The Last Day Of Summer

Yes, today is the last day of summer.

So what are we doing today?

We're going to the skate park and having cake and ice cream for my youngest son's birthday! We've done this several years in a row and it's really fun. The boys get together again. So far old friends, his brother, his dad and family, and more are supposed to be there.

I'm wondering if I should take hot dogs too, boys use a lot of energy.

We go to that particular skate park because we used to live in that town. Also, because the skate park is pretty fun, if there's wheels on it, the kids are using it. Skateboards, skates, inline skates, bikes, I even saw a kid on a unicycle there one day. It's not like the skate park here in West Sacramento, they don't allow bikes.

The boys really enjoy it.

Sigh, so Mom had better get busy, the truck needs to be packed up, have to go to the store, etc, etc, etc.

Much to do.

Oh, and yeah, I have a mini TV that runs on batteries. No need to miss ALL of the Raider's game, LOL! Even in black and white, football is FOOTBALL!!

See yah in the Fall!!
(Oh, hey, that's tomorrow, LOL!)

Books, Books, Books

Sigh, some days I really, really miss the publishing business. I miss designing the pages, making the pictures and text and captions all fit together. The thrill of finding JUST the right picture to go with that page of text.

I miss the thrill of the hunt, of going out and buying pictures in Hollywood for the books about movie stars. It was so much fun. Work, yes, but fun.

The smell of freshly printed books, when we'd rip open the boxes, open the books and see the culmination of all our hard work, it was like Christmas all over again.

So many kids don't seem to like books anymore. My kids complain about all my books. I have literally walls of books in my house. It's the feel, the smell, the texture. The look of the words on the page. And a book is portable. We can go off to the dog park or the skate park and I can post up with a book, escape the bills, my little skateboarder (OK, he's almost as tall as I am), my teenage diva, the job, the housework for just a little while.

For a little while, I'm lost in a strange new world, exploring Forerunner ruins, hearing the hissing speech of a Zacathan or the trill of a Trystian, or hiding from a Dark Rider. Alas, all too soon the kids, the house, work call and back I come to the "real" world.

I put the bookmark where I leave off, and put the book back on the shelf.

Soon, soon, I'll be back....