The Infinite Blogosphere

Lots of blogs to love, hate, enjoy, discover, aren't there? I think they're very good things...

My older niece, Plum Blossom, is about to take a semester abroad at the Beijing Institute of Education. My feelings about this are: envy, discomfort, concern, excitement. Hers go something like this: F*cking AWESOME! (paraphrasing, of course; she'd never say that). My darling Plum Blossom has launched a blog to keep those of us here wringing our hands and dying of curiosity up to speed...you might like to take a peek, too: Plum Blossom's Adventures in China . That's two of my favorite young adults sallying forth into blogdom---I wonder who will be next?

Status Domesticus
I haven't read the paper today (yet) so there's no rant. Yesterday was a great day of household errands with my nearly 10-year old. I can't believe it... but I have not so much stamina these days so I've found a day of activity is inevitably followed by a day of sloth. But I can't chill all day--I must be on my way very soon to have some adjustments made to the surgical damage done to date---recovery is being complicated by some bleeding that won't stop. Not a huge deal but will require sedation. Its just enough, in fact, to have derailed the beautiful day I'd planned with my visiting Kring cousins. I'm really disappointed by that. I hope they're not too disappointed...

What summer is about...
The kids are enjoying the ease of a lazy summer. I'm one of those people that believe that self-awareness and creativity are both enhanced by some periods of boredom. "How will I entertain myself? What would I like? Is this all I have? What can I do with it?". I think those are all of the questions that turned me into such a success of a sittin'-around-the-house-singing-with-the-radio star. No, seriously; I do think that a constant schedule of interesting, stimulating, enriching structured activities dramatically limit the discovery of the world and self on one's own terms.

Not that those things are bad... I just think balance gets lost these days. Things are changing a bit with the kids around here growing up and all but for the most part, our neighborhood streets are as quiet in summer as they are during the school year. It makes me very sad... I remember years of summers, outside most of the day, looking for something to do, building on some elaborate situation we were playing out in the fields around our house...

It is actually even a step worse than that: our school system has packets of summer work to be completed. My childrens' parents are opposed. In years past we've bitched but led the kids through---I'm not speaking of summer reading lists; every one should spend a lot of the summer reading. I mean arithmetic lessons, science and social studies work...the whole nine! This year I offered Haley and Anna the choice for themselves: if they opted out, they would not be eligible to participate in the (rather insubstantial) "party" the school throws for the summer geeks. I'm pleased they were able to put aside the competitive pressure: both of them chose to forego that route.

Its kind of nice how little is happening.... what a terribly unAmerican thing to enjoy...

Another Song? Sure, why not?
Alison Krauss is one of those amazing people on this earth seemingly sent here just to share their ethereal gift of music. Her angelic voice, the fiery fiddling... even if you don't share my familial weakness for the bluegrass music of Kentucky, you've got to enjoy these:

Looking Through the Eyes of Love -- Alison Krauss
Sleep On -- Alison Krauss

Both selections were taken from her freshmen effort as a very young woman and I love how pared down the songs are...bluegrass ensembles can indeed be very big but I like these tunes, imagining a couple of folks sitting on porch in a holler somewhere, singing their lives into the hills...