Peonyiana: April 2004 Archives

Today my friend Iris took a half-day off work and came up for a visit. We loaded Hambet into the car and took off for a day of shopping. Other women go to the mall, but Iris and I hate shopping for clothes. We went scouting used bookstores. There are six within reasonable driving distance; we visted two favorites.

We both had good hauls. I had good success with books for Hambet. Two Beatrix Potters -- Hambet loved Peter Rabbit, so we'll see if he also likes the tales of Benjamin Bunny and Mrs Tiggle-Winkle. I like the small, individual editions of the Potter books; they retain the intended pacing of the text and illustrations. I also found another one of those great books from Golden Books' heyday: Joe Kaufman's About the Big Sky, About the High Hills, About the Rich Earth, amd the Deep Sea. Does anyone else remember these books? Kaufman takes the Richard Scarry concept -- vivid, detailed drawings explaining science and technology -- to a level appropriate for older children. I had a copy of his book on the human body when I was a kid, and it was one of my favorite books (I'll have to see if my mother still has it.) I know he's written others as well -- and they all seem to be out of print, which is criminal. Hambet isn't quite ready for this book yet, though he will proabably like looking at the pictures. I'll have to do some updating as we read; the book repeats the old canard that it took Columbus to demonstrate that the earth wasn't flat, and will need some supplementation for discoveries made since 1978 (the rings of Jupiter, for example.)

It's a shame, really; Golden Press had so many great books -- so many of my favorites from when I was growing up -- and so many are out of print! Many of the Richard Scarry books have been edited for political correctness, and many of his (and other) Little Golden Book titles are either out of print or difficult to find.

I had a great fiction haul at the second bookstore, all on the same shelf: Eclipse of the Sun, by Michael O'Brien, and THREE Aubrey-Maturins (usually difficult to find in used bookstores.) There were more PO'Bs available but I had to use a little self-control. Finally, a copy of G.K. Chesterton's St Francis of Assisi, which I presented to my dear husband.

Iris found a book of Audobon paintings at an excellent price and a couple of books of natural history. She picked up a couple of PO'Bs for herself as well, and two by G.K. Chesterton (an introductory anthology and The Everlasting Man.) Iris, who attends a Protestant church, was kind enough to tape the Dale Ahlquist series on Chesterton for me when it ran on EWTN a couple of years ago (her cable company ran EWTN 24/7.) I thought she'd just use the timer function on her VCR, but when she brought the first set of tapes over, she demanded to know why she hadn't been taught about GK before since everything he predicted had come to pass? So when I saw the Chesterton books today, I was an instigator and suggested she take a peek at them.

A stop at Starbucks for coffee and cake was the cherry on the sundae. Don't know if today did anything for fixing that slipped gear in my brain, but it did wonders for my mood. All I need now is for my child and husband to go to bed early, so I can sneak downstairs and read.

I have about five possible posts, responses to very thought provoking posts of others, sloshing all around in my brain. None of them seem to want to jell.

I can't seem to come up with anything worthy of entry in comments boxes (I'm sure "you rock!" is good for the ego, but a few supporting sentences would probably be even more helpful)

I can't complete a metaphor or a simile to save my life.

I think my brain has slipped a gear or something.

Sleepy Mommy history was made Monday and Tuesday when, for the very first time, Pansy and I finally got to meet each other in person! I'll let Pansy speak for herself when she's back home. For myself, I'll just say I had a blast.

Pansy came down to the D.C. area on Saturday and spent Sunday with her family. I'll let her tell the story about how they were trying to get to the Shrine but instead landed themselves in the coven; I'll just say that if you're going to the Shrine and taking I-395 from Northern Virginia, I would recommend taking 395 to the 3rd street tunnel, taking the tunnel all the way north to New York Avenue, and taking NY Avenue east to a left on First Street or North Capital Street, and turning right onto Michigan Avenue. But I digress. On Sunday evening, most of Pansy's family went to Philly while Pansy and her youngest son, Gorbulas, stayed with her dad in Alexandria.

