First of all, I would like to thank Kate and Paula for the book recommendations! I would also like to thank my Mom, my Aunt, Paula, and Andra for the salsa, tequila, and guacamole! It's funny, here I was being all metaphysical about vegetables, and really I was just craving Mexican food! :)

Monday Ryan and I got to spend the day with Susan and her daughter Hannah. That was really nice. In the late morning, we drove to a shopping area outside of York and checked it out. In the afternoon we went to a place near Menwith Hill called Brimham Rocks. (Larry bought me a new camera that has a nifty "panoramic" option - it stitches three shots together. This photo of Brimham Rocks is my first panoramic shot with this camera.) Brimham Rocks is a smaller, British version of Vasquez Rocks. There were some trails we could take the strollers over, which was nice. It's a great place for casual rock climbing and picnicking. It was a British bank holiday, so there were lots of families there. I'm really glad Susan suggested it, because it wasn't somewhere I would have thought of to go. I didn't even realize it was right there, so close by.

Lately Ryan's sleeping patterns have been very screwy. Today he was about back on track, thank goodness!

I have to brag a bit. I don't know if this is normal for an almost two year old, but a day or two ago I sang a song from one of Ryan's books that plays music. He heard the song, then dug out the book it was in, and pressed the button to play the same song. I was impressed! He not only recognized the song, but remembered what book it was in, remembered where the book was, and knew the right button to push to play the song!

Yesterday evening I went for my second meeting with the Harrogate Harriers. It was funny because this time was completely different from last time. There were a lot more people there, for starters. Also, this time I was the one staying back with someone, rather than being the person being stayed back for! :) It was nice to take it a bit easier. This seems like a nice group of people. I've missed having a group to run with.

Happy birthday Frank!

Much love,

~Holly and Ryan

This was taken yesterday. I think it's a cute one of Ryan with his daddy.

The weather is so changeable here. I stepped out for a short run, and it was nice and sunny. Twenty-five minutes later, I stepped back inside just ahead of the rain! Of course, it cleared up a little while later, and now it's raining again!

Unfortunately Ryan seems a bit under the weather. He didn't really nap today, and was all kinds of out of sorts. We put him to bed early. We're hoping he'll feel better tomorrow.

I have to admit to a new tv show I really like: Deadwood. I saw the first episode a while back and thought, "Way too awful and violent!" and was not interested in seeing any more. I saw some of the special features, and at least appreciated the high quality of the show.

Some time later, Larry came back from his tdy and started watching the second season. I'm not sure why, but this time it caught my interest. The dialog is amazing. It's gritty, yet theatrical, incredibly crude, yet practically Shakespearian. I consider myself at least somewhat educated and intelligent, and usually at least a couple times per episode I have to say, "Huh???" after a character is done speaking.

The episodes are very well written, the production value of the show is high, the acting is very good, the show strives for historical authenticity, and overall it just sucks you in.

Of course, we're watching season two here, and I think in the States they're on season three. We don't get HBO in jolly ol' England!

(I thought it would be funny to post the photo of Ryan from the other direction!) 

Today our friends, the Telecky's, came over and all of us walked to the Stray Fair, only to find it wasn't open yet. So instead we walked to Starbucks, then to the Valley Gardens Park, where the kiddos got to run around and have a good time. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.

First, I'd like to say Happy Birthday! to Dave! Hope you have a great one!

(This picture is another one from our visit to Eureka! The exclamation point is part of the museum's name.)

I am sitting here on a bench in my back patio, on a truly gorgeous day. The down side is that since I am wireless on my laptop, I can barely see my display! *sigh* Oh well. I really oughtn't complain, since I have a nice day to be outside in, AND I have a nice wireless laptop to complain on. :)

Actually, I was almost going to make some iced tea to drink while out here, but changed my mind to hot tea at the last minute. The last couple of days have been great, weather wise. It's been clear and sunny, warm in the sun, with a cool breeze. Perfect! I'm enjoying this while it lasts, because I'm sure before long it's going to be rainy and cold and dark, and I'll be trying to stop myself from making a daily ritual of complaining about it! :P

This morning was very autumnal. It was almost crisp out. It warmed up, which is nice. The breeze is cool, but soft. I was going to take Ryan out for a walk, but he wound up needed a nap first. Maybe when he wakes up...

I have to share something: I bought some vegetables the other day, and set them on the corner of the kitchen counter. For some reason, the sight of two vine ripened tomatos, an avocado, a red onion, a yellow onion, and a cluster of garlic all together just affected me somehow. It was as if a still life had come to life right before me. I'm sure it sounds mental, but that combo of veggies has tripped off something in my head I can't put my finger on. Is there some famous still life involving that particular grouping of vegetables? If anyone knows, please share! I wish I could describe it better, but there's something very cool about my veggies! (Today though, I used one of the tomatos, diminishing the effect a bit.)

(Ok, now that the men in pretty white suits are coming...)

I am going to babysit for a short stretch this evening. Not much else is doin' so far. I'm still astounded that there's only about a week of August left. Time is playing tricks on me!

Happy birthday Manuel and Susan! Hope you both have a wonderful day!

