Walk to Holgate (South)

Went for a walk with Sam this morning when the birds and Claire were up but the rest of the household was still abed. The rain has stopped, but there is a sturdy North Easterly wind at about 12 mph (2 knots or thereabouts), and it bites at the ears when you are walking back up the island. Tide is pretty high right now, and so I hope that the wind will drop some and we can get to the beach.

Have put aside The Amber Spyglass as I discovered it was a first printing of the first American edition - that means that if I can get a first/first of The Subtle Knife I can make some $ off of them as a first/first set if they stay in fine condition. The cover of TAS is fragile with a cut out on the front, so I'll check out a copy from the library to finish the reread.

So, I'm back to rereading Pride and Prejudice. Such a hardship. Maybe I just don't like the post-modern novel (gasp! heresy in an English teacher!).

Heard that the house sitter is doing fine and that Sky in whining. So, everything is apparently normal.

It's Raining, It's Pouring, But We're Not Snoring

Rain watch part 3-

Yes, still raining. Yes, still waiting. Yes, still eating. Yes, Martha made it on the bus today. Yes, we shopped at Ron Jon's. Yes, we bought a new boogie board. Sure, we wish it were sunny. Indeed, I'm going to make a cocktail - because no matter what the time stamp on this entry is, it's really 5:00 pm and it's cocktail time.

I've read Eclipse - by Stephenie Meyer
An Iris Johannson
Reread The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Starting The Amber Spyglass
Still struggling with Middlesex by Eugenides
Gilda bought me Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated

Read Stephen King's essay about the real importance of Rowling's Harry Potter series:

But reading was never dead with the kids. Au contraire, right now it's probably healthier than the adult version, which has to cope with what seems like at least 400 boring and pretentious ''literary novels'' each year. While the bigheads have been predicting (and bemoaning) the postliterate society, the kids have been supplementing their Potter with the narratives of Lemony Snicket, the adventures of teenage mastermind Artemis Fowl, Philip Pullman's challenging His Dark Materials trilogy, the Alex Rider adventures, Peter Abrahams' superb Ingrid Levin-Hill mysteries, the stories of those amazing traveling blue jeans. And of course we must not forget the unsinkable (if sometimes smelly) Captain Underpants. Also, how about a tip of the old tiara to R.L. Stine, Jo Rowling's jovial John the Baptist?

Yes! That's me! Struggling with the boring and pretentious "literary novels" and wishing everyone told a story as well as Meyer and Rowling and Pullman.

Well, back to the books -

Funny shopping note. I sent Claire to get some avocados and she returned - told me that she knew nothing about avocados or when they are ripe so she only bought one - and it is a mango. I haven't had the heart to tell her yet.