Reason #748 We Do A Lot Of Laundry…

Clara and Jane playing in the dirt… because a giant pile of topsoil is just as much fun to play in as giant pile of sand…Clara and Jonas on the dirt pile

… but with 20,000 times the dirtying power!

Clara's couch

Clara’s couch

It’s not apparent in these pictures, because this was the beginning of the fun, but by the end of the day the kids had to be dunked in the lake before they were allowed in the house!

 

Fire Blessed by Crystin Goodwin

Last fall I read UnBlessed by Crystin Goodwin and, while I recommend it. I refused to tell you about it. 

I didn’t want to ruin the experience.

Now I have read the sequel, Fire Blessed, and I’m still not telling.

I can’t tell you how it was that the author took a story that sucked me in so completely, expanded it and made the next installment even better without spoiling it for you.

I can’t give away just how the characters, that I wished had more substance in the first book, are fleshed out in this one. (But now there are characters of such complexity that I can’t decide if I love them or hate them.)

I can’t hint at the scheming going on behind the scenes. If you haven’t read UnBlessed you must come to it at it’s proper time. (But oh the scheming!)

And I can’t possibly tell you exactly how it leaves you at the end. (But I’m ready for book three!)

What can I tell you?

I can tell you that I’d absolutely recommend that you read it for yourself!

Would I recommend it? Start with UnBlessed (or it just wouldn’t be right) and have this one at hand for as soon as you reach the last page!

 

Wrens, Bees and a Little Perspective

I spent some time watching the wrens feed their babies.young wren

And I spent some time watching the bees come and go from the hives. bees entering hive

The bees, with their thousands of young waiting to be fed inside, still  looked lazy compared to that Mamma wren.wren feeding young

And I? It suddenly seemed that I had a life of leisure, feeding my children only occasionally throughout the day. young wrenNow I’m hoping my girls get a good look at just what those babies get fed for dinner.DSCN8689-(2sm)

Perspective, it’s an interesting thing.

Kings and Queens by Terry Tyler

I learned something new about my husband of eleven years on our last road trip. He, who can solve an issue in a chemical reaction, spout dates and facts from WWII at will and re-plumb a water line as a matter of course, had no idea how many shenanigans King Henry VIII had been involved in.

I discovered this when I, historical fiction fan that I am, offered to read Kings and Queens, a contemporary retelling of the saga that was Henry VIII, aloud to him on our last road trip.

We spent hours reading and talking. John shouting “THIS IS SUCH A TRAIN-WRECK!” and me giggling at “aggressive” business tactics while reminding him that all those employees that were “fired” in this book had their heads removed in real life. I often interrupted the story to tell him how impressed I was to see how different events had been changed to work in the modern setting, while he impatiently banged on the steering wheel because he wanted to know what happened next. We took breaks from the book after each wife to head to the internet and brush up on our history and had hours of fun!

Would I recommend it? Henry VIII’s life was nothing if not a compelling train-wreck of a story, and Terry Tyler’s re-telling of it is no different whether you are a Tudor history buff… or not!

 

Lawnmower Fix

Today I fixed my lawnmower with two tiny pony tail holders.

This either makes me brilliant (for obvious reasons) or completely ridiculous (because the workshop is full of tools and supplies that likely contain the appropriate items for a normal fix) depending on your point of view.lawnmower fix

I’m going with brilliant.