One fun things about picture books is wishing you could enter the world illustrated on the pages. When I was a child, I loved Russell Hoban’s Frances stories, and Lillian Hoban’s art made me want to close my eyes and imagine being Frances’ playmate, scheming with her to get her tea set back from Thelma, or having a bread and jam party with her stuffed animals.

I wanted to be buddies with Frances because:

1. She was sometimes snarky, sometimes clever, but mostly fair, and loyal to her friends.

2. She made up songs about everything.

3. In Bread and Jam for Frances, she and her friends brought the coolest school lunches from home, in neat containers with such items as hard-boiled eggs in egg cups and little salt and pepper shakers.

4. In A Bargain for Frances, even though Thelma tricked Frances into buying her plastic tea set, when Frances sets things right, she forgives Thelma and they’re still friends.

5. Frances was comfortable in her own fur; sometimes she wore clothes, sometimes not.

6. Frances listened to her mother, but was able to fix her own problems.

• Ben and Jerry’s froyo “half-baked” ice cream is sooooo good! Big globs of chocolate chip cookie dough, hunks of fudge brownie, chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt — and only 3 grams of fat per serving. You can eat the whole pint and only take in 12 grams of fat. Good stuff without the guilt. Compare that to B&J’s “chunky monkey” which is a whoppin’ 17 grams of fat per serving, 0r 68 grams of fat for the pint! Makes me feel bloated just thinking about it.
• Mentioned this in a previous blog post a couple of years ago, but it should be said again: I heart Meow Cosmetics! I’ve been using Meow’s mineral makeup for about two years, and will never ever go back to that goopy stuff that comes in a bottle. It feels like you’re wearing nothing and provides good coverage. I like that it’s a woman-owned and operated small business.
• We bought our first digital camera in 2004. It was a 4-megapixel and used one of those big Sandisk cards that held 256 k. We paid more than $350 for it and all the accessories. Yesterday, we bought an 8-megapixel camera for about $120.  The camera fits in your pocket and uses a small SD card that holds 4 g’s worth of photos. Better technology, cheaper price!
• Giving in to the Sunday afternoon sleepies — which I am about to do right now!

• Found this NPR article about text messaging and how ridiculously expensive it can be. What a relief to know that I am not the only person in the universe who does not have text messaging enabled on my cell phone!
• Don’t think I’ll be going to see Land of the Lost. Apparently the TV show is more amusing.
• Reading The Tale of Despereaux. The book is way better than the movie so far. Don’t get me wrong; I liked the movie. But the movie is nothing like the book! Nothing!
• Agent Nathan Bransford has a great post on his blog about how not to use the word “blog.”
• And here’s a link to a story about the (gasp!) dark and dreary trend in YA fiction. Yawn. I’ve heard this song before. Like back in the 70s. And in the 80s. And in the 90s. And at least one other time during the early 21st century. I don’t think YA has changed, no sir I don’t. Dark and dreary has been around a long time, since the day Eve bit the apple. Dark and dreary serves a purpose. No conflict? No story. Don’t we feel so much better about our miserable lot when we read about someone — even a fictional someone — whose lot is worse than our own? And don’t we feel even better when that someone overcomes those insurmountable odds, thinking if she can do it, so can we?  The only way to experience and appreciate the exquisiteness of hope is to be caught in, and through the strength of our own will overcome, misery’s wretched grasp. Amen.