7 Quick Takes: July 5 Edition

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Whoohoo look at this! It's only 8:30pm, it's still daylight outside and I have a few minutes to sit down and write some paltry post.  I warned you all to not expect too much from this blog.  So here we go...linking up with Jen.  

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"How is she sitting down so early?" you may be wondering.  Well, my friends, my brother-in-law has come for a visit, and he and my husband decided that while I was at work today they would have as much fun with the Little Man as possible - wear him out so he'd take an early nap.

They failed.

The poor guys tried a two hour walk & playground excursion.  They played many games.  All for naught.  The Little Man would not nap.  I arrived home, and he continued in his wide-eyed and bushytailed state.  The gentlemen decided they were not tired either, so they set out to play some evening tennis.

I sat down with the little guy, and after reading the same book no less than 8 times in a row (possibly more, and it is not a short book), he whipped out the towel that usually serves as a changing pad, threw it on the floor and insisted I lay down with him.

A few minutes later:

Silence is golden.


(Don't worry, he's in his bed now.)

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The book we were reading is this darling story:

Albert the Fix-It Man

Written and illustrated by two sisters, it's a very sweet story of a man who helps everyone and in turn is helped by others.  We've been participating in our library's Summer Reading Challenge.  I'm very glad that the program is open to all people from birth up!  Even though I'm the one usually picking the books and always logging and reviewing what we read together, it's helped me be more motivated in making sure there's always a variety of books for us to read together.  It's also motivated us to go to the library more often - and he LOVES that!

 -4- 

I love summer.  One of the best things about it is fresh fruit!  The other day a friend called me up and we took our little ones out to pick strawberries! 

8 pounds!  Not bad for the end of the season.  Now I have some in the freezer, 5 jars of jam, and 6 jars of various flavored sauce perfect for topping ice cream.  Strawberry and whiskey sauce anyone?  It was a hit last night!

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Speaking of last night....Good grief!!!  I was beginning to wonder if our town had decided to bombard our neighbors to the north to try to annex their land.  I have never heard so many fireworks!  Granted, where I grew up you could not could not set off fireworks in your backyard and here you can.  This was only our second Independence Day here (we'd always traveled before), but I really didn't remember it being so violent last year.

This morning my favorite radio weatherman provided an explanation: last year we were in drought conditions so there was a ban.  This year, people were free to let loose.  And they did.

It sounded like a warzone.  The Little Man was terrified and cried quite a bit.

And for all the noise, I didn't get to see a single one. 

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Back to the subject of books... Kate included me in a book exchange via snail mail. I now need to find 6 willing mommy (or daddy) participants to pass the letter on to.  The idea is you send one book, pass on the letter to 6 more people, and you get 36 books in return (if everyone does their part).  Do any of my readers want to participate? Let me know. I have some people in mind, but thought I'd put it up here just in case there's someone who'd really love to do it.  Friends and books -what a perfect combination!

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Okay, down to 7. While I'm throwing stuff out to the crowd - does anyone have any suggestions for the blog? Any inspiration to get me running?  I'd be glad for any thoughts! 

Have a great weekend!