Saturday, July 30, 2016

Celebrate This Week: A Fun Announcement!

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 

In early June, I received this board book for my birthday.  
My daughter Sara mentioned that she had been looking at my picture book collection (extensive), but that she was worried about my board book collection (paltry).  The Little Blue Truck is one of her favorites. My first thought was that she was beefing up my collection because of my impending "grandmother" status.  However, the real reason I was gifted this book was because she and Will are expecting.  She followed up her announcement with the admonition to "Zip it," and share this news with no one since they were waiting until 12 weeks to announce their pregnancy.  I did as my daughter requested and kept the news zipped and close to my heart.  

This past week marked the 12 week milestone and they posted this picture on Instagram:  
Our hearts are full as we look forward to the arrival of our little one!
12 weeks today and an ultrasound - getting to see baby with
@willpassey was a treat.
So now it's okay for me to unzip my lips, shout it from the rooftops, and share it on my blog.  My daughter will become a mother, my son-in-law will become a father, and I'll be grandma again in six months!    

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Slice of Life: Books, Brownies & Beyond - Summer Gathering

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 
to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.
Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, and Melanie
                    for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

Today's slice is cross posted to Sweet Reads
the blog for Books, Brownies, and Beyond.

What could possibly draw my attention away from
Teddy, my new grandson?   
1.  A library excursion (we took Teddy with us)
2.  A chance to entice readers I'd just met
with my favorite MG novels
3.  A stop at Hooray for Books (to buy books for Teddy)
4.  ?

I promised last week to share the fourth way that I promoted books during my visit to VA.  We went to Cafe Rio for Teddy's first dinner out.  It took longer than expected and the line was longer than usual.  Chick-fil-A was next door, and it was their famous "free food if you dress like a cow" promotion.  I think some folks came to Cafe Rio rather than stand in the line at Chick-fil-A.  As we finished our meal, I checked my watch, mentally calculated the time difference, and hoped to arrive back at my son's place in time to FaceTime with Books, Brownies, and Beyond, our middle school book club.  We meet weekly during the school year, and because we are so used to being together, the students insist that we meet each month during summer vacation.

Once we connected, the first request by the members of the club was to see Teddy.  He got lots of oohs and aahs and was generally admired by all.  Then I had a quick chat with each member in attendance so I could hear about his or her summer reading.  This meeting was in our temporary library location, but the renovations are complete so our August meeting will be back at the library in the new meeting room space.   Thanks to Carrie Bowman, KCLS librarian, who facilitated the meeting.  Cookie bars were enjoyed by all since I baked and delivered them to Carrie before I left town.  
Teddy meets the members of
book club via FaceTime!  

Book club always begins with time to browse books!

Books read by members of book club!
More books read by book club members!

Join us for our August meeting in the
new meeting room of the library.
Tuesday, August 9th, 4-6 pm.
All middle schoolers are invited,
including incoming 6th graders.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Celebrate This Week: Road Trip and a Birthday!

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 

Things to celebrate about a road trip to Idaho with my daughter, Sara:
1.  A cooler full of fresh fruit
2.  Seven books stashed in my bags
3. Time for a shared read aloud (The BFG)
4.  A stop in Pendleton, OR for a delicious lunch
(Sara remembered this spot from her rotation there.)
5.  An air-conditioned car (It was 106 degrees outside.)
6.  Delightful friends and delicious food at the end of the road
(Sara is visiting Carson and family and I'm at the Grahams.)
7.  A quilting focus for today with a stop at the quilting store
and an evening for Sara and Jolene to quilt
(My friend Jolene has a long-arm quilting machine.  Sara has a quilt she wants to finish.  Sara and Jolene share the quilting addiction.
I visit with the two of them while they quilt.
And when they quilt far into the night?
I leave them to it and head to bed.)
8.  A friendship begun over thirty years ago
that continues to sustain and enrich our lives 
(The Grahams come to Washington in December!)
AND
9.  Teddy's one month birthday on Friday!
Stefi shared these words and this pic - 
"Cheers to being one month old!  Teddy is calm, alert, and sweet. He makes funny growling noises when he is starving and nursing -  
 earning him the nickname bear cub."

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Slice of Life: Confessions of a Book Lover!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 
to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.
Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, and Melanie
                    for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

I couldn't believe it! The first time I visited my son and his wife in Virginia I discovered that their apartment was just around the corner from a public library (and he hadn't been there).  The next time I visited, I told him that one of the things I definitely wanted to do was to check out that library that was just around the corner from him.  Time got away from us and soon I was leaving without that visit to the library.  During my recent visit to their place after Teddy's birth, four of us visited that library just around the corner  - Stefi, Blake, Teddy, and me. Blake got a library card.  I was thrilled to discover a wonderful children's collection and an event for young families occurring during our visit.  

As the four of us stepped into the elevator with another family of four (mom, toddler, and two sisters), I couldn't resist asking the girls what they were reading this summer.  The mom smiled and said, "That's why we're here.  They are supposed to find some good books while I go with this one to story time."  


