kid style world building; the beginning of something

My granddaughter was drawing a picture tonight during a family gathering.  We were sitting on the couch, the gathering was taking place because my youngest son was flying out that very night to Boston, so there was a lot of noise, emotions and general family chaos going on - the type of chaos that comes with a family when they're all having fun, enjoying each other and trying to be heard over each other.  We can be a little loud.  

So my granddaughter just sat quietly by me with a pad of paper, and some markers that I keep for the grandkids to draw with.  Now, understand that she is five going on six, and is in her first year of any type of school at all - never attended preschool because her parents didn't make enough to afford and weren't quite poor enough to get assistance for preschool fees. It happens.  So her mom (my daughter) has always been wonderful at providing craft and art times, cooking sessions, as well as reading to her every night at bedtime.  In fact, when my g-daughter was only three months old, I found them together on the couch with my daughter reading to her.  I thought at the time that it was too early, and told my daughter "wow -you're already reading to her?", which in hindsight was kind of silly, since I firmly believe in reading to children.  Just never thought of reading to them at three months of age.  My daughter was so happy, she responded - "look mom!  it's a pop up book, watch when I read to her".  Sure enough, as she read to my g-baby, and turned the pages, g-baby's legs would pump and kick out and her eyes would get huge, and her arms would reach out and wave excitedly.  What a sight!

So, to get back to tonight:

G-daughter's narrative (as well as I can remember) while drawing.

• This girl has purple hair, but every morning it starts out orange and by the time it's night her hair has turned purple.
• This world has two moons (as she is drawing two crescent moons with patterns, and they're blue)
• The world is named Strange World
• There is NO flowers that grow - but there's a lot of grass.  (as she is drawing a flower on the girl's dress)

G-daughter starts a new page, of the same world, with the same girl, only this is a morning scene so of course, the girl now has orange hair.  Dialogue while drawing:

• Not only does this place have two moons, Gramma, there are three suns. (she has drawn three suns, all different colors)
• her house is very weird, it's got a window that isn't held in by ANYTHING, it just floats there! (as she draws this very tall house, very narrow with a window and slanted roof)
• Gramma, know what's weird about Strange World?  (me) no, what's so weird about it?  (her again), It USED to be Santa Rosa, but it moved away and ended up in another place so now it's Strange World.  Everything is different here!

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  After reading a post about world building by L.M. Preston, I realized that my granddaughter was doing her very own version of world building with a bit of storytelling....Need to encourage her, so she develops this wonderfully creative imagination!  

A world with two moons and three suns.   I've read SciFi novels with settings similar, but I haven't read SciFi books to her yet - of course!  The longest novels she's had read to her are the Junie B Jones book series; and as far as paranormal reading, we've read a couple books about monsters like No Such Thing, and I Need My Monster.  

our version of Wild Thing

She drew a bit more, and then wanted to do one of her favorite things;  We read a picture book, then we draw a picture together about the book, or try to copy a picture from the book.  Tonight it was Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - one of the best ever children's picture books.  That guy is a genius.

Grandma's Feather Bed

We've done this a few times, with books like Grandma's Feather Bed

and a book that I cannot remember the name of but we call it Mousie Fair.

**Found it!  Mouse in Love by Robert Kraus

Mousie Fair

That's probably all the bragging about grandchildren that should go on in one post...

Anyway, this reading a book and then drawing a scene or our impression of the book is one of the funnest things I've ever done with a child.  Wish I had thought of it when my kids were little.  :)

this and that, beaches and books

I know that I had mentioned that I wasn't going to pressure myself by joining any book reading challenges...but I forgot about this one, it's so low-key...

Dollycas of Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book is hosting a reading challenge over on Goodreads. The challenge is the Just For Fun Reading Challenge, and you can click on the icon above to see more information about it. If you're tempted to sign up, it's open to new members until January 31st. It's pretty low-key; still, the only reason I'm doing it {remember, I promised myself not to join any more challenges because I end up failing pretty much all of them after the initial glow of signing up wears off} is because the goal of the challenge is to read one book a month just for fun. Now I pretty much do this anyway - but the catch is, to pick a book from your TBR stacks. Pick a book that's been sitting on your stacks or piled into a corner, or shoved in a bookshelf, or....well you get the point, I'm sure - anyway - to pick a book that's been in your TBR whatever for a very long time. Hell, I've had Redemption Alley by Lilith Saintcrow sitting here waiting for me to read ever since it came out. It's been so long that she's written three more books in the series since them. In fact, the sixth book is the final book. I love Lilith Saintcrow's writing, also. I've read her complete Strange Angels series (young adult - one of the few YA book writers I read)

So you can see that this is a very good challenge indeed for me. Just pick a book from my shelf full of novels that have been waiting for me to read.

I have this issue with buying books and I tend to mostly put them all in one area, but there are a few that I've LOST. I'm serious. I know I've bought them, and they are not anywhere that I can see them. :( Of course, I do have grandchildren who are allowed to get into my shelves with no restrictions. I don't believe in steering books away from kids - and even though they aren't even close to reading chapter books {much less urban fantasy or horror books, *g*} they've always been allowed to carry them around, and just look at the covers or pretend that they can read. We're so weird, I think. However, the downside of this decision is that if I'm not losing a book on my own, then it's been lost by one of my grandbabies. All my fault.

Anyway, I'm currently reading a debut novel by Tami Dane called Blood of Eden - such a melodramatic title, but then most book titles in the paranormal, urban fantasy genres do have melodramatic names. I'm closer to reading Redemption Alley by the hour, because I'm getting so frustrated reading Blood of Eden that I want to put it aside. Which would be a shame, because to have to stop reading the second book I've started for 2012 feels wrong. Then again, when I found out just how sick I am {here would be a good spot for some emo music, right? a song about a brave *g*, optimistic, slightly crazed, sometimes cranky lady who barrels through life! *g*}, I decided to no longer waste any time on books that aren't pulling me into the story, and this one is so far balancing me on the fence dividing the total waste and could be interesting areas of books. Sigh - that metaphor, or whatever those are called didn't work out that well, did it? My point is, I'm not feeling it - yet it seems like it might be a good read...but there's things that don't match, weird ....well, save it for the review. It's just that Blood of Eden seemed so promising, and it really could be an outstanding books, except...hopefully I'll feel like giving it another go later one, but I've decided to stop for now. Yup, going to go dig out my Redemption Alley book and see how that grabs me.

and now......

the beach
My poor husband has been off of work for months because he hurt his back. He's used to working 40 hour work weeks, and used to working hard. I've been trying to tell him that he doesn't need to do all the physical work, and he needs to let some of the younger men do more of the heavy lifting, but he's in his fifties, and fifty five year old working in retail sometimes has to hold on to the job by the skin of their teeth. Of course, he ended up with a back injury - which is such a horrible thing to have to deal with - the type of pain you get with a back injury is so strange and awful - the pain that radiates out from the spine to various places in your body, etc. And the minute you start to feel better, to actually do something - bam! there is goes again. So the man has been doing his daily walking, trying to do physical therapy and all the excercises at home like he's supposed to - and is just starting to feel a little more normal (ha! until he tries to do something like sit on a bar stool, walk up steps, get ...ahem... - things have changed) So anyway - long story shorter, he has been going slowly insane, being stuck at home with no money, bored out of his mind. He's not a book reader like we are. So today, he decides that we're going to take the grandchildren to the beach. So he goes to pick up the granddaughter hours earlier than she normally goes and this ends up to be the ONE weekend that the grandson's mom doesn't bring him over early in the morning. So we just took the granddaughter. And our daughter-in-law A(they've been living together for so long, they might as well be married- my youngest son and his g.f.) She wasn't doing anything this morning so we grabbed her up. The granddaughter was extremely excited.

