Summer-esque

 

Is it just me or did July scream by? Hope yours was swell. Me, I've managed to go swimming multiple times, eaten ice cream, stayed up ridiculously late, watched a thunderstorm and gone to the beach. In light of that, I'm giving this month a passing grade.

Three things:

*Hooray for the Kirkus review for The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic (which comes out in just a few weeks).

*I've had The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for ages and am just now getting around to reading it. I'm not a huge non-fiction fan (and even less of a science buff), but this one is so good. Heartbreaking, nail-biting and strangely hopeful, it's well worth the read.

*I updated the sidebar, so you can now find me on Instagram and Goodreads if that's your cup of tea.

Blendable

Popping in to say hello and post something I was working on earlier this week. And on that note, I'm off to go be hospitable and spend time with some mighty fine out-of-town company.

Catch you next week!

Bloom

 

Sitting on the back porch, embroidery hoop, thread and cold beverage in hand: the best way to spend a a July night. Eventually the light dies and the fireflies start their incandescent semaphore, but usually by that point I've shaped a flower with thread and wound down from the bustle of the day.

Oh, Summer.

Back to School, Puppy

 

Hey, teachers! If you're interested in using Elissa Haden Guest's Bella's Rules in your classroom, educator Debbie Gonzales has developed a Discussion and Activity Guide for the book. It's a great resource and if you're interested you can download it here.

Anastasia

Teenage obsessions: getting my bangs to flip up just so, watching the "Buddy Holly" video roughly fifty million times and any/all books that had to do with the Romanov family.

The more things change, the more they stay the same? Happy Weekends!

Under the Waves

Sketchbook-in' it today. I think she's got the right idea for these temps.

 

And I wasn't kidding about those berries, proof positive.

Les Framboises

 

The raspberries are out, as are the blueberries and (inevitably) the mosquitoes. The combination of all three means I'm eating lots of berries and continuously itching insect-inflicted battle scars. But it's worth it all, a sort of summer badge of honor.

Now if you don't mind me, it's 90+ degrees here and I'm sans air conditioner. Basically, that's a long-winded wind-up to say that I'm going swimming.