I used to have a note on my door, but now the neighbors' barrels remind me.

I have a recurring task the night before trash day.

The moon was GIGANTIC on my way into work. Beautiful. Was not quite able to see the moon setting and the sun rising at the same time, too many trees and buildings on the horizon. And now I have coffee, so the day is seeming more manageable.

It was too cloudy here for seeing astronomical phenomena, alas. But I have seen a blood-red lunar eclipse before, and it is amazing. Watched it with my mom, in the backyard of our old farmhouse. Good memory.

There was a blood red eclipse at a Society for Creative Anachronism event I attended. Lots of people bouncing between modern enthusiasm for a cool celestial event and medieval dismay at something eating the moon.

I was already up so I saw the tail end of the eclipse. It was particularly gorgeous in my neighborhood -- had difficulty photographing it, though.

Anne, if you need someone to talk to regarding DV issues, you're welcome to email or I'll give you my number. I worked at 3 different shelters. The best thing for your mom right now is what you're giving her -- time and space and acceptance -- but emotional abuse paired with medical issues is an incredibly hard thing for an entire family to go through.

I tried to use our crock pot to make oatmeal once, and it was a hot, gluey mess. And when I make chili, I make it in a giant stock pot, because D will eat it by the ton. But it truly comes in handy to make something like lemon chicken or BBQ pulled pork -- something that's one meal the first day, then you use as a different meal, like taco meat or cut up on a salad, the next day.

It's odd how gratifying I find the emails from Pinterest when someone repins one of my pins. It's like my existence has been validated.

Well, if not your existence, your taste at least.

So long as they don't get pinned to a board labeled "I can't believe someone likes this."

So, there's been a broiling kerfuffle about display of a confederate flag at the place I went to college, and it hit Inside Higher Ed this week. And it turns out I know one of the students displaying the confederate flag - she was in the summer seminar I teach 2 years ago. I would completely not have expected her to do such a thing, or to double down once people expressed that it was offensive to them. I am basically just full of boggle right now.