This picture is titled "Little Demon makes a Sand Angel - how ironic"
Really, our little grand-demon, er daughter was so excited, she was having a very hard time listening to grandma. Until I told her all about how when little girls get sucked into the ocean (this is the pacific coast - treacherous waves) it's so cold, that first you have a lot of pain, then you can't breath, then you are frozen and in pain and you drown and DIE! Sometimes it's necessary to be very dramatic when speaking with your grandchild. VERY dramatic; she listened a little better after that, but it was still a little crazed. She behaved a lot better when it was just her uncle and me with her.

This picture is titled Lili-Baby. Doesn't she just look like a little angel? Don't be fooled, *g* She can be very sweet, though.

The girls {the little one and the daughter in law} played around with the water a bit, did a little sand castle building - though that activity didn't last very long, since the granddaugher was a little too hyper for it. Then came the running. Running back and forth between gramps and us.

AJ and I relaxing for a very short time. Best picture I've had taken of me for a long time (I don't do good pics, always look weird in them) It was actually a pretty nice day at the beach for a winter day. The temperature was on the cool side, it was windy, but there was no fog and the sun was shining - probably the only thing that made the weather nice. Usually it's bitterly cold at the beach in the winter. We didn't stay very long though, because after playing in the waves and getting wet and sandy, the granddaughter suddenly became extremely cold - to the point where she started to cry - she was so cold.

I had thought to bring extra clothes with her, and a thin blanket. We were sitting on a thick blanket and I had taken off my jacket because women my age have hot flashes even at the beach. So I wrapped a blanket around Lily while I was slowly and strategically removing wet clothing and replacing with warm, dry clothes - except her legs were covered with wet sand, and her hands were so cold she was crying even more. So I took a break on trying to change her pants - just took the wet ones off, covered her in the blanket, wrapped my coat around her, put my gloves on her hands, tucked her hands up inside my shirt, put my hat on her and then started making all kinds of whoops and OH SO Cold! about her freezing little hands. Then she started laughing and after just sitting all wrapped up in my lap AJ and I were able to get the warm dry clothes on her and a dry jacket. My plan was to get her in warm dry clothes and let her play a little bit longer, maybe just sit and watch the amazing frothy white waves breaking over the huge rocks in the ocean - but my husband started packing things up and next thing I knew we were halfway to the car, then IN the car. The husband was wondering why we wanted to leave so early and I said, I though YOU wanted to leave, we were just getting Lily dry and warmed up! nothing like communication! so we went to the salt water taffy store (there's probably one at every coast) and bought flavored taffy. Yummy.

We're leaving the beach - a little sad..

And now, we just left the Salt Water Taffy store - Bodega Bay - so happy!

It's Monday ...stuff...and..pimpin' my friend's short stories

It's that time again - (can you believe, I almost forgot about It's Monday, What...? Almost let this meme slip by me!)

I haven't gotten a lot of reading done, but I've done better than the week before.

As usual, this meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

Banned Book Week is coming up - last year I planned on posting a bit about it, but kept forgetting (the brain, she isn't very "with it" anymore). Let's hope I can remember to at least acknowledge Banned Book Week (or BBW) this year. On a disappointing note, I looked at some of the challenged books and was disgusted to see my little city mentioned - in fact, the high school that I used to go to - Santa Rosa High School had a book challenged, and it's still on the reading list, but limited to Juniors and Seniors with some limitations - OH PLEASE! Most of these "kids" already know what's going on with life, and are being approached to enlist! Why are we trying to limit WHAT THEY READ for god's sake. I get pissed at stuff like this. The book is The Tortilla Curtain, and of course, now I want to read it. Just because it's been challenged.

Ahhhh. This last week I was able to finally finish reading The Enchantment Emporium (last week I was Almost Done, but not quite). This was a very good book - and I plan to review it soon.

