Eggs

March 29, 2010 | Family

Sign of Spring

March 27, 2010 | Iowa,Spring

I saw the first Winnebago on the road yesterday. It’s like seeing the first robin in these parts.

Warning

March 24, 2010 | Iowa

This sign hangs in my local coffee shop.

Buh-bye

March 18, 2010 | Iowa,Spring,Weather,Winter

You’re what? Snow. Girl. Melted! (a la B-52s)

Yep. Here lies what’s left of Snowgirl. Look closely. That’s her cute little carrot nose and stick arms. That pile of snow in the middle is, I think, what’s left of her pretty hat. So long, Snowgirl.

I’d feel more smug about telling her not to let the door hit her on the way out, but I don’t think she and her pal Old Man Winter are done with us yet. That’s right. Snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Oh well. At least we had two glorious days with 50 degrees.

Library

March 17, 2010 | Books,Family,Iowa

I’m still stacking books. The shelves are almost full! Here’s a look back at what it took. I have some “before” pictures, but WordPress won’t let me upload any more photos right now. I guess I wore it out.

Books: Pinkalicious

March 10, 2010 | Books

We just read Pinkalicious by sisters Victoria Kann & Elizabeth Kann. We enjoyed Goldilicious so much that we wanted to read this one, which was actually published first. Now, we’ll just have to get our hands on Purplicious, and our “licious” life will be complete.

Books: Listen to the Wind

March 9, 2010 | Books

We just read Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth (who also did the collages).

It’s the children’s version of Three Cups of Tea, which I read two years ago. It tells the story of building a bridge and a school for the children of Korphe.

The story was very simple, so I had to answer questions about veils on girls and why they wear them and boys don’t. I also explained that girls in that part of the world often aren’t allowed to go to school.

The Pearson Foundation has a nice video of Mortenson and his daughter explaining the Pennies for Peace program, which was set up to educate children and give them a way to help.

He also has a “youth” version of his book and a song, featuring Jeni Fleming and his daughter, Amira.

Speaking of pennies, maybe we should send that fancy Lincoln bicentennial penny and the rest from my son’s money unit at school to Pennies for Peace. Eh?

Books: Origin

March 8, 2010 | Books

I just finished reading Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber. What a great mystery and thriller! I read her book Crescent (enjoyed it very much), which had a completely different feel to it. Abu-Jaber is a wonderful writer. I love her descriptions.

Books: Little House on the Prairie Cookbook

March 7, 2010 | Books

Did you know there’s a Little House on the Prairie Cookbook? It’s called The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories by Barbara M. Walker and illustrated by Garth Williams. This would be a great addition to our Little House library.

Anne-Marie Nichols wrote about it at her blog, This Mama Cooks! She has lots of great information, recipes and lists of other books and activities to celebrate reading in March.

Movies: Elling

Movies

We watched Elling last night. I’m trying to remember who recommended it, but it was someone on Twitter. Anyway. Great recommendation. It’s a Norwegian film directed by Petter Næss and based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s novel from 1996, Brødre i blodet (Blood Brothers). We enjoyed the movie. It was very funny at times, a bit sad at times but sweet and touching the whole time.