Matriarchs

Last Friday my grandmother passed away.

I was lucky to have spent a great deal of time with her in recent years,  and she remained, at 93, one of my nimblest sparring partners and staunchest supporters.

She played no small part in my lifetime love of reading and ease around animals, and I also have her influence to thank for the time I caused a bartender--and everyone else within hearing range--to stop talking mid-sentence and stare perplexedly at my 20-something self when I unironically ordered a glass of port at a cocktail party.

My grandmother had a mischievous sense of humor and was amused by this webcomic-y endeavor of mine. For my birthday this year, she designed a bumper sticker of her own, inspired by my collection and carefully written on a blank sheet of mailing labels. I laugh every time I see it.

She was also more appreciative of my cats' antics than most, having shared her living space with them for several long stretches and grown fond of their peculiarities. So while it may take me a little while to get back in the swing of things here, I am hoping to post a few more drawings from my crazy-making cats series this week. I'd like to think they would have inspired a grandmotherly chortle or two.

Keeping Track of The League

The impending demise of Google Reader seems as good an impetus as any for a little League housekeeping. Namely, some friendly reminders:

• If you'd like to get the latest League posts sent directly to your inbox (ooh la la!), just enter your email address in the "Follow by Email" box along the sidebar and follow the prompts. It's easy (and free)! To activate your subscription, make sure you respond to the automated verification message that will be sent to your email account. (If it doesn't show up in your Inbox, check the Spam folder for a message from FeedBurner.)

• You can also follow The League by feed reader (fancy!). If you are currently subscribing via Google Reader and don't want to miss any posts,  make sure you transfer the subscription to a new reader of your choice before July 1, 2013. [For those still searching for a replacement, I've tried four and like NewsBlur the best. But I'm hardly an expert.]

• In an unexpected turn of events, I actually Tweet more regularly than I publish new blog posts. And while you're more than welcome to follow The League on Twitter, my Tweets can also be read right from The League site (check out the sidebar!).

• All blog posts and Tweets are also published to The League's facebook page, which stands apart as the only place to find an occasional bonus photo/link/snippet of some variety. If that sort of thing entices you.  

Thanks, as always, for your interest in this particular Lost Cause!

Out-of-Town Newspapers: Exhibit A

In Sum

When I was eight years old, my family lived in rural Italy for a year. 
An entire year. 

My mom's journal must've been over 1,000 pages by the end.
According to mine, though, only three things happened.

(People of the Future: We Called These "Envelopes")