My brother, Daniel, is about as un-girly as a person can get.  This is the guy who acts like he’s allergic to my purse if I set it next to him in the car.  The guy who refuses to even walk close to a Pier 1.  The guy who celebrates his achievements in the bathroom.

However, I was making some of these Christmas ornaments the other night,

and Daniel decided to get involved.  First, he held a bell up to his ear and asked if they were earrings.  Then, he critiqued the crystal colors I’d chosen–he liked the red one, but thought that I should use, “some kind of blue.”

I really never expected this sort of input from Daniel and, while I’m enjoying the interaction, I can’t help but wonder what’s next.  Bonding over manicures?

DISCLAIMER: I realize that not all younger siblings act like immature chimpanzees with Attention Deficit Disorder.  If you are a responsible citizen who pays your bills on time, flosses, maintains healthy relationships, and just happens to be a younger sibling, congratulations.  Our nation appreciates you.  Older siblings, read on.  This one is just for you.

Here’s the thing about being the responsible older child–you get, umm, well, you get responsibility.  It’s really fun!  While your younger siblings act like rejects from a truck stop and campaign to change the orbit of the sun to circle their little heads, you get to patiently pick up the pieces and be on call for incoming catastrophes.  It’s like being a superhero except that you don’t get a secret hideout, a cape, or any powers.

I’m not sure what would happen to our country and the planet if it were not for responsible, older children.  Imagine a world of irresponsible younger children; car insurance rates would skyrocket which would bankrupt the country which would precipitate a government bailout which would be overseen by the aforementioned irresponsible which would, of course, lead to bankruptcy, anarchy, and looting.  Actually, maybe there wouldn’t be a government bailout since irresponsible children would probably have destroyed the government and returned America to the Stone Age.  The White House would be a center for graffiti and the Statue of Liberty would be serving as a giant hanger for dirty clothes.  The country would be in darkness, an industrial wasteland full of delinquent account notices and Top Ramen wrappers, and all the irresponsible children would be poorly dressed, whining, hitting each other with sticks, and waiting for the responsible older children to return, fix everything, bring some edible food, and drive them around in Hummers since the roads would be piles of rubble from the time the irresponsible children held a bulldozer fight before they wrecked all the country’s heavy equipment.

So, it’s a good thing that older, responsible children exist even if it isn’t much fun at times to exist as a responsible older child.  After all, SOMEONE has to keep the dirty socks off the Lady Liberty.

Stop, birdies, STOP!

I’m getting really tired of picking up bird corpses.  I have these great picture windows in my living room/dining room/studio/room of napping on the couch/piano room, and the birds in the neighborhood can’t seem to quit flying into the windows and breaking their little necks.  I suppose that I should say I’m all sad about it, but, honestly, the sadness is pretty overcome by the extreme gross-out factor in picking up the birds after they have baked in the sun all afternoon.  Even in Alaska’s October, the birds get pretty sticky after a few hours.  Eew.

So, in an attempt to be more birdy-friendly, I’ve created all these hanging things from glass and colored glass.  They’re hanging in all the windows now; it’s sort of like living in a gypsy wagon, I think.  I’m hoping that the birds see all these gypsy things and realize that my windows aren’t tunnels to fly through.

See the art, hit the brakes.  Seems like an idea that could improve the whole world, doesn’t it?  Take a second today.  Check out something beautiful. 

She's cute. Just say it.

I’m not a catblogger.  I’m not.  However, this one had to be shared with the Interworld because it is The Cutest Photo in the Universe.  It’s also a prize winner–25 dollars in a pet photo contest!

Winners.  That’s what we are at our house.