News Trend Road Trip Day 1: Seattle, WA To Ogden, UT|Actual

Off we go on another all-American family road trip.

Two parents

Two daughters

A big red dog

And a car full of suitcases, leashes, a cooler, bags of food, blankets, pillows, maps, books, extra sweatshirts, water bottles, bags, backpacks, and a whole slew of electronic devices and their chargers.

Where are we going and what will we do when we get there? Just wait and see.

* * * * *

Today we plowed through endless miles of smoky scenery, thanks to the massive wildfires burning in northern Washington. We stopped for a picnic lunch at this Oregon Trail site in the Blue Mountains but got chased off by a horde of bees. Lucky to get away with just one sting.

Everyone took a turn at driving, Ranger flopped around the backseat in a variety of outlandish sleeping poses, and we got a handful of kitty pics from the daughters still at home. In a crazy random turn of events, I turned a quick stop for band aids at a Target store into a golden opportunity to buy a houseplant container I've been dreaming about. We stopped at a truck stop full of cattle carriers and the cows mooed at Ranger and me as we stretched our legs.

Other than the part where Ranger pranced through a mud puddle, today was a good day.

Distance covered today: 816 miles

Total trip so far: 816 miles

News Trend Reading Afternoons|Actual

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Capuscinski

Across four decades, this Polish journalist traveled here, there and everywhere around the continent of Africa, rubbing shoulders with the common man and getting himself into more than a few scrapes. While he reveals much about the history, economy and politics of the land, his accounts read not as news articles but as personal and heartfelt stories about individual lives.

East of the Mountains by David Guterson

A retired heart surgeon with terminal cancer works out a plan to end his life. But don't let the grim plot line put you off; this novel is actually a poetic homage to the open skies, windswept foothills and fragrant orchards of eastern Washington. Also, there are dogs.

A Rat's Tale by Tor Seidler

A meet-cute love story about a young lady of privilege and the working man who adores her. Of course, they are rats. Also revealed is a complex rodent society that prowls across the gutters, sewers and wharves of New York City. Not surprisingly, they manage to outsmart the humans who want them dead.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

What would you say if you were given the chance to live forever? Meet Winnie Foster who is granted a rare opportunity to drink from a hidden fountain of youth, and prepare to be surprised at her choices. This stylistic dream of a book reads like a fairy tale and delivers a meaningful, poignant message to readers of all ages.

* * * * *

Here's a brutally honest breakdown of how I've spent my summer:

57% running around with a paintbrush or electric sander in my hand.

29% watching Netflix with my two youngest.

12% walking my good dog, Ranger.

And with the remaining 2% of my time, I have been reading books.

Actual books. With covers and spines and pages for turning. I'm even using homemade bookmarks from my daughters' vast and highly artistic childhood collections.

At different phases in my life, I'm embraced recreational reading with varying degrees of passion, and the past two or three years have been a bit of a dry spell.

However, I've continued to buy books at my usual enthusiastic pace, and while recently sorting through the bookcases around here, I realized that my collection has gotten a bit ahead of me. As I dusted off one curious title after the next, I decided it was high time to turn over a new leaf. Or page, as the case may be.

In order to be sure I would actually sit down to read for maybe a half-hour each day, experience reminded me that I needed more than wishful thinking. I decided to shoehorn a designated reading time slot into my daily agenda, and chose the quiet time right after Ranger and I return from our daily walk.

Especially during this summer's sizzling heat, my hot dog loves to drop down in the shady grass as soon as he hits the front yard, and lounge - tongue lolling out and panting heavily - until he regains his cool. And of course, the little dumpling wants me to stay close by while he relaxes. Gladly, I've been dropping myself down in a nearby chair and picking up my book; we are both quite happy with our reading afternoons..

* * * * *

Read more about what I've been reading:

Reading Afternoons

Reading Mornings

Reading Children's Books

Reading Memories

Reading Recommendations

Reading Inspiration

Reading Insights

Reading At The Pool

Reading About The Desert

Reading On Repeat

Reading Natalie Babbitt

Reading The Truth

Reading Books That Are Blue

* * * * *

Read more about what I've been reading:

Reading Afternoons

Reading Mornings

Reading Children's Books

Reading Memories

Reading Recommendations

Reading Inspiration

Reading Insights

Reading At The Pool

Reading About The Desert

Reading On Repeat

Reading Natalie Babbit

Reading The Truth

Reading Books That Are Blue

Reading Mysteries

Reading About Walking

News Trend I Like To Keep Busy|Actual

Here's my award-winning OCD Over-Cleaning Move of the Day:

Intending to simply dust a bookcase. I somehow ended up dumping the contents all over the family room and hauling the wooden shelves out to the garage to be sanded down and refinished.

Cheers to me. I'm officially out of control.

News Trend Sleeping Beauty|Actual

Once upon a time there was a dog who loved to sleep on rugs.

Now this furry beast had full bed-sleeping privileges too. And indeed, many a snoozy hour did he pass sprawled across the comfortable mattress or curled tight in a ball against his his humans' legs.

But the simple fact of the matter is that he had a soft spot for floor naps, and made an hourly habit of climbing down from his lofty perch to cuddle up on a nearby rug.

Now, as the decor gods would have it, his mistress lately taken up the musim for scattering several small rugs across the bedroom floor. This practice opened up a whole new realm of options for our hero.

No longer limited to one meager green and white striped throw, this little hedonist can now choose the rug that best suits his comfort needs.