Monday was the big DC Metro Family Blogger Fiesta. KTC made it all happen, really; she very kindly picked up Pansy from Alexandria (a bit of a hike from her own neighborhood) and brought her up to my place in Maryland -- all in rush hour traffic! and they still got there right on time! ( We've all known that KTC has one of the fattest Rolodexes in St Blog's -- she knows everybody; we know she is a first class Prayer Warrior; now we know she is a ROAD WARRIOR!) Davey's mommy, Davey's daddy, and Davey himself (whose new haircut makes him look just like Christopher Robin) joined us, and we had a lovely lunch together. Friends sitting around the kitchen table; a spirited, wide-ranging conversation fueled by coffee and a little dessert.... what could be better? The little boys seemed to have a good time, too, alternating between screams of territorial rage and long moments of ominous delighted silence.

Tuesday I picked up Pansy and we set off for a little touring. It would have been fun to see the Smithsonian, but that's hard to do with two restless little boys in tow, especially on a day with rain in the forecast. We went to the Shrine and then to the JPII Cultural Center. One of the best things about the Cultural Center is it's "Children's Gallery" -- a padded room with kids' activities, including a toddler's area with a latched gate (so weary parents don't have to run after little escapees.) We turned the little boys loose and let them go at it while we visited. Afterwards we stuffed them in their strollers and looked at the exhibits.

We picked up my husband and headed to Alexandria, where we had dinner and met Pansy's dad. But all too soon, it was time to say good-bye, and we headed back to Maryland.

Pansy is headed back home today. I so hope we can do this again sometime. We've been "pen-pals" (or whatever the IM equvalent is) for almost two years now, and it was so good to finally meet "in real life." It was funny, we've been looking forward to this for months, but once it finally came -- to me, anyway -- it was like we'd always been neighbors and this was an extended play date instead of a Very Unusual Event. Pansy sitting at my kitchen table, coffee cup in hand, seemed like the most natural sight in the world.

-- I will probably be scarce for the next week or so -- stuff around the house, etc.

-- Thanks to all who left such kind words on my "Sadness" post from last week. I hit the nadir that Wednesday, I think (when the last scoop of disappointment got served out), and perked up after that. Getting a glimpse of that big round yellow thing in the sky, after days and days of clouds and rain, helped a lot.

-- Beauty breaks and going to Confession help a lot too. I got to do both on Sunday, when we went to the Shrine for Mercy Sunday. If you saw a little boy who was running around in too-large pants secured with a strap from a cell phone tied through the belt loops, that would have been Hambet.

-- Still sunny. I'll try to get a Garden Report up sometime soon.

-- Took Hambet out to get a new pair of sneakers today. He managed to escape and flee the shoe store twice (I don't know where he thought he was going) but he was polite to the salesman. (He actually likes getting his feet measured.) When we went to look at the sneakers, he immediately picked out a sample shoe and tried stuffing it on his foot: "I want these shoe!" Maybe it was the Velcro that caught his eye; up to now he's only had tie shoes. Happily, the shoes he liked were ones I liked too (no brand names or flashing lights) so he got to wear them home.

-- I could use a pair of shoes myself but I don't even know what style to look for. I wish I could get one of our fashionista bloggers to be my personal shopper. I only like shopping for books. I don't mind looking for clothes for Hambet either, particularly if I can leave him off with someone else. But I hate shopping for myself.

Back from visiting the in-laws in Pittsburgh for Easter. We had a good visit, but the logistics of travel kept me from attending any of the Triduum liturgies. How I miss them. The closest I got was hearing the Exsultet on EWTN on the hotel room TV -- well, a little, anyway, before I had to get up again and try to prevent Hambet from dismantling something else in the hotel room.

Jumbled thoughts, nothing jelling enough for a blog post, about chest freezers, What I Did For My Lenten Resolution, recent delightful finds at used bookstores and book sales, the sensation that you are left behind waving a flag on the sidewalk while everyone else gets to march in the parade, and the inhuman cruelty of the layout of the ladies' room at the Mickey D's in Breezewood, PA.

I'm going to try to get the Easter template up. Meanwhile, I would be very grateful for prayers for a friend of mine who got some bad news on Thursday night. Thanks so much.