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Why oh why did I quit taking guitar lessons?
(There's a good story there. It involves outing a family member who wishes to remain anonymous in this semi-professional writer-to-writer journal.) ;>

But oh! This kid is on the right path.
Long may she play.

Guaranteed to make you smile. Laugh. And sing along.
That's what a great song can do.
All across the universe (tipping my hat to the Beatles, of course), great words resonate and make sense to people of all ages.

I surround myself with books, hundreds of books (I Can't Stop Buying Them... Save Me Somebody) and pray for the magic in the paper to seep into my skin. I am their assistant. I tap tap tap and hold my breath, willing the trick to work. Presto change-o. Make my words appear. Shazam!

Aint woiyds grand? Where would we be without them?

Krystal found a new book!

Every year, Charlesbridge opens the doors to its warehouse and lets the good folk of Watertown, Waltham, and surrounding areas to come and load up on children's books at rock bottom prices. But it's more than a savings, it's a fun Saturday morning. Charlesbridgians get to hang out in our play clothes and meet the little readers, and the little readers get to run around and play in our child-proofed warehouse and pick new books to take home. Some people load up on so many books, they're good until next year. It's a great opportunity for teachers to get plenty of new books for their classrooms without going broke.

Everyone's welcome. So, if you're thinking about traveling to New England in September, put the Charlesbridge warehouse sale on your travel agenda.

This was done for another illustration blog's challenge for the word "momentum"
Pete Townshend, of the Who, became known for his eccentric stage style during the band's early days, often interrupting concerts with lengthy introductions of songs, swinging his right arm against the guitar strings in his signature windmill-style, often smashing guitars on stage, and often repeatedly throwing his guitars into his amplifiers and speaker cabinets.

Once that arm gained momentum, he advised everyone to stay out of his way on stage.

Twelve and a half years ago, I bought her father his first guitar. Now it's his turn to see a face light up over the smooth, glossy surface of a Stratocaster. Scott gave Rose her birthday present a month early—because, I think, he himself couldn't wait.

She's been wanting to learn to play guitar for a while, but just lately her interest stepped up several notches. She loves to watch Scott play, and stands there asking a bazillion questions. Now she's figuring out the answers with her own fingertips.

Daddy's Strat is black, like Eric Clapton's. Rose went for the red one, of course. It's a three-quarter size, a better fit for her small frame. She holds it like a pro, her head tilted, shoulder curled, exactly like her father. Her hair hangs in her face, hiding her serious, focused expression. Scott taught her a few chords last night. Just like him, she likes the minor chords best, strums them over and over.

Watching history repeat itself, I got goosebumps.

You're wondering if we're crazy, giving a kid an electric guitar instead of an acoustic. Ah, but you see: the truth is, an electric—when it isn't plugged into an amp—is quieter. Much, much quieter than an acoustic.

There's an amp in the back closet, but Scott hardly ever plugs in. It's just there, available, should anyone have an overwhelming need for that extra push over the cliff to 11.

When he plays the acoustic guitar I gave him for Father's Day a few years ago (you'll detect a theme to our gift-giving), I'm astonished by how LOUD it is.

So Rose gets a nice, quiet electric guitar. And actually, it's easier to learn to play on an electric because you don't have to press the strings as hard as you do on an acoustic.

Plus, of course, you look devastatingly cool. Not that Rose has any idea what a rockin' girl she is. Her primary concern at the moment is learning to play the chords to the Fairy Dance song in her beginning recorder songbook. She and Beanie are going to play a duet.