Pertinent to my Interests

Documentary reviews, body neutrality, parenting, Jupiter, piano, cats, European history, ghosts, rodents, the collapse of civilization, and if this goes on long enough I'll probably end up cataloguing my entire smushed penny collection.

Category: Uncategorized

  • Travel Style(s)

    We are packing for a big trip and I am feeling some angst about the whole thing. I’m not a good traveler. I don’t like doing new things or meeting new people, and I definitely don’t enjoy the uncertainties inherent in the act of traveling. I like to be home. Home is reliable. Home is…

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  • Triumphant Return to Camping, an indoor plumbing appreciation post

    We went camping this weekend for the first time in almost four years. Well, we went camper cabin camping. This is significantly easier than tent camping, in my opinion, but I do believe it still counts as camping. I felt like a camping noob, even during the packing process. How many bottles of propane do…

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  • Cosmetic Warrior Copycat Recipe

    I have been battling acne for more than twenty-five years, and I only recently discovered something that really works: Lush’s Cosmetic Warrior face mask. I have to give my sister credit for this find. She has the same skin as me but is more adventurous about cosmetic products. I was amazed the first time I…

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  • Pandemic Camping Memories

    We are going camping this weekend for the first time in almost four years. This is what happens when you buy a cabin. The cabin is all the good things about camping (catching frogs! morning campfire! drinking beer outside all afternoon!) and none of the bad things about camping (dealing with coolers for days! never…

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  • What it’s like to work as a housekeeper at a resort.

    The start of summer has gotten me all nostalgic about the many summers that have come and gone in my life. The summer that I was fifteen I worked at the local resort as a housekeeper. I had worked at a local pizza place previously and not enjoyed the intense customer service experience (especially when…

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  • Kids & Activities

    I did not realize I was writing a three-part series until I arrived here at part three and the question which troubles me every day. How busy should kids be? No, wait, that’s not quite right. How busy should I make my kids be? My kids are mostly uninterested in extracurricular activities. They are currently…

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  • Thoughts on Extracurriculars

    My essay about piano lessons got me thinking about extracurricular activities. I do not like to be busy. I never have. When I was a kid my favorite thing to do after a full day of school was to go home. So when my mom would gently encourage me to try some new activity or–even…

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  • Piano Lessons, 1992-2002

    Part of my purpose in writing this blog is to leave something of myself behind for my kids to read when I’m gone. As such, there are going to be posts where I just go off reminiscing of the olden days. Hold on to your butts. When I was in first or second grade my…

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  • Is it a healthy boredom, or is it social isolation and a harmful lack of parental interest?

    It’s May and change is in the air. The children are extra squirrely. I’ve had “teacher gifts” on the bottom of my to do list for weeks now. The calendar is full of recitals and graduations. It’s almost the end of the school year, and as the unemployed parent I both eagerly anticipate and dread…

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