Happy May Day!

The girls and I got up at 6:00 a.m. and drove around delivering may baskets to about a half dozen people. Including a couple of you, who haven't even realized it yet. (*Snickers* yeah, we drove by later in the morning, after karate, to check) After delivering the baskets, we went out for pancakes and French toast at Sweet Lorraine's. I love going out for breakfast on the weekends.

I told the girls again about the legend that if you wash your face with dew on May Day morning before the sun touches it, it will make you beautiful all year long. We looked for dew, but the grass was dry. Oh well, doesn't matter. They're beautiful already.

Acting on a tip that a neighbor gave me, I found a place to donate that stroller, finally. It's been given to Sabathani Community Center, which puts donated items outside the back of the building free for people to take, but I get a tax write off receipt. We also donated the girls' little child table that has been in the kitchen for years, but which they've really outgrown. It feels both good and sad to let go of those two really important pieces of their young childhood. The woman accepting donations assured us that both items will go very quickly, and it does help, to think that these things that we used so much will go to families who maybe can't afford to buy nice ones for themselves.

We'll be going to brunch at harryleblanc's and then the Heart of the Beast May Day Parade tomorrow and hope to see some of you there. elisem, minnehaha and dreamshark, we'll look for you. It will be our last annual May Day brunch at Harry's which is a little sad, since he's moving to San Francisco to go to graduate school.

Books for April, 2004

The Lay of Beleriand by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really really enjoyed this. Makes me think that I should make a point of reading poetry more often, more than just the poem-a-day I get on The Writer's Almanac.

The Languages of Tolkien's Middle Earth by Ruth S. Noel. A fast, easy read, but I gather from some of the reviews I've read of this one that it's not particularly authoritative; she makes mistakes and omits some material that's in the Simarillion.

The Grand Tour or The Purloined Coronation Regalia, Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (1crowdedhour) Won't say anything about this, since it's not yet out on the market yet, but . . .*gloats*

Scholar of Magics by 1crowdedhour. I adore the way this one started out, with Samuel Lambert, an American marksman, taking tea in the home of an English hostess, nailing a beetle in midair with a lump of sugar, and then secreting the corpse in a potted plant. I also love the reappearance of Jane Brailsford, a delightfully decisive heroine. It just gets better from there.

Someplace to Be Flying by Charles DeLint. Enjoyed this one, too, even more than some of his others. I felt aware that I was reading this one as a writer more than usual, watching how he set things up, established tension and pacing, etc.

Redwall by Brian Jacques. Mmm. First novel. Yeah, I can tell. He certainly does a lot of dictating to the reader exactly how they are supposed to see the various characters. (This characters is evil, this one is brave, etc.) Wonder if this a first novel thing, or an I'm-writing-YA thing, or just him? I might try one or two others by him.

Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl, one of the books sdn sent for the girls. Thanks, sdn! One aspect of this one reminded me very strongly of Georgette Heyer's Cotillion, actually, in that male hero is initially dismissed by the reader--is meant to be dismissed by reader--as too painfully stupid to be suitable for the heroine. But you know, he kinda grows on you, so that by the end of the book you realize, yeah that could actually work. Not bright, but really kind. Reading this one reminded me how many of my friends have recommended her Owl in Love. Must read that one, too. Yes, I'll certainly look at more books by this author. Nice distinct first-person voice.

Mmm, I note there were no re-reads this month. Excellent. But the numbers are still low because I'm still reading scads of stuff online, too.