The rainy week(s)...

This past week was a week of spending time with family and friends. I enjoy going back to the 'Burg, only because of the people I get to see while I'm there. The city itself makes me feel a bit dispirited. I suppose living away for so long has done that. So many parts of the city appear to be in shambles and it makes me wonder if it was really like that all the while that I lived there and I was unable to realize its state until I was away for some time. However, reliving some memories in my mind help me to regain some nostalgia for my home town.

I was able to visit with some of my closest friends from high school and as one of them told me after our visit - the time spent this past week only made me crave more time with them. If only we all lived closer to each other. But for the time being, the good ol' 'Burg serves as a good central meeting place for us all, so I am grateful for that.

Likewise, the time spent with my family made me covet more time to spend with them; my grandparents in particular. I found myself realizing that I will never feel satisfied by the amount of time I am able to visit with them now; how I wish I lived closer to them as well. I admire my grandparents so and hope that when I am their age, I can look upon my marriage as the success theirs has been. They are both amazing people with captivating stories of their past.

I was also able to make a visit to New Hampshire to visit with two dear friends. It was not long enough and we all felt a little ill after eating so much cheese, ha! Our attempt at fondue didn't come out as well as we'd hoped, but I look forward to another attempt soon. Although perhaps we'll venture a different activity next time. I always enjoy our time together, no matter what we happen to be doing.

I was able to cross number fifty off my list this week; I went to the library down the street from my house and obtained a membership - I suppose I could call it that. I was disappointed to learn that they don't give out library cards anymore! Haha, for some reason I was looking forward to having one to keep in my wallet. All that was required was for the librarian to enter me into the computer. At any rate, I can check books out now, and I exercised that liberty immediately. I looked for Jane Austen, so I could get a start on another line on my list, but they only owned one copy each of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and they were both checked out.

I found a copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and checked that out instead. I've hardly been able to put it down; she is an amazing writer and I feel in awe as I read about the times in which she lived. Although the novel is fiction, researching information about Charlotte Bronte and her sisters finds that many of the events I've read in this novel thus far correlate to things that she experienced or witnessed herself as a child. I also learned that she had to tag the novel with a male pen name in order for it to get published and accepted by the public. This has propelled me to think of how far our society has come, but also about how far we've yet to go in other areas.

I also checked out a book for Kylie called The Rainy Day - I felt it well suited because of our recent weather. She had me read it to her a dozen times in one day and she also "read" it to me several times. She "reads" now by telling the story she sees through the pictures and she also recalls much of the story from my readings to her. I took her to the library the very next day to pick out two books of her own choosing. She ended up choosing a book about airplanes and a book about Santa Claus. I didn't do anything to discourage the choice of a book about Santa Claus in June; I love to see her excitement over books and hope to foster it as much as I can.

Since the library doesn't own copies of Jane Austen's Emma or Mansfield Park, I've decided to use the Barnes and Noble gift card I've been holding onto to donate a copy of each. It's a small library, but very well maintained by the volunteers and I feel lucky to live within walking distance from it.