Eight or nine years ago, Kris and I took a Saturday around Christmas to drive all over creation playing Santa, delivering goodies to our friends. We’ve harbored fond memories of that trip, but never made the time to repeat it until now. On Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Claus boarded the sleigh — Mrs. Claus’ sleigh …
Busy busy busy. We are busy. Yesterday morning, book group met to discuss The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is not a good book. Gilbert has a strong, confident style, but she’s just a little too glib. Some might consider her twee. Worse, her subject is not worthy of a book-length exploration. In …
Every day, it’s the same thing. The alarm goes off at 5:30. Kris hits snooze. The alarm goes off at 5:39. Kris pulls herself awake and heads downstairs for a shower. I pull of my C-PAP mask, roll over, grab my laptop, and then set it on my belly. While Kris is getting ready, I’m …
Over the past month, Kris has developed a new hobby: dancing. She sort of mocked my obsession with Dance Dance Revolution at first, but it didn’t take long for her to push me aside and take over as Queen of the Dance. As with other things we enjoy, we’ve become evangelists for this game. This …
My Thanksgiving was a little strange. This was the first year that most of the family made a road trip to get together. My brother Tony moved his family to Bend in the middle of 2006, and it was their turn to host things. Early Thursday morning, Kris and I picked up Tiffany and then …
When Mac and Pam called to invite us to spend the weekend at a family beach house, we jumped at the chance. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to get away and relax. It’s been an even longer time since we did so with the Proffitt-Smiths. Kris and I had intended to …
After several weeks of being rather non-social, Kris and I spent a lot of time with friends this weekend. Thursday On Thursday, I drove to Salem to have lunch with Mackenzie. Though both of us are feeling heavy, and we believe we should start watching our weight, we opted to eat at The Great Wall, …
“Do you think it’ll rain” — Dad, whenever it rained heavily It’s pouring outside. The autumnal Oregon rainfall set in two or three weeks early this year, taking away the last few days of September, and making early October swampish. Right now the rain is roaring down in torrents outside my office window. Whenever it …
Saturday we drove down to Shedd, south of Corvallis, for a gathering of the Noah Roth clan. When I was a boy, the extended family would gather at Grandma and Grandpa’s house on regular basis. It was easier then. The three siblings (and their families) lived within an hour’s drive. I remember summer afternoons whiled …
Reunions
In which we attend a family reunion. In which we have dinner with Mac and Pam.
In which we attend a family reunion. In which we have dinner with Mac and Pam.