Lumber Janes

Who needs lumber jacks, when you have Lumber Janes? I want to be a LumberJane. I was never a Girl Scout. I can't even tell you what Girl Scouts do other than sell cookies. I have a vague notion that they do out door activities based on the cookie boxes. I could only hope that it is like LumberJanes. 

LumberJanes Beware of the Kitten Holy is a fun first volume of what I hope will be the first of many volumes. It is fun, upbeat, complex with out being intimidating story of resourceful  quirky girls. I had just as much fun reading the excerpts of the handbook as I did following the adventure.  If summer camp was really like this, I would sign up to be a camp counselor in a heartbeat. 

There is a beautiful blend of real and not so real that has a way of charming the reader. While stumbling into poison ivy is a rather normal experience, stumbling into a quad of hipster yetis is not. (I can't be sure if quad is the correct plural for a group of yetis or if I am making it up. ) I want to earn the experience badges. I wish I could do that as an adult, just because I think it would be fun to be recognized for bad puns. 

I am looking forward to the next volume and would recommend this to all ages but especially the 8 to 10 age range since I feel they would really enjoy embarking on a quest for Kitten Holy.   The art works well with the story and  does enough to keep the readers attention while passing out information like candy on Halloween.  Over all this was another brilliant pick from my husband. 

Alligator Lizards and Nostalgia

Vacations and nostalgia are strong motivators for laziness.  At least they are for me. They are the exact reason why I haven't been doing as much writing as I had planned.  Even as I sit here typing, I am thinking about doing something else.  I am thinking about how there are dishes in the sink and the dishwasher needs unloaded. It is almost like I don't want to be writing, but I know that I do. It just takes a bit of mental build up before I can actually accomplish anything.  In my mind it is a lot safer to do the dishes than it is to put word down, because while the dishes may or may not come back, the words will last a lot longer and worse yet, they may not even make sense.

Here I am sitting at the computer, with a stop watch going, because I have dye in my hair trying to figure out where I want to start. I still don't know, but I do know that my eyes are beginning to water from the fumes.  This post may just be a huge jumble, but at least it is a post.  Last month I went on vacation.  I went to California. I used to live there a long time ago, and it almost seems like a different planet when ever I return.  This is where the nostalgia comes in.

I love California. I never want to live there again. I know that seems like an odd thing to say, because certainly if you love something you would want to be near it all the time. When it comes to California, I would say that absence make the heart grow fonder.  When I lived in Cali, I lived near the San Bernardino Mountains. On my vacation, I stayed on the mountain.

I don't know if it because I spent most of the day breathing recycled and filtered air in a plane, but that first deep breathe I took at little of 6,000 feet elevation in Running Springs was revitalizing. The earthy pine scent with the faint sweet under currents of vanilla and citrus on the breeze. A warmth and a crispness all roll into one.  I am probably still not describing it properly.  If I could bottle that smell I would. The smell makes me want to go hiking, rock climbing and exploring. It invigorates me and makes me want to go on adventures. Thankfully I was able to indulge in adventures.

Can you find the lizard?

The Discovery Center in Big Bear was perfect for my need of adventure.  Taking to the the trails, I loved the views and wanted to take pictures of everything. I wanted to walk down every trail and see everything.  Maybe it is because the air is thinner up there than in the city, or perhaps it is just that easy to get drunk of nature.  I could spend hours trying to take pictures of alligator lizards on the rocks and reminisce about having them as pets as a small child.  I do not recommend having an alligator lizard as a pet, they are much happier in the wild and I was much happier to have them in the wild.  The cat I had as a child would whole heartily agree, seeing that one had bit her nose.

Wasn't kidding about the display

The great thing about walking around in the woods, is that it makes you think of things and there are so many things to look at.  My dad joined me on a small hike, and I am pretty sure we talked about everything from what television shows he was watching to chopping fire wood and the scat display in the ladies room.  It is amazing how much sweeter things can be when you look back, but a person can't spend their time in the past, and you have to look forwards, so that when you do look back there is something to look back at.  Adventure is so much richer when you have some one to share it with, as is life.

I could probably wax on quite a bit more about my small hike at the Discovery Center, but my timer just went off, and I should probably rinse the dye out of my hair before it really starts to burn.