1 matchbox
1 box of bits, scraps & do-dads
1 bottle of glue
1 pair of itty-bitty German scissors from an estate sale
1 old jar
1 lump of bees wax
1 old stiff bristled brush
1 old iron skillet or small sauce pan
a few stolen moments
Snip stuff from the “bits” box and glue it all to the match box. Put a [...]

Having a child with a disability tends to redefine a person. Suddenly Paul and I became that couple who has a son with Down syndrome, not the teacher and the artist. It’s probably unavoidable and maybe not a bad thing. Perhaps it just ads to our repertoire. In the first months after Nathan’s birth, I [...]

We zipped over to Ashtabula this past weekend to visit my step mom who is loosing her battle with cancer and to attend a small fireside wedding in her home for her youngest daughter. As we often do, we stayed in a guest cottage affectionately named “The Giggle House.” It’s an exquisitely efficient little cottage [...]

This is why I work at home! Where else would I get to work with firefighters who wear toy bin helmets on their heads? Yes, I have to kick aside the toy debris to get through my office, but hey, it’s just no big deal!
Paul bought a tarantula for his classroom this weekend…so there are [...]

We briefly met Michael Jurogue Johnson at a NADS conference in ‘06. He was such an inspiration to me as an artist. Sometimes I dream that Nathan will be an artist too. My Dad has this penchant for circles and has done very tight geometric round canvases for years. Well, Nathan sees a circle a [...]

Well, I received 2 notes defending local Aldi employees, so I guess not ALL of them are grumpy! But I think the nice Aldi folks must live in Lake Woebegone. In fact, such a place does exist. Ashtabula, Ohio is the real McCoy. I know a few strong women and some above average children who [...]

I popped into Aldi today to pick up a few things. Every time I go there, I feel like I’m at a food pantry for the homeless getting a handout. It has to be the most dismal place to grocery shop! The air is dead, void of any life. And it does not matter if [...]

I have very few vices…chocolate, cookies, and coffee…that’s it! So today’s my day for indulgence.
Today was also Nathan’s annual IFSP meeting with all of his therapists to go over his development to date. He is doing very well in all categories of development and scores between 18 and 22 months…pretty good for a 25 month [...]

We’ve been stuck inside for a few days…too cold to go out and Nathan’s been too sick. So, we started Valentine cards for Miika’s preschool friends. The project has held her attention and kept the TV to a minimum. It was a free project using stuff we had around the house until I got the [...]

…is so hard to do! Since June of ‘07 we’ve been sorting and pitching in preparation to enter the real estate fray. We’d hoped to have the house on the market by now, but we still have a to-do list. The good news is that it is much shorter than it was 6 months ago. [...]