7 Quick Takes Friday, #77: A List of Lists

1. Odd discovery of the week: I am the only person in my house who likes Froot Loops.  Huh.



2. We visited my friend's new house last weekend, and besides being a lovely place full of space and giant wall-covering windows, it also came with this gorgeous tree.  It's a Ginkgo tree, and fairly rare for this area of the world for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it (the breed, not this particular specimen) is one of the only leftovers from, like, the Jurassic period or something crazy like that. 

With all its wandering, cradling branches, Justin had to climb it.

3. Which leads me to the conclusion that Justin needs a son, don't you think?

4. A conversation:

Mia: A royal princess is at your castle, mama.
Me: Oh!  Why, I've never had the pleasure of hosting a royal princess before! I'm so glad you came!  How was your journey?
Mia: *sigh* It was very good. 
Me: Did you happen to encounter any danger along the way?
Mia: Well, no...but there was once that I saw a pair of scary eyes in the forest, that happened to just be a friendly deer after all.
Me: Oh, my!  Well that's good.  And how was the weather?
Mia: It was...*sigh*...springtime.  And when we got to the jumping off part, it was cold!  So we just held hands and jumped together. *laughing*
Me: I see! Well it's been so nice having you visit here, royal princess.  Where will you go from here?
Mia: Wichita.



5.  How Lauren eats pancakes:
- Picks tiny balls of powdered sugar from the top of the pancake.  Licks fingers enthusiasticallly.
- Scrapes peanut butter from top of pancake.  Licks fingers enthusiastically.
- Refuses pancake.
- Takes grudging bites when mom cuts pancake into tiny squares.
- Demands a bowl of pure maple syrup in which to dip her pancake squares.
- Conducts a scientific experiment by means of dropping a pancake square into the bowl of syrup, hoping it'll disintegrate.
- Takes a hearty swig of maple syrup by drinking from the side of the bowl.
- Coughs and displays her distaste of maple syrup by calling it "Really Yucky."
- Signals the end of the meal by pushing away her plate of uneaten pancake squares -- useless now that they're devoid of peanut butter and powdered sugar.



6.  How Mia eats pancakes:
- Bites face first into the center of the pancake, only penetrating through the top layer of peanut butter/powdered sugar coating.
- Licks fallen powdered sugar from fingers, plate, table, and lips.
- Demands a new pancake, one with an in-tact top.
- Bites face first into the center of a blueberry pancake.
- Gets squirted by a too-juicy berry, makes a sour face, and squeals in disfavor.
- Demands a new pancake, one with no blueberries.
- Bites face first into the center of a plain pancake.
- Signals the end of the meal by looking through the hole she's bitten in the pancake -- using it as a monocle instead of a food item.



7.  In response to yesterday's admission that I've been burying my nose in books lately, I got several requests to spill the beans on what I've been reading.  I didn't love everything I read -- and I don't promise that these are all treasures of literary genius -- but here are a few I did enjoy:

Peony In Love by Lisa See
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson
In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden by Kathleen Cambor
Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (yes, it's true -- I am not ashamed)
Beside a Burning Sea by John Shors


I hope you all have wonderful weekends planned, full of the things that make you happy!  Stop by Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes -- which always make me happy!