Some Things Old, Some Things New

This summer has been the season of broken things. We’ve replaced a car, a vacuum cleaner, and a washer and dryer. The dishwasher is giving me attitude. Apparently washing dishes halfway and not drying them at all is enough. I don’t want to know what the puddle at the bottom is all about. What bugs me is replacing items I’ve had for fifteen years with things that break down within a year or two.

It’d be nice to purchase something new because I want it and can afford it, rather than being forced to even if we can’t afford it.

My husband, the eternally optimistic one, thinks either way is just fine…because either way you get new stuff.

I like new stuff. I can imagine I’d like financial security, too.

What I don’t like is car shopping. We tried a couple of car dealerships and found some used cars that were practical, boring and a couple of light years out of our price range. And the salesmen refused to haggle. You can’t buy a car without haggling.

Next we tried one of those funky used car places where the office is in a sagging trailer – the kind that makes me wish I always carried hand sanitizer around in my purse. Almost everything on the lot had more than 90,000 miles on it and looked like it had been put out to the concrete pasture.

Then we spotted a ’92 Buick with only 42,000 miles on it. There wasn’t a scratch on it. We took it for a drive. The kids made it clear they’d sulk if we looked at anything else.



They were crazy about the retro look. Who knew the ‘90’s were retro?

Besides, the car was so cheap I could’ve written a check (if I’d thought to actually bring a checkbook). That was after haggling, of course. So we did the whimsical and impractical thing: we bought the seventeen year old car that made us smile.

If only I could get used to the idea that something made in the same year I got married looks sooooo old-fashioned.

Puttin' On My Top Hat...

For those of you who don’t know it yet, this is Corfu. He’s a pretty entertaining bird, but his best tricks are imitating sounds of cutlery and swinging upside down from his toys. He’s not known for being eager to please.

Don’t worry, though - this post is not about him. This post is about the teenage sense of humor, and the sublime randomness of some of the comments they can come up with. I only posted Corfu’s picture because in order to appreciate the following example of this, you need to know who Corfu is.

I had just dumped a huge load of laundry out onto the daybed in the living room, since this is the designated laundry folding spot. My daughter, who is prone to random bursts of helpfulness, sauntered over and started helping me sort socks.

For a couple of minutes we sorted in silence. Then my daughter made this very important announcement:

“We need to go see Corfu’s tap recital tonight.”

Now that’s something I'd like to see. Good thing the laundry is done. I’m wondering what could be the appropriate attire for such an occasion.

I Worry Too Much

This is just the kind of detail I always agonize about.

Our local SCBWI chapter asked our illustrator group to create cards to send a message of hope and recovery following recent bushfire disasters in Victoria, Australia. SCBWI Australia and New Zealand organized the Hope Card for Australia project, for children’s authors and illustrators to show support for the children and schools of Australia.

To brainstorm an idea, I looked for images that to me conveyed a feeling of hope. I liked an image I found of grass growing against a blue sky.



A nice enough start. I thought I’d go with a universal children’s book character, and added a mouse.



I wanted to include something specific to the area, so I researched native wildflowers and added the cut leaf daisy.



Something about the picture didn’t seem right. As I added finishing touches to my painting, it dawned on me – I’ve seen a documentary showing an overpopulation of mice plaguing Australian farm life. Oops. A message of hope for wildfire recovery probably shouldn’t include an animal whose wildly fluctuating populations occasionally wreak havoc on crops.

I searched images of Australian wildlife, found adorable pictures of Australian Wood Duck ducklings, and quickly redid the illustration:



And just after I turned it in, I learned that these little darlings have ALSO been known to be pests, although hopefully to a lesser degree.

If you think about it, plenty of lovable characters could be nuisances in real life, starting with the sweet little bunny. I’ll bet there was a darn good reason Peter Rabbit’s father was baked in a pie.

In Australia, even the beloved kangaroo has given headaches to farm communities. I’ll have to console myself with believing my little duckling wouldn’t dare cause any trouble.

Maybe I should’ve gone with a koala. Anyway, with all the best intentions, I'm sending good thoughts (along with a sometimes misbehaving duck) to Australia.

Doggie-versary

I know I should post something other than pictures of my dog. It just happens that today is the one year anniversary of the day we brought Luna home from the Baja Animal Sanctuary. She was four months old. How could I resist a face like that?

This anniversary arrived just when I learned I have another piece of flash fiction posted over at Children Come First. It might be obvious that Luna's antics partly inspired this story. Click on the story title to read The Missing Cookies.

