Flùir na h-Alba!

O Flower(s) of Scotland! When will we see yer like again?



My apologies in advance - this is a bit of an insider post, but I wanted to thank the Scottish rellies...

Missing you all... the girls were very, very pleased with all of their gifts and letters. As instructed, Dadi, plush toys were distributed at the airport to much ooh-ing and aah-ing. There was even an impromptu fashion show when I got home - the Lion in particular wished to try on her new clothes. The Lamb was particularly pleased with the small heart-shaped box from Jack Sparrow and Princess Z - as well as the piles of allergy-proof chocolate. She might have tried to go to bed with some of them. It was great to be able to bond with my nieces and nephews (and their respective parents and grandparents of course). What trip to Scotland wouldn't be complete without a spontaneous bit of architectural consulting on a local mosque?

Thank you for looking after me while I was there for that conference. I told Jen how much I enjoyed Nana sitting in the front row of my lecture at the Glasgow School of Art... For those of you Scots travelling this week - have a safe, safe trip and may your Hajj be Mabroor, insha'allah. Remember us at the Blessed House!

Sigh. Back to work.

what time is it?

It was 6 o'clock Sunday evening and I was cooking dinner while chatting on the phone with my mother-in-law. Did you set your clock back? she asked.

What? I said.

Daylight savings time, the last weekend in October. Of course.

My first thought after that was, oh no, that means I have 3 more hours until the kids go to bed instead of 2!! Followed closely by, wow, I am totally out of touch with the world. That I am living on an entirely separate clock than everyone else all day and didn't notice? This is not normal. My sister-in-law once "lost" an entire week. It was an entire week later than she thought it was. I teased her pretty mercilessly, "how could you miss an entire week? how could you not know the date for 7 days?" Well, I take it all back, because I barely ever know the exact date anymore. The days of week I need to know because of preschool, but other than that... I mean, I know it's October...

Turns out that I didn't need to panic. I called a friend immediately after that and interrupted her cooking her dinner (oh housewives we are, we are) and she assured me that the hour had not in fact changed in the United States. Our buddy George W. passed a bill that means that we don't change our clocks until November 4th. I don't know why, of course, but I've given up trying to understand the leader of this nation.

I do remember hearing about this before... before... in a time when it didn't really matter to me as a Canadian resident, so it's just on the periphery of my memory. I remember that I was supremely irritated because Canada was considering following suit. Not because they were won over by the overwhelming logic of George's reasoning, or because ultimately it would suit Canadians better... No, but simply because those Americans were doing it, so why don't we do it too? Grrrr...

I honestly do forget that we aren't in Canada sometimes. The people here are nice and the climate is similar. But when I go back to Canada and I see American faces on the covers of our magazines... I get grumpy. I feel encroached upon. But I'm almost more irritated with Canadians. Why can't we stop talking about the United States, always looking over our shoulder? It's like Canada is a girl who can't take her eyes off her ex-boyfriend, even though she's got a perfectly good man. You want to shake her and yell "why do you CARE??? what has he done for you lately??"

I live here and I don't feel any animosity for Americans on a daily basis. At all! I feel there's lots of widespread talk in Canada about "Americans." The "Americans" are doing this, or doing that. But Canadians sometimes willingly overlook that this country is as diverse as any other. Half the people in this country didn't even vote for George W. Bush. I think we tend to overgeneralize when really we should be talking in terms of policy and government, if we want to be more accurate. Not every American sports a superior attitude, or supports the war. And most of all, be careful what you say: my daughter is an American.

I had been telling Maymuna about the concept of flags, as symbols that represent countries. Maymuna spotted an American flag on the way home, and asked "that's the Canada flag, mommy?" No, my darling. How confusing it all is for her. Where do we belong?

That's the American flag, our flag has a big red LEAF in the middle, I told her.

Ooooh, she said. At least she's impressed for now.

Do you know what Rendition really is?

The last time Ozayr and I went to a movie, we saw the trailer for Rendition, and we looked around at the people in the theater and realized that most Americans are probably seeing this as just a movie. Fiction. At most, an extreme exaggeration or supposition of United States policy.

Not like that's something that the USA really does.

Not like it actually happened to someone we know, Maher Arar.

Watching that trailer made me feel sick.

