It’s summer. It’s hot. We’re going to the pool.

For those of you cooling off by staying inside, here are a few of my favourite things per Jo’s request.

the kids’ art

pieces of old chandeliers that will become Christmas ornaments for my tree

my grandmother’s quilts. i have three.

tree stumps that look like Shrek

my bench and my Shastas (which are now in the ground)

Robin Hobb’s new pair of books, Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, are wonderful. Together known as The Rain Wild Chronicles, they are perfect as summer reads. Let me tell you why.

Hobb finally returns to the world in which her Liveship, Tawny Man and Farseer Trilogies all take place. It’s a familiar setting, one this reader was very sad to offer a last wave goodbye. And if you had asked me, in that moment of sadness, how I would have liked the story to continue, it would have been the story contained in these two books.

Quite the answer to an unspoken prayer, Hobb once again delivers her delightful brand of fantasy, no less serious, no less enchanting, only on a smaller scale. Set in the Rain Wilds as dragons are returning to the world of man on the Savage Coast, she brings us up on how well man and dragon are getting along and the story of the humans most connected.

I think I would find other voices who would echo my one concern. For a fantasy book, where are the maps?!!!

We shall forgive her this one mis-step however because, on the positive side, hearing the thoughts of dragons was entertaining as ever, she introduces us to yet more uniquely motivated non traditional female characters and has written a couple of great “ensemble cast” books. Excellent as always.

You don’t get sick of any one character or set of characters or plot line,  while discovering surprises of how they become important to one another. And the addition of the pigeon masters as a comedy duo sending messages to one another between every chapter lightens the mood while injecting bits of necessary information to the reader.

Oh and then there are those moments when one of the new characters meet a legend carried over from the older stories. I felt giddy all over, with goose pimples even, approaching greatness vicariously. You’ll also find hints to the Seven Duchies, the Tawny Man and other liveships you have met before. She does such a good job dropping those little jewels, same for reminding you of past events that are relevant, without bore or repetition.

These books are very readable by someone who is new to Hobb’s work. If you don’t want to read the a trilogy or three before these, feel free to pick them up if you are looking for some slightly less than epic but engaging fantasy to take you away while you sit on the beach.

All I can say is a huge thank you to Hobb. She heard and answered her readers unspoken plea.

p.s. And yet there is talk of even more!

p.s.s. I must also thank Harper Collins Canada for sharing these books with me.

Try the books for yourself! You can try Dragon Keeper here and Dragon Haven here – and read something like 20% of the books before you buy.

Long have I admired the blog of an old friend from the Ottawa Valley. Her place is called Twig and Toadstool. What a magical place it is!

If you love nature and being creative, have little ones to entertain or just need something to do with your hands, look no further. Maureen and Shanti are creative geniuses, and they’ll dazzle you day after day, just when you think they had to have exhausted their idea bank.

I am the kind of mom that can be very hands-on with my children but then I need some major quiet time. Since I just finished reading Cutting for Stone and had that right amount of solitude, today was a day for busy hands and feet. The perfect day to make this vase that I saw on Twig and Toadstool and wanted to make ever since!

We took a walk on the nearby hiking trails, climbed a big hill with several dead trees, debated the right and wrong qualities of a stick and tried not to be too grumpy. A thunderstorm is on it’s way and the humidity is out of control today, hence the grumpiness.

Once we got back home, the deck was the best place to work as dirt and stick fragments were flying pretty fast. In the instructions, Shanti suggests holding the sticks on with three rubber bands, but we actually used more and then removed them. It kept the sticks a bit more stable for the kids, especially as they were starting. We did leave three rubber bands on in the final product, just doubled the bottom one up, so our end product only has two rows of raffia instead of three.

There are not really a ton of flowers blooming in our garden right now, but thankfully we had a few obliging echinachea. The white tall phlox is just about to burst, so next week we’ll have a gorgeous white display. Anywho, we are so pleased with the results, and a good time was had by all, despite the humility. What say you?!

My son wasn’t too into the butterflies and instead has dubbed his a Pokemon candle holder and that’s just fine with me.

Thanks for the inspiration, Twig and Toadstool!

on a red bookshelf nightstand
a few nights before we were to move into a home with central air
i woke in a humidity daze
and noticed my husband’s pocketknife
resting peacefully beside his USB drive