Summer Reading

The girls both had summer reading to finish before school started. Cara read The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy and How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas Foster. Emily got to choose her books and read Lily B. on the Brink of Cool by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel and something else that I can't remember.

Although I didn't have any assigned reading, I thought I would take a minute to compile my summer reading list as well:

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell

I meant to read this on the cruise but made the mistake of picking it up and reading it before the cruise even started. Highly recommended.

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris

Cruise reading material - great book (I could especially relate to the very descriptive passages about the smell of the oranges - since that smell makes me nauseas.)

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Bought in Amsterdam (english version) - interesting book set in the Sabarthes Moutains in SW France. Moves back and forth from the present to 13th centuryLanguedoc. Another look at the idea of the Holy Grail.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

Borrowed from Alicia. Quick read - good. Don't read if you are pregnant...

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

Borrowed from Elaine. Quick read - quite disturbing, on a number of fronts. A nightmare (a man is falsely accused of commiting a crime. Based on Arthur Miller's, The Crucible.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Yes, that is a lot of Harry Potter - We read books 1-4 out loud as a family, as soon as they came out. However, I couldn't get into #5 and didn't even try #6 - but when the final one came out I read 5, 6, and 7 back-to-back-to-back. I was sad to see the series end :(

The Tainted Relic by The Medieval Murderers

Borrowed from Craig -- I had run out of reading material (see above). Interesting book written/edited by 6 different authors who books are set during medieval times. The book centers around a cursed relic believed to be a piece of the True Cross.

Since coming home I have read What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman (mystery, quick read, r-rated language) and am now reading the memoir Family Romance: A Love Story by John Lanchester, for my book group.

I'm happy that none of my reading required annotating, journaling, or the writing of any essays!

The Summer of Our Complete Content

This post is not an homage to Steinbeck and his The Winter of Our Discontent it is a rather belated post that will attempt to capture our summer (post cruise)- truly one of complete content. I've tried to capture the summer by keeping track of the places we went, some of the people we saw and some of the things we did. Each item on the list could be accompanied by a lengthy summary with more detail, inside jokes, side-stories, etc. etc. etc (I"ll spare you that). And can you believe not a single photo of my own?? - I really thought I had taken at least a few pictures but my digital camera went straight from our arrival from Amsterdam to 1st day of school photos of the girls. What was I thinking....

Anyway, here goes:

Zion National Park:
Canyon Overlook
Emerald Pools
Too numerous to count drive-thrus
Angels Landing (A and E)


Bryce Canyon NP (twice)

Grand Canyon NP - North Rim (twice)
Bright Angel Point
Imperial Point
Cape Royal (the most amazing and best view of the canyon - north or south)
Jacob Lake (best place to regale the girls with stories of my youth)

Kanab:
Honey's Jubilee (our favorite grocery store)
Nedra's Too (best tex-mex in Kanab?!)
Gunsmoke Western Town Set

St. George
Little Black Canyon Petroglyph Site (AZ)
Zion Ponderosa: Pool, Climbing Wall, Zip-Line, ATV's, Horses
Coral Cliffs Cinema 8 (Hurricane)
BYU - The Creamery on 9th - lunch and laughs with MD friends
Temple Square & Conference Center
Haacke Motors - Hyundai Sante Fe and the Garmin (affectionately referred to as Gremlin)

Ray Reunion (photos via Elisa/Darin)
family - fun - food
family flags
gps
swimming
hiking
talent show
tie-dye
photo shoot
family shirts

Company: Janes, Killpacks, Elaine
Utah Shakespearean Festival: Twelfth Night and Candida
Cedar City - Alicia's apt. move-in
Sonic - as often as we could
Freaks and Geeks Marathon
High School Musical II
Thunderbird Restaurant
Orderville: Church, Terry's Groceries
Wal-Mart
(It's true we only go to Wal-Mart while on vacation, weird?!)

I have had the hardest time adjusting to "real life" - post Zions. When can we retire??

Tagged...

Belated answers after having been tagged by Elisa:

Four Jobs
I Have Had:

Medical Social Worker
Soils Lab Secretary
(I also learned how to test alfalfa for
protein content if I can be of help to anyone)
Jacob Lake Gift Shop Salesclerk
Cheese Plant Packager (pre-pre OSHA days)

Four Movies
I Can Watch Over and Over:
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Lawrence of Arabia
Monte Walsh or was it The Outlaw Josie Wales
(Just kidding, I'm not much of a movie watcher - I always fall asleep before they are over.
I have however seen the beginning of all of the above movies. Craig and I watched them once when we came across a list of top ten movies of all time. I really don't have any favorites. Strange, but true.
The westerns aren't necessarily classics :)
they just made the list in case DMM is reading.)

Four Places
I Have Lived:

Utah
Oregon
Texas
California

Four Guilty Pleasures:

Sunday Afternoon Naps
Reading When I Should be Doing Something Else
Crossword Puzzles
Buying Yarn

TV Shows I Watch:

The Office
HGTV
Top Chef/Project Runway
Local News

Four Favorite Places
I've Been on Vacation:

The Mediterranean (Italy especially)
The Baltic
Classic Family Trip to Arches and Mesa Verde as a child
Disneyland/World
(it is after all the "Happiest Place on Earth")

Four Websites
I Visit

aol.com
hjnews.com
blogs (family/friends)
pizzahut.com

Four Places
I Would Rather Be Right Now:

The Cabin
Anywhere With The McNeils
A Bookstore
Any Museum

Four Favorite Foods:

Guacamole
Cheesecake
Ice Cream
Caesar Salad

Four Books I Love:

Gift From the Sea
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Remembering Wholeness
Anything by Chaim Potok

Four Things
I Would Like to Learn How To Do:

Digital Scrapbooking
Furniture Refinishing
Spin Wool on my antique Great Wheel
Keep the Kitchen Desk Cleared Off

Four Things I Worry About:

My Girls
How Far Can I Drive on Empty
Things I'm Not Doing but Should Be Doing
Whether I Locked the Doors and Put Down the Garage

Four Things I Want to Accomplish this Year:

Organize Our Photos
Put Up the Decorative Stained Glass Windows
??
??

Wow - possibly more than you ever wanted to know - blame Elisa!

Happy Birthday!

"I could eat a hamburger THIS big"!
You know who you are and we hope you have a
Wonderful Birthday!

Thanks for the memories:
Reunions (old and new)
DC
NYC - Blackout of '03
California (especially the pool & Alcatraz)
Temple Square
and more...


Sorry about the time we starved you!
Just remember we fell in love with you before Darin knew he had!