A Mindful Life

Winston, who writes at Nobody Asked, honored me with the Thinking Blogger Award. Apparently I am among the many blogs that tickle his gray matter. Now it falls to me to inform the world of five blogs that make me think. Here they are (there are many more, and it was difficult to choose): Dating [...]

We embarked on the Great Baby Supply journey Saturday. Our intention this trip was to get an idea of what we need, pricing, and what’s available. The answer to the last question is: an overwhelming selection! Do we want a traditional crib with a drop-side rail, or a Lifestyle crib that can be converted into [...]

I loathe the expression “What makes him tick.” It is the American mind, looking for simple and singular solution, that uses the foolish expression. A person not only ticks, he also chimes and strikes the hour, falls and breaks and has to be put together again, and sometimes stops like an electric clock in a [...]

If you see only quotes posted over the next few days, it’s because a) I think they’re really good ones and b) I’m preoccupied with shopping for baby stuff or resting. My ability to sleep fades in and out, so I’m sleeping whenever the urge strikes (except while driving and such, of course). We had [...]

Two years ago on April 2nd, my father-in-law died of mantle cell lymphoma that had metastasized to his brain and stomach. He was diagnosed in February 2004, fought hard to win remission, and was consumed by the cancer a mere 13 months later. Mantle cell lymphoma is a rare form of blood cancer, and it [...]

It takes hundreds of nuts to hold a car together, but it takes only one of them to scatter it all over the highway. –Evan Esar

Here’s a batch of from-scratch goodies. I will never buy a box mix again. I always have the necessary ingredients on hand. I just haven’t ever tried to make homemade before. Vastly better! The recipe makes a fudgy brownie. For a more cakelike texture you can use 1/2 tsp. of baking powder. Homemade Brownies 1 [...]

Like many men, I’m also more “practical” than my wife. It took me years to understand why a woman would want to get flowers. After all, they just die in a few days. Wouldn’t a blender be a better Valentine’s Day gift? Like flowers, poetry isn’t always meant to be practical, and this is sometimes [...]

Our answering machine message features my husband’s voice, and it announces both of our names fully (since I hyphenate). So when someone calls, they hear, “You have reached the number for ManOftheHouse and Kathryn Petro-Harper. Please leave a message.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Yesterday a woman left the following message: “Oh, I was trying [...]

We were invited to a party on Saturday, and I was assigned dessert. (Wise choice by the host, as I love to bake. I also made from-scratch brownies.) I had only three large apples; not enough for a stand-alone apple pie. I searched the internet and came up with a recipe for apple-pecan pie. I [...]