Lu's Trip to the Fireside pt 1

First Holy Communion is a big deal, and for YaYa we threw a party at a local establishment. Here in 2011 we came to realize that we no longer have the # of relatives to warrant a party, and so we've introduced a new (better?) tradition: taking the Communicant on a one-on-one overnight trip out of town.

For LuLu, we chose a performance of Annie at the Fireside Dinner Theater in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The day before the show Lisa, Lu and I set off on our trip, stopping on the way at a Wendy's. How cute (or sad?) was this - when I asked her what she wanted, she was ecstatic that her choice wasn't narrowed down to a single item off the Dollar menu.



"I don't only want to have fun," Lu said of the trip. "I want to have EXTREME fun!"

On the 75 minute drive LuLu fell asleep, which is just as well, as we got lost for a bit and added twenty minutes to the travel time. We arrived in mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel, located next door to the Fireside.



From there we headed out to the local Shopko, a store not found in our native Milwaukee.



LuLu had $50 to spend, courtesy of an early Communion gift from her Grandma Jeanne, and we spent a good hour or two looking around. She quickly found two pairs of shoes she loved. (the mismatched socks are intentional, a current 'style')









There was a lot of wheeling and dealing. I often made a deal with her - skip the $23 shirt and take the two nearly identical ones selling for $14 a pair an aisle over, and I'll pick up half the tab. She got some great clothes featuring the iconic peace sign motif she loves:



and wanted this one too. I almost caved on this sharp shirt, but she used it as a bargaining chip to get two other things she wanted instead.



After shopping we returned to the hotel and went for a swim. Lisa had forgotten her swimsuit, so it was just Dad and LuLu in the water.























While in the pool I suddenly learned the backstroke, something that has eluded me for years. Weird.





Once we got out of the pool the ladies retired to the room to watch American Idol, while I stopped at the grocery store for some snacks then picked up Subway for dinner.





The pillow is one she bought at Shopko, by the way. Ditto the nail polish she used to paint her nails that night.





After dinner we returned to the pool for a bit, then took showers and watched Lemonade Mouth on the Disney Channel. Lisa and I soon fell asleep, but Lu stayed up a bit longer to watch cable.



A great day, and another was yet to come.

Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam" by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin

 I just finished 'Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam" by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. The book focuses on the Marine detachment at the Saigon embassy, the last group of American's to exit Vietnam. Very compelling, and written in an easy and entertaining manner. Recommended.

Some overdue reviews from 2009

I'm not sure if I'm a Michael Crichton fan or not. I've read a lot of his work, enjoying most of it, and I'm certainly conscious of the impact his imagination has had on our culture over the last few decades (Jurassic Park, ER). I've just never been bitten by the smitten bug -- excuse the unintended rhyme - when it comes to Crichton.

Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the task at hand. Pirate Latitudes is a Crichton book allegedly discovered on his computer after his death a few years ago. It is what it sounds like; a more or less true pirate tale set in the Caribbean. I thought it started out rip roaring but the energy petered out as it went along, even as the events on the page grew more volitale. It was odd, like watching a car tire spin all the faster even after it lost its air.

Still, a good effort for a dead guy.



Speaking of dead guys, The Gathering Storm is Book 12 of the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series.

The series is now continued by author Brandon Sanderson, and while some fans got all icky-ick over the idea of someone else taking the helm, I think he's done a heck of a job. It's rather seamless, with the only stylistic change I noticed being the introduction of contractions (I'm, you're, etc). Otherwise its all good, and I like the way he's picked up the pace and actually moved events along.

I liked it a lot.



The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is a young adult novel set in the world of Alice in Wonderland. Now if you know me, you know I wish that Alice in Wonderland would be retired for the duration of my lifetime. And the next, if possible, as I think it's so repetively re-used it might as well change its name to A Christmas Carol.

Beddor's novel doesn't change my mind, but it came close. It showcases a darker world where Alice's world is at war and the popular version of her tale nothing more than the twisted interpretation of Alice's memories.

Now, please bear in mind Beddor is to writing style what I am to succesful weight loss. It's a great reimagining somewhat weighed down by his clunky prose. But the magic of that reimagining - Hatter Madigan in particular - make it worth overlooking.

Recommended.

[BTW, I don't know why that segment of 2009 lent itself to young adult novels, but I also read "The Giver" around that time]



I really enjoyed Erik Larson's Devil in the White City. It's most often described as being about a serial killer that prowled Chicago at the time of the Worlds Fair, but that does it a disservice. Yes, that plays a part in the text, but I personally found the book to be first and foremost of a study of the Worlds Fair itself; its creators, its construction, its soul.

