Bunnies everywhere!

I belong to the world's most wonderful Book Club. My friend, Suzie, and I "organized" it nearly seven years ago. We started out as a group of a dozen ladies, some of whom I knew well, some I was acquainted with, and one I did not know at all! We have bonded in a very special way and our monthly meetings are eagerly anticipated and every absence is felt - both by the absentee and by the rest of the group. During our time in existence, we have lost a member, Carol Daugherty, to cancer. When we realized that we could never replace her we simply vowed not to try. At that point, our membership became closed.

One of our special traditions is to give a children's book shower for first time grandmothers. I missed last month's meeting while I was in Atlanta celebrating Hattie's arrival. Imagine my surprise last night when I was showered with packages and gift bags. My friends had decided that an Easter birthday could NOT be ignored. Everyone had shopped for a book featuring bunnies or Easter!

Most of you know that Jenny was born on Christmas Eve. Every year she gets a different copy of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. The poem remains the same but illustrators have such fun depicting their vision of Santa and his visit. Anyway, the book on the bottom right of this photo is THE NIGHT BEFORE EASTER, a perfect companion piece for Jenny's collection. Another sentimental donation is PETER RABBIT'S GIANT STORYBOOK. When Jenny was in kindergarten, she played Mother Rabbit in a production of "Peter Rabbit". Coincidently, the son of another member, not the one who gave the book, was Mr. McGregor! (Since Tom has been spending so much time in his garden, Jenny has taken to calling him Mr. McGregor.) Naturally, I sat down and read all of the books as soon as I walked into the house. Thank you everyone for the thought you put into your purchases, the special books you found, and, most of all, the generosity and love you have shown for the extended Johnson clan, not just last night but always!

I have had several questions about the octopus I was making when I bailed out on Tom at the U-Haul place. Below you will see a few of my octupi and one little fish. These are "tawashies".

A child slips a hand into the octopus' head or into the fish while bathing - a fun washcloth!