Adventures and Citations

Posted on 04/20/2010 by chick

On with the reading posts…

The Curious Adventures of Jimmy McGee by Eleanor Estes
Grade: C-

I had heard good things about Eleanor Estes, a Newbery Award winner, so I picked up this book at the closing sale of a local used book store. What a disappointment! The character of Jimmy McGee is interesting, but never fully explained or properly developed. He is “a little fellow, a plumber, a banger on pipes, a HERO.” He zoomie-zoomies all over the place, fixing things here and there, making his summer home on Cape Cod and his winter home in D.C., just like Amy, a little girl he knows. Is Jimmy just an invisible friend of Amy’s, or is he an existing magical being who just happens to live in the same places as Amy? Where did he come from? Why does he do the things he does? I just didn’t get it. And the story, largely about a doll he rescues and a bunch of animals that stay in his cave during a hurricane, is unbelievable and dull, not to mention unbelievably dull. I would not recommend this book except perhaps to fans of Eleanor Estes, because two of the characters also appear in The Witch Family, a more popular book by the same author.

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault
Grade: A

My mother gave this book to me, perhaps thinking that it would remind me of my job, and it did. It is about a young man who gets a job as a dictionary editor. He and his coworker discover some odd citations in the files which turn out to be pieces of writing by a former employee. Each citation is numbered and tells part of a story, so the two editors start hunting for the rest of the citations so they can read the story as a whole. The answer to the mystery of why the citations were hidden in the files is revealed slowly and elegantly. I recommend this book for both dictionary-lovers and mystery-lovers.

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Happy Third Blogversary!

Posted on 04/19/2010 by chick

I almost missed it, but through a series of random thoughts in the shower yesterday, it occurred to me that today was to be my third blogversary. I can’t believe it’s been three years already. And I’m not quite sure what to say about it. Let me think…

What has blogging brought to your life?

It has given me a purpose for writing, an excuse to take pictures of flowers, and a way of recording the special moments of my pregnancy and my son’s childhood. It has helped me to set goals and even to achieve some of them. It has brought me and my Faithful Reader closer in some ways. It is now a part of my life. Even when I don’t post, the blog is still there, waiting for me to come back to it.

What are some of your favorite blog posts?

I’m so glad I wrote and posted some rhymes and limericks, like Wearied and Baad, Baad, Black Sheep. I think they’re fun. I’m also pleased with the Dear Marshall posts. I hope that when he’s older, he’ll read them and understand how wonderful it has been to watch him grow up and how much we love him. And of course, my very first post, Love for One’s Fellow Creatures, is a classic. If I had waited for “the perfect topic” to use for my first post, I would never have started writing. Using such a silly topic made it possible to break into the writing groove and it told readers that I didn’t intend to take myself too seriously.

What are your goals for future blogging?

A lot of my early posts were freeform and stronger creatively that what I’ve been doing recently. I’d like to get some of that creativity back. But on the other hand, I have been working toward writing posts in a more traditional style with the goal of entertaining the reader and not just myself. I’m looking for the right balance. I’d also like to write more stories. But most importantly, I’d like to write more often. I wrote more posts in my first year than in the second two combined! Posting more often is definitely going to be a priority.

So those are my thoughts on my third blogversary. Thanks for reading!

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Secrets, Magic, and Mystery

Posted on 04/18/2010 by chick

I’m way behind on my reading posts again, but my husband has given me the day off, so I finally have time to write them. Here goes!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Grade: A

Though The Secret Garden is as much a favorite as A Little Princess, I felt at times on this reading as though certain ideas were sticks with which the author was beating me over the head. I wanted to holler, “OK! I got it! Fresh air and digging in a garden are good for you! Enough already!” But overall, it’s a beautiful story about an English girl living in India who loses both of her parents but who is too disagreeable to care. She goes to live with her uncle in Yorkshire and there is nothing for her to do there but wander the grounds. During her wanderings she finds a secret garden, and in watching and helping the garden spring back to life, she herself begins to bloom. A classic, and rightfully so.

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker
Grade: B-

A juvenile but enjoyable tale about a princess who kisses an enchanted frog to turn him back into a prince. The magic goes wrong, however, and she turns into a frog instead. Together they go on a quest to find a witch who can make them human again.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Grade: A+

And Then There Were None is not part of the Marplethon. It’s just a book I had always meant to read. According to Wikipedia, it is the 7th most popular book of all time. Wow!

