Fun book club meeting

The other night we had a book club meeting. (This was book club # 1. We call ourselves the Foxy Readers. Don't ask.) Instead of our normal book club meeting, where we get together and talk about the book, we had the chance to go to a presentation an author was giving. I hadn't read the book and didn't know much about it and wasn't too sure what to expect (I really didn't read the e-mail they sent me all that thoroughly) but I was ready for a night out (I love my babies but breaks once in a while are nice) so I went.

First off, I was very surprised how many people were there. It's a small island community. (I don't live on the island anymore, but I grew up there and don't live too far from it now). It's grown considerably since I was a kid, but the number of people who showed up took me by surprise. It's not that big of a community center. I didn't count, but my guess would be that over 100 people attended.

I was also the youngest person there by about 20 years, but that isn't that unusual for me. I'm used to that from book club. I guess I enjoy old lady activities.

The name of the author is Rita Golden Gelman. She writes children's books also, but the one she was talking about that evening chronicles her life as she lives out her dream of traveling the world and meeting people. She studied as an anthropologist, and decided to use her studies to the maximum. Here's her website.

Her stories were awesome. She totally rocks. Traveling isn't something I could ever do (I have an irrational fear of leaving the country). But I liked her stories about people from totally different worlds meeting and finding common ground.

She is working towards encouraging American kids to do a gap year (go overseas for a year between high school and college) and I see the reasoning for that- showing kids that they have common ground with people all over the world. I don't necessarily agree with the gap year thing(My kids won't be going overseas as teenagers without me- I just saw the movie Taken). I don't carry the view that something is a great idea because it's a big thing in Europe. But I do think broadening the horizons of the future leaders of America could work towards a common peace in the world (But so could women taking over). So it's something I'll have to do some thinking about.

The book is Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World. I bought it and she signed it for me, but I haven't read it yet. When I do I'll post a review on my book blog.

I love this time of year...

It's been so nice outside, and I've been spending a lot of time there. So I haven't been on the computer much at all, which is probably a good thing. Here's what I've been up to:

-I got my vegetable garden planted. I've got corn, beans, peas, cauliflower, brocolli, onions, carrots, lettuce, spinach, pumpkins, cucumbers, strawberries, rhubarb, and sunflowers. I thought the sunflowers would be fun for the babies to help with. Things are just starting to pop up. I will have an abundance of veggies in a little while, and I will plant more lettuce and spinach in a few weeks to stagger my harvest.

-I planted hanging baskets. Last year I did fuschias, but apparently I'm not so good at overwintering them. The ones in the barrels and the ground lived, but not the hanging baskets. So this year I went with something different and planted petunias, bacopa, verbena, and a few other cute little hangy things. I gave some to Mom for Mother's day. They're getting bushy already, and today I took them down sit in the sun for a while(like me).

-I replaced the rhododendron that the deranged squirrel destroyed (still at large, by the way) with a new one I got for Mother's Day. I got my husband to plant it for me because that's a big hole to dig and I'm a wimp.

-Constant weeding EVERYWHERE! I use a stick with a weeder at the end of it to pop weeds out of the lawn. I'm sure it's slower than an herbicide, but this way the kids aren't running around in poison. And the *almost* three year old is usually a good helper and will pick them up and put them in a bucket for me. For a while at least, and then she realizes that it's work and not playtime and moves onto something else. I'll resort to bribes soon.

Crazy Springtime

Something around here is making all the animals crazy. First I had that deranged squirrel chewing branches off my rhododendron (so far he's evaded capture), and now I have a wacko woodpecker.

Most every morning now, I wake up (way too early, by the way) to the woodpecker pounding on my roof. It's a metal roof, so I don't expect he'll get any food out of it. It doesn't really look like he's causing any damage either. But it's really loud and annoying. It vibrates my whole house. Even when he's on the other end, it vibrates the whole place. I'd liken it to being in a tin can with someone pounding on the outside.

The woodpecker is smart, too. When we sneak out to get him with the BB gun, he flies out of range until we go back inside. I bet he's laughing at us. I'll try to get a picture one of these mornings.

