We're all a little Nutty

You know those lists you read from humorous writers about what NOT to let your kids do? Like swinging from a ceiling fan, sticking legos in their nostrils, or eating a fudgcicle in your car in July? Well, while I was working blissfully in the yard, I was beckoned loudly and urgently by one of my children that I thought was in the shower. He said, "Mom! Can you come quickly please?" To which I replied, "Not really. What is the matter?" He said, "Ummm. Well, I was going to the bathroom and when I looked up, I saw a green string hanging from the lightbulb and realized that it was Ian's sticky hand." (You know...the ones they get as prizes at carnivals or dentist offices?). I informed him there was nothing I could do about it while the light was hot and instructed him to turn off the light and I would take care of it when it was cooled off. Here's what I found: After I laughed about it, I wiped it clean and all was well. It was actually a ...

I know I've mentioned my love of gardening before, but it gives me great pleasure. So far, we've indulged in strawberries, zucchini, peas, celery, lettuce, cilantro, onions, spinach, and basil. I picked peas from my GIANT pea plants yesterday and it brought back memories of helping my dad in our big garden (sort of like the Anderson's, for those of you in my neighborhood). Every summer, he'd pick peas (when we were obedient, we'd help him pick) and then bring home giant buckets and paper bags full of them. We then sat in the cool basement shelling them into Tupperware containers while watching tv. That was how we spent our summer afternoons and evenings. Once July came, it was the raspberries. Then, the corn. Then the apples. Anyway, picking peas yesterday, made me so excited that I had to take pictures. Now that the sun has finally come out, my tomato and basil plants have doubled in size overnight. The peas are a veritable forest. The raspberries don...

Lee and I recently returned from a trip in British Columbia, where after jumping through all the airport security and U.S. customs hoops, we have once again vowed never to travel abroad. However, our photos have reminded us that we did indeed have fun despite how the last day of traveling home makes you forget how much fun it was. Here are a few of our adventures: You can see from the name on the sign why we HAD to hike this trail. This is in Stanley Park, in downtown Vancouver. I spent a lot of our time in Vancouver looking like this. Wet. We saw more than enough totem poles on our trip. This is also in Stanley Park. After exploring Granville Market, across the water from downtown Vancouver, we walked all the way back to town. This is the bridge from Granville Island to downtown. Walking down Granville Street found us in this crowd, gathered to watch the first game in the Stanley Cup play-offs. It was a home game and the whole city was sporting jerseys all day in anticipation. Be...