Locomotives on Parade #35

I was really enjoying a moment the other day with Bess. We were up later than we should have been, but she wanted to read a little bit before sleep. I can't say no to that. She is reading Catwings Returns, by Ursula LeGuin, one of a series I didn't know much about before the librarian suggested it. Anyway, Bess is doing a great job reading and sounding the words out, and I was just watching her face. I love this face that will be gone all to quickly. She is a perfect specimen of early elementary school, with her innocent little-girl face, her front teeth half gone, half coming in, with her little voice. I just love the way her teeth look---not a look for her whole life, I know! Her front teeth were gone at the same time, just as they should have been (in my romanticized vision!). Now she has another tooth gone on the bottom and one of the front teeth is coming in half way. It's just so sweet.

Here is another of the trains we've seen this week. This one is called The Reading Railroad, and as you can see in the sign in the background, it is at St.Michael's Academy on College Avenue. So far, I am saying this one is my favorite. All the books on the smokestacks are real book titles, and the pictures of kids reading on the windows on the sides look like they were drawn by kids. I like this shot, too. The kids are winking like the train face is doing, too.

I don't care if the rest of the house is a mess today, I am going to pull out my scrapbooking stuff tonight and get to work! All I really need to clean up is the dining room table to get busy. I have been working with the kids 15 minutes a day (each) to get their rooms back in shape. This is a FlyLady method. FlyLady says it took a while to get the room in a mess this way, so don't expect it to get all cleaned up in one day. One step at a time works better for me and the kids. Then there's time to spend playing! As it should be this summer.

The best $3 I spent this summer: Pop Ice popcicles.

The best $25 I spent this summer: The pool punch pass. 25 swims for $25! Money spent when I had a paycheck, fun at the pool when there's hardly any money in the bank since I just paid the electric bill.

I have to tell about the free date I went on last night. FREE! Larry and I dropped our kids with Penny (free babysitting) and went to the George Bush Presidential Library for their Classic Film Series. We saw North by Northwest for free, and even got Cokes and popcorn for free. What a deal! One tip if you go, though: No food or drinks allowed in the auditorium, so get there early to get snack time in. Someone will get up and introduce the film, tell a bit of history about it. And the crowd is a "bit" more gray-haired than we are, but there were kids in the audience, too. It was fun. It was pretty crowded, too. The next movie is on July 13th, The Narrow Margin. If this town just had a "Shakespeare in the Park"-like event like Fort Worth and Dallas! That was a great romantic free (sorta) event. We didn't try the music series at Wolf Pen this year, but we should have done that, too. Free fun can be had around here.

It got me to thinking about my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, and Notorious, Rear Window, and Strangers on a Train come to mind. Especially Rear Window. I guess I identify with the guy stuck in his room, watching people through his window. My kids know I look in open windows at night as we drive by houses. And I have always tried to figure out what people are doing by observing them from afar. Rachel and I used to pass the time on our long car trips to Memphis by making up stories about the other passengers in other cars. In rear Window, this guy really does figure out somehthing bad is going on in the apartment across the courtyard. And the bad guys come after him!!

Anyway enough goofing around at the computer!