Caroline Mitchell Carrico

Down and up again

To set the scene: there is peace in the kingdom. The dog is upstairs; the kid is playing with a toy. I’m sitting in a chair alternately reading and having a conversation in repeated monosyllables while exercising my peripheral vision. Then it gets too quiet for a moment and the crying starts. Baby down. AfterContinue reading “Down and up again”

2015 in Books, January

I started off 2015 by finishing up a few stragglers from 2014: Neverwhere: A Novel by Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors; I have yet to read one of his books that did not capture my imagination. Neverwhere is set in London Below, the underground city that parallels London Above along theContinue reading “2015 in Books, January”

#IsThisHowWeDoIt?

I like social media. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a social media junkie, but I definitely enjoy keeping up with friends, voyeuristically connecting with acquaintances and curating what I share with others. Facebook is my primary platform of choice, but I also use LinkedIn to showcase my CV. Pinterest isContinue reading “#IsThisHowWeDoIt?”

A Collection of Jars

Originally posted on The Pink Palace Family of Museums:
The Memphis Pink Palace Museum has a wide variety of objects in our permanent collection, including a biological collection of organic specimen in jars. The “wet collection” is stored in fluid, usually a pure alcohol solution or a mixture of alcohol, formaldehyde and acetic acid. The…

The Reading Chair. A Delayed Gratification Story. Part I.

We recently moved a bookcase, which freed up some space in our living room. Upon taking a step back, we realized it would make a lovely spot for a lamp and a reading chair, largely due to the inability to see the TV from that location. The thing is, we have many projects (big andContinue reading “The Reading Chair. A Delayed Gratification Story. Part I.”

“Floppsy Woppsy is Dead, Dead, Dead!”

Originally posted on The Pink Palace Family of Museums:
When the first Piggly Wiggly opened in 1916, it had a cousin named Floppsy Woppsy. The Floppsy Woppsy was a fruit window located inside the lobby of the original stores. It carried grapes, citrus, peaches, apples, pears and cantaloupes (but never watermelons). Floppsy Woppsy turned out…

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Over the past few years, I have written many hundreds of thank you cards. A wonderful thing about our society is the idea of reciprocity. A major life event occurs and the people who care about you lift you up. They carry you to this new place and then help you build up something whereContinue reading “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

A moment

Of peace after the doctor with the shots. Of calm after the car ride home. Of sitting still. Of thinking. A moment for tea.

One year and a day

One day and one year ago a beautiful, squirmy boy entered my world. There was nothing that could have prepared me for all the hours that have followed. For starters, I never knew how much I could love someone so small. I had no idea that I could sing so many songs or read thatContinue reading “One year and a day”

Useful Science

My boss introduced me to a new website that I find utterly fascinating. Useful Science is a nonprofit website that is run by a group of graduate and undergraduate science students (mostly, a quick perusal of the contributors page revealed at least one journalism major). Their pitch is that they will tell you useful scientific findingsContinue reading “Useful Science”