I also started and finished Glory, the Young Adult fantasy by Devin O'Branagan. I liked it a lot, there was a lot of things happening - the story was short and sweet, but is just the beginning. It was the first in a new series by Ms O'Branagan. BTW, in looking at her website, I see that she's also writing contemporary - there's one mystery or suspense book that has quite a cast of quirky characters. Ms O'Branagan also features dogs as side characters in a lot of her novels, which I think is wonderful...

which reminds me....

Do you like short stories?

Do you like dogs?

Do you like vampire hunters?

Well! have I got a link for you! I have a friend who has been writing....novels, short stories, snippets - She writes in a few different genres. She is currently sending out queries. You can read a list and blurb of her novels at her website, and....

There's this great page called Doc's Stories that feature a Border Collie and his human. Right at the moment there are two stories posted by Julie Campbell and I love them both. Go over and check it out. Leave some comments, show some story love, give some support!

In the past, I've had the honor of reading a YA novel of hers titled Senior Year Bites and have been able to peak at a couple of her other works, and I think she is as good, if not better than a lot of writers being published now. I'm really hoping that something happens for her soon in the publishing department. But in the meantime, we can enjoy some of her works online...and for free (who doesn't love free?) - and they are good.

So go over, check out the website. Read the short stores, poetry, and sample chapters of her completed novels.

I would love to see her work in print - book form, in my hand.

That's it for now folks - It's possible I'll link the other books to author web pages, but...no promises. Work has been kicking my mental and physical ass, and I'm exhausted. Besides, I just finished reading about Sheila's recent weekend and all the things she did and I'm very tired from thinking about all the things she does. How does she do it? I spent the weekend on the couch, and my bed....I played dolls with my granddaughter, we ate popsicles and I made her waffles for dinner....Sounds lazier than hell, I know. I admit it - I'm lazy...and tired.

However...I did make some chicken and broccoli noodle soup for her to eat tomorrow (she's a very picky eater), so when we have dinner and she eats her one of two little bites, there will be something else to offer her.

The Wonder of a Three Year Old

A lot of people realize that I am totally obsessed with my grandchildren. I do mention them quite a bit, because they are AMAZING of course, - but this happening, this thing I witnessed is just too cute not to post.

My granddaughter spends a few nights a week with us. Tonight we were having a bit of a late night, and I had told her that we could watch Caillou "On Demand" (a comcast thing) but then she HAD to go to bed. So we're sitting there watching this educational cartoon about a boy named Caillou. The episode, Caillou's Halloween was about Halloween and how Caillou is trying to find a Halloween costume. Caillou uses a lot of imagination to picture fun things...

While this is playing, I'm doing a bit of "lotioning". I've had very dry hands lately and I also need to keep my new tattoo soft. I've been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter - a very thick "butter" that smells wonderfully like chocolate (well, it's cocoa butter). It also works very well, smells yummy.

I'd just started putting some on my tattoo...

My Granddaughter is sitting very close to me, as she likes to do when watching TV

Calliou has just started imagining a candy tree...

My Granddaughter says with a very awed tone to her voice "I can smell the candy tree, Grandma! I can smell it!"

I looked at her in amazement...

Her eyes are wide, and she's leaning forward, trying to smell the TV better...

Then, with a smile, I put the jar of cocoa butter under her nose...

She sniffed, looked at me and laughed.

How Wonderful!

It's Monday and some ramblin'

OMG - another Monday is rolling around. However, another Monday means a fun MEME to do, hosted by Sheila of Book Journey, (formally known as One Person's Journey....)

I've finished and reviewed Silver Borne (loved it) - Patricia Briggs

I've finished and haven't reviewed Rosemary and Rue. (liked it a lot, quite a bit) I've also found out recently that I've been totally mispelling Seanan McGuire's last name, adding an extra "A" just because. Mc not Mac. I'm usually more careful than that. Sorry Ms McGuire.

(click on covers, go ahead, you want to!)

