MARGARET DILLOWAY

  • Smuckers Showdown

    Relationships fascinate me. “Smuckers?” my father in law said from the kitchen. “Did you buy Smuckers?” “Yup,” said my MIL from her seat on the couch. The kids and I were having a visit, and apparently MIL had made at trip to the grocery earlier. “I usually get the other kind. The Harvest, the store…

  • Cover for the New Book

    Every morning when I wake up, I turn on my phone and check my email. Blearily. Today it was some time before 7 when I opened my phone and saw my editor had emailed me the cover for my book. It was a great thing to see first thing in the morning.

  • Writing Wednesday: Motherhood Plus Writing

    One of the questions I get asked most frequently is how I manage to be a mom, and a writer. (Pulls up soapbox, stands on it) Friends, mothers, writers, lend me your ears! Here is the answer. The answer to life, motherhood, everything. I’ve never really thought about it that much. I have never awakened…

  • Music Memory Lane

    I had to get the music book and a stand for Son. I headed to Alan’s Music. This is one of those stores you hope will never move or be torn down, because it’s nearly exactly the same as when you were little. The lettering hasn’t changed. The hard to navigate parking lot hasn’t changed.…

  • Ivory Soap Explosion

    We wanted to make some Ivory soap explode. Have you tried it? It’s fun. I first saw it on another blog, Wendolonia. Cadillac said he couldn’t spare any soap (which reminds me of that Seinfeld episode about the toilet paper. Can’t spare a square) so today I bought a twelve pack and cut a bar…

  • The Tooting Horn

    For a house with more women than men, there are a surprising number of fart jokes. So, Son just started playing trombone. At school, they have music. You can choose chorus (free), orchestra, or band. If you do orchestra or band, you have to rent or buy an instrument, get a music book, stand, and,…

  • Family Dinners

    There have been lots of stories in the news about how family dinners are good for you. They may have health benefits for teens, and the other benefits seem nearly magical. When I was growing up, we ate as a family almost every night. We had a dining room that we only used on holidays.…

  • Thoughts about Jeans

    I hate buying jeans. I hate it even more than buying a bathing suit. (I don’t mind bathing suits anymore, because now I wear board shorts and a tankini top. Why should men be the only ones who get to wear shorts? They make them for women. They’re very practical.) Anyway, I’ve tried lots of…

  • Secret Wedding

    Today is our 14th wedding anniversary. 14 years ago today, Cadillac and I married in a super secret ceremony in the home of a Tacoma justice of the peace. The witnesses were two people from his Army squad: a guy whose name I can’t remember, and his Sergeant, who gave us the book, The Five…

  • Book Club and Conference

    Last week, I went to my 8th grade English teacher’s home for a book club. I got to some of my former teachers. Anyone who knows me knows my best English-class experiences were, oddly (because people seem to be more affected by high school, mostly), in junior high. In 7th grade, Miss Davila taught us…