• Aboot:

Epiphabets

~ My.Daily.Distraction

Epiphabets

Tag Archives: Home

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 134: Spidey Sense

05 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by duckykoren in Science, Spiders, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blogs, fathers, Home, Spiders, Writing

When I was a little girl, my Father told me that if it weren’t for spiders we would be knee deep in bugs.

I’ve been very thankful for spiders ever since.

Growing up, I tried to teach myself not to be afraid of them.

It wasn’t easy.

I’ve come to the point where I no longer physically jump when I happen to catch sight of a spider.

However, finding one actually crawling on me is another matter entirely.

For obvious reasons, I refused too see the movie Arachnaphobia in favour of nurturing a more spider friendly environment.

I’ve also taught my daughters that we are a spider friendly home.

However, there was the odd time when I’ve had to listen to a heartfelt confession when one of girls would admit to me that she had to kill a spider because she was feeling physically threatened.

When Father found a spider in the house, he would not kill it, but rather evict it.

This was his process:

A clean and dry cup or jar was secured.

The cup or jar was then placed over the spider.

A flat piece of paper was then slid underneath the cup until it covered the entire top of the container.

Carefully, the container would be lifted while holding the paper in place thereby not allowing the spider to escape.

The container was carefully carried to the door where the spider was then released.

This also works well with bumble bees and ladybugs.

There…

Now you know how to successfully evict a spider from your house.

I hope that you will try to be kind to your spiders too…

Or perhaps one day, we will indeed be knee deep in bugs.

My.Daily.Distraction ~ Post 6: Thank You Erma Bombeck

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by duckykoren in Authors, Books, Comedians, Television, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Advice, Authors, Bowl Of Cherries, Columns, Depression, Erma Bombeck, Futility, Good Morning America, Home, Housewives, Housework, Marriage, Newlywed, Newspaper Columns, Newspapers, Writers

When I was young my father would often catch me writing at the kitchen table.

He would ask me what I was writing about and I would proudly tell him that I was working on a story I had made up.

He would then shake his head sadly, look me in the eye and say:

“Any author will tell you time and again that it has been proven in order to be a good writer you have to:

…WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW.”

I remember rolling my eyes at these words and dismissively turning my thoughts back to my work of fiction while he would go his own way and continue to putter around the house.

And that was that.

I don’t think I ever finished that story.

In fact, I can’t even remember what it was about.

Years later, the first author that I ever seriously paid attention to was Erma Bombeck.

At the time I was a newlywed and struggling with the concept of trying to maintain due diligence in the upkeep of hearth and home.

It wasn’t easy.

There was no manual to consult.

I found myself looking forward to Erma’s segments on the television show ‘Good Morning America.’

With her priceless self-effacing wit, she recounted her struggles as she strived to maintain the illusion of a perfect housewife.

She talked about keeping up with the household chores, the dog, the kids, the husband, and the ongoing hopelessness that she was doomed to fail on all counts.

Basically, she was obviously…

‘Writing what she knew.’

However the most incredible thing about this wonderful lady was that she did all that with an spark of humour.

Through her wit and wisdom, I learned I was not alone in my domestic futility.

The first book I read written by Erma Bombeck was:

“If Life Is Like A Bowl Of Cherries Then Why Do I Always Get The Pits?”

What housewife could not love that title?

And with every couple of weeks I would return to my local library and pick up her books one after the other.

With each book, I learned to laugh my way through the housekeeping blues.

And if I couldn’t laugh, I could at least smirk and then move on.

The most important lesson that I learned from her was when I was a young mother.

In her newspaper column she related her struggles trying to balance a clean house with a young newborn.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to find that article again after reading it only once or twice.

However, her lesson still resonates within me.

In a nutshell the column went something like this:

“Who really cares about the dust underneath the toilet when there is a brand-new baby in the house, to be played with, fussed over and loved?”

She of course was absolutely right.

Thank you Erma Bombeck.

I’ll never forget you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tweet

Adventures in Italy… Post 74: The Final Night

28 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by duckykoren in Family, Holidays, Italy, Travel, Vacations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Anxiety, Family, Holidays, Home, Italy, Luggage, Nerves, Packing, Rome, Sleep, Travel, Vacation

image

Saturday, December 8th 2012

Sleep did not come too soon on our last night in Rome. I remember waking three times. The first was to make a quick trip to bathroom, where I found Jen passed out on the bathroom floor.

Don’t ask…

Second time was when Frank got up to see what time it was… It was one thirty, he said before clicking the lights back off, and leaving the room in the quiet Roman darkness.
It was obvious that we were all on edge over what was about to transpire over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

When I finally awoke, Frank was already up and out of bed. It was 6:15 a.m.

Yes…

It was time to get this party started.

I let Jen sleep a little longer because, if I’ve learned anything from this trip, it’s that Jen can be ready and out the door in fifteen minutes, unlike her mother.

I was grateful that we had packed the day before. However there were a few too many puzzle pieces left over, and they needed to be dealt with immediately.

There were many items that we had mutually would remain behind. The blow dryer, butane curling iron, three umbrellas, coffee pot, unopened bag of potato chips, the rest of the hair products. And the last of my obsession cologne. It told me that it wanted to move on, and was hoping to land in the purse a deserving seƱorita.

Jen did at the last minute, pull out an unopened bag of Italian cookies out of nowhere, and stuffed them into her purse before anyone could say anything. Well, at least they were unopened when we left the hotel. They have since been snacked on while waiting to board the plane in Rome.

Further addendum:

While reading this over my shoulder in the plane towards London, Jen guiltily whispered in my ear that she did in fact include the blow dryer after all in her luggage stating that she needed one for home.

I immediately had visions of a great explosion and a doomed aircraft, because my daughter was lacking a blow dryer at home.

Well… Live and learn.

“Sigh.”

I wasn’t one bit surprised.

We were in a lot of trouble.

Tweet

Stats

Archives

  • August 2019 (2)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • June 2019 (7)
  • May 2019 (4)
  • June 2018 (3)
  • May 2018 (4)
  • January 2018 (6)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • July 2016 (6)
  • June 2016 (1)
  • August 2015 (4)
  • July 2015 (10)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (5)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (31)
  • February 2015 (28)
  • January 2015 (30)
  • December 2014 (29)
  • November 2014 (44)
  • October 2014 (24)
  • September 2014 (23)
  • August 2014 (31)
  • July 2014 (33)
  • June 2014 (28)
  • February 2014 (1)
  • November 2013 (9)
  • October 2013 (3)

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel