Bathing...er...Rolling Beauty

What's a girl to do when she's done all she can do in Grandma's pool but she's not AT ALL finished stylin' in her new bathing suit?

She begins training for the Roller Derby...

of course!!

(She probably should have stopped before trying to conquer the ramps!)

Oh Kate!!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Two weeks of vacation from his work usually means that my Man can be found packing the family van and setting off into the sunset of a beach amidst the boisterous clamor of his family. This year, like another three years earlier, found the Wrights embarking on a "stay-cation".

A "stay-cation" is time away from one's daily existence without time away from one's dwelling place. Tricky. Three years ago our "stay-cation" was necessitated by the impending arrival of Molly into our family. This year our "stay-cation" was a result of a home in need of some major TLC and a football season that would not wait on our family's return from a distant locale.

The first week of our time off together involved jetting around the area shopping a bit here and there, swimming a bit here and there, driving a bit here and there, and eating out every evening here and there! I was Queen of the Passenger's Seat and my subjects were all lovely little travelers (most of the time). As my Man drove hither and yon, I read. As my Man played with children in pools across the land, I read some more. When my Man drifted off to sleep exhausted from all of that driving and swimming, I turned on a night light and continued to read.

The second week of "stay-cation" involved work--housework, and lots of it. As my Man made four thousand trips to Lowe's, operated a power washer, and shoveled in shrubbery beds and build landscaping edges...

I baked a little, 

...did laundry a lot, and read still more.

Were I to imagine this blog post as the annual back to school assignment, my essay would be a simple one.

"This year on my summer vacation I read five books."

Two of the books, I'd had a bit of a head start on while the other three were "begun & done" in two weeks! It usually takes me that long to read the directions on a child's board game, but I used every possible second available to stick my nose into a book or into my Nook.

Here's what I read...

Crunch Time by Diane Mott Davidson

(Click on Title or Author for link)

This is the 16th installment of the Goldy Bear culinary mystery series. I have read them all. This one may not be the strongest of the series, but it was a fun read all the same especially with the added feature of recipes in the back of the book! My favorite way to consume these books is by audio. They are narrated by the very most talented voice in the audiobook world, Barbara Rosenblat who brings the book to life. 

(Ms. Rosenblat also narrates another of my favorite series featuring Amelia Peabody a Victorian-era archaeologist in Egypt click here for Amazon link to the first book. The series, by Elizabeth Peters should be read in order if possible.) My local library is loaded with audio books and I take full advantage of their convenience.   I often listen to them while cooking or folding laundry to make the job more fun and I did just that with this one. I'd listen for a bit, then I'd open the book and read for a while when things got quiet. 

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

 by Rachel Jankovic

(Mother of five kiddos under six!)

Remember this spaghetti face book I talked about a while ago - here? I loved every single page of it. It is as good as a parenting book can get. I can't say enough about this book. The only thing that gave me pause was that the author's picture on the back only served to emphasize how much younger she is than I.

How'd she get so wise so fast? Page after page brought forth blessing and lesson alike. On a few pages I laughed aloud even as my toes were bruising. It really is THAT good. Tell every young (and less young) mommy you know about this book!

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

I read this quirky book on my Nook on the recommendation of one of my favorite readers Nancy Pearl, who is probably the most famous librarian you don't know about.  She even has her own action figure! No kidding. 

Author of many "books about books" Mrs. Pearl is my go to gal when I'm in need of an interesting read. The Coffins of Little Hope has, as it's storyteller, 83 year-old Essie Myles who is the obituary writer for her family's hometown newspaper. Essie opens the book like this...

I still use a manual typewriter (a 1953 Underwood portable, in a robin’s egg blue) because the soft pip-pip-pip of the typing of keys on a computer keyboard doesn’t quite fit with my sense of what writing sounds like. I need the hard metal clack, and I need those keys to sometimes catch so I can reach in and untangle them, turning my fingertips inky. Without slapping the return or turning the cylinder to release the paper with a sharp whip, without all that minor havoc, I feel I’ve paid no respect to the dead. What good is an obituary if it can be written so peaceably, so undisturbingly, in the dark of night?

