Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Monday, August 23, 2010


the horrid humid weather is gone...replaced by rain, glorious rain...and cooling winds. there are subtle shadings of red on the outer-edges of the leaves of our maple tree....a sign of the changes to come.  



a noticeable change around these parts has been increasing  amounts of silence.  the kind of silence that comes with being engrossed in a good book.  Savannah's interest in reading took off at a gallop with the finding of an old copy of Black Beauty.  none of the easy-readers we have lying around seemed to tweak her interest - even the horsey ones.but now she's barreling her way through this door-step-sized tome, quite voluntarily. and lining up her to-read pile with great enthusiasm. which got me thinking about how we assume what kids should be capable of and then force them into self-fulfilling prophecy.  who says that because she's only 7 that she should only be reading books of a certain style, vocabulary and length?  pfffft. here's to strewing the path!

of course the silence rarely lasts....soon there was bickering and accusations flew of someone touching someone else's K'Nex creation and so we gathered the hounds and set off for a walk in the wild, wet weather. we came home to bread pudding....(i hate throwing out the crusts of bread that no-one will eat)...so i found a recipe and gave it a go....




alas.....nobody liked it except for me.  evidently it reminded Savannah too much of some kitchen experiment she'd conducted in the past.  i think it was the vanilla extract that did her in.  i would use less next time anyway.

so  now  we're settling in for an afternoon of tea, art projects and (very likely) a spot of reading. the rain is falling  in a steady drizzle and we are cozy and dry.

we are blessed.

* if you're diggin' the fake polaroids.....you can make your own here - Polaroin

Saturday, May 22, 2010

through the key-hole #2 ~ corner bookshelf view ~

Once again, inspired by the lovely Mon over at Holistic Mama...