A very overcast and gloomy day today. Could barely see the cruise ship coming in through the fog. Steve says they are working on the road between the cruise ship dock and downtown so they have traffic diverted, changing some of the roads to one way. This could be interesting going to get the mail today. We have a private mail box on the other side of town (was convenient when I worked at UVI but sure isn't anymore) and the guy who owns it decided he didn't like the location so he moved, kinda across the street. If I hadn't gone to get the mail on Thursday and he hadn't told me about the move we would have been shocked on Saturday. We went to the new place and no one was there so we went to the old place and the store was empty. No signs saying where the new Mail Boxes location is. So hopefully when I check the new place today they will actually be open. Everything down here is on island time. I got a credit card statement last week dated September 05. Good thing I pay those online!

I read a delight of a book called The Boy Who Ate Stars by Kochka (yes, just one name). She is Lebanese but lives in France. And she is one heck of a writer and this is her first book. I can't wait to read more of her novels. Lucy, a precocious tween, decides she is going to meet eveyone in her new apartment building, but when she meets Matthew she decides he and his mom and nanny are quite enough. Her first encounter with Matthew was quite interesting. "Matthew bolted out of nowhere like a mad dog and jumped on top of me, nearly knocking me over, before ending up on tiptoes with both hands in my hair. He skillfully ran his fingers all over my head, squealing and making occasional fsstt! noises. Matthew was on cloud nine, sending my hair flying in every direction and choking with laughter." Lucy has met an autistic young boy who she grows to love as she spends time with him and his eccentric mother and Russian nanny who basically doesn't speak, but shadows Matthew everywhere, even sleeping outside his bedroom door. The beauty of the writing and the poignancy of the relationship that grows between Lucy and Matthew had a lump in my throat as I read this book. There are wonderful touches of humor too as Lucy teaches the prissy little pampered pup of her mother's friend to be come a DOG - sniffing butts and rolling in the grass. This is one I will keep on my bookcase near me and will read again and again. Kochka - give us more!!

Almost time to head to Montessori for the day. Hopefully I don't have a group of grumpy high schoolers in there burned out from standardized testing like last week.