Author Archives: Chrissie

New Week; New Book

Last week was a dud for reading.  I started three books and wandered away from each one.  Sigh.  Sometimes you just strike out.  Luckily, the library is holding three more books for me as I type.  I’ve decided there are far too many good books out there to waste your time on the sour ones.  So, if a book doesn’t grab me in the first 100 pages or so, I toss it and try another.  I used to feel guilty about this but now, it’s par for the course and quite liberating.

On my way to the library now!  La la la!

New Week; New Book

Zita the Spacegirl

Adored this YA graphic novel.  Adored.  I’d peg it for kids around 2nd grade or so.  There is action, mystery, friendship, aliens, robots and a cute mouse all rolled into one sweet little novel.  This collection tells the origin story of Zita, a girl from Earth who gets sucked through a portal to an alien inhabited universe.  It leaves off with a nice open ending.  I’m hoping there is more of this good stuff to come.  After reading a copy from the library, I promptly went out and bought two more copies: one for our house and one for Leina’s classroom library.  I highly recommend you do the same.

Hamburger

Many many months ago, I checked out the book Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love by Hillary Lang from the library.  The dolls are absolutely adorable and there were a few I was itching to try.  While flipping through the pages, Kulia wandered by and peeked over so see what I was oohing and ahhing over.  Now, Kulia loves pigs and elephants.  I mean LOVES.  It is almost a compulsion with her.  So when she say a pattern for a sweet little stuffed elephant with a hidden pocket, her bitty heart just melted.  She wanted that ellie.  She wanted it now.  Unfortunately, I don’t do so great with now.  I’m more of an eventually type of gal but Kulia would not be put off.  Every time she saw me at my craft table, she’d ask if I was working on her ellie.  She just wouldn’t let me forget it.  So during Spring Break, I put the pedal to the metal and “someday” turned into “today”.   This was not an easy stuffed animal to make.  But from the loving it had been getting, it was well worth the effort and the wait!

Hamburger the Elephant

Hamburger Love

New Week; New Book

What an adorable novel! Miss. Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson.  This one was not easy to find as it is rather old but oh so sweet!  It is set in a small English town full of characters where nothing ever happens until one of its residents decides to write a book.  Of course, she changes everyone’s names but her characters are drawn straight for life and are easily recognizable.   Not everyone appreciates what they see written on the page and the people of the town attempt to ferret out who exactly wrote the book under the name “John Smith.”  A sweet, funny, delightful novel.  Just right for a rainy day and a cup of tea and few oatmeal raisin cookies.  (Or perhaps, more than a few but who’s counting!)

And trust me, there has been plenty of rain.  So far, we have had 21 days of rain and today looks like day 22.  This has put a rather soggy damper on our Spring Break plans.  Usually, we get out into the yard for the start of the season and bring in the first load of flowers.  Instead, we have hung out on the sofa watching far too much t.v. and playing computer games for hours on end.  Ah well.  I guess that’s what I get for living in Oregon.

Our Exciting Spring Break Activity.....Nothing!

A Moment of Silence

Goldie and Rainbow Fish

3/11/2011 – 3/25/2011

Rest in peace Goldie and Rainbow.  I feel we barely knew you at all.  These last 15 days were something special.  If only our time together could have been longer.  Farewell my flipper-ed friend!  And Uncle Dan, your fish predicting skills are a bit freaky.  You have a gift my friend.  Use it well….