picture day

I was trying to get a new picture of myself for my blog because I'm always a bit creeped out by pictures of authors that never change on their books even though many years might have passed. I'm thinking Danielle Steel but who knows, maybe she's like Dorian Grey and isn't aging, or is receiving a lot of airbrushing. And then there's Ayn Rand's portrait drawing on the backs of her books, which softened what photography couldn't with her. This is not to say that I'm famous, an author or anywhere near the caliber of the Queen of spinner rack novels or the Queen of objectivism, just that I like to keep the pictures current. When I finally got a decent picture, I actually look prettier than I do in real life, my hair looks dark in a nice way and my eyes very big and blue, but my skin is also blue, a la Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. So much for being current.

Here is a current picture of Oona, taken today at our visit to Grandma's. I feel so bad because within the past month Oona's become scared of the people at my Grandma's assisted living home. She turns to me and says 'Carry scared!' clutching my thigh. I hoist her up and tell her not to worry, but she even acts scared of my Grandma when she first sees her. Once we're in her room she's fine but I don't know if she's just scared about the old people or if she senses that something isn't quite right about them since their memory is impaired. I don't want to bring her if she's truly freaked out about it and then I'd feel bad because my Grandma lives for seeing Oona, she's probably the reason she wakes up every morning. But she also says cats scare her, which is not true since we have two. She talks about pumpkins scaring her too and she makes a mock face of horror at the neighbors pumpkins still perched on their porch. Maybe it's just an I like to be scared phase. Could that work for a stay at home Mom? I could tell Toby laundry scared, dishes scary with a look of horror on my face but I don't think I could get away with a fraction of what Oona does, although to be fair she is a ton cuter.