......and didn't read anything for two days. I could not make up my mind what to start yet. I also had my granddaughter over and she takes more and more of my mental energy leaving me exhausted when she leaves. I love her - so much it hurts, but I'm very tired when she goes home. Anway, I got her Friday night, was going to take her home Saturday, but she didn't want to go, and we ended keeping her for another night. Then I ended up taking her home and staying for my daughter's candle party (expensive candles for sale in a tupperware selling environment). I ended up buying some tealights and a small candle thinking I would be spending around $20.00 HAH! forgot about sales tax, sh&handling and then rounded it UP for Breast Cancer foundation.....$26.00 later....

<--If I were a puppy...

I'm a little irritated at myself because I had $30.00 in the bank and I have been STOPPING myself from going to the bookstore, trying to be responsible because I know I'm going to run out of my inhalers. I even told my granddaughter that we had to wait to go to the bookstore....On Saturday she was sitting by me and suddently turned to me and said "Grandma, I want to go to the bookstore". I wanted to also, but NO. Oh well, I'm not as responsible as I should have been, no sense kicking myself now. Good thing I have a couple boys that will help their irresponsible mom out. Good thing I hardly ever ask for their help! CanNOT wait until payday though, there's a trip to the bookstore planned, OH YEAH!

Back to books -

<--same book--> <--Title Adjustment. Beware, sometimes publishers trick us - even though they really don't mean to. (right)

I've been reading (slowly, this is my purse/car book) Xombies Apocolypse Blues, which seems to be a re-working of a previous book by the same man (Walter Greatshell), calles Xombies. I'm glad I'm not one of his previous fans, who already had Xombies and bought the Apocolyse Blues thinking it would be a sequel, because it is the very same book. Same characters, same plot, same same same. It's taking me a very long time to read this, (especially since it's a purse/car book) and while I'm reading it, I get the feeling I'm missing a lot - like there should be another book before it. I don't think there is. Except possibly the first editions with a slightly different name, and a different book cover.

Books that I'm having a hard time choosing to focus on as my main read (I've actually started reading three of them) include; (yeay, list time!)

My Soul To Take (Rachel Vincent) won it; happy, happy!

Guardian of the Dead (Karen Healey) won it, so happy! see?---> :) me, being happy
Only the Lonely (Susan Gabriel) received for review (OMG, somebody trusts me! :0 scared

Wild Hunt (Margaret Ronald) bought with HARD EARNED money.

Rachel Vincent is also the author of the Shapeshifters series (love them too) and always a good writer. Never bored when I'm reading her books, and My Soul To Take has started out just as interesting. I've never read Karen Healey yet, (debut book) but I'm looking forward to it. I read the first chapter of Only the Lonely by Susan Gabriel. I'm a teeny bit embarrassed that I'm reading a romance, not just a romance, but a "Sensuous Journeys" romance, meaning, I'm sure, that it's going to have a bit of erotica in it? Not my normal reading material, but on impulse I offered to review and received the book. I'll be reading it soon. Last, but NOT least is Margaret Ronald. I read her previous book, Spiral Hunt and loved it. Ms Ronald does a fine job of "world-building" (a term I've picked up reading other comments and reviews on many books) and love the mix of mythology and contemporary life that Ms Ronald gives to old Celtic legends.

Current "bath-tub" read (heeheehee) is Blind Spot by Meljean Brooks, part of the anthology Must Love Hellhounds. ***it is important to relax at certain times!, don't judge***

Anything by Meljean Brooks is good, absolutely anything. I have most of her novels and short stories. They're all good. However, I have to admit that my all-time favorite of hers is the first book, Demon Angel, which she has stated that she wished she had done a better job on. I loved how long the book was, and the way she brought us along the two characters life journeys - it's a lot to read, but I enjoyed all of it. There's nothing wrong with books that are over 400 pages. It's a nice change once in a while. Blind Spot, the novella in the anthology is just as interesting as her other novels. Ms Brooks is also delving into steampunk. "Steampunk Romance" as a matter of fact. There is also a free online read at her website. I want to read it, but it's hard for me to sit and read for too long at a time.

