tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70604361284933116482024-03-12T23:36:33.956-04:00Daddy Knows LessOften wrong. Never in doubt.Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.comBlogger461125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-16280724900949819582019-04-14T18:26:00.001-04:002019-04-14T21:54:53.042-04:00Matching Wits"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." - William Shakespeare
Peanut should have a new name. If I were still blogging regularly and chronicling our daily interactions and experiences, I would have renamed her “Tweenut” by now.
You see, our dear Peanut Tweenut recently turned 12. TWELVE! And she is every bit the aloof, dismissive, self-centered know-it-all that we you were at that age.
Don’tDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-15509657743665323592017-08-12T18:29:00.002-04:002017-08-13T20:23:04.844-04:00Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow"For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind, if you're young at heart."-Frank Sinatra
To call this post my triumphant return to blogging would be assuming two things: 1) That I will once again write and post here consistently. 2) That this post is good enough to qualify as triumphant. I can't make any promises regarding #1. The mood just struck me, so I wrote this. As for #2, you dear Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-59779217129529167492014-01-07T08:30:00.000-05:002014-01-07T08:34:27.040-05:00Jim Dandy to the Rescue"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate." -Thornton Wilder
There are few greater joys in childhood than when your parents announce the family will be going out for ice cream that night. Immediately, visions of combinations of flavors and toppings flood your head like sugarplums on a sleepy Christmas Eve. Oh, the wondrous, endlessDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-82732611560071146332013-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:002013-11-15T12:59:53.218-05:00My Mid-Blog CrisisPerhaps you've noticed. I hope you have, but fear you haven't. It's been a while since I posted here. In fact, I've gone 0-for-October, some of September, and half of November. If a blogger in an infinite sea of them stops blogging, does he make a sound? The answer is a resounding no. But for those of you who are wondering, I do feel the need to explain my absence.
I seem to have hit a wall. Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-27287234978758045652013-09-17T06:00:00.000-04:002013-09-17T21:36:15.980-04:00Watching the Waves
"Who's my good best friend I got?" -A question my Grandpa Sal routinely asked his 15 grandchildren, creating a very fierce competition.
My Grandpa Sal is one of my favorite people ever. Gregarious, loving, and loyal, he lit up a room even when he wasn't getting involved in everything going on in it. (We call my mom - his daughter - "Parsley" because she gets into everything. He wasDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-38836326010094849832013-09-11T08:00:00.000-04:002013-09-11T08:00:05.316-04:00Remembering to Laugh and Cry"I woke up this morning to an empty sky." -Bruce Springsteen
I didn't know anyone who died 12 years ago today. I know people who knew people. That's as far as my connection to the victims goes. But still, I mourn. I think about what happened that day and I still shake my head in disbelief. How could that have happened? It's still mind-boggling, even though we lived it. Thinking about it still Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-55257610126359847922013-09-10T06:00:00.000-04:002013-09-10T08:58:36.348-04:00How Fantasy Football Makes Me a Bad PersonThe one thing that cushions the blow of summer ending, for me, is that it coincides with the start of football season. I am a big pro football fan. (The Jets are my team. Although they only occasionally resemble a pro football team.) Since the Jets more often than not make my Sundays miserable, since they more often than not make football irrelevant for me late in the season because they're Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-5855828436178869782013-09-05T06:00:00.000-04:002013-09-05T12:33:55.643-04:00The Guilt Trip of a Lifetime"Every time you go away you take a piece of me with you." -Paul Young
"She's old enough," we said. That's how we justified it. She's old enough to be without us for a couple of weeks. Sure, she'll be aware that we're gone. She'll definitely miss us. But she'll be just fine. Most important, she'll still have a lot of fun. Without us.
There we are. Young and in love. Venice 2004.(I still have Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-12542398273638106682013-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:002013-09-04T08:06:44.116-04:00THE PEANUT GALLERY: Stop on Pop"Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees." -Victor Hugo
THIS is gambling. (And creepy.)
