Kate Wakes Up!

I am so embarassed that it has taken me 6 months to get back to my blog! Frankly I'm surprised that the nice folks at blogspot held my place.
Thank you!
Walking home in the brisk windy November air after a busy week and an introspective Bible study meeting, I feel like I am finally waking up again. Do you ever feel like that? I've just been trying to "get by" for a few months now, keeping my head down and my feet moving. Now that a few things are more settled in life (ie, employment), and even though I'll be working full time, maybe I can take some time to stop and smell the roses a bit more. I hope that you can too.
Book recommendations...wow. I've read a lot of things since the last time I wrote. Freakonomics was completely intriguing and I read a ton of trashy romance novels over the summer. I've also been reading a lot of kid's non-fiction for a committee thing I'm on. Liam's favorite is Goodnight Gorilla, which I love, despite the fact that I have read it four hundred times, at least. Now thats the mark of a great kid's book. Reread something fun this week, if you can.

Decisions and transitions

As you may know, I am not keeping up with this blog very well. Just too busy, not near a computer enough, excuse, excuse excuse. So, I'm going to give it another month and decide whether this is something that is still worth doing.
In the meantime we are coming to the end of the semester for my husband, neighbor and friends will be moving away to start their new lives as ministers. I start a new part-time job on Sunday, may lose my other one in June and am interviewing quite a bit. Transitions! Transitions! Transitions! (try this to the tune of "Tradition" in Fiddler on the Roof)

Book suggestions:
Firefly by P.T. Deuterman, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( in anticipation of the movie which opens on Friday) by Douglas Adams, and for the more religiously minded If Grace is True by Phillip Gulley (author of the Harmony novels).

Time flies...

Its March! How did it get to be March? I am so behind, and am just catching up and blogging took a backseat for a while there. I'll write two this week to make up for it!
This week has been reading week for my husband. Thats the week of cramming before a week of midterms. In our house that seems to mean "Let's rearrange the furniture!" I love the new layout but rearranging always brings on a spate of organizing, Goodwilling and unearthing things that should have been done ages ago. And books. Like Library books. That should have been returned ages ago. Oops! Luckily library fine money goes to a good cause.
So that brings us to books! I finished Rereading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is truly a classic. It follows the daily life of a country veterinarian in the 30's and 40's. I seem to read parts of this in early spring each year...I think I may be jumping the gun this year, huh?

You say its your birthday...

My little guy is 1!
I once went to a first birthday party where the birthday girl poked at her cake for a while, then tasted it tentatively and then wanted to go play.
How anti-climactic!
I am happily embarassed to say that I need to soak the outfit he wore today, because it is encrusted with multi-colored frosting.
And with all of the presents he received, he played with a balloon most of the afternoon. And he was a total ham smiling and chatting (in babble) with family and friends. What a great day!

My son's favorite book (and I know because he occasionally brings it to me to read) is The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton. Also pick up the book and cd of Rhinoceros Tap and Philadelphia Chickens!
Fun, funny and catchy too.

Reputation of BLOGS

Funny that my Dad should come up again, but he does. I mentioned to him that I had a blog and that he could look at it if he wanted, no pressure. He said "Really? A blog? Well you know, we don't really see eye to eye on politics." OK, thats true, but I don't write about my politics here, at least not often. But say the word blog or blogger and everyone thinks politics! Not here! This is my online journal, a diary , frankly, a conceit!

Its been a couple of days since I wrote so I have two books to talk about. The first is Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Originally written in 1917 and recently republished, it is the story of Elizabeth who moves to relative's farm in Vermont when her overprotective aunts are taken ill. As she accomplishes more tasks for herself she gains confidence in her own abilities and becomes more independant. The author was a great friend of Maria Montessori and encorporated her methods of teaching (guidance over instruction) into the story.
The second book is I, Jack by Patricia Finney. The story is written from the point of view of the family dog, Jack. What a riot! I laughed aloud when he talked about the family's morning greeting to him -"Get off you stupid dog". I had a mind today to make this whole blog a tribute to my two mutts, Simba and Max, and write from their point of view. Perhaps another day.

Life moves fast...

So the short version of the weeks events...Boo Hoo for the Eagles, crossed fingers for a job interview, and my little boy walks, claps and says banana.

