Reading: The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. I've had a hold on this book at the university library for quite a while, and finally it came in.

Watching: Zorro. We borrowed the tape from one of Tab's friends. I'm working on the computer at the same time; so far, the movie doesn't seem to merit my full attention. Antonio Banderas is quite good looking, but Anthony Hopkins has far more sex appeal, not to mention acting talent. I like the sword fights, though there aren't enough of them in this movie. Background courtesy of
Ace of Space

Silence

This morning Tab took the boys out with him while he ran errands and looked for yard sales. The few sales they found today did not yield anything of interest. July and August are not really prime months for lawn sales; the weather is too hot and humid and many people are away on vacation. Spring, early summer, and fall are the best times for yard sales around here.

I relished having a few hours in a quiet house to myself. I caught up on my email, read a few journals, and then got to work on my Press assignments. I have one file translation job and one set of master pages due this week and more work in the pipeline. I'm looking at the prospect of a few late nights of work this week. Although I don't enjoy getting even less sleep than usual, the one nice thing about working late is that the house is quiet, and I can concentrate.

In a recent entry in her journal, Wet Paint, Chloe provided a link to Mothers Who Think, a department of the online magazine Salon. Today I read a recent article entitled "Silence" that articulated exactly how I sometimes feel in this crowded house surrounded by people. I love my family desperately, but solitude has always been important to me and is something I get very little of these days.

After the twins woke up from their nap we decided that it was too hot and humid to walk around the neighborhood, so we loaded the boys into the minivan and drove to Oxford Valley Mall in Pennsylvania. At least there we could walk in air conditioned comfort.

This was the first weekend of a Dinamation exhibit in the mall, "Dinosaurs of the Deep," featuring full-sized animatronic aquatic dinosaurs. A few years ago, Oxford Valley Mall had another Dinamation exhibit with a T. rex and other land-based dinosaurs that was more impressive than this show; still, the boys enjoyed it.

As I've mentioned before, a trip to Oxford Valley Mall is a cheap date. The boys get a kick out of riding up and down the escalators and the glass elevator in the center of the mall. A visit to the huge animatronic turtles at Kahunaville is one of their favorite parts of the trip. The twins pretend to be scared when the turtles open and shut their mouths. "He's going to eat me, Mama!" they squeal in mock terror.

We all ate dinner for less than $10 at the food court, looked at a few more dinosaurs, walked around a little longer, and then left. Do we know how to live it up, or what?

One of the exit roads from Oxford Valley Mall also serves as the exit from Sesame Place, a Sesame Street-themed water/amusement park. Sesame Place must have been packed today with families trying to beat the heat by enjoying the water rides. It was about 8:15 p.m. when we left the mall and drove by hordes of people in wet bathing suits trudging wearily to the parking lots: tired, cranky kids clutching Elmo balloons, parents loaded like pack mules with towels and bags, and one large group of sweaty people evidently waiting for their tour bus.

Tab and I had talked about buying a season pass to Sesame Place this summer, but eventually decided we couldn't afford it. Perhaps we will spring for one next year, but if so, we will certainly avoid the park on hot weekends.

previous       index       e-mail me       next