I've been feeling very busy and distracted lately and Not Now, Bernard
That's a whole subcategory of children's books, isn't it? Books that pretend they're for children but really they're for the parents. A teacher friend of mine always gets annoyed whenever Love You Forever
I bought this pretty hairclip for Sylvie from Susan of DeChamp Designs at a recent craft show. Every October, Susan donates 20% of her sales to the IWK Foundation. Here is why.
Susan makes gorgeous, very intricate chainmaille and crochet jewelry, which she sells at amazing prices. Now's a great time to start your Christmas shopping with her, since you'll also be helping out kids at the IWK Children's Hospital. She's also joining our Mother Christmas Fair on November 24th at the Mahone Bay Centre.
UPDATE: I forgot to add these ones, which I just found scribbled on the magazine:
A woman's work is hard.
Good things come to those who are good.
People who live in glass houses hurt.
If you don't have anything nice to say, just say a random word.
And Sylvie contributed one, too. She did:
You can't have your cake and ice cream because you have to eat healthy food.
Inspired by this fill-in-the-blank in Real Simple Family magazine, last night I asked Luke to make up some endings to unfinished proverbs. I gave him the words in normal text, his words are in italics. These familiar sayings are still mostly unknown to kids his age and we had a good laugh. You should try it with your kids.
A rose by any other name would be stupid.
A chain is only as strong as a rope.
A fool and his money are toys.
A good man is Santa.
A leopard can't change its stripes.
A penny saved is one cent.
A picture is worth a million dollars.
A poor workman always blames his wife.
A problem shared is a big problem.
A rolling stone gathers no friends.
A thing of beauty is roses.
A watched pot never breaks.
A woman's place is number one. (I think he was sucking up here.)
All good things come to Happyland.
All that glitters is sparkle.
All you need is love.
An ounce of prevention is worth a dollar.
Ask a silly question and you'll get a spanking. (I swear we don't spank here.)
You've made your bed, now sleep.
Beauty is only love.
Behind every great man is a wife.
Better the devil you know than a bad kid.
Boys will be doomed.
Don't bite the hand that loves you.
Don't count your chickens before they are dead.
Don't cut off your nose to smell.
Don't put all your eggs in one pot.
Don't put the cart by a car. (He thought I meant a grocery cart, not a horse cart.)
Don't teach your Grandma to do front flips and back flips.
Don't throw the baby in the air.
Every cloud has a fog.
Everything comes to him who is nice.
He who laughs last, laughs weird.
books. (Now that is definitely a crooked house.) It can be yours for about 3000 pounds! Via Stephanie Burgis.
*, Henry James's novel, first published in 1897, about a little girl whose parents divorce. What Maisie Knew is one of my favourite adult novels written from the perspective of a child. Apparently Edmund Wilson liked it; Nabokov thought it was terrible. (Which makes me wonder, what would Lolita have been like from the perspective of Lolita? Now there's a project for some brave writer.)
I've been meaning to tell you -- all three of you faithful readers of this blog -- about Blackout 
I found the books meandering and long, yes, but in that satisfactory way books are long when you are being immersed in a world and you don't want the experience to end. Think the Harry Potter series or some other favourite series from childhood. I had borrowed both books from the library at the same time and I'd recommend doing that, or purchasing them both at the same time, as the first one definitely had an unfinished feel on its own. I do agree with that reviewer on that one point -- they are actually one long book. Contrary to him, though, I found all the research fascinating and enjoyed Willis's devotion to describing details of life during the Blitz . The time travel story raised some questions of logic, as those sorts of stories can't help but do, but overall it was well-done. I highly recommend these books -- they certainly aren't literary fiction but they are smart and absorbing.
This is the Dunkley Pramotor -- a motorized pram sold in 1923. "We should get that. That's what I'm thinking," says Sylvie as she looks over my shoulder.
Whenever I had to lug around one of those incrediblyawkward and heavy removable car seats with one of my babies in it -- say into the grocery store -- I liked to imagine that in the future, a podlike car seat would hover in the air beside the mother, trailing her wherever she went. Recently I tossed around the idea of a kind of remote control stroller that would follow a parent, so he or she could be hands free for shopping or holding the hands of bigger toddlers or whatever. Are these ideas as crazy as this stroller looks? Via I Cannot Go to Bed -- There is Epic Shit Happening on the Internet, which I found through Lizzie Skurnick.
The third season of Downton Abbey premieres in the UK today. If you are not fortunate enough to live there, there are a couple of blogs that are suggesting ways you can watch it in real time today or, failing that, tomorrow. Worth a try, don't you think? This blog suggests ways you can make it seem as if your computer is actually located in the UK, so you can watch the livestream from itv.com. And this one is going to provide links to other sites that are livestreaming and they are going to share the episode on Monday. (I just noticed the Dowager's new hat. Wow.)