Not that you would know it by the media here in the States, but the US government has finally commented on the Arar case... owning up to some blame? Kind of...

from the Globe and Mail, 10/25/07
Paul Koring & Gloria Galloway

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted yesterday that errors were made in the Maher Arar case but not, she said, either in forcibly sending him to Syria or in continuing to bar him from entering the United States.

Ms. Rice said there was a failure to communicate with Canadian authorities who originally fingered Mr. Arar as a terrorist suspect.

"Our communication with the Canadian government about this was by no means perfect. In fact, it was quite imperfect," Ms. Rice told a congressional foreign-relations committee. "We have told the Canadian government that we did not think that this was handled particularly well in terms of our own relationship, and that we will try to do better in the future."

Ms. Rice's admission of error was the first from the Bush administration in the Arar case...

The world today

I live in a fishbowl and our lives here revolve around preschool and naptimes and our insular routines. And though I was once a person who listened to the radio a lot and knew what was happening in the world, I have since lapsed. I think that when we moved here I just stopped caring. I mean, not caring. I care. But I get so tired of the politics of HERE. It's mainly the president's fault. George, he troubles me. The things he says. How he says them. His vocal swagger grates on my very last nerve. And he's the president, so he's on the radio EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I just can't do it. Public Radio (NPR) is fantastic here (somewhat left-leaning, much like the CBC) but I miss my radio personalities back home that brought me the news. Canadian news. There was at least a little comfort even in bad news, because I liked them so much. It's like I didn't take it personally coming from them.

Now, when I surface to wonder at the world around me I am shocked. It is suddenly obvious to me that this country is just going around, finding wars to fight. I mean, I thought that Iran and the USA were just sizing each other up before, but yesterday I listen to the radio to find out that the US is "willing to negotiate". Negotiate? Let's be clear. You don't negotiate unless you are essentially ENGAGED IN CONFLICT. These 2 countries are figuratively staring each other down. Two little men with BIG EGOS are locked in a staring contest - which one do you think is going to back down?

I don't pretend to know or understand the nuances of all this, the ramifications or the implications. I'm not expert, nor do I care to be. I just think this is a little crazy, don't you? I mean, there are still troops in Iraq... I mean, is the US going to run around and tear up half the world? Where does this stop?

I just think it's about time that this little man stood down and a woman took his job.

200 Posts!

We've passed 200 posts now on the blog. I am pretty pleased with my blogging experience so far, though lately it's been very hard to keep up. I feel like I need to keep it moving, but at the end of the day I am so tired that my creative juices are all dried up. I know that we are in the midst of a tough spell right now and there's very little free time to be had for any of us. Once it's over though I would like to make a renewed commitment to writing, maybe start getting up early again like I used to. Writing is kind of like exercise, the more you do it the easier it is. Like muscle tone, you need to use it or you lose it. The less I write the more awkward writing becomes, it's like the flow is stopped up. Only if I work at it every day does it remain fluid and easy.

But really, the blog is just a means to an end for me. The blog is just a way for me to write, an excuse to put aside the time to write. I don't write for the blog. Partly for that reason, I'm saying goodbye to the comments section again! Adios! You guys are all great, but you're not big comment-makers and that's fine with me. I just really prefer the layout/options and ease of use that the more advanced templates offer. But I can't get comments to work with that template, Blogger won't let me. I'm actually happy to go back to the way it was before and now I don't have to feel like I'm missing out on something. Feel free to email me if you ever want to discuss something from the blog!

So I'm off now, my girls are sleeping soundly, both clean and shiny from baths and nail-clippings, thorough hair-brushings and fresh pyjamas. It's so nice when they are all fresh like this. They will wake up with crazy-awesome bed-heads tomorrow from tossing and turning all night with slightly damp hair. I can't wait! The Lion's hair is slowly starting to get thicker and darker like her sister's. You can see it underneath the top layer of hair which is still light from the summer's sun. Her hair is changing as she grows from a baby to a little girl. Those little bends and twists of hair around her neckline and ears will soon be straight and tamed... Why do they have to grow up?

a lot goin' on

There's a lot going on over here. The Lamb has had the whole week off school and the Lion has been teething furiously, though in the midst of all this busy-ness, I had the chance to do something amazing for myself. Which I will share with you.

