Summer Reading Program

Every summer the local library conducts a children's reading program. It always seems to be a load of fun and my traditional input is to request the same for the adult readers in the community. We have winter, with Cabin Fever - a joyful experience on its own but a summer program would be welcomed too. There doesn't have to be an end of the program potluck; we'd manage!

This year I've noticed a tendency in my own summer reading: there's always some sort of theme. One year, OK two or three years, it has been dogs and assorted other typically 4-legged creatures. When THE HELP was published I found myself reading it, along with several other southern novels, all which drew me to take a trip below the Mason Dixon line. 2012 finds me reading my second Young Adult novel! Mercy you say - aren't those easy reading?

They are not always easy reading if you choose carefully and I have chosen WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS and THE YEARLING. Both explore relationships with animals. Both have young people as main characters. Both include richness in dialogue, character development, and moral messages. Their appeal is not limited to the pre-teen or early teen group. I'm distanced from that age range by a good country mile.

So if you're hankering for some down-to-earth novels that every one of us should experience, check those two out. If you cried at OLD YELLER, if you are a friend of Flicka, if THE VELVETEEN RABBIT makes you feel real, if you punned your way thru THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and found your way to the library then you'll love these books! Check it out. What a novel idea.

Damaged Goods

Sure enough, we were bound and determined we were going to be do-gooders this holiday. It comes upon us suddenly and we get tunnel vision regarding all else going on in our lives. Off we go, cheerfully convinced that no harm will come from our being away from home on a Wednesday night.

Wrong. Wrong, wrong-wrong.

Fast forward only about 3 hours. In that time it became quite apparent that someone within the confines of the household had realized he has a deficiency in both wood and plastic. It had to be Baxter.

We're not sure what he started with but we know he developed a taste for hard plastic a few weeks ago when he went after a cordless phone. Highly likely this outburst resulted from a caller wanting to reduce his interest rate on all his credit cards. Baxter does not like nagging callers, especially when they don't have anything any of us want. Really.

We let that go.

However, that same evening (and I'm still building the background for you here) he also yielded to the temptation of the TV remote control. It's never been necessary to hide this from the dogs; they get to decide what to watch 90% of the time. We leave Clifford on TV when we go away, or Garrison on the radio. But not planning to be gone long and it being nighttime we figured, "Anh, we'll let them sleep." We could only hope he wanted to watch something on PBS to get him and his companions thru the angst associated with the ringing phone now ringing, crippled and sprawled, on the floor. Besides, it still worked, looking a little less together and more like the Velveteen Rabbit, "loved".


We let that go. We learned nothing from the experience.

Back to last night; stay with me here. We walk in after helping do the prep work for 230 Thanksgiving meals. Yup. That's right. I did say "do-gooders". We were thankful for being able to help and in high spirits as we opened the door.

And, there it all was - the aftermath: indoor dog party. There must have been a fling contest of coasters for they were scattered all about the living room. Granted one of the dogs loves to play frisbee/bring it but she knows to keep that outside. It had to be Baxter.

His tell-tale teeth marks were on the wooden holder for the coasters. Gnawed. DNA testing not required. Guilt confirmed by the pointing of the paws of his so-called pals and the sad sack, "I'm so sorry, Mom. I couldn't help myself. They made me do it" eyes. Baxter led us to the remnants of the remote control. No longer would it serve its intended purpose. Fortunately after the last adventure we'd ordered a replacement which had remained in its secret box. Bits of silver plastic appeared under furniture which had been sat upon during the free for all.

Any pet owner who thinks they have control, remote control or otherwise, needs to think again!

A Day in the Country

Green Grass
Green Tree
Green Barn

My husband's new vehicle has a built-in GPS. Before going any further with this be aware that I'm deadset against them as they are just another means of replacing thinking with some technical gadget. I LIKE figuring out the map, etc. At the same time, if they can provide up to the minute info, well, it helps.

Regardless, we were invited to some wonderful friends' house for lunch today. They finished a home project (which looks great) and were willing to show it off AND cook out. We could not resist. We also would get to see their 3 dogs and meet the cat! It's about 40 miles from here, hard to say, you'll see.



From my 'Blue' Period

 We started out the back country road by my choice. Part way there I found a barn to photograph and we stopped. With this car it's impossible to program the GPS while the car is moving. The passenger must "sit on her hands" apparently. While I was clicking away he put in our destination.

Back on the road we were promptly routed to the interstate. FREAKIN' NO!!!! We ended up going AROUND the town and having to cut back over and then make two phone calls. Thankfully we were given a business to look for as the place to make the final turn because the system wasn't going to tell us to make it.
I'm guessing we actually drove about 75 miles as we were an hour and a half in getting there, counting my 5 minutes of a "photo shoot".

Going home was just as grand. Push HOME. Yeah, right. I'd re-set the program to "shortest route" to avoid the interstate and we had good directions. Our first turn was a wrong one. I suggested and received a turnaround, no problem. When the second one was missed I gave up and decided to enjoy the ride in the country and ask to stop whenever I wanted to do just that.


White Phase



Traditional Red

See if YOUR GPS can find this!

In the end I got what I wanted :-) And, inside one of these barns was a fabulous surprise.

But I'm still going to find a way to shut that GPS O-F-F.