Beneath the Wraps

Johanna Hurwitz edited the book “Birthday Surprises” found in the juvenile literature section in the library.   Easy reading and highly entertaining.   I think Jenna will enjoy it. Johanna Hurwitz had asked ten children’s authors to come up with a story involving a child celebrating his or her birthday; several presents and a beautifully decorated box that’s empty.   I LOVED it.   I loved the creativity.   I loved how different each story was. Pam Conrad wrote quite a touching story about a man in a rest home who’s about to celebrate his 100 th birthday and is worried about what his sister will do when she shows up for the party. His great great grandson listens to the details of a memory of the last time he had seen his sister and his gift (or lack thereof) and how his predictions were so different from what had really taken place.   The only story that brought tears to my eyes. Ellen Conford’s story was hilarious.   A gi...

During the summer Jenna kept on hounding me, “When is the next reading club?” Not until September. I LOVE the line-up of books we get to read this year.   I’ve actually read half of them already. Our first meeting was   last night.   We had checked the book out just the week before.   Fortunately for us, it was easy reading and we had finished the book on Tuesday morning.   I was happy as we read that what we read had historical truth – meaning the book “Riding Freedom’  I did not realize until just before the last two chapters that Pam Munoz Ryan had written this historical fiction about Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst   or one-eyed Charley – Charlotte was an orphan who lived at a poorhouse along with several other orphans – all male.   Charlotte was needed in the kitchen and those in charge made certain that there would never be an opportunity for her to be adopted.   When Charlotte’s best friend, Hayden, is adopt...

                 I love hearing Jenna sing.   Often I am surprised to hear her sing along with songs that I have never even heard before.   One of those is the catchy “Cool Kids” by Echosmith.   Here is just one video with lyrics.             As we were walking to school yesterday, she was not only singing the song, but made comments as well – how she and her friend Paul wish they were “cool kids”.   She was spending her recess with Paul and another boy who recently ditched them for his sports and Paul actually has safety patrol duty and so Jenna often feels alone.   She does have friends at Vantanna.   I KNOW she has friends.             It’s not like her first school when she really was among the more popular kids at her school – in fact still is popula...

I so love this time of the year In the morning just before the sun rises At night – just as the sun is setting. The weather is fair.   I like the cool air. But the sun beats down in between. It shouldn’t be this warm hot in September I think it feels like Baker or Death Valley, California.   I suppose that would be a slight exaggeration. 94 degrees might be considered cool for Death Valley   I remember one year my family was on our way to Bakersfield, California to see Corey in a play We stopped off in Baker to get a bite to eat The air was hot.   Unbearably hot. And dry.   It was said the temperature was 117. Patrick had gone into the men’s restroom to remove his shirt and douse it in water.   What a great idea!   I went to the women’s restroom and did the same.   Our shirts were dry before we got back in the car.   Baker boasts to have the world’s tallest thermometer .   It is 134 fee...

I notice that when Jenna and I walk to school in the morning, the sun casts long shadows ahead of us.   Our shadows are tall and thin.   My morning shadow is not fat like I am.   People that know me now would never guess that I had once been mistaken for being anorexic. Jenna wishes she could touch the shadow, jump on top and hold it down or something – but knows that when she moves her shadow will too.   She knows she will never catch it. I smile when I think about the animated series “Peep” which featured an episode about the three friends following their shadows.   Their destination is to visit the island located in the west.   They start their journey in the morning when their shadows are long.   By noon they are tired and their shadows seem to have disappeared.   The three decide to take a nap under a tree and hope to find their shadows when they awake.   They do. Not realizing the sun has cast their shadow...

            I didn’t realize that Jenna viewed the crab apple tree as a friend.   A good friend at that.   True, it often did provide shade over her trampoline.   She also got bonked by tree branches when she jumped too high.   And she was always having to sweep debris off the tarp – mostly from crab apples and leaves.             There was a crab apple tree in the front yard of the house that I grew up in.   Beautiful pink blossoms filled the tree in spring.   Several of us spent hours climbing the trunk and branches.   I suppose it provided shade.   I didn’t dislike the tree, but I certainly didn’t love it. I never got why anyone would purposely plant a tree that produced such horrible fruit.   What is the point of crab apples anyway?  Thousands of cherry-sized “apples” covered our lawn.   I am guess...

         So often the weather forecast promises rain – and there are a few drops.   Sometimes we have showers that last almost twenty minutes.   Jenna and I will sit under the carport and watch the rain.   I love rain.            The promised rain always goes somewhere.   Often it is not received as a good thing.   It has caused the earth to moisten to the point of mud slide causing extreme financial damage –  not to mention has left some homeless.     Or having I-15 close – in the dessert of all places.   That’s just mind-boggling .          For me personally, Rain has always been a positive thing.   As I mentioned in this post , at least half my family vacations involved rain – not that we had planned it that way.   Dad always helped us to make the best of it, and we learned to acc...