Well, Fall semester 2006 has officially come to an end. The College of Education graduation ceremony was fairly painless as it was a small group this semester. It will be huge in May. Not one pair of flip-flops on the girls. Mostly black dress shoes, some with spike heels so high I have no idea how they even walked in them. A quiet audience compared to the graduations at SHSU years ago. There were a few, "That's my baby!" and one really cute, "That's my baby sister!" from a very proud older brother with a camera. :-)

Several of us went to lunch at Moe's Southwestern Grill and chatted to close out the semester. Already talking about changes we want to make for Spring semester and what classes will be on the schedule for the Fall. Most people live on a January through December calendar. Academics live on an August through May calendar with a gasp before the summer school run of two months with the joy of ALA Annual in June to break it up. And then the regular school year starts again. Holiday break plans of the group included skiing with their kids, visits to family in Ohio, spending the Holidays with friends in Arizona, etc. and for some of us a marathon writing time. I have a whole week, minus a couple of appointments, to get as much of the book done as I can before heading to Mary's on the 23rd.

Carol, Jami, Karen and I found our inner child and went to the Charlotte's Web matinee yesterday. What a cute movie. I detest spiders and was a bit grossed out by Charlotte's initial descent, but had to laugh at the horse fainting when he saw her. I felt itchy when her 514 babies hatched from the egg sack. Julia Roberts did a beautiful job of giving voice and character to Charlotte. I loved Templeton in the animated version and was as taken with the rat in this one. Nasty lovable creature! I had to chuckle over Jami and Karen crying when Charlotte dies, but I had tears in my eyes too - and of all things, over a spider! All in all, it was a delightful movie. We saw the previews for Bridge to Terabitha, very loosely based on Katherine Paterson's beloved children's book. Terabithia is brought to life as a creature inhabited fairyland with trees that have huge human like feet, etc. I will want to see this one for sure. As well as Miss Potter, with Renee Zelweiger playing Beatrix Potter. Lots of children's books and authors being brought to the screen. Let's just hope children watching these movies will ask for the books and/or parents will buy them. I can't wait to read Charlotte's Web to the grandkids. :-)

I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak last night. Oh my - what a beautifully written book. This is one that cries to be read aloud, but I have second thoughts about categorizing this as a YA novel as I am afraid it will not get the readership it deserves. To me this is an adult novel with teen appeal. It will not appeal to all teens as the narrator is death and the main character, Liesel, is a child for a majority of the book, but it certainly is not a book I would give to children to read. It has a dark but nostalgic feel of remembering the horrors of Nazi Germany. Liesel's book thievery and the connection these books give her to both her foster Papa and eventually to the very woman she steals books from is beautifully done. Zusak portrays, through Liesel's love of books and the connections she makes becaue of her stolen books, the power of words in a time when most people felt powerless and without a voice. Add this to the YA collections, but in the PL include a copy in the adult fiction area as well. I wish my mom were still alive so I could give a copy of this book for her - she, like Liesel, loved words.

On a less somber note, I am reading my birthday book from Steve - Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching the Game!: A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football by Holly Robinson Peete, wife of a retired football player and an actress. It is hilarious and very informative. Give this one as a Christmas present to the woman out there who have football crazed husbands and/or are football crazy themselves. I love her "10 All-Time Annoying Things We Should Never Say to Our Men During the Game" My favorites:

2. "Remember when your butt used to look like that?"
9. "You've already watched three quarters. Why can't we spend the last one talking about us?"

Peete has a wonderful sense of humor and a superb knowledge of the game as well.

All for this chilly Saturday a.m. Can't believe I have been up since 7 a.m., except for that fact that I crashed last night not too long after watching The Ghost Whisperer, my favorite Friday night show.