Been Busy Lately

It has been a very busy week since the last time I posted. I spent the weekend with my husband in Ashland, OR for the Shakespeare Festival. It was the perfect way to celebrate my 15th anniversary with my sweetheart. But I have to say, the play of A Midsummer Night's Dream was quite the disappointment. We were not expecting a modern interpretation in which the fairies are actually grown men in tutus and platform, knee-high boots dancing under a disco ball. But we agreed to return sometime when we can watch a true Shakespearean play performed properly. I did have a blast walking through the shops in downtown, including a number of used book stores. Here you can see the Elizabethan Theater where Othello was performed(the real one). There was no way to get a picture of the entire thing straight on.

The walk through Lithia Park were absolutely gorgeous. Hubby took this photo that reminded him of the lamppost in Narnia.We returned home from our trip to scorching heat. When the temps are triple digits by 10am we are grateful to have a public pool nearby. Between lessons, swim team and life guard training, plus the laps I swim for exercise, we stay happy, healthy and cool.

Our family came up with a project to keep us occupied this summer, because occupied children are not quite so quarrelsome. We do a couple of projects each week from The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls. Our friends join us as we pick a theme and learn a few new activities. Today was pirate day. We made our own bandannas from fabric(I'm a quilter so I have lots) to tie on our heads. Then we made folded paper hats, boats and water bombs. We found the instructions in the books to be not always very clear but one of our friends knew how to do it and helped when we got stuck. We listened to the Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack while we worked. Another friend brought "maggoty bread" like they would have had to eat on a ship. They we grilled cheese sandwiched with a little cooked rice and they were tasty. The pool actually had some pirate booty leftover from a party they hosted earlier in the season so the kids got a treat of tattoos, suckers, eye patches or felt captains hats. The kids had a blast and so did the parents.

With all of this going on I have had little time to read. I am making my way very slowly through The Painted Veil by M. Somerset Maugham. Finally, a book I can get into! I loved the movie and am loving the book.

On a final note, I watched the movie of Chocolat. It is so very different from the book. It is still a chick flick so it didn't rate high for me but it was mountains better than the book. For those who loved the book (like a close friend of mine did) you may be happy to know that a sequel has recently been published: The Girl with No Shadow. In the UK it is published under the title of The Lollipop Shoes.