The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was like finding a kindred spirit. The main character has come to Connecticut from Barbados and finds all about New England to be a little crazy. The story is set in 1687. The author's note at the end says ". . . [these men:] and the freemen's struggle to preserve their charter is known to every schoolchild in Connecticut."



Well, it was not known at all to me a "schoolgirl" raised in Texas. So I found the history interesting as well as the fictional story relating some of the problems -- witch hunts, puritans, quakers, and rigid religious beliefs. Maybe as my children have to study Connecticut history I will learn "what all schoolchildren know."



But the real enjoyment of the book was just reading about someone else discovering 4 seasons for the first time. Barbados and Houston must be very similar (the character describes barbados as hot, humid, and always green, the air thick -- sounds just like Houston to me!)



So this was my favorite quote in the book



"All at once Kit was aware that this New England, which had shown her the miracle of autumn and the white wonder of snow, had a new secret in store. This time it was a subtle promise, a tantalizing hint of beauty still withheld, a beckoning to her spirit to follow she knew not where. She had forgotten that summer would come again, that the green would spread over the frozen fields, that the earth would be turned up to the sun and the seed sown, and that the meadows would renew themselves. Was this what strengthened these New Englanders to endure the winter, the knowledge that summer's return would be all the richer for the waiting?"


View all my reviews.

One thing I have saved

I have been cleaning out the storage room and finally came across something I wanted and knew was in there somewhere. It really is a crazy box filled with stuff that I just can't let go. Every thing in the box reminds me of what I am capable of. For example -- I saved all of my physics notes, homework, and tests. I thought physics was fun -- really, really hard, but fun. I love to look at it all and remember how hard I worked solving all those problems -- They were hard classes and I keep that stuff because I want to remember how hard I worked for those A's.

But the thing I have been looking for were these. My homemade flashcards from a Botany class -- At one point in my life I knew and could identify 200+ different trees and shrubs -- I knew their common names, scientific names, their families, and the key to identifying them all. And I could. I could see nearly any tree or plant and tell you the name of it -- and if I didn't know the name, I knew what family it belonged to.

And I loved doing it. Trent hated going on walks with me while I took this class. "Can't we just walk without having to identify everything????"

The sad thing is, we moved here and I knew that at some point in my life I could have figured out what all the plants were in our yard, but I just couldn't remember. I finally had the nature center come out and do it for me. (the boringest blog post ever) I was really bugged that I couldn't find the cards and do it myself.

But I found them. And the craziest thing . . . the more I looked at them, the more it all came back to me. . . like I was rediscovering this crazy place in my brain that I had forgotten was even there. And so I am back on my way to being a plant nerd.

I wouldn't recommend going on walks with me for a while.

Memorial Day Parade

Merwin Meadow

Last Sunday evening the weather was so nice so we went and checked out this little park close to our home. Enjoy the pictures -- the kids had a great time!

Re-doing the bathroom

This was our powder bathroom. Pretty wild wallpaper. Without the aid of the camera's flash, the room is actually quite dark. I did not like it. So a few weeks ago while the owner was here he asked what I thought about the bathroom and commented that he did not care for it.

I sure hope he meant it -- because as soon as he said that I knew that the wall paper would be gone SOON~! I spent the week stripping the wallpaper -- (I should say right now, that I am not a huge fan of wallpaper -- it seems that it is so easily dated and very hard to update and refresh without major work. )

Underneath the wallpaper were lots of holes in the wall and this lovely paint color -- apparently this color must have been a favorite!

And here it is now!!!! We went with the same plain khaki color and swapped out the 80's polished brass light fixtures. (One funny thing -- when I got back from Sherwin Williams, Madelyn asked me if I got the paint. I said, yes and then she said, "did you get purple?" I laughed and said no -- she cried and asked what color I got? I said Khaki -- and she replied, "Khaki is so BORING!" But she likes it now, she has told me it is her favorite bathroom now!)
I am still looking for more wall art and a few more accessories, but this is so much better to work with!

Running again

See my new little gadgets on the right!

I am back to running again. It had been almost a year since my last run. It is amazing how time flies when you are avoiding exercising.