As we stepped off the elevator, my son gave me a look that said, "Mom, leave those girls alone."  He headed off to the adult section and I stepped into the MG/YA section.  They had a wonderful selection of new books, and I couldn't resist pulling a few off the shelf to share with the two girls I'd met in the elevator.  By the time we left, we had talked about several books they had read, and I left them with several possible good reads for the summer.  Their names?  Amran (a 5th grader) and Absi (an 8th grader).  Absi mentioned that she loved The Fault in Our Stars.  I just finished a book she might enjoy, Swing Sideways, by Nanci Turner Steveson.  Amran left with Wonder, a book highly recommended by her sister.   Other titles I recommended:  The Penderwicks, Summerlost, The Lions of Little RockOne for the Murphys, The War that Saved My Life, and The Honest Truth.  

And even though we were very busy getting acquainted with Teddy during our visit, I managed to sneak in a visit to a wonderful indie bookstore, Hooray for Books, that I discovered on a previous visit.  I must admit that Teddy already has a healthy book collection, but I wanted to add another title or two from Grandma's first visit.  After much consideration, I came home with Jerry Pinkney's beautifully illustrated board book Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and This Little President:  A Presidential Primer, published in 2016, the year of Teddy's birth.  One of the presidents highlighted is (of course) Theodore Roosevelt.  

And there you have it, three ways I promoted books during my recent trip to VA.  And that doesn't even include #4:  a Face Time visit during a Books, Brownies, and Beyond summer book club meeting (more about that next week).  

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Celebrate This Week: Teddy, Friends, & Books

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 

My heart is heavy as I think of the latest tragedies of this past week.  Senseless violence seems to permeate our world.  Somehow, we must continue to actively seek for peace
(the words to "Let There Be Peace on Earth" keep running through my mind),
and be a voice for goodness in a world that has gone awry.  

My week was one filled with simple joys:  a few more days with Teddy (and his mom and dad), activities with friends, and time to get lost in a book - all wonderful summertime activities.
I also spent some time catching up on the work that piles up when one goes out of town.  
I celebrate checking a few things off a long "to do" list.  

1.  Teddy Time
We had three more days this week with Teddy before heading home on Wednesday.
We savored every single moment.
2.  Busy Evenings
We came home to three consecutive evening commitments:
our annual summer book club meeting at Shannon's, the only time we invite spouses
(complete with wonderful food and waterfront views); 
a gathering of friends for Shakespeare in the Park (Love's Labour's Lost);
and dinner and a walk in the Arboretum with Texas friends, Tom and Deborah Adkins.
Love's Labour's Lost - Shakespeare in the Park
Lance, Deborah, and Tom
3.  Lost in a Book (of my own choosing)
It seems like I'm always reading something for book club
or for the upcoming seasonof Mock Newbery with our after school book club.
But when I finished my latest book club book (In Xanadu),
I happily dove into a book just for me:  The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend.
I had several hours of flying time to get lost in the lives of the residents of Broken Wheel, Iowa.  
I haven't finished it yet, but if you liked The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, it's a good read alike.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Slice of Life: Loving the Moments with Teddy!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 
to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.
Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, and Melanie
                    for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.


Time for another day of
cuddling sweet Teddy, 
kissing his soft forehead, 
nuzzling the down on his head,

absorbing baby molecules,
capturing precious expressions,
observing my son in this new role as Dad,
celebrating the love of his sweet Mama,
murmuring sweet endearments,
taking turns with Grandpa,
singing tender lullabies, 

nuzzling the down on his head, 
kissing his soft forehead,
cuddling sweet Teddy, 
time to plan my next trip.


Sunday, July 10, 2016

Celebrate This Week: Teddy Time!

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 






I know I'm late to the celebration, but I've been rather busy!  
We arrived Friday evening and spent all day Saturday
holding, snuggling, and chatting with our new grandson, Teddy!
We're first-time grandparents and so excited!  Can you tell? 
We babysat yesterday while Mom & Dad
made a quick Target run.  And today we strolled
through Fort Ward park while Mom napped.  

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Slice of Life: Summer Reading

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 
to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.
Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, and Melanie
 for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

Some weeks I know exactly what I want to write, but some weeks I arrive in search of a slice.  And that's when I rely on a tried and true method to find my slice - begin reading slices from fellow bloggers.  That's what I was doing this week . . . I had jotted down two ideas for future slices (a professional bucket list and neighborhood 4th of July parades).  And then BAM!   This week's slice found me when I read Sally Donnelly's post.  Thank you, Sally!

I'm choosing to spotlight my summer reading in photos.  
(Don't miss the note about my process of writing, also borrowed from Sally).

