on-hand modern

Random acts of (hand-written) kindness

I stumbled across the Hope Revolution the other day. The premise is simple: write a note and leave it somewhere to brighten someone else's day. Doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, my favorite from the Flickr pool is a couple of hand-written lines on a napkin.

City litter ordinance issues aside, I like the concept. Chalk on the sidewalk, a note under your pillow, a surprise in the mailbox--who doesn't love? (Some of these are more appropriate between people who know each other, of course. Please don't leave unsolicited mail under a stranger's pillow. That would be creepy. In a bad way.)

Also, check out Mysterious Letters. Ambitious and inspiring.

Red, white, and blue: a holiday in review

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You may have noticed things have slowed down considerably around here as we prepare for the arrival of "Baby Orange". (Or "Baby Angel", depending on which of my children you ask.) Admittedly, my mind is on other things besides blogging at the moment--washing tiny clothes, rearranging bedrooms, pushing another human out of me--but just so you don't think I'm completely ignoring you...

what say you: pink or blue?

(Alas, definitely not a puppy, much to Asher's disappointment.)

Summer reading for a 6-year-old girl

Big news in Olivia Land...

her Very Own Library Card.

May she be more responsible with it than her mother. (I'm doing better, really. But, well, punctuality has never been my strong suit. It's what? June? July? I still owe both our parents a Christmas present...)

Two places you're likely to find us on any given afternoon: the pool (106 degrees last week--yowzah!) and the library.

Behold the library basket:

Fancy storage system we've got going there, isn't it?

Look closely and you will see the requisite Nancy Drew Notebooks, as well as a few other mystery novels. Girlfriend has started to branch out a bit, recently adding Flatfoot Fox and the American Girl mysteries to her list of must-reads. Both are fairly quick/easy (Flatfoot Fox more so than the others) and highly recommended for fellow mystery-lovers of the 6- to 8-year-old set.

[Note to self: Encyclopedia Brown! Soon. I think she will like him. Even if he is a boy.]

[Note to readers: Anyone else I'm missing?]

You may have noticed the plethora of Titanic books in the library basket as well. It seems to be the topic du jour for both children, prompting a multitude of questions from the hilarious ("Can we get a boat?") to the unsettling ("Why do bad things happen to people?"). The first one is easy (um, no) but the second, well, ask your mother. Oh, wait, that's me. Um, Grandpa...?

And speaking of questions I am ill-prepared to handle...

"How did that baby get inside your belly?"

<Blush. Fumble. Pray. Read.*>

• How Was I Born? by Lennart Nilsson 
• Welcome With Love by Jenni Overend

What's on your summer reading list?