Sophie's New News

Sophie had "new news" on Thursday--"I read my first chapter book!"
"Fabulous! That's sooooo exciting!!! What was it about?"
With that question, I was introduced to Bella The Bunny Fairy, one of a long list of titles
in the Rainbow Magic Book Series, written, (according to Wikipedia, I should note since I knew absolutely nothing about this phenomenon until I check it).

In celebration, we went to two independent bookstores & bought several more titles, including Penny the Pony Fairy (my, oh, my!).
As we chatted, I learned that Friday was Character Dress-up Day, which, Sophie, explained meant she was suppose to go to school dressed like a character from her favorite book.
As a nonfiction writer & lover, I was delighted when she said she was going as Knut, the real polar bear in Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World. Today she told me she wore white clothes and pink socks. She was thrilled to report that she got to read part of book to her classmates.

Sarah Jones

Check out this great video, "A Roving Run with Sarah Jones." Sarah is a Tony Award winning actor and playwright known for her compelling characters & she is my daughter-in-law.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/sports/1247465337588/a-roving-run-with-sarah-jones.html?ref=sports

Gorgeous day

Sunday was a gorgeous day & we took a long walk along the Hudson River. Our starting point was Ross Dock Park, located just north of the George Washington Bridge and at the foot of the Palisades Cliffs, which were saved in 1900 from destruction by the quarrying industry by tenacious members of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs. The plaque, "Preserving the Palisades," in the first photo tells the story of the women's victory. The second photo explains why, I always stop to say, "Thank you, clubwomen!!!!!!!" (click on picture for a larger image)

Sophie's Surprise

On Wed. Sophie's mother had emailed me that "Sophie is REALLY looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. She has a surprise and keeps asking to make sure you'll be there to pick her up. Very excited."

So, yesterday (Thursday), as always, I was there ( her school).

"Hi, Sophie, I hear you have a surprise!"
"Mmmmm," she replied through her clenched lips.
"What is it? I'm so excited!"
She held out--with one hand over her mouth. . . through which leaked giggles. . . .until she settled into her car seat--then off came her hand & she opened her mouth to show me--what you who are reading this have already guessed--she lost her first tooth!
"Grammy, last night, I was so excited to tell you that I woke up in the middle of the night!"
"Sophie, last night, I was so excited to find out that I woke up in the middle of the night, too!"

p.s. Yes, she reported, that the tooth fairy came & left her a note with fairy dust sprinkled on it, although Sophie thought that it was weird to sleep on a tooth.

Check it out

Check out "Swallowed by the Sun Colman" at www.colmanmusic.com
Listen to "Hollywood, Florida" and join the mailing list. The Colman is my son Jon!

Sophie & Woody

Recently, Sophie, who says she's going to be a vet, and her parents adopted Woody, a cuddly, rambunctious kitten. Monday I had a sleep-over at Sophie's, so her parents could stay as late as they wanted at the opening night party. Apparently intrigued, Woody entertained me throughout the night--batting at the venetian blind cords, etc.--and I didn't mind 'cause he's soooo cute!

Hip Hip Hurrah

This is the morning after the opening of "The County of Kings," for which my son Steve is on the "formidable team of producers" to quote from Ben Brantley's fabulous review in today's The New York Times!!!! http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/theater/reviews/13county.html?ref=theater
Congratulations to all!!!

Sophie and a "pourquoi" story

Thursdays I drive into NYC to pick up Sophie after school for our Sophie/Grammie Day in NJ. Today we read How the Ostrich Got Its Long Neck retold by Verna Aardema & illustrated by Marcia Brown. It's a delightful, fun read & Sophie loved it. I also read her the author's note that introduced the concept of pourquoi (the French word for "why") stories, or stories that explain how a particular characteristic of a person or animal or a natural phenomenon came to be. Later, while "hanging out" in the kitchen, waiting for the pasta to cook, I said, "Hey, Sophie, you could make up a pourquoi story--like: "Why did Grammy get gray hair?"

"Grammy," she thoughtfully replied, "got gray hair because she got old."

Sophie's garden

Since August, Sophie has had a vision of expanding her garden all the way to the edge of the sidewalk. I've been stalling, in part because her vision exceeds her time & passion for digging & turning the soil. Plus we'd loose a nice batch of grass. However, last week, as part of our Sophie/Grammy Day, we stopped at a garden store & ended up with a bunch of bulbs, in particular--tulips with fringed edges, which, of course, need a special spot, which, of course, jump started me to get out our shovels and start digging our way to the sidewalk.