Melissa Wiley's Blog, page 173
March 5, 2010
Hi-Yah!
I've been writing the occasional "snippets" post for years, when I had a bunch of shortish things to say. But Conversion Diary Jen's "7 Quick Takes" meme (now in its 71st edition) is much nicer—so pleasantly organized and a nice spirit of camaraderie about it—and I always enjoy reading the quick takes posts on other people's blogs. I don't know that I'll pull it off every Friday, but now and then might be fun.
1. You know one reason I haven't done a Quick Takes post before? It's the glitch...
March 4, 2010
March 3, 2010
March 2, 2010
March 1, 2010
From the Archives: The Sherwood Ring
Originally published March 2009.
The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
Is there anything more promising than a novel that opens with a young person traveling to a mysterious ancestral home for the first time? The Secret Garden, The Children of Green Knowe, The Little White Horse; even, if you stretch it a little, Emily of New Moon. Delicious books with perfectly delicious beginnings.
The Sherwood Ring is a book of this sort, and it's one of the deliciousest. The very moment Jane finished...
February 24, 2010
A Short History of the Piñata
Every now and then I like to collect the kid-quips I've tweeted and deposit them here, just to keep the family archive in one place. Apologies to Twitter-friends for whom these may be repeats.
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Actual last line of chat with friend last night: "TTYL—must go get hulk out of dishwasher."
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Rilla just asked me to pour her a "nice juicy cup of milk."
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Rilla staggers into the sunny morning, squinting. She rages, rages, against the coming of the light.
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Baby boy just figured out how to...
February 22, 2010
Back from Butternut Center
"…What are you looking for?"
"Presents. Five of them." She explained, talking very fast, that no Ray ever came home from a visit without bringing presents. "It's an old family custom," she said.
"Hallelujah!" he exclaimed, shutting the book. "That'll be fun, picking out five presents. I hope you have a brother. There's a corking jack-knife here."
—from Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace
Our "Betsy" came home from her trip yesterday with presents for everyone, in the grand Ray tradition...
February 19, 2010
All Aboard
Yesterday the five younger kids and I stood on an Amtrak platform in downtown San Diego, waving wild goodbyes as Jane's train pulled away, headed for L.A. Big moment for us: the first venturing-forth-alone of one of my chicks. Jane is spending a few days with my friend Kristen and my soon-to-be-goddaughter, who is seriously the most beautiful baby you ever saw. (And I don't say this lightly. I've had some mighty pretty babies myself.)
I thought I would be more freaked out about putting Jane...
February 16, 2010
Lark Rise to Candleford
Are any of you watching Lark Rise to Candleford? It's a BBC period drama that airs here on our PBS station. We're about halfway through Season 2; I believe the third season started last month in the UK. It's set in a somewhat vague 1880s-ish time frame, the story of a small farming hamlet (Lark Rise) and the neighboring market town (Candleford). Season One begins with 16-year-old Laura leaving Lark Rise—somewhat reluctantly—to take a job in the Candleford post office, which is owned and run b...
February 15, 2010
Attention Boston-Area Betsy-Tacy Fans
You won't want to miss this event tomorrow:
Get out your party dresses! Wellesley Booksmith and the Betsy-Tacy Society are brightening up February break with An Edwardian Tea Party in celebration of HarperCollins' reissue of the classic Betsy-Tacy series of children's books by Maud Hart Lovelace. Set at the turn of the 20th century, these beloved books chronicle the adventures of Betsy Ray and her best friend Tacy Kelly as they grow from little girls to young women.
Teatime starts at 2pm. More ...