Summer

Things to do:

Spend time with kids
Swim
Bake fruity things
Try to eat enough artichokes to be perfectly sick of them
Go to the beach
Try to leave some sand at the beach
Vacuum sand out of the carpet
And the car
And the closet
And the couch
And the refrigerator
Paint the kids’ rooms
Watch embarrassing reality TV but try to pretend I don't
Grill stuff
Read War and Peace
Or not
Keep plugging away at picture books
Keep trying to habilitate this one:



What’s not high up on my summer to do list? Blogging. I notice things have slowed down in Blogtown, so I’m probably not the only one finding reasons to step away from the computer. I’m going to try to post something once a week or so ‘til September (I can’t stay away from it altogether). I'm sure I'll keep popping in on everyone, too, because...you can only watch so much reality TV. And I'd miss corresponding with everyone.

So, what’s on your to do list for the summer?

A New Book by Rena Jones, and Some Fun Rat Facts, Too

What is the perfect occupation for a rat? You can explore the possibilities from A to Z in Rena Jones’ new picture book, A New Job for Dilly.

In this story, a rat named Dilly seeks a job to support his passion for sour pickles. This clever alphabet book is illustrated by Lisa Oakman.

I thought it was interesting that Rena chose the misunderstood rat as the main character for her picture book, so I decided to look for some fun facts about rats. While researching, I formed a few opinions of my own as to what might be suitable employment for these talented critters…

- ­Rats can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! They’d be perfect for getting to those hard to reach places – I’d hire one to search for that spare change hiding under the car seats.

- Rats are very social creatures, and excellent taste-testers. I think party planning would be a good career for a fun-loving rat.

- Studies have shown that rats are ticklish, and even emit “laughing” sounds when tickled. Hmm…if rats have a funny bone, maybe they’d be good at reviewing TV sitcoms or writing riddles.

- Rats are good swimmers, and can be taught to reel in objects attached to the end of a rope. That sounds like the perfect set of skills for a deckhand.

- Rats can chew through glass, cinderblock, wire, aluminum, and lead. Wow! I think a rat might have a brilliant career in etching or engraving. Or maybe one could manage to scrape the dried pancake batter off my counter.

To learn more about the adventures of Dilly, hop over to Rena’s blog. And be sure to enter to win an autographed copy of A New Job for Dilly! Just leave a comment on at least FOUR of the seven blog stops. Rena will put your name in a pot and a winner will be chosen at the end of the tour. Please make sure she has a way to contact you, and remember to reply to at least FOUR different stops to qualify...see my sidebar for the tour schedule (and click on the names to arrive at their blogs). Rena will contact the winner at the end of the tour to find out how they'd like the book to be signed. Good luck!

Hide and Squeak

These are pictures I took years ago of baby rats that belonged to a friend of mine.


You might have to search a little to spot them.


Since rats have received a bit of a bad rap, my friend and I thought it would be fun to photograph them among pretty things like baubles and lace...

...which we happened to find in colors that matched their fur.

Rats are playful and intellegent, and make sweet pets.

Come back tomorrow for a fun post about rats!

Pants on Fire

I was tagged by Rena with this ‘Sinful Nature’ meme:

"Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each sin) and hope they can lie."

Pride -- What is your biggest contribution to the world?
You know those big fat recliners that have everything: cup holder, refrigerator, remote control cubby, massager...essentially everything except a flusher and a toilet paper holder? Totally my idea. That, and the Ped Egg, too.

Envy -- What do your coworkers have that you wish was yours?
When I had coworkers, it was the cubicles I coveted. I could use some tweedy gray walls so I can pin up my timesheet and my Dilbert calendar. And I’d love to have the scent of my neighbor’s Cup o’ Noodles wafting into my workspace.

Gluttony -- What did you eat last night?
Carl’s Junior. I eat it every night because their commercials are so appetizing. Nothing makes me hungrier than watching people eat like jackals.

Lust -- What really lights your fire?
The sight of a cell phone kiosk. Oh, it’s exciting enough just to be in a shopping mall. It's even better when twenty year olds with turned-up collars and gold chains beckon, call me Ma’am, and try to sell me a new phone.

Anger -- What is the last thing that really pissed you off?
At the movies on Father’s Day I spotted a baseball cap that said #1 Dad. I’m kicking myself for not being able to come up with a gift idea that's that original.

Greed -- Name something you hoard and keep from others.
Baked goods. What…wasn’t that the point of The Little Red Hen? I bake it, I eat it. Make your own cookies!

Sloth -- What’s the laziest thing you ever did?
Paint abstracts. Whenever I'm in a gallery, I overhear someone say a monkey can do that. Or a two year old. I guess it must be true then.

Who else wants to search for their inner fibber? I tag:

Stephanie
K
PJ
Keats
Ara
Suzie
Jules