26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

I was browsing the list of Newbery winners recently, and noticed this book on the Newbery honor list. I've only ever know Tomie dePaola as a picture book illustrator, so the book sparked my interest.

I requested it from the library and had it in just a few days.

The book is dePaola's autobiography. Or rather, the start of it. It turns out that there are several books now in the series, and I found it delightful. It took me less than an hour to read, and I was captivated the whole time. I giggled, I was intrigued, and couldn't put it down.

Tonight I requested all the books in the series from my library. I can't wait to read the rest of them.  If your child is not old enough to read it by himself, it's worth reading out loud to him. It's a short chapter book with illustrations so it fits that difficult category of books between picture books and long chapter books for children who have just caught the burning desire to read everything in sight. And if your child doesn't like to read, this may spark that burning desire.

Pictures

I found out the reason my camera wouldn't take good pictures is that the lens had a problem and needs repair. So we are in the process of having it repaired. Meanwhile, Ray found a longer telephoto lens for me on KSL (equivalent to Craig's List). It's a 55-200 mm (the regular lens is 18-105 mm). I took the camera with me to Wendover for the half marathon, and had fun trying out the new lens. 

The result was an overabundance of photos, a mere pittance of which I chose to post here. So you can imagine how many pictures that was.

Austin

Elizabeth

Madeleine

Diane

Matthew

Diane

Diane

Madeleine

Austin

Audrey and Joseph

Audrey and Diane (me)

Audrey and Joseph

Debra

Elizabeth, post orange Powerade

Diane and Debra

Madeleine, Diane, Elizabeth - playing ring-around-the-rosy

Audrey and Diane

Audrey, Diane, Debra

Salt Flats Half Marathon

Last Saturday Audrey ran in the Salt Flats Half Marathon. She's only been running since January, so that was quite an accomplishment. Debra and I drove out to Wendover early Saturday morning with Madeleine and Diane so we could be there to cheer for Audrey when she came in. 

Audrey did better than she expected to, and I thought it was an amazing feat. I certainly couldn't do that right now. I'm so proud of her!

I took lots and lots of pictures. Here are a few to give you an idea of the venue. They ran 6.55 miles out, and 6.55 miles back. The Salt Flats are just that, flat. Audrey said she could even see the curvature of the earth as she ran (as a point of interest, Wendover is one of very few spots in the world where that is possible).

And yes, the Salt Flats are salt. I had to wash the car thoroughly when I got home to avoid any corrosion, and the floor mats on my car had piles of salt from our shoes (looked like little piles of snow). 

The start and finish line

We just set up "camp" and could relax while waiting

These are my ragamuffin grandchildren (Audrey's children) - Elizabeth, Matthew, Austin

Elizabeth

Debra, Diane, Madeleine. It was VERY windy.

Our friend Jannette Perry also ran - here she is coming in.

Diane and Madeleine, pretty impervious to the wind

Here comes Audrey! (the one on the right in the blue shirt)

Finishing strong

Audrey

Audrey

Jannette and Audrey

Way to go, girls!

Spellweaver by Lynn Kurland

This book is #5 in the Nine Kingdoms series. The first three were a trilogy, and it looks like the second three are also going to be a trilogy.

I've had this book for a while, and just couldn't seem to fit it into my reading schedule. I picked it up last week, and promptly lost myself in another world and time.

Lynn's books always have some good romance in them to keep my interest. I'm ready for the next book in the series - I want to find out what happens - but it's not due out until January. I've already pre-ordered it.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Well deserved winner of the 2011 Newbery Award.

Excellent writing, captivating story.

For a few years it seemed a book couldn't be a Newbery Award winner unless it was drenched in the Depression or a depressing topic. That got old fast for me. This book takes place during the Depression, but the time period is a setting, not the theme of the book.

I loved it.

Another New Memory

The other day my mother and mother-in-law were having a conversation. During the course of the conversation my mother related a story about her past that was completely erroneous. My dad looked at me and said, "Another new memory!"

My mom is in what I would say is the good news/bad news stage of Alzheimer's.

The good news is that most people who meet my mom and have a brief conversation with her would never know that she has Alzheimer's.

The bad news is that that actually makes my life harder right now.

True, Alzheimer's is no party for my mom, but this blog is mine, and this post is all about me. Right now her Alzheimer's is no party for me either.

So back to the bad news. The reality of life is that I take care of my parents' finances, and set their calendar. I'm their chauffeur, and process all paperwork. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind that part at all - in fact it's an  honor to help them. Where it gets hard is that I am constantly having to prove that I need to be the one who is contacted and communicated with if something is going to happen. My Dad does okay most of the time, but there are a lot of things he doesn't remember either.

Because my mom appears competent, people look at me like I am trying to take over and control her life. If they were to spend 20 minutes with her and just let her do the talking, they would discover the problem themselves. However, that does not usually happen. Other people drive the conversation and she responds appropriately most of the time. The fact is that she won't necessarily remember any of that conversation.

She has also become obsessed with dogs, babies, and stuffed animals. These obsessions are a new development that arrived with the Alzheimer's. She detours for any of them. I had to move her away from very, very large stuffed animals in Costco, while she protested loudly that she really wanted one. She went backwards through Security at the airport to see a baby that was a few places behind her. (That caused all kinds of problems.) These are just a couple highlights of our new adventures together.

I have it easy. My dad is with her 24 hours a day, and is the ultimate in patience. Fifty-six years of devotion has never been put to the test like now, and there is no end in sight until she dies. I'm ready to petition the pope. My dad is a saint.

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

Excellent, just like the former two. These are books your children can dive into as well.

The Silence of God by Gale Sears

Loosely based on the lives of the Lindlof family in revolutionary Russia, this historical novel has its ups and downs.

The Lindlof's were the first known members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia. This is the projected story of what may have happened to them during the opening days of the revolution.

The writing was not compelling at first. I enjoyed the chapter end notes sometimes more than the chapter itself. But as the story progressed either the writing got better, or I was just more engrossed and it didn't bother me as much. It doesn't really matter, because I ended up liking it.

I liked it better before I read the few facts of what is known about the family in the final end notes. That was discouraging for me, and I had felt encouraged by the conclusion of the book. I wish I hadn't read that last end note.