Blog Archives

New Subscriber Giveaway: Ninja Cooker

3/28/2016

It’s another Escaping the Empty Nest giveaway! This time, I’m giving away my Ninja cooker to a new subscriber.. Why am I giving such a cool toy away? Because we’re traveling for a year and then moving to another country, and I can’t take anything with American plugs. (Well, I could, but it’s a nuisance.)

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Chinese Restaurant Bathroom in Paris

3/25/2016

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Many public restrooms in Paris have a sink-room used by both genders, with single-gender toilets in smaller rooms off of that room. Therefore, the sign on the main door indicates that everybody goes through the first door, and the inner doors have male and female signs for the toilet rooms. I’ve seen a few like this in the states, but they’re the default in Paris.

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Drago at Home

3/21/2016

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Nobody looks as cute sitting on a toilet. I just walked in and there he was, posing.

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Beech Mushrooms

3/14/2016

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Mushrooms don’t get better than this, in my opinion. You just cut them loose from their cluster, saute them with a little olive oil, salt, and sugar if you like. Delicious!

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Travel and the Non-Custodial Parent

3/14/2016

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My dad, circa 1965

My parents divorced when I was young, and we went to the then-common method of splitting up the child’s time: living with the mom, Thursday dinner and every other weekend with the dad. My father was an introverted farmer, older than most dads, and Thursday evenings were awkward. We’d sit in a restaurant in our small town, chewing silently. The weekends were better, because he lived with his mother on the farm, and I adored my grandmother and she adored me. I chased chickens, slept on the pull-out sofa with the cats, played in the grain silos, and learned to drive at the ridiculous age of 9. I did all that with my grandmother, except for the driving, which my dad taught me. My dad stayed in the background.

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Middle-Aged Men's Gift-Giving Guide

3/7/2016

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After 25 years of starts, stops, and do-overs, my husband Sam has turned into a gift-giving pro. It was hard work, but he did it. It has come to my attention, however, that some of my gentle male readers may not have gone through the necessary enlightenment required to make their women happy at celebratory occasions, so I’ve put together this helpful guide. Follow Sam’s lead, and see if you get some good results.

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Museum of the Confederacy, Greenville, SC

3/3/2016

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Those wacky confederates!

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I Get a Kick out of Paris

3/1/2016

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You already know you should climb the Eiffel Tour, see Notre Dame, and watch out for pickpockets if you go to Paris. Therefore, I’d like to tell you about several things in Paris that I really got a kick out of.

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