Time flies

Can you believe how fast the hours, days, months are flying by? It is all I can do to hang on for dear life.

Had the boys over yesterday - a school night, so homework was on the menu. My nephew Jonah, age 5, and I continue to have deep philosophical discussions about god. You know. GOD!!! (imagine little fists pumping the air). Here is a sample from yesterday:

Jonah: God made the sun
Susan: What if it wasn't God who made the sun?
Jonah: Then it would be dark!

Gotta love that kid.

Bua

There is something to be said about simply browsing the library stacks with no real intention. I stumbled across a book by Justin Bua and love this work. I used his book to experiment with his style - love it.

Recent Reads

1. Foreign Affairs
My book club selection for the month starts out slowly but is quite an interesting read. I especially like that the story is told from the point of view of a man and a woman who do not end up together - that is refreshing in itself. Also liked how the characters actually say things that we often think, but do not say out loud. The story explores the sense of self at home and abroad. Quite good.

2. The Host
Summer reading indeed. I'm been on a Greek gods, vampires and now aliens kick - oh my! This was a perfect read for a sailing cruise. Why are post apocalyptic novels so popular again?

3. The Art of Travel
Have been slowly reading, savoring and reflecting my way through this gem of a book. Having finished it last night, I can tell you that I am not the same person I was prior to reading it. And maybe best of all it has set me on new paths to explore. Fantastic.

Reading with kids

1. When Sophie Gets Angry
One of the books we read with the boys on our camping trip. How do you handle anger? Sophie calms herself in nature. A good way to have a discussion about what we get angry about and how we handle that emotion.

2. The Brand New Kid
The story of a new kid that looks different and how he is treated by his classmates. "The kids are so mean to him", said Jonah. One girl reaches out to the stranger, and her actions change everything. Jonah said that he is the same way - he makes friends with everyone no matter who they are or what they look like. Love this kid.

3. Flotsam
I love this book - no words. You get to use your imagination to create your own story. Very cool.

4. Mirror Mirror
This cool book of poetry can be read two ways - forward and backward - and the story changes dramatically. The boys had fun creating their own verses that made sense in both directions.

September

And here is September. Kiddies are all back in school. The neighborhood is so quiet. Time flies by so very fast.

Sailing

This has been a good summer for outdoor activities, especially sailing. Hurricane Earl passed on by and was downgraded enough not to cause any damage at the marina. Where to head for the next cruise? So many options.

Here is a page I created while at a mooring in Scituate harbor.

Art Journal

I like how this collage turned out.

Ephemera

These pages are always fun to create and a wonderful visual reminder of a place and time.

Fragile (2)

Here is a page I created yesterday. See earlier post for details.

Fragile

I often think that people should have a sticker on them that says Fragile: Handle with Care.

Am reminded again of how really fragile is our hold on life. My cousin Thomas was killed in a hit and run in Kerala a couple of days ago. And just like that his life is over. He did not even get to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. I've been holding in my thoughts his wife, mother, father, brother, sister and all his cousins, uncles, aunts, friends who loved him.

Give someone you love a hug today.

Art Journal

Love the images in National Geographic - here is one that captivated me recently.

Sketchcrawl

Decided to spend an afternoon exploring downtown Lowell recently. Took along my art journal and supplies. The first page was inspired by the Quilts exhibit at the Brush Art Gallery. Ink and markers. The second page was drawn on location and painted with watercolors when I got back home. A fun afternoon that recharged my batts.

Art Journal

Realized after I started sketching that I was not using a water-proof pen, but I like the darkness the ink wash created. Created this page while at my local B&N store - inspiration from a mag I was browsing. Watercolors added later at home.

Art Journal

On this dark, cool rainy day, love the bright colors on this page.

Recent Reads

1. Marley and Me
This is a good read. Made me laugh. Made me cry. Made me want to get a dog - well not quite. This was our read aloud book on the boat this summer.

2. How Did You Get This Number?
Stumbled across this book of 9 essays in ebook format at my library. It is a quick and enjoyable read.

3. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Another book I read in ebook format. I was intrigued by the idea of the story, but was not impressed with the book. The story is told from the point of view of Rose, who at the age of 9 discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions in the food she prepares. As she grows older in this sad disconnected family, her abilities get stronger, and she can identify not only the feelings of the people who prepare food, but the feelings of everyone/everything in the entire food chain. Could not help wondering if I would consider such an ability a gift or a burden.

4. The Red Pyramid
The first book in the new Kane Chronicles introduces kids to Egyptian mythology. The author has gotten rather formulaic in his writing, and while this is not as good a read as the Percy Jackson series, it has some interesting themes.

Birthday

This is what I woke up to. Gotta love it.

Birthday Month

Yup, I celebrate my entire birthday month - who can fit it all into just one day? This page was created on the first day to kick off the celebration.

Art Journal

This one is from our camping trip with my nephews. We had this little sun shade that the boys setup and used as a play pen.

Camping with boys

This has been a fun summer with my nephews - we've had weekly overnights all summer and that has given us more time to explore and play.

One of our adventures included a 2 night camping trip in the White Mountains. We got to the Lafayette Campground and setup our tent and tarp right before the heavens opened. Having a fantastic tent that keeps everyone nice and dry - priceless. Lafayette is a lovely campground with a river that ran right by our tent - the only downside is traffic noise - but it was a great location for our first time in the mountains with the boys. Activities included exploring the river, hiking to explore waterfalls and caves, stories by the fire, etc.

To see pics from the trip click here.

Recent Reads

1. Where Women Create
An interesting view inside the places some women create.

2. Best Rail Trails New England
So many trails, so little time. Have decided that the Cape Cold trail is on the list after the kiddies go back to school - way less traffic at nearby campground.

3. Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists
A little gem of a book. Wonderful ideas to spark creativity.

4. The Postmistress
Loved the idea of this book - what happens when people do not deliver mail during a time there were few other ways to communicate? The war reporting and descriptions were done quite well, but the execution of the story left much to be desired - the characters were not well developed.

5. Darkness, Take My Hand
You know that deja vu feeling you get that you have read a book before? Well, had that while reading this well written book. The gory details makes it not for the faint-of-heart, but so well done.

6. Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures
With a title like that, who could resist? But this non-fiction book deviated from the theme and is more the author's memoir. Really enjoyed the heist stories, but in the end quit the book. Just do not care enough to read about this guy.

Reading with kids

My nephews and I continue to read our way through fab books.

1. Are You Going to Be Good?
Read this one out loud to the boys - a fun story about a kid who is told all the ways he should behave at a party and then he finds an unexpected ally.

2. June 29, 1999
Read this to Jonah. A science experiment has unexpected results. Fun.

3. The First Rule of Little Brothers
The boys had such different reactions to this book. Jonah (the little one) thought that the older brother in the book was mean. Luke (the older one) nodded knowingly as he read it. Yup. He totally understands.

4. Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't)
I love this book - both the story and the illustrations. I had a similar experience while teaching - this kid, Jamie, hated to read. Would not read. I searched high and low and finally found a topic that he was interested in. And you know what? Jamie reads. Love that.

Recent Reads

1. The Killing Floor
My first book by this really popular author. Found it a good read - did not capture me and draw me in, but an interesting read none-the-less. Will look into the other books in the series.

2. The Bone People
This book has been on my bookshelf to read for several years and I finally got around to reading it for my book club. Loved it. The story of 3 broken and damaged people and how they connect. I loved the New Zealand, Maori angle and though the writing style takes some getting used to, a great read.

3. Digital Expressions
Fun book with interesting ideas on how to create digital art.

4. The Passage
The buzz around this book has been incredible. It made the top of my list because it was actually available in ebook format at my library. An epic novel with lots of characters. As you read it, you know that it is not going to end well. Have been lost in the world of vampires for the past week or so. Fun summer read.

Recent Movies

1. Alice in Wonderland
I know this did not get great reviews, but I loved it. Ah Johnny Depp. The movie is a wonderful adaptation of the book - which I have tried to read twice and yet to make it past the first couple of chapters.

2. New Moon
I might look into reading the Twilight series - it cannot be as bad as the movies can it? This was pretty bad - and I love both vampires and werewolves. Sigh.

