• Dear Mom - Traveling Along, We're Adventurers

    So Far

    So far, we’ve Flown from Chicago to Seattle had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with boats explored the Seattle Underground with tourons and alleged rats hiked on a beautiful forested trail by a remote beach had delicious beers with friends had circus with bread, which is a little different than having bread and circuses. avoided Seafair, but not the Seafair Pirates driven to Idaho hung out with family walked on a rails to trails route been licked by dogs eaten huckleberry ice cream (me only) eaten Vienna Sausages (again me only) seen 2 deer seen innumerable ground squirrels and chipmunks driven…

  • Connections - Dear Mom - Hawaii - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Aloha, Leah

    Leah gets lei’d at Maui Kahului Airport in September, 2007 Leah Sharron Gibbs, nee Green, age 70, beloved wife for 50 years and best friend of Sheldon. Loving mother of David (Virginia), Daniel, Mitchell (Gloria) Gibbs. Cherished grandmother of Melissa, Joshua, Jennifer and Naomi. Dear sister of the late Seymour Green. Devoted daughter of the late Abrasha and Udasha. Fond sister-in-law of Norma and Bill Brown. Loving aunt of many nieces and nephews. Long time teacher at Serena Hills School in Chicago Heights, IL. Member of B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom. Services Thursday, 11 A M. at B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom,…

  • Dear Mom - Home Improvement

    Why Carl Kasell Is Awesome: @PeterSagal Please Pass Along The Thanks Of A Grateful Family

    If you’re not aware of how awesome Carl Kasell is as the official “Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me!” scorekeeper, you’re completely missing the point of this post and there’s very little hope for you. However, there’s still time to catch up if you get to work immediately listening to old episodes in the archives. Or check out their excellent blog, which seems to be mostly about food. My brother-in-law Mitch pulled off an incredible coup recently; some time ago he wrote to our local public radio station (the mighty, mighty, WBEZ) and simply asked if he could get a “Carl…

  • Dear Mom - Mini-Posts

    Left Unsaid

    Riley is doing pretty well on his kitty chemo regimen. Work is good, my desk will be next to a window starting Monday. My doctor is now satisfied that my weird blood tests are “normal for me.” But, ow. We’re looking forward to vacation in a few weeks, but trying to stay flexible. Family is mostly good, though there is lots that must remain unsaid. Church is good, but need to catch up on some updates for the website.

  • Connections - Dear Mom

    Waiting For Melissa

    Our niece Melissa is coming over for a few hours; we’ll hang out with Rileycat and then head off to see the new Muppet movie, and after that we’ll all go down to see her grandparents and have dinner. She’ll stay with them tonight. It’s a social whirlwind when she comes to town – she lives pretty quietly down in Southern Illinois, so we try to pack a lot of “family time” into her occasional visits up here for holidays. Thanksgiving was a nice time… David’s Aunt Norma did a lovely job as always, hosting 42 (!) people at 4…

  • Connections - Dear Mom

    College Special Ed: It’s Not Just Possible, It Can Be Done

    Is it possible? Yes. Is it practical? Maybe. Would it work in every family, with every quirky dynamic? Probably not. Does it make me feel sad that some capable adults who could benefit from programs like this will never get the chance to try, because their families or guardians are convinced that it’s just not possible? Like many high school graduates, Jennifer Gans, of Glen Ellyn, wanted to go to college. But developmental delays put her in a population of students that few colleges serve: those with “intellectual disabilities.” Now Gans, 25, is a proud graduate of Elmhurst College’s four-year…

  • Dear Mom - Today

    My Birthday, Let Me Show You It Again and Again

    We went down to visit with my husband David’s parents tonight, for dinner and to celebrate my birthday one last time. My birthday was actually last Saturday, which was pretty fun as it was the last full day of vacation. We spent the evening with my college friend Arne, catching up and drinking delicious beers at Coopersmith’s Ale House in Ft Collins. Then on Sep 27, I celebrated my second birthday, because the first year we were dating, David thought that was my birthday. Also, my father-in-law got mixed up and thought it was the 26th, so they called a…

  • Dear Mom - Hot Off The Presses

    Victory: Community Based Housing of Choice for Illinois Disabled Adults

    Some families in Illinois are celebrating tonight. It would be nice if a family member who lives in a group home could benefit from this decision and not have to live quite so far away… due to the extreme length of the waitlist for supportive group housing for disabled adults in Illinois, she was placed in a town several hours away from the rest of us. And maybe it wouldn’t be worth uprooting her now, but at least if it becomes necessary in the future, there may be more options for her and her immediate family. State officials will begin…

  • All Things Interesting - Dear Mom

    In Which I Has Yet Another Pifanee: Friends and Family Matter

    So here we are, blogging again, are we? It seems the only times I bother to blog are those times when I’m traveling, when I get a burst of blogging energy and also take a lot of pictures which will have to be uploaded, culled, cropped, and commented on. This time, we’re back in Seattle getting ready for another run at Northwest FolkLife Festival after spending the first half of our trip in Port Angeles exploring the edges of Olympic National Park while living the luxurious high life at Colette’s Bed and Breakfast. As lazy-blogged previously via Twitter, we got…

  • Dear Mom - Random Access Memories

    Guck, Bucum, and Scrud

    In the last few weeks, I’ve gotten pretty obsessed with the A&E reality show, “Hoarders,” which if you can get past the piles of junk, “treasures,” and poo, is compelling. In the season preview clip above, the newly famous Possum From Hoarders makes her (not his) daring leap for freedom after being poked with a stick. This little clip apparently kept the other obsessed fans talking all summer, but the actual appearance of the Awesome Possum did not disappoint; she hopped in a handy Pet Taxi and lit off for the bright lights of the big city. You can read…