A Scrap Bag Day

We're getting ready to head off for another week at Lake Tahoe...aren't we lucky? This time, it's the annual vacation with Roger's siblings and their families. We mainly hang out on the beach and watch Caroline and her cousin Dash catch crawdads under the pier. It occupies them pretty much the entire time, which is nice for us grown-ups who generally just want to sit and chat and read.

Anyway, it means the last few days have been errandy, chore-ish days. But I've got scraps of things to say before I head off:

1. Look! Crowded House has a brand new cd, called Time on Earth. I love Neil Finn and Crowded House so I had this on my Ipod in a shot. I'm looking forwarded to listening to it over and over again....hm, maybe in the car on the way up to the lake...

2. Recently, someone (Sorry, I forget who ... Deb, maybe?) posted a blog entry about The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I put it on my library request list (I adore how my library lets me request books online) and it arrived yesterday. I started it at bedtime last night, and it's LOVELY. I want to read it slowly to savor the writing and the atmosphere but I want to zoom ahead to see what will happen. And best of all? It's a book about books and people who love books. I LOVE books about books... you know, like the Bookman's Wake and other Bookman novels by John Dunning, or the mystery series about book seller Dido Hoare by Marianne Macdonald. To whomever it was that posted about this book: THANK YOU! It's just what I was in the mood to read right now but didn't know I was in the mood to read until I started it.

3. Which reminds me that I'm about to receive the new novel by Stephen L. Carter, called New England White. I loved his previous novel Emperor of Ocean Park, which was a dense, cleverly plotted story about a law professor tracing his father's history and encountering mystery after mystery.

4. After last Christmas Eve's matching PJ's for the family was such a success, I decided that it'd similarly amusing for the whole crowd at Tahoe. So, thanks to Pajamagram.com, I've ordered matching pajamas for the entire crowd. I mean, there we are for most of a week, sitting around every evening to play games or chatter or read. Can you just picture a bunch of people doing that in matching pajama? Goofy, I know, but it amuses the heck out of me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find pajamas that ranged widely enough (ahem) to fit everyone from male and female kids to the matriarch of the family, so I had to resort to one style for the females and another style for the males. Close enough, and still sufficiently matchy to be ridiculous which is what I'm aiming for. Fortunately, this crowd has a pretty good sense of humor so I think it'll be a hit. I'll keep you posted.

Relaxation ahead...for you all, too, I hope!