babbling...

So I'm on this mission to put some organization back into this household. (I talk all about it over here. It's a tad frustrating...because I want to do it all RIGHT NOW. Which obviously is not possible. I've made good strides in some areas this past week, but it comes at a price. For one, this blog. Not that that's really a big deal. Just more of a way of explaining why I've disappeared somewhat.

I also moved most of my bookish musing to a different blog. But it's not really reviews or anything. More just a personal journal of what I'm reading and my thoughts on it. I'm going to leave the blame game here for now though...simply because I'm too lazy to move it right now. I do have a pile of acquisitions sitting here, with a few points to dole out. Hopefully tomorrow.

I know...here I am, trying desperately to get more organized, and yet I seem more scatter-brained than ever. Maybe I should just accept that that's who I am, huh?

a daddy's day hike

almost summer...a camera happy version

It's been such a beautiful weekend here so far. It's really starting to feel like summer, with just one week left of school now. And the weather has definitely been helping that summer-y feeling along.

Yesterday, much to Maxidoodle's delight, Rich blew up their little pool.

And we also had our first backyard picnic of the season. Grilled veggie burgers, potato salad, watermelon, and oatmeal bars. Mmmmm.

And our veggie garden is springing to life a wee bit. (See, Chris--I told it looked pretty pathetic compared to yours.) We've got radishes, lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, green beans, and onions.

Annie's little garden looks a little better. It got a wee bit of a headstart on the big one. She's harvested three strawberries so far. :)  And her cherry tomato plants are looking pretty good.

We finally convinced her to do some weeding. :P

And here's my little herb pot. Just have basil, rosemary, and oregano growing. Decided to include this picture since the Bacon-ater was in it looking so cute. :)

Yesterday was actually a bit too much on the hot and humid side for us here. (Yes, we're extremely spoiled when it comes to summer weather for the most part! I'm sure many would be mighty pleased with the not quite 90 degree temps we had here yesterday.) Anyway, today is much more to our liking, supposed to stay in the 70s. And to celebrate, Rich serenaded the beautiful Father's Day morning. :P

And since I took pics of the food gardens, I thought I'd go ahead and get some pics of the latest flowers to make their appearance in the flower garden as well.

So, what's on slate for the rest of our weekend? A bath for Bacon. A Father's Day hike. And supper out at a place of Rich's choosing.

Hope everyone else is having as lovely a weekend as well!!!!!!

a happy start to the weekend

Why am I in such a good mood today?!! Not that I'm complaining, I swear. But I a bit baffled. The boys, but especially Gray, had a rough night last night--which left me only getting a bit more than 3 hours sleep. And most of it was on the living room floor. And there is the fact that I'm really worried about a couple of friends. And then there is the fact that I've got one more hell week of school.

But this last one is probably actually a good bit of the reason for my good mood. Knowing there's just ONE MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!! Yes, I've got so much to do that it makes me ill to think about...but it's JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!! Not only will Annie and I finish up (except for writing her final quarterly report), but Friday is the boys' last day of school, too! Yes, they can drive me crazy sometimes, but oh how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having them around for the summer!!!! :D JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!!

I'm also happy because Rich is so in love with his Father's Day present. We got him an iPhone yesterday. Really stupid thing to do, because we really don't need that monthly charge...but for now I'm just focusing on how very happy it's made him. :D

And Gray...he's having a great weekend. Last evening, he and Rich went to the Jazz Fest, just the two of them. He had a wonderful time! Including eating himself silly--lemonade, a veggie burger, ice cream, and on the way home, they stopped and had a frozen coffee and a donut! And he got a phone call yesterday from his best friend who invited him to go camping. They'll be picking him up in an hour or so and be back sometime tomorrow. It's just so darn nice to see this kiddo having such a special time! :D

And this picture...well, it just makes me smile.

cherry-picking time

From tree to tummy. (Though I'll spare you pictures of the inevitable cherry pit wars. :D)

why fight it

I keep telling myself that it's time to reenact that book accumulation ban...but I just can't seem to get serious about it. And you know, I think it's just time to say to hell with it. Don't I have enough to stress about in life? Why yes. Yes, I do. So if I can't get control over this book acquisition addiction, so be it. As long as the vast majority continue to be used books as opposed to new books, I'm just done beating myself up over it. So there.

