today's activities (movies, books, powerwashing?!)

Yesterday & today turned out to be quite active days. I went to the northerly cinema to use the free movie ticket I had (movie clubs are great to belong to! free popcorn & the occasional free movie) and saw Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Pretty fun, and it was really great to see Karen Allen back again. I think she's a knitter now & owns a shop, but can't recall at present, Went & checked & she is!) (Ok, her name is Karen Allen, not my original guess of Smith, but I was... semi-close ;) ) Doesn't hurt that I love Shia LaBeouf too. Fun action movie.

The movie I really wanted to see, however, was Prince Caspian. I knew this movie was going off the big screen shortly, so I went to see that today. I have to admit that I was both pleased & disappointed. I always love the costuming, the scenery is splendid, and the four young actors are terrific. The actor who played Prince Caspian did an excellent job & I look forward to seeing him in the next movie, the Dawn Treader movie. The nice addition was that the role of Susan was far more active, than in the book. However, the romantic sub-plot was totally contrary to what CS Lewis wrote (and totally contrary to what he would ever have written.) Some of the plot lines were shifted in ways I didn't care for, mostly because that's not how the book handled it & because it makes Lucy (the youngest) very much to blame for much of the deaths in the movie. Didn't like that one at all.

Read two really fun books. The first one brought a former coworker (and luckily, current friend, Hi Kate!) vividly to mind. Although I must admit I can't think of the Kate I know doing things like walking on her hands (maybe that's a talent I never saw?) or carrying around a bucket strapped to her waist. She does have lovely purses though.

This one was The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart. I can see why it was a New York Times bestseller. It is beautifully done in terms of good writing & good action driven plot, has great puzzles, and gives you a lot to think about. I love Reynie Muldoon & Miss Perumal (the tutor), Sticky, Kate, and even Constance, who is the irritating one in this book. It is lovely, and a great juvenile.

The other book I also just adored, which is the one by Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks of Gardam Street. If you haven't read the first one, The Penderwicks, do that before you read this one. I love the story of the father with four girls. This book absolutely puts paid to the idea that only bad people & bad events are worth reading about. Talking much about the plot will ruin it, so suffice it to say that each girl faces challenges, they all grow up (even the father) and many interesting events take place.

One thing I really love about the book is that I have friends in the Books & Readers Forum on Compuserve, who have complained that their daughters who suffer from depression also suffer from the fact that so many of the books read in schools are issue books. They deal with depression, suicide, divorce, abuse, drugs... and on & on. Why, they said, can't there be books that are not so issue-driven and depressing? One woman actually had a teacher suggest a different book for her daughter to read. The daughter started to read it, sighed & put the book down & walked out. Turns out that in the first page, the father of the main character dies.

I wholeheartedly agree that we need a better balance. And Birdsall does such a beautiful job with this one. (p.s. there's even football & soccer in the book, to give you an idea of Birdsall's talents).

Last but not least, I decided to scrape the garage, to get it ready for painting. But then I realized that someone had suggested using my power washer instead, so that's what I spent the last two hours doing. I have little flecks of white paint all over myself, the yard, and the driveway. The garage never looked elegant before, but now looks distinctly shabby & threadbare. Here's hoping the primer makes it look glamorous again..... (maybe dark green trim will help?)

I wonder what Annie thought, watching all this stuff going on & watching white flakes fly by & water shooting into the air. Here's a picture of her in the window (look above).

Walter Farley

Loved Walter Farley & I think I've read just about all of his work. Another similar author that I really loved is Colonel SP Meek. I may have left off one of Col. Meek's initials! Parts of the following deleted & condensed. There's nothing better for a horse crazy girl, as I was, unless you consider Marguerite Henry. His son (I think, or is this the grand son?)'s blog is here.

Excerpted from Writers' Almanac: June 26th was the

"birthday of children's book author, Walter Farley, born in Syracuse, New York (1916). From an early age, there was nothing he wanted more in the world than his own horse. Unfortunately, his parents couldn't afford one, so he spent all his time reading and writing about horses.

