On My Nightstand

They say that to be a good writer, you should write a lot and read a lot. This summer has been a time for reading. So far, I've read the following:

• The Life of Pi by
• The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
• The First Family by David Baldacci
• completed the first read of The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
  (I'll need to reread more carefully later to facilitate the book study)
• The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano
• the Gospels of Luke and John

Now, if I could be so prolific in the writing department, I'd be doing good!

The second day of Spring!

I love Spring! Yesterday, I sat in the hammock under dappled sunlight, watching the squirrels play chase in the trees and listening to birdsong. I tried to read, but my mind kept wandering. Does life get any better than this?

I've finished the pencil illustrations for the poetry book, and just in time. Substituting has picked up a lot. I try to take every offer I can since I know it will slack off in April when the dreaded TAKS tests take place. I'm practically a regular there.

So, I don't feel too guilty when I say I'm looking forward to a week away. Brendan just turned 13, so we decided to take probably our last trip to DisneyWorld. I can't imagine he'll want to go again... at least with his parents. Hopefully our week is late enough that the crowds have dispersed and we won't have to wait the 2.5 hours in line that Bill has been reading about on the message boards. It will be near 80 degrees every day. My white skin will get some much-needed sun. And, we finally get to ride all the big rollercoasters Brendan couldn't ride before, much to Bill's chagrin.

When I get back, I have a new opportunity to do some contract graphics work for a woman my parents introduced me to. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I'm looking forward to a new(old) creative outlet and the challenge. It's exciting and a little scary to resurrect long-sleeping skills that I never thought I'd use again professionally.

My family is healthy! We're going on vacation! Spring is here! Life is good! God is good!

Soup's on!

I'm moving along nicely with most of my resolutions, thank you very much. The one that has taken the back seat, of course, is the dieting. I'm finally getting some good teacher substitution work and can't be bothered to exercise when I come home in the afternoons -- I'm too hungry. To try to help in that area, I've been eating mostly salads and soups for lunch. Today, I have a dilemma. I can't decide which soup recipe to make. Which looks best to you?

Williamsburg Pumpkin Soup

¼ C chopped onions
4 T butter
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 C pureed pumpkin
½ t nutmeg
½ t salt
Pepper to taste
1 can water

Directions
Sautee onion in butter. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly.

OR

Soba Soup with Spinach (from Everyday Food Jan/Feb 2009)

2T Vegetable oil
12 oz shiitake mushrooms (stems removed) caps thinly sliced
4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T peeled and minced fresh ginger
Coarse salt
2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz each)
½ package (4.4 oz) soba noodles
1 bunch flat leaf spinach, torn
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T soy sauce

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, scallion whites, garlic and ginger; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until mushroom are tender, 6 minutes.

Add broth and 3 C water; bring to a boil. Add soba; reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until tender, about 1 minute. Add lime juice and soy sauce. Serve topped with scallion greens.

I love trying new food. Though, I can't find true buckwheat soba noodles anywhere, so I'm substituting whole-wheat pasta. Wagamamas has the BEST soba dishes, but, alas, there are none in Texas. So I'll try to do my own.

Remember, it's okay to tip the bowl to your mouth to slurp up every last yummy drop!

I Resolve

Thank goodness the new year has begun. I was feeling like a slug the last few months of 2008. The more I did nothing, the more that's all I wanted to do. A new year revives the soul with the promise of new opportunities. I plan to take full advantage of it. They say to be successful, you need a tangible, achievable goal with a firm due date. And since I work best to deadlines, here are my New Year's Resolutions.

1. Lose 10 lbs. by Valentine's Day (Feb 14)
2. Complete rough draft sketches for Chuck's poetry book by Jan 31, finals by Feb 28. Thanks Chuck for the motivation
3. Complete rewrite of Dillon and Blue for self publishing by March 31. Thanks Bill for the motivation.
4. Hardest of all, give up watching Rachael Ray so I have a good solid hour of quiet time every morning to accomplish the above tasks. I'm looking forward to the weekly recipes ezine I signed up for, the part of the show I miss the most.

I've written all of these down in my day planner - in ink! Keep me honest. Come back often to check on my progress. Good luck with your resolutions.

Happy New Year ... and Pass the Virus!

I was SO looking forward to seeing my ENTIRE family. We were scheduled to spend three days between Christmas and New Year together.

All went well the first day. We had a professional photographer come out and take family pictures. Then we enjoyed turkey and dressing and shared Christmas presents.

