Ten on Tuesday

Today's topic is Ten Things You Like about Where You Live:

1. Neal lives here.

2. My parents live only 20 minutes away. I moved over two hours away from home when I was 21, and in my mid-30s, I moved across the country. It's nice to be a quick drive from my folks.

3. The dogs have a big enough back yard for their crazy races.

4. Autumn. No other part of the country does autumn up the way the Northeast does.

5. I have a room of my own. Living by myself, I had several rooms of my own, but one is all I need.

6. New York is nearby.

7. I can get to the beach in under two hours.

8. Shade tobacco. I don't smoke cigars, mind you, but the netted shade tobacco fields mean home to me.

9. I can hike, cross-country ski, bike, or run right from my door. We have a large nature preserve across the street and a well-maintained bike path about a mile from the house. I can't imagine having to drive to go cross-country skiing! We're pretty competitive about being the first ones in when there is fresh snow. I don't think anyone in the neighborhood is aware of this competition, but it exists.

10. Two of my best girlhood friends live nearby. I'm fortunate to be able to pop over for iced tea and knitting with women who have known me for decades.

What do you like about where you live?

Now I'm trying something new for me: I'm participating in Carole's Ten on Tuesday.

Ten Ways
to Entertain a Child

I have
no children, but I've done plenty of entertaining for my nieces and nephews,
who range quite a bit in age. The oldest is in his mid-20s, and the
youngest is a preteen, which means my list may run the gamut!

1.
Read. Either read to the child or read with the child. I
started reading the Harry Potter series because my nephew was into it,
and I wanted to be able to discuss it with him. I gave him The Hobbit
when he first learned to read because I wanted it on his bookshelf when he was
ready for it.

2.
Run in the rain. One time I babysat for the same nephew when he was
nearly three and his sister was a newborn. It was raining out. We
ran back and forth across the driveway (the baby was not running, nor was she
in the rain) and splashed in the rain until he was ready to sleep.

3.
See a play. I prefer Shakespeare outside, because then the child is
also entertained by a picnic. When I was in England, I was impressed by
how young many audience members were when I went to the college greens to see
Shakespeare. Even if a kid doesn't quite grasp the language, a lot of the
plays are so funny and/or compelling that she will understand the story just
fine.

4.
Make a kite. Then fly it.

5.
Sing.

6.
Hike in the woods. Stop and look at all the cool stuff.

7.
Visit a museum. If the child is young, model how to talk about art.
If the child is a young man, a budding artist, ask him lots of questions
about why he likes what he does.

8.
Teach the child to knit or weave or sew. My nephew learned at a
pretty young age, starting with finger, then spool, then needle knitting.

9.
Cook together. My ex-husband had the same nephew standing on a
chair helping out in the kitchen from the time the kid was old enough to stand
on a chair by himself. Kids seem to like to eat stuff that they help to
cook.

10.
Watch clouds or lightning bugs together. Nothing like a blanket in
the back yard and a little daydreaming to entertain a child of all ages!

How do
you entertain kids?

P.S. Please forgive any font wonkiness. I'm having issues. I know.

Category: Ten on Tuesday

Now, Day 22 or Ten on Tuesday

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