Category Archive: Around the house

Feb
27

What to do about those pesky boxelder bugs

I’m wondering if anyone else out there has noticed anything suspicious about the bugs around their house lately. The word “bug” is a scientific term biologists use to combine two species: The Family of Animals That You Can Kill With A Rolled Up Magazine, and The Family Of Animals That Are Too Quick For That. …

Continue reading »

Feb
26

It’s 15 Degrees, The Furnace is Broken—It’s Go Time!

“Something’s wrong.” I’m not a high stakes gambler. I’ve never made or lost millions in business. Never fought in a foreign war (hell, never even been in a fist fight). I’m not a superstar anything. Don’t drive fast cars, drink, mess around with either women or drugs. So how do I know I’m alive? I’ll …

Continue reading »

Feb
03

How the dead of winter makes me feel alive

I snapped this picture around noon today. Before then this pheasant was huddled in the bushes near our house. But almost every day around noon, he flies into the branches of this crab apple tree for lunch. The cool thing about this tree is that the crab apples don’t drop off and it’s smack in …

Continue reading »

Jan
04

Our Geothermal Dream Come True

Part of me still has a hard time believing we really have it. It’s something I had dreamed about for years. From the start, I found the concept and technology fascinating. And oh, the money you can save! For a confessed energy geek, everything about a geoexchange heat pump seemed really really cool.

Dec
11

Inside the Mind of a Holiday Grouch

This column first appeared in print on December 13, 2006 in that day’s issue of the Inter-County Leader. I was sitting on the couch Sunday when it started. “Slow Down!” “Be Careful With That!” “Crash!” One of the things all parents have is a sort of superhuman sixth sense (kind of like Spiderman’s) that warns …

Continue reading »

Nov
27

Is This Normal?

It’s been a nice Thanksgiving break; we all got to enjoy some time together. Father daughter one-on-one time. Mother daughter one-on-one time. All together family time. Some grandparent, and cousin, and in-law time. A bit of shopping. A dinner out. A movie in. Planted a new mailbox. Installed new headlights. Finished a newsletter. Layed a …

Continue reading »

Older posts «

» Newer posts