The next day, Audrey woke up unable to breathe (the first bad sign). We tried our hand at golfing at a local run-down golf course. At least half of us had never golfed before. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we goofed around and had great fun carting around nine holes. Dad was by far the most improved. Once he got the hang of it, he whacked the balls down the fairway in an unorthodox, Happy Gilmore-style swing that served him well. Brendan and Josh kept up really well, and the guys got serious on the last hole, competing for bragging rights.

That evening, we switched into birthday mode, celebrating Dad's 70th, Chris and Christina's 40th, and Nate's 30th all at once. By then, Chris and Christina had decided that Audrey was coming down with the Croup, and needed to leave to see their preferred doctor in Houston. Shawn and Kim had to leave so he could get back to work. The numbers dwindled fast.

Next morning, Becca had a stomach bug. She couldn't keep anything down and couldn't stop even when there was nothing left. We took her to the clinic for anti-nausea meds and tried to keep her hydrated.

We left for the coast the next day and hoped we'd dodged the bug. We made it all the way to South Padre Island before we heard from Mom and Dad that Chris and Christina were ill in Houston, most of Kim and Shawn's family were down with it in Austin, Mom and Dad had a mild form in Bandera. Bill succumbed that night. Out of 16 people, five of us came out unscathed, although, I'm not sure whether Hannah's symptoms were from teething or virus.

Once Bill was back on his feet, he did some research to rule out food poisoning, considering time to sickness and how it spread. I was afraid I had made everyone sick with my tamales and chili. Mom was concerned about her food. Even so, I'm sure we shared it through chips and dips and communal fruits and veggies. He decided it was the Norovirus, unrelated to influenza and much more viral. It can only be killed with bleach.

We had a challenge in that we needed to isolate Bill while he was sick. It's not easy in an RV. He got the back bedroom and the bathroom pretty much to himself, and we kept cleaning as the illness progressed. We laundered and Lysoled and scrubbed out hands often. So far, Brendan and I have been spared, although I sort of thought it would be nice to have a stomach virus to kick-start my diet. But Bill says he wouldn't wish this think on his worst enemy, so I'll just lose weight the good old fashioned way.

Year in Review

I know, it's not quite Christmas yet, but I don't know how often I'll get a chance to use the computer. With Brendan out of school and Bill learning about day-trading, I probably won't get a blog in edgewise next week.

I've been looking back through my day planner to remind myself of all the wonderful things we've experienced in the past year. Here are a few:

January began with Brendan breaking his wrist when he fell off of his skateboard. He had a distal radial reduction with a pin for good measure. He thought the camo cast was cool for about a week, and then couldn't wait to get it off! We are now strong believers in full-body gear. Brendan sweats when he skates from all the pads. Also in January, Bill's dad had a heart valve replaced with one bypass since they were already in there. Besides a headcold, I'm happy to announce that, at this moment, we are all healthy. Thank you, Lord.

Our newest niece was born February 9 - Hannah Beth! I was so honored. She's gorgeous.

Brendan turned twelve in March. He calls himself a twelve-teen, not a tween. I feel really old!

In April, Bill kindly let me leave him on his birthday to be part of a surprise 40th birthday party for a dear friend in Florida. I've never done anything like that before. It was a great girl's weekend.

I did a lot of substitute teaching throughout the spring term. In May, I worked at least three days a week. I think this could me my second career.

We spent nine weeks of the summer in Manchester, England. Bill worked a contract job while Brendan and I explored the city. It was a great way to see another part of England and visit our friends in Collingtree almost exactly a year since we left. We miss them. That was an idyllic time and place. The summer in Manchester was cool, overcast and wet.

We got back just in time for Brendan to register and start school. It took him a while to adjust to a new school, but he now has wonderful friends and enjoys his classes, even those I think must be totally boring!

In September, we took a quick cruise to the Bahamas for some fun in the sun. We snorkeled with stingrays and rode jet skis. It was a great getaway.

October was pretty quiet. I finished the dummy book for "A Pumpkin Named Jack" and sent it to a prospective publisher. I have to wait four months for a response. I officially joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators as Illustrator Coordinator for our area. I'm looking forward to the conference.

I stopped taking notes in November and December, but I remember them to be good times with family and friends. It's nice to be nearby for the holidays. I love this time of year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Take a moment to reflect on where you've been and where you plan to go in the future. God bless you.

Let it Snow!

