What is wrong with me? I am sobbing over a failed dinner roll recipe, and I want my mom. We all know that cooking doesn’t come naturally to me. If you don’t know this, you are clearly a new Odd reader (welcome to my Odd blog). Sorry I am such a mess. It all started … Continue reading Dinner Roll Sob Story

The old Royal typewriter had been sitting neglected on a closet shelf for years when Cole pulled it out and promptly fell under its spell. I explained about how secretaries used to type letters, contracts, and invoices accurately and at breakneck speed using typewriters just like the one he was typing on. He was impressed … Continue reading Antique Typewriter Meets Teen

  Bad news—Joy our Koi died. This has not been a good week for pets in our house. I don't know what happened. Just yesterday, Joy was swimming happily, wagging her little fish fins in her beautifully decorated fish tank. This morning she was floating at the top of the tank.  Cole doesn't know yet, and … Continue reading Our Fish Is On The Roof

  Bright and early this morning, I drove into the polling precinct parking lot ready to do my duty as an American citizen and exercise my right to vote. Four years ago when I voted, it took me three tries to get my ballot right. The first two times the machine rejected my ballot and … Continue reading Election Black Eye

  Skippy our Schipperke died today. We first met Skippy as a camper, and when it was clear he wasn't doing well in in his adopted family’s home, we became his forever home. Skip was a handsome, black Tasmanian devil that did not mellow much over the years — he was always a biter and … Continue reading R.I.P. Skippy

We have missed Joe so much this Halloween! I tried to fight the grief and tell myself a lot of time had passed and focus on the bad times we shared together instead of the good ones, but it didn't help. Much. Four years ago this October, Joe proudly wore his Sarah Palin button and … Continue reading Bittersweet Halloween

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein This week has been full of late-night High school projects. First communism and then a motor. Here are few things I learned along the way. 1. Bake cookies. Anytime you are faced with working on … Continue reading 11 School Project Tips for Parents: #1 Bake Cookies

This week is "Block Book Week" at Cole's Waldorf high school. Please scream and throw yourself into a chair. Sigh heavily. Thank you. Misery loves company. Waldorf students do not work from published textbooks; they create their own books. In high school, their "books" are due at the end of the block of study and … Continue reading Waldorf Education| Block Book Nights| Communism

Waldorf schools inspire a lot of projects. In fact, every single lesson has an art component. Cole has built a cave dwelling, sculpted an otter that lived in a real water stream, the Roman Coliseum and something that required a lot of sand. I can’t remember the project, but I do remember the sand because … Continue reading Honor Roll Mom