Jo Knowles's Blog, page 64

Unexpected gifts

We're home!

Well, yes, we've been home for several days. But I've been catching up on a million things. :-)

This was the first year I didn't blog about my vacation in Maine. The weather silenced me. One fun thing Peter, E and I did on our own was visit Strawberry Banke. That was cool. But I have to admit people acting in character as if they really are living in 1941 scare me a bit. Also? I think the actors were lonely because it was VERY hard to escape from the houses where actors were lurking. T

Help me solve a family dispute?

Day 1:

It rained.

Day 2:

It rained.

Day 3:

It rained.

Day 4 (today):

Yup. More rain.

Being trapped inside has meant seemingly endless games, books, and puzzles. Now. For some reason, I have always held firm to the belief that when you start a puzzle, you put away the box so that you can't see the picture. This makes the puzzle a lot more challenging. And since it's going to rain the rest of the week AND this is our last puzzle, I'm thinking the longer it takes us the better. However, certain family memb

Leaving for Maine again

Every year, my parents rent a house in Maine for a sort of family reunion week. The kids play in the water until long after their lips turn blue, we get treats from the ice cream truck, we make giant sand castles, we eat and drink too much, laugh a lot, and try to forget all the stuff waiting for us back home.

The past two years, we've had horrible weather. This morning I checked weather.com and found this:





So. Depressing.

Guess I'll be tripling the number of books, games and dvd's I have packed.

P

What was stolen

My son spent the past two weeks at a tiny camp which was more or less an extension of his school. He loves the place and so do we. He loves his teachers, he loves his friends and he loves the school dog, Woody. Sometimes, the kids agree to bring in their Legos from home and have building contests. I'm always weary of these because E always ends up heartbroken over lost pieces and, one time, "lost" beloved Star Wars figures.

So, when he told me he wanted to bring his treasured Yu-gi-oh collection

Schmoozeyness

Twice a year, my pal tamra_wight invites a group of writers to her campground for a bit of chatting, a bit of sharing work, a bit of writing, and a lot of eating. This same group of people have been meeting for several years, and I was lucky enough to fill an empty slot one year and enter the fold with my other pal, cfaughnan

This year, I didn't have anyone to watch my son, so we let him tag along. On the way, we stopped at a place called Two Lights for fried food. But mostly for the amazing view

Friday 5, the soggy edition

1. Rain + Camping = :(
BUT
Rain + Camping + True Blue Friends + Mike's Hard Lemonade + Endless supply of snackfood = :-D

2. MILK = Amazing movie

3. Son growing up = Short-lived
This morning at 4 he called out and I had to go up and sleep next to him to protect him from whatever monster had invaded his dreams. It's nice to still be Hero once in a while, even if it means I need a caffeine IV today.

4. Last night's Goddess class = Epiphany
This really calls for a post all on it's own, but last night whi

Thankful Thursday

A few things to be thankful for this morning:

1. Miracles
My son actually got up on his own, came downstairs, made breakfast for himself, and then, instead of watching TV, went back upstairs to play in his room. Un. Believable. (But I admit, I feel a little sad at this sudden burst of growing up-ness.)

2. UP
I went to see this last night with some friends. Cried. Loved. It's nice to see movies being made with so much heart and beauty. Has anyone else seen it? What did you think???

3. Understanding f

The places to love

Part of Mary Pearson's The Miles Between Road Trip ARC Tour asks the readers to take a photo of the ARC in a place that is special to them in their hometown. While there are many places I like in my hometown, the places I really love are the quiet ones that calm me and remind me of what matters every day. And because that's what Mary's book does, I thought it made sense to take it to these places instead.

This is the view from the road I take into town. There's a faster way to go, but if I take t

How I'm working today

For some reason, every time I put Fred down he cries. So...



The one-handed typing is a bit slow. But on this chilly raw day, it's kind of cozy.

:-)

The Miles Between

Thanks to everyone who answered Friday's questions and entered my contest to be next in line for Mary Pearson's wonderful book, The Miles Between. (My thoughts on the book to come!)

My favorite answers were to the question about the sledge. I managed to get some photos of the real thing over the weekend!

This was taken from my front door:


This was taken from behind my car (I think the guy saw me. I'm so embarrassed.):

This time, there was a green cooler and only one rider. Very interesting.

I really