Comments welcome by email. I don't care if you disagree with me but name-calling and cussing are not acceptable. Comments that are just rude and not relevant will not be posted.
Onesome: Keep — What's your favourite keepsake? Do you have something that has so much sentiment attached you'll keep it forever? Tell us! Hmmm... I guess I'll have to say the little ceramic cat bank that my son made when he was just 6. He gave up on pottery after going through the Moshier Community Art Center kids' class three times—they wouldn't let kids under 12 take the more advanced classes even if they were ready for them. (Wish they'd had something intermediate for the kids who wanted to learn more rather than just repeating the same sorts of beginners' projects endlessly.) By the time he was 12, he was so busy with so many other interests that he's never gotten back to pottery, but I expect he will eventually. (Maybe in about 40 years when he retires?)
Twosome: The Back Porch — We're named for Deb's back porch, a place where people go to relax and wind down. Where's your relax and unwind spot? I hop on a Metro bus and just ride around for a while. (What can I say? I love public transportation, at least when I'm not in a hurry to get somewhere!)
§ - 'Why Should I Lift My Veil Just to Vote?' - "Orthodox Muslim women in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are up in arms over a federal election commission order banning them from voting without showing their face to the election officers."
§ - Nekobukuro Cat's House - What a wonderful idea for neighborhoods with lots of "no pets" housing!
How often am I supposed to gripe about the same thing? If it bothers me one day, it's going to bother me every other day too—even if I try to be a good sport and keep my annoyance to myself that day. Mr. Upstairs Neighbor knows that his loud tv is very annoying down here. He knows the apartment rules (not to mention city law) set 10 p.m. as the cutoff time for noisy activities. In spite of this, he very frequently starts watching a movie (usually with lots of explosions and car chases) well after 9 p.m. so naturally they're still running long after 10. Does he turn them down at 10? Yeah, for a day or two after I gripe to the landlord again but gradually it gets louder and louder and later and later all over again. (Guess what part of the cycle we're on again now.)
From what I can tell, he's actually a very nice person—a single dad with a very young daughter who lives with him and older son and daughter who visit frequently during the school year. I'd probably like him if he didn't have this annoying habit of turning his tv so loud! (His older daughter, who lived here over the summer and was home by herself a lot, has inherited his tendency to act like the neighbors are all deaf. At least I can report that she makes good, age-appropriate viewing choices if anybody asks! But I really didn't want to know that she watches 7th Heaven every afternoon in the first place...)
Onesome: Keep — What's your favourite keepsake? Do you have something that has so much sentiment attached you'll keep it forever? Tell us! Hmmm... I guess I'll have to say the little ceramic cat bank that my son made when he was just 6. He gave up on pottery after going through the 