I kinda knew that banana would be his first word (technically his fourth word after Mama, Da and bye-bye). Two months ago I handed him a whole banana to hold while I got something ready for him to eat. While I was busy, he started in on it, peel first, chewing through to the sweet gooey middles. Fascinated, I continue to hand him whole bananas. You rarely see anyone enjoy anything as much as he enjoys bananas.

Book of the Day: I just finished Dress Rehearsal by Jennifer O'Connell. Lauren makes high class wedding cakes and thinks she can predict the success of the marriage by how the bride and groom choose the cake. It seems like a typical contemporary romance novel, except that it isn't. Its about growing up and moving on. Unpredictably refreshing and satisfying. Don't you just want a banana now?

What are clouds made of?

1976 - My Dad and I are lying in the back yard looking at the clouds. I asked him what clouds were made of and Dad started talking about water vapor and air pressure and such. I rolled over and looked at him strangely and said "No, they're made of cotton", as if his explanation was the craziest thing anyone had ever come up with.

I am looking forward to sharing such crazy stuff with my little guy who walked for the first time today...and also climbed into the bathtub for the first time today. Strange looks are just around the corner.

Book of the day: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes. This hardly needs my endorsement, it just won the Caldecott Award and Kevin Henkes is a brilliant author/illustrator. Kitten sees the moon and thinks its a bowl of milk and tries very hard to reach it. Today is a reaching kind of day.

Directionally Challenged

A Quiet Reflective Day

At church on Epiphany each of us chose a paper star from the offering plate. Each star had a word to contemplate throughout the year. My star says Direction. There is a lot wrapped up in that word. I find myself at a strange crossroads. A change of location, in careers, a new child. Where is God leading me? As it seems to be a reflective day, I invite you all to share my star and think about Direction in your life.

Book of the day: I would love to recommend something that is uplifting and would give you all the answers you need in life. Some would say that there is such a book...some would disagree. My advice today is to read something that brings you comfort...something familiar and light. The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson will do nicely.

The Pope and groundhogs

A beautiful relaxing day in the company of family and friends. A day of connections. I hope you are feeling connected too.

On a heavy note, the Pope is in the hospital. I have a deep affection for the pope as the leader of my childhood faith and because he looks disturbingly like my own grandfather. May God bless them both.

On a much, much lighter note, Happy Groundhog Day! What a strange holiday this is. It is only celebrated by small towns and schoolchildren but it will be reported on all nightly newscasts. And by a wonderful movie starring Bill Murray - Groundhog Day. Come on, Spring!

Give 'em the purple finger!

I loved the Iraq election coverage! So emotional, so enthusiastic!

And sadly, so unlike our election in November. I didn't leave the voting booth feeling like I'd made a great difference, like I was influencing the future. I was pleased with the outcome, but I didn't dance in the streets, or even in my own house. I envy their joy. But that joy came from the courage of giving the bad guys the purple finger!

Book of the day is Al Capone Does My Shirts. Life on Alcatraz as the son of a guard.

School Report blues

Please, allow me a little rant.
At work today I had a kid tell me that he'd wanted to do Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his Biography report but "he was already taken" so he chose Alicia Keys. What really upsets me are these kids who are assigned an obscure person for their project (or worse yet, choose some ball player) but they have no idea who Thurgood Marshall, Eleanor Roosevelt or Thomas Edison were. Are teachers just bored of reading reports on heroes?

On to happier things...
I'm not a motorcycle chick, but this book...Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor (yeah..him) and Charley Boorman is very, very cool. They rode their motorcycles most of the way around the world. Woo-hoo!

Still working on the new-ish Jennifer Cruisie Charlie All Night. A not-so-trashy contemporary paperback romance. Guilty pleasure!

Part One: The Beginning!

Welcome to my BLOG!

In this space I plan to ramble about books, random ideas and generally pretend that you folks out there might find this interesting. I hope you do.

So to start . . .
I wanted to pass on a great project on myfavoriteword.com. This fella has a column in quite a few papers and he's writing a book about favorite words. Mine is supercilious. Add yours!

Readings . . .
Christopher Buckley's Florence of Arabia. And for kids SHHH Everybody's Sleeping (by Julie Markes) is a fun picture book that shows all of the "community helpers" sleeping (with their corresponding stuffed animals) including the president.

Well there is the first post. Its short because the family has flu, but I'll try to have something great cooked up for next time. Bye!