You won't believe this. If I hadn't been here, I wouldn't. Yesterday we had a record high of 83 degrees. Then as the afternoon rolled by, a front moved through, it was sleeting by bedtime, and Bill woke us later so we could see the snow! Of course it was too warm to stick to the ground, but there was still snow on the cars and rooftops when we left for school in the morning. Now it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! I love it.

BTW - Brendan didn't make the basketball team. He's not too upset as only one of his friends who tried out made it. I had mixed feeling about the whole thing anyway. But now, I've lost my early morning quiet time to write. I'll have to be more diligent to get it done throughout the day.

I've just finished my family's holiday cookbook, and I'm reworking my novel, Dillon and Blue.

I hope the weather where you are is as wonderful.

I'm Back

After an extended, month-long break from writing or illustrating of any kind, I find myself with some uninterrupted time to pick it up again. Brendan is trying out for Basketball this week. He has to be at school at 6:45 AM! If he makes the team, he'll have to get there at 6:30 every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I'm determined to make good use of the quiet time. By the end of Basketball season, I should have cranked out a novel, at least. The hardest part is getting out of bed. Once I'm up, I'm up. So let's get started with a quick blog entry.

Happy Thanksgiving - a little late! By now the leftovers should be just about gone. Mom made a 17 lb. turkey for the five of us to eat, because Bill wanted lots of leftover bird for sandwiches. True to his word, it's almost gone. I froze the rest of the stuffing and gravy for later. We had a great time baking and cooking in Bandera. The scenery in the hill country was particularly pretty this year, but of course I didn't take pictures. The weather was weird -warm with low clouds and HUMID! We came back in from our morning walks damp. I hardly had to take a shower.

Since it was just Thanksgiving, Id like to give thanks for a few things. In this economic climate, it may be tough to be thankful. But we are such a blessed nation. We have freedoms other countries can only dream of. We have the freedom to participate in an election process where each vote counts. We have the freedom to worship as we wish without fear of persecution. We are relatively free from fear that when we lay down at night, we will wake up in the morning in a safe place. I am personally thankful for a warm bed, food to eat, friends near and far, a wonderful extended family who all are well at this moment in time, and an amazing son, who continues to surprise me. Allow me to brag for just a moment.

Whether he makes the Basketball team or not, Brendan is distinguishing himself in other areas. His watercolor painting of a stingray was submitted to the Reflections contest, a fine arts competition with music, poetry, drama, etc... and was selected to go the next round of judging. We have the honor of going to the awards ceremony. Also, because of his perfect score on the English portion of the TAKS test, he has been invited to participate in Duke University's TIPS program of excelerated learning opportunities. In order to place him appropriately in the program, he will be taking the SAT this Saturday! He constantly goes above and beyond what is expected in assigned projects. And even though he says he doesn't want a "nerd" award, I think he would do well in the science fair with his tornado simulator. As you can see, I'm very proud. Okay I'm done.

This year, I am collecting the "must have" recipes from all Moehring family members to put into a cookbook. Brendan's favorite dish is Mom's cranberry sauce, and I still didn't have the recipe. In the book, I'm putting photos of holidays past. We spent a good portion of a morning looking through Mom's albums looking for family photos. The one you see above is of me at my new kitchen set. It's a great trip down memory lane, and brings up lots of great stories - fodder for my writing... which I need to get to now.

Hope this hasn't been too disjointed. I had lots of thoughts running around in my head.

Merry Christmas! May God unclutter your mind and put peace in your heart.

Christmas is Coming!

Seems like the world has decided to skip over Thanksgiving and get right to Christmas. Retailers are so worried about low profits that they've started their ads now, and a local radio station has already switched to an "all Christmas music" format for the duration.

While I love Christmas and can't wait to get to the celebrating, I think it will be interesting to see how people will adjust this year. With less to spend, they may actually rediscover the real meaning, and spend more time with relatives and loved ones than money. I can see the spoiled consumer in my son disappointed that he will be receiving fewer gifts this year from family members, and the price limit is lower. On my side of the family,we are exchanging gifts amongst the grandchildren, and adults are doing a white elephant exchange, which gives the opportunity for regifting and homemade gifts. But then, my family grew up making presents and shopping at the Five and Dime for inexpensive gifts.

We will still enjoy our precious few days together, but since most of the money will be spent on traveling to our parents' house (don't get me started on the airlines), we'll redefine our visit by reading the story of Christ's birth, re-enacting it with the manger scene that I loved unpacking as a child, and singing Christmas carols, which somehow got lost in previous years amongst all the discarded Christmas wrapping paper.