My neighbour started a book club last summer and while I am generally skeptical of such things, I joined immediately upon her invitation. Reasons to follow: I met 5 great women who live in my neighbourhood and they are all intelligent and insightful. Our ages probably span a good 20 years (with me being the youngest, yipee!!) and we cover 3 different religions between us. So the conversation is always interesting and offers different points of view. It's one guaranteed NIGHT-OUT without kids once a month and I thoroughly enjoy myself every single time.

We've read a lot of books over the last year. Some good, some not good. Little Women was a stretch for me... but as a precursor to our next novel it was perfect and I think I enjoyed March so much more for it. Our book this past month was Run, by Ann Patchett.

Now I don't have fabulous things to say about Run I'm afraid. I found the dialogue unbelievable and contrived. I found the back stories labored and heavy-handed (Sullivan, did we need you?). The characters were all nice, or at the very least well-intentioned (not a single villain among them). The plot was predictable and the emotional investment for me was practically nil. Most frustrating for me was that Big Issues were put out there, but never really dealt with (the story centers around a white family who adopt 2 black sons... but the book never addresses race relations except once briefly). Anyway, I'm not here to discuss Run at all. If you want to read a GREAT novel, read Patchett's Bel Canto. It is currently my favourite novel of all time. I had difficulty lending it out to a friend down the street. I didn't want to part with it. In fact there's a passage I feel like reading right now. And I can't. See? Should have kept it.

The reason we were reading Run for our bookclub this month is because Ann Patchett is on her book tour and was in the Twin Cities for a taping of Talking Volumes (MPR radio) this past Tuesday. Four of us got tickets and went to the historic Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, affectionately called "The Fitz" in these parts. It's a very Twin Cities sort of thing to do ("what's playing at the Fitz?") and it was great to have a night out with people whose company I enjoy. I wore heels and a nice coat.

Let me tell you. It was so much fun. I expected that she would talk about her book, and she did. But she talked about being a writer. The feeling she had when she finished her first book. How she writes, when she writes, how it feels to her. She was funny and engaging and insightful ("grief is a debt you owe... you either pay it all in one big payment right away, or you pay it in little bits throughout the rest of your life..."). I really enjoyed her talk and came home practically breathless with inspiration. It was nice for me to get out and do something entirely driven by my own interests. I had a great time and never wondered once if anyone else was happy... or needed water... or a snack.

In my spare moments this week I keep remembering the things she said. It reminded me... that I have my own interests... that I can be excited about things that are strictly mine... that perhaps I even have something to say... or write...

I needed that. :)

Colbert on the Daily Show :)

Some Brits may not know the phenomenon that is the Daily Show. The DS is a fake news show that is aired on the comedy network. It's basically a satire of real, flagrantly biased news-and-commentary shows on the air right now. The DS's bias is clearly LEFT and its just hilarious. Jon Stewart is the host and Stephen Colbert used to be one of the fake news correspondents until he left and started his own show, The Colbert Report. Their election coverage ("Indecision '04") won me over as a lifetime fan...

Eid ul Fitr

What a day! It was long and we are all exhausted, but I thought I would try to post a few photos from our day...

It began with general wonder and delight that the house had been decorated and covered in balloons overnight...


The Lion developed an affinity for this one red balloon...


After Eid prayers we had a big pancake brunch at home - YUM!


After filling our tummies (in the daytime no less!) we headed out to the Eid Carnival in Inver Grove Heights. Here I am with the girls on the way out of the house:


Those are handmade kufis made for them by their great-grandmother this summer - so adorable!!

We got to the "Carnival" to discover that while our trip was well-intentioned, the carnival wasn't something that our girls could really participate in. They did however have a fabulous play structure and swings that kept us happy for over an hour. The Lamb was not disappointed in the least to be out of the crowded school halls and out in the sunshine with the whole yard to herself. This is Ozayr with the Lion, wandering outside the Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy...


We gave the girls their Eid presents when we got home - some t-shirts, new pj's and some new dress-up props... hats! Of the cowboy, pirate variety etc... The racing car helmet was a landslide favourite...


Yeehaw!!


It wasn't long before the box they came in drew some interest...


And when you have a father like their father, things start to happen...


And a little more stuff... like wings and a tail-fin... some dials...


