On Beyond Housework: An Attempt at a Peaceful Analysis

May 08, 2013

Dear Family,

"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears." --Cesare Pavese

"Something's lost and something's gained in living every day." --Joni Mitchell

Jemmerisms:

"The Babylife Song", sung as a chant from the bathtub, while watching a small sister unload the bathroom cabinet: "...Now you're taking things out of the drawer, and putting them on the floor, and now you're putting the bottle of Something in your mouth, but now you're putting the Something down and eating your hand instead.

Seeking a Housework (r)Evolution

Apr 16, 2013

Dear Family,

"Woman's Work is Never Done..."

--Unknown

("But is anybody's?"

--Me)

Up until very recently (like, a couple of days ago) and for years now, I've spent a lot of my waking hours accompanied by the vaguely uneasy sensation that I'm Not Doing Enough. I am embarrassed to admit how often I have made myself crazy by assuming that since my to-do list is never done, then I should do more, be more efficient, Just Try Harder. (Because, I mean, efficient people don't feel this way, right??) (Even though I KNOW this is silly!

Super Speedy Update, Plus Photos!

Mar 24, 2013

Dear Family,

Happy Spring, and Passover, and Easter! Choose your denominational adventure...

Jemmerisms:

Concerning his navy pants with the sporty stripe: "These pants go well with SO many clothes."

"I'm heavier than a molecule--I'm three thousand and a TRILLION molecules."

At the playground: "I like how they made it look like a boat....but NO!

A Soundtrack from Our Week

Mar 13, 2013

Dear Family,

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings."

--John Muir

(Jeff and I had a date on Sunday during which we climbed down and up small hill, and I feel that even this generated Good Tidings.)

Bennerisms:

"My birthday is fifteen days after Christmas, if you think about it ONE way...but it's before Christmas, if you think about it the other way."

"Sometimes when you're not happy, Eliza isn't happy either.

What We Eat - With Recipes!

Mar 07, 2013

When we first started the Specific Carbohydrate/Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet in 2010, I had a bookcase full of vegetarian recipes, a burgeoning career as a vegetarian chef…and not a clue how to cook (let alone eat) a chicken. The only thing I knew how to ferment was sourdough bread. And for many more reasons than the sheer cooking workload, I was completely overwhelmed.

Three years later, I have amassed a small collection of dietarily compatible recipes, while the old ones sit nostalgically and uselessly on top shelves.

An Update For Today

Mar 06, 2013

Dear Family,

"If they would eat nettles in March,
and drink mugwort in May,
so many fine maidens would not go to the clay."

--Funeral song of a Scottish Mermaid

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Jemmerisms:

"These eggs are too amazing! I can't not eat them."

Are you warm enough to go outside, Jem? "I'm medium here [pointing to stomach], and hot [pointing to his knees] down here."

Looking up at me, after I get dressed up in my fancy new jacket and fancy (old) boots: "You look like Other People!"

"I'm glad we don't eat bad food, but it's so tempting!"

All The Gory Details I can Think Of, and Then Some

Feb 28, 2013

Dear Family,

"I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer."

--Matisse

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Jemmerisms:

"[I made] a teeny candle, in case you want a teeny bit of light…an' this one is even _tinier_, for those times when you need an even tinier light."

"[The snow] is so pretty, 'cause it's not falling super fast or super slow."

"How does a so-tiny baby neck hold up a so-big baby head?"

"…ARGUING! That's what we're doing over here."

Speech Therapy, and Therapeutic Pondering

Feb 20, 2013

Dear Family,

"…Under no circumstances should you ever say or even think that the worst is over. You will bring the evil eye down on yourself so fast it will leave you keening. But it is okay to say, 'that could have been so much worse,' which is always the case."

--Anne Lamott, in "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers"

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Bennerisms:

"If I had a lot of money, I would give some to people who don't have any, and then I'd go into a store an' buy EVERYTHING."

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Some of This Week's Miscelleny:

A Funny Novel and Regressive Episodes, not to mention White Noise

Feb 13, 2013

Dear Family,

"Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Two."

--Based on the Project Management Triangle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle
(and would be a good slogan to screen-print on the back of a GAPS-themed tee shirt )

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Jemmerisms:

My young style maven's chief complaints when getting dressed for the elements: "I don't wanna be so jackety! An' I don't wanna hat! It looks weird with a fleece."

Chorus to Jem's new song: "...Baby Cuteness Liza!"

Jem, explaining to Eliza: "If you nurse good an' don't cry at night, we can TAKE you places."

Technical Details and A Lot About Sleep

Feb 06, 2013

Dear Family,

“Never give up, Ojo,” advised Dorothy. “No one ever knows what's going to happen next.”

--L. Frank Baum, “The Patchwork Girl of Oz”

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Jemmerisms:

Getting into his carseat with all his snow gear on: “Ack! I'm TOO strapped in!”

Concerning those sorts of hovercraft-type trains that run on rails: “...But I would think, 'why would it NEED the track then?', if it lifts off a little bit anyway...”

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