Spotted on an evening walk
….And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils. William Wordsworth
Blog
Denali National Park
We drove 5 hours up the Parks Highway to Denali National Park with David’s parents in the middle of June 2012. That was our first summer in Alaska and we didn’t really know what to expect. From Anchorage we had often seen the Great One standing tall in the distance on a blue sky winter …
Variations on a Cruise with Major Marine Tours
Our first cruise was a spring whale watching cruise package with Major Marine Tours, and we’ve taken three different cruise itineraries with them since then. There are other companies offering cruises out into the same waters, to see the same sights, but for no particular reason, we’ve gone with Major Marine tours every time and …
Grief Works – Julia Samuel
“Our culture is imbued with the belief that we can fix just about anything and make it better; or if we can’t, that it’s possible to trash what we have and start all over. Grief is the antithesis of this belief: it eschews avoidance and requires endurance, and forces us to accept that there some …
Grey Whale Watching Cruise
We went on a grey whale watching cruise six years ago this weekend so I’ll start my “What To Do in Alaska” collection with that. We had just come through our first Alaskan winter (or so we thought – we were brand new to the way the winter/spring transition happens up here, and that was …
And Here. I can breathe.
“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound…….” You can listen to Wendell Berry read his poem The Peace of the Wild Things here.
Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design – Chip Kidd
“Graphic design is purposeful planning that uses any combination of forms, pictures, words, and meanings to achieve one’s goal…..graphic design is problem solving (and sometimes making something really cool in the process). This was an interesting book I snagged while shelving in J nonfiction a couple weeks ago. Kidd is a graphic designer known for his book …
We Want to Visit Alaska This Summer….
We want to visit Alaska this summer, what should we do? I love answering this question and am delighted to have friends and family asking right now. As I find myself repeating my scattershot answers, it occurred to me that it could be useful to collect some thoughts here. Until David’s Portland-based engineering company landed …
Ramona Forever – Beverly Cleary
“Isn’t it funny?” she remarked as her father steered the car into their driveway. “Isn’t what funny?” asked her mother. “That I used to be little and funny-looking and cross-eyed like Roberta,” said Ramona. “And now look at me. I’m wonderful me!” “Except when you’re blunderful you,” said Beezus. Ramona did not mind when her …
Shut Up And Run – Robin Arzón
Now for the most important question of this book: why do you run? If you identify the “why” then the “how” will follow. If you’ve had a real life conversation with me lately you’ll know these are pertinent questions. Sadly, I didn’t find any obvious answers in this accessible, useful quick read. Or….perhaps they’re embedded in …
Read Aloud Poems That Tell Stories and a Mother of Boys
To celebrate April as National Poetry Month, I’ve been reading poetry to my boys (most of) these days. When I was shelving J 820s a couple weeks ago I picked up this Read-Aloud Poems collection and it’s proven to be an excellent choice. It’s a great collection on a wide variety of topics from authors well …
Ramona Quimby Age 8 – Beverly Cleary
“We have our ups and downs,” said Mrs. Quimby, “but we manage to get along, and we stick together.” …..Ramona snuggled inside her car coat, feeling cozy enclosed in the car with the heater breathing warm air on her nice family. She was a member of a nice sticking-together family, and she was old enough …
Ramona and Her Mother – Beverly Cleary
“That’s not so.” Ramona was indignant. “I never get away with anything.” After a thoughtful moment, Mrs. Quimy spoke. “So am I tired of being sensible all the time.” Both sisters were surprised, Ramona most of all. Mothers were supposed to be sensible. That was what mothers were for. Beverly Cleary is simply fabulous. …
An American Marriage – Tayari Jones
“Much of life is timing and circumstance.” I was shelving in the new books section early last week when I picked a copy of An American Marriage off my cart. I’d heard of it, but knew nothing about it. It’s rare that I pick up a book and start reading with no context at all. …
Ramona and Her Father – Beverly Cleary
“I have news for you, Ramona,” he said. “We are a happy family.” “We are?” Ramona was skeptical. “Yes, we are.” Mr Quimby was positive. “No family is perfect. Get that idea out of your head. And nobody is perfect either. All we can do is work at it. And we do.”
A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
“No, Meg. Don’t hope it was a dream. I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”
Ramona The Brave – Beverly Cleary
“She hippity-hopped, paper slipper in hand, down the hall to show off her scars to Room One. Brave Ramona, that’s what they would think, just about the bravest girl in the first grade.”
Ribsy – Beverly Cleary
“Suddenly everything was all right. Four strong hands caught him. Ribsy wriggled out of the grasp of the body-and-fender men and sprang into Henry’s arms, where he licked Henry’s face for joy. “Ribsy!” said Henry. “Ribsy, old boy!” He put the dog down at last, and Ribsy was so happy he waggled all over. Henry …
February Snow
After a several low snow months here in Anchorage, February delivered! We were more than 2′ below normal in snowfall at the end of January, but then came the snowiest February in six years. A fun fact because that was also our family’s first February in Alaska – back when we thought we had moved …
Henry and the Clubhouse – Beverly Cleary
“Henry realized that it was now too late for him to do any work on the clubhouse this afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon the first thing he would do was make a sign saying, “No girls allowed.” The only thing wrong with this idea was that Ramona could not read.” Tales of neighborhood life on Klickitat …
Ramona The Pest – Beverly Cleary
“I AM not a pest,” Ramona Quimy told her big sister Beezus. “Then stop acting like a pest” said Beezus, whose real name was Beatrice. She was standing by the front window waiting for her friend Mary Jane to walk to school with her. “Im not acting like a pest. I’m singing and skipping,” said Ramona, …
Everything Happens For A Reason: And other lies I’ve loved – Kate Bowler
“I can’t reconcile the way that the world is jolted by events that are wonderful and terrible. The gorgeous and tragic. Except I am beginning to believe that these opposites do not cancel each other out. …..joy persists somehow and I soak it in.” Found this one through Kate Bowler’s excellent interview with …
Before Everything – Victoria Redel
“From the front of the meetinghouse room, creamy April New England light fans through the tall windows. Helen looks out at all the faces for whom Anna is their Anna. A my Anna for each person sitting in the main pews and for those that fill the upstairs balcony, that wide kaleidoscope of Annas. That shaping …
Henry and the Paper Route – Beverly Cleary
Henry grinned. “Well, so long,” he said, and mounted his bicycle. “I’ve got to get on with my route.” His route. Henry felt like shouting the words so the whole world could hear them, because at last he was doing what he wanted to do –something important. And on Saturday he and Murph would start building their …