The birds are chirping like crazy this a.m., which results in Sophie's tail flicking back and forth at about as rapid a pace as the chirps. I think they like to taunt her as they know she can't get them. :-) Of course, Saturday morning - I could have slept in, but, no, I wake up at 7:30! What a bite. But, I did curl up with Sophie, a diet coke, and a Luna bar. Yahoo - my drugstore.com order finally came in. What a joke to see the priority shipping marks on the box. It took over 2 months to get here. Thursday I was gnashing my teeth as I drove across town to the mail box place and, of course, he wasn't there. Just a note on the door saying he had gone to get something to eat. These are the kind of things that drive me crazy down here. Earlier that day I walked by an insurance office in Red Hook during my lunch hour. And there was a sign on the door saying they had gone to lunch - well, what is the time of day people who work have time to run in and drop off a payment or ask a question? Lunch time of course! I just shake my head in wonder at how people stay in business down here.

Since I was up so early I finished reading Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl, a tween/teen level retelling of the Grimm fairy tale. What I love about this retelling is that the princess works hard to get her prince, and to help save her kingdom. This is no accidental Cinderella type story - this is a tale of a girl whose talents are controlled by her manipulative mother until she is running for her life in the forest. Slowly Ani/Isi's talents for communicating with animals, and eventually the wind, strengthen as she grows into a determined young woman, a woman who will stand her ground and demand that her identity as the Princess be acknowledged and accepted. This is also a tale of a friendship between two girls from different backgrounds, who become friends during the Princess's time in hiding as the goose girl. I was enchanted by the story and delighted by Hale's skill as a writer. This is the perfect book to give to a MS age girl who wants to read an exciting tale with a touch of romance. The perfect summer read. Now to find a copy of Enna Burning, where the story continues, with Enna, the Forest girl who befriended the Princess, as the main character. I had already read Hale's The Princess Academy and really liked it, but it did not draw me in as The Goose Girl did. Can't wait to see how I react to the next book by Hale. But, it will have to wait as I just received a galley for Ellen Wittlinger's Blind Faith, which is most certainly my next read. My favorites of Wittlinger's so far are Hard Love, The Long Night of Leo and Bree, and Sandpiper.

Time for another diet coke and work on some booktalks before the Herschnner's online auction opens. Not like I need anymore needlework kits, Christmas or otherwise, but it doesn't hurt to look, does it? I'll leave my charge card in the other room! :-)