We’re out of dog food. Again. Lately, it seems every time I go to feed the dog, I call her and make a big show of yum, yum, it’s dinnertime, only to open the bag and find one or two very lonely cubes of kibble available for her consumption.

The Most Interested Man In The World is three feet tall and counting. Every extra inch turns the world into a brand new place. He can see over more countertops, explore more shelves. One day soon, he will open the silverware drawer on his own. Other people think silverware is a collection of utensils for mealtime but he knows better.

Confession: When I drive by cemeteries, I still hold my breath. Feel free to judge the ridiculousness of this superstition. I’m a rational adult, and I’ll agree with every point you make, but when it comes time to put those theories into practice, I’m still an 11-year-old girl who prefers to play it safe.

A couple of years ago, a trend emerged to do baby showers that were doubly-billed as “bookcase builders.” This does not mean the buffet table boasted a selection of hammer and nails with petits fours and cucumber sandwiches. Instead, the idea was that every guest brought along an extra book for the new baby.

When you live in the country, there is one question you get very used to being asked. At first, when the question came my way, I was blindsided — caught like an out-of-towner who stumbles into one of the gas stations in this neck of the woods.

I was listening to the radio the other day when the DJ invited listeners to call in and tell him the date they finished their holiday shopping. One lady claimed she had put her final package in the attic for safekeeping on October 5. Another said she had wrapped it all up back in August.