I pray that this time of year doesn't leave you too stressed, and that you might consider leaving some money in your pocket, yet have a richer holiday by getting back to basics. Attend a Christmas eve service, or drive through a live nativity, and light the fire of hope in your life that Christ was born to die for you - the ultimate gift from our loving father. Merry Christmas.

Halloween photos

Brendan as an alien cyborg and the first pumpkin he's carved all by himself.

Milestone met

Okay, by now, I'm sure you're tired of hearing about the dummy book. Well, it's done. YEAH! At least in it's first form that was submitted to the publisher along with the manuscript for Umi and Xandar. (See the sow that eats the tender pumpkin plants to the right.) Now I have four different pieces of writing out there waiting to be considered. Two are in magazine contests, which seem to capture my imagination most and play to my need for a deadline. One should announce the winner this month. The other is in January, I think.

So, I took a little break to enjoy Halloween. Brendan went with his buddies in a totally different neighborhood to trick-or-treat. He dressed as an alien cyborg. His friends went as a Krispy Kreme donut and a policeman! I love the homemade costumes. There were lots of them this year.

I wanted so badly to be a fly on his costume, but we left him alone. He had my phone in case he needed us. I'll add photos as soon as I get them from my in-laws. I forgot my camera.

I love this time of year. Can't wait for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Head

The past few weeks, I've had pumpkins on the brain. With our Texas version of autumn, cooler weather and imported pumpkin patches, I've had renewed inspiration to get my Pumpkin Named Jack dummy book done. I've spent time in the church's pumpkin patch several times and managed to sketch a few while I was there. I also presented it to an audience for the first time at Saturday's meeting of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators group. (Say that fast three times!) They had some good suggestions, which I plan incorporating into the story and illustrations. It became very clear that this is still very much a work in progress, and anyone who sees it will have an impact on it.

Mostly, I was surprised that they still had suggestions about the story, which I thought was pretty well set. After all, it was a finalist in last year's picture book competition. First was to cut it by 300 words, and let the pictures do the talking. Good point. But then, it was also suggested that Jack being the hero needed to find a way to save himself, instead of external forces doing it for him, which completely changes the tone of the book. See if you agree. Click the link for the ABC Picture Book Competition. Go to Year 3 finalists and read the story. I'm really interested in what you have to say. It could change the whole thing.

Baggie of Water

Fact or fiction?
We've tried this, and the results are mixed, but it sounds plausible.

If you put a penny in a baggie of water and hang it in a prime location, it will deter flies. Flies have many facets in their eyes. The way the sun reflects through the baggie and water has a prismatic effect on the fly, confusing it. One explanation says their GPS works on the directionality of the sun, and this throws it off. Another says, that the bag looks like a bee hive, and since they are afraid of bees, they stay away. Either way, it's worth a try next time you're having a BBQ outside. It's better than bug spray any day.

I hope you sleep better now that you know the answer.

Jack O'Lantern

This week, I'm working on Jack's new Jack O'lantern face for my dummy book. This is the big ta-da for the story, so it has to be extra special. If you plan to carve pumpkins, I'd like to see your designs. Email them to me and I'll post them here.

A friend of mine sent this sweet greeting to me (thanks, Peggy!), which encapsulates the meaning of A Pumpkin Named Jack. It's the reason I can't give up on Jack. If you haven't read the story, click on the ABC Children's Picture Book Competition link to the right. Look under the 3rd competition finalists.

-----

A woman was asked by a coworker,"What is it like to be a Christian?"

The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin." God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Beth's Brain Aerobics

Okay everyone, assume the position (that is pencil or mouse in hand)! Let's work those brains! This will be a regular feature, and I want to hear from you. When I walk in the mornings, I sometimes have strange thoughts that turn into strange questions, which I'll pose to you. These should be exercises in creativity. Think up the most unusual solution and send it to me. No googling to find the "right" answer. I'll post them here!

A couple of RVs in our park have a gallon-size ziplock bag full of water with a penny in it, hanging from their awnings outside their trailer. WHY?

I just found out what this is for, and I'll tell you in a few days. But first, send me your most creative guesses.

I've Been Outed!

For the past few years, I've concentrated on learning the craft and business of writing. I heard so many negative things about trying to submit art and manuscripts together that I set my illustrating aside. I already knew how to do that and could pick it up at any time.

