So very proud!

It's been a busy busy week for Rachel.  Her IOP (independent oral presentation) was due yesterday. It was a big deal, and after much preparation and many run throughs I'm certain she nailed it. 

In addition to her studies and the IB program, Rachel squeezed in a fair amount of time managing the football team at her high school.  So we attended the football banquet this week, where she was recognized alongside the players.  Lastly, and probably most importantly, Rachel was inducted into the National Honor Society this week.  We are so very proud of her!

Here she is at the ceremony:

There was much celebrating with family. From left: Audrey (Robert's mom), me, Robert, Rachel and Carolyne (grandma)

Here's the certificate:

This next picture was taken at the football banquet. At last year's banquet there was a tree filled with pictures of the football players and managers. Because we knew about the tree, Robert and I made a beeline for it. So that tiny thing I'm holding? That's her football manager picture, which is now on our tree with her picture from last year.

flowers that began as little arrows

You know how you see something every day as a child, and it becomes a huge part of who you are?

I can think of a handful of such things.  My grandma had these strange plates with fish on them that hung in her kitchen.  I close my eyes and can see them perfectly.  I do not remember feeling one way or another about them, but there they are, just behind my closed eyes.

Another thing that stands out from my childhood are these stickers my dad had for his scrap business.  They were a black and white image of our last name, and no offense dad, but rather boring.  I put one on my pink lunchbox during fifth or sixth grade and treasured that ugly sticker.

But there were pieces of art from my childhood I adored and stared at for hours.  One such thing is a porcelain basket of flowers.  It sat in my grandma's hutch and was not for little fingers.  I now have that little basket and admit I touch it often and love it as much as my kid self did.  Another thing I cherished was an embroidery piece my mom made.  It hung just above the coffee pot in my grandma's kitchen for as long as I can remember.  Now it hangs in my office. When I look at it, the wall it hangs on disappears, and I am in my grandma's kitchen again.   

This is my mom's embroidery piece:

Today, as I was posting my next embroidery piece on Etsy, I happened to look up at my mom's embroidery and I couldn't help it. I shrieked.  

Somehow her piece has sprouted flowers, flowers that began as little arrows. 

This is my newest embroidery piece:  

Even the sayings feel like a conversation between two different eras.  I feel like my life is mass confusion quite often, and it helps some to tell myself that it's happy mass confusion.  Let go is the mantra I repeat most often, and that helps too. Miss a serve or crack my shin with my racquet while missing my serve and I tell myself Let go.  I cannot hold up or onto everything or make things fit in places that are the wrong shape.  Let go.  In a way, those two words are the answer to the mass confusion of life, the remedy or force to combat the arrows that are constantly flying at us.  And what a wonderful strength it takes to turn those arrows into growth!

But just like my embroidery piece illustrates, we don't have to let go of everything. And sometimes we are unable to.  

I love my progress pictures of this piece.  I spent as much time ripping out thread as I did sewing the piece.  Thankfully, denim is so forgiving.  

dad, look at this!

My dad and Lisa visited us for Thanksgiving this year!  There was much conversation, food, and laughter.  

This was the first time my dad visited me at one of my homes.  Seriously!  He's always been such a homebody.  I felt like I was eight years old again showing him my home, stomping grounds, and neighborhood.  There was a lot of dad, look at this! going on.  Thankfully he demonstrated just as much interest and patience as he did when I was eight and showing off some impressive kid thing I accomplished (beanie baby theater most likely).  

We also decorated sugar cookies and put up the tree.  It was a wonderful visit.

Nobody wanted them to leave.  Including Ella!

I cannot wait!

I have some really GIGANTIC, fantastic, exciting, life-changing news.

Are you ready to hear it?

Well, it's pretty big news, so maybe you should sit down for it.

No, really, take a seat.  This is HUGE news.  

Ok ok.  You have been very patient.  ARE YOU READY?

In December I will have a new gig at the library!  I will be a youth services specialist, which is a fancy way of saying I get to spend my days helping kids find books and reading them stories!

I will be blogging about all my exciting new adventures as a youth services specialist, so you will get to be a part of the journey too!!

birthday balloon ambassadors

Rachel celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday.  She picked an interesting place to eat, a place where they cooked an assortment of food (and one mountain of butter) in front of us.  It will not be the place I pick for my birthday dinner, but Rachel enjoyed it and the company was nice.  

From left: Robert's mom, Audrey, Robert, Robert and Rachel's grandma, Carolyne, Rachel, and me.

Naturally, Robert filled the house with balloons and made Rose and Ella official birthday balloon ambassadors.

Ella didn't mind her balloon duties until one got caught in the fan.  And even then, she was only mildly perturbed.  In the picture, Robert is decorating the box of one of Rachel's presents (a framed map of the United States that she can stick her pins in that she's been collecting from all of our trips).

Rose was happy to be a birthday balloon ambassador because she will do anything for Rachel's happiness.  Really!

Because I am a hillbilly and I know many of my blog readers are as well, I will share this wonderful picture of synchronized birthday balloon pottying with you.  Please excuse our yard (we do not have grass yet! So very hillbilly, yes!)

Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer, Ella Morton, and Dylan Thuras

When I started this book my intention was to skip around and read only about the places that jumped out at me. Turns out everything jumped out at me, and I was held captive by this giant book for several months. With pictures galore, an astonishing amount of research, and hours of happy reading, Atlas Obscura is a one-of-a-kind travel book that invites you to explore all the hidden wonders of the globe.