Gambling isn't my thing. While I do enjoy fantasy football, filling out my NCAA tournament brackets, and the very occasional trip to the blackjack table, I'm no gambler. That is, at least some skill on my part needs to be Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-39540836686395915702013-08-26T06:00:00.001-04:002013-08-26T07:44:38.869-04:00Why I Need Fantasy Football"It's just a fantasy. It's not the real thing. But sometimes a fantasy is all you need." -Billy Joel
It's the most wonderful time of the year. You know that old Staples commercial with the dad dancing through the aisle as he shops for school supplies with his kids who are miserable because summer is ending and school is starting? Well that's how I feel about football season. More Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-71488311339576780422013-08-23T06:00:00.000-04:002013-08-23T06:00:00.164-04:00Along Came a SpiderWhat's the big deal about spiders, anyway? I'm ambivalent towards them. No issues. No phobia. Sure, I think they're kinda gross. But they do serve a purpose. A pretty important one, too. Like controlling the housefly population.
So I am here to announce that I am decidedly PRO spider. Despite My Director's objections. Just another thing we disagree on. (Many political issues too. But that's a Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-88266940315170775632013-08-13T13:00:00.000-04:002013-08-13T13:55:40.468-04:00We Took the Road Less Traveled
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops. That's where you'll find me."- from Somewhere Over the Rainbow
I was tired, hot, cranky, and annoyed. (I'm sure this comes as no surprise.) This was not my idea of a vacation. This is not how we had said we would spend our 10th Anniversary celebration. My Director had totally hijacked our day and dedicated it to shopping. No..Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-11169034883441244802013-07-29T13:05:00.000-04:002015-01-10T14:59:13.259-05:00With Friends Like These"No man is poor who has friends," - from It's a Wonderful Life
This weekend My Director and I attended my 20th high school reunion. Amazing that two decades have passed since high school. We were driving to the reunion and she noticed I was quiet. "Are you nervous?" She asked. "No. I'm just...I find this...surreal. I can't believe we're driving to my 20th reunion. Isn't that crazy?" She agreed. Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-50028261285092169952013-07-23T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-23T06:45:01.157-04:00THE PEANUT GALLERY: Par for the Course
Playing miniature golf with Peanut is finally fun. She's able to play on her own. She's not a sore loser. And she genuinely enjoys it. But she does have trouble counting strokes.
Let the video replay provide the evidence. Count the strokes, then see how many Peanut says she did it in:
She clearly completed that hole in four strokes, with an impressive shot to finish it if I do say Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-18426837083948944892013-07-22T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-22T11:36:43.938-04:00A Lesson in Capitalism"The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well." -John D. Rockefeller
As part of our Summer Bucket List, aka the "attempt to relieve ourselves of our guilt for abandoning Peanut while we go to Europe for two weeks" list, we wanted to make a lemonade stand with her. She started asking last summer, but we ran out of time. So I promised myself we'd do it this summer. This past Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-58831057558560594782013-07-19T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-19T06:00:02.729-04:00Take @QueenofCussin to the Beach With You
Moms and dads, I have the perfect summer beach book for you. Moms Who Drink and Swear by Nicole Knepper is, quite simply, the whole package. You will laugh, cry, and think in 309 short pages that you will find difficult to put down.
Now, as the titled suggests, this book is not for everyone. You need a sense of humor. You need to tolerate some, er, colorful language. Hell, Nikki uses Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-84125490330032474682013-07-15T12:21:00.001-04:002013-07-16T08:06:03.364-04:00Making the Most of the Day
"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -Abraham Lincoln
This summer, I find myself saying, "I could have used one more day" a lot. To save days off for a two-week trip My Director and I are taking to Europe later this month, I can't afford to extend weekend trips by taking off a Friday or Monday, like I normally would. This past weekend, for example, we made Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-34238838306303948812013-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-12T12:03:28.922-04:00A Despicable Letdown
"Despicable Me 2" (Rated PG/2013)
I'm not going to make a lot of friends saying this, especially considering the two lovely ladies I live with disagree with me, but I'm going to say it anyway: Despicable Me 2, despite its smashing box office success, is not a fraction as funny, clever, or enjoyable as the first one. Not even close. There I said it.