Even in the local chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, I presented myself as a writer. So, when I asked about the notes for the talk on "How to Make a Dummy Book," the leader of our chapter asked, "Are you an illustrator?" I had to confess. And there was a need to fill the Illustrator Coordinator position for the group, which I volunteered for.

So now I'm neck deep in it, and I'm sort of glad. Because now that I think about it, I've been denying an essential part of my creativity. I can write and/or illustrate. And doesn't that make me more marketable?

Thus, I've remade my blog - again, to be used more as a marketing tool. And hopefully, you'll see some of the things I'm working on in both writing and illustrating.

I still haven't given up on A Pumpkin Named Jack. I just know he's destined for publishing. I'm working on drawing up a dummy book that I can send to publishers. See how far Jack has come from prelim sketch to final illustration (right).

Also, my dear friend and former boss, Chuck Sisson has self-published his first novel called Pitch Black! You can find it on Amazon.com. He's asked me to illustrate a book of poetry for him. So you'll see some of those sketches soon.

10 Things I Hate About Manchester

Two days to go and counting. Overall, I've enjoyed being back in England. We got to see old friends and explore a different part of the country. But, we can now say definitively that we are NOT city dwellers. Here are my lists of 10 things I hate and love about Manchester, if I can think of that many.

10 Things I Hate

1. Outdoor smoking

2. Pidgeons

3. People in a hurry

4. Gum on the sidewalk (but thanks for the blog title)

5. Street racing at all hours of the night

6. Noisy drunks turned out of pubs at 3 a.m.

7. Street sweepers cleaning at 4 a.m.

8. Sunrise at 4:30 a.m.

9. Hand-carrying our groceries home (Our arms are at least an inch longer!)

10. British TV programming

10 Things I Love

1. No smoking indoors

2. Falcons adapted to city living

3. Strolling around town, not needing to be anywhere in particular

4. Flake 99 (soft-serve) ice cream sold in street-side stands

5. Odeon movie theater five minutes away from our apartment

6. Wagamamas

7. Street sweepers (that work during the day) cleaning up the cigarette butts

8. Sunset at 10:30 p.m.

9. Using re-usable shopping bags

10. Our clean, well-appointed, central apartment that looks out on the city

Remembering Wayne

Today is my older brother Wayne's birthday. He died at the age of 23 after living with Leukemia for 10 years. I think about him a lot at this time of year - not with sadness, but with sweetness and reverence. His illness shaped our family in so many ways. It made us closer to each and taught us to depend on God for his peace and strength and to wait on his plan for our future. We couldn't have done it any other way.

It was an honor knowing my brother. He grew in godliness throughout his illness and became an inspiration for those who came in contact with him. But I like to remember his as the orny big brother he was before he got sick - Wayne the Pain, we called him. Thank you, God, for his life.

End of Season Sale - 90% OFF

I hope we made the most of our summer, because it it GONE. The days are getting shorter, the sun seems to be taking longer and longer breaks behind the clouds, and the summer clothes have been sold, making room for the drab winter clothes that they wear. Black is the next black. Everyone in Manchester wears A LOT of it. It would depress me to have so little color in my wardrobe. Even my summer clothes looked out of place here because I like to wear yellow and green, pink and blue!

Unfortunately I have no photos to post this time because my camera battery died, and it seems silly to buy a new one with only a week left. Brendan and I are leaving on Sunday and Bill will leave the following Saturday. We made the most of our last weekend, though. We took the train to London to see the Tutankhamun exhibit at the O2 stadium. I felt a little deja vu as this was the same exhibit that toured the US about 30 years ago, about the time that my youngest brother was born. There was a huge publicity blitz and lots of excitement surrounding it. London is the only place in Europe to see the exhibit this time around, and Brendan loved it, so we were fortunate to get there. They didn't have the burial mask or his mummy, as we had hoped, but it was still very interesting. They had several of the personal effects, like an intricate inlaid dagger that was placed in the folds of his wrappings, near his hand to protect him in the afterlife, and some beautiful jewelry that adorned his body. The one fact that I came away with that was startling to me is that by the time Tutankhamun came to the throne, the pyramids in Giza were already 1000 years old!

London seems so familiar to us. We've been a least half a dozen times now, and still love to come back. It's funny to see the first-time tourists riding in the top of the open-top sightseeing buses, huddled under umbrellas and wearing disposable ponchos, determined to see the sights even though it's raining buckets. We were there once.

