Fun ‘n’ Games!!

With the amount of rainfall, outdoor activities were limited this year. We did manage to go by The Track and Ride the Wild Woody (no Andrew Sullivan comments, please), and there was the previously mentioned cement pond action, but mostly when confined to quarters it was everyone for himself.

I did get to do what I always want to do—mound up on the couch and watch The History Channel—got to see shows about Gatling guns, the Lear Jet, and the recovery of a World War II P-38 from a glacier in Greenland. Even the kids liked that one, although they fought tooth and nail for Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon at every other opportunity. By way of explanation, we don’t have cable, so anytime they can get access, it’s a marathon of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! and Samurai Jack and Spongebob. And this time, I was introduced to the horror of Hamtaro. Must…kill…Hamtaro… Where’s a good .243 when you need it?

We took along Catherine’s butterfly-pattern hook rug, which provided several solid seconds of enjoyment for her. On the other hand, I found it relaxing and therapeutic. Still didn’t get if finished, though. And we all played several games of Scrabble, and Boggle, and Uno. And started all over again.

Reba brought her normal allotment of bodice-ripper Harlequin books, and I brought along a book I’ve had for a while and had never read— Albion’s Seed. Well researched, I suppose, but irritating as sin most assuredly. I tried, but after the introductory chapter about how the book was an exciting new look at methods of writing history, synthesizing “old” and “new” schools of thought with never-before-imagined curlicues and flounces and charts and graphs and flaming spider monkeys and mind-numbing compartmentalization, it was a book I just couldn’t put down quickly enough. I love history, but have little patience for anyone who goes to such tremendous lengths to tell me how great and wonderful what you’re about to read is going to be. All swishing swords and ululating, and you’re just begging Indiana Jones to unholster his revolver and pot the savages right then and there. It's probably a good idea as books go—just drop the pretense and get on with it.

Another one I brought along that I HAVE read before is The Mother Tongue, subtitled “English & How It Got That Way”. I thought it was an excellent book when I first read it, and upon rereading, I still think it's an excellent book. Breezy, but well written and informative and especially useful for those of us who make up our own words and rules of grammar and stuff.

Boring? Yeah, probably. But then again, as much as we run around normally, just sitting still for a minute was pretty nice.

Speaking of which, it’s about time to go for today. I still have a few more bits and pieces of vacationiana, and some really good reader e-mail that came in while I was away that I’ll get around to tomorrow. Right now, it’s time to get ready to go—tonight soccer practice starts back up for Middle Girl and band practice for Oldest, and I have to go pick up a picture we had framed over the weekend and then there’s finishing up the bedroom cleanup detail I started Saturday and…oh, you get the idea.

Anyway, see you all tomorrow, when we’ll explore more of the wonders of Possumland!
posted by Terry at 4:42:00 PM