And you're flying!!


Then it was time to eat (again)... So we ate and ate. Until we could eat no more...


All good things come to an end (otherwise parents would never survive) and so into their new matching pyjamas they went. Both of them fell off to sleep fast and heavy.



As will I.
Eid Mubarak...

All set...

and ready for tomorrow...


Eid greetings to all the Muslims reading - enjoy your special day!!!

My dear Lamb,

I try to picture myself talking to you as an adult - what would I tell you about the child before me now, who turns four years old today? My darling girl, you are sweetness with big brown eyes and soft apple cheeks. You are simultaneously the lift my heart feels and its sadness as I watch you grow and grow. This year more than ever you have moved away from us, trying your independence and testing me to see if I'll love you anyway. I do, baby, I do.

I don't begrudge you the leaps you have taken this year - while you bravely faced them I hope you heard my cheers of support as I stood behind you. But I am glad you never turned to see the tears in my eyes. I would like to think I helped you but in all truth, it was you who led me. Instead of us carefully placing new experiences in your path for you to try, it was you who sought them. You who challenged yourself. You who found your own confidence - no one can give you that, as hard as I would have tried.

While you are faster to run and jump and climb to the top of every play structure, you have also grown in maturity. A couple of weeks ago you and I went out for coffee. We read books and ate pretzels side by side. I can't tell you how I didn't want that afternoon to end. We must have been gone 3 or 4 hours. We gathered up books and read them, all the while sipping our drinks and talking. This one-on-one time is a tradition we started along with snuggle-fest sleepover nights and nightly chats. Our family culture is slowly being formed through you and the things we do together - another blessing you have brought to your father and me.

You wonder about everything and your questioning "why?" has never ceased in all these years. I have lots of questions myself as I look at you, dabbling in all your new interests - will you write, will you paint, will you run, or work "scientifics" as you call them? At your age you are so open to every experience and I hope we can help you find where your passion lies... There's an amazing excitement as a parent, watching your child find, search, discover who she is.

What will I tell you, when you are grown, about who you are at this time in your life? Only this: I would hold you right now in my arms for the rest of my life. Four years old. I love you.

Eid Prep

Preparations for Eid have begun with gusto! This afternoon we baked and started making decorations. I still feel ill-prepared though - Ramadan flew by as it almost always does and Eid is around the corner (well, banging at the door practically). I am still searching for that element to make the Perfect Eid... Being so far away from the rest of the family I feel like I've got to compensate somehow... Eek!!


Anyway, now I have 8-foot long paper chain - any suggestions?

Thanksgiving

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to all the Canadians reading! I wish I could say that we carried on the tradition with a big turkey here or something, but sadly we did not... Well, not sadly exactly, it was Practice Birthday and the last weekend with my parents' in town and so things got carried away... but in a good way.

Inspired by a friend's blog I wanted to include a little thanks giving of my own but I am not nearly as eloquent, and couldn't complete the post without sounding utterly schmoopy and overly-sentimental... The truth is that it would be faster to name my complaints, I have so many blessings in my life. There is very little in my life that I would not thank God for. Simple as that, I try to see the good in every day. Sounds trite, don't it. But I'm telling ya, I truly believe gratitude to be the quickest route to happiness...

That, and CHAI. ;)

Inspired by Paz

Long time no blog. I know.

I've been working on some writing I need to do for the university and wound up using an Octavio Paz quote in that text. In doing some research on Paz, I discovered that his (best) translator is an American writer named Eliot Weinberger. Weinberger (who is still living) has won a number of awards for his work, and was asked by Jorge Luis Borges (another writer that I like, but sometimes cannot understand) to pick up an award on his behalf. At any rate, I was following links and came across this piece of writing that Weinberger did for the London Review of Books a couple of years ago. Given that I and Mom-a-rino (The Lamb's response to my wife's question of 'What is Mama's name?) just got back from visiting Paul Haggis and the Valley of Elah, it seemed kind of appropriate. Here's a bit of it - and a link to the rest of it. It's long, but worth reading.


What I Heard about Iraq
Eliot Weinberger

In 1992, a year after the first Gulf War, I heard Dick Cheney, then secretary of defense, say that the US had been wise not to invade Baghdad and get ‘bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq’. I heard him say: ‘The question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is: not that damned many.’

