Before cleaning the kitchen, set up the first cut daffodils of the season. Priorities, people.

If this is in The Onion today, it must be spring training.

Reading: Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain (NY Times)

”Mostly, I became aware of how profoundly uncomfortable I am with stillness.”

Listening to spring training baseball on the MLB app. Phillies-Rays. I don’t really care about either team, but it’s spring training baseball. On a Friday. All feels right with the world right now.

Teenagers Say Depression and Anxiety Are Major Issues Among Their Peers (N.Y. Times)

“Fewer teenagers cited bullying, drug addiction or gangs as major problems; those from low-income households were more likely to do so.”

A nice find. I don’t drink a ton at home, and some days this is just enough. Quality stuff, too.

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The New York Times Cooking app is peddling heresy.

“The clown is kind of creepy.” — Frannie, 10, watching Bozo the Clown clips from the 1960s on WGN-TV

Still unwell from this morning, but we still managed to crank out our first attempt at simple buttermilk biscuits. It may take numerous attempts to perfect, but the first go-round went well. F liked the generous use of butter throughout and atop the biscuits.

Not feeling well, so F and I stayed home from church this morning. We’re going over the Gospel passage that she and the other First Communion kids are reviewing in the run-up to their big day in June.

So, I decided this morning to scope out what kind of poop-scooping apparatus is out on the market these days. We’re a little overwhelmed.

“Do we really want to live in a culture like this? Where no one has the room to grow or change or become a new version of him or herself? I’d like to think that the differences between me in 2019 and me in 2004 is a sign that we all can.”

“Whether Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, right, left, center, blue or red — seeing and reinforcing the value of a teacher should be a national pillar that rises high above partisan politics and cheap applause.”

‘Word Jazz’ Creator And Host Ken Nordine Dies (WBEZ)

”In a 2000 interview with Nordine, WBEZ’s Steve Edwards described the show as a ‘delicious buffet of sound portraits, mind-altering moodscapes and irregular riffs.’”

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Reading: Westminster Dog Show: King Continues Reign of Terriers (N.Y. Times; huge H/T to @macgenie)

My colleagues were often kind enough to give me dog show stories to edit in my newspaper days. I would have killed to come up with a headline like that.

Because poor Winslow needs some love with the puppy overwhelming the household lately, here’s a Bichon/Shih tzu selfie.

May be the best thing I’ve seen on social media all day, from @chrchcurmudgeon on Twitter.

Ice thief.

A bit of a splurge today. These appear to live up to the hype, though I suspect I will need to use a white pearl eraser when I use them for better mistake cleanup. Still happy to finally get them.

Very rough Sunday involving the puppy and the kid. Unable to catch up on work as I had planned. Snuck into the office to catch up. I have never relished office time as much as I do now. #PeaceAndQuiet

Stuff we’ve caught the new dog trying to eat this weekend:

  • Orange crayon
  • Plastic toy part
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Newspaper comics section
  • Used table napkin
  • Store receipt
  • Sofa cushion
  • Driveway ice chunk
  • Wood chip
  • Rock
  • Stray branch from last year’s Christmas tree

Sunday reading. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 12 for both Chicago teams. Thank God.

Reading: Why I’m obsessed with reading books about writing in notebooks (Washington Post)

”In an increasingly algorithmic world, these systems let us crack open the black boxes of our lives … helping us figure out what matters to us along the way.”

Winslow continues to hide behind the sheer living room curtain away from the puppy, haunting us all with a look that clearly says, “Damn you all to hell, you disloyal bastards.”