The Last Lecture

I spent a few days at my grad school alma mater last week, so I decided to pick up a faculty-related book to read during my downtime in the airport and such. Little did I know The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch would be so touching. The story is of a college professor who is dying, leaving behind three small children and a beautiful, young wife. He gives his last lecture in honor of his children, who are most likely too young to remember the depth of his love. The lecture wasn't about dying, it was about living. It really made me stop and think about the legacy I'm leaving Emily.

Literacy Thursday, Itsy Bitsy Spider

I've finally gotten around to participating in Literacy Thursday by blogging about one of our favorite children's books. I'm always looking for creative things to read that are both educational and entertaining.


This modern twist on the classic, Itsy Bitsy Spider by Keith Chapman, brings together fun illustrations, rhyming, and alliteration into a short book that preschoolers love. The spider, "spinning silver silk webs high up in a barn," bounces from one farm animal to another and finally in the safety of his mom's web. This book is one of Emily's favorites -- I think the combination of animals, sounds, and a fun ending she can anticipate make it especially fun.

local food in a modern world

I just finished a wonderful book by Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, that tells the story of her family's spending a year in southern Virginia eating only local foods. (Well, as it turns out it wasn't all local since they had a few splurges here and there like Florida cranberries at Thanksgiving.) Generally, though everything they ate came from their garden or that of a neighbor. I'll admit, I made baby food and buy organic milk but readers of my "Fries with that?" post will quickly note that I have my vices in the food department. Kingsolver manages to argue that buying locally not only supports local farmers, but is also healthier and cheaper than buying "conventional" foods. (She also argues that eating meat is just fine.) She weaves a story of her family on the farm with practical gardening information, recipes, resources on environmental issues. The book seems a bit gimicky at first since the family moves across the country from Arizona to Virginia to spend a year growing their own food, but after the sweat equity involved, I have to believe that Kingsolver is sincere.

Of course, this is the wrong time of year to be inspired to launch a homegrown program of my own, but I can choose local brands over imports and put an organic vegetable on my table every now and then. I'll probably even toss those halloween pumpkins, homegrown I might add, into some mulch to see if they'll come back next year.