Don't get me wrong. I laughed at times. But Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-46304565017325595942013-07-09T06:00:00.001-04:002013-07-10T04:19:58.709-04:00The Empire Strikes Back"If I ever lose my faith in you, there'd be nothing left for me to do." -Sting
We started with a couch. A three-seater sofa. That's the first thing My Director and I owned together. We took a major plunge, moving in together after she graduated from college. My dad and I picked it up from the furniture store in my hometown. When we got back to my parents' house, I called her on the old land lineDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-3020721223883034972013-07-05T06:00:00.000-04:002013-07-09T13:35:06.463-04:00The Joys of Homeownership: Cleaning the GarageI spent one recent Sunday doing something I'm really good at. I cleaned and organized the garage:
This is my new "fun and games" section.
I don't know what a lot of those tools are for,but I sure can hang 'em, can't I?
Isn't it pretty? I don't understand why I can't keep my garage neat and orderly like this. Chaos tends to take over around Halloween. Then Christmas piles on top. Then itDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-5442354008657643402013-06-24T07:00:00.000-04:002013-06-24T07:00:01.794-04:00A Monsters University High
Monsters University (Rated G/2013) Rarely is the sequel - or in the case, the prequel - better than the original. But Monsters University beats the pants off of Monsters Inc. No comparison. The original was mostly of a vehicle for Billy Crystal's schtick. (Funny, but shallow after that.) It lacked much dialogue outside of Crystal's Mike Wazowski character. And I prefer my animated Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-79994699079964352692013-06-18T06:00:00.001-04:002013-06-18T08:56:15.005-04:00THE PEANUT GALLERY: Five Simple Words"Because if that little kid likes me, how bad could I be?" -Wreck-It Ralph
Father's Day. I don't ask for much. I don't ask for anything, actually. Anything tangible, that is. I went for a run and took three naps during the course of the day. Peanut and I watched Wreck-It Ralph, my new favorite movie. She and My Director made me breakfast. We walked the dogs and Peanut rode her bike in the park. Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-2340526809772929222013-06-16T06:00:00.000-04:002013-06-16T13:41:20.208-04:00The Sweet Smell of Success"Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived." -Helen Keller
Not only is Peanut NOT happy to see me when I come home from a run, she cowers with fear at my mere presence. It used to be, I'd walk through the door and ask loudly, "Who wants sweaty kisses?" And Peanut, as I'd hoped, would respond with horror. It came to a point where all IDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-85289963062082379922013-06-11T11:00:00.000-04:002013-06-12T12:28:22.948-04:00Mean Girls"It's not about aptitude. It's the way you're viewed. So it's very shrewd to be very very popular. Like me." -From Wicked
Kids really do say the darndest things. Sometimes we'll have a conversation with Peanut and the words that come out of her mouth are so hilarious, whether intentional or unintentional, I bury my hands in my face to avoid embarrassing her. Just last nightDaddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060436128493311648.post-46659236203638038382013-06-05T14:00:00.000-04:002013-06-05T14:46:33.897-04:00THE PEANUT GALLERY: A Running Start"Find the level of intolerance you can tolerate and stay there." -David Horton, Ultra-marathon runner
When Peanut did this all on her own one day as a baby, my heart melted:
Couldn't you just eat her?Look at that face.
That, my friends, is photo proof of why you don't sweat putting stuff away as soon as you get home. If I didn't forget about my sneakers after just kicking them off and Daddy Knows Lesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703414937384078870noreply@blogger.com1