consider it my chill pill

 

the colors of fall

the phone call my mother took

I was slicing strawberries, when my mother answered the phone, receiving the sad news that her neighbor, who lived two houses down the street, passed away.  She drew her last breath before the sun came up and above the horizon. I had already been up for hours during the night before the call came unable to sleep because of a nasty cold and was unaware that at the same time our neighbor was dying. Hearing this news put things into perspective. My mother had lost a close friend, someone whom she adored, so we sat at this table, reminiscing and eating strawberries.

the pigeon and the lion

A moment in London, with my daughter, her stuffed lion and pigeon

one thing you gotta try: paddle boarding

We had the best time yesterday paddle boarding on the Haw River! You’ve got to try it at via Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. (if you live in Chapel Hill). My youngest, our animal whisperer, whistled at this dog and kissed this fish (I mean, ewwwww) — and gave the fish a proper burial (back into the river). No worries, she washed her hands at a local diner. Sure wish I could recommend the diner. But my meal was about as cold as the fish and looked like dog food!

The Day the Crayons Quit

This book is one of my favorite books for kids, and I especially love it. The author, Drew Daywalt, came up with this clever idea where this poor kid, Duncan, finds only letters inside his crayon box, all saying the same thing: “We quit.” I have to tell you that when I hear my youngest child laugh I feel this deep sense of pure delight in hearing her joy. Especially when I get to the page about this one poor crayon who is too embarrassed to leave the crayon box because someone had peeled off her paper and she was naked.

So this book, a gift from her grandparents, will “have your child laughing and playing with their crayons in a whole new way.” It will, for sure, get you looking at ordinary objects in a whole new way. What could we do with q-tips, marshmallows or paint brushes, for instance? Maybe you’ll come up with another equally clever idea for a book. I sure wish I had come up with the idea!