girl with a pearl earring

this months book club meeting was my month to host, and my month to pick a book. i picked girl with a pearl earring by tracy chevalier.

this book is fantastic, but mostly i think i like it best because it is a story based on and about art, and a young dutch girl's love and appreciation of art. interestingly enough, on tracy chevalier's website, she discusses her inspiration for this book: "The idea for this novel came easily. I was lying in bed one morning, worrying about what I was going to write next. (Writers are always worrying about that.) A poster of the Vermeer painting Girl With a Pearl Earring hung in my bedroom, as it had done since I was 19 and first discovered the painting. I lay there idly contemplating the girl's face, and thought suddenly, "I wonder what Vermeer did to her to make her look like that. Now there’s a story worth writing." Within three days I had the whole story worked out. It was effortless; I could see all the drama and conflict in the look on her face. Vermeer had done my work for me."

i sure wish i could paint a picture like that. whether in words OR in art.

well it had great reviews by the book club attendees also. this is our first book that EVERYONE liked. we all agreed that although it isn't the "best" book we've ever read, it is quite pleasant to read and the pace and the story keep you interested from cover to cover.

incidentally, a movie has been made based on the book. i watched the movie probably 5 years ago and i liked it when i saw it. i also liked the book.

so... who else has read it? how did you like it?

home drama

you will NEVER believe what happened last night. and since it is doubtful that mom or kate will blog about it, i suppose i will!

i called mom's house last night about 11 pm, and kate answered the phone. she said that someone had just softly knocked on the door and scared them half to death (mom had the front blinds open, so he could see inside). well mom and kate ran to the back and woke up dad (wisely didn't answer the door), and dad turned on ALL the lights in and outside the house... and then they looked outside. there was a significant amount of BLOOD on the front porch, down the stairs, and into the grass. and from looking at where the blood was on the porch, the person knocked on the WINDOW not the door.

so mom called 911 and within 10 minutes, there were 5 sheriff cars there, 8 cops (one of the cars was full). they dispatched for the canine unit to come out, and it took him 35 minutes to get to my parent's house FROM FUQUAY VARINA!!! that is like an hour (or more) drive.

anyway, the dog tracked the blood over to that trailer across the road from the bottom driveway (across the powerlines). the dude told the cops that he locked himself out of the trailer and he decided to break a window to get in. when he broke the window, he cut himself pretty bad. he doesn't have a phone (and apparently not a cell phone either) in the trailer, so he walked over to mom and dad's house to get help. for what ever reason, though, he left. the cops said he spoke very little english. and this morning at 6am when i drove past there, the front porch light was on (at the trailer), and there was no car in the yard.

WEIRD!!!

bubble buddy

yesterday evening, mark and kendal had fun with the bubbles. check out that bubble hat!



by this point, kendal was so excited to touch the water that he didn't mind me taking off his shirt!



kendal's favorite part was the clean up. he LOVES the water, even when it is cold out of the well!



(don't worry, nathaniel brought out a bottle of warm water for a head rinse!)

Petrified Forest, AZ - 1998

by the way, all these photos are from my 1998 field camp scrapbook! here is a page right from it... i had to include both pictures for this entry.

funny story, the dude in the top photo is named bob. not long ago when i was calling about joining the pool this summer, i talked to a man named bob. in our conversation, i'm not sure how we got to it, but i said "i'm a geologist" and he said "i am too!"

the pool bob is the same bob that is in the top picture.

soda dam, NM - 1998

el cabezon, NM - 1998 (group shot)

i'm standing, 3rd person from the right (blue shirt).

bandalier 1998