I had an enjoyable, if brief, trip home for Christmas, although I spent just as much time en route as time actually *being* anywhere.  I flew into Duluth but then my family drove down to Iowa to spend Christmas with my grandparents.  My grandmother is recovering from a bout of pneumonia that she contracted halfway through her chemo treatments for ( Read more... )

It's interesting to me how when people are on a beach, they seem to somehow feel more free to build things and play with whatever kind of natural detritus is available, from making sand castles to rock cairns to little boats with driftwood or shells.  In light of various recent studies about children being uninterested in the outdoors and their ( Read more... )

So I'm at my local branch library right now, and it's kind of a crazy place.  There's this lady wandering around alternately being the computer police and chatting with kids.  It is nice, though, because a lot of people are being friendly and chatting and stuff, unlike at the central library, where it's mainly elderly folks who come to try to ( Read more... )