My three and a half year old is a precocious devourer of stories and will listen as happily to The Cat In The Hat as she will to The Lord Of The Rings (which can get a bit exhausting to read aloud, night after night– especially as the chapters are quite long.)

So to satisfy her love of complex plot lines and superheroic magical characters who fly, shoot arrows and throw thundrbolts, etc, we picked up a copy of the 1967 classic volume chronicling the exploits of the Norse gods and goddesses (and giants and trolls and other creatures) by the D’Aulaire family.

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The stories in D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths are told in a straightforward but by no means condescending manner (ah, the 60′s when it was cool to smite your enemy with a giant hammer) and the illustrations are themselves works of genius, striking a perfect balance between beautiful and strange. Which is probably what these creatures would have actually been like, had they ever really roamed the earth.

My kid can now casually discuss the difference between a jotun and the aesir and makes reference to Thor whenever thunder strikes. And I get to brush up on a bunch of old stories that I actually never really knew, so I don’t get bored reading them over and over (which is worth more than I can even relate in words.) They also have a book of Greek myths that is equally compelling.

Back in print after 20 years, you can probably pick up a copy just about anywhere, though I always check Alibris for used copies in good condition as the price is always right and secondhand is the way I like to go.

I’ve decided that this fall is going to be all about keeping it simple. Paring down. (Or at least making room for more appropriate stuff…) I’m feeling all of my belongings bearing down on me like some kind of swiftly rising tide, and who knows what’ll become of me if I don’t do something about it– and fast.

So I’m gonna start posting more stuff on Krrb in the hopes that people want it.

And I’m also going to clear my head out a little bit by posting more here, whilst ceasing to worry too much about being profound. Although maybe I should take that back, because the topic of this post, a lotion horribly named Vanicream, is pretty damned amazing.

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My skin is really dry. My husband’s skin is really dry. And, as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so is our kid’s. I bought all kinds of baby lotions, but they were all too light. And then I was tipped off to this stuff. Dermotologists are into it. It’s not organic (egads!) but it is free of any scents and extra chemical irritants, so it’s great for sensitive skin. And it is  the one thing that stopped everybody’s skin from flaking in the cold winter months. (well, Red Flower has some good body creams too, but I’m feeling a bit frugal these days)

Anyway, they sell it at the more elaborate drug stores and the usual amazon-like web venues. Or check out their site for more info. If you are in need of a hearty lotion, I cannot reccomend this stuff enough.