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Sitting here in my backyard (yes there is an app for that! Love my iPhone!) reading a book while I sit in the afternoon sunshine. The weather is what I consider perfect. The book is so good I don't want to set it down to eat dinner. The yard is spilling over with pots and pots ( I have a pot problem this year) of colorful flowers. The dog is sunning herself beside me. This is my own little paradise. I am feeling really blessed to have this. Happy weekend everyone! I hope you get a little piece of paradise too.

Have shovel, will dig.

Summer if finally here, and it showed up in full force. Nearly 100° for a few days in a row, and now we're in the 80's. I was super smart and planned to do a little front parking strip remodel on the hottest weekend of the year (so far). Scott and I had already dug up the sod, but I still needed to amend all the soil and plant the plant. I thought it would take a few hours...it took all day. Our dirt is made of granite, or some other from another plant uber hard material. I'm not kidding. I was standing on the shovel, trying to jump on it and I it wouldn't budge. I jumped and jumped and nothing. Passers by probably got a laugh out of it and the expletives that may or may not have escaped my mouth.

After an entire day spent digging, it is done. Well almost. I still need the pretty black gold potting soil to lay on top, but everything else is done. So am I. I am beat. My hands hurts, my back hurts, my ankle where the hose connector smacked me hurts. But it's pretty. I'll post pics when it's officially done. I'm pretty proud of myself. I did most of it by myself and for being such a delicate flower I got a lot done.

Next project is the front yard. I think we'll just cover it up instead of digging it out. That whole digging thing is hard work and I'm wimpy.

My plea

Living in Portland, and watching the news lately has meant having the constant updates on missing seven year old Kyron Horman. I am actually proud of local media (and national to some extent) for keeping this in the news after more than four week. He is still missing. His parents still long for him to come home. Our community is ready to know the truth and hopefully see him reunited with his parents. The saddest part, is that as time passes, it's harder and harder to hope for that. As someone who can't have children (yet) I don't know what it's like to have that maternal tug, that feeling that mothers describe, but I do have one particular feeling anytime I hear of a child who has been harmed by a family member, be it parents, stepparents or other. I feel like, I would have loved them. I would have given them a home when someone else wanted to remove them from one. Those children deserved better, and those of us who can't have children have to watch as people who don't deserve them waste the precious gift they are given. It breaks my heart.

I can't help but feel like looking up at the heavens and screaming. What good come of any of this? Why must those poor little souls suffer when so many of us want to love them and can't? How is there balance? Why? I am frustrated, angry, sad, disheartened, so many things. So many emotions...

Dear God, I will love them. I will hold them. I will cherish them. I will put bandaids on their boo-boos, and make sure they get all their regular check ups and shots. I will teach them to cherish others, and love. I will give them ice cream on hot days, hot cocoa when it's cold. I will wrap them in layers and play in the snow. I will teach them to swim and love the water. I will show them books and the magical lands within them. I will snuggle them in bed, and hold them when they have nightmares. I will teach them about the world, and the wonderful people that fill it. I will protect them from evil, and show them light. I will sing them lullabys. I will bake them birthday cakes. I will show them art and science. I will surround them with friends and family who will cherish them and share in my joy as well as theirs. I will hold their hand as they cross the street, and push them forward when they need it. I will play, and teach, and observe and relish in the beauty that is a childs mind. I will give them my everything. Please, please God, let them have that life, not the one they so often end up with. Please let me give it to them.


Dear Kyron, I am praying for you. Hoping you will come home to the parents that love you and want you safe. You should be running though a sprinkler on this hot summer afternoon. You should be looking forward to a bowl of ice cream after dinner. Please know that we all want you home. We all want you safe, and happy. Sweet boy, hang on if it's at all possible.

Go! Fight! Win!

Watching Cheerleader Nation on Lifetime. Brings back lots of memories. They a higher level competition squad than we were, but the all of it's so familiar. I miss it. I want to tumble and fly. I want to jump. I want to be one person in team of sixteen that makes one large amazing difficultly choreographed performance look easy.

I was a mediocre cheerleader at best, but I loved it. LOVED IT! The long bus rides filled with singing sad country songs. Overnighters filled with secrets and giggles. Daily double practices filled with laps and stadiums. Yes I even miss that. Bows and poms galore!

I wish there was some sort of cheer aerobics class to take. I'd be there in a heartbeat. Talk about an exceptional workout. It works parts of your body you forgot you had, and makes you arms and legs look perfect. Plus you get to yell, loudly. It's great stress therapy.

Oh to be seventeen again...


Book Review: The Writing Circle

We interrupt this blog for a quick review: A year or so ago I was sent a few books from a publisher who had seen another review I did. I still get books from time to time and I'm going to make more of an effort to review them and share them with everyone. Books are great! We should all get to read them all the time!

I love the feel of a hard cover book. It's weight makes me feel like it has something important to say. It's cover makes me feel like is has something to protect. The crack of the binding when it's first opened is like a secret, a special sound to listen for. The pages are thick, they want to be touched. They are a work or art for me. Generally I can say that I love every book. Books are like pizza. Even when it's bad, it's not that bad.

The last book I read falls into that category. I really, really wanted to like this book. The cover was appealing. The title, even as simple as it is, was intriguing. The idea of it seemed like a good one to me. I opened it with an open mind, but had to make myself read it. Very unusual for me.

I read rather quickly so you know there is something wrong when it takes me more than a week to get through a book of this size.

The Writing Circle by Corinne Demas was a good idea. In fact I think it should be pursued again. A room full of characters and their drama would be rather entertaining, one would think. Unfortunately I didn't find that to be the case with these characters. I didn't really feel there were any that were really relate-able or sympathetic. Dang it, I really wanted to like some of them. There was one, Nancy who was close, well okay I liked her a little. I really wanted to read the book she was writing!

Anyway, I found the book to be a little spastic, a little loose. The end was wrapped up very quickly and ended with a bang that didn't make any sense. Some might call it sensational or surprising? I thought it was unnecessary. Also in the unnecessary category were the sex scenes. So not needed in this type of book. So awkward. And yes, I am a total prude. I'm willing to admit that. But this was still gratuitous and odd. Certainly held some ick factor.

I think, that had any of the characters been a little more relate-able, or if we'd gotten to spend more time with just one (there were a lot of members in this circle and the book isn't all that long so you don't get too in depth with any of them) there could have some hope for the story. I do appreciate what the author was trying to do. I think. I'm still confused by the ending, which leave me a little angry at the book itself and I hate that feeling. As it is, I wouldn't recommend this book, which breaks my heart because I want to LOVE all books.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to read and review.