On the warmest nights, the stripes are the way to go. Cool cotton lays the flattest against the floor, and allows just enough cush with plenty of room for the breezes to tickle both sides of his tummy.

Alternatively, the brown-toned number is made of fuzzy fibers, like the down of a cozy nest. On the coolest nights, a fellow can find true comfort while curled here.

And on all the days and nights in between the extremes, the orange triangles provide maximum of soft support for our hero's sweet dreams. If favorites were to be chosen, this one might just win the crown.

But thankfully, there's no need for this lad to give up any of his luxurious landing pads. Like every true prince, my Ranger holds high standards for comfort and I'm only too happy to gain his contented approval.

So we are both living happily ever after.

News Trend At Home|Actual

You know the feeling.

You're absent-mindedly scrolling through your feed, glancing at this and that, when suddenly a blast of familiarity hits you like the proverbial ton of bricks.

You've stumbled upon an image that resonates within you - a loved one's face, a beloved place - that instantly makes you feel at home, at ease, at peace.

Here's a photo that popped up in my feed yesterday, giving me that same powerful rush.

Here we have my friend, Aleesya, a young woman of many, many moods. I haven't seen her in over a year, but that sideways glance and determined posture takes me right back to the roller coaster ride of living within her emotional universe. I smile just to see her sweet and temporarily stormy face.

The pointing finger belongs to Aleesya's grandmother, who is just as determined and feisty as her granddaughter, and only marginally more reserved in her expression. Mak does not mess around and even though her face is far off-camera, I can easily imagine the angle of her eyebrows and the purse of her lips.

(Little Auni was just a baby when we last met, so this leggy toddler is a new person to my eyes.)

I know those pink walls. This is the family home, beautifully set in the countryside where the wild boar pass by each dawn and dusk. I've stood on this porch during a wild tropical thunderstorm and felt the hair on my arms stand up in the charged atmosphere, and smelled the sharp scent of ozone stirred up by the storm.

I've wandered in circles around the house, taking in the shapes and colors of the garden: mango and coconut trees, bougainvillea in pink and purple, lush green leaves in all variety and texture. I've felt the sun beat down on my back as I pinned clothes to the line in the side yard, and come back to find them dry in an hour's time.

I have lounged in the shade of the back porch, watching motorcycles be tuned and coconuts chopped open with machetes. I've helped the grannies clean tiny dried anchovies for the day's meals, and despite the language gap, worked and laughed together with them in great companionship.

To my delight, I've helped out in the kitchen too, stirring pots of mysterious sauces and tossing thinly sliced potatoes in great woks, always following the orders of Mak, our commander-in-chief. And once. I was given the honor of head chef when we prepared, under my direction, a double batch of lasagna, just the way I make it at home.

And I have eaten many meals at the big table in the dining room. Curries and fish dishes, spicy breakfast feasts, endless bowls of nasi (rice) washed down with ice cold fresh coconut juice. I've met new friends around this table, and gotten to know my older friends on a whole new level. I've laughed there, feeling comfortable and safe; I've cried, feeling utterly alone. I have been completely and totally myself.

* * * * *

If you haven't already guessed, this is a scene from the other side of the planet. Melaka, Malaysia, lies some 8055 miles away from my house, but the instant this photo meets my eyes, those miles disappear in a snap and I feel at home once again.

News Trend Road Trip Day 2: Ogden, UT to Seward, NE|Actual

Off we go on another all-American family road trip.

Two parents

Two daughters

A big red dog

And a car full of suitcases, leashes, a cooler, bags of food, blankets, pillows, maps, books, extra sweatshirts, water bottles, bags, backpacks, and a whole slew of electronic devices and their chargers.

Where are we going and what will we do when we get there? Just wait and see.

* * * * *

This is the pivotal day where the wild American west fades into the settled east; we crossed the Continental Divide, where the waters that meets the Pacific Ocean give way to those that flow east to the Atlantic. We hauled ourselves up multiple mountain ranges - the Uintas, the Rockies - and sailed down to the wide-open prairies and bountiful cornfields of Nebraska.

We picnicked at our favorite Wyoming rest stop on the Lincoln Memorial highway where we were graced with a bracing breeze but no bees. Ranger has totally fallen into the road trip rhythm, finding the perfect balance of napping in the car and leaping out at each stop with boundless excitement. And we are entertaining ourselves with group geography games, interesting conversations and short bursts of staring into our own phones like zombies. So far, I have not had to break up a single fight.

Distance covered today: 858 miles

Total trip so far: 1674 miles

News Trend Road Trip Day 5: Olmsted Falls, OH|Actual

Off we go on another all-American family road trip.

Two parents

Two daughters

A big red dog

And a car full of suitcases, leashes, a cooler, bags of food, blankets, pillows, maps, books, extra sweatshirts, water bottles, bags, backpacks, and a whole slew of electronic devices and their chargers.

Where are we going and what will we do when we get there? Just wait and see.

* * * * *

Northern Ohio. The heartland of America, where simple people live solid lives, my husband's home. Nestled at the southern shores of Lake Erie, the small towns and farmlands outside Cleveland are filled with family and the warm memories of those who have gone before us. This is a good place to have roots.

Ahhhh. That's the sound of us spreading out and settling in to this familiar and comfortable place. For glory be, this is our primary destination and we plan to stay here for a few days. Though all of us are all happy to stretch out and relax, no one could possibly be more content than my hotel-bed-loving dog, Ranger.

Distance covered today: 0 miles

Total trip so far: 2534