3. The Lightning Thief
Enjoyed the book and unfortunately, the movie was really bad. Ah well.

4. The Stoning of Soraya M
Wow. This is a powerful movie. Do not watch it if you are having a bad day. Tough subject matter. Excellent movie.

Reading with kids

1. The Island of Skog
I loved this book. Read it to the boys on one of their overnights, and we talked about the mystery and the magic of the story.

2. The Biggest Bear
The graphics are wonderful. The story builds up to what you think will be a bad ending, but then there is hope. Sort of.

3. The Mysterious Tadpole
A gift that turns out to be not quite as expected. Funny.

4. Amos & Boris
Lovely story about a mouse who heads out for an adventure and is helped by a whale. And one day is able to return the favor. Quite fun.

5. The Elves and the Shoemaker
This is the only book on this list that I had read as a kid - though do not recall that the elves were naked!

6. Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve
Luke continues to read his way through the Magic Tree House series. In MTH # 30, Jack and Annie are on a Merlin Mission to a very spooky castle. Where are all the people?

7. Summer of the Sea Serpent
In MTH #31 Jack and Annie have another adventure filled with danger, magic and mystery. This is one of the best books yet.

Visual Journal

An example of a page using acrylic paint, collage and ink.

Snippets

If I'm not driving, I like to do something with my hands while I listen to podcasts or audio books. I knit. I vacuum. I walk. I do dishes. I doodle. This page is an example of how my hands stay occupied while my mind is stimulated.

The Politics of Fiction

Elif Shafak gives a TED talk that has to be one of the top 5 talks I have heard.
You can hear it here.

Summer

Lots of outdoor playing going on this summer. Love being on the water. Created this page in the cockpit, ice drink in hand. Life is good.

Doodles

There is something soothing about doodling - no expectations. Just move the pen around on the page.

Global Voices

Listened to this fascinating talk today. Lots to marinate on.

Markers

A page created using kids markers. They are quite fun to play with.
The fortune cookie text: There is no such thing as an ordinary cat.
Ain't that the truth?

Visual Journal

A double page spread using acrylic paints and collage materials. I'm finding that I like a handwritten background to my pages. A personal style seems to be developing.

Book Light

It is getting harder and harder to find a good book light. I bought one several years ago from Levenger and love it. As is usually the case with things you love it is no longer in stock. Babes has gone through several brands and all of them are useless, so was determined to find a good one for her birthday. Found this one at Barnes and Noble. Took the first one back - the light flickered - but the second one works just fine. Light. Nice design. Rechargeable.

Do you use a book light? Which one?

Visual Journal

Some magazine had an article about how people dress their dogs. Incredible really. Inspired this page.

Recent Reads

1. Small Island
This is quite a stunning read. Set in Jamaica and post-war Britain, the novel explores racism, family, war and the ties that bind us. The story is told in 4 voices - a style that I quite enjoy.

2. A Favorite of the Queen
I love the Tudor period, so was looking forward to this read. The first time I've read this author, and will not be going back. I actually stopped about 60 pages in - the writing seems juvenile and has no depth. Not worth the time.

3. Playing with Books
Interesting, but not quite what I was expecting. Sometimes I wonder how books like this get published.

4. Two Lives
My book club selection for the month, and while there are parts I quite enjoyed, I could not wait for the book to end. As fascinated I am by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, this book does not make me want to go out and read their work - the author seems to have culled the best parts for a tasty nibble. I enjoyed this fictional account much more.

5. The Indigo Notebook
This YA book is an okay read. I particularly enjoyed the travel bits of the story.

Frogs

We are having such a great summer in these parts. My parents are in town for several weeks, and we took the boys out to the local park to look for frogs. A fun afternoon was had by all. You can see more pics from the afternoon here.

Nook

I've got a new toy! After lusting after the Amazon Kindle for what seems like years, I weighed my options, read the reviews and finally decided to get the Barnes & Noble Nook. And I love it!