To read Nancy Pearl's explanation of this quirky book which touts one of the most original plots I've read lately, click here...

Next up...

Don't you love to "meet" a new author through an excellent book? While reading Bel Canto I experienced that very happiness. Ann Patchett is the author of many books, all very different themes and plots, characters and settings, and all very highly reviewed. None of her books is more highly lauded than this one, winner of the Orange Prize for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction. 

This was another of the books that I simultaneously read on my Nook and listened to via audiobook from the library. I'm not sure which I was more taken with, the listening or the reading. Both were grand experiences with this wonderful, wonderful story. Here's what it's about.

In an unnamed South American country, a world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan. His hosts hope that Mr. Hosokawa can be persuaded to build a factory in their Third World backwater. Alas, in the opening sequence, just as the accompanist kisses the soprano, a ragtag band of 18 terrorists enters the vice-presidential mansion through the air conditioning ducts. Their quarry is the president, who has unfortunately stayed home to watch a favorite soap opera. And thus, from the beginning, things go awry.

This story explores the lives of the captors and captives throughout the long period of captivity which would last for over four months. By the end of the novel, I'd fallen in love with many of the captives and more than one of the captors all of whose lives are explored deeply and thoughtfully by the skilled Patchett.

Finally, I read...

    ...well, I can't exactly tell you yet what the fifth book was yet, but the review will be posted soon on a blog site called BlogHer.com where I was invited to read and review the title in question.  I'll let you know when my review goes "live." Until then...I think there's plenty of material above to work with!!

"A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end.  You live several lives while reading it."  ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

More vacation adventures & recipes to come...stay tuned! 

A "Little" Help

Our vacation days are coming to a close in a few days. We've one more mini-trip to prepare for so I enlisted a bit of help with the laundry...
                          (Turn your volume way up...)

...apparently she learned this skill from one of her favorite teachers...

Special Agent Oso who teaches preschoolers special skills early each morning on the Disney Channel (while their parents catch a few more minutes of sleep). Agent Oso is also responsible for teaching Molly how to Hula-hoop. Agent Oso, however, calls it a Hoop-A-Loop and therefore, so does Molly...

 

Wonder if Special Agent Oso knows Latin or maybe chemistry??

Happy Weekend!!

(Fun recipes coming next week...stay tuned!)

You Say Tomato...

{We've been the happy recipients of a basket of tomatoes from a friend and are enjoying them to the fullest! Our favorite thing to do with tomatoes hasn't changed much over the years. Below is a repost from a few summers ago about one of the most sacred experiences of summertime...}


Ahhhhh, is there anything more pleasing to the palate than the summertime tomato sandwich? Only if it is a summertime tomato sandwich on my Grandma's homemade white bread with gobs of mayo. Add to that masterpiece a healthy dash of salt, a bit of pepper and a generous smidgen of sugar and you've got yourself the tastiest sandwich known to mankind.

Friends from NC delivered two beautiful, fat, shiny, green tomatoes a few weeks ago when they visited. What promise these tomatoes held as I sat them on the counter waiting, just waiting for them to turn from their bright firm green, to a less firm pink, and finally yesterday to bright red sandwich ready spheres.

After each child was tucked safely into bed, I made my move. I tiptoed to the kitchen, grabbed a serrated knife, and began cutting fat slices of tomato as juice and seeds streamed down my forearms. Surveying my bread selection, I decided with a sigh that store bought bread would be better than none at all, and slid two slices from the bag. 


Making a quick decision, I plucked the "full-tilt" mayonnaise from the fridge--no low fat stuff tonight, I reasoned, this sandwich deserves the best. Assembled and seasoned, my creation was complete and I, with gusto, partook. I was thrilled to discover that this summer's tomato sandwich was every bit as satisfying as last summer's. Giving the remaining tomato a parting gaze that held plans for morning, I set off to bed.

As I attempted to repeat the whole sneaky sandwich assembly and consumption drill this morning, however, I was busted! Just as I was polishing off the first half of my pre-lunchtime creation, in walked Kate.

