After careful experimentation all morning have discovered important scientific fact: giving child Euler’s Disk to play with does nothing to increase peace or happiness of adult in vicinity. Pretty, shiny Euler’s Disk, when spun on its mirrored surface, provides child with “dramatic visualization of energy exchanges in three different, tightly-coupled processes,” which I’m sure we [...]
Note to self: Brilliant idea for movie, sure to be blockbuster! Everyone living in locked-down apocalypse, unable to leave home without risking exposure to terrible virus. SCRATCH THAT. No one wants to read about virus. Unable to leave home without risking exposure to giant man-eating hummingbirds. Crap, how stupid is that? Hummingbirds not scary at [...]
Familial reaction to the new glasses is mixed. Older Child took long look, made non-committal noises, and then said they looked “perfectly normal.” Perhaps high praise coming from teenager, yet “perfectly normal” not what I was going for. Husband’s reaction even stranger. Made non-committal noises, then said that frames, which I ordered in “rose gold,” [...]
Desperate times, desperate measures. Back in January saw an eye doctor. Remember January? Children at school, restaurants open? You needed milk, you ran to the store? Anyway, my vision had changed, reading gotten harder: words seen clearly with one eye were wonky with the other. Doc said astigmatism was worse but all was well and [...]
In so many ways, my strange, newfound connection with Le Petit Caporal has brought such comfort and peace at this difficult time. In so many ways, we resonate, he and I. He died on May 5; I was born on May 6. (I mean, not right away, but 199 years later.) He was “one of [...]
Lovely start to the day. Cup of coffee, scrambled eggs, sunny skies. Feeling particularly well-balanced today in a mentally-healthy-no-especial-need-to-march-on-Montenotte sort of way. Older Child slogged through room to announce he’d finished Global History assignment on the Ottoman Empire, to which I, ever in possession of the latest nomenclature of today’s youth, responded, “Awesome sauce.” Older [...]
Zut alors! A strange and mysterious email arrived for Older Child that began, “Bonjour!” at which, of course, my heart jumped. It continued, in English, “As you know Marking Period 3 ends today but I am happy to correct any work that arrives… blah blah blah boring academic logistical information…blah blah blah…” The mystery being, [...]
O the excitement to be had yesterday! O the wonder of it! I had occasion to Leave the House and Drive. As in, a car. A vehicle of the automotive persuasion. Hadn’t driven in days. Wondered out loud to Husband if it were possible to forget how. Legend says it’s not possible to forget how [...]
Have discovered a new and unexpected pleasure that may go far in alleviating the great mental strain of having to spend so much time with the people I love most in the world: grinding coffee beans. Have never bothered before because coffee to me is a vehicle for half and half, and if it were [...]
Easter yesterday! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Day opened as usual to the sound of crinkling cellophane as Easter baskets were discovered and Vermont Nut-free chocolate bunnies opened and consumed along with Peeps and jelly beans. Younger Child later announced gravely, hand on stomach, in a gesture resembling Napoleon’s famous stance, “I regret [...]
Nosed around online and learned that 206 years ago TO THIS DAY, April 11, Napoleon was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. My gosh. The ultimate social distancing package. He lived with Mumsie and Sis in lavish mansions, snacked on cherries with a local mistress, and got to retain his title as emperor, bossing [...]
Every reason to believe I’ll have to shelve the catering-to-my-every-whim plan, at least for now. Told Husband this morning that I was planning to shower today, in spite of having fallen out of the habit, but was hoping not to wash my hair, and asked whether he thought my hair didn’t look mostly okay. Husband: [...]