- Follow vanbytheriver on WordPress.com
-
Join 2,209 other subscribers
-
Recent Posts
Posts Most Liked
Blog Stats
- 58,414 hits
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: Family
Randy Parker
Am I the only one concerned about what happened to Randy ? As the younger brother of Ralphie Parker in “A Christmas Story”, Randy clearly had a troubled childhood. He was often shown hiding under kitchen cabinets, worried about the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Books, Education, Entertainment, Family, Food, Humor, Movies, Nature, News
Tagged A Christmas Story, Jean Shepherd
80 Comments
Hostess
Scene: Thanksgiving Day. T minus 30 minutes. The bronzed bird is resting on the counter, but you need the drippings to make the gravy. The potatoes are boiling furiously, and you are waiting to drain some of that starchy cooking … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Beauty, Education, Entertainment, Family, Food, Home
Tagged Holiday, Hostess, Thanksgiving Memories
90 Comments
Gobble
Ten days before Thanksgiving, we took our kids to a local turkey farm. As we approached the fence, they rushed over to us, crying out in unison, a collective gobble, timed about every 10 seconds. It is said that the … Continue reading
Posted in Beauty, Education, Entertainment, Family, Food, Nature, Travel
Tagged Thanksgiving Memories, Turkey Farm
45 Comments
Shells
We’ve all done it. You break an egg, pieces of shell end up in your bowl. You reach in to retrieve it, with a spoon, knife, or mostly, your finger. All you really need is the rest of the shell. … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Entertainment, Family, Food, Nature, News
Tagged Baking, Egg Shell, Home Economics, Kitchen Hack
92 Comments
Ice Cream and You
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light”, or maybe, against the dying of summer, as in the case of ice cream giant Baskin-Robbins. * Late in August, they released the results of a study “What Your Ice Cream Eating … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Education, Entertainment, Family, Food, Humor, News, Technology
Tagged Baskin Robbins, Dylan Thomas, Ice Cream
70 Comments
The First Jeans
We had to fight for our first pair of blue jeans. In the opinion of many 1960’s mothers, including mine, they were still “dungarees” and not appropriate attire for young ladies. They were meant for farmers, cowboys, factory workers, men. … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Beauty, Education, Entertainment, Family, History, News, Technology
Tagged Blue Jeans, Levi Strauss
72 Comments
Buddy
Just when we’d given up on pet adoption, this little guy arrived at a local shelter. Meet Buddy, a 3 year old terrier mix who rescued us back in April. He is, for sure, a very special new “laptop”. ***************************************** … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Entertainment, Exercise, Family, Home, Nature, News
Tagged Buddy, County Shelter, Pet Rescue, Terrier
Leave a comment
Summer Camp ?
For $2300, you can send your kids to a 10 day session designed to improve their social media skills. Offered in London, Melbourne and here in California, the program includes instruction in lighting and camera work, writing, blogging, self-promotion, marketing, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Education, Entertainment, Family, Humor, Music, News, Sports, Technology
Tagged 1960's, Social Media, Summer Camp
65 Comments
Driving Lessons
I wrecked the family car when I was 16 years old, just a few months after getting my first driver’s license. It was a 1960’s version of the “Woodie”, a beautiful and massive Ford station wagon with wood panel trim, … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Education, Entertainment, Family, Home, News, Technology, Travel
Tagged 1960's, Driving Lessons, Ford Country Squire, Traffic Accident
74 Comments
Crayola
We all started out with the basic 8 colors. That’s all we needed. Introduced by Binney and Smith in 1903, they sold for a nickel, and no doubt had the same fragrance we all remember on opening the box…the smell … Continue reading →