Books read
Most of the picture books I read are titles recommended by blogger friends.  I remember that Carol recommended 15 Things Not to Do With a Baby and The Boss Baby when she read of my impending status as a grandmother.  Three starred titles from this pic are Bluebird (love oversized books), The Sandwich Swap (how did I miss this one?), and Thunder Boy Jr (delightful!).   Mary Oliver's House of Light was a birthday gift from a friend, and I loved reading these poems.  I celebrated the Fourth by working with my husband to declutter the attic and then rewarded myself with time to finish Raymie Nightingale.  It's overdue at the library, but it was worth paying a few days' fine in order to finish this wonderful tale of three girls who become friends and help each other.   I'm returning it today, so it can continue its journey to readers eagerly awaiting its arrival from the library holds.
 Books in process
In Xandu is my current book club read and The Shepherd's Life was last month's book which I'm still finishing (love the gentle, thoughtful pace of this book).  The Public Library is a delightful coffee table book with wonderful pics of libraries all over the U.S.  I'm thoroughly enjoying the essays interspersed throughout the book.  DIY Literacy is our July book for #cyberPD.  You can read more about this event at Cathy Mere's blog.  And the bottom two books beg to be finished by yours truly.  Enchanted Air is a beautiful novel-in-verse by Margarita Engle.  And I was hooked when I read this Bookseller review on the front of Stonebird by Mike Revell:  
"A really special debut, full of heart, hope and the power of storytelling."
Books I want to read
Books to share at our summer book club meeting of 
Books, Brownies, & Beyond!  
Argos:  The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog and The World Beyond were recommended by Meghan Cox Gurdon in a recent column in the WSJ.  Maybe a Fox and Hour of the Bee are recommendations from my blogger friends, and The Iron Trial was on our list of middle grade books last spring for March Book Madness.  I haven't read any of these books, so they could also be added to my Books I Want to Read pile, but for now I'm making them available to book club members.  

Note about the process of writing this post:  I start way too many books.  I tend to scatter my reading energy, and often feel that I'm getting nowhere.  I take way too many books on vacations, but this post hopefully helped me narrow down the possibilities for my upcoming trip.  When I go to the library today, I will chant this mantra:  "Return books.  Pick up holds.  Step away from the shelves.  No new books needed."

Afternoon Update Just home from running errands (and stopping by the library) and here to report on my mantra fail - I'm an incurable bibliophile!
"I returned books.
I picked up a hold- Kate Messner's The Seventh Wish
(which I'm adding to the Books, Brownies, & Beyond stack).
I did NOT step away from the shelves.  
No new books needed, but I WANTED these!"
Today's stack of Want to Read books
Perhaps I can blame my failed effort on the very excellent King County Library system which always has a book or two or more that end up in my Want To Read stack!  

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Celebrate This Week: Happy Moments

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 

1.  Family Time
It was great fun to spend the night with my favorite cousin Carol.  When I checked in at the hotel and learned that Jan wasn't arriving for another day, I decided to bunk with Carol since Steve (her husband) and Abby (her granddaughter) weren't arriving until the following day.  It's been decades since we had a sleepover together, but we grew up as close cousins and enjoyed many sleepovers during our growing up years.  I miss seeing Carol and Steve on my visits home since they have moved to Arkansas to be closer to their sons and families.    
Cousin Carol, her husband Steve, and BFF Jan
I loved the drive to our hometown with my BFF Jan (my "udder sister") and our shared time together at Karl's before she headed home to T-town.  I didn't fly through Tulsa, so I loved that she made time to join our wedding festivities and spend time with me during my visit.  
 I enjoyed spending a  few days with Kathy and Karl.  Out time together included a movie, meals out, walks together, the farmer's market, Kathy's delicious cooking, shopping, games, and visiting, and of course the drives from the airport and back again.  
Home cooked goodness from the farmer's market and Kathy's kitchen
(tomatoes, purple onions, cucumber, chicken & dumplings, 
green beans & new potatoes, fried squash, corn on the cob).
Kat and Karl
Karl and I went through a stack of old family photos he received from a cousin a few years ago.  We talked about Karl's goal to start writing.  I think he may use wordpress, which means I can't help him since I use blogger. If you had a family member beginning to blog, which platform would you recommend?  Blogger or wordpress?  
Sara enticed me to join her for a food drive for Hopelink on Saturday morning.  On Saturday evening we joined Sara and Will for a cookout with friends.  I love that we can hop in the car and be at their house in twenty minutes.  

2.  Friend Time
Shelly just retired and worked her last day this past week.  Karen and I celebrated with her on Friday with a walk together.  Later that evening Shelly and I shopped for kid supplies needed to outfit her place.  She's been watching her granddaughter one day a week, but will now enjoy two days a week with her at grandma's place.  I have two lunch dates scheduled with friends which should help pass the time until . . .

 3.  Teddy Time
We head to the east coast soon to meet our new grandson.  I enjoyed watching my phone messages for pictures arriving from the east coast.  I loved a couple of FaceTime experiences this week.  But what I'm really excited for is to meet Theodore in person and snuggle this handsome guy!
Sweet dreams, Teddy!
 First outing - Dad and Teddy head to pediatrician!
Pic of the new family!
Teddy with Grandma Barb!