I am beginning to think that something big has happened and I missed it. Apparently, I have ceased to exist. Who knew?
According to the
Washington Post, no one has books in their living rooms anymore. We do. In the living room, the bedrooms, the basement, the dining room...
We don't have a tv in the living room. In fact, there's only one in the house, and no cable. The door-to-door cable guy couldn't believe that when we do use the tv, we use a regular old antenna. That just doesn't happen. Apparently.
According to
WAMU's Dianne Rehm Show, no one cooks anymore. I do. Every single day. I bake, too. And make candy. I even make my husband's lunch, nearly every day. Also, I sew and knit clothing for my family.
People in this house know how to play actual musical instruments, and do so. Frequently.
According to many, many outlets, no one reads anymore. I read more now than I ever did. So does the rest of my family. And we go to the library.
According to many of those same outlets, families don't eat together any more. We eat dinner together -- which is usually on the table when my husband (the only one I've ever had) gets home -- every night.
Also, apparently, everyone lives in much bigger houses today. We live in a small Cape Cod built in 1949. It has not been expanded one iota (not even a deck). We have a tiny kitchen without a dishwasher. In fact, the only real improvements since 1949 have been replacing major appliances as they've died.
We have one car. It's american.
And no one has a community anymore, or so I hear. We live in
Cheverly, an amazing, active community. We know the teenagers. We know their parents. We're fairly certain we know many of the kids whom our own kids will date in a decade or so. Grandparents live here, close to their children and grandchildren. In some cases, right next door. And
Facebook keeps us connected to family and friends that, in other times, we would have lost contact with long ago. In fact, I feel more in tune with people in my life than I ever have.
I am a stay-at-home mom who volunteers in the community and at my children's schools.
If I went by the media, I really would have to question my own existence. The thing is, I know that there are other families out there, just like mine. In fact, I have a feeling there are a lot of us, all beginning to doubt if anyone knows we're here anymore.
Dark chocolate birds' nests with chow mein noodles and coconut (and jelly beans!)
Happy accident: I was melting chocolate at the same time that I was boiling eggs (I know, I know -- courting disaster! That's how I live, babies. On the edge.) Well, I accidentally dropped several chocolate chips into the boiling water. Obviously the chips were not coming out (though I did try to fish them out -- even dropping a few watery, melty chips into the melting chocolate -- I'm still amazed that it didn't seize.) The outcome? These boring little white eggs were dyed a beautiful, delicate brown. It seems like a giant shame not to leave them this way, but I think that Paul & Maggie aren't going to go for the non-garish version of Easter eggs...
