Just received a short email from Steve saying they had just gotten a pretty substantial earthquake in the islands. There were several smaller ones since we lived there, but nothing really big. He said this one felt like over a 6.0. Looked online, but didn't find anything about it. I told him to check the crack in the kitchen wall as the cistern is right behind it. I immediately envisioned thousands of gallons of cistern water rushing into the apartment.

Went wandering through the stores yesterday to get myself out of the house. I am having shopping overload - too much to choose from. It is easy in the islands - if they have it, buy it! If CostULess or Kmart doesn't have it you won't get it anyway! I wandered the aisles of Target - it was overwhelming! I was so overwhelmed in Barnes and Noble I got a headache and walked out without buying anything. That is the first for me in a bookstore! I need to go downtown to the second hand bookstore that is not so overwhelming - buy a cup of tea and just browse or sit and look at a few titles.

Off to a technology workshop this afternoon on resources available to us for teaching online. Need to dress warm as the buildings are so darn cold. Found a heated floor mat online yesterday. I may order it for my own office. BRRR!!

On a much slower pace, I savored Kimberly Willis Holt's Part of Me, a delicious multigenerational tale set in the bayous of Louisiana - near Houma, for those of you who know Louisiana. Rose's mother has been forced to move back home when her Texan husband walks out the door and doesn't come back. Not wanting to be beholden to her father any longer than she must, Rose's mom goes to work shucking oysters and insists Rose lie about her age and get the job as the bookmobile driver. So, 14-year-old Rose says she is 17 and thus begins her live as a bookmobile driver. She soon learns that putting lower reading level novels on the adult side of the shelves makes sense as the women who check out the cookbooks don't read well. Set up as short stories/chapters, future generations of Rose's family are highlighted, including her son Merle Henry, who wants nothing more than to trap a mink. Let's just say, Rose has a hand in this endeavor. :-) Annabeth, Merle Henry's daughter, spends the summer with Gamma Rose, trying to get the attention of a neighborhood boy, and is taken to the bookmobile just as her father had been as a child. Through the years Rose has been filling notebooks full of her stories, stories she thinks no one else will read. With longing, she suggests to her children and grandchildren that perhaps they will become writers. She may be on in years, but Rose will have a chance to share her stories. The reader feels like he/she is taking a leisurely stroll with Holt and Rose as they amble along the bayous, discussing Rose's family through the years.

All for now. Gotta go check to see if Steve emailed any more details on the earthquake.