My tipping point list:

• Prices have finally come down to a reasonable number. The wireless Nook sells for $149.
• The Nook allows access to the battery (for replacements) and has a memory expansion slot - the Kindle has neither.
• The Nook supports standards - the Adobe epub format. The Kindle uses a proprietary format. I'm all for standards.
• Because the Nook supports standards, I can load ebooks from my library and download tons of free books - huge savings over buying every ebook I read.
• The Nook has rudimentary web browsing - in Beta - nothing great - but a nice feature.
• I dislike the hard key pad of the Kindle - pefer the Nook's soft navigation.
• Love the e-ink technology.
  

I've been using my Nook for about 2 weeks now and love it. What I notice missing are the tactile pleasures I get from holding a book in my hands - the smell, the feel of the paper, the heft. But not having to carry stacks of books with me every time I leave the house is really wonderful. I currently have about 40 books loaded and am in dual reading mode at the moment - reading both ebooks and hard copy, and expect to continue in that manner. There are some books you just want to hold close to you no?

Viva Espana!

Not a great game today, but love that Spain beat Germany. Only 2 more games - the one for 3rd place and the finals. What the heck will I do after that?

Finals on Sunday. Spain versus Holland. Plan is to make food from each country for the game. So far we have sangria, paella, Heineken and Gouda cheese on the menu.

Go Spain Go!

World Cup

Back from several days on the boat. Love the summer.

Ooh, we are down to the last 4 teams - looking forward to some great football the next several days.

We watched the Argentina/Germany game in the North End with lots of fans. I was rooting for Argentina; they lost 0-4. Emotions ran high - fans almost started a fight. Germany was by far the better team - no doubt about that. I actually prefer games that are won in regular time. The shootout is painful to watch. I was crying by the end of the Ghana/Uruguay game. Such a horrible way to loose.

But onward - will we have a Germany/Netherlands final?

Recent Reads

1. The Titan's Curse
Book 3 in the Percy Jackson series continues the story of the demigods who fight monsters. Fun YA book. Have had fun discussions with my nieces about this series.

2. The Wives of Henry Oades
Enjoyed this book. An interesting story. What would happen if your spouse and kids were presumed dead. You then remarry and the original family show up at your doorstep? The complexity of the situation is fascinating.

3. 200 Projects to Strengthen Your Art Skills
Chock full of ideas to play.

4. The Battle of the Labyrinth
Book 4 in the Percy Jackson series. The drama continues, with new monsters added each book. Actually had bad dreams from this one!

5. Off The Tourist Trail
Fantastic arm chair travels with this book. Loved it. So many places to yet explore, though I have been to quite a few of the ones listed. Reading this book gave me the travel itch. Gotta scratch.

6. The Last Olympian
The 5th and final book in the Percy Jackson series. Action packed. Finished this book while my nieces were heading home, so will have to call them to discuss the plot. It is so much fun to see what kids are into reading these days. The books I read at that age - 6/7 were quite tame in comparison - not as much violence. Anyone else remember Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and the Fab Five?

Reading with kids

1. High Tide in Hawaii
Luke and I continue to read our way through the Magic Tree House series. In book # 28, Jack and Annie are in Hawaii and learn to surf and narrowly escape a tsunami. Luke and I discussed tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes. So much material, so little time!

2. Christmas in Camelot
In MTH # 29, Jack and Annie are summoned to Camelot by Merlin. So begins the Merlin series. It is an interesting discussion with kids - the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Or in their words: real and not real.

3. Toy Boat
A bedtime read while the boys were over for a sleepover last week. Cute story about a little boat. The graphics are quite fun.

4. The Monkey and the Crocodile
The boys loved this story about a cunning crocodile and a wily monkey. Recall hearing this story as a kid.

5. Never Take a Shark to the Dentist
And other things not to do. Both boys loved the graphics and the silliness of this book.

6. An Extraordinary Egg
Jonah loved the story about frogs who find a rock, which was declared to be a "chicken" egg. Turns out to be a alligator. Cute.

A Group of Three

The photo theme for June is A Group of Three. Here are my pics:

Random Musings

• I am in the midst of world cup fever. Fantastic games. Incredible soccer skills. Cool uniforms. And talk about fit guys. Love it.
• Am having lots of family time - all members are in town except for my sis. So cool to see the little ones connect.
• We are in the midst of a fantastic weather window. Delightful. Sailing on the agenda.
• Why is it that fried food and ice-cream taste so good in the summer? Been having lots of both.

