They Are Always Watching Me I noticed my four-year-old with her thumb in her mouth. I said, "Aren't you a little old to be sucking your thumb?" She replied, "I not sucking my thumb. I …
September 29, 2005
United States
Phil Corless in Idaho
A Place Called Paradise: Culture and Community in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654–2004
A Place Called Paradise: Culture & Community In Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654-2004. Edited by Kerry W. Buckley. Historic Northampton's Museum and Education Center, published in association with the University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst and Boston, 2004; …
September 22, 2005
Phil Corless in Idaho
I Like My Four Seasons Here in North Idaho, "Californian" is a dirty word to some people. Which is ironic since most everyone I meet here has lived in California at one time or another. …
September 22, 2005
Phil Corless in Idaho
I’m a Recovering Pack Rat Last night it took me just over two hours to pick up and put away every toy, game, puzzle, doll, crayon, pillow, blanket, cup, rock, and book strewn about on …
September 15, 2005
Phil Corless in Idaho
Faded memories There's a line in the 1986 movie Stand by Me about "never having friends like the ones you have when you're young." This came to mind recently while I was going through old …
September 8, 2005
Envy: A Novel
Envy: A Novel by Kathryn Harrison. Random House, 2005; $24.95; 301 pages FROM THE DUST JACKET: Will, a Brooklyn psychoanalyst and almost-identical twin, has a good sex life-with the woman he married. So why then …
Phil Corless in Idaho
Hey, Daddy, I’m a Candyvore! Hi, I'm a stay-at-home dad. Now, before your eyes glaze over and you slowly back away, let me just tell you why I am one. Most boys don't spend their …
September 1, 2005
Discover peace, quiet, birds, and native plants at Orange County's San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary.
As one of the richest wetland areas Southern California, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary offers an uncommon opportunity to come in contact with a natural ecosystem seemingly plunked down in the midst of Orange County's …
September 1, 2005
Landismom in New Jersey
Princess Neck Snap I hear a lot of talk from prospective urban parents about the internal struggle that they go through when deciding to have kids. Usually, this gets framed as either "we're moving to …
August 25, 2005
Landismom in New Jersey
This morning, as we were getting ready to go to the Farmer's Market, I threw a T-shirt and shorts on to my unshowered body. The Bee, in her ineffable way, was dressed to the nines …
August 18, 2005
Landismom in New Jersey
Hellllooooooo San Diego, and welcome to my blog, Bumblebee Sweet Potato. The Bumblebee is my daughter, who's turning 6 in September. The Sweet Potato is my son, who's turning 2 next week. As to how …
August 11, 2005
Around With Us For Decades
'How did you come upon this?" Beth Shannon says, "My sister made a donation in my name." We're talking about Old Friends, a Kentucky nonprofit "dedicated to providing a dignified retirement to old champions." Old …
August 11, 2005
Landismom in New Jersey
Meaty Reader My kids both love books, and one of the things that I look forward to most as a parent is introducing them to my favorite books. We've read to our kids for almost …
August 4, 2005
Enjoy an easy-going trek along south Orange County's secluded Crystal Cove coastline.
Hemmed in by hundred-foot cliffs on one side and the restless surf on the other, Crystal Cove State Park's three miles of sandy beachfront seem strangely detached from the busy Orange County world above. Aside …
July 21, 2005
The whole of the L.A. Basin lies at your feet when you're atop Mount Lowe.
Mount Lowe is only one of many named summits in the so-called Front Range of the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Pasadena and the rest of the vast Los Angeles metropolitan region. Its strategic location, affording …
July 7, 2005