That factoid reminds me of something from my youth. Way back when my family used to vacation at my grandparents’ cottage on a lake, we were playing a game of Trivial Pursuit and the question was, “Who is the most translated author of all time?” (or something to that effect). I immediately said, “Agatha Christie.” I had never read one of her books, because I was too young. Hers was just a name I had heard so many times that it seemed like a good guess. And it was a good guess, because it was the right answer. Since that time I’ve been interested in her work. You don’t get that famous without good reason, after all. You get famous for writing books like And Then There Were None!

The title is a spoiler, but don’t worry. The characters, all mysteriously invited to an isolated island, are going to die, each and every one, but you won’t know when or how or why until you get to the end. It’s a great mystery, perhaps the best I have ever read. Highly recommended.

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Nighty-Night

Posted on 04/14/2010 by chick

Dear Marshall,

You would think that a tired baby would just fall asleep, but that’s not how it works, at least not for you. You’ll rub your eyes and act like a crankypants, but you won’t spontaneously lie down and snooze. You need to be told that it’s time for sleep, and the only way to tell you is to put you in your crib and turn off the light. Once there, you’ll either assume your favorite sleeping position (roll onto your stomach, tuck your arms under yourself, and stick your butt in the air) or start crying.

Some of the hardest moments I have had to face as a parent are those when you’re howling in your crib. You shriek as though you’re hurt, as though your very life were in danger. How many times I have wanted to run in and rescue you! But I know it’s just a tantrum and that picking you up will only teach you that tantrums work. So cry it out, Sweets. You’ll feel better in the morning.

Nighty-night!

Mom

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Disappointing Day After

Posted on 04/05/2010 by chick

On this day—

I was disappointed that the closest CVS did not have my favorite types of Easter candy on sale today. How can they not have Mini Eggs?

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Tag, You’re It!

Posted on 04/04/2010 by chick

Dear Marshall,

You love tags. Tags on bibs, burpie cloths, toys, blankets, and just about everything else. If there’s a tag hanging off of something, you want to eat it. Since every cloth item in the world seems to come with a tag, and we don’t cut them off except from some of the toys, you’ve sucked on a lot of tags.

You’re like a cat in that way, you know. Cats often ignore the toys you buy for them in favor of free things that aren’t supposed to be toys, like scrunched up pieces of paper, old boxes, and dust bunnies. You found a piece of scotch tape on the ground the other day and you thought it was great. Your father and I, of course, snatched it away from you immediately and wondered how the heck you had found it. And you like cardboard boxes, too. You’re just not allowed to play with them because you chew on them.

On the bright side, you’re easy to entertain.

Love,

Mom

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Mystery Thing #5

Posted on 04/03/2010 by chick

OK, this is an easy one, but I had never seen one before, so I had to post a picture of it.

mystery thing

Do you know what this is?

My answer is in the comments.

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A Little Prayer

Posted on 03/30/2010 by chick

When I was out walking Friday, I had to skirt around some flooded paths. I remember looking at the flowing water and thinking how grateful I was that my home seemed so high and dry at a time when so many other homes were completely flooded. I was going to post a picture of the flooded path, but didn’t get around to it until this morning, but by then the water had begun to rise around the house. I wondered if then it would really be a post about gratitude, or if it would be more like a prayer. I wanted to be grateful, not asking for something. But now, as water is entering the house, I think a little prayer might not be such a bad idea. So here is a picture of the flooded path.

flooded path

And now, my gratitude and my prayer: I am grateful to live in such a nice house that is, even now, very dry by comparison with many other homes in the area. Please let the rain end soon, not just for me, but for all of us here in the Northeast.

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Turkey Trot

Posted on 03/30/2010 by chick

I was working quietly in my office yesterday afternoon when my husband shouted at me to look out the window. It seems we had some visitors. A whole rafter of them! They didn’t stay long, but we enjoyed watching their quick parade around the yard and listening to the lead bird bark commands at his followers.

Turkeys


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Looking for Spring

Posted on 03/29/2010 by chick

On Friday I went for a walk, looking for spring. I knew it had to be out there somewhere. And I found it.

Skunk

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