Doth evil lurk?

My son hid himself in the blankets of our bed yesterday. He shouted out, "Mom, Dad come I'm lost, come find me!" I whispered, "If I were a sibling I would pop him on the head and say, 'looks like I found you.' "

My husband looked at me with puzzlement, " I wouldn't have done that. I don't think my siblings would have done that. What kind of family did you come from?" I gave him a deer in head lights stare-- hmmmm, I thought: a pack of hyenas, blame the brothers, lack of supervision in the home, is he serious, am I just cruel, what for the love is the right answer here? I never did answer the question. He could have been dead on fooling me. Or, he could be right, what kind of family did I come from? Or, worse, do I just have spontaneous evil that springs from the dark recesses of my heart?...........still waiting, guess I just don't have an answer.

Love shack, er, love sac

We have seen the strange phenomena of trucks, yes only trucks, with low hanging double-sided sacs. Is this compensation? Is this local culture? Could someone please explain this to me. I don't think I get it. I just know I'm guilty of judgement--which I find hard to stop. I want to sing out "really, is there such a thing as stereotypes?" My children encountered their first "love sac" this week. My oldest daughter wondered what it was. My son, who knows his own equipment, smiled with recognition. My youngest turned to me and said it is a bum. Well, sheesh, thank-you mister, for providing necessary anatomy discussion. See, I was giving in to stereotypes. It could have been a middle-aged, career woman getting a kick from baffling people. Yeah, right.

George where are you when I need you?

I would love to say I have been so busy! Really, I contemplated topics on health care, modesty and middle-age. Alas, nothing felt sharp. Instead, I am going to share a shame, a blight on the level of detail worthy of Seinfeld. I was not much of a facebook person. My brother encouraged me to do so and it looked fun. I have enjoyed connecting with lost roommates, old friends and such. But, I am not always into the facebook "whoring" of some or the odd people who ask me to be friends. Really you want to be my friend? A while back a friend of mine, from my early days in church Sunday School became my friend. Later, his sister and mother became "my friends". Whatever, I thought, they are from my hometown. So, I let them be my friend. This is why FB can feel just wrong.

Somehow, in this world of electric connections and small worlds, I figured out my original friend was no longer my friend. Already, I am a bit hesitant to share this, it really got to me. My husband assured me that it was an electronic glitch. I kept checking back every few days to make sure I was no longer his friend. For pete's sake I thought, he has invited me to a few causes, I didn't respond. I checked some of his friends lists. There were clearly bigger rollers (ie people with over 500, yes 500 friends). I am sure those big rollers don't respond to him. Did he get offended by my comment that my mailman was hot for me? The more I analyzed , the more George Kostanza and I had a partnership. My husband suggested I email him. Sheesh, just be pathetic now I thought. I really would like to know. But, I have my pride people! My pride! Honestly, I always worry I am a crappy, lame, no fun-to-get-to-know-person. So that went well. I have moved on--as you can clearly read.

It's the fall, the fall, this lovely time of year

As much as I love the summer--which I do. I have forgotten the spectacular joy of fall. It has a sense of abundance and reflection that makes me grateful. The light is less piercing, the heat calms down and the nights are cool. The southwest still maintains temperatures in the mid 80's. So, I get the best of all worlds. One bonus from fall is the delightful colors. The sky is bright blue instead of a faded too hot. The grass is recovering from the summer and looks good again. My favorite set of colors is the produce. Right now you can eat corn, peaches, tomatoes, black berries, blue berries and green beans. We have had corn chowder, blue berry muffins, peach cobbler, tomato salad and so on. I have a challenge to anyone who reads this to try a little organic this fall. There are 12 foods that are of most benefit to buy organic. They are:

1. peaches
2. apples
3. bell peppers
4. celery
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. imported grapes
11. carrots
12. pears

I know organic is more expensive. However, this is the perfect time of year to eat vegetarian and celebrate what is in season. If you live by a sunflower market, organic is affordable. Just shop on Wednesdays when you have double flyer specials. When I mention affordable, I do have to underline I don't buy bulk or pantry items there. I just buy the produce. It is a small step I am trying to work on.

Overheard at the park

Older gentleman at swings, "I'm getting my colonoscopy next week."

Daughter, "Is medicare paying for it?"

"I don't know, I'm just trying to get everyone off my ass," he sincerely said. I waited for the wink, the guffaw.

Finally, I wanted to shout over the din of playground noise, "so to speak, har har."

Really, if you swear all the time you miss opportunities for great fun.