Weird rambling ahead.... Seven days without water or power illuminated a certain understanding, a certain illusion, a certain misconception I held about history and the way I ordered it in my fictional thinking. These seeds of illusion were planted during a period in my life when I read fiction framed in late nineteenth century England.  I liked the idea of the English ton, the ball gowns, the jewels, the soirées, the scandal.  I liked my heroines rich, smart, (when...

MAJOR BOO HOOing AHEAD...... Last Sunday we experienced hurricane force winds, THANKS IKE...and haven't had power since.  We are on well water which means we have NO WATER either. So, no water, no electric, no phone.  I can get online occasionally at school because the server is up and down.  So here's hoping this makes it. Everything in the refrigerator is ruined, and we are using old scummy pond water to flush the toilets.  I don't know which s...

My cousin just called. At about 6pm tonight, death finally called. My Uncle Mike died of acute renal failure. I went and spent the night with him Saturday.  It was the last time I saw him. I'll miss him, and maybe some day I will write a blog about him.  As per usual I'm good, fine, great.  Things take about 2-3 days to sink in this thick head.  heh. The funeral will be later this week. Hubby's rotator cuff surgery went ok today...ki...

I'm only half joking. We went to the flea market yesterday.  It's technically not a "great" flea market.  It is one of the 'all year round' ones, with stalls inside long barn looking buildings with over priced, used, and mostly dirty crap. In summer they let people come in and sell stuff in the parking lot for a fee. Usually, over priced, used, and mostly dirty crap. The reason we chose this one as opposed to say, the Goodwill store (which i...

I think we might be finished with the yard.  110 tons of dirt, 2 tons of rock, and more grass seed than I ever hope to see again and maybe (fingers crossed) I think we are done. We contemplated a french drain at the bottom of a hill which drains a lot of water onto the property, but d ecided on a dry creek bed instead.  It's not the best looking one on the planet, mostly because its fairly straight.  We brought in large rocks scattered randomly along the sides, mid size...

How far do you go to help a stranger? This is a point of contention between my husband and me. This morning for instance. I took my 5 year old to Target to buy a birthday gift for a friend.  On our way, I saw a man in his late 50's walking along side the busy road (no sidewalk),  using a cane and carrying a package. It's not unusual to see people walking and riding their bikes more these days.  I attribute it to the price of gas.  I see several bi...

  Make reservations early, time and dates are MOBILE!