Big Girl Bed

This is the closest to napping E. has come recently. This bed is too fun for resting except at night time!


"I'm about to jump, Mommy! Take my picture quick!"
Doesn't Ariel look like she was caught in the act? I had just called her name, so here is proof that she does know her name, though she may deny it later.

A Room of Her Own

While she's had this room since we moved in in June, it's only recently that it's become fully hers. E. now loves to run in there, close the door and do her own thing. And I've finally organized things a bit more so she can do just that. So, here we go! When you enter, on your right is the kitchen, now with storage for all the food and accessories:

Above the kitchen are some cute framed posters from my mom's house that E. loves. Other artwork is visible in the big girl bed post.

In the center, is the glider/rocking chair, with the small closet and roof/fire escape/tomato growing space in view out the window. Oh, and yes, that is a mini-grocery cart in the corner near the growth chart. (Thanks Nonna & Pawpaw!)
In the left corner, is a skinny bookshelf with books for when she's older, art supplies, and our internet router!
Below that, and next to the chair, you can see the packed (both sides of the top are filled) bookshelf, my keyboard, the table and chairs from when I was little, the new animal bin (pink-spotted), and the foot of her new big girl bed. More of that in the next post! Please note that the bookshelf is usually half-empty with Curious George books especially spread all over the floor. My dad & step-mom get the credit for that obsession.

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of her dresser which is on the same wall as the door. Oh well, it's not that interesting. Hopefully, this gives those who haven't seen it in person an idea of what E's room looks like. While small, it is a great space for her and we're so grateful to have it!

Ridiculousness

The other day after naptime, E. announced that her name was Giraffe. When I asked her, "Is your name GIraffe?", she answered, "Yah." She also answered, "Giraffe" to the question of what her name was.

Then yesterday at church she addressed a young woman she knows as Bunny Rabbit. Chelsea thought maybe E. had forgotten her name but then E. said, "Chelsea is Bunny Rabbit."

Today's ridiculous moment came when she was dumping out buttons from the button box. She announced that they were catnip and started rolling in them. When I asked what she was doing, she said, "Rolling up the catnip." So silly.

More Vintage Mysteries

Again I seem to be reading these two types of mysteries back to back--noblemen as detectives and noir crime novels. For this post, it's Margery Allingham's Sweet Danger and The High Window, another Raymond Chandler.

I have to admit I found the former really close to the edge of too dry in terms of wit and too subtle in terms of overall writing style. I think I had to restart it at least three times before I got into it. Perhaps that was due to the beginning that seemed a bit too much like Agatha Christie's later novels about all the mysterious forces and political currents which are trying to be spy novels but aren't really succeeding all that well. But after that, I enjoyed it much more. Campion is an interesting twist on the nobleman detective since he deliberately walks around with idiotic looks on his face to throw everyone off. I also enjoyed the mysterious kingdom of Averna and the hunt for the lost heirs--very fun

The High Window was sadder and somehow more unresolved than Farewell, My Lovely. Only some of the killers were brought to justice and not all the really evil characters got what was coming to them which was a bit disappointing. He made me laugh in the "reveal" scene because one of the "villains" made fun of the typical detective story: "Now you're going to tell me how it all happened and include some detail you've been holding back that makes it all clear."

I always end up hoping for Marlowe to have a relationship with the sweet girl in each story because I can see he cares for each of them and wants to protect them but I know in the back of my head that it won't happen. I read in the biographical notes that Chandler rewrote Double Indemnity for the screen based on someone else's writing. I wonder if he wrote part of Chinatown too because it definitely has that same noir LA feel. I realize that this is more a review of the mood of the novels than the plot but I can't help it. That's what sticks with me.
1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15. The Lady in the Lake by Chandler
16. The Little Sister by Chandler