So what exactly is a dungeon?

For those of you who haven't been to our house, there have been some questions about our dungeon - so let me explain. We don't actually keep prisoners down there - just a chest freezer from my grandparents, random tools, old paint cans, and oh yes, exercise equipment in the form of a treadmill and recumbent bike. Our house was built in 1911 but the dungeon and the family room above it were added on to the house in 1979.

According to Sophie, it is old and a storage place for odd things. (I agree with her, but the thing is, keep in mind it is actually the newest part of the house.) We started calling it the dungeon because it's a place we just don't love to go. And it's the place where, when objects do go, they are often not seen again for a very long time. If ever.

Take John's little hockey figurines and net. They got broken - they were placed in the dungeon to be fixed - and we haven't seen them in two years. What about Sophie's Christmas ornament? Same story.

Lucy recently had something that was broken and she wanted Dave to fix. I, of course, suggested the dungeon, but she got an alarmed look on her face. "No, Mom, no! If we put there I'll never see it again." I laughed, only because I knew she was right.

But I am a bit nervous about losing the latest occupant of the dungeon - it's a pretty special plate John drew and painted a few years ago during one of our Arizona visits. His sisters accidentally broke it and for weeks I kept the pieces on the kitchen counter - not wanting to put it in the dungeon for the very reason Lucy voiced.

So it sat on the counter and Dave did work on it. Every few days he'd take out the gorilla glue and piece one more ceramic shard onto the plate. The problem is, there were many pieces... and it wasn't long before he left for his infamous trip to Acapulco.

So, while he was gone, I carefully placed the broken plate on his worktable in the dungeon. I put the gorilla glue beside it and found Sophie's Christmas ornament and put it near the pile. And now we'll wait and see... and hope they don't get swallowed up in the dungeon.

Trying to stay warm...

I've got a new favorite spot in our house. It's a place to go when I'm chilled or just need a quick warm up. It's not a fireplace or the front of the open stove after taking something out of the oven. It involves a blanket and a cozy chair and a heat source and reminds me of Dad laying on top of the living room radiator at our old house, trying to get warm. Have you guessed the spot yet?

No, I didn't think you would; after all it's taken me almost three years to find it. My spot, as I like to think of it, is beside the small electric radiator in the family room. I move the rocker chair out from the wall and put my feet on the brick wall - about two feet above the radiator. Then I cover up with a blanket and a cup of coffee or tea and feel the heat reach my feet, then my calves and finally my entire body. It's perfect for reading, watching TV or even typing on the laptop - as I'm doing now. It's not so good for carrying on a conversation however. In that case it's rather like talking to a brick wall. Ha!

What's your favorite warm-up place?

I Hate Snakes

As a homeowner, I'm never surprised by what I might find - sometimes it's an old dishtowel stuffed in a wall to hold back a cold breeze while other times it might be a bra in the laundry chute. When we lived in Lakeville I investigated Dasher's barking and was shocked one rainy spring night to find a turtle standing almost upright against the sliding glass door - scratching and trying to get in. (I even videotaped it because I knew Dave, who was working the late shift at Applebees, would never believe me.)

The other night, (of course a dark and rainy one with Dave out of town) I looked through the window and saw it -a snake poised to strike, wrapped up in the vines and leaves that cover the chimney. My heart raced faster and faster and I peered closer and closer - knowing that at least there was glass in between us. And then I figured out - it wasn't a snake after all but a rather large vine twig that did, after all, have the appearance of a snake. Needless to say, I didn't videotape it for Dave, nor did I tell him. :)