A Tale of Two Planets

As in, “Planet of the Onlies” and “Planet of the Apes.” I was cutting up some leftovers to augment tonight’s supper of Shepherd’s Pie, and was reminded of recent conversations between me and my husband, having to do with meals and meal preparations.  I’d known, because he mentioned it many times, that his super-thrifty mother [...]

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My Funniest Valentine

Mother-in-law horror stories abound, I know.  And in the annals of MIL-zilla, there are worse than mine was.  That said, mine operated on the rules of commandos:  Slip in under cover of darkness, strike fast, and slip back out, all in record time. Mind you, there was no way on earth to see it coming. [...]

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Sometimes the Best Presents Are Late

When I came home from school that day, my mother and her sister were arguing in the kitchen. “It’s supposed to snow later,” said my aunt.  “What if there’s a blizzard and you can’t get there in time?”  My aunt holds something of a neighborhood record in the Worrywart category, which, considering that we lived [...]

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Lunch

I have a relatively minor but important indulgence:  I eat lunch out almost every day.  It’s ironic that the importance of Lunch Out escalates during Orthodox fasting periods, when we’re supposed to be saving money for almsgiving, but there it is:  I find other places to cut back so I can give alms, but Lunch [...]

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Post-a-Day: In the Pre-Feast of Christmas…

Well, so, the first day of January has come and gone.  I wonder if I can get away with posting for it at 2:00 a.m.?? However, on another plane, on another calendar — it’s still the pre-Christmas period, 20 December, to be exact.  The Russian Orthodox Church keeps to the Julian Calendar for its Church [...]

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Post-a-Day: The Geneticist Follies

Question: “What % of who and what you are is determined by genetics vs your own choices? Is it 50/50 or more or less of one? Or should there be three numbers: your genetics, how you were raised, and your own choices (33/33/33 or 10/40/50)?” The old Nature-vs.-Nurture debate. For what it’s worth, I think [...]

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Owning Heaven

Between the annual income-tax burden, the beginning and middle of Great Lent (as opposed to the lesser fasts observed by the Orthodox Church), and the final illness of my stepfather, life has been unimaginably hectic.  I didn’t do this much running around when I had teenagers in the house. So, having gone into a decline [...]

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PostAday: The One Who Got Away

“Describe the one who got away.” He looked like Joe College of the 1950s, with his crewcut hair and nerdy glasses, and we met in the public library, when he reached for the same book I was interested in:  “The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyim.”  (I had no idea what it was about, but had read [...]

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PostAday: Where Did I Put My Quill Pen??

“What’s one piece of technology you can’t live without?  (Bonus topic:  What technology do you wish would disappear from the world?)” I think I decided to respond to this one more for the bonus topic than for the original one. There are forms of technology I actually do like.  Anything that reproduces music, for instance; [...]

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PostAday: What Is the Bravest Thing?

“Describe a time when you witnessed bravery: a) in your profession b) with your own eyes c) in someone you admire.” Actually, I like the question better, “What is the bravest thing?”  But as it happens, I do know of an instance of bravery, which I will bring up before answering that question. My stepfather [...]

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