"Mom! What is that?"

"A tomato sandwich." I answered, pulling it closer to me.

"It must be very good. Is it?" she queried, eyebrows raised.

Sighing, I offered her a bite.

Taking the proffered bite, "Oh...mmmmm...can I have one just like yours?"

Today I learned that a yummy summer tomato sandwich, much like a good cup of coffee, is even better when shared with someone special.

A Post Card for You

Click on picture to enlarge...

Vacation Greetings from The Wright Gang

(a.k.a. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything!)

Close to You

We were closing down a full day of vacation fun with a snack at one of our favorite hang-outs. Some of us were sagging, some of us were sunburnt, and some of us were just plain starving. Plopping down on picnic-table-style benches, the six of us were comfortably arranged...or so I thought.

"Doesn't anyone want to sit by me?" a weary voice queried.

"Hey, look you and Cole got seats by yourselves, you two are big time," I said...too tired lazy to engineer a seating change and hoping to make her less lonely with mere words.

Then a much deeper voice said, "Of course I want to sit by you!"

And with one little scoot...

...all was right in her world.

Fruit Pops...You Soooooooo Need to Know About These!

Hot? 

Have a home made fruit pop! It'll help cool ya.

 Never made one before? 

It couldn't be easier!

Here's what ya do...

Note!!  Red fruit pops were made with a cup of frozen strawberries added to the peaches before pureeing. Any fruit will do, just throw into the blender or food processor and sweeten. We've also added plain unsweetened yogurt to the fruit to make a sort of "creamsicle" but our favorite it the straight fruit!

The amounts given above yield about 8 large fruit pops. When we added the strawberries, we had extra so we used small drinking cups with plastic forks frozen into them for handles. This method worked just fine too.

Recipe:

(Printable Recipe Here)

4 cups peaches, peeled & sliced

1/2 cup sugar

Possible Add-Ins:

1 cup of an additional fruit

1 cup plain yogurt (or flavored)

Puree together, pour into popsicle molds, freeze for at least 5 hours, ENJOY!

A Day in the Life

Ahhhhhh, it's the Saturday after Vacation Bible School. The week past was a super one, the week ahead is promising, and today was a small island in the summer that was meant to be enjoyed.  We slept in for the first time in forever...most of us anyway. We enjoyed some peach scones for breakfast...

...a bit of housework followed...

(can't you just smell the Murphy's Oil Soap??)

Then, at the request of Daughter #1 (who, even though she'd been out of the house EVERY NIGHT this week for VBS, said that she felt she needed to get out a bit...), we left our house for some plain ole "runnin around." 

First stop, Cabela's to commune with nature... the AIR CONDITIONED kind...

...and to purchase a sleeping bag or two...

All of that shopping made us WEAK...so...

...Frappes and Smoothies were next!

Then...we accidentally went school shopping. Really, we hadn't even planed on THINKING about school for another two or three weeks, BUT we walked into Target because the Man in the red shirt thought he smelled the scent of school supplies in the air, and one thing led to another and...

The Man in the red shirt heard murmurings among the Wright Kids of a back pack shortage. "Do the kids need new back packs?" he asked with deep concern.

"Oh definitely," I mocked, "so that they can carry their school books from the school shelf (in the dining room) to the dining room table for class. I don't know how they'll make it without new ones this year!"

To which he said, "You know, they miss out on the excitement of brand new back packs because they are homeschooled. Didn't you get a new bag or back pack every school year? I did."

Nodding, I hung my smart aleck head and eagerly agreed with him as he declared, "New back packs all around!"

After quite a bit of concentrated decision making, final selections were made...

Who knew these back packs would be such a hit? More than one child asked to carry their pack to church in the morning! Those requests were denied, but further plans were made for the week ahead when these soon to be tired back packs would be put to good use.

In the mean time, we headed back home to begin dinner and the Saturday Night Bath event which would be followed by "on time" tuck-ins. However, SOMEBODY jumped the gun a bit with bedtime on the way home from "runnin' around"...

Hope your weekend is wonderful!!