Eating XXL June 24, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child, On the Homefront, Potpourri.10 comments
Since moving to Germany to begin our life together, ChessMan has been fascinated by a couple of documentaries he’s seen on what the Germans call ‘XXL restaurants’. These are basically restaurants where the portions are astronomical. I mean mind-boggling. Schnitzels so big they flop over the edge of your plate. Single hamburgers made from a good two pounds of ground beef. Bratwurst weighing in at almost the same weight apiece. He made me promise that whenever we traveled to the Frankfurt area, we’d stop and visit the one near there.
The Eel Thief June 18, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in The Pooper-Scooper Twins.4 comments
ChessMan suffers from chronic back pain, which sometimes infringes upon his/our quality of life mightily. That’s why he was very glad to find a kind and understanding – and capable – physical therapist here in our village. In addition to the massages and other prescription treatments she provides, she also allows him to work out on her equipment as often as he likes at no additional charge. That means that – in a good week – he’ll saunter over there for a 45 minute workout maybe 2 or 3 times.
Banned Books I’ve Read June 12, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in Potpourri.4 comments
I found this list of 110 (previously) banned books over at My Private Casbah and decided to go through it and see just how many of them I have actually read. At least partially…
#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
What TheBoy Has Been Up To June 12, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in Potpourri.2 comments
TheBoy had been having a rough go of things for awhile. He’s actually a bit past the point where he should be taking on (almost) full responsibility for his life, but he insists on clinging to the idea that he’s footloose and fancy free – with parents to do the dirty work. That attitude sometimes makes him poorly equipped to deal with life’s numerous barbs and thorns.
What TheGirl Have Been Up To June 10, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in God Bless the Child.2 comments
I realize I’ve written relatively little about my children. Partially it’s because I’ve been looking back over things (long) past; partially because I want to give them some space and the luxury of not being regular characters in somebody else’s blog. But as any parent can tell you, without your kids ‘life’ would be like a word without any vowels…
So here is an update on TheGirl:
Pix My Sister Sent June 9, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in Connecting with the Past, Potpourri, Shaking the Family Tree.2 comments
I had the good fortune of growing up in an intact black middle class neighborhood till I was nine years old. We played safely outside on our street. Though we lived in a city, there was plenty of green in our neighborhood, and many a lazy summer afternoon was spent riding our bikes, picking (and eating!) berries, or playing some sort of outdoor game. Neighborhood mothers (and fathers!) had an eye out for you – and Lord help you, if someone else had call to discipline you. You got it both coming (from them) and going (from your parents).
We also lived two doors down from my aunt and uncle (Dad’s 2nd youngest brother) and two cousins.
My sister has been photo-raiding with my dearest Aunt Henrietta. The following are pix Aunt Henriette (abovementioned aunt; formerly two doors down) sent my sister after a weekend they spent going through some of her Polaroid memories (click to enlarge).
Yes, those were really certainly The Good Old Days!
Pix 1: Our Grandpop. The patriarch of our family. Definitely ‘Old School’ when it came to discipline and other family values!
Pix 2: Me with my two cousins on our bikes
Pix 3: Four cousins
Pix 4: My sister and my younger cousin
Can I Get A Witness? Let The Church Say “AMEN”! June 7, 2008
Posted by caratime2 in Potpourri.3 comments
After going into this race feeling invigorated by having both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as viable candidates, I have to admit the ensuing politicking was a major turn off.
Sexism versus racism.
Michigan and Florida.
Rev. Wright.
Geraldine Ferraro.
Ugh!
But I was awake and watching when Obama said those historic words on 3 June.
YES, WE CAN!