I think he's messing with us for fun. So much for sleeping in.

I am so mad.

Some evil critter has destroyed one of my rhododendrons. It was the biggest one in the yard, and last year it had tons of pink blooms. It lost a few branches from the heavy snow we had this winter, but I had hopes it would bounce back, since it was big and healthy. But now something has been chewing branches off it, and now it's just a stump with about 5 leaves. I am so ticked off it's not funny.

At first I blamed my dogs- I thought maybe they were running it over when they were free-for-alling across my yard. But I've kept them kenneled and watched them closely. They run over all my other plants, but they haven't been jumping around in my rhodies. I don't think it's deer. I have rosebushes and apple trees right nearby they would eat first. The damage is up too high for it to be rabbits. They don't climb, do they? So my theory right now is that it's squirrels. They chew off the branches and leave them on the ground next to the plant. They better look out, I'm coming for them.

The Preacher's Donkey

A man bought a donkey from a preacher. The preacher told the man that this donkey had been trained in a very unique way (being the donkey of a preacher). The only way to make the donkey go was to say, "Hallelujah!"The only way to make the donkey stop was to say, "Amen!"

The man was pleased with his purchase and immediately got on the animal to try out the preacher's instructions."Hallelujah!" shouted the man. The donkey began to trot."Amen!" shouted the man. The donkey stopped immediately."This is great!" said the man. With a "Hallelujah" he rode off, very proud of his new purchase.

The man traveled for a long time through the mountains. As he headed towards a cliff, he tried to remember the word to make the donkey stop."Stop," said the man. "Halt!" he cried. The donkey just kept going."Oh, no...""Bible...Church!...Please! Stop!!" shouted the man. The donkey just began to trot faster. He was getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.

Finally, in desperation, the man said a prayer: "Please,dear Lord. Please make this donkey stop before I go off the end of this mountain. In Jesus' name, AMEN."The donkey came to an abrupt stop just one step from the edge of the cliff."HALLELUJAH!" shouted the man.

A Cute Little Skirt for a Cute Little Girl

My daughter is growing out of all her clothes. She's way tall. I found a free pattern online for a cute little twirly skirt (see it here), so I dug through the fabric scraps and whipped one up for my baby. It really didn't take too long- about an hour and a half. I like it and I may make her a couple more. Here is the finished project:



It was really quick and easy. I did mess up a few things. One seam is inside out and I didn't realize it until it was almost done. Oops. But with the waist scrunched up you can't see it at all. She likes it because it flies out when she twirls around. I had to bribe the little fashion model with fruit snacks to get her to stand still so I could get a picture.

I'm calling it spring now.

Even though it snowed 2 days ago, I'm calling this spring because I got some plants in the mail today! I've never mail ordered plants before, but I gave it a go this year. I got a box of lily bulbs and a bag of bare root trees. I was totally impressed with the lily bulbs- they are huge compared to the ones I've bought at the store before. I'm hoping the flowers they will yield are huge and fragrant. I wasn't as impressed with the trees. They look like sticks with roots on the end. I know they'll grow soon and be slightly more alive looking, but I guess I'm used to buying them in pots when they already look alive.

In related news, I got my herb garden up and running. It's a little corner planting bed right outside my kitchen door. I had it last year, and the perenial herbs that made it through the winter are Greek Oregeno, thyme, mint, pineapple mint, chamomile, chives, and sage. Somehow I killed the rosemary. I thought that was a hard one to kill. I could blame it on the heavy snow we had, but it's more likely that I'm good at killing plants.

So I got a replacement rosemary, some basils, dill, parsley, and cilantro seeds. I also added an Italian Oregano. The mints were taking over the whole thing so I moved them up to the big planting bed to act as a groundcover. Last year I picked enough mint to make tea all winter. And my chamomile did so well that I divided it and planted it in various spots. Maybe it will become a groundcover too. It makes the whole place smell nice once the flowers start coming up. If the existing oregano gets any bigger, that will get divided soon as well.

I'm glad I'm seeing buds and growth. I can't wait for a few months from now when it's warm enough for my kids and I to be outside among the plants all day.