Top Ten Ways to Cure Insomnia

1 – Get a bucket of scalding water.  Get a bucket of cold.  Put one foot in each. 2 – Start at the beginning of Moby Dick (unabridged) and start reading.  It won’t take long.  3 – Get in your car and drive until you find a stop sign.  Turn left.  Repeat until you’re tired. 4

We Have Snow!

Our first snow fall in North Carolina.  It’s only a skiff (you can see the grass through it in most places) but schools were all closed so we bundled up and did our best to slide and build snow men.  By gathering all the snow from 2-3 yards the neighborhood kids were able to build

Craft – Mischief Maker

The polished wood of the desk gleamed in the afternoon light.  A dust mote floated down to rest on a shiny black plaque which read “John Bishop, Principal of Yardly Elementary”.   Samuel could see the plaque from where he crouched in the custodial closet.  He watched the hall for another count to ten.  When no one came

Night Owls

In a study done by professors of psychology at Catholic Universtity of the Sacred Heart (Milan, Itally) individuals who were true night owls were found to be more creative than their counterparts. The reason was not known, but the researchers guessed that non-conformity in waking hours might lead to an adaption of increased creativity because the

Rotten Rebates

I’ve unearthed another conspiracy–only it’s not being hidden, it’s advertised on mile-high flashing billboards. “We have rebates!  $XXX.00 off!” What they neglect to mention is that the rebate is offered only becuase it requires you to first wrangle the salesman in the store into honoring the rebate on the item in question, then become an expert

On Writing Fantasy

I just finished the final for my Christian Fantasy class, which was split about 70/30 Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.  I found the class highly enjoyable–after all, a large portion of the homework was re-reading the Rings books–but I also found that taking the class bolstered my confidence in the worth of fantasy as a genre.

Shortcut Angst

Why do shortcuts never work out?  I don’t normally even attempt them–my track record is so bad. But this morning I caved to temptation. I was running a minute or two late in dropping my daughter off at preschool and hitting all the lights red.  I came to another red light, from which my usual route went straight.  To my right