Today's post is a mix of odds and ends of the last week.Once a year this lovely Amaryllis shows it's true beauty, in an explosion of deep coral blooms. It seems a long time to wait, but it is well worth the few weeks of enjoying these exotic flowers.
I finished this novel over the weekend. It was so finely written, a living scrapbook of one families journey through all the trials and joys of life in the Appalachian mountains. Each character is finely wrought, with the voices of each first person narrative ringing out uniquely. Different perspectives of life emerge through the family members as the novel unfolds, each character taking their turn to tell the story.This is a first book by Amy Greene and I really hope she writes more, it was superb.

It was the big 13 for my youngest son last week. I was looking at him the other day thinking, man, when did this kid get so big. He's as tall as me and I'm sure will pass his older brother someday.
I am proud of the responsible young man he is turning into.
I love you K!

Along with a bunch of silly stories for story time these last few weeks, I wanted to do some fun crafts. This spiral snake was a big hit, although the moms had to cut him out. Following a circular cutting line is not a skill preschoolers have mastered.
A great book to go along with Mr. Snake is The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash.
This little paper plate cow is one cute critter, but a pain to cut out and assemble all the pieces and parts. It is much to hard for my preschool group to do the whole craft, so I did all the cutting. All they have to do is color the spots, draw his face on and glue him together.Usually I do projects that little hands can handle, but once in a while I do something that takes a little more pre-assembly or help from parents.
A great book to go along with this craft - Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type.








