It's been one of those weeks filled with a lot to do and the feeling that I have very little to show for it.
On the one day I could take time for quilts with a clear conscience, I buckled down and faced my least favorite quilting task: piecing the quilt back. I even figured that as long as I was doing one, I'd do another. I had a tolerable time piecing the backs for my newest fruit and veggie quilt and the garden quilt I'm making for a Christmas present, and I got them both fully sandwiched and basted and ready to quilt. I felt very virtuous at the end of that chore!
I've discovered that my library was wireless internet now, which is what is allowing me to post this very entry. I've just dropped Caroline at a birthday party at a nearby park, and I came inside to escape the strange October hot spell and to get a bit done on the computer. I love that I can sit here and have full internet access for free, and all via my powerful green library card.
Speaking of birthday parties, I am frequently puzzled by the etiquette and safety issues these events present. For example, Caroline is at a new school this year and we know very few of the families with kids in her class. This is the second party she has attended which is hosted by people I don't know. Why should I leave my child in the care of people I absolutely do not know? At the last party (a backyard party in a child's heaven of a backyard, complete with swimming pool, trampoline, rope swing dangling over the trampoline, and big jumpy house), I looked around and pretty quickly saw that there were no adults watching the kids in the pool (while they pushed each other in) or on the trampoline. The mom and dad were busy going in and out of the house, fetching food and beverages and generally doing party stuff. So, I hung around and watched the pool, feeling that it simply wasn't safe to leave my child (and the others) unattended around the pool. No other parents seemed the least bit concerned. I guess I'm over-cautious. Today, I introduced myself to the host parents, looked at the park area where the party is taking place, and noted that there are various parents there watching the kids. I've decided to leave for a while, but I'm sure I'll go back before the end-time of 4:30 to see what's going on. Do other parents worry about this sort of thing? What do they do?
I had a lovely book club get-together last thursday night. We, the No Guilt Book Club, decided that we were in danger of becoming the No Book Book Club. We're a bunch of working moms, and we love having dinner together and we always intend to discuss what we read. But we don't typically see each other in our day-to-day lives, so we always have a lot to talk about when we meet at our monthly dinners. This time, we read Sister of My Heart by Chitra Divakaruni. And since it was about the intertwined lives of two cousins in India, we met at an Indian restaurant and had a delicious dinner. Next month's book is The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. I've just grabbed a copy at the library. It doesn't look like the sort of story I'd usually choose, but that's the great thing about the book club...it causes me to read books I wouldn't otherwise pick.
Unfortunately (and maybe coincidentally) I woke up in the middle of the night after that dinner with the worst stomach ache I remember having. I did not feel well AT ALL. I rallied to get out of the house on Friday, but I'm still on the edge of queasy. Saltine crackers are about all I want to eat right now.
On Friday, despite my weird stomach, I met up with my friends Janet, Pat and Pam to celebrate Pat's upcoming birthday and to wander around a few shops. We explored a yarn store (such tempting, lovely yarns!), a bead store (visual candy!), and a few "stuff" shops...you know, knick knacks and gifts and home decorating. AND we ventured off to find the new fabric store in our area, The Material Girl. At the moment, the shop is upstairs in a funny little strip mall building, but it is moving soon and the new space (right nearby) is large and well-lighted and looks like it will be great. Despite the tiny site now, we were all impressed with the great and interesting assortment of fabric. Lots of Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler, a wonderful selection of black and white prints, some interesting vintage pieces of fabric on the bolt... I suspect I will return.
Childrens parties. We have gone from the "I can do it better than you can" mentality of the UK to "what are party bags?" mentality of rural France. At A's parties I insisted the parents dropped their kids off and came back at about 5.00/6.00. No more than 8 kids at a time so it was relatively easy to watch them and A's birthday being in March there is no problem with falling in swimming pools.
ReplyDeleteRe your book club. There is a lovely lovely book called The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble. Don't know if you get can it over there, but worth a read if you can.
I don't remember having the same birthday party quandry when my kids were growing up. But I do remember when Steph was in 7th grade, she went to a sleep over party and they showed the girls the movie "Arthur" which I found totally inappropriate for that age. Anyway, I would agree with your judgements regarding Caroline and the parties she is invited to. Soon you will know the families and have a better judgement.
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