How great a compliment to Larson's skill that he can take a simple tale of archeticural history and craft into a compelling and riveting narrative.

Very, very good.

A Mother's Day Gift Worth Mentioning

Danny took all 4 of the beauties to the park by himself, God bless 'em and Happy Mother's Day to me! - Lisa

Happy Mother's Day

Big day for Livvie. First Communion at Queen of Peace's 10:30 mass, then cake after at my house! Happy Mother's day to all, especially the best, mine 🙂 - Lisa

A Great Day

Today was a perfect day, just the kind of day you'll jump to relive when your life flashes before your eyes. Just perfect 🙂

Congratulations LuLu! First Communion May 8th 2011 (Mother's Day)

Today was my LuLu's First Holy Communion, and it will take several posts to tell the tale. For an appetizer, I thought we'd start with these photos of my lovely girl. I'm so proud of her!

Gardening Season has begun!

If you've been paying attention, you know Smiley is obsessed with plants, flowers, trees, gardening, and anything involving seeds and dirt. To satisfy this itch we planted a small garden last year, but the soil in my yard is so poor it yielded next to nothing. After some consideration I we decided to follow the "Square Foot Gardening" method of author Mel Bartholomew this year, and establish raised garden beds that don't depend on the native soil.

My mother-in-law, Smiley and I made the trip to Home Depot Saturday morning for the supplies, then enlisted the help of YaYa and a lil' red wagon to unload the van.







For each of the two boxes, I used 2x6 boards in four foot lengths and fastened them with deck screws to form the frame.





The sound of the drill drew the other kids outside to 'help'.











By the time frame one was done it was time for the kids' swim classes, and a cold, sporadic sprinkle of rain had started. I finshed the first frame and filled it with topsoil, peat moss, and some compost, butunderestimated the amount I needed and didn't have enough to fill the second box. I concentrated on finishing the first one before any serious rain began.

As part of the 'square foot' method, the 4x4 foot box is divided into 16 seperate growing areas, laid out by a simple grid of lathe that 'floats' above the box. Because I know my kids, I figured it would 'float' its way to pieces on the trampoline. So I secured it on two sides. Aside from one piece I forgot to pre-drill (which promptly split), it was pretty easy to rig together.



Come to think of it, the whole project was easy-peezy. Now I just have to fill the second box, grid it out, and get to a'plantin'. Here's hoping we get a better crop this season!

Quote

Don't linger on moments of no consequence, and don't rush over moments worth examining

The only thing that writers write for themselves are shopping lists

"I do not belong to that gang of bad writers who say that they only write for themselves. The only thing that writers write for themselves are shopping lists . . . All the rest, including laundry lists, are messages addressed to somebody else. They are not monologues; they are dialogues." - Umberto Eco, Confessions of a Young Novelist. (emphasis mine) 

When I first read those words they spoke to my heart; it so aptly describes me that I'm surprised I didn't write it myself. I certainly wish I had. I can say with absolute certainty that I have never strung together more than a dozen words without first considering an audience. Never mind that my 'audience' was usually composed of exactly no one, and the words were destined for the trashbin. They were 'important'. 

This practice even predates my ability to print letters. I still have a copy of a story I dictated to my Grandparents when I was four years old. It always irks me when I stumble across someone who professes to be a 'writer', yet refuses to submit their work. At four I knew the only point to spewing words on paper is to share the noise in your head. Why don't they? Of course, that opens the door to the question of personal and artistic integrity. If I'm sitting here typing my "deepest darkest emotions" with one eye on a Grandma in Budapest who might someday buy a copy of the text, I can't in all honesty claim my words will reveal, well, all honesty. Consciously or not I will edit it to the liking of my Unseen Reader. My most glaring example of this trait: a diary I kept in 1994. In those pages I glossed over some embarrassing tidbits, eliminated a few anecdotes, and most telling, actually made sure to include some (true) dirt to spice it up for the reader. It was so nauseatingly forced I couldn't bear to keep the diary going. It lasted all of a week. That's a good sign tho', no? If I had the self awareness *then* to recognize and fight the need to tidy up the world, I think I'm pretty safe in saying there's a raw honesty running through whatever I write now. So, Unseen Reader, I thank you. I thank you for keeping the fires of my imagination burning, for forcing me to always improve my work, and for - every once in a while - actually being a real, live reader who enjoys my work. See you soon. Dan

Something's gone goofy here. I woke up with shooting pain from my wrists up to my elbows, and I barely had the strength in my hands to take apart the bikes this morning & replace their inner tubes. It's prob this flu that's been making the rounds, but I feel like an old man, and I still have a workday ahead of me . . .

