(some Virginia Bluebells)
I have these friends, see. They are adult women like me, and for fun they like to traipse through nature’s arenas and identify things. It sounds peculiar perhaps, but their interest in traipsing was developed long before mine and they are much better at it than I am. I grew up in a [...]

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(some more candid Wicker Park shots)
First, some erudite quotes on the topic:
It is surely a great calamity for a human being to have no obsessions.
Robert Bly
The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one’s obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of [...]

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(Inspired by Sage at Quirky Nomads, I tried out a series of candid sneaky shots in Wicker Park this weekend. Clearly, it is hard to frame things and get the proper perspective on your first try. But it was fun and those feet are very decadent and worth photographing!)
One of the things I find hardest [...]

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In the questions area I checked off that my pet peeve about blogs was lack of content. What a hypocrite! It’s 4am okay and this quiz seems funny to me. I just don’t think I scare bloggers with my snarkiness.

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You’ve got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly [...]

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Time to dust off your old blog posts and send them in to the online homeschool convention over at Spunky Homeschool. The deadline is April 20th and I’m sure it’ll be fascinating to read all of the entries. It caused a bout of deep blog soul-searching for me to find the right post to send [...]

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(And the sun shone for the first time in…days)
Wow, I almost forgot to share this story of my unreasonable expectations and how my kids amused me out of them. Last week, I went grocery shopping with both kids in tow. I usually try to go on the weekend by myself and take my time. [...]

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(Today, I heard a child refer to penguins as seal snacks.)
I’ve been so good. Honestly, I have, haven’t I? For months I’ve been posting with my nose to the grindstone. Not getting outraged politically or having too much of a rant. In many ways, that’s a good thing, especially for readers. But I’ll be [...]

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(Ken took this gritty urban kid shot, but Li set it up by deciding where to pose. Maybe he’s inherited my dad’s photographic eye)
We’ve had a rare opportunity this weekend to spend time with just one kid and it is so pleasant I’m thinking about instituting a mandatory sibling separation period every week. We’ve [...]

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( I guess my 4-year-old got a hold of the camera the other day and took a series of interesting close-ups. Don’t worry, I’ll post more of his masterpieces.)
Come one, come all to the latest Homeschool Habitat podcast. Below are the “show notes” and you can listen on your computer speakers if you follow the [...]

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You know I’m a sucker for lists. Well, here’s one that may come in handy for you some day.
A List of Ways to Cope With Dissecting Owl Pellets, Should You Be Slightly Squeamish Like Kim
1. When your son/daughter begs you to buy owl pellets for him at the homeschooling conference, just because they’re wrapped in [...]

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