A Story Footnote

Surprised by the kitten who popped out of the box, Ava loves her new pet.

Kitty spent the first night in her new home sleeping in a pink crate on the nightstand next to Ava's bed.

Ava read to her kitty two books about home safety "so she would know what to do."

Ava asked Mom, "Should I say meow or read to her in English?"

Fellow Reader, how would you answer that question?

A Cat After My Own Heart

Keeping this sweet kitty since Saturday until tomorrow when she makes her debut at Ava's birthday party. A gift from Mom and Dad who have planned this surprise, Ava wants a kitten even more than she wants her ears "peered."

Kitty sat on the book I was reading this morning. She sat there for a long time, warming herself under the lamp.

Granddaughter Ava, six-years-old tomorrow, had 3 stacks of books on the foot of her bed which she intended to read yesterday afternoon.

I can envision Ava curled up with a book and her kitty. A girl––and a cat––after my own heart.

Ava Falava at the Beach

As soon as Ava Falava gets home from the beach, she starts packing for next year. A packer of suitcases, a slammer of drawers, Ava Falava knows what she likes.

Leaving Alavama tomorrow, I know that Ava will pack her red suitcase as soon as her clothes get washed. She will talk about the beach to everyone who will listen.

Ava loves the sand on her body, the sun bleaching her hair and the salt on her face. Last summer when she was four-years-old, she said, "Gran, the beach was yummy this year."

As soon as we got here, Ava said, "I wonder what the beach will taste like this year."

Maybe next year, my book will get published.

From Orange Beach, Alabama

My granddaughter, Ava, says "AlaVama" and it stuck, just like the nickname Ava Falava. I wrote and illustrated with original photos a story called Ava Falava at the Beach, an idea that struck me during a thunderstorm the last time we visited here two years ago.

Making new memories with family and their good friends, I told my daughter "Time wasted at the beach is not time wasted." I read that in a book.