Weather: Gorgeous. Actually sort of hot.
Bubbles and lasagna: Imagine for a minute that you've never seen soap bubbles or tasted homemade lasagna. Now imagine that you are not yet one year old. How would you react to these new things? We know. If you were Jamie, our 8 month-old grandson, you would giggle for glee when your aunt blows bubbles from a wand toward you. And you would scarf down the lasagna as if you'd been eating solid food your whole life, delighting not only in the taste of it, but also the way it feels on your face. Unadulterated joy! (See photos above.)
Also joyful: Don celebrated his 64th birthday this week-end. Yes, we sang him the Beatles song, "When I'm 64", which is harder to sing than you may think. My eldest daughter and her family dropped by to help her Dad celebrate his big day. When Ian, our three-year-old grandson saw his grandpa, he exclaimed, "Come on, Grandpa. Let's run around." Don't you wish you had the energy of the very young?
Puff the Magic Dragon: I have a small collection of stuffed dragons that I've had since my librarian days. Ian's car dragon friend, Roar!, stays in the car waiting for visits from his boy. He showed off Roar! to one of his mom's friends the other day as I was preparing to transport Ian to daycare. It reminded me of Puff the Magic Dragon song, which we played later in the day. The song is now one of Ian's favorites and I can't help but cry when I think about the part of the song when "Jackie Paper comes no more." Anyway, I digress. Yesterday Ian disappeared for a while and reappeared with another stuffed dragon in tow. He dubbed this dragon Puff. I started singing the song but I changed the words to fit Ian and his new Puff. Imagination twinkled in his eyes. Oh, to be young again when magic was real.
Books:
- Completed:
- The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig. This book was selected by readers on the Goodreads poll as a favorite of 2020. I can see why. Look for my review this coming week.
- King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender. Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for best YA/Children's books. Set in Louisiana it covers a lot of themes.
- Currently reading:
- The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. A novelization of the life of Hede Lamarr. This is a book club selection and not a favorite. Print. 70%.
- The Exiles by Christina Kline. My other book club's choice for June. Setting Australia in the 1800s. Audiobook. 33%
- Book Club: Thanks to the loosening of mask rules, our book clubs will be able to meet in person since we are all fully vaccinated. Yippee!
- My favorite novels read in the past five years: I made a list. Had a lot of fun doing it. Take a look and see if agree with my choices. 42 favorite books.
Celebrating a loosening of restrictions: Now that the President and CDC have said we can loosen up about masks and gatherings if we are fully vaccinated I'm longer irritated by those people who wears masks with their noses sticking out. HA! This week we are hosting some friends for dinner and look forward to a visit with siblings in the next few weeks.
-Anne
My cousins and I were very young when my great Aunt turned 64 and I remember one of my cousins saying, "64? That's not old. Wait until you're 9." :-)
ReplyDeleteYea. Take that 64-year-old person. I'm nine and THAT is old. That is hilarious.
DeleteI have always delighted in hearing and seeing young kids. Everything---even things we old folks take for granted like bubbles and lasagna and dragons---everything is magical. I had so much fun working in my elementary school library...I couldn't believe they were paying me!
ReplyDelete"Let's run around!" Yes, let's, while we still can.
I'm eager to hear your review of Midnight Library. It's not a perfect book, but I thought it tells a great story. I see so much unhappiness in our part of the world, and a lot of it comes from wishing things were different.
The CDC announcement was a breath of fresh air for me. I've decided to set aside the mask outside. Now I will think about doing so indoors. That will take more time.
That's a wonderful photo of the lasagne-covered baby face. Perfect. Wish I could enjoy life that way.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Those photos are so precious!! Isn't it wonderful to be able to share in that joy again?! Hooray for an in person book club meeting, too. I'm hoping to attend a meeting of my old group in NY over the summer and have my fingers crossed that the library group I attend here in FL will start meeting again in the fall. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteSuch cuties!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your hubby. Sixty four once seemed impossibly old but now it seems too close!
Wishing you a great reading week
Happy Birthday, Don! I love the energy and imagination of the young, although I feel (sometimes) ancient and boring in comparison. Your review of "Midnight Library" will determine whether I read it or not. The critiques swing very positive or very negative.
ReplyDelete