My Flash

My flash and I are not friends.

Often when I try to use it I end up with blown out pictures, washed out faces and dark shadows.

Ugly, ugly, ugly.

I have learned that my flash and I get along best if I stand as far away as possible from the subject of my photo but even with that effort on my part we are still barely on speaking terms.

Today I was ignoring my flash who, evidently, was feeling left out and malevolent because it went off when I wasn’t expecting it.

It was a shocking event to say the least!

Jane and I have vowed not to say a word to my flash for at least a week in response to that rude surprise!

The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark

Words of wisdom from the Abbess of Crewe:

On saying grace – “Oh, it isn’t necessary… there’s nothing wrong with my food.”

“Only the beautiful should make love when they are likely to be photographed.”

“I love you so dearly, Winifrede, that I could eat you were it not for the fact that I can’t bear suet pudding.”

In answer to the question what are scenarios. – “They are an art-form, based on facts. A good scenario is a garble. A bad one is a bungle. They need not be plausible, only hypnotic, like good art.”

“A Lady is cheerful and accommodating when dealing with the perpetrators of a third-rate burglary; but a Bourgeoise calls the police.”

Would I recommend it? The book is only six chapters long so if an abbey full of plotting nuns, electronics, scandal, blackmail, and English poetry sounds amusing or interesting go ahead and pick it up. I’m thinking that it must at least sound interesting so you’d better go read it… it’s only SIX chapters after all, and tell me what you think!

Don’t forget to stop by and see what Simon and Harriet have to say about Spark this week too.

I read that Muriel Spark is like the J.D. Salinger of the U. K. read in schools and the whole nine yards. I’d never heard of her before, how about you?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sun

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sun

I love looking around at life through the “lens” of the week’s theme.

I love that I’m taking more pictures, playing with my camera settings and challenging myself to do it all without Photoshop (at least for that one picture!). Life is always full of obligatory challenges and  it’s been nice to be able to choose a challenge for a change! But, life being what it is there are also nights, like tonight, where there are unexpected challenges with the photos.

When you try to take a picture while simultaneously attempting to calm down the baby you’ve upset by the sudden change of position and arguing with the two year old over who gets the one particular dandelion amongst the hundred or so available, the challenge part of the photo challenge takes on a whole new meaning.

But, after I snapped my picture and Clara picked the contested flower for her bouquet I watched her blow her dandelion seed heads and remembered another challenge of mine.

To slow down.

To remember that even though the kids might make things take a little bit longer, make life a little bit messier and a bit more frustrating, that I need to take a deep breath, slow down and let them in.

Because when I do, it’s always just a little bit better.

And if it takes looking at life through a camera lens to remember that, I guess I’ll just have to keep snapping photos!

Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark

One day my travels on the internet brought me to Stuck in a Book.  As I browsed the site I discovered that Stuck in a Book and Harriet were hosting a Muriel Spark reading week. Who, I thought, is Muriel Spark and what is this reading week business of hers all about? Ever the intrepid internet explorer at one AM I hit Wikipedia to discover just who Muriel Spark was. Then it was onto my library loan site to get a few books of hers so that I could read them, post reviews the week of April 23-29 and thus join the Muriel Spark reading week.

And so that brings me, finally, to Loitering With Intent, the first Muriel Spark novel I have read.

There are main characters, and there are main characters. The most common ones are those who you suspect due to their large amounts of charisma, good luck, good looks, and the fact that they have a series of books named after them will, survive to have the fairy tale, good karma, feel good sort of end. Then there are the other ones, the more interesting ones.  The main characters who range from a bit off the moral high road to the down right dubious and nasty (Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris comes to mind) characters who leave you in doubt up to the end whether they’ll get their happy ending, or even if they deserve it.  These main characters are sometimes hard to love, like, or even enjoy reading about the workings of their twisted minds, but they do without a doubt make a book much more interesting.

