Good morning. My desk is piled with CDs that Steve is using for my audio books. I keep telling him for the money we pay for the blank CDs we could have easily bought an Ipod, but at least this way I can give the CDs to friends to listen to after I am through with them. I love the Amelia Peabody mysteries set in Egypt so I bought a couple extra of those beyond my regular subscription.

Yesterday was the Children's Parade but I am not one much for crowds so we didn't go down. I was glad as about 1/2 way through the parade time it poured down rain. I was thinking about the Montessori kids streaked with pain and glitter. We did go down to Blockbuster later in the day and pick up National Treasure with Nicholas Cage - it was really cute. I wonder if it will increase the interest in the Masons as well as cause more people to visit DC and Philadelphia with their children. My great uncle was a Mason and was all mysterious about it. We watched Nicole Kidman's Birth the other night - what a creepy movie. I didn't like it at all and it ended with basically nothing resolved - how did a 10 year old boy know all that stuff that only her dead husband would?

I read Henkes' Olive's Ocean in one sitting yesterday. What a beautifully written book. No wonder it has received all the acclaim it has. I just loved Godbee, her grandmother and the relationship she has with Martha. The family dynamics with a stay at home day needing to go back to work and a tyrant of a toddler add depth to the story. Martha's responses to the entry in Olive's diary are so touching and appropriate for a 12-year-old who has not dealt with a death close to her. Too bad the cover is so horrible. What is the deal with the goldfish? As a young teen I would not pick up this book because of the cover - yuck!