I've been Kindle-ized . . .

So I come home one day, and there's this package sitting there.  'For you' - they say, with strange looks on their faces.  I knew I hadn't ordered anything, but they insisted I open it.  I was shocked.  It was a Kindle!  For me!  The new one, with 3G (?) and Wi-Fi  (??)  and - well - everything!  AAAHH!  I have officially arrived in the 21st century!  Sort of.

Now, I have to say, I was a virtual hater of all things that would be considered anti-book anything - and what I mean by that is - I love books - the actual book - the feel of it, the weight of it, the paper, the very sound of the turning page, everything.  So when a gadget is out there which would take the place of books - well - that's almost sacrilegious in my book (really bad pun intended).  It's like casting aside your dog or your cat in place of  -  say - a pillow pet.  See what I mean??!  But  - over the last year, and after many, many trips where I filled bag after bag with hard cover and soft cover texts weighing who knows how many pounds and dragged them across the country taking up valuable living space in either the car or the RV (because you can't check out books from a library in another town and when we traveled I needed lots of stuff to read) - I thought - maybe - just maybe - at those times - only - it would be nice to just have this smallish thing that I could read lots and lots of different books from, stick it in my satchel and have reading on the go.  Not that you'd actually replace actual books, mind you - but in a pinch.  Now and then.  For convenience.  You know.

So here I sit with this - electronic device - and I read through the manual (sort of) and begin.  Guess what?  You can go to the internet on this thing!  You can download whole entire books in like - 3 seconds!  I can be on Amazon on my computer and in about 5 minutes - I can send like 11 books over to my Kindle - just like that!  I can take notes (?), I can bookmark (??), I can highlight sentences (???), I can play games - (at least - someone told me you can, I, um, just haven't figured out how to do that.)  . . .  and I'm sure there's other stuff - I just don't even know about yet.  (It's a long manual)   Okay, so maybe just my big toe is in the 21st century - but hey - I'm learning - I have a Kindle!  So far, I have 2 entire Bibles on there, 2 complete dictionaries, and about 50 books, of which about 45 of those were free!  Yes - FREE!  And now they say they are coming out with a library version - ability - app - thingy wherein you can like 'borrow' books for a small amount of time and then, well, then you  - what - you pay a fee if they are 'overdue' ?  Or maybe they just disappear from your Kindle after two two weeks is up . . .  MMM.   It is a tad bit spooky - I have to tell you.  But - it's been just so fun.  So amazing.  I am amazed.

So thanks India and Noah.  They bought this for me and I am so grateful.  I really like it.  A lot.   And I got this bright purple case for it, so stylish, and I just feel so, so, techy.  :)
Now, that doesn't mean I am done with real books.  Heaven forbid!!!!!!!  Nothing can replace the feel of a real book and there's nothing like a good old musty smelling library in my opinion - (especially the one in Mobridge, SD) - and you can't get every single book known to man on the Kindle - yet - but - hey - it's portable, practical  - and -  good for the environment - right?  You know - 'save a tree, save the world' and all that . . .
Just don't mention the word 'radiation' . . .

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Ok - now on to the news of the day - and/or week.  We are in full-fledged dance recital mode.  Whew!!!  2 days of dress rehersals and 3 performances.  It's quite the cultural event in our little town, and heaps of fun.  From the feisty four-year olds dressing in their bright red polka-dot tutus twirling round and round to 60 year old ladies clogging to a 70's disco tune  -- and everything in between.  It's total chaos with over 500 dancers and yet it's run like a well-tuned clock.  It's amazing and wonderful.   You'd think we'd get sick of seeing the same production every day for 5 days, but I never do.  Yes, I have a small vested interest since not only did India teach or assist with a dozen dances, she will actually be dancing in a few (yeah) and Ezra and Judah will be tapping to 'Kung Fu Fighting' - so for me - it truly never gets old.   And yes, we'll be trying to get these contagious tunes out of our heads for the next month. 

 How many times can you hum 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' before you   go  completely   insane???!!

Do you ever get in a rut with your food choices?  We do.  For a while, it was pasta.  Spaghetti one day, pasta primavera the next, and macaroni or penne after that.  Then we went to cereal.  Cereal for lunch, cereal for supper and cereal for a snack.  You can only do that for so many days in a row before you start dreaming about soggy rice crispies, let me tell you.  Just recently, we switched to nachos.  We've had nachos every other day for two weeks now, and I can honestly say, if I see another tortilla chip anywhere near a pot of beans and rice - I think I'll run out of the house screaming at the top of my lungs!!!  (not that that would be anything out of the ordinary - but that's another story)  Anyway - we need help.  If anyone has any ideas of the next food rut we should try - please feel free to post.  Just make sure it's actually edible - not like monkey brains or anything - okay?   Much appreciated.  

And get those chips out of my sight!   :)

  

 

What a difference a day makes . . .

Ah, the sun, the warmth, the slight breeze.  Beautiful day to sit outside and watch children frolic to and fro.  Around they go, fast and sleek, sweat dripping, fists pumping, pushing through the pain.
This could be quite poetic, couldn't it?  I know that some think the sport of track and field is a dark evil placed upon the land by vicious coaches and parents plotting to torture little kids for fun.  I just don't see it that way.  I love to run and I love to watch others run.  And when it's nice and sunny and you can sit and visit and cheer on the competitors AND get a tan - all at the same time - well - what's a better day than that??!
For the record - Noah improved his time in the 800 and ran the mile for the first time.  Not bad.  He's going to concentrate on the two mile from now on he tells me.  Good choice.  That way - he'll be more geared up for cross country in the fall.  And on it goes . . .

And now today - of course it's raining and windy and darkly overcast.   :(  People say variety is good.  They say that if the weather was good all the time, we'd get sick of it.  I say - just let me try that out and see.   Really.  I say, if I lived where the weather was good all the time and for some really psychotic and completely deranged reason I WANTED snow and ice and cold and blizzards and rain - I would just drive to find it.  You know what I'm saying??      Year round nice weather - yeah, that's something I wouldn't mind getting sick of.

My garden has been taken over by two small future business tycoons ages 11 and 13.  So far - they've planted:  1000 - yes ONE THOUSAND onions and about 180 potatoes. The amount of carrots they are going to plant is staggering.  Are you ready for this?   4000!   I know!   They hope to get peas in today  - I have no idea how many and frankly, I'm scared to ask - and maybe the lettuce and who knows what else.   Yes, they have major plans I'm telling you.  They have it all plotted out, graphing the square footage as to how many plants per square something, how wide the walk ways are, what the yield will be, (really?) and all the best crops to grow that will sell the best to make the most money.  We just sit and watch - shaking our heads in wonder.   If they ever got into real estate - someone better warn Donald Trump!    The neat thing is, they are paying for it all with their own money.  The sad thing is, that means we can not even sample one pea unless we pay for it!   (Drat those mean capitalists anyway)  Oh well,  they were very kind to let me have a small plot of land for myself - I think it's about the size of a postage stamp.   Just the right size for 1 pea.  :)