And with this new attitude, I can now show off my new acquisitions and dole out the blame without even the tiniest tinge of guilt. Really.

From the library:

*On Thin Ice: The Changing World of the Polar Bear by Richard Ellis. I've been wanting this book ever since it came out. When I saw it at the library yesterday, I told myself, "Don't check it out. You don't have time to read it right now anyway. You can always get it later." Hmmm...and yet somehow it came home with me. ;)  I've told myself that it can be my reward for finally finishing up the school year at the end of the month. Problem being, I've said that about a few dozen books already. :P

Polar bears are such beautiful, majestic creatures. I just can't bear to think of this world without them. I'm hoping desperately that this book will offer at least a few glimmers of hope. But I fear it won't.

*Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization by Steven Solomon. I had even less business checking this one out than the last one. Seriously, when exactly do I really think I'm going to squeeze in a nice 500 page book in the next several weeks? I blame the library though--they really shouldn't put up these lovely tempting displays of their new arrivals.





Books that became available from my PaperbackSwap wish list:

*Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman. Post-apocalyptic YA. Need I say more? POINT FOR STACI.

*Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters. It was Julie Anne Peters.












And from our little local used bookstore:

*The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Caro. Okay, so when I was in the bookstore, I was convinced that I was in the mood for a true crime book. But honestly, I was flipping through this book earlier, and I might just be too creeped out to actually read it. We'll see.









*A Walk in the Wood: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. I probably shouldn't admit this, but this is actually the third time this book has made its way into our house. (Well, not this exact copy of the book, of course.) I bought it for Rich long ago, because hiking the Appalachian Trail is how we spent our honeymoon. And then he received it as a gift from a friend of ours. So we gave that copy away. Rich read it and loved it, and I always planned on reading it myself. But then I read Bryson's Notes From a Small Island. And well...it was sort of a love/hate thing. I found him to be hilarious and annoying all at the same time. Annoying ended up winning out, and I decided not to keep A Walk in the Woods. Silly, silly me...as I've now changed my mind...what can I say--it's fun to be fickle.

*The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Blame coming for this one...yep, Ana made this sound sooooo good! I just hope it doesn't take me ten years to get around to reading it. POINT FOR ANA.

*Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong. Do you ever get the feeling that you're the last person on Earth to hear of a certain book? That's the sort of feeling I get with this one. I don't even know why. It just seems like a book I should have heard of before. So--has anyone read it, and is it as good as it sounds?

*Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is one of those authors that just scares the crap out of me. I have this feeling that I'm not smart enough to "get" her books. Where I pick up these ideas, I have no idea...but I do this *a lot*. Anyway, Oryx and Crake has long intrigued me, and after reading Care's review, I decided this was the book I needed to venture into the writings of Atwood. POINT FOR CARE.

*Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie. I've been wanting to read something by Alexie for a long time. And when I came across this one, I knew it would be the perfect place for me to start. It sounds absolutely incredible...alienation, racism, and a serial killer.

*The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery. Okay, I'm going to pass off the blame for this one onto Eva. Not because she reviewed this book. In fact, I'd never even heard of this book before. But because she reviewed another book by Sy Montgomery (can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it was about tigers), and she made Montgomery sound like such an awesome writer. So when I saw her name, it made me pull the book off the shelf. And the book sounds utterly delightful. A happy sort of read. POINT FOR EVA.

*Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness: Radical Strip-Mining and the Devastation of Appalachia by Erik Reece. This is actually a book I've been wanting to pick up for Environmental Science this year, so it was mighty gratifying to find it at the used book store. It's pretty unlikely that we're going to get to it though, as the school year has only two weeks left it it. But I'd really like to read it anyway, and Annie just might want to read it on her own as well.