Love,

~Holly, Larry, and Ryan

I posted a blog entry in my MySpace blog, and didn't think it was fair to those who don't have MySpace accounts, so I posted it here as well: (I wrote this as an alternative to filling out the "books" section of "my interests" on my MySpace profile.)

I don't know what was read to other kids as bedtime stories, but for me it was The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings by JRR Tolkien. I don't remember how old I was when my dad first started reading to me at bedtime, but I do know I wouldn't have wanted him to read anything else. It was a special time my dad and I shared, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the wonderful adventures Bilbo, then later Frodo, would have. It didn't hurt that my dad is blessed with an amazing voice, and talent for oral interpretation.

My dad read and reread those books to me every night at bedtime, until finally I began reading them for myself.

I loved any books having to do with scifi, and sword and sorcery (especially the sorcery!). I devoured Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, as well as Zenna Henderson's books (where I got my second middle name, if anyone's curious), and the Lensmen series, by EE Doc Smith.

The funny thing was, I was only in seventh or eighth grade at the time, and here I was reading fiction written for adults. It was kind of odd for me to go back and read things aimed more at my age group. I loved The Chronicles of Narnia (which incidentally, I read all out of order because of when the school library had the various books in), and Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. There were two books that made a big impression on me, Veronica Ganz by Marilyn Sachs, and Fifth Grade Magic by Beatrice Gormley. (It's been so long since I've read them though, I'm not entirely sure why they've stuck with me.) Of course, I read all the Choose Your Own Adventure books, loving the ability to choose the outcome and alter the story.

In high school I had to read horrible things like Ethan Frome. I still had plenty of time for leisure reading though. I read a lot of sword and sorcery series, mostly.

Fast forward to the whole Harry Potter phenomenon. (You knew it was coming! :) ) I remember the first book, then movie coming out. Seemed a nerdy kid in round glasses was everywhere I looked (he kind of creeped me out, actually). I wondered what all the hubbub was about. At the time I was the kind of person who avoided popular things like the plague, so I steadfastly refused to read the books or watch the movies.

I don't know why, but sometime around the beginning of this year I caved. Like a fresh convert to a religion, I saw the light! :P Seriously, I began to see what the big deal was.

I'm not sure if I've explained this at some point in my Tripod blog or not. However, since things HP have popped up in my blog and conversation, I'd like to explain my current fascination with the Harry Potter books.

At the most fundamental level, it's just plain well-written. It's a classic story of good vs. evil, executed creatively and brilliantly. Of course, I love magic, so there's that as well. Beyond those things, is something very deep and primal I've only come to understand over the last two years: mother's love. In the story, Harry's mother's love for him saves his life. Love conquers evil. To me, that is so amazing and beautiful. It's a scary world we live in, and reading stories of love prevailing over evil is very uplifting.

Another theme of the books that is close to my heart is friendship. The friends in these books form an incredible bond, and would (but hopefully don't!) die for one another. To me, true friendship is something to be treasured, and unfortunately seems to be rare. (I count myself very fortunate to be able to say I have true friends.)

The icing on the cake is that there's a good, very well thought out plot, and it's a very entertaining read. It's so easy to fall into that world, because of all the work that went into creating it.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. I like all sorts of books. JoAnna and I read Not That Kind Of Girl by Catherine Alliot, and had a great time doing so! I've read The DaVinci Code and enjoyed it. I've discovered that books tend to find me, rather than vice versa. I'm looking forward to seeing what finds me next.

(This photo was taken yesterday at Eureka!) 

Yesterday Ryan and I went to Eureka! with my friend Michelle and her son, Nathan. (Michelle very kindly gave us a ride.) Eureka! is an interactive childrens' museum in Halifax (which is about an hour away). It was fun. There were some specific areas for the under 5 crowd, which Ryan enjoyed. However, for the most part I think it's a place best enjoyed by school age kids. I did have a good time hanging out with Michelle, and it was nice to let Ryan run around somewhere new and exciting.

When we first got to England, Larry looked around online and found a website for the local running club, the Harrogate Harriers. I decided the time was right to go check it out. Last night was my first time running with the group. It would be fair to say I got my butt handed to me, but very nicely!

Unfortunately for me, all the slower people were on vacation, so I was left to try to hold my own with the faster group. Let me just say that I ran longer and harder last night than I had in a very long time! Luckily the people I ran with were so nice. They have a "no one gets left behind" policy, so people took turns staying back with me, and once in a while (probably when my breathing started getting extremely loud and labored), the group would decide to take a walking break.

The people in the group are very nice and encouraged me to come back. I plan on it, but I'm hoping I won't be the slowest person next time!

I have to say it's getting close to the 24 hour mark since I ran, and boy is my body starting to feel it!

Today was Ryan's WIC appointment (for those of you unfamiliar with WIC, it's a kind of checkup/nutritional counseling service). It went really well. Ryan is right at the 50th percentiles for height and weight (34.5 inches tall, 27lbs. 2.5oz). Apparently I'm doing really well with his diet, other than being a bit short on veggies (which I knew that would be the case).

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Happy belated birthday Norm! Hope it was great!

Love,

~Larry, Holly, and Ryan

Dear Zach,

Love,

Uncle Larry, Aunt Holly, and Ryan