August Update... Oregon Coast

Sledding in July...Mount Ranier

The Great North Woods Eh?

June travels in the Midwest; Life with "Cheese Heads".

Summer Date

A summer afternoon with E. Just the two of us. What makes for a perfect day for E?
Bike ride to the beach.
Build a booby trap.
And of course, ice cream.
Pretty sweet.

Fashion Fantasy

Fifi during "French Night" one of our themed
Saturday night dinners during the long, rainy spring.


Sometimes when I'm having my morning coffee, reading the New York Times, and surfing my favorite blogs, I get completely swept away by fashion fantasies. How cool to live in Paris where everyone looks incredible all the time. The women are beautiful (they aren't wearing sweat pants or tennis skirts) and they are drinking coffee and/or wine. Which frankly, I'm not ashamed to say, sounds perfect. Of course I'm deeply intellectual in the fantasy as well. It's not just stylish good looks. It's brains too. Enough brains that sitting is a cafe drinking is sustainable (not sad and drunken). My children are off at their special school for small, stylish, intellectuals. Sigh! My smattering of college French doesn't enable me to interpret this site, Punky B's Fashion Diary, but I love to cruise there anyway. And I always check The Sartorialist.
Fascinating.

Hello Friend

I'm back. I took a break. I was just reading the paper, cruising the blog-oshpere, eating bon bons. Yeah, that's what I was doing. Just chillin'..... Actually, it's been a whirlwind. Kids are growing, flowers are blooming, blessings are many. We've been on field trips, business trips, spontaneous road trips, and stay-cations as well. After a rainy spring, we are gearing up for some summer fun starting in the beautiful Midwest. Hurray!

Here are some moments from the last few months:

rodeo in Carefree, Arizona; kite flying in Gas Works Park; spring in the Arboretum wetlands,
Easter rituals, elementary school graduation; spring in the Sonoran desert; furnishing the house.

It's all good.....

Every day life presents us with questions, choices, opportunities. How will we live? How will we proceed. I find it hard to sit and write ... the days are flying by. I live with four very creative people whose projects and interests keep us all busy. The steady stream of movies, music, books, sports, naps, media, ..... in addition to the obligations .... these are certainly not problems. The days are full and richly rewarding but for the first time in my life, they are speeding by. Is this what happens when you hit a "certain age"?

So for the "rock n roll" portion of my day my latest obsession is the band Hem and their album Funnel Cloud.

Where Does the Time Go?

We returned from winter break invigorated and ready to dig into house projects and renewed work out routines, better nutrition, etc. We followed the Oregon Trail home from Jackson Hole, WY (and a terrific ski trip) and along the way I read every magazine you can think of. I am fully versed on all 401 things one must do in order to simplify, green, and complete my life.

It is now January 22nd and I have officially done none of those things. Zero out of 401. Not a very good score. What I have done is travel to the Cascade Mountains every weekend to play in the snow. We have gone sledding, skiing, tubing, and cross country skiing. Then we leave the snowy mountain playground and drive an hour back into the 45 degree city. It's a good set-up.

Happy New Year!

The Mangy Moose
Jackson Hole, Wyoming