Category Archives: Fun stuff

Survive the holiday feasting season: A strategy

The holiday party season officially begins this weekend (because the first party I’ve been invited to is this weekend). That means lots of seductive holiday treats, from sausage puffs to rum balls, from one kind of chocolaty thing to 50 other kinds of chocolaty things. As the thoughtful Mae West once said, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” read more

Sweet. Innocent. Disturbed.

One of the many things I like about taking a long ride, run or hike is that it purges my mind of life’s daily distractions — bills, deadlines, squirrels. The resulting void clears vital space for creative thinking, for random thoughts, ideas and whatnot to bubble up from the subconscious and get some air time. Usually, this is good thing. Sometimes it is not. read more

Exploring the state’s little gems

Yesterday I may have been a tad premature with my early morning proclamation that the sun, after a week’s hiatus, had returned. But eventually, at least here in Cary, it was out in full force by mid-afternoon. At which point, after a morning of vigorous wet-leaf raking, we piled the family into the minivan and spend the remainder at the day at one of our favorite, off-the-beaten-path parklands: Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve. read more

5Ks vs. candy for grades

OK, time for a current events quiz. What was the most disturbing aspect of a Goldsboro middle school principal’s decision to allow kids to earn grades by selling candy for a fundraiser. Was it:

a) That the parent advisory council that pitched the scheme felt so pressured to raise money to supplement programs once funded by the school district that they resorted to the candy-for-grades scheme? read more