5yo: [Drives a remote-controlled car around the house] Cat: "This is the most intensely interesting thing that I have seen since the laser pointer..."

Andy, Ben, and I had a boys' day out! We saw the city's holiday parade and had lunch at Primanti's afterwards. Andy was a real trooper, walking round-trip about 2.2 miles and sharing parade-thrown candy with other kids around us who hadn't gotten to pick up as much!

To the makers of children's DVDs who include a "Continuous Play" option in the menu: parents everywhere salute and thank you.

For the first time ever, my 2yo told @amycolleen.bsky.social "I wove you" and told me " I wove you too Daddy." I'm on Cloud 9.

In the first few episodes of the new James A. Garfield miniseries, Black Grand Army members are getting more screen time than they ever have in cinema, let alone any Grand Army veterans. In exploring history, Death by Lightning is *making* history.

Me: "I wish alcohol and tobacco could be banned. Maybe vaping too for good measure." Also Me, tossing Jane 🐈‍⬛ a catnip toy: "Here have some drugs, go get high."

What do history geeks like @amycolleen.bsky.social and I use for room lighting while watching the new Netflix show about James Garfield? And old-fashioned oil lamp, of course!

So, has Dementia Donnie started throwing ketchup bottles yet?

I've heard some folks refer to this song as "The country anthem to 'No Kings,'" and I'd say that's spot-on. I stumbled upon it by accident and now it's been stuck in my head for a couple of days. I like both the chipper tune and the biting, "screw the Man" lyrics. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHMk...

Andy was my big helper taking Jane to the vet. He even tried to comfort her in the car by singing "Old McDonald." 💖 As soon as Dr Kevin came in the room and saw Andy's shirt, he asked if Andy had ever heard of the TV show "Dinosaur Train." I was like, "Buddy, Dr Kevin knows your favorite show!" 🤣

Taking our cat to the vet for a checkup, and Andy was singing "Old McDonald," "Twinkle Twinkle," and the "Bluey" theme to try and calm her during the car ride. 💖🐈‍⬛

Trick-or-treat! @amycolleen.bsky.social

5yo Andy spotted the display of caramel apples at the grocery store & asked to try them, & since I love them myself I relented. Andy: "I didn't know it tasted THIS good!" Me: "Caramel apples are a nice fall treat, aren't they?" Andy: "The BEST fall treat, I should say!" 🤣

Family pumpkin carving, and the township Halloween parade! @amycolleen.bsky.social

I have an insatiably curious cat who won't stop pulling out & playing with the basement floor drain lid, even knocking off anything we put over it. So I preheated it with a heat gun and hot glued it in place. As Red Green says, "If the women don't find you handsome, they'll at least find you handy!"

It seems that @amycolleen.bsky.social and I have been together long enough for FB's algorithm to send us the same memes at the same time. I went to show her one on my phone and she was already looking at it on her own phone! 🤣

My little boy is getting so big! I took him to the Carnegie Natural History Museum in Pittsburgh this past weekend, because he LOVES dinosaurs & that museum is world-class. We had the best day together.

This episode of 'Bluey' is called, "Flatpack!" The cat, uh, "supervised" from the comfort of Andy's mattress while I assembled the upper half and ladder. 🤣🐈‍⬛

Hanging out at the local rodeo with the kids and my mom. Andy in particular is excited. Both of them are signed up for the kids' stick-horse race at halftime, too!

Me: "My children have been taking turns all morning..." Other person: "That's great!" Me: "...having tantrums and meltdowns. As soon as one finishes, the other starts back up again." Other person: "...oh."

Today I saw an 18-wheeler merge left into a turning lane, the go straight through the intersection instead of turning. This is the kind of 💩 that gives me trust issues.

Overheard a dude in the gas station dining area giving a video counseling session on real-estate say, "Sometimes the most selfLESS thing you can do is make a selfISH decision." Um... huh? What in the 'white guy trying to sound like Confucius' nonsense is that??

