Morning at Madrina’s

This morning, I was emergency babysitter for my Goddaughter, Amelia May, who many of you know as The World’s Most Beautiful Baby. This represents an act of faith or desperation by her mother, because my parenting knowledge is about on par with a Kardashian’s. I still haven’t figured out how to change a diaper. The last time I was watching Amelia when a change was...

The Almost Foolproof Betting System for ...

If you were the betting type — and you had the right system — there is lots of money to be made at the County Fair. That is if you could bet on the outcome of the livestock shows. Unfortunately, it’s looking like the only legal betting is on the horse racing. But just in case they extend their rules, or you can find the illegal bookie taking bets on the sheep...

Mock Apple Pie

If you know what that title refers to, you are showing your age! It means you, like myself, were a child when America’s snack of choice were Ritz Crackers. Yes, the crackers that were sometimes adorned with Cheez Whiz, that famous cheese-like food product of no known nutritional value. But Cheez Whiz is beside the point for today’s discussion. The current topic: Mock Apple...

How My Dad Got the Red Sox Their World S...

Note: I keep rerunning this post because it not only is a tribute to my wonderful Dad. It’s a testament to an incredible friend. And hopefully a roadmap for bringing comfort at the end of a loved one’s life. Think of it as a triple play post. My father was a life-long Red Sox fan. While we lived all over the world during his Army career, whether in Alaska or Germany, he...

Weapons-Grade Generosity

I became involved in an ugly email/Internet flare-up earlier this week that got me thinking about generosity. First let me give you the backstory, but I’ll try to keep it short, since it’s not really the point of this post. For about a year or so, I’ve been very loosely involved with a group of women bloggers who had a community project. Suddenly, they announced they...

The Unbearable Heaviness of Being Thirte...

Hosting two thirteen year olds at the impromptu Camp Two Terriers has been, as I suspected it would be, a real learning experience. But as I didn’t expect, it was me that did the learnin’. Granted, it’s been…well… a few years since I was thirteen, but I thought I had a pretty good recollection of what it was like. Not a clue. My recent experience with...