Hot and Busy Days

Hot and busy. That is what this week has been. Whew. On our balcony today it was close to 110 degrees F. I thank God that we bought an air conditioner several years ago. It is sputtering and makes funny noises sometimes, but at least it keeps the livingroom at less than 80 degrees F. Without it - well, I'll just say that we live in a concrete building with no insulation. It would be an oven in here. I don't know how our neighbors can handle it. We are noticing that the better the economy gets, the more air conditioners we are seeing in windows and hanging on the sides of buildings, even 9 floors up.

Nadia came over today and we worked on her project. She is embroidering a pillowcase for her little sister who turned 4 this past week. :):) It has been fun watching her decide what colors to use and to listen to her comments. It has also been interesting to watch how she does it. We went over the basic steps for very simple embroidery (she assures me that her mom taught her how to do it before), but as the creative child that she is, she has 'modified' much of her work. I had to convince her one day that it really was better to stick with three strands of floss rather than to suddenly drop the number down to just one strand. Pillowcases get a lot of washing so the thicker floss is better (how do I know? Let's just say I've been embroidering pillowcases since I was about 5 years old :):):):) and sometimes I just have to learn the hard way myself!). I really enjoy having her come over. It is a treat for me. I get to sit and knit or embroider or whatever and chat.

I was also treated to 2 chapters read aloud by her this afternoon from a book she is currently reading. Chapters 3 and 4. Since I have never read this book series, she did some stopping and explaining along the way. Mel reads to me sometimes - and I just recently listened to Robinson Crusoe via internet. It was very nice. Sometimes I would stop her and ask if she understood what certain words meant. She is only 9 years old but reads at a much higher grade level than her age. She did very well.

I had to laugh inside today - not at Nadia, but at a memory of my daughter. As Nadia was reading aloud, she pronounced 'confident' with a long i sound. Many years ago Kara was reading aloud to me and read about a horse in a coral. I said, "What??" She responded - coral. I said, "Honey, where do horses live?" And she responded, "In corrals." "So read that sentence again to me." "Horses live in corals." Maybe she was thinking of seahorses? :):):):)