Happy Summer Solstice

It is the longest day of the year in these parts, and that is cause to celebrate.

And if that was not enough, here are some other things: an anniversary. world cup football. summer day. fresh fruit. letter from a friend. stack of books by the bed. ice-cream. sailing. long walks. thunderstorms. snugs.

Recent Movies

1. Born Rich
An inside look at the lives of the heirs to the world’s greatest family fortunes. This is a fascinating and disturbing documentary.

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Such a disappointing film considering how good a read the book was. Simply lost the thread of the story and focused on special effects. Too bad.

3. North Face
Based on a true story, North Face is a film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. This movie is really well done. I was actually cold while watching it.

Birthday Baby

My partner in life and best friend is celebrating a birthday today. The festivities include opening cards and presents. A long walk in our fave park. Bear Claw ice-cream. World cup soccer. Sailing.
Happy birthday babes. 82.

World Cup

Most of the world is in the midst of football fever. A fantastic season to watch some great football. , Use this great calendar to keep track of the action.

Glowing

Is there anything as fun and satisfying as time spent with a good friend? My pal Shanna visited for the weekend and we laughed, got caught up and talked ourselves hoarse. An example of spending time with people who charge my batts instead of draining it. Am in a golden glow of friendship.

Love the colors of this page. I'm having fun using images from Indian mags for a change.

Ephemera

Another page using ephemera collected on my travels. Love how these pages capture a place and time. Am currently working in 3 visual journals. How the heck did that happen? I created a couple of books for trips and did not fill them up. Since I don't like unused pages - seems like a waste to me, I am playing in all 3 at once. Good thing I date my pages!

Recent Reads

1. The Tourist
First book I have read by this popular author. This is a classic spy thriller and is supposed to be the first in a trilogy. I love spy thrillers and miss the great writing that came out of the cold war era. This book was an okay read - neither really interesting nor a great ride. Ah well, my search for the new writers of this genre continues.

2. The Sea of Monsters
Book 2 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. A fun, quick, light read - written for kids. My nieces love the series, so am catching up on the books so we can discuss them.

3. Marley and Me
This is our current read aloud book on the boat. Cute story.

Reading with kids

1. Thanksgiving on Thursday
In Magic Tree House #27, Jack and Annie are transported back to the eve of the first Thanksgiving.

2. The Earth Book
Read this book to Jonah - he loved the vivid pictures and we talked about how the little things we do can help the earth and all the animals. His fave idea? On a hot day put your underpants in the freezer! Am going to have to try that myself.

3. Biscuit Loves Mother's Day
Read this cute book with Jonah. He is still learning how to read, so many of the words are still hard for him. It is funny to see how he makes up the story based on the pictures, not the actual words.

10 minutes

There is something about drawing that lowers blood pressure, lengthens time, puts me in the zone. I tend to forget this, but when things seem a bit too much, putting pen to paper can put things into perspective. Don't have enough time? Yeah right. How many hours are spent in front of the TV? Or computer? 10 minutes. That is how long this quick sketch of the vacuum cleaner took me. Besides, that was an additional 10 minutes that I did not have to turn it on and actually vacuum!

Storm Clouds

Back home after several days on the boat. It always feels like I've been gone a long time when I'm on the water. There is a cold front headed our way bringing with it plummeting temps and rain.

This page from my journal is about the current oil spill.

Bellagio

It is a tradition that every time I am in Las Vegas we head to the Bellagio. We go for two things:

1. To gawk in awe at the creations in the atrium. The themes change every quarter and the theme this trip was SPRING. To really appreciate what you are seeing, you must consider that most of the design is made with live plants. Simply incredible.

2. To sample the ice-cream and other goodies at Jean Philippe - home of the world's largest chocolate fountain. Yum.

To see pics from our latest excursion click here.

Recent Reads

1. Peace Like a River
This book got rave reviews so I was really looking forward to a good read. It was not that. I did love the style of writing and the imagery, but in the end was disappointed with the book and would not recommend it.

