Getting closer and closer

I've just about finished all my shopping! At least I was until Kramer chewed up one of my white sandals. I was so aggravated with him. So now I have to spend some more time looking for another pair of white sandals - not what I wanted to do. I still have to get a hat of some sort, and I would love to find a pair of sunglasses that were like reading glasses, so I didn't have to wear the dorky pair over my regular glasses.

We had to take Kramer to the vet today to get the cyst on his tail drained - serves him right for chewing up my shoe! We are taking Brantlee and Rianne to VBS tonight - Ben is doing storytelling again. Caralee is sick, so Haylee doesn't want to take her out - I don't blame her at all!

Getting ready for a cruise

Ben and I have spent the day shopping for the cruise. I am so excited!! Although he has been before, this is my first real cruise. I'm experimenting a little with a blog, but I don't know if I will be able to post while we are on the ship or not. Gotta do some learning! I told Ben I would buy him dinner at Olive Garden if he would go to one more store with me. Dillards has always been a good place for me to buy special clothes, and I found a dress for the captain's dinner and 2 bathing suits!! Woo Hoo!!

Summer time and the living is...

Spent the day finishing up Caralee's quilt. My computer and scanner weren't being friendly to each other, so I had to use the old computer to scan. But I got it done, and created a label for the quilt. I cut out pieces of the fabric, scanned them, resized them and created a frame around the text. I was pleased with the way it turned out. Hope Caralee will eventually enjoy it.

How's your hearing?

Check out your hearing skills! Can you hear better than a 5th grader?
Mine is OK

You are an easily repelled teenager

The mosquito device was made for the likes of you. You are probably begging to make the noise stop! The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 18.8kHz

Find out which ultrasonic ringtones you can hear!

Cool site

I think I may never watch live TV again! Too many good ole shows!

An avatar

I've been playing with all the new things I learned at SCASL 08! This is the new me!

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Soto (2004)

Turner Buckminster moves to Phippsburg, Maine with his family in 1912 and immediately detests it! His father is the preacher and Turner is expected to be perfect! Wearing a white shirt with "enough starch in it to mummify two, maybe three, pharaohs..." was not Turner's idea of comfort! But when he meets Lizzie Bright, his life changes drastically. Lizzie's family lives on Malaga Island. The town of Phippsburg is losing ground economically, and would like to generate a tourism business, but they believe the poor black community on nearby Malaga Island would keep tourists away. The townspeople expect the minister and his family to support their plans to force all the residents to move away. Turner is forced to decide what loyalty really means.

The imagery in this book is especially powerful. Throughout the book, the sea breeze is almost another character as the breeze prods Turner to action and sometimes leaves him when he can't react.

It would be interesting to compare the racial tension in this book set in Maine 1912 to the racial tension in a typical Southern town of the same time frame.

Turner is home-schooled for much of the book and compares himself to Aeneas as he reads that book. There are several allusions to the character of Aeneas throughout the book.

I believe this book would make an excellent read-aloud because of the historical background as well as the beautiful language.