When do you feel like a family? Is it when the new baby arrives? Before? Can you feel like family when it's just the two of you?

Old friends. New baby. Family photo.

The Sunset Motel. Arrived by cab, sick as a dog, at 1 AM - left by cab, sick as a dog, at 6 AM. I wish I had shown this photo to my Dad.

I never intend to, but I always seem to be photographing out of plane windows. Long journey ahead. Tough flight.

Lunchbox Laboratory; come visit and we'll take you there. They have a choice of 8 or so salts. And much much more.

He's getting older, slightly bigger, and more handsome than ever.

We cook at home, we (J) is cutting his own hair at home, before you know it I'll be making soap, he'll be making beer, and we'll become homesteaders.

Quarterly Book Report II

Hi All!

Things have been so crazy here since I last did a book report in April that I have a lot of catching up to do! So far this year, I have read ~40 full books and a bunch of smaller books (poetry, art, photography, etc) so I am close to my goal of 50 for the year. Unfortunately, not too many of the second quarter books were really that good.

Again, I will list them for you here in case you want to comment on any, or read any. I will LOVE comments that tell me what you're reading now, what you've read recently, what books you are in love with...

See also Quarterly Book Report I

19. The Highest Tide by Lynch, Jim
20. The Lives of Rocks by Bass, Rick
21. Winter Hours by Oliver, Mary
22. The Night in Question by Wolff, Tobias - excellent short story writer - and I don't really like short stories! I was mesmerized.
23. Long Life by Oliver, Mary
24. The Thorn Birds by McCullogh, Colleen - a nice long epic novel, sort of an Australian "Grapes of Wrath" - about family drama and the land.
25. The Road by McCarthy, Cormac - One of my favorite books of the year, although it's not for everyone. Sparse writing about a post-apocalyptic world. Excellent pacing - once it got racing through I couldn't stop.
26. The Red Pony by Steinbeck, John
27. The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, Margaret - recommended to me by M, my crack-like-book-dealer, but I really struggled with it. Again, part of my post-apocalyptic theme but it was a difficult read.
28. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Hosseini, Khaled - Probably my single favorite book of the year so far. Get it, read it, now.
29. Gilead by Robinson, Marilynne - a lovely little read, some beautiful sentences.
30. All of Us by Carver, Raymond - a huge, wonderful, lifetime collection of poetry by this author best known for his short stories
31. If You Need Me by Carver, Raymond
32. World Made by Hand by Kunstler, James Howard
33. Winter's Tales by Dinesen, Isak
34. The Dogs of Babel by Parkhurst, Carolyn
35. A Brief History of Anxiety: Yours and Mine by Pearson, Patricia - TERRIBLE book. It's hot this year, so I read it, but I hated it. I cannot stress enough how much I hated this book and hope none of you ever read it. It's self-centered and irresponsible.
36. Where I'm Calling From: Selected Stories by Carver, Raymond
37. Pocketful of Names by Coomer, Joe
38. American Primitive by Oliver, Mary
39. Sun Under Wood by Haas, Robert
40. The Blue Hour of the Day: Selected Poems by Crozier, Lorna
41. Our World by Oliver, Mary and Cook, Molly Malone
42. Bigfoot: I Not Dead by Roumieu, Graham - Have you read any of the Bigfoot series of books? They are HILARIOUS!
43. Ernie, A photographer's Memoir by Mendoza, Tony
44. A Day in the Life of Albert Hastings by Deveney, KayLynn - a beautiful little photography book and commentary on the simplicity of life and the loneliness of aging.
45. The Art of Living by Wilferd Peterson - a book of essays that my mom gave to my Grandmother for Christmas in 1961.

If you only read TWO books from this list, let them be A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Road (but like I said, it's not for everyone).

Still On my "waiting on the shelf" list: The Letters of John and Abigail Adams, The Gospel of Food, Every Last Cuckoo, The Last Town on Earth, The Martha Rules, Knitting, The Poisonwood Bible, The Virginian, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, America and Americans, Truman, and

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (Working on it, slowly, but unlike his last book it's a little dry and reading chapters with names like "Republicans and Democrats" ensure you only get through one chapter before bed. I will finish it before the election though!)

New Additions to my "to find and read list": In Defense of Food, Out Stealing Horses, When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
In the Garden of North American Martyrs by Wolff, Tobias

We finally all live in the same town again. I'm so glad you moved, Dragonfires, and I hope you are too.