Rambling Observations

The Neighbor (369 pages) by Lisa Gardner. Took me four and a half hours to read. The build up was pretty good but the resolution tanked. Seems like she just got tired of writing and wrapped it up rather sloppily ~ woman returns unharmed, tried to frame the dad who tried to frame the husband. Dad dies, husband and wife confess dark secrets and live happily ever after. All in under 30 pages. It wasn't believable and certainly did not set off the nervous jitters and obsessive-compulsive door-locking the reviews promised. I finished last night at 1:20 a.m. and was sound asleep by 1:25.

Had a few spare minutes this afternoon so we ventured into the county library. 7-year-old checked out 5 books, mostly Amelia Bedelia titles. By the time I helped the girls with their selections I had only a few scant moments to grab something for myself before we had to be in court. I was anticipating a long wait in the courtroom and definitely wanted something to keep me occupied. In my haste I grabbed a John Grisham novel I hadn't previously read. Incredibly, we were the very first case on the docket and managed to get out in under 7 minutes. I'm relaxing at home and reading page 210 of The Brethren.

If the arrest of Harvard professor Gates had happened while Bush was still in office, would the press have solicited his opinion as they did Obama's?

Loving vs. Commonwealth of Virginia, decided June 12, 1969, by the U.S. Supreme Court, declared the Virginia law against interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. Richard Loving was white; his wife, Mildred, black.

If your teenage daughter asks permission to go out "to a movie" but can't even deliver a Cliff's Notes version of the plot, she is probably experimenting with sex. Or drugs. Or both.

There are new shot requirements for kids entering 7th grade in Texas. My school district sent a letter detailing specifically which ones my kid needs. If yours doesn't, you need to check with your pediatrician before school starts.

My husband did not find the post-court phone call in which my daughter tearfully wailed that she was going to jail nearly as funny as she and I did. Such a lame sense of humor.

I really miss my baby boy.

Planning a back-to-school shopping trip to the outlet malls in San Marcos in a couple weeks. Hope to find some really good bargains.