Between the ages 11 and 15, he wrote dozens of short stories with titles like "The Winged Horse," "My Black Horse," "Red Stallion," and "The Pony." He later said they were all rough drafts for the novel that he finally finished while he was a student at Columbia University, which he called The Black Stallion (1941). It's the story of a boy and a wild stallion who survive a shipwreck and become friends on a deserted island.

The book was so popular that Farley went on to write 20 novels about the horse, including The Black Stallion Returns (1945), The Black Stallion Revolts (1953), and The Black Stallion's Ghost (1969)."

Off to see Prince Caspian, before it goes out of the theatres! Next time I post, I'm going to post about making beeswax candles & Jeffery Farnol, one of my favorite authors.

Tasha Tudor

This is something I sent to a friend & it is an excerpt from a newspaper article:

"Legendary author and illustrator Tasha Tudor died June 18 at her Vermont home.
She was 92. A family statement on her said, "We thank you for supporting Tasha
Tudor's lifestyle and artwork during her long career. We hope that Tasha's
message of 'taking joy' in all that one does will be remembered as we pass
through this difficult time together." (from shelftalker)

Tasha illustrated nearly 100 books, some of which were her own. Her first book
was Pumpkin Moonshine. Her latest, Corgiville Christmas in 2003. Among her
awards were two Caldecott Honors.  There's also a NY Times obituary which may still be retrievable.
She did amazing work and I have enjoyed her illustrations & writing quite a bit. I have a book about her
called The Private World of Tasha Tudor, which has really amazing photographs. There's also a book
about her garden called Tasha Tudor's Garden, which I plan to buy.

I love the fact that she died at home, with her family with her. It must have been a sad time for them,
but I know she loved her home & yard so much that there's no other place she would have rather been.

Sure wish I could have met her, but at least I can meet her through her books. That's the real blessing of books.

NASCAR & other things too (Happy Fourth of July!)

NASCAR article about Jeremy Mayfield traveling over to Iraq & his experiences there. Fabulous article.

Also loved this one, with all the beautiful pictures & people taking their citizenship oath. The guy who sent this to his mother said that he was at the mass re-enlistment ceremony & the atmosphere & spirit there were beautiful.

Thanks to all our veterans, for their service, and very hearty thanks indeed to our servicemen & women currently serving.

Where is Matt?

Thought Matt's story was a pretty fun one to post here. Basically, he has several videos on YouTube, which show him dancing & those are in exotic locations around the world. He's not much of a dancer, but he sure is fun to watch. Such a happy expression! Love the fact that Stride (the gum) sponsored his last two trips & basically told him to go have fun.


http://www.wherethehellismatt.com (great video & fun story!)

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett

Another really interesting & mentally challenging book by Blue Balliet. I love her books because you not only learn art, history, and even a little bit of math, you also get to interact with some really interesting fictional characters. She does a terrific job of keeping the whole plot interesting & mystifying. Highly recommended.

Virginia Kahl quote

"Little children should enjoy their books. As long as possible, let them live in a world where characters are basically good, incidents are funny or exciting, and the story ultimately satisfying. I hope that the children who read my books have put them down with sighs of contentment, knowing that their expectations of cheerful uncomplicated tales with happy endings have been vindicated."

--Virginia Kahl, quoted from Contemporary Authors
The Gale Literary Databases

Loved this quote & I have Kahl's book, "The Duchess Bakes A Cake" which is hilarious. I also have a picture of her surrounded by cats, and drawing her cat. She has the happiest smile on her face.

Have just started reading The Region of Lost Names by Fred Arroyo, from University of Arizona Press, 2008. Really interesting book, which starts out from the perspective of Ernestitio (also called Ernest or Ernesto), as he comes to grips with his past, present and future. I suppose that sounds vague, but it is a little hard sometimes to describe books without totally giving away the fun of reading it for the first time yourself. Perhaps it suffices to say that I really like the book and that the author is giving a really good peek into his character's mind & how his mind is freely floating between events of present day & the struggles of dealing with his imperfect parents & his break-away from that past. The book appears to be structured so that you see it first from Ernestitio's mind & then from Magdalene's. Haven't got to Magdalene's yet, but am looking forward to it.

Another aspect that I find very real & very personal is the way the character alludes to past griefs... and slip slides away from talking 'too much' about it. How very human! Really beautiful use of language here too.

