Colorado trip

We had a wonderful vacation with the kids. Once again Scott's aunt and uncle were gracious hosts.

Go Fly A Kite

Anyone familiar with the Mary Poppins movie will remember these lyrics.

With tuppence for paper and string,
You can have your own set of wings.
With your feet on the ground,
You're a bird in flight!
With your fist holding tight,
To the string of your kite!

Oh, Oh, Oh!
Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up to where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite!

When you send it flying up there,
All at once you're lighter than air!
You can dance on the breeze,
Over 'ouses and trees!
With your fist 'olding tight,
To the string of your kite!

Oh, Oh, Oh!
Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up to where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite!

Mamma Mia!

The past few weeks have been fairly busy. We had four guests over for President's Weekend to play games with Scott. I herded the kids to a bowling birthday party and to visit Mom after her heart cath and stent placement. She's doing great, everyone. Thanks for all the prayers and phone calls of concern. The stents have increased her oxygen supply. She feels more like herself and finally has the energy she hasn't had in years. She has another appointment this month to assess her skipping heart beats. More prayers are needed if she requires a pacemaker or defibrillator. Lana's heart cath at the end of January went fine without incident, with the exception of me getting rear-ended at a stoplight after I took her home. I'm still recovering from whiplash and under chiropractic care.

We celebrated Aden's good progress in school by going out for ice cream and a carousel ride.




We learned recently a piece of his artwork has been chosen to represent his school the district art exhibit. He says he wants to be an artist when he grows up. I'm sure he will change his mind about 100 times before he actually has to choose a career track, but I will support him in whatever he does, including pay for art school.



I have been acquiring out-of-print copies of children's books via eBay this past month. Growing up, Mom always made sure we had books in the house to read, no matter how tight money was. We were taught books were to be cherished friends and companions and I still have a majority of the books from my childhood. I'm replacing some of the books that didn't survive my youth, like The Miss Bianca/Rescuer series by Margery Sharp. Despite taking care not to break the spines of paperbacks by “folding” my books, my Margery Sharp books disintegrated due to cheap spine glue used in the '80's. I now have ex-library copies of the entire series in hardback. The fact they are old library copies only adds to the charm. One book came from the Vancouver Public Library, British Columbia; six came from Coquitlam Public Library, British Columbia; one came from a middle school in Aylesbury, United Kingdom; and the last is from a school in Mount Compass, Australia. All are in very good library condition. All are first editions with the exception of one. The first four in the series are illustrated by Garth Williams - the illustrator of E. B. White's Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. Although Disney loosely based The Rescuer movie from these books, these books do not follow the Disney story. It's fascinating how many Disney movies were actually based on classic books for children - 101 Dalmatians, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins were all popular children's books. It's sad how most children grow up only watching the movies, without the benefit of the rich story the actual book brings.

I recently purchased seven Doctor Doolittle books from the 1960's (prior to later editions where sections were either re-written or deleted to make them more politically correct). Six of them are in a box set from 1967 with a picture of Rex Harrison portraying Doctor Doolittle on the slipcase. I’m anxiously awaiting my “gem” - a 1924 first edition of Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees, written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle. Recent copies of this book are illustrated by a Jan Palmer, which is why I went searching for a first edition. I think having such a well-loved, classic story illustrated by someone other than the original artist takes away from the book. When I get my front living room shelving done, these cherished volumes will sit on the shelves with other great series I already have, like my Wizard of Oz books (some are first editions) and Andrew Lang Fairy Tale Collection. Eventually, I would like to get copies of the out-of-print “shoe books” by Noel Streatfield. I never got the opportunity to read them as a child and didn't even know of their existence until I saw "You've Got Mail". How I love watching that movie, especially when I'm home with the sniffles.

I would like to go back to school one day and take classes in children's literature/library sciences. When I retire from my full-time job, I could work part-time at the children's section of a library, or possibly tour around in full Mother Goose garb, reading stories to children at day cares, schools, libraries, or hospitals. Perhaps I could try my hand at writing a children's book myself. (Yes, yet another mom who thinks she can write a children's book after reading so many to her kids. Who knows? Aden may illustrate a book for me one day.)

Soccer practice has started again. Both Aden and Danielle are playing this season. The first game takes place the day our plane leaves for Colorado. We will try not to miss the first game, but we will have to see.

We went for a walk at one of South Carolina's beautiful state forests over the weekend. We let Aden hold the map and work on his map reading skills. When we got home we highlighted which paths we took. When we go again, we will take a different path. We learned about vernal ponds, how a longleaf pine grows, fox squirrel, and saw an absolutely gorgeous crooked pine.

Last night, Scott and I went to see a traveling Broadway production of Mamma Mia! Although corny in some scenes, the show was a lot of fun, to include several encore numbers by the cast. In the late '70's, I remember my brother in his room with his headphones hooked up to his stereo, listening to ABBA eight-tracks. He would sing (badly) at the top of his lungs, oblivious that everyone around him heard him sing off-key, while I giggled outside his bedroom door. It was hard not to sing along with cast to the ABBA songs I nearly know by heart thanks to my brother. The show did not get a great review in today's paper, but I had fun all the same. What was so quaint, was admiring the sea of white-haired fifty and sixty-year-olds in the audience remember their hay-days. (Today's newspaper also had a story about a retired couple who have been following this cast from New York, Florida, Vegas, Chicago, and now here in Columbia. They have bought tickets for all eight performances this week and traveled 700 miles to do it!)