There is a Mad Woman in our house. She is ransacking the Things ' rooms and the cupboards and really, throwing out anything not secured by a nail. Mad Woman doesn't use nails so most things are up for grabs. The Epilepsy foundation is about to win the jackpot.

Long ago (18 years or so), Big Man and I used to cruise around the countryside of Mankato, MN in his navy blue Ford Ranger. We didn't have a lot of money so we often went for rides just to check things out. One thing we discovered on these jaunts were lawn and house ornaments, most of which I hated. The most horrifying and objectional to me were monarch butterflies in pastel colors artistically arranged along the side of someone's house. They ...

2 and half loaves of bread3 bags of cereal1 and half boxes of waffles3 and a half pounds of grapes1 watermelon1 cantelope6 apples2 pounds of carrots2 gallons of milk2 pounds of pasta2 pounds of hamburger1 pound of turkey32 yogurt sticks1 gallon of ice cream1 24-pack of popsicles18 serving packs of pretzels or popcorn1 gallon of ice cream

There is a gang of 5 here this week. Three cousins have descended upon the Thing's world and so far, so good. All head out for a camp experience before we re-convene for Leggo time and the pool. Here is what our mornings sound like: "Swimsuits?" "Check!" "Sunscreen?"

All good things must come to an end, and tonight we say good-bye to Harry and Hermione and Ron. Luckily, I will still get to see my son through the reading of most of the books. My daughter will hold as tightly to this series as she does her much-loved puppy who now resembles some sort of sick-looking, once fluffy rag. But, indeed, it is hard to let go.

I've always thought I was a bit snarky about kids and marriage until someone said I reminded them of Erma Bombeck (HUGE COMPLIMENT-thank you!). I remembered reading columns out of my mother's old Good Housekeeping magazines and finding them funny so I decided to check out some of her books.

How is it I can reside in house with 4 people for 10 years and be the only one who knows where we store toilet paper? My kids don't hear me yelling because "Could you please bring me some toilet paper?" sounds no different than "The sky is falling!" or "Your room better be picked up before we leave for swimming practice!" or "Who wrote with a sharpie on fireplace?" It's all Peanuts-like to them, "wah, wah, wah".

I was recenly reminded of one my favorite books that I used to teach in a class for students whose main goal in life was to graduate from high school. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is a young adult novel written by Chris Crutcher, a great writer for reluctant readers or hardened kids who just can't find time, space, or reason for sticking their nose into any book.

Steamy days are upon us and I can hardly believe I used to walk beans, detassle corn, bottle feed calves, pick rocks from fields, help sew oats by hand, show animals in August for 4-H and live in a house with no air conditioning for all of 18 years. I have become a wuss. Is that a real word? It seems the most appropriate one because at this point in my life, I do not like to garden, driving in midday makes me cranky, and my heart literally ...

Well, I made a small foray into activism. I had this brainy idea of a digital protest against the war. But I needed some help and found it was surprisingly difficult. People either couldn't put themselves out there or simply forgot or whatever. Plus, I am not technologically savvy so the time required versus the skills I had did not line up. But over and over, I kept thinking of what General Kelly said in his article in the Washington Post in ...