SPORTIVE
Leaping from stump to stump in the clearing in the woods at the Grandparent's house. Looks like a cherished childood memory in the making.

SYMBOLIC FISH KITE
flying from my neighbor's house. A cheerful flash of color. The fish are symbolic of the number of children living in the house, apparently. I believe they were traditionally meant to symbolize the number of sons only, but Hiroshi's gorgeous carp is flying proudly for his daughter.

BOOKSHELF WISDOM
My local church thrift shop has somebody working there who has a very subtle yet wicked sense of humor.

DINNERTIME DE LA TOUR
Peter with some candles he made on his school field trip today.

GUERNICA AT THE DENTIST'S OFFICE
I don't love blogs that assume their readers are interested in every excruciating detail of their life ("...and then, dear reader, I decided to buy the Vanilla Cola instead of the Lemon ..."), but I thought this was pretty funny. This morning I sat recovering from the horrible, bloody ordeal of having my teeth cleaned by a very determined and punitive hygienist. I was waiting for an actual dentist to come in and make soothing noises at me and send me on my way. Heaving a sigh I glanced up and noticed this poster of Picasso's Guernica on the wall right next to my head. I don't mean to belittle the actual massacre, but the thought instantly flashed through my brain that the dental hygienist must have been glancing at this scene from time to time during my procedure. For inspiration.

JUST RIGHT
Cocoa at its best, neither too hot nor too cold. And Goldilocks drank it all up.

INTRICATE
The endless fascination of onion skin. Translucent, reflective, fragile and tough all at the same time.

BEGONIAS
These patient flowers have been waiting for relocation for weeks. They are starting to show some signs of "wear" but are hanging on gamely.

HENRY STIMMING ON THE GREEN
Recently took the family for a walk on the old college campus. This was the college green right outside my dormitory. Henry was instantly drawn to the grassy knoll under an acacia tree. We just watched the movie Little Buddha and this scene somehow reminded me of Buddha under the Bodhi tree. In fact, people occasionally tell me of a sect of buddhist monks who specialize in caring for autistic people, believing them to be pure boddhisattvas. I don't know about that (and I have not been able to find out whether these monks actually exist) but gentle Henry is certainly like the fiercest kind of zen master, constantly whacking us out of complacency, expectation and routine.

MAKE-BELIEVE
H has always been amazingly good at amusing himself with long, involved games of make-believe. A small stuffed animal, a few sticks and some leaves kept him busy for quite a while a few days ago. I never did get a full explanation of the game, but it involved lots of exclamations, explosions and rushing around to different parts of the garden.