Right now I'm reading a friend's novel and it's taking me way too long because I read like, 6 pages a day. I'm not complaining because she sends me her work to cheer me up - I love her for this, and it's work that's not published, so I can't say much about it, other that I hope she gets published soon, I think she's as good, if not better, than a lot of writers out there now. When you think about it, how sweet and trusting is this? When I was going through a particularly rough time, she sent me funny e-mails and one of her stories. She writes YA by the way, urban fantasy and fantasy-kind of dark fantasy. When I found out my last rotten diagnosis, she sent me another novel and more funny e-mails. We've never met in person, but met online through Live Journal. If anyone deserves some publishing success, she does. Not just because she's nice to me, but she writes well, and -bonus - NO LAME Dialogue :)

While trying to decide which books to focus on, I realized that my bookshelves have gotten completely out of control. But I don't feel like doing anything about it. I just don't have the energy or ambition. I'd rather read, or try to read while the grandchildren run me ragged. :) What I really need is another bookshelf, or two. Shoot, I can barely make myself even check my e-mail and it almost took an act of God to make me post tonight. insert big-feeling-sorry-for-myself sigh here, a HUGE SIGH!

Maybe next weekend, maybe not! :) <-- me thinking about really reading, not cleaning, oh no, never that!

it's a hot one and my abused TBR pile

Yesterday was such a nice pleasant day. It wasn't too warm, it wasn't cold. But today? it's currently 715 in the evening and it is still 89 degrees! I think it got up to 100 degrees today. Have I ever mentioned I hate hot weather? cause I do. I think I could exist happily in an area that stays between 40 and 65 degrees. This kind of weather makes me so pissed off, unreasonably so. I couldn't do anything, but lay on my bed in a stupor, trying to read. No energy, no willpower. Tomorrow won't be much cooler. At least it's supposed to get down into the 50's tonight, although I don't see any fog coming in to help with that. It never fails in this area though. Just about time to go back to school/work and the summer, which has been mild, just heats up. It'll probably go back and forth like this til October. Does it every year, and every year people say, "I can't believe it's the end of September and still so hot!" Every year.

While I was in a stupor on my bed, my granddaughter was again sorting through my books. This is what I found when I got up.

flowers and baking - Flower and Flour?

Today was a day for creativity. I have a two yr& three month old grand-daughter, who we share a house with (along with her parents of course!)
She really loves to help me garden. She also loves to help me cut flowers. Today, just for the hell of it, I had her help me cut some flowers from our garden, I filled a little vase with water, put the vase on the table and laid the flowers down next to the vase. I told Liliana to put the flowers in the vase, one at a time. This is the end result. Not bad for a two year old.

<----Later in the evening, we wanted strawberry shortcake. Since my daughter loves to bake, she decided to bake the shortcakes. She usually has her daughter help her bake. They always have fun doing this. Here Liliana is helping to mix the dough (using curls of frozen butter - for a flakier cake)

Here Liliana helps separate the eggwhite using the simple and "all natural" method. This really beats adding to the dishwashing pile! ---->

<---- Here, Liliana helps roll out the shortcake dough. It's always fun to use grown up tools, right kids?

Then, Liliana helps to cut out circles from the dough, using cookie cutters, another fun tool! Here she was trying to go as fast as she could, she was very intense as she was working. ---->

<-----One of her Shortcakes.

Finally, A very tasty looking

Strawberry Shortcake!

YumYumYummy, Good for the

Tummy!

Two year old babies (toddlers) are so much fun to have around the house. I think the only thing more fun than having a toddler around, is having a grandchild toddler around. :) I'm not that into baking {anymore} and I can't garden like I used to do; but my daughter is having a lot of fun cooking and baking with Liliana. I am enjoying having her with me when I do go into the garden. There are some times when all I have to do is give her a hand-shover and point to a patch of dirt and she is happy just digging away for a while. Other times I have her help me "dead-head" flowers, and if she picks the wrong one (a live flower), we just put it in a vase for display.