BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl


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Walking My Feet Off in Canada

DSC00061I’m on holiday with my teenage son and my mother, who is obviously a generation older than I am. She is a dynamo. She takes us on a trip once a year to interesting locales full of cultural sites and other points of interest. Together the three of us have visited New York, Boston, and New York again. Our current trip finds us in beautiful Toronto, Ontario.

These trips are invariably short, generally three days, two nights. This one is the same. In a way, I’m glad, because I don’t think I could keep up with my mother for much longer. She starts the day early, while my son and I are still in bed. It’s the time change, mostly, but she would be up ahead of us even if we weren’t three hours behind her.

DSC00136_2Then, after we finally gear up, it’s off to the sights. We generally walk or take public transportation. None of us was raised on public transportation, so for us it’s truly challenging. Especially for me, since I usually am the one left to figure it out. I’m finding Toronto’s system more difficult than either New York or Boston, even though it doesn’t seem as extensive.

Last night the woman at the traveler’s aid desk in the train station (I kid you not, this exists) was clearly so lonely that she talked our ears off for half an hour. I still had no idea how to take the train (or the bus). We walked. It was a beautiful evening, and everyone assures me Toronto is a safe city. I’m glad, because it’s time to head out again. My poor tired feet are killing me.


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15 Favorite Books

The Rules:
Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books (or series) which have influenced you and will always stick with you.
List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. In no particular order:

1. My Brother Sam is Dead, Collier and Collier

2. Little House on the Prairie Series, Ingalls Wilder

3. Harry Potter Series, Rowling

4. The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger

Books-15. The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne

6. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Niffenegger

7. The Deep End of the Ocean, Mitchard

8. The Notebook, Sparks

9. The Lightning Thief Series, Riordan

10. The Hunger Games Trilogy, Collins

11. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Frank

12. The Story Of America, from the US bicentennial era, I don’t have much information about it but I loved it

13. The Secret Life of Bees, Kidd

14. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Boyne

15. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini

I’ve stolen this prompt from Lynne McAennyl who used it in her blog. I’d love to hear what your favorites are, if not all 15 maybe just a top 5 or even 3. I’m sure Lynne would like to read about them as well.


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Daily Passion Prompt 32: An Hour of Google

If you had a free hour on the internet to research any topic, what would it be?

daniel-s-tigerWhere was the internet when I had to know Daniel Tiger’s name oh so many years ago? I ended up calling the local PBS station and had their crack research assistant check the vault for Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood episodes featuring the lovable little guy. It took some doing, and a willing person in the know, but eventually I found out. Fast forward to today,  I just checked on Google and had the answer in seconds, with pictures. But I digress.

On the free hours I have (or half hours, or even smaller increments of time), I do a lot of poking around on the internet, generally assisted by Mr. Google. My interests are many and I research all sorts of random topics, from the correct way to make a Mojito (to crush or to tear the mint, to mix at the end or not?) to the lyrics of the theme from the Banana Splits Show. Obviously some of these topics are more important than others, and some take more time and effort than others.

The internet is wonderful for scratching whatever itch of curiosity you may be feeling. Got a question? Google it. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s generally painless. Knowledge is power, and with the internet and an effective search engine, we sometimes feel like Thor with his magic hammer. Who knows what topic will strike me next. It may be a serious one, such as how to teach elements of theme in literature to fourth graders, or it may be that I develop an interest in the history of egg beaters. Whatever it is, I’m sure the internet is full of information about it. I’m so lucky to live in this age, even if we’ve left Daniel Tiger and the Banana Splits behind.