Rufus Goes to School

Rufus Goes to School by Kim Griswell is a book out just in time for the beginning of a new school year.  Rufus is interested in going to school so he can learn to read.  Each time he goes to the office to see the principal about enrolling in school, the principal declines to do so because Rufus is a pig.   Rufus finally finds just the thing to convince the principal that he does belong at school.  This is a story about persistence and motivation that both children and adults will appreciate.  It would be great to share with children starting school for the first time.

ticker tape canvas

 

This project I made from a tutorial from my sister's blog.  It took me about two hours, but depending on your personality, it could take much longer, or maybe half the time.  The canvas is 11 by 14, but it would be easy to make it any size, depending on where you plan to hang it.  I started keeping small bits and strips to use for just this project because normally I toss small scraps and give bigger scraps to people who sew more than me.  Now it is time to get started on another project so I have more scraps. 

sightseeing in Seattle

 Here are a few pictures from my trip to Seattle.  I was there for less than a week, but walked a ton and saw quite a bit.  This first picture is at Lake Union.  On Sundays, the Center for Wooden Boats has limited free boat rides of about an hour each.  I got a ride on a steam powered boat called the Puffin.  We got quite close to some of the houseboats there and the tour guide pointed out the boat from Sleepless in Seattle. 

That same day I took the bus to the Ballard neighborhood and walked around the farmer's market there, then went to see the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.  There was also a fish ladder where I saw some salmon swimming upstream.  If I had had more time, I would have looked around the garden.

The next morning I went to Olympic Sculpture Park.  It was near the waterfront and had many unique, large sculptures.

This is the Waterfall Garden which is tucked in the area of Seattle called Pioneer Square.  A small but peaceful spot that is worth a stop.

At Washington Park Arboretum I walked around for several hours...you could get lost.  Lots of flowers, trees and paths, including a trail to a couple of islands on Lake Washington.

 

My friend came after I had been there for a few days.  We went to the downtown area and saw where Starbucks began.  We walked around Pike Public Market.  So much to see, and a place that I would visit again.  We did get to see the employees throwing fish at the Pike Place Fish Market. 

 After eating supper, we went to see the Space Needle.  It was getting close to dark when we went up to the observation deck.  We could see out over the whole city.  It was cool to see the lights on all the buildings as it was getting dark.  This is a picture I took of the Needle after we got down. 

The Museum of History and Industry is a must see if you are interested in Seattle's history.  It was the museum's free day (first Thursday of the month) and rather crowded.  I didn't see the whole thing well because of the crowds and the time it would have taken to see it.

Other things I saw while there were the waterfront, Seattle Central Library (it is ten floors), the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, St. James Cathedral, parts of Chinatown, Kobe Terrace, Wing Luke Museum, and lots of different people. When I first got there, I wondered how I would fill five days in Seattle, but there was so much to see that I ran out of time.  

Two things surprised me about Seattle...I was there for five days and it never once rained, though it was often overcast in the mornings.  The second surprise was the number of homeless people in the downtown area asking for money or sleeping in a park.

Unwritten

Unwritten by Charles Martin is a book I stumbled across at the library recently.  I was glad to discover it because I have read all of his other books and wasn't aware of this one.  Unwritten is the story of a man named Sunday and Katie Quinn.  They meet because of Father Steady Capri in nearly tragic circumstances.  Sunday and Katie have to figure out how to deal with the complexities of their own personal histories.  An engaging story filled with despair, heartache and hope, this novel is worth reading and perhaps rereading.  A story that makes you think, this would be a good choice for a book club to read and discuss.