If you don't like the video, hit the Pause button

I was telling Augie that he needed to stop what he was doing and come with me. He didn't want to. He said, "I'm pausing you. I'm pausing your show." I totally get it. I may try that next time someone at work is going on about whatever I don't want to hear about. Meanwhile...

Mister May of Maine is handyman Mike Goodwin. In case you haven't been following these monthly pinups, they're from a calendar created by the Greater York (Maine) Region Chamber of Commerce to support local causes. I snagged this prize in a giveaway from Eva at Wrestling with Retirement and I've been sharing nicely, as my mom taught me. Mr. Goodwin looks a bit nervous, so good for him, taking a risk for charity. (Click on the photo for larger version.)

Trainmaster-superhero-skater

...and catcher-ballerina-princess

You've heard of producer-directors, singer-songwriters, player-coaches. Our famiily is similarly hyphenated.

When Augie is wearing a cowboy hat he labels himself Cowboy Augie, and then he adds whatever activity he's doing. So we have Cowboy-Drummer Augie followed by Cowboy-Batter Augie, etc.

Last week he came in modeling his new roller skates and helmet, along with Spiderman pads and his well loved Thomas the Tank Engine shirt. (In fairness, he did not actually label himself that day.)

Meanwhile Vi showed up in her tutu and a princess shirt. She mentioned dancing, but the next moment she donned the catcher's mask Pa made recently.

So there you have it. Multiple interests, multiple identities, and hyphenation all over the place.

How do you know it's spring?

I asked Augie, "How do you know it's spring?" Here's what he said:

When the groundhog casts his shadow
And the small birds sing
And the pussywillows happen
And the sun shines warm
And when the peepers peep
Then it is Spring.

He was quoting, verbatim, from Margaret Wise Brown's Pussy Willow, a Little Golden Book first published in 1951. Pussy Willow, a little gray kitten, encounters a frog ("peeper") who asks "How do you know it's Spring?" When Pussy Willow doesn't know, the peeper answers with those six lines.

When we first brought this book out last fall, I wasn't sure Augie would like the flowery language, but in fact he asked to reread it many times. We hadn't gone back to it for at least a couple of months when he recited this passage to me.

I've learned you don't know what they're going to like until you try it, and you don't know what's in their minds until you ask! And even the most old-fashioned stories can still charm a child.

(FYI, I see that Amazon has a newer version with a new illustrator.)

How not to be a "noreply" person

I love getting and responding to comments. I use email--you leave a comment on one of my posts, it shows up in my inbox, I hit "reply" and talk back to you. We may even have a little conversation that goes back and forth a few times.

Sometimes I hit "reply" and instead of an email address I see "noreply." I'm always a little disappointed, and I know I'm not the only one. In fact I learned about this from other bloggers who were complaining about the "noreply" people. Oops, I was one of them.

So how do you get comments on your comments? Just make an email address public in your Blogger profile. Set up a separate email account just for blogging if you want to protect your privacy. To link it to your profile:

* Sign into your Blogger account and click on "Customize" at the upper right corner of the screen.
* Click on "Dashboard," and then on "Edit Profile."
* Click on "Show my email address."
* Scroll down and click "Save Profile."

You're done.

If you'd like to receive comments by email, here's how to set that up:

* On the "Dashboard" or the "Layouts" page, click on "Settings" and then "Comments."
* Scroll down to "Comment Notification Email" and fill in your email address.
* Click "Save Settings."

If you haven't been doing this, I think you'll be surprised at how much more interactive blogging can become.