Light in the Window

In the interest of protecting our environment the production of inefficient standard incandescent light bulbs has been banned as of Wednesday. You now have a few choices: A) Run to the store right now and stock up on a lifetime supply of standard incandescent bulbs before they’re all gone. B) Get used to dropping $25 or more every time a bulb dies in your home and you have to replace it with an LED. Or C) Go with compact fluorescent light bulbs – those little curly things – that don’t cost much more than you’ve been paying. The problem with CFLs is they contain mercury. When a CFL bulb dies, dropping it in the trash is a really BAD idea. We’ve been phasing out incandescents for seven years now, but most communities still don’t have any way of disposing of the alternatives. Instead we’ve been told to STORE dead bulbs forever, or until a better solution appears. Which ever comes first.

Heather's Ducklings

Tomorrow we will have been ex-expats for precisely two years. That hardly seems possible, but the calendar assures me it’s true. There are still several things I haven’t seen since we packed them up right after celebrating New Year’s Day in England. There are even more I haven’t run across since they were put into storage here almost five years ago. We’re missing a brass door knocker with our name engraved. We can’t find the pretty tassels that used to hang from all the ceiling fans upstairs. Our canister vacuum turned up, but all of the attachments are mysteriously absent. I know I used to have a 2-quart covered casserole. Where can it have gone? None of these are of any great value or importance. If I’ve done without them this long, I can continue doing without them. Besides, I’m absolutely certain the moment I go to the trouble of replacing them they will all suddenly turn up.

Fair and Square

My mother mentioned finding this recipe (or one like it) on Pinterest. I tried it New Year’s Day. Less than fifteen minutes after I took them out of the oven there wasn’t a crumb left.

Chewy Breakfast Cookies

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and mash two fully ripe (but not quite black) bananas in a bowl. Add a cup of quick cooking oats and a quarter cup of chocolate chips; stir until completely blended. Drop by tablespoonsful on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Eat while still warm. Makes about a dozen soft, chewy cookies. We each ate four, which worked out to be about 260 calories. They’re not the most delicious cookies I’ve ever made, but they’re egg-free, nut-free and wheat free. If you use gluten-free oats and dairy-free chips, they’ll be gluten- and dairy-free. You could probably substitute raisins or dried cranberries for the chocolate, too.

String Quilt

 “Liza and Jeremy, the twins, were asleep one calm and peaceful night. Suddenly it began to rain very hard. Thunder rumbled until it got so loud that it woke them up. ‘Mummy, Mummy!’ they cried out as they ran to her.” This is the beginning of The Invisible String, a book by Patrice Karst about the connection between children and parents. She explains that people who love each other are joined by an invisible string made of love. The string can reach anywhere: deep in the ocean, high on a mountain, even to Heaven. The string doesn’t go away when you disagree or get angry. Love is stronger than those things, so the string will always be there. This is a helpful book for children with separation anxiety, but it reminds us all about the importance of nurturing the connections with those we love. Where does your string go?

Mother's Fancy

If you’ve ever been a mother (or had one) you probably have a list of momisms: things your mom said that you promised you’d never say to your kids. Until, of course, you do. “Because I said so!” is the most versatile, good for almost any occasion. “If you keep making that face, it will freeze that way.” This one had me scared. I still check the mirror just in case. “What part of NO didn’t you understand?” is another useful momism. “Who said life was supposed to be fair?” My sisters and I heard this one a lot. We probably deserved it. “I’m your mother, not your maid!” was repeated almost as often as “Shut that door! Were you raised in a barn?” You can insert almost anything after “When I was your age…” unless the kids decide to check with their grandmother. The very worst? “I hope all your kids are JUST LIKE YOU!”