In February 2001, I heard Colin Powell say that Saddam Hussein ‘has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours.’

That same month, I heard that a CIA report stated: ‘We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction programmes.’

In July 2001, I heard Condoleezza Rice say: ‘We are able to keep his arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.’

On 11 September 2001, six hours after the attacks, I heard that Donald Rumsfeld said that it might be an opportunity to ‘hit’ Iraq. I heard that he said: ‘Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not.’

I heard that Condoleezza Rice asked: ‘How do you capitalise on these opportunities?’

I heard that on 17 September the president signed a document marked top secret that directed the Pentagon to begin planning for the invasion and that, some months later, he secretly and illegally diverted $700 million approved by Congress for operations in Afghanistan into preparing for the new battle front.

In February 2002, I heard that an unnamed ‘senior military commander’ said: ‘We are moving military and intelligence personnel and resources out of Afghanistan to get ready for a future war in Iraq.’

I heard the president say that Iraq is ‘a threat of unique urgency’, and that there is ‘no doubt the Iraqi regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised’.

I heard the vice president say: ‘Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.’

I heard the president tell Congress: ‘The danger to our country is grave. The danger to our country is growing. The regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year.’

I heard him say: ‘The dangers we face will only worsen from month to month and from year to year. To ignore these threats is to encourage them. Each passing day could be the one on which the Iraqi regime gives anthrax or VX nerve gas or, some day, a nuclear weapon to a terrorist ally.’

I heard the president, in the State of the Union address, say that Iraq was hiding materials sufficient to produce 25,000 litres of anthrax, 38,000 litres of botulinum toxin, and 500 tons of sarin, mustard and nerve gas.

I heard the president say that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium – later specified as ‘yellowcake’ uranium oxide from Niger – and thousands of aluminium tubes ‘suitable for nuclear weapons production’.

I heard the vice president say: ‘We know that he’s been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.’

I heard the president say: ‘Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known.’

I heard Donald Rumsfeld say: ‘Some have argued that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent. I would not be so certain.’

I heard the president say: ‘America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof – the smoking gun – that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.’

I heard Condoleezza Rice say: ‘We don’t want the “smoking gun” to be a mushroom cloud.’

...the rest is here

I hear my bed calling.

Movie: In the Valley of Elah

Ozayr and I went off to a movie this afternoon, taking our last chance while my parents are in town. The summer blockbusters all seemed kind of lame and worn now that school has begun, and the fall's Oscar contenders are not yet out in MN, and so we found ourselves in a remote theatre of the complex, watching a movie called In the Valley of Elah.

Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon play parents to a son who is fighting in Iraq, but since returning home has gone missing. The plot itself can be summed up in just a few words and lumbers along with the "help" of Charlize Theron, playing an investigator in the case. Despite this, the movie doesn't fail. The poignant glimpses into military life and its toll on the (mostly) young and (mainly) impressionable Americans fighting in Iraq move the film along - lifting it from a father-searching-for-son standard to something thought-provoking and deeply insightful. It's slow, almost on purpose. To give you time to think.

There are a whole crop of Iraq/military/war movies coming out lately, but this movie is a bit different as it takes place here in the USA. Accordingly, the questions it poses are relevant to all Americans here and now, making the film incredibly engaging. It gives a lot of food for thought... for instance: If you take hundreds of thousands of young Americans to Iraq and (A) essentially teach them to discard their previous moral standard, (B) diminish their sense of value for the human life, and (C) teach them to react to every threat with a hyper-defensive violent stance, then what kind of citizens are you bringing back into this country when their tour of duty is done? What implications does this have for our families and communities right here? Would Tommy Lee have even liked the man his son had become while serving his country? It doesn't sound like it...

The Valley of Elah is the valley where Goliath and David fought - you know the story. Goliath is felled by the seemingly smallest of threats - a simple stone from David's slingshot. This movie seems to ask, will America be similarly defeated, while caught off guard?

The acting is great. Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly restrained in a role that could have easily been overdone. Susan Sarandon's role is small, but she is ten times more memorable than any other woman in the movie. Every minute she is on-screen you are completely invested in her character. Paul Haggis wrote the script. He is Canadian and I guess it shows, as the movie is clearly leaning to the LEFT, but is sincerely beautiful/tragic in its ending.