2. How to Be an Explorer of the World
I read through this book every now and again. It reminds me to really look at things and people around me. I always find something to inspire me.

3. I'll Mature When I'm Dead
I have not read a book by the author in a while, and I loved all but one of his short essays. I found myself smiling, giggling or in hysterical laughter for much of it. Is there a better recommendation than that?

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when it first came out and am completely puzzled about the popularity of the book and the series. I found the pace good, but simply could not get into the book - and found the Salander character not believable. Yes, there were some interesting ideas - but enough to get such critical acclaim? Everyone I know, except for one friend, raves about the book - something I find fascinating. I disliked the book so much that I have not bothered to read the other 2 books in the series. It was the cover review in the NY Times book review last week, and the reviewer was rather ambivalent about the series as well. Well, just goes to show that you cannot please everyone.

Kavita Ramdas

To see an excellent talk by Kavita Ramdas on radical women, embracing tradition click here.

Recent Movies

1. Easy Virtue
This is a fun, light and delicious movie about the clash between two cultures and classes. Enjoyed every minute of it.

2. Phoebe in Wonderland
It seems to me that many parents want their kids to be unique. But then worry about them being too different and not fitting in. This beautiful movie examines the joys and heart-aches of being different.

Inspiration

Sometimes ideas comes from the unlikeliest places. The cover art on a recently ordered pizza box was the inspiration for this spread. I played with markers - been ages since I used them. There is something soothing about laying down thick strokes of vibrant color.

What inspires you lately?

Girls Rock

The thing about carrying my journal around with me, is that I always can find some time to play in it. There is always downtime when you are away from home - waiting for friends, waiting to be called, etc. Sometimes I start with a blank page. Other times, like this one, I start with a page that was ready for some journaling.

Art Journal

My art journal group prompt for the month was to use images of ourselves in our pages. I opted to sketch a self portrait. It does not quite look like me, but captures how I felt at the time.

Reading with kids

1. Earthquake in the Early Morning
Luke continues to read through this Magic Tree House series. In book # 24, Jack and Annie are transported to San Francisco in 1906 during the terrible earthquake. Luke was fascinated that an entire city could burn down and asked if that could happen today. Also he did not understand why adults did not believe that kids could help in a crisis. Good question!

2. Stage Fright on a Summer Night
In MTH #25, Jack and Annie meet William Shakespeare, act in one of his plays and help save a bear.

3. Good Morning Gorillas
In MTH #26, Jack and Annie find themselves in the mountains of Africa. They meet the giant mountain gorillas and learn that they are quite gentle animals.

Habitats

The news of the BP oil spill continues to be depressing. How does one deal with the news that you are witnessing the worst oil spill on record? I am angry. Sad. Millions of gallons. Such large habitat destruction is hard to even comprehend. My nephews are outraged at the plight of birds and animals affected. My nieces voiced concern about swimming in the ocean on their upcoming visit. What if the oil makes its way up here to New England?

A page from my Vegas journal - don't you find that flowers are good for the soul?

Where there's smoke....

Well, we had just about the most perfect weather possible for Memorial Weekend in these parts. The strangest thing though - while listening to NOAA weather, heard the forecast for smoke. Smoke?! Must be a typo. Peeked out the hatch and in fact there was smoke outside that reduced visibility to about 3 miles in Boston Harbor. What the heck? Turns out that the smoke was from fires in Quebec and the winds brought them down all over New England. We had less or more smoke throughout the next couple of days depending on wind direction. Was quite spooky.

Another page from my Vegas journal - love these ads - they are so dang creative. Though cannot tell you who does them - a phone company I think.

Migrations

Looks like we have great weather on tap for this Memorial Day weekend. It has been so warm here lately that it feels like summer has been here for ages. Love that. Decided to finally start the clothes and shoes migration - a ritual that happens twice a year. All the cold weather stuff is packed away and out come the shorts. Just looking at flip flops make me happy.

Another spread from my Vegas journal. My Mom brought me some mags from India so I finally have some Indian models for my pages. My nieces also created collages using the mags. Fun.

