Tag Archives: Family

Daily Diversion #49: One Sleeping Dog, Two Ways

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With our cable and internet connection mysteriously down until just a few hours ago, my weekend consisted of the following: writing (not blogging), cleaning, watching movies on my laptop, blasting punk rock through open windows, listening to sirens scream through the neighbourhood, daydreaming, thinking about doing laundry and then deciding against it, reading, swaying in the breeze clad in my underwear and a hoodie (I get cold), and photographing my dogs while they murmured in their sleep.

 
PS-I will be playing catch-up for the next few days. Thank you for your patience.

Crosley 1

Six days worth of entertainment in one 90-pound package of fur.

Crosley 2

Napping is what he does best. That, and looking cute.

A Year in Books/Day 205: Four Little Blossoms at Oak Hill School

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  • Title: Four Little Blossoms at Oak Hill School
  • Author: “Mabel C. Hawley”
  • Year Published: 1920 (The Saalfield Publishing Company)
  • Year Purchased: Circa 1920
  • Source: My Grandma
  • About: When this book was published nearly a century ago, it wouldn’t have been considered naive or innocent, but a reflection of mainstream normalcy: what childhood was, or aspired to be. As such, the plot isn’t important. All you need to know is in the characters’ names: Bobby, Meg, Dot and….Twaddles. The Blossoms are siblings, and range in age from 7 to 4 (Dot and Twaddles, you see, are twins). Nothing much happens, just the usual sweet or sly childhood shenanigans one associates with a bygone era. The Four Little Blossoms’  benign adventures lasted for seven books. Published between 1920-1930, they were part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate assembly line. Other, more famous series from Stratemeyer include the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, and Dana Girls Mystery Stories.
  • Motivation: This unimportant little book has, by extreme happenstance, been in the family for over ninety years, having been owned or read by four generations. Who knew that it would hang around so long? I wonder if this is the orphan of a once complete set, or if this is the only Four Little Blossoms book my forebears bought?
  • Times Read: Dozens? As one of the first “real” chapter books I owned, at 3 or 4, I used it to move my skills beyond the Little Golden Books stage.
  • Random Excerpt/Pages 10 and 11: “The Blossoms lived in the pretty town of Oak Hill, and they knew nearly every one. Indeed the children had never been away from Oak Hill till the visit they had made to their Aunt Polly, about which you may have read in the book called “Four Little Blossoms at Brookside Farm.” They had spent the summer with Aunt Polly, and had made many new friends and learned a great deal about animals. Meg, especially, loved all dumb creatures. And now that you are acquainted with the four little Blossoms, we must get back to that chimney.”
  • Happiness Scale: 10, because it helped me become quite a fine reader

Daily Diversion #29: A Riverside Perambulation

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My mom was in town this weekend. I didn’t write anything, but I exchanged ideas with the clouds hanging over the river.

Riverfront view across to Kentucky.

Riverfront view across to Kentucky.

Hardier souls in running shoes were doing drills up and down the stairs. We sat, staring off into the distance or talking. The clouds were almost close enough to pluck from the sky.

Riverfront Steps, Clouds Through the Bridge

Riverfront Steps, Clouds Through the Bridge

We walked for miles, and met some very strange creatures…

A Pig Statue (it's a Cincinnati thing)

A Pig Statue (it’s a Cincinnati thing)

Clouds hovering over the Princess Diana Tiara on Queen City Tower.

Archway, with a Sliver of Skyline in the Distance

Archway, with a Sliver of Skyline in the Distance

One sunburn and several lovely memories later, I’m ready to hit the keyboard again.

 

 

A Year in Books/Day 152: Heidi

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  • Title: HEIDI FILLE DES MONTAGNES
  • Author: Adapted from the novel by Johanna Spyri
  • Illustrations: Steffie Lerch
  • Year Published: 1969 (Gautier-Languereau-Paris)
  • Year Purchased: 1970
  • Source: My mom brought this back from an extended stay in France, well before I was born.
  • About: Heidi, the plucky Swiss girl who goes to live with her grandfather, is one of the most famous characters in kiddie literature. There have been many film interpretations, including a 1937 version with Shirley Temple. This little book, in French and meant for early readers (or those just learning the language), was adapted from Spyri’s 1880 novel. It is highly abbreviated, and features sweet illustrations.
  • Motivation: My mother bought this for her younger sister, who gave it to me years later. It quickly became a favourite. I still have it-although it is rough around the edges from repeated childhood readings. It was, and remains, well-loved.
  • Times Read: Countless
  • Random Excerpt:

    Heidi

    Heidi

  • Happiness Scale: 10++

[Intermezzo] Happy Birthday, Momma! Or, This is Where I Review My Mother’s Job Performance…..

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I’m taking a break from my work to wish my sweet, lovely mom, Kay, a Happy Birthday! I started by searching the web for appropriate “mom/mothering” quotes. I came up empty. Oh, there are thousands on the Internet. Most of them are quite nice, inspiring even. Perfectly appropriate. Unfortunately, they just seemed…hollow. Not right. Then it occurred to me. “Duh! You’re a writer. Doing a ventriloquist act with someone else’s words is not good enough for your mother. Do it yourself.”

So here I am, feebly attempting to explain how wonderful she is in (almost) every way. I decided to add that ‘almost’ qualifier because no one is perfect. Not even my mom. That’s alright, because even her imperfection is inspiring. When I was growing up, her humanity empowered me. It still does. She’s stronger than she knows, more beautiful. She grew up at a time when suburban assimilation was expected; she raised me to be my weird, larger-than-life self. To revel in my uniqueness, because that uniqueness was my ticket to an interesting life.

She’s always been fun (and funny!) and open. She’s adventurous but won’t admit it, even when she’s in the middle of doing something totally awe-inspiring. She’s wickedly creative when it comes to this thing called life; always has been, always will be. She’s shy, like me, but passionate and vocal about her convictions (hmm, also like me). She gave me my love of reading and tea and art and half of the other important, beautiful things I hold so dear. My mom, this woman named Kay, has made it possible for me to look in the mirror and say, “I like who I am.” It’s true: I like who I am. But I love her. Mom, you are the best: the best parent, the best friend, the best role model I could ever hope for. You still inspire me. Happy Birthday!

Why, yes, it was the 1970s!

Why, yes, it was the 1970s!

 

Also born on 25 April: Al Pacino, Ella Fitzgerald, Oliver Cromwell, Edward R. Murrow, Renee Zellweger, William J. Brennan, Jr., Edward II and Guglielmo Marconi (which is odd, because I was born on Tesla’s birthday).