What a day to return to blogging...

It's got to be close to 100 degrees out, and the only a/c in the house is in the bedroom (though I am grateful that we have one at all!) yet here I sit, in a very warm room, writing for the first time in about a month. And I am glad to have power- those poor people in Astoria just can't catch a break.

The heat's not so bad if you sit very still.

I almost feel a little depressed that it's August already. July went very fast. I had so many plans for things I was going to get done, and most of them haven't happened yet. I did take a photography class, which ends tomorrow. It's been great. I had to shoot on an SLR film camera, and learn how to develop the film and make enlargements. Very old-fashioned in this digital age. But I have to say, though I miss the instant gratification of being able to see a digital picture immediately, the satisfaction I get from having an enlargement come out just right (or as close to that as my amateur ass can get) is so much better.

I've read a lot and I feel good about that. Here's a list off the top of my head (my book log is upstairs and getting it would require breaking from my mostly-still state. )

Young Adult:
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Messenger by Lois Lowry
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Next: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (best title EVER!)

Professional:
Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Readers by Teri S. Lesene
Next: Classroom Management Simplified by Elizabeth Breaux

Personal:
Map of Bones by James Rollins
1776 by David McCullough
Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes
A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
Washington Square by Henry James

And now I am off to finish my Weegee paper that is due tomorrow. And if you're looking for something to do, the Weegee exhibit at the International Center for Photography is excellent- I think it's there for another week or so.