It was a good surprise on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Practice Birthday

It's right around the corner - the Lamb turns FOUR later this week (inshallah). Unfortunately my parents leave town on Monday - it will be the first of her birthdays they've ever missed. And thus Practice Birthday was born. (I think someone should have explained to me that this actually means she gets TWO birthdays... Had I thought this through I would've dragged the gifts out of the walk-in closet and convinced her that today IS her actual birthday...)

Anyway, it all centers around food and accessories around here. Cake, cups, plates, candles, hats and party favours. I'll spare you the details of our group excursion to Target this afternoon, only to say that when you bring grandparents with you, you are outnumbered, they will always side with the child!! A life lesson that I had temporarily forgotten. Anyway, when we came back it was time to get started with the cake. After it was baked, it was the Lamb's privilege to decorate it. I am pretty cool with whatever in this area, I mean, the cake is for HER, I'm not entering it in the State Fair or something. So I gave her lots of options and she set out to CREATE and I was there to simply assist.


Meanwhile the Lion scooted around the kitchen picking up sprinkles and getting a lick off a spoon every once in a while, absolutely delighted.


Here's what we ended up with:


Candles, icing, swirls, hearts, sprinkles, candles and princess cake toppers, which we pilfered from her cousin's cake this summer (thank you Safiya!) Truly over the top and so very truly an almost-4 year old's birthday cake. It was perfect and she LOVED it. Between the six of us we managed to eat about half the cake (and drink 2 liters of water).


I have a feeling it's going to be 'birthday week' around here....

The leader of this country...

"Conservatives Are Such Jokers" by Paul Krugman, New York Times

On Wednesday, President Bush vetoed legislation that would have expanded S-chip, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing health insurance to an estimated 3.8 million children who would otherwise lack coverage.

In anticipation of the veto, William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, had this to say: “First of all, whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children, I tend to think it’s a good idea. I’m happy that the president’s willing to do something bad for the kids.” Heh-heh-heh.

Most conservatives are more careful than Mr. Kristol. They try to preserve the appearance that they really do care about those less fortunate than themselves. But the truth is that they aren’t bothered by the fact that almost nine million children in America lack health insurance. They don’t think it’s a problem.

“I mean, people have access to health care in America,” said Mr. Bush in July. “After all, you just go to an emergency room.”

And on the day of the veto, Mr. Bush dismissed the whole issue of uninsured children as a media myth. Referring to Medicaid spending — which fails to reach many children — he declared that “when they say, well, poor children aren’t being covered in America, if that’s what you’re hearing on your TV screens, I’m telling you there’s $35.5 billion worth of reasons not to believe that.”

($35.5 billion is the cost of the program)

You can read the whole article here.

Yay!

So after a heated struggle with Blogger last night I managed to enable comments on the blog. The dawn of a new era... Unfortunately though I had to reset my blog and change my fancy layout back to a basic template - so all the cool links and stuff from the right-side column are gone. That will probably take a while to get back up and running. I am contemplating buying some real blog software that would allow us to design our own really cool webpage, instead of relying on Blogger, which has been frustrating me more and more these days.

Anyway, you will never guess where I am. OUT. With no kids. My parents are watching the Lion (she's sleeping) and the Lamb is at school. HERE I AM ALONE. I brought along the trusty laptop to catch up on some emails. It's very strange to be out in public without a child in tow. It makes me feel like there's no excuse for looking so disheveled and tired. Normally my reason for being the way I am is walking right along with me, so it's all self-explanatory... Now I am just a regular adult... expected to act in regular adult ways, abiding by the general rules of conduct in civilized society, etc etc... WOW.

Comments...

So I'm thinking of opening up the comments on Utica Avenue! How exciting! I have kept them off since the beginning, mainly because writing is a strictly "me" activity - I felt that once I opened myself up to comments that I was writing more for YOU than for myself. That's not necessarily a BAD thing... but I'm not that great at opening up with these sorts of things. With advent of 2 articles published recently in an online publication (which I'm very chuffed about) I figure that I should get a little practice exposing my craft to the general public. So here it goes... Please do feel free to comment, I would love it... but be nice ok?