Loitering With Intent‘s Fleur is by no means all the way to the evil end of this spectrum, but she does fall squarely into the dodgy (may I use that word- American that I am- since I’m talking about a book set in London???) portion of things and that is what makes the book so interesting.  She’s not your normal shining star of a girl. Fleur is more of an penniless, egotistical, writer, who’s not completely believable… but I sorta liked her anyway.

Would I recommend it? Yes, the book kept me guessing and you really need to meet the fabulous Lady Edwina who was the best part of the whole thing!

If your interested in more Muriel Spark don’t forget to check in with Stuck in a Book and Harriet as they alternate posting this week!

Two Years of Rainbows and Sunshine

As of today I have been blogging for two years.

Two years!

I thought about writing a nice thank you post to all of you wonderful people who take the time to see what I’ve had to say. I thought of telling you all that comments make my day bright and sunshiny with rainbows and singing birds.  Of how I wish that all you lovely people who take the time to stop by and read are visited by leprechauns bearing gold, surrounded by pink and purple butterflies and live lives free of athletes foot… And while that’s all true, it’s a bit overly sentimental for my tastes.

Then I thought I should give away something. All sorts of blogs give things away, like cameras, and ipads… then reality struck.  Reality continued to rear it’s ugly head as I realized that even a nicely priced packet of flower seeds still needs to go in the mail. Which would mean a visit to the post office. It would be sad and pathetic to intend to give away something and then never actually get it in the mail.

I try not to be sad and pathetic. So, I did the only sensible thing left to do.

I made chocolate cupcakes.

The girls and ate them in celebration of two years of fun, story sharing, picture taking, sanity saving blogging.

We shared them with you all in spirit, and they were just as tasty as barley flour cupcakes can be.

Thanks for visiting and may you all be as happy as Jane!

T is For Toad

Ivy went looking for bugs under logs and found this toad.

Note: My daughter's not jaundiced, she just likes to be a dandelion fairy!

Shortly after the big discovery Ivy ran for the house to show Clara. When I walked in Ivy was headed up the stairs, toad in hand.

Me: “Whatcha’ doin’ Ivy?”

Ivy: “I’m going to play with my toad!!!”

By the time my camera and I wandered upstairs to see what was happening the toad had peed on Ivy and the carpet.

This didn’t surprise me because not only is pee a toads M.O., the play room is the only room left in the house with carpet. Murphy’s law strikes again!

After the toad met a few of the locals…… and was completely unimpressed… …Ivy brought him back to his little toady hideout.

Toads, cameras and kids it makes for a hoppin’ good time!

One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde

One of the fun things about the Weekly Photo Challenge is that in looking at other peoples entries I have found some amazing blogs. One of them is Anne Freeman Images: Art of the Outdoors. Anne’s pictures are amazing, her short stories are fun and she has posted a few book reviews – what’s not to love? I read about One of Our Thursdays is Missing on her site and she gave it such a fantastic review that I went and requested it through the library system as I promptly forgot half of what she said in her review.

She says, right there, in plain English, that this is not the first in the series but do I remember?

No.

Fortunately Anne was right, this was a very fun book and I also will be heading back to the library to get the first in the series The Eyre Affair.

Would I recommend it? Yes. War is threatening between Racy Novel and Women’s Fiction you don’t want to miss out on that! Unless you have an issue with puns. If you have an issue with puns you may want to steer clear. In that regard it is reminiscent of the Xanth books but less 14 year old boy humor and more book humor.

And don’t be like me.

DON’T FORGET!

This is not the first in the series, if you want to start at the beginning don’t start here look up The Eyre Affair instead!

City Dog, Country Frog by Jon J. Muth and Mo Willems

A sweet, simple story about friendship, seasons, aging and loss.

Illustrated by the same man who did Zen Shorts and Zen Ghosts the pictures are touching and funny all at the same time.

There is not a great deal of text, yet it is enough that the story can be read as a slightly silly, slightly sad book about a dog and his friends or as something that goes beyond that into friendship, aging, loss and the constant changing of the seasons while life goes on.

Would I recommend it? Yes.