I tend to read a lot of books I regret. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is one of these. The gist of this book - Nanny = good, Park Avenue Parent = bad.

http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=29142&cgi=product&isbn=0312291639

Just after I finished this book, by coincidence, while channel surfing last night, I found Six Degrees of Separation and watched it for the second time, having seen it in a theatre several years ago. It intrigued me then and has again. The theme of this is - Park Avenue Parent = multifaceted. These parents are dealing with the complexities of life (con artists invading their homes; living their own form of hand-to-mouth; maintaining their fast-paced life style) with logic and love and compassion and arrogance and intelligence and flaws. Their pampered, over-indulged older teenage children, in spite of their angst and despair, come together, albeit unwillingly, to help them solve their problem. In the end, while nothing is resolved, the parents have come to realize that you can't always have what you want and at the same time that other people want want you have, even if what you have is not all that great. Chaos and Control, something we all deal with in life, is exemplified so well in this film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108149/

Have you ever noticed how often two aspects of the same thing, e.g. Park Avenue parents, often present themselves at the same time.

If you liked The Devil Wears Prada, you will like The Nanny Diaries as well.

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/devilwearsprada/

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell and Bill Bryson are my two favourite non-fiction writers. Both are easy to read, enjoyable and informative. Outliers, Gladwell's third book that I have read, is all this and more.

Outliers looks beyond the obvious and simplistic to explain success. It is done in both an entertaining and at the same time a lecture-like way. Gladwell shows how culture is an active participant in outcomes, both good and bad. He has no compunction about discussing subjects we avoid in our politically correct environment. He has reinforced for me the importance of knowing and understanding our own histories.

One recurring theme in my family concerns the idea of hard work. That is sometimes the main defining characteristic of family and friends. I can still hear my mom saying, "He may drink a lot but he has never missed a day's work over it and his house and gardens are always immaculate". If a person was a hard worker, a lot could be forgiven. I am now wondering if that concept originates way back in her ancestry. And, just how much does my ancestry affect my thought patterns?

I am certainly thinking about the world a little differently now.

http://www.gladwell.com/

Wild Roses

One of the first signs of summer are when the wild roses begin to bloom. Found these on my bike ride today.

While our spring was late, the dogwood bloomed on May 1st which seemed right on time. The roses, I think, are a bit early this year. And dragon flies are out in force. Some were moving along the bike path at my speed.

Flowers from Mother's Day

This rose came from Goldfish, the place where I had Mother's Day Brunch. On our way out, all the mothers in our group received a lovely fresh, long stemmed, velvet lemon rose bud. It stayed fresh for more than a week. Since then, it has slowly turned a burnished gold. I took it out of water a few days ago and didn't have the heart to throw it out. I wonder if it will just dry like this.

Below is the pink azalea I received as a Mothers Day gift. It has come into full bloom in the last few days.

At last it feels like summer might be arriving. It is warm enough again to enjoy my deck. My garden is beginning to grow and I actually picked radishes for the first time for lunch today. It was a good thing that I brought them home to wash as I have rediscovered that little worms like my radish as well. After cutting out all the squiggly parts, there was still enough to enjoy. This is my first time to garden completely organically. I just don't know how much I will enjoy sharing my bounty with other creatures.

Mother's Day Card

I made this card for Mother's Day in 1953. Being a little dyslexic, this is actually the back of the card. The writing was pasted onto the inside left. My Mom died on Mother's Day several years later. I found this card with her papers.

Before Picture

This is my garden plot. I planted beans yesterday. So far, I have peas, beets, onions and radish coming up. Something is munching on the leaves of the peas. I am waiting to see a sign that some of the carrot seeds have germanated.

I have some strawberries in blossom. They are at the end of the garlic that you can see at the bottom of my plot.