Harriet's Car.

I love cars. It's one of the things from my dad that completely transmitted. I love driving. The whole romance of the road. If you ever want to drive across the country, I'm your girl. Just give me five minutes to grab some clothes--oh and about 18 years to get the kids out of my hair. :)
Harriet being the princess, has her own secret car. It took me forever to decide, but I think this is it, a 1932 Buick. It is capacious for a one member secret clubhouse. Classy and period for the rest of the story.

Cross Word

7 letters
starts with G
O how I love charades.

The Kite Runner

Yes, I should have read it first, but reading takes a while when you do it right and a movie takes an hour and a half, on average. I am amazed at how full the story is and on how many levels it works. Experiencing such fine craftsmanship will lead me to despair if I don't watch out. I now have to read the story in hopes that some cracks here or there will help me glean a little hope for my future as a writer.
You should experience this story in whatever media appeals to you. Lent is the perfect time for it. You will find yourself changed. It is not a film for children.
Get the details Here.

Good Excuse!

I've not been able or willing to squeeze reading into my already heavily populated schedule--until now! I'm teaching a class on medieval women and it's going to give me lovely, lovely reasons to immerse myself in my favorite period of both history and literature. I don't know how I'm going to make time for it all, but I now have permission to do so, if it is at all possible.
I'm starting with an overview (see above) and then I hope to read a good biography of each and if possible some of their work. I'm particularly excited by Christine de Pizan. I've only had the briefest of brushes, but she seems to crackle with energy and intelligence. What a lucky break!

Dear Mr. Gates...

I'm a busy mom. I'm homeschooling six kids while managing the house and trying to write a novel. The details change, but the challenge is basically the same for all of us. Technology is letting us down. Where are the things I need? Take for example a calendar that never needs replacing. I imagine it to be about 10 1/2"x13" with a nice interactive, touchable display screen. All our contact data could be stored in it, and with a touch of a couple buttons we can enter Dr. Smith's appointment or the play date at Rachel's. The calendar should be light enough to hang on the wall, but capable of printing a paper copy of the schedule currently on display for those children too small to be trusted with a PDA--more on that later. It should also be able to connect either through a wireless connection or a USB port to update everyone's laptop and PDA. While I'm thinking about it, it'd be great if it displayed recipes too and printed them for dinner guests.
Now, on to the PDAs, I want them to be inexpensive enough so that every kids in the family over the age of 6 has one. I want them to run on great software that I manage from my laptop. I want them built into the wall right next to the lightswitch. Morning alarm times, special notes about school assignments, chores, and appointments would all be added by me each night before I go to bed. The kids would wake up to their choice of ringtone, and everything they needed to do that day would be on a chorelist just waiting for them to get checking. The PDA ought to also have calculator and dictionary features. I want to be able to send them a little note through our family's wireless network so they know I'm thinking about them and I care. Positive reinforcement for successfully completing the day's work would be a great thing to have built in as well.
None of these ideas are out of the reach of today's technology. It's that we haven't asked the women who need it what they want and how. I've decided to just tell you. Raising children is our most difficult task. We need all the help we can get and good technology would be a wonderful help.

Morning, Noon and Night

The longer I am a Catholic the more convinced I am that everyone ought to be Catholic. At the same time, I am growing more and more certain that each person's insight and beliefs should be respected. Thinking, growing and changing are God given birth rights. One of the best things about Catholicism is the plethora of modes of worship. I've always been a prayer, so I was seeking a prayer practice consonant with my faith and my limits and personality. I tried the Rosary, and while it is lovely, I've never been a big fan of repetition. I keep switching phrases around or leaving things out. My RCIA instructor had us pray the Liturgy of the Hours during the Christmas season, and I was so impressed by it. When I converted I put a breviary on my list and just this Christmas bought it.
I love it. I love praying four times a day, and being so inspired and upheld by the prayers. It gives my day shape and keeps my thoughts on the straight and narrow--or anyway closer than they would be. The joyful discipline is a blessing and I do recommend it even to my protestant friends. Most of the readings are Biblical, and the prayers are pretty straightforward. It is complicated, but I've decided to accept the imperfection of my execution and keep on trucking.
For Christmas, Kurt bought a Wii for the family and a Wii Fit for us. I didn't know what to think until I tried it. It's a hoot! No one will be surprised to find I like the boxing best. I do almost everything that the Wii Fit offers, but boxing is so satisfying. I guess my second favorite thing is Yoga. For years I resisted Yoga, but when the St. Pat's offered class right around the corner I decided I could give it a try. Yoga is really fun. I'm hoping they come out with another Wii Fit game with a more extensive set of poses. I needed a new gimic that didn't require doing something without the kids. This is perfect for a busy mom.
On the day I turned eighteen, my future husband gave me this Pooh Bear. He's been keeping me company at night ever since. The original idea was that Kurt would replace him, but it turns out there isn't much we can do about his being a night owl and my being a morning lark. Pooh Bear doesn't seem to mind, though he did go AWOL for a while recently. I brought out the Dread Bunny Roberts just in case. After taking the entire bed apart he turned up, no worse for the wear.