I’ve been reading Jo Walton’s evocative novel Among Others. A fantasy story set in Wales during the late seventies, it positively resonates with compassion for teens, geeks, outcasts–our younger selves. The book’s compassionate tone is established by the epigraph–a quote from critic Farah Mendlesohn, who offers this advice to her younger self: “It’s going to […]
Midsummer Road Trip
Random photos from our recent road trip. We drove through the Lutefisk Capital of U.S.A. If you’ve never been forced to eat lutefisk, which is gelatinous cod that’s been soaked in lye, then you are lucky, and you are also unlikely to impressed with this statue: We liked it. We were less impressed with the […]
Puppy Postponed
I’m sitting at home with several puppy training books, an extra-large training crate, a collapsible drinking bowl (in a charming shade of pink), a tiny quick-release collar, and no puppy. We were supposed to pick up our Golden Retriever this week, but things fell through. Which is an abbreviated way of saying I developed concerns […]
Holiday in a Flood Zone
I finally have a chance to post some pictures from my vacation. We went to a family reunion in Minnesota, where there was much kayaking and paddle-boating and horseback-riding and family fun. We heard loons in the morning, which made me extremely happy. Much of Minnesota is still faced with extremely high water levels (which […]
Vermillion Border
Since we were road-tripping through the Dakotas last week, we had to stop at the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. People like to make a fuss about the Stradivarius guitars and the miniature pipe organs on display there. But the National Music Museum also has a luthier’s workshop. Wild experimental violins like this alien-looking […]
Wildcats in Larkspur
My cats are three of the most wretchedly spoiled, badly trained, and inappropriately worshiped creatures in Colorado. I’ve always assumed that their tendency to ignore my wishes is hard-wired into their DNA, not my fault as a trainer. So I’m a bit disgusted to learn (courtesy of the Endangered Cats exhibit at the Larkspur Renaissance […]
Summer color
It’s been a busy summer. My friends Kelly and Laura came to visit for a few days, and we took them to the Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder. My nieces came to visit for a few days, and we took them to see prairie dogs. And the farmers came to market, and we took some […]
Adobe Afternoon
My favorite little courtyard in Albuquerque is right behind The Daily Grind. It’s a great place to drink lattes, enjoy the shade, and encounter magical kitties. I’m not sure what these gears do (perhaps they grind wheat?), but they work well with the flowers, the blue paint, the peeling adobe walls.