Beneath the Wraps

The week before Easter we had a ferocious wind.   I blame it for my dry throat.   I went from sounding like Barry White to Darth Vader to null.   On Tuesday I sounded and felt like I had swallowed razor blades. Jenna went to school on Monday but stayed home the rest of the week.   She is normally quite a horrible patient.   But she actually stayed in bed for two days – except when she was throwing up – which I never shared.   Grateful for that.   On the other hand I have a cough that Jenna doesn’t. So we sprawled in bed all day Tuesday.   I took her to the doctor on Wednesday – though driving with her when she is ill seems to make it even worse as she gets car sick on top of whatever else she had.   She threw up just before the bus parked at the final destination. A throat culture was given – just to rule out strep.   The doctor said she had a virus and that we would just have to wait it out.   Oh, joy....

  In this post I mentioned the ability that Jenna has to create book projects to share about what books she has read.  One of her reports was a letter to the author of Junie B. Jones.  This is a letter which Jenna created for a grade.  We wanted to share it with the author who passed away in November.  We didn't realize that she had passed until we started searching for an address to send the letter to.  This is what Jenna wrote: Dear Barbara,   i’m a girl in 4 th grade at [Vantana] Elementary in [Tannersville], Utah.   My name is [Jenna].   I absolutely love your books Junie b. Jones.   I’m going to tell you why. First, Junie is like me: lonely but enthusiastic.   Secondly, I’ve almost read the entire series of Junie b. Jones just not BOO . . . and I mean it and The Thanksgiving Light. Now I’m reading Cheater Pants Thirdly, is Junie B from your childhood? Lastly, Thanks for reading From Jenna...

A few of my posts have included dreams that I’ve had. Each of those posts concludes with how I don’t put much faith in dreams.   But there is one dream that I definitely interpreted to be quite meaningful.   I made a life changing decision as a result.                   I met Roland for the first time on December 31, 2000.   He asked me out that night.   We would go downtown to celebrate the coming of the New Year.   I missed playing games with my family – a ritual I have enjoyed about New Years.                   Roland was quite forward.   I had dismissed guys for being too forward – and none had ever been as forward as Roland had.   I didn’t understand why I felt so comfortable around him. By the end of our date we had set up a second. I don’t know if I knew then ...

Michael Morpurgo wasn’t born until some time after World War II had ended, and yet he was affected by the war as bombed ruins became his play ground.  It wasn’t until much later that he learned that the war had not only destroyed buildings – it had destroyed lives as well – including that of his own family.         The books he writes tell of the history but also give hope to the reader.  I have not yet read “ War Horse ” but it is on my books-to-read list.  The first book that I’ve read by this author is “ An Elephant in the Garden ” Before the bombs had dropped on Berlin , the keeper of the Berlin Zoo had mentioned when the destruction came, all of the big animals at the zoo would have to be killed.  A woman who worked at the zoo asked if she could take a baby elephant she was attached to.  Every night when the zoo closed, she would take the elephant home and every morning she would bring it back – until the bo...

            Last week I purchased bus passes for Jenna and me as Minerva (our neighbor who has been taking Jenna to school) said that her son wanted to start riding the bus again.  I am okay either way.  Morning commute’s not so bad – at least going to school.  Road painting caused delays on the return.             I was returning from the library the other day when a man at the bus stop insisted on talking to me.  I was far more interested in the book I was holding than in anything that he was saying and actually annoyed with his ignorance that I was trying to read.  He said he was looking for a job. Taking baths in the Jordan Canal is getting too cold.  He used to live in those apartments over there.  He still knows people.              He hadn’t shaved because he doesn’t have a razor....

 I started this list several months ago.  I had 89 things at the time.  They are now in alphabetical order so I could type without repeating myself. 1.        aides (such as glasses, hearing) 2.        air conditioner 3.        angels 4.        art 5.        assistance 6.        autumn 7.        baby wipes 8.        balance 9.        binders 10.      blankets 11.      boxes 12.      bus drivers 13.      calendars 14.      camera 15.      choices 16.      clocks 17.      clothes lines 18.  ...