You know how dogs just really need to be praised and told they’re good dogs? Like just for being dogs?
I think people need to be told that more too. This is why Mr. Rogers was so important. Continue reading “Diablo and Mr. Rogers”
Offbeat Ghosts and Vampires
I’ve been watching the BBC show “Ghosts,” and it’s absolutely charming. It has a kind of similar off-beat, quirky humor to “What We Do in the Shadows,” except about ghosts instead of vampires.
Highly, highly recommended. Continue reading “Offbeat Ghosts and Vampires”
Fake Christmas Trees
My mom bought a this fake tree after figuring out I was allergic to Christmas trees. (They’re filled with mold.) My dad objected strenuously to us switching to a fake tree. But I finally stopped spending the whole of December sick, turning into lingering bronchitis through the spring.
One year, we visited Jewish friends for a couple days around Christmas, and my eternal winter cold lifted. My mom put that puzzle piece together with the fact that I always perked up on Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house — which had a fake tree. Continue reading “Fake Christmas Trees”
Struggling with Burnout
I’ve been really struggling with the concept of burnout lately.
During the two years vaguely centered on the pandemic, I wrote four books, invented numerous weekend holidays to distract my kids, and burned myself out to the point of a serious health crisis.
And I still feel like writing another book is what will make me feel better, even though it is demonstrably NOT an effective way to make myself feel better.
Literary Analysis
The 14-year-old: “My English teacher said I didn’t engage enough with the story we read based on one question I answered on a quiz. I’ll never be able to do literary analysis!”
Also 14: “Rudolph is a neurodivergent found family story. Let me list all my evidence…”
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas is exactly as spectacular as the rest of the show. Exactly what it should be.
I hope it gets renewed for another season, but if it doesn’t, the Christmas special gave it a much better end than it would have had without it.
Stray Parenting and Writing Thoughts
Me to my kid: “It makes sense to take a break and give yourself time to rest rather than pushing yourself to be in every play the children’s theater puts on.”
Me to myself: “Now, tell me again why you didn’t write a novel last month? ‘Cause, I really think you could have.” Continue reading “Stray Parenting and Writing Thoughts”
Tidbits about Doctor Who & Lost In Space
Avery still doesn’t get it. If the spirit of Christmas involves paying attention to an inanimate monstrosity of a decorated tree instead of HER, then she wants none of it.
She is SO MUCH prettier than a Christmas tree. And she can do TRICKS.
The Doctor to a weeping angel: “My friends are never lost.”
Um… Continue reading “Tidbits about Doctor Who & Lost In Space”
That, Again
That feeling when you’re just about to declare yourself finished with edits on a book… only to stumble across a final note saying, “Search for the word ‘that,’ and remove as many as you can.”
Alas, this is not the first time THAT this has happened to me. Continue reading “That, Again”
Jane Austen Red Herrings and Danica McKeller
It’s mediocre Christmas movie season!
So far, Pride & Prejudice & Mistletoe doesn’t noticeably have anything to do with Pride & Prejudice except for a few names sprinkled randomly throughout.
Danica McKeller’s presence in a Christmas movie, though, seems to be a good sign.