DISCARDED
Henry just left for school and I gathered together the remains of his non-stop breakfast buffet. Fortunately, I can save/re-use or recycle/compost most of this stuff or I'd feel worse about enabling this every-flavor smorgasbord!

VISIT
Stopped by my friend Nancy's over the weekend to return some boy's dress-up clothes I'd borrowed. I had Henry with me so the visit was REALLY brief. Good thing Nancy and I can both talk fast!

LAUNDRY DAY
It's not always this merry!

TELEVISION
Henry is the only kid with autism I've heard about who does not love TV/videos/computers. I have not yet met or read of another autistic kid who does not have some kind of an obsession for one/all of these things. Although such an obsession can drive parents nuts, at time it can be a useful thing. One of Henry's major deficits is in playing: he simply has no interest in amusing himself through ordinary play. Hence constant, unintentional mischief. So we are actually trying to train him to enjoy screen activities, which seems odd, as we are not TV fans. For years, the boys had no TV or gameboys, and we are thinking about revisiting that policy for the summer. But here we are, praising and rewarding Henry for sitting in front of a screen! Being the parent of an autistic kid can certainly take you places you never thought you'd go.

RESCUE
While I was downtown, entering a show and snapping the previous picture, my car battery died. Of course, I was parked illegally too. "Who Ya Gonna Call?" I called my friend Frances, who lives nearby. What an angel of mercy! Not only is she a talented painter but she wields a mean Engine Booster too!

NEGLECT
Here is my entry for PhotoFriday. This image of a child is tacked way up high on the back of an old building in downtown Philadelphia. It seems rather forlorn and neglected. People pass by, heads down, watching their step in the crumbling alley way below. I have no idea what it is doing up there.

EMILIE'S HANDS
My friend Emilie came over this morning, and posed for a bust-length portrait. After she'd changed out of her portrait garb, I suddenly thought of doing a photo portrait of her hands. I think they are as expressive of her life and character as her face.

RECENT READING
The usual mix of high and low, heavy and light.
Most Revelatory-"Odd Girl Out" by Rachel Simmons
Most Affirming (and also Funny!)-"Mother Shock" by Andrea Buchanan
Most Thought Provoking-"The Will to Power" a Great Courses CD set, part two of a course on the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
Best Kid's Book I've Read in a While-"The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary Blackwood

GOLDEN
hair, table, shirt, and cinnamon toast.

STORMY
In honor of the Vernal Equinox, we are having thoroughly Spring-ish weather here: blustery and quick-changing. Snow, then bright sun, balmy breezes, then gusting winds, etc. Makes for dramatic skies and quick changes of outerwear!

MORNING
Looking out the window on a leisurely Saturday

MY PIECE AT THE ICA
Went to a cocktail party at the Institute of Contemporary Art last night. The food and drink were fabulous, they had live Irish music, and the guests were all furnituremakers and craft people, who are a down-to-earth and convivial lot, more so than you might normally find gathered at a museum function. I also got to see the two current exhibits which were both terrific in their own way. I couldn't resist adding to the Poetry Wall in the corridor. I was hampered by a dearth of actual words (I didn't want to destroy anyone else's work to create my own) but ended up with a nice little ditty, inspired in part by the huge pink cocktail I had been handed earlier!

SPORT
Peter is a good sport in every sense of the word. Here he is fitting in his violin practice before he goes out to play soccer. His indoor team won the eastern state regionals! Sorry to brag. I really am not a fanatical soccer mom. But when your kid comes home with a medal around his neck it is hard not to notice!

YET MORE SNOW
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I guess I won't be planting peas today.

PEACE
Lily blooms inside,
outside thick snow is falling,
white in and out.

TRANSPORT
Riding on the scooter seems to transport Henry to another world. A world where all is smooth sailing. No wonder he hates to stop.

PILOT
Peter's uncle Bruce surprised him with a belated birthday gift of an old palm pilot. What a thrill! Here my Father and Peter check out the new toy. Dad was in the Air Force but does not know how to fly THESE machines. So what looks like the traditional scenario of Elder passing on his know-how to Child is really the Child showing the Elder how this new-fangled device works!

RED GUY
Many small plastic war-like creatures inhabit my home. They generally leave me alone, although they can be painful when sat upon.

PLENTY
I have been doing a lot of food shopping these days. With three growing boys and an athletic husband I just can't seem to keep enough in the house. Fortunately, I find looking at piles of food to be a satisfying aesthetic experience. Like going to the Food Museum!

HAPPY
but messy. Filled with manic energy on a recent rainy afternoon, Henry spent a happy fifteen minutes or so trashing his room. Took me a while to catch on, as there were no screams of rage or howls of frustration. Just merry giggling, amid the thumps.

PERSPECTIVE
Looking up at trees can give you a crick in the neck but it also gives you perspective. Walking through a grove of tall trees has a very calming and soothing influence, similar perhaps to meditation, or even just lying on the couch with a sleeping cat.

BIG GUN
We recently visited Valley Forge. Henry knew instantly what the cannons were for: climbing!

OLD CHAIR
I was actually thankful that the trash guys wouldn't take this old rocking chair the other day. I hate to get sentimental over things, but I so clearly remember propping up the twins in this snug seated little rocker for photographs when they were babies. Meanwhile, our neighbors must now be averting their gaze as they walk by our cluttered front porch. All we need to complete the look is an old truck up on cinder blocks!

NATIONS UNITED
in looking at Genre Cookshop. Briefly, on their way to more important things (like trouncing each other). From my statcounter the other day.