to this:

[Warning: This video contains brutal but obviously fake Medieval violence, lots of fake blood, and vulgar Medieval trash talk.]
But this post isn’t about Monte Python and the Holy Grail. It is about one of my chess games from my [...]

Read Full Post »

The Last Day of School, The First Day of School

For Pennsylvanian homeschoolers, the last day of school is often the day of the homeschool evaluations. Today we did the homeschool evaluation with the 3 of the kids who need it. (Christopher is still under the age limit, so the school system doesn’t have to know about him. In case any [...]

Read Full Post »

My One Year Blogiversary

Today is the official one year anniversary of my blog. I started the blog for the usual reasons:  To learn to write faster and better, to have a place to vent my opinions, and also, to encourage me to use a digital camera once in a while, so that there is a record of my family’s [...]

Read Full Post »

I Feel Lucky (The Friday the 13th Post)

I am usually the least superstitious person on the planet.
I step on cracks with wild abandon, and my mother’s back is in better shape than mine.
I have broken mirrors several times, with no noticeable problems.
If a herd of black cats crossed my path, it would not trouble me in the least. Although, if cats [...]

Read Full Post »

#$@#$%^% Sunshine and Flowers

It is way too nice to blog, but the FDA and the state of California have determined that sunshine is hazardous to your health, so I have to come in sometimes.  I can’t spend the whole day at poolside watching the kids swim.
I am extremely skeptical about the health warnings concerning sunlight.  First of all, [...]

Read Full Post »

Five for Friday

Here are some random thoughts for this sunshiny day which is really way too nice for blogging:
1.  Today was Anna’s last day of school for the year.  Education basically stopped a few weeks ago, when her AP exams were finished.  “Education” and “School” are not synonyms, BTW.
However, I don’t think she wants me to file [...]

Read Full Post »

Ed Rendell – Surprise – Doesn’t Want to be Veep

Pennsylvania Governor and Hillary Clinton supporter Ed Rendell , who recently said that lots of Pennsylvanians are not ready to vote for an African-American presidential candidate, has surprised us all by announcing that he is not interested in being the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee this year.  I’m sure that Barack Obama was deeply disappointed.
In related news, Marjorie [...]

Read Full Post »

Rude And Annoying People #101

Rudeness abounds everywhere. I am not thinking about the casual thoughtlessness that we all fall into at times.  Some rudeness requires effort on the part of the perpetrators.
As a society, we need to take active countermeasures, because ignoring the problem just won’t work.  As The Mikado says, “Let the punishment fit the crime.”  [...]

Read Full Post »