I must admit I'm quite fearful of South America after reading Atlas Obscura. With places like The North Yungas Death Road, The Island of the Dolls, and The Cave of Swallows (which really should be called The Cave of Scary Creepy Crawly Things), I had a few nightmares during the South America chapter. However, as scared as I am to visit South America again (I've been to Guatemala), I finished the South America chapter and found myself wanting more. That's the beauty of Atlas Obscura. Whether you're packing your bags and ready to drop everything to visit one of the world's many strange places, or you're mentally crossing off an entire continent on your travel list, there's just enough information to leave you wanting more, and you will definitely want more. I love books like this, books that send me on a wild goose chase through the stacks of libraries, searching for additional information.

Though South America was a bit frightening for my travel tastes, there were many places from Atlas Obscura I would love to visit. I wouldn't mind visiting most of the crypts and cemeteries mentioned, such as the dog cemetery in France or the Hanging Coffins in Sagada (though I'm banking on the invention of teleportation by the time I go so I can skip the long, perilous journey). There were also several places I thought only existed in fairytales, such as the Forestiere Underground Gardens in California and Paronella Park in Queensland, Australia. I had just as much fun reading Atlas Obscura as I did adding places to my existing bucket list, which is now many pages long thanks to this book. Intriguingly enough, there are many places listed in this book that are not open to visitors. What a tease! Many places also require several modes of travel, both conventional (planes) and not so conventional (zip lining).

Atlas Obscura will take a long time to read, so I recommend reading it slowly. I also recommend leaving it out on the coffee table, because the conversations it ignites are just as strange and delightful as the book. And when you finish reading it, don't forget to read the imaginative organization of its content just in case you're interested in say, Very Large Things or Self-Built Castles and you want to make sure you didn't miss anything.

paradise

The master bathroom has come a loooong way.

Believe it or not the picture above morphed into this: 

Paradise.  

The tub is a fancy schmancy air tub.  It's pretty darn relaxing.  In the master bath we still have a handful of things to do - some small cabinet flaws, light fixtures, and a vanity mirror.  We are also going to put in a magazine rack, because the tub is the best place to read them.  Today, while I was doing yoga upstairs, there was a terrible racket going on downstairs.  A terrible, wonderful racket because when I peeked in the downstairs bathrooms there were newly-installed towel racks and toilet paper holders.

I am a stress writer/reader.  I retreat into words whenever I am feeling overwhelmed.  When I am feeling ok with the world I take all the books off the shelves, clean everything, flip through my favorite books, make a stack of ones to reread, and then put everything back on the shelves in a new way.  It's fair to say I live in books and they live in me.   

Recently, Robert asked for his own shelf so that he doesn't have to dig too much to find his library books.  But he doesn't have a lot of library books checked out currently so I gave his shelf a little bit of love - one of his beloved stuffed animals (we're never too old for soft and squishy things), a few of his airplane books, and his propeller.  

I also gave the family bibles a new spot next to a bit of humor and some of my favorite books that give me peace.  If you look closely you will see our doggy camera.  It's a little camera that allows us to talk to them when we are away (and also tell them to get off the couch).    

I gave the gnome and his monster foes to my children's books.

And tonight, this tiny bat flew into my favorite teacup and made himself at home.   

War, Scary Places, & Pretty Data

October was an interesting and unusual month of reading.  I read Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's much anticipated sequel, The War I Finally Won, and LOVED it.  But I didn't love the first book, so there was much inner turmoil - you mean I have to get excited about the first book so I can talk about the second book?  Jeepers!  I also finished an excellent book I've been reading since July.  It really should be included in my July, August, September and October favorite books lists, but what book needs that kind of ego?  And then there was Dear Data, which I read months ago, gave an ok rating, and dismissed it, only to find out that it planted the seeds of a thousand wildflowers in my imagination. Sneaky sneaky, wonderful books.    

Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton

Probably the best travel book I've ever read, although there are many places too terrifying to visit! My full review will be posted soon.

The War that Saved My Life & The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The first book in this series was good, and I enjoyed it immensely until its hurried and unrealistic ending. But it's still a good read, and it's necessary to read it before reading The War I Finally Won, which is a fantastic sequel. Though there was a bit of disjointed writing, the relationships, characters, and lessons that Ada learns on her journey to "win her war" are beautiful and easily outweigh the disjointed writing. My favorite moment is during Christmas, when Ada reflects about how much she has gained, even during wartime. "I'd been a crippled, ignorant prisoner looking out the window of a dingy London flat. Now I walked on two feet and rode and read and shared a bedroom and bookshelves with the daughter of a baron."

After the Fall by Dan Santat

Oh Humpty Dumpty, I love this fractured nursery rhyme because it paints you in such an inspirational light. Readers will connect with Humpty Dumpty's struggle to conquer his fear of climbing back up on the wall again. And the ending is so incredibly imaginative and heartwarming. My favorite part is the moment when Humpty Dumpty tells the reader "there were some parts that couldn't be healed with bandages and glue." Though it was a bit inappropriate to laugh at that moment, I couldn't help myself and guffawed loudly.

This is my favorite page from the book:

Dear Data by by Stefanie Posavec and Giorgia Lupi

"Dear Data is a year-long, analog data drawing project by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec, two award-winning information designers living on different sides of the Atlantic.  By collecting and hand drawing their personal data and sending it to each other in the form of postcards, they became friends." This is a description from the Dear Data website.

The first time I read this I thought, "yay for another take on visual data."  I gave it three stars and returned it to the library.  But since then I can't stop thinking about it.  This book has snuck into my thoughts, positively impacted my art, and has completely dominated the chunk of my brain labeled 'joy.'  I finally bought the book because I can't live without it.  I know there's a website, but I'm a book gal, and there's something particularly wonderful about holding and reading this book because it's soft and bulky and quite lovable.

Here is an example of their oh-so-pretty data.  This is titled "A Week of General Complaints and Grumpiness."  Seriously!!