The thing is -- I had really gotten into a good routine -- my friend Amy and I would run at 5:15 a.m. for 3 miles. When we couldn't run in the morning (if one of our husband's was out of town or something) we would watch each other's kids and take turns getting our runs in. I was getting faster (I had done a couple miles at a pace of 8:30-- which for me is really good!) and I was even enjoying it -- a little. But the thing I enjoyed the most was just knowing that I was taking good care of me. It also gave me the "stress relief" I needed as we had just found out we would be moving for Trent's job in New York City. That was definitely not the kind of news we had been expecting. Especially when we had just built a house and moved in and just decided to have another baby.

And then one morning, I finished a run and came inside to find I was spotting just a little. I was worried. It was like deja vu. I had miscarried at 9 weeks, 3 years earlier (between Catherine and Madelyn) and it had been the same thing - I had just a little spotting. But I assumed I was in the "safe" zone as I was a little over 18 weeks pregnant -- I even had a Dr's appt that day for the ultrasound to see if we were having a boy or a girl, but the baby had no heartbeat.

So I stopped running -- I delivered 2 days later and then had to recover. Then school was out and we were packing and moving. Then we went on vacation. Then we arrived in CT. Weeks of unpacking and settling and not being able to get anywhere without a GPS and all the new schedules and then just when I thought I should start running again it was WINTER.

I got a treadmill (a hand me down from someone who never used theirs) with good intentions but it didn't amount to any exercise. It was dark and cold and different.

But spring can do all sorts of things to you. I always like to clean house, do projects and exercise. Before I knew it, I was actually using the treadmill. And now my stamina is enough that I can do the hills. Saturday, I ran for 40 minutes up and down hills and felt great!

I also have some added motivation -- I am signed up to run the New Haven, CT to Boston, MA relay Sept 11 and 12 with 11 of my friends. It is 180 miles with each runner running 3 of 36 legs (each person runs around 15 miles). Wish me luck -- I have a lot more running to do before then!

Since I was running on the treadmill I haven't been using my Nike Plus, but since I started running outside I have been using it again. I love it! It is so great -- it works with my IPOD and is so easy to use! Plus, now it will post all the new runs right here!

I heart Google Maps Pedometer

One of my favorite tools on the internet is the google maps pedometer.


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/


You mark your starting point and your route and it will tell you how far you have gone, how many calories you will burn, and my new favorite thing -- it will tell you the changes in elevation. The routes can be for runners or cyclists and you can even zoom in enough to mark the sidewalk you are using so that you have the most accurate route.


Each route can be saved. I like to think of it as a "free" GPS runner's watch. With this to mark your routes all you have to do is time yourself (which even the cheapest watch is capable of doing).



So I have started biking again. I put the 2 kids in the bike trailer (just like I used to) and then I bike (just like I used to) -- BUT, these roads around here are not like I am used to. Let me explain . . .



Here is the elevation change graph of a very frequent route I did in TX all the time. (X axis is miles traveled, Y axis is feet above sea level)

The absolute value of change in elevation is only 15 feet -- so even though it looks like I went up and down a lot, there really is not much change the whole time.

Here is the elevation change graph for the route I attempted yesterday here in CT. Our playgroup was going to a little park with a pond and beach area and the weather was stunning and it was only 5.5 miles round trip from our house. So I loaded up the kids in the trailer and headed out. (notice the absolute value of change in elevation now is 300 feet)

It took me less than 20 minutes to get there -- and boy was it a fun ride! But WOW, the way home was a different story. I knew it would be hard. So when my friend offered to take Madelyn home in her car I gladly gave up her 47 pounds of additional cargo. Right at the 4 mile mark, I had to walk my bike, and then somewhere around 4.5 miles, my friend came by and picked up Adam (30 more cargo pounds) and the whole bike trailer (30 more pounds). I made it the rest of the way easy -- what a difference 60 pounds makes.

So if you are ever in need of a good workout I can reccommend a few routes and loan you a couple kids and a bike trailer. According to the google maps calorie counter -- that whole ride by myself (not towing 110 extra pounds) burns 660 calories. And in towing the kids -- 1100 calories!

Too bad I celebrated my surviving the bike ride with a 1000 calorie chocolate milkshake!