i made my younger brother happy today. i also wrote a letter to my grandparents. and took care of someone else's dog (which included mixing special creamed meals). and played with another person's baby. and set the dinner table without being asked. i am a saint.

shopping for groceries the other day, mom asked me for a dinner suggestion. how about pasta, but with pesto sauce since it's nice and light? a jar of pesto usually lasts me six months. add a couple of teaspoonfuls to some olive oil and toss in your pasta…nice and light, right? mom used the whole…

i have a cold, again. i've had more colds in the last five months than in the previous five years…i think the little germ-infested infant Grace is to blame. ok, so that sounds a bit harsh, but you know what i mean…babies are cold-making machines! another tick in the "con" column!

i think mom and i watch too much late night british tele….last night, flipping through the six or so satelite channels that do come in, we saw a man and woman playing table tennis…in a most unusual way. let's just say that she was doing all the serving and was not standing behind the white…

i miss some strange things from home…mostly personal hygiene products i cannot find in french drugstores/pharmacys such as Pretty Hands and Feet rough skin remover…relieved to find it online; nothing else works like it, very important in flip flop weather. of course, shipping overseas changes the usual price of $5.99 to something like $15 a…

mom watches Maria's little girl Gracie from time to time, she and Ruby get on like a house on fire…Gracie gets lunch all over her face, Ruby likes to like little faces clean (when moms back is turned!), Gracie tosses things on to the floor, Ruby thinks they are her toys….not a problem, except when…

mom cleaned the kitchen today…used bleach and everything. very impressive. the pile of newspapers, magazines, tissues, empty cigarette packs, full cigarette packs, books, random keys, chewing gum and chewing gum wrappers, coins from at least three countries (mostly useless pennies or their equivalent), pens and mechanical pencils, eye glass cases, receipts, plastic bags, calculator, mail,…