Hi all, I hope you are all doing well. I am doing an official check-in. We here at the coop are all hanging in there, after a couple of blips in February. littleb had knee surgery for an old injury (he’s 15 and has an old injury-how does that happen?) and so has missed out…
Feeling Better About my Brows
A few years or maybe a decade ago a wrote a post about how Nora Ephron felt bad about her neck but I felt bad about my brows. In the time since that post, I continued to mourn my lack of facial hair. This year, I stopped whining and looked for solutions. If Richard Branson…
I’m Bringing Blogging Back
Introducing Blogger Reunion 2021 Who do you know that was blogging back in the early days? Where are they now? Do you ever go back and read old blog posts? Do you, like me, find the greatest joy in the comment section? Do you wonder where your favorites from back then are now? We all…
On Being Managed
I’m not sure what it was about the conversation or even what we talked about but at some point it dawned on me that my daughter, my firstborn, the apple of my eye, was carefully managing our conversation. You know what I mean, right? We’ve all done it. We seek to maintain a calm environment.…
Announcing the Great Chicken Arachnid Armistice of 2021
The other day I was cleaning the mantle. Actually, I was taking down the Christmas decorations. Covid has made me less…timely. Why take it down today when you can take it down next month? Why write a blog post today when you can blog next year? See how it works? It affects us all differently,…
Who’s Hungry?
Question: Should I feel disappointed because I’ve gained 4 pounds in the last 4 weeks? Or should I feel grateful that I’ve only gained 4 pounds in the last 4 weeks? Under the circumstances, I think the latter is a fair choice. Exhibits A, B, C, D (just 4 of many, many exhibits. For example,…
I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This but…
I’ve been seeing this statement everywhere lately, followed by words of encouragement, criticism or humor. Where did this trend come from? On snarkier days, I stand solidly behind the notion that if you don’t know who needs to hear something, you should refrain from sharing rather than subjecting strangers to your hubris. However, given the…
Resolve
My youngest daughter visited over the holidays. Some of you may recall a post I wrote about this daughter several years ago. When I wrote it, I wasn’t sure she’d reach her next birthday, never mind milestones like college, career and children, and I was also beginning to comprehend that I couldn’t fix her problems.…
Okay I’m In!
Jenny from Procrastinating Donkey posted a questionnaire and I feel like participating today. As Jenny says, feel free to answer some or all of the questions yourself in the comments, or do a post of your own! 1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? I’m drinking Vanilla Sleepytime Tea right now.…
an american family, Ann Marie, brothers, Butter, Butter files, childhood, family, humor, Mike, Papa Tony, Peggy, Uncategorized, vi, vi chronicles, Victor
The Chicken Family: Sort of like The Partridge Family, but with less talent and more husbands
I’ve told you stories about my family but I’ve never explained my family. This is because that’s complicated. But I’m feeling expansive tonight so what the heck, here goes. In short, it’s a big, messy, beautiful love story. Let’s ease into it with this also familiar story line… Here’s the story of a lovely…
Chicken's Consigliere 