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Good Morning:

Well, just as I suspected, the few days of 80 degree weather that we had here in the Southern California desert was short lived. I'm okay with that. It just doesn't seem right to be so warm in February. Our walk this morning was chilly to the bone with a constant goose-bump inducing wind. Was nice to get back home and have that first cup of morning coffee.

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It seems that today is Valentine's Day. Ava (my daughter) is busy in the kitchen making a cheesecake for Gary and me to have as our desert tonight. She's altering the recipe to make a peanutbutter cheesecake, so I'm looking forward to the end result. Later today, I'll run out and buy a bottle of Almond Champagne and set the table for a nice dinner for two. Ava will make dinner for my two sons and herself, and Gary and I will feast on our traditional Valentine dinner of "Pick-Up-Stix". I shan't allow myself to think of the sinful amount of calories that I'll be consuming!!

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I have a new original 4" x 6" collage on canvas listed in My Etsy Shop. Have a look at the old church in the background. I took that photo a few years back in Cuervo, New Mexico. It's a little abandoned town off of Interstate 40. I googled Cuervo not too long ago, and found that there are some interesting stories connected to the town.

SUNDAY MORNING WITH LITTLE RABBIT AND BROTHER BILLY


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Looks like I'm off for the day. I have a few chores that need to be attended to.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Garden Painter Art

Title:The 100 Dresses
Written by: Eleanor Estes
Illustrated by: Louis Slobodkin
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.
Ages: 9-12
ISBN: 0-15-205260-7
Publication: September 1, 2004 (Reissue Edition)

The Hundred Dresses may have first been published in 1944, but the story is still of utmost importance today.

Wanda Petronski wears the same blue dress to school everyday. That’s why nobody believes her when she says she has 100 dresses in her closet at home. All the girls tease Wanda because it’s just too easy not to. Peggy, the most popular girl at school, especially loves to tease Wanda. She asks her about the dresses just to get a laugh:

“Wanda,” Peggy would say in a most courteous manner, as though she were talking to Miss Mason or to the principal perhaps. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had hanging up in your closet?”

“A hundred,” said Wanda.

“A hundred!” exclaimed all the girls incredulously, and the little girls would stop playing hopscotch and listen.

“Yeah, a hundred, all lined up,” said Wanda. Then her lips drew together in silence.”

Maddie is Peggy’s best friend, but she doesn’t think the teasing is okay. She listens to all of teasing but she never joins in. She knows it isn’t right but she can’t find it in her to stand up to Peggy. And, Maddie is sure that Peggy isn’t trying to be mean on purpose. Maddie wonders why Wanda lies about having so many dresses, when it was obvious she only has one?

This special story confronts readers with the harshness of bullying. Does Maddie ever find the courage to stand up to Peggy? Whatever happens to Wanda and what is so special about her story of the 100 dresses? You’ll have to read it to find out! The story is solid, the language is rich, and the lesson is life-long!

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Reviewed by Sylvia C. Hall