Moment of Zen

I've started creating this page in all of my travel journals. The entire page was created while at home, and all I had to do while traveling was fill in the bubbles.

Travel journal

I made a new journal for my trip to Vegas. One of the things I do is prep some of the pages ahead of time - so all I need to do is add text or images while on the road. Here is the first full spread of the journal.

Lime Green

The Theme of the Month this time is LIME GREEN. Love color themes. These pics were all captured in Las Vegas on my recent trip out there.

Recent Reads

Ah whiling away summer days rocking on the boat - a delicious way to read.

1. Dewey
I like all cats and have loved one in particular, but did not get through this book. Lots of aaah pics and anecdotes, but in the end, simply could not get through it - was kinda like a love letter to the cat.

2. Fallen Skies
Love, love books by the author. Did not love this one, but it was a good read. Historical fiction set in Britain after WW1 - deals really well with many issues of the time - class, damaged vets, lack of women's rights.

Recent Reads

1. Moloka'i
Loved, loved this book. Historical fiction is one of my fave genres, and this one is so well written. Learned something new as well - had no idea about the history of the leper colony in Hawaii.

2. The Lightning Thief
This is the first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. When I visited my nieces, they are all reading their way through this YA series and I love how the books have revived Greek mythology. We had debates about which god we would choose to be and why. Love that! This is a fun, quick read. Not as good as some of the other books in the same category, but fun none-the-less. Think I've found my beach/boating books for the summer - have to read them so I can discuss them with my nieces.

3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
This book was recommended to me by Shiny - a fellow reader - and all I can say is Wow! This is an incredible gem of a book. Yes it is a young adult (YA) book, but the honesty, directness and poignancy is breathtaking.

Mountain's Edge

On a beautiful sunny day we walked up to the summit of Mountain's Edge. Great views. Very windy day. My nieces are adorable. You can see more pics here.

Reading with kids

1. Revolutionary War on Wednesday
Luke (7) is so proud of the number of books he has now read. In Magic Tree House (MTH) # 22 Jack and Annie go back to Colonial America. They arrive just as General George Washington is planning the crossing of the Delaware.

2. Twister on Tuesday
In MTH # 23 Jack and Annie are whisked to a Midwestern prairie in the 1870s. They visit a one-room schoolhouse and learn about the hard life of the pioneers. Luke was impressed that Jack and Annie decided to go back to save people from a twister.

3. Never Let Your Cat Make Lunch for You
Jonah (5) loved the idea of a cat making lunch - and the surprises you'd find.

4. The Kissing Hand
Cute story about a scared little raccoon and his loving mother.

Recent Movies

1. The Hurt Locker
Loved everything about this movie. It has been dubbed a war story - but I think it is a human story set during war time. Big difference. Not a single shot or word was extraneous. Wow.

2. Bliss
A well done Turkish film about the cultural mores of honor killing. I was drawn into the story and also realized that there is some good sailing to be had in that country.

3. Departures
A beautiful Japanese movie about death. It takes a little while to figure out what is going on, but so well done. Can see why it won an academy award for best foreign film.

4. Duplicity
Ah, could have been so good with some editing. But falls way short - and with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen that is really a shame.

5. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Another movie that could have been so much better. Love both Denzel and Travolta but the movie was disappointing.

Self Care

Keeping one's batts charged while on the road can be a challenge. I mean your personal batts - not your electronics. Those tend to be much easier to charge - simply plug them into an outlet. If only it was so simple for people! Some of the things I do include getting exercise outside, carving out me time to process stuff that comes up, making time to play and getting enough sleep. What do you do to keep your batts charged?

I almost always get to gatherings early, so having a journal in my bag lets me play while I wait.

Bella

My goddaughter Bella celebrated her first communion last Saturday. She was simply lovely.
You can see more pics from the day here.

Viva Las Vegas

Am in Vegas. My niece had her first communion this yesterday. She was lovely. Photos to come.

And of course I celebrated Derby Day by asking each of my nieces to pick a horse, and then we rooted for them as they raced in the muck - was that the worst track ever or what? I was rooting for the only filly in the race - but of course - Devil May Care - and with a name like to boot! She placed 10th. Ah the joys and heartbreak of sports.