Right Speech, or Lack Thereof
Today I fell victim to chose to succumb to the allure of gossiping and judgmental words. What I said was unnecessary, and potentially harmful, as I discovered a moment too late that the person I was speaking about was sitting just at the next table. I was assured by my table mate that the person didn’t seem to have heard as the next table was deeping involved in their own engrossing conversation, but still, I worry that I caused pain. Gautama Buddha developed the Eightfold Path as a way to alleviate suffering and achieve insight. Rudolf Steiner spoke similarly of this path

Pardon me while I sigh with contentment.
This morning we woke up to a little bit of snow. The red apples still hanging on the tree out back looked like Christmas ornaments. We made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, and immediately afterwards the kids ran out to shovel the front walk and sweep off the car windows. Without being asked. I’ve got beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner, and a cup of warm apple cider by my side. Posted in Family, life

Why Am I in This #$*)&(% Lifeboat?
This morning in the car Anthropapa and I were having a discussion about affirmative action and the fact that there have only been 3 African American US senators since Reconstruction, and how maybe President Obama will be a positive role model to increase that number. Yes, at 7:45 am, we were discussing that. I guess the coffee had already kicked in. Anyway, we were stopped at a busy intersection, and I made another comment in our discussion. Then I noticed that Anthropapa hadn’t responded. I said, “I’m sorry, are you trying to pay attention to the traffic?” He said yes in what sounded like a slightly annoyed tone. I felt myself get angry a

Be It Ever So Humble…
…We’ve Finally Got a Home. I’ve been feeling a bit too overwhelmed to create blog posts lately and have just been updating Facebook. Then I realized that not all of the people who read this blog are also on Facebook, so to update you: We bought a house. It’s more or less right across the street from the kids’ school. It’s a tri-level, with 4 but technically 5 bedrooms (one room doesn’t have a closet and has a door to the backyard, but we’re going to use it as a bedroom). The yard has an ancient sandbox that needs some rehab work, and a mature apple tree that has lovely little sweet apples. ❖❖❖❖❖❖

Genealogy Mysteries
I’ve been doing family genealogy research for a few years now, though since the kids came it’s been only at odd moments here and there. Last night I came across this little gem while researching part of my husband’s family: CHARLES ROYAL WOODS [Jr.] Born at Cambridge, Mass., May 27, 1878. Prepared at St. Mark’s School, Southboro, Mass. In College: 1896-1900. Married: Emma Seward, New York, N. Y., April 12, 1911 (died Nov. 15, 1919). Children: Elizabeth Katherine, June 20, 1915; Emma Seward, June 28, 1919. Occupation: Leather salesman. Address: Frank W. Hunt & Co., 118 Lincoln St. Boston, Mass.