Hotter than h......um.....the South

It's hot here in the NW. Very unusual. Rode home on the top ferry deck chatting with a friend and feeling like we were in a very large convertible. Now playing board games with my girls and having fruit smoothies. Definately feels like summer. This hot weather makes me miss my North Carolina friends. J, J, T & S are amazing woman who balance the sass, grace, hospitality and charm of being Southern with the smarts, kindness and openheartedness of being themselves. Hope my girls turn out at least a little like them.
Toodles- LP

"Woman in front of the sun" Zenska Pred Soncem

My amazing daughter

My sweet oldest daughter has spent the last three years growing her hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love www.locksoflove.org and this weekend was the big event. Here is a quick look!

Little Bunny Foo Foo - or is it Phoo Phoo?

I am not usually drawn to cute pictures, but my daughter showed this to me in one of those cute overload web sites and I must admit an "awwwww" escaped my lips.

What is it about bunnies that brings out the cuddly in us all (except my cat who actually brought us a headless baby bunny on Easter morning once- explain that one to children).

My new favorite animal is these giant rabbits they are breeding in Europe. You could have one in lieu of a Labrodor.

Obviously it is a slow news day if I am resulting to bunny talk - but it has been awhile since I have blogged and I thought I would ease into it.

Pictures

Have been a very lame girl and have posted nothing so thought I would share a few photos - a picture taken in a friend's back yard by me and a peacock taken by my daughter on a zoo trip. She has a great eye-I am inspired by her enthusiam for photography.

Life is good - my girls are still my daily joy. Though I often feel overwhelmed or frustrated at my job there are always bright spots. Today we took 20 kids to the Zoo for a groundbreaking ceremony that all King County Boys and Girls Club's were invited to - and the two parent chaperones were so wonderul, fun, and interesting- it made me very glad that I have the priviledge to work with their kids and be a small part of their families lives. There are really good and involved parents out there - dispite all the ones who seem to lack skills and natural nurturing abilities that I also see or read about out in the world. It all comes down to love and affection I think. Kids can tell if the people who care for them - be it parents, grandparents, teachers or day-care providers - really "get" them and accept them and love them - even with discipline and instruction and consequences. Enough soap box.

Love and affection to all of you. XOXOX - LP

Books of 2005

My goal for 2005 was to read 40 books - which I did not quite make (38) but it was more than the 31 of 2004. I won't bore you with the mini-reviews that I wrote up over the year - but thought I would share some of my favorites:

Top Three Overall - in no particular order:
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J K Rowling-
I was just so gosh darn glad she was back in top writing form after the rambling poorly edited HP V.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby -
Of course I am biased as I have loved everything I have ever read by him. He always makes me laugh, cry and re-evaluate myself.
Enchanted Night by Steven Millhauser
A lyrical lovely novella.

Favorite awful book:
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
The writing is awful, the story full of holes and problems, and yet I found myself up til 4:00 a.m. that night finishing it.

Favorite new author discovery:
Come To Me - by Amy Bloom
I love short stories anyway - but she really touched me with these vignettes.

Favorite Book we read in our Book Club:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
This book sparked some of the best discussion we have had in years. It would be in my top three if I did not have this separate catagory for it.

Biggest Dissappointment:
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
One of my all-time favorite books is The Secret Life of Bees - but this Sophmore effort by Kidd seemed more like an Elizabeth Berg novel of the month.

My daughter picks a book a month for me to read from her collection - here were my two favorites from those:
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares
It is impossible not to love these characters. Every Mom hopes her daughter will have a group of friends like this to shart adolesence with.
Song of the Lioness Quartet byTamora Pierce
IShe is an amazing writer for young teens. She has the strongest and most complex female characters in fantasy genre that I have read.

Raining again...

What is it about the rain that saps your strength and makes one yearn for Bach and a good book snuggled under the covers on the couch! This must be the thirtieth day in a row of rain. Trying to think of those who are enduring rain while homeless - or at war - instead of just as an inconvenience. Maybe I will celebrate the rain today - splash in puddles - drink my water for a change - look at rain water under the microscope. Bach can still join me in my head - and the book can wait til bedtime.

My three lovely children on the first day of school this year. There will be much musing on this web about these muses. (Deleted picture to be more internet safe - sorry for the tease. They are beautiful though I promise.)

Amusing Musing

Sitting here with my dear friend Jennifer - visiting from Chicago - who is showing me how to create a blog! We are amusing ourselves - didn't mean YOU would be amused.
M