Welp, I guess I missed my chance. :p

In case anyone's confused, yes, slavery was bad.

Our family cat, Jane Pawsten, is getting so attached to me that she follows me from room to room. Today she squeezed into the bathroom while I showered & perched on the rim of the tub between the inner & outer curtains, occasionally poking her nose around the edge to make sure I hadn't snuck out. 🐈‍⬛🤣

On the 157th anniversary of his passing I’ll say it again. In a world of John C. Calhouns, be a Thaddeus Stevens.

Had a really nice beach trip with @amycolleen.bsky.social and the kids. Our cat, for her part, is overjoyed that we have come back home again. 🐈‍⬛

When @amycolleen.bsky.social has been doomscrolling in the toddler's room after putting him to bed, and I'm waiting to watch a movie with her:

I think someone had a lot of fun and wore themselves out. 😜

Sun Drop sold in North Carolina is better than that which is sold nationally. And that is a hill on which I'd die.

Sunrise at the shore!

Our church is decorated for VBS in a Wild West theme, but they got my "Wanted" poster wrong: I don't have a beard nor mustache! 😜

So, Trump and RFK Jr's "Make America Sick Again" initiative is working sooooo well that there's a report of fatalities in Arizona from plague. Yes, Black Death, Y. pestis, *that* plague. Are we 'winning' yet? Because this doesn't feel like winning.

Took Andy and Ben down to Gettysburg this morning to see my reenacting group's encampment. I really like this picture because my mom sewed this flag for the group 20+ years ago. Andy said, "I didn't know Grammy could make flags!"

Check out what @amycolleen.bsky.social found at a thrift store! DVD sets of seasons 2, 3, and 7 of "Stargate SG:1", of my favorite show! And 7 is my favorite season! Weeeeeee!

Today in 1863, Gen. George Meade (aka "Old Snapping Turtle") took command of the Union's Army of the Potomac, just before the Battle of Gettysburg.

Check out what @amycolleen.bsky.social got me for Father's Day! It's a kit for building a working model of a trebuchet! 😁

At the #nokings protest! @amycolleen.bsky.social

It's always an awkward feeling when I'm driving to a Civil War reenactment in Lancaster County PA in my period garb, stop at a gas station to use the restroom, and tourists mistake me for an Amish person and don't understand why I'm driving a car.

I’d wish a pox on everyone who voted for this sorry drama, but RFK, Jr.’s already taken care of that, so I’ll just sit this one out.

Watching Musk and Trump fight:

One of the great things about the Pittsburgh Zoo is that, being in Pittsburgh, they have the GOOD brand of condiments!

Andy and I had so much fun at the air show! The Blue Angels were cool, but we also got to see an F16 fly tricks, a P51 Mustang from WWII, a few other acrobatic pilots, and static displays on the ground! We even sat in the cockpit of a KC-135 refueling tanker!

The Blue Angels are out practicing for this weekend's air show, and we can see them from our back porch! Andy and I have tickets to the show for tomorrow!

Andy's first time helping me to change oil! We did both my car and @amycolleen.bsky.social's.

Did you know that "Williamsburg: Story of a Patriot" is the longest continually-showing film in cinema history? Background: Colonial Williamsburg wanted an orientation video for visitors before they entered the historic district, but didn't want a bland/droning "This is the Governor's... 🧵

OTD in 2015: I got to march in a reenactment of the Grand Review (the Union army's triumphal march through Washington DC after winning the Civil War). Then a friend and I visited one of the forts garrisoned by my ancestor's regiment, 6th PA Heavy Artillery. Riding the subway back to my car we... 1/2

4yo Andy: "If God hadn't created dinosaurs I wouldn't love them! It was so nice of God to make dinosaurs so I could love them."

"Mommy, are you done having 'pwivacy' yet?" @amycolleen.bsky.social