Carpe Diem

Found these quotes & thought they were appropriate :

If there is no wind, row." - Latin Proverb
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." - Milton Berle, comic
"Things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. -- Abraham Lincoln, US President.

Well worth remembering for every day life. Today I seized the day, and after a long day at work, went out with a friend & laid two tracks for her dogs. Then I went to the Master Gardeners meeting at the local university & learned about compost, plus some volunteering activities coming up for the Master Gardeners.

Before you're too impressed that I'm a Master Gardener, remember our motto... we're lifelong learners, not people who know everything there is to know! :) I became one so I wouldn't be so dangerous to the flora & fauna in my yard. Great people, great fun. Sure had fun on the track too & I think every day should be like this.

One thing I would love to "seize" is the opportunity to buy a rose farm. If only! I can put that on my list of dreams, yes? What's your dream?

Willo

Willo Roberts

Loved the last line of her article : "Reading mysteries should be fun. Writing them certainly is!"

various topics

Just liked this quote, so thought I'd put it here:

"My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library. -Peter Golkin, museum spokesman (1966- )"

Had a good day & got some shopping done. Also started reading a really fabulous book, which, believe it or not, is about Jiffy Mix! The book is a company history, but has a beautiful touch of personal history too, so that you learn about the people behind the company & the people who worked there, not just the CEOs & company owners. The story is so interesting & so well written. The writer, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds, also wrote Our Hometown : America's History as Seen Through the Eyes of a Midwestern Village, which is about Chelsea, the hometown of Jiffy Mix. Our Hometown got some national mention because of its beautiful & personal portrayal of the "average" midwestern town.

I'm really loving the Jiffy book, and the full title is : "JIFFY"(tm) : A family Tradition, Mixing BUsiness and Old-Fashioned Values. The woman who came up with the Jiffy Mixes & perfected them was married to a miller & was the daughter of a miller. As such, she took pride in her baking and wanted to make it possible for even a man to bake good biscuits. You'll have to read the book to find out more about that part of the story, but it really is a wonderful one & the story of how Chelsea & JIFFY came together is a beautiful one. Great history & also great reading. Book is from University of Michigan Press, and was published in 2008.

Annie, Labrador Retrievers and various historical facts

Thought this was pretty cool:

"Jack Dempsey
Born this day in 1895 was American heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, who held the world title from 1919, when he knocked out Jess Willard, until 1926, when he lost a 10-round decision to Gene Tunney."

Sis was here today, while waiting for her Labrador Retriever at the local university veterinary hospital. I didn't get a chance to see her while she was in my house, but will see her this coming weekend. I am absolutely certain that Annie was well entertained & played with! Annie loves her auntie, and whenever she sees her, yells in her little cat voice about being played with. Nothing like an aunt. ;)

Scotts & Icebound

With my Scottish ancestry, I have to put up this excerpt from Britannica :

"1314: Battle of Bannockburn
On this day in 1314 began the Battle of Bannockburn, a decisive engagement in Scottish history whereby the Scots defeated the English, regained their independence, and established Robert the Bruce as Robert I."

Hooray for Robert The Bruce!

Today we got in a really wonderful book, Icebound. I would class it as a juvenile. It is really well written & absolutely fascinating. Just the right touches of history & all the things that interest youngsters. (Or at least... it interested me, I would hope it would interest others. Full title here & a link to the author's website as well. "Icebound The Adventures of Young George Sheldon and the SS Michigan" Text and Illustrations Valerie Olson.

I also spoke briefly at our all staff today & got to hype two good books, Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Nguyen and From The Vine : Exploring Michigan's Wineries (Kegerreis & Hathaway). Both are also highly recommended to anyone who is interested. The first is a great memoir, especially about the immigrant experience. The second is a great introduction to wines, especially of this particular region.

Tasha Tudor

Tasha Tudor died on Wednesday, June 18th this week. She was a really fabulous artist & children's book illustrator. I loved her book, "The Secret World of Tasha Tudor." Really amazing woman who lived life on her terms. The New York Times had a lovely long obituary on her.

historical moments & other things

Love getting the Britannica news every day. I am hoping it is teaching me more about history. As much as I love history, which I never realized until I took a class from a local mayor in Minnesota, I've not taken very many classes. I would love to rectify that and learn a good deal more.

Here's a couple of things from today's newsletter that I thought were interesting: " Howlin' Wolf
American blues singer and composer Howlin' Wolf, one of the principal exponents of the urban blues style of Chicago and noted for his brooding lyrics and his earthy, aggressive stage presence, was born this day in 1910."
and

"1567: Casket Letters found
The Casket Letters—which directly implicated Mary, Queen of Scots, in a plot with James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, to murder Mary's husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley—were said to have been discovered this day in 1567."

Yesterday got a little too exciting when, after watching the Top Chef reunion for season 4, I managed to kick a jar of pickling salt that was on the floor. Let's just say that thing feels like concrete. My toe is not broken, but it is bright purple, double its usual size, and it doesn't feel very good right now. I slept with an ice pack all night. My doctor doesn't think it is broken & judging on how my other foot felt when I broke the second toe, I would agree. Come to think of it, I joke that my kitchen activities are more like a combat sport. I guess the bright purple toe bears that out!

And speaking of Top Chef, when the contestants were asked what they would tell people who were coming on the show for the next season, the unanimous comment was, "Run the other way." After hearing that you have to ask permission for everything, from going to the bathroom to going to bed, etc. and that you have to be available 24/7, I think I would agree. No thank you. (not that I would ever be a candidate, but still.... )

About the picture, sorry about the washed out cat face, because Annie is gorgeous & the picture doesn't do her justice. Sure thought that little kitty (3 pounds, six months old) was pretty cute perching on the rim of her cat tree. Thanks to her surgery for her diaphragmatic hernia (fancy word for having a hole in her diaphragm, which resulted in her liver going up into her thoracid cavity & collapsing a lung) she's hale & hearty at all 7-8 pounds of her.

(segueing yet again) I'm still hoping to go pick strawberries tomorrow, at a local farm. I used to go to U-Pick farms with my family, and have good memories of going with my mom, sis, and aunt, plus her children. My littlest cousin would have a bright red mouth, and much fun was had by all. This will be my first adventure into canning (hence the pickling salt.. I am hoping to do pickles or pickle relish)
and I hope all my time watching Mom will pay off.

Hi Mom!

The title of this particular post is because my mother has just gone out with FEMA to work in Madison, WI. She works in disaster relief & has done a number of different roles with FEMA. We wish you luck, Mom, and will be praying for you that all goes well.

Reports that I've heard indicated that something like 1/3rd of both Wisconsin & Illinois (and parts of Indiana, but not sure how much) were affected by the flooding. I gather that more like 2/3rds of Iowa is affected. Such a sad situation. Mom will do her best to make things better & isn't that what Moms are for?

Other things : we have a new person at work & it turns out we actually were in the same library school class together, so that was nifty, indeed. She's great, and it is going to be good to work together.

News from Britannica for today: "Composer Igor Stravinsky, whose work had a revolutionary impact on the musical world just before and after World War I and whose compositions remain a touchstone of modernism, was born in Russia this day in 1882."

I note also that recently there was Anne Frank's birthday. Still remember reading her diary & marveling at this amazing writer, who was so young.

It is work

But sure interesting. Today at work, I was looking through a list of serial titles that needed to be claimed & some are really funny. How about a certain association of Parks & Forests, which has a newsletter called "Tree Barks" ?

Sort of reminds me of dog-related newsletters, where they have the word barks in the title or birchbarks, which used to be used sort of like paper. I think. ;)

Author related news : a Don Winslow Interview which is very interesting. Winslow's mysteries are well written, interesting plots, and have unique twists. He's not writing about his former sleuth at this point, instead starting out with a new character.

I'm also looking forward to reading Eliot Pattison's latest. Pattison's series is set in Tibet & his main protagonist is Han Chinese, who has been exiled to Tibet to a Chinese work camp. This is a fascinating series, written by a long-time diplomat who spent a lot of time in China & I think in Tibet. Just a beautiful series & I've been wondering when the next would come out, since there was a long gap between books.

Closer to home, my area was hit with high winds, lots of rain, and more wind & rain. We have had substantial power outages, but fortunately, my power stayed on except for a few blips. My maple tree decided to toss a few branches hither & yon, narrowly missing a few cars & trucks. It threw things on my neighbors' sides, and with the exception of a slightly dented truck, only scratches resulted. I still have a large branch between the two garages (my next door neighbor's garage is about four feet or so away from the side of mine). Will need help to drag it out & a local friend & coworker has said she'd help me try to drag it down. I also have a four foot high pile of debris by the curb, but I count myself lucky because so many people had whole trees tip over & I've seen some trees down by the road that were cut up & whose logs were taller than I am. Yikes. We were fairly lucky in that most people didn't get hurt in this last encounter.

Tomorrow I get to go to lunch with another friend & coworker, the next day, possibly an arts & crafts fair, and then after that, on Sunday, I get to see... Puppies! (they're all spoken for, so none will be coming home with me.... ) I plan to take a cat toy with me. Remarkable how much dogs LOVE cat toys (feathers, tearability, fun!) and how much most cats do not like dog toys. Too much slobber, probably.

More later...

Dr. Pepper

I have friends who love Dr. Pepper, so this link is for them. (P.S. I like it to, but I drink diet, sorry)

gardening

I was pretty lazy today until just now, but did get out to plant about half of my vegetable plants. I have dirt that is pretty hard to dig in, so I hope I can get the rest in tomorrow and all the flowers in on Sunday.

Came in all hot & dirty, and found this splendid article on guerrilla gardening. Who knew there was such a thing? Kudos to Scott, of the article, for all his fine work. I wish I had that sort of energy.

Am volunteering for our Ag Expo at the local university's campus. I am hoping for four hrs each day, but we'll see. Have always wanted to go, but always had reasons not to go & this year, I really want to get my Master Gardener certification back.

Full of myriad musings

Really good day today, because I was able to finish off a long work day with laying a VST track for a friend. Her standard poodle is a cutie & really good tracker. Really fun dog. We left the other two standard poodles at home & I'm sure they were very jealous about being left behind. :) It is so fascinating & magical to watch the dogs work. How do they do this?

Fun stuff came in from the University of Michigan Press today. Really gorgeous books too. I also got a book from Forge, the newest Estleman book, Frames. I love this series & am glad that Estleman's Valentino now has a book of his very own. I could be mistaken, but I think this is the first time in full novel format, because I've read the Valentino short stories in Ellery Queen many times. Those are so great & the book is awesome so far. I'm already on chapter 4, the part where Valentino meets a beautiful girl whose name is Fanta. I just may finish it tonight.

Other books are: Michigan : our land, our water, our heritage, which is full of wonderful essays on what Michigan's natural environment means to some native Michiganians & to people who have moved here. I particularly liked Alison Swan's essay about introducing her daughter Sophie to her first painted turtles. These turtles are beautiful, do look up some pictures if you haven't seen one for yourself. We had a painted turtle in our house for a little while. My mother liked having us know about some of these wild creatures, but always released them back to the wild shortly. I still remember those scratchy little feet, and the feel of that moist skin. Turtles are just amazing creatures. I haven't finished this book yet, but I plan to do so tomorrow. I love many of the authors who are in this book. Should mention too that Nature Conservancy is part of this book & that the profits from buying the book go to the Nature Conservancy.

Other books: Ludington State Park: Queen of the North by the Reeds. Another really amazing nature/photography book. I haven't seen the DVD that goes along with it, but I'll bet it is really cool.

And my canning & preserving books arrived too. I have often helped my mother can, but never done the whole thing myself. I'm looking forward to it this year.

Thoughts for today

Just read a blogger's post about another blogger's fight for her life. This comes close to home for me. I have two coworkers who have/are fighting breast cancer & I know nine breast cancer survivors on Books & Writers Forum (CompuServe). Just too many people fighting for their lives & all one can do is pray for them.

There is also a fundraiser going on, that I wanted to link to. I believe the fundraiser lasts until July 2008.

For my part, I also go on the Breast Cancer walks when I can & yes, I also go to regular doctor checkups. I encourage all of you to do the same thing.