if you can't tell

we're on an archaeological dig.seeking sea sponge...

...seaweed

...and seashells.

21 & so on

this is the last birthday i plan to reveal my age.
a lady never tells.
so take note! you'll never hear it from me again!on the actual day i had to work, but still i awoke to a lovely birthday brunch and set off to work with a light heart. today i truly celebrated the coming year by having a delicious day, an unproclaimed birthday. after lunch joanna & luke & i went, playing loud summer music (YOU know), to the beach, where it was somewhat cloudy & mostly chilly, and the decidedly bracing wind just blew good health into you. we attempted to build a most magnificent wall but slowly i slipped away into my deck chair, bundled in blankets against the wind, sunglasses against the sun, summer classics like 'north & south' by elizabeth gaskell against the sleepiness of the season.
it's my birthday present, by the way, that teeny pink blot in the picture? a lounge chair that is terrible to carry, clanking and banging against your ankles, opening at the most inopportune times. also it is bright pink, so i am Legally Blonde. but when you shift your weight back just right your feet fly up into the sky happily, lounging delightfully. and when your feet become numb because all the blood is rushing to your head, you struggle back up, in position to keep eagle eyes on any children heading for an undertow. in short, it was a lovely present. a few chocolates and silken cushions later, and i shall be quite spoiled for any good work this summer.

after the beach, we detoured around a bridge being built over the river, and took the long route to the take-out, stopping on our old dirt road to gather lupins from the ditch. lupins are just as PEI as potatoes, and much prettier. then onwards for a baby cone of icecream and it was the perfect birthday. perhaps not the perfect summer day because it was cloudy & cool, but all & all, what could the sun have added?

natural & normal

why can't we have a dog, like normal families?when i grow up i'm getting a dog.

(maybe a chihuahua. an irish setter like in the book 'big red'. or a scottish terrier that would have an uncanny resemblance to sherlock holmes.)

front desk, rachel speaking...

well in may i applied to the Rodd for a housekeeping position, was interviewed for front desk & started work three weeks later. at first it was overwhelming. who knew there were so many little details to know & memorize & then serve up with a smile? at times i find myself thinking of last summer's job at the library, where I puttered around watering the plants & staring at the bookcases through the dusty sunlight, wondering what to read next. (often, i learned, you CAN judge a book by its cover) and yet i did not want to return there, and my wish not to return was granted, and i am grateful... there is a certain charm in slipping behind the scenes of a familiar place (in this case a hotel) and learning about the people that run it and the different ways it can be run. lots of material, in short. more than hard to believe: it is nearly july, and one month of my three month employment is complete. soon enough back to the books. and oh, i am sick of wanting to be learning during the summer, and wanting to be working during the winter! time for a change. must enjoy every moment of this beautiful summer and learn how to be joyfully industrious at any job that is my lot. isn't it funny how they didn't even bother interviewing me for housekeeping. how did they know i was never cut out to be a maid? of course the picture is pure sham.

books books books books books

Who’s your all-time favorite author and why?

alistair macleod. he has only written one novel and a handful of short stories, but perhaps that's why every word is perfectly chosen & placed. and i suppose, above all, i love him because he writes about my home, cape breton, with an integrity that is lacking in fiction today. he knows his subject & he loves his subject, even the not nice bits. hallelujah for depth & profundity without heavy-handedness!

Who was your first favorite author and why? Do you still consider him/her among your favorites?

oh heavens, i have read and read and read and loved many an author. thinking about my bookshelves, overflowing with tattered copies of children's fiction (and i still love children's fiction better than almost any other genre)... i would have to say laura ingalls wilder. my parents gave me the box set of the little house books as a birthday present and they are beyond battered. i'll invest in another set soon, because they retain their healthy charm years later. but i loved so many others! enid blyton & her famous five, walter farley's black stallion series, etc etc etc.

Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?

margaret laurence. here's a familiar story: i read the stone angel in high school and thought it was 'good' but 'not my sort of book'. i then read it in college and thought it was 'better' but 'still not entirely interesting'. THEN i read it for another university course & finally gained enough insight to see a bit of the depth i had missed. but it was laurence's 'the prophet's camel bell' and 'a bird in the house' that truly blew me away. i have read those several times in six months and each time learn something new about the characters & themes, and 'prophet's camel bell' is the best non-fiction i've read in years. 'the diviners' is the only book of laurence's i can't bring myself to enjoy. the course i read these for was 'margaret laurence and margaret avison', and i suppose they are tied for most recent addition to favorite author, for avison's poetry i have been waiting all my life to meet. it is exactly to my taste, and i am marveled by how she shows her beliefs through poetry without being horribly criticized for it: a true sign of brilliance. at the moment, she is my favorite poet.

If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?

alistair macleod, margaret laurence, & margaret avison as previously noted. tolkien, because he is a truly astounding man and his Lord of the Rings fame is completely deserved, though I wish more would appreciate the books rather than the movies (and ditto for c. s. lewis, of course). margot benary isbert - a little known german author who writes with beautiful insight. i have a weakness for authors like dodie smith & caroline b. cooney, who write lovely novels for young adults that aren't classics, but rather well-written books that aren't a waste of time to read. i have a million others but my mind is blanking. rosemary sutcliff authors incredibly detailed historical novels, lots of battles with just enough romance to keep me happy. any period novel - you know typical austen & dickens - is lovely. those are the ones that would pop out of my mouth but sadly they leave out many an author who is deserving of mention.

what books have you bought or borrowed lately?

just last week i received a lovely parcel from amazon.ca! three books:

* 'just listen' which is by another young adult author i'm partial to, Sarah Dessan - again not a classic but a guilty pleasure that i've re-read several times. all her books are the similiar plot of a girl jaded against love for some reason, usually due to some family member's failure at relationships, and gradually learning that it is ok to love someone. sounds exactly like a book that's a guilty pleasure, doesn't it? this one is one of my favorites by Dessan, who has found her niche and makes the most of it.

* 'shadow in hawthorn bay' which is CLASSIC Canadian lit, by a classic Canadian author, Janet Lunn. begins in scotland and then transitions to canada, the early years. a girl with second sight coming to terms with the land.

* & finally the book i am embarrassed to say that I own, 'confessions of a serial kisser' by Wendelin Van Draanen. her book 'flipped' was amazing, alright? so i ordered this sure that despite the title it would be just as enjoyable. well, it CAN be judged by its cover - complete fluff. still better written than most of its kin, but this particular golden rule for writers flashes in my head as i read: 'cut cut CUT!' it's the story of a girl who deals with her divorced parents by kissing every boy in sight...so in short... pass these confessions by and read 'flipped'. :)

as for books i've borrowed from the library, i won't bore you with the long list - but i've been reading a lot of TRAVEL books because i am so excited for my long-awaited trip to europe next spring! i don't like to talk about it too much for fear it will fall through, but i am working lots and saving money to give myself that ultimate after-graduation present. still... if you have any tips (and the two people that i know read this have traveled! haha) i would love to hear all your advice.