Smiley becomes a Tiger Cub Scout!

This Monday (May 2nd) me and Smiley attended his first ever Tiger Cub Scout meeting!



He'll be going into 1st grade next year, making him eligible for the Scouts, so when a flyer came home encouraging us to join up we jumped at the chance. Truth be know, I've tried to get him enrolled for a few months, even emailing the local council office.

At any rate, he was quickly absorbed in the activity of the night, while I sat through an orientation section. I filled out the application with pride. Lisa has been heavily vested in Girl Scouting with our girls; now it was the boys turn to shine! I intend to be involved in the Pack right along with Smiley.



We'll be attending a few events over the summer, but by and large his Scouting experience will begin in the Fall. We'll be breaking new ground together. While I was a Cub, Webelos, Boy Scout and Explorer, Tiger Cubs are a program that begin a few years into my Scouting years.

Smiley made and decorated a pair of spinning wood tops, got a welcome folder with a hologram, bookmarks, and baseball cards, and went home with a balloon and a cookie in his belly (and on his face!).



Congrats Smiley! I'm so happy for you!

just saw a Nook Color commercial on AI

So, the Prez is cool with lifting the ban on photos of American KIA's, and w/ releasing photos of alleged abuse by our military - but he won't release a photo of OBL because he's afraid of offending our enemy. [crickets chirp] Wouldn't that be the same enemy that drags bodies through the street and beheads reporters on camera?

Gas in Chicago inching towards $5 a gallon. (I've seen $4.44 confirmed in print)

Some long overdue reviews from 2009

Back in '09 I read Robert B. Parker's Chasing the Bear, a young adult novel featuring a teenage Spenser.



I'm not sure how canonical the book is, as it moves Spenser's birth forward by several decades and eliminates some long-established facets of his life. It was nice to finally glimpse the all-male family dynamic that created the character, but I was visibly jarred when 'Spenser' was mentioned as a family name. To my recollection, the adult series has always been coy about never mentioning if it was his first or last name.

I liked the book a lot, and thought it was a great way to introduce Spenser to a future generation of buyers. What bothered me, however, was that the teenage Spenser kills a man. In defence of another, certainly, but even so, was it appropriate given the age of the character and of the intended reader? I don't think so.

At around the same time I rented the movie Mirrors, starring Kiefer Sutherland.



I remember I was alone in not liking it, but pbbbtttt. My opinion is the one that counts - it's my blog ain't it? So I stand my assesment: predictable, not frightening and average at best.

In '09 I also read Stephen King's Firestarter



It was written for a younger audience, and it shows. It's one of his weakest efforts, and it reveals the egotistical biases of King's generation. To overthrow the status quo and reveal the 'truth', they go to the only source that is independent and bold - Rolling Stone magazine. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or gag.

That bit of hee-hee aside, it was an OK book, just nowhere near the level of King's usual standards.

I know folks love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, but I have to admit the one and only book I've read (Storm Front, the first in the series) fell flat.



I could tell Butcher was a good writer, and I enjoyed his style. I just find it hard to get into witches/warlocks/fairies, etc, and I found some of the plot paint-by-numbers.

I'm sure the rest of the series is great, but with all the books on my "To Be Read" pile, do I want to devote the time to giving him a second chance? At this time, the answer is 'no'.

Sinatra, Jr.

Let me start out by saying that Lump, now 3 1/2, is a darling. She's really captured a place in my heart. She's very independent (we joke that she's a feral child), talkative and just plain adorable. I love her to pieces.



She can thank me for those eyelashes, thank you very much:





But those eyes, oh, you'll have to credit them to her Mom, who I nicknamed Sinatra not long after we met:





Beautiful, no? Just stunning (at least to this proud Papa)!

More of my blue eyed girl

Seriously, how many times does this have to happen to me before I take the hint? Do NOT handle jalepeno peppers and then use the restroom *unless* you wash your hands first. I tell you this to spare you pain greater than any clap . . . shoot me now

Little Orphan Annie and the Gila Monster Game

For $3 I bought an old hardcover copy of "Little Orpan Annie and the Gila Monster Gang" (Harold Gray, published 1944) and loaned it to YaYa at 5 o'clock. She just came downstairs to return it, having finished the 248 pg bk. Just in case she was full of it, I skimmed the last two chapters and quizzed her, & she aced it. Well done, Danny Jr.