Category Archives: Children

Older Than Bones

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

I ran across a FB post about how the Rocky Mountains are taller than the Appalachians. The poster insinuates that taller is better. Someone responds to this post by telling the wannabe Texan that bigger ain’t always better saying that … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Children, Education, karma, math, Writing | Tagged 12 lb. bass, 500 million years ago, advanced degrees, Appalachian Mountains, bio-medical engineering, biology, C. E. Anthony, Charlene, Clyde E. Anthony, Clyde Elias Anthony, Designing Women, dinosaurs, elevation, fauna, flora, fossils, half a billion years ago, Hermione, knee cartilage, Leah Swanstrom, pre-dates bones, pre-dates dinosaurs, Rocky Mountains, Sabine Parish, spear fishing, telomeres, the Kraken, The National Enquirer, time turner, topper | Leave a comment

The Oregon Trail

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

I bribed the kids with promises of gumbo and movie marathons in place of a trip to a certain National Park with terrifying cliffs and curves. They extracted the additional promise of game night, which is how I ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in California, camping, Children, cooking, family, Generation Gap, gumbo, karma, Louisiana, parks & recreation, Writing | Tagged bribery, Cattle Call, dysentery, Eddy Arnold, El Paso, game night, gumbo, Huey P. Long, jeffrey epstein, King of the Road, Marty Robbins, National Parks, oregon trail, Sequoia, you have died of dysentery | Leave a comment

Soledad

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

Soledad, the Solitude of the BVM on Holy Saturday in Spanish tradition. Lyle spent the last six weeks with me in Monterey. It’s Freezing! was the top comment of his visit, and we engaged daily in the ages-old battle of the … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Catholocism, Children, End of the World, family, Monterey, Writing | Tagged disaster, earthquake, family, freezing, friends, fur-lined slippers, hurricane, isolation, Love, redneck, redneck uniform, Soledad, the plague, the Solitude, thermostat, thermostat wars, tsunami | Leave a comment

Toes in the Water

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

Yesterday I walked my bare feet into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. It took me 336 days of living in California to do it. I’m not sure why it took me so long. Because beaches … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Children, family, Louisiana, Monterey, weather, Writing | Leave a comment

Shelter at Home

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

Day t-1. I broke my wine opener. The corkscrew got stuck and snapped off. Not an auspicious beginning to my quarantine party. Monterey County has issued a “shelter in place” order. I’m fortunate to be able to work from home, … Continue reading →

Posted in Basketball, California, Catholocism, Children, End of the World, family, karma, Louisiana, Monterey, Statistics, technology, Writing | Tagged Amazon, Bonebreakers, California, chaplet of divine mercy, corkscrew, corona virus, delivery suspended, family, Grove Markey, kids, Louisiana, Monterey, Natchitoches, work from home, work pajamas | 1 Comment

Swimming Lessons

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

#1 – A second is a long damn time. 2 seconds might as well be forever. #2 – The 400 IM is marginally worse than the 200 Fly in short course and exponentially worse in long course. #3 – It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, family, Sports, swimming, Writing | Tagged Lyle Alford, swimming | Leave a comment

Gift of the Magi

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

I’ve traded boudin for Big Sur. There are pros and cons to every decision, and if it seems to be too good to be true– it probably is. I love living in California. Every day is suffused with spectacular beauty … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Children, family, Louisiana, Monterey, parks & recreation, Writing | Tagged Big Sur, boudin, East of Eden, family, paradise, spectacular, the Gift of the Magi, trade off | Comments Off

Continental Divide

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Laura Alford, PhD

To make a long blog short, I’d have never done this crazy cross-country move in a covered wagon hitched to a pair of mules, especially with kids in tow. (Although I suspect that a couple hundred years ago the roads … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, family, Generation Gap, technology, Writing | Tagged bridge, challenges, continental divide, covered wagon, determination, grit, hardship, mules, namaste, namaste y'all, New Mexico, pioneers, steel backbone, y'all | Leave a comment

Fastest, Shortest, or Easiest?

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

I’ll take SAFEST for $200, Siri. Every travel meet is an adventure, where we weave our way through streets peppered with pawn shops and payday loan places, all with bars on the windows. But neither snow nor rain nor heat … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, family, Sports, swimming | Tagged Alabama, birmingham, joan crawford, mommie dearest, pawn shops, payday loans, siri, soccer, swimming | 2 Comments

Badges

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Laura Alford, PhD

Badges are nifty. Tonight I earned the coveted “my mom is an idiot” badge. SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t already seen the new STAR WARS movie, ROGUE ONE, don’t go.* Apparently, I am the last person on earth to find … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, Children, Education, gumbo, Louisiana, television | Tagged 2000 and late, 2008, abnormal accruals, baloney, black eyed peas, boom boom pow, debits, DeSoto Parish, discretionary revenues, don't look Ethel, idiots, ignorance, monopoly money, mother of the year, positive accounting theory, Ray stephens, rogue one, Roux, socks, speed trap, spoilers, star wars, that Grand Bayou exit though, the streak | Leave a comment