Melissa Wiley's Blog, page 158

The T-Shirt Lies

Suddenly September

Look at me, not posting! I've written a lot about the trip in my head, if that counts. It's just: the days are busy. You know how it is. Do any of you know the picture book called Little Bean? We love that book. By John Wallace, I think it was. On full days, I always hear Little Bean in my head: Busy, busy, busy. Busy making smoothies. Busy catching up on Mad Men. Busy sorting through three weeks' worth of mail. Busy thinking up little jobs for Rilla to do in her quest to earn coins to...

Arizona Monsoon

Thursday morning last week, east of Tucson.

Books, Um, Heard in August

I know August isn't over yet. I think I can safely predict that I will finish MOCKINGJAY this weekend (I'm only a chapter in), and I doubt I'll be able to start-and-finish anything else by Tuesday.

It's a short list this month: I was driving and visiting, not reading. We listened to two audiobooks in the car and about three-quarters each of two others. The two we finished were:

The Miraculous Voyage of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Sad and lovely, and perfectly suited for a journey.

Because...

There and Back Again

21 days, 16 states, nearly 5800 miles by minivan. We left home on August 4th, the six kids and I, and got back this afternoon. It'll probably take me another three weeks to tell all the stories. I started posting about the trip while we were still on the road but didn't want to say we were away from home until we weren't anymore.

We got to spend time with beloved family on both sides, Scott's and mine, and had delightful visits with friends all over the country. This was an August we'll not...

Worth the Detour

Arizona meteor crater. Thursday, August 5th.

Road Trip Day 1

Wednesday, August 4th: ready to roll.

Facebook log:

8/4/10.

Just discovered Rilla has filled her travel backpack with milkweed fluff. "So I can frow it in the air when we get there and chase it."

Oh he's cruel! I'm loading the car. He puts "Every Time You Go Away (You Take a Piece of Me With You)" on iTunes. ::::sob::::

Flagstaff AZ smells like pine and stars.

OK, so one teeny tiny little hiccup…I have lost my voice. Don't know why. Don't feel sick. Dry air? Faded gradually all day. I didn't...

Look Where We Went!

Laura Ingalls Wilder's home at Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri. A dream come true for me. We had the most magical time.

I have loads to catch up on and no time to do it now, but I had pretty much the same reaction my good friend Karen Edmisten did just a few days earlier: a lump in my throat and a big ole grin on my face. Pa's fiddle! Laura's desk where she wrote all her books! Almanzo's pink dishes! That big old cookstove he bought her! And oh and oh and oh!

The folks in the bookstore ...

Five Years Ago? Not Possible.

In the days before Facebook, I had a little side-blog where I posted pictures for my parents and in-laws and close friends. Poor little blog, it has been long neglected. I was thinking of this picture yesterday, from a trip we made to Williamsburg, Virginia, in the fall of 2005. Rose would have been about seven years old, and Beanie was going on five.

Important Things We Discuss Before He Leaves for Work

Sent at 7:18 AM on Tuesday

Scott:  !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10847838

"In a scene reminiscent of the film Jaws, home video taken at Seaside Park Beach in the US state of New Jersey shows a shark causing a furor by coming ashore briefly before turning away and returning to open seas."

Me: I love how the screaming gets loudest when he beaches himself. Like that's the time to worry!

Scott: Heh.

You never know. He might decide to grow legs.

He could.

He's a shark.