We stayed in a wonderful hotel just off of Trafalgar Square, which we walked to several times a day to watch the Olympic coverage on the giant Plasma wall that obscured Lord Nelson's monument. No one could get near the lions, much less climb them. But the atmosphere was festive. There were even live performances throughout the weekend.

Now, summer really does feel like it's coming to a close, because we're focused on getting back to Texas, registering Brendan for school, buying school supplies and new clothes. He'd rather stay in Manchester. He's enjoyed being a junior couch potato, playing Wii and watching the Olympics all day. I did manage to get him interested in a book about young James Bond, which he's almost completed - one for the whole summer (shameful!). He wants to get the sequel, so that's a good sign. I'm ready for him to get back to school and I can't wait to see how he takes to athletics. He wants to run track, which is only one season out of the year. Maybe he'll decide to take up another sport as the time comes around (hopefully not football).

He'll have a lot of anxiety around the first few days of school. Unfortunately, he has to go to a different middle school due to rezoning. It's a bigger campus at an older school since this used to be the only High School for the whole district. Fortunately, many students from his old school have to move, too, so he will know some of the kids, but he's fretting about finding classes and getting there on time. I need to download a map for him and maybe walk the halls when he gets his schedule.

Lord, give me patience and understanding, and give him courage and confidence. And please heal Bill's sciatica soon.

Comfortable Shoes

The thing Brendan had been looking forward to and fretting about all summer finally came to pass this last weekend. We made plans even before we came to Manchester with all of our old friends so that we could see each other on 2-3 Aug in Northampton. We lived there for three and a half years before we moved back to the US, and it's been just a little more than a year since we left. Brendan was afraid that everyone would have grown apart and not have anything in common. I have to admit I worried that we'd run out of things to talk about in the first half hour and stare at each other uncomfortably for the rest of the day, with nothing to say.

But we needn't have worried. We fit right back in just as if we'd never left, just like a pare of comfortable shoes. Brendan said of his friend Daniel, "He may look different and sound different, but he's just the same." I think that's the sign of a true, lifelong friend, when you can pick up where you left off as if no time has passed. The friends we made in Northampton are such friends. It made me realize how special they are, and how much I want to be sure to stay in touch with them wherever we go.

Brendan and I took the train to Northampton on Thursday. Helen picked us up, we met up with Sandra and spent a lovely long lunch in Little Brington, near the Althorp estate (where Princess Diana grew up). We drove through the countryside, past beautiful fields and sheep pastures. I miss the lush green-ness of the summers here, the trees and flowers, the brambles and rabbits.

Thursday evening, we had dinner at the Pedels. Tom came home after a long day of playing cricket and played with Brendan with a reserve of energy that came out of nowhere. They played cricket in the garden until they couldn't see the ball anymore. I hated to peel them apart.

Friday, we went to Stanwick Lakes with the Pedels and Pointers. Ben, Brendan,Tom and Jess stopped long enough to eat a fabulous picnic lunch before heading back to the climbing frame to play tag. We walked a good ways and they played on an assault course, fake rock, zip line and swinging tires. The entire day was windy, but when the dark clouds moved in, we quickly headed for the cars and just made it before the rains fell.

Friday night we picked Bill up at the train station and had a great, huge Chinese dinner with the Messoms. By the time we'd finished with the large plate of appetizers, and our soups came, I was full. But I still had to try the crispy duck and the mains. Delicious! Wonderful conversation!

Saturday, we had breakfast with the Hutkos, another American family that we had met during our time in England, who are still living near London, and were in Northampton visiting friends, too! It was great to catch up and find where our other American friends had ended up.

Saturday morning was rainy and blustery. We were afraid our BBQ would be rained out. But at 1:00 on the dot, the sun came out and we headed to Sandra and Paul's for a day full of play and conversation. The kids never stopped. They swam, sat in the hot tub, and bounced on the trampoline all day. The adults didn't stop talking. Honestly, in the seven hours we were together, there was never a noticable lull in the conversation. Sandra and Paul were gracious and generous hosts. They kept us in wonderful food and drink all day long. Even though these friends came from different groups, they all came together and seemed like old friends. It was a brilliant day. I hated to see it end.

Sometimes, absense makes the heart grow fonder. But sometimes, it's as good as you remember it. I felt like we could have taken up house again in the lovely little village and had our fast friends back as if we'd never been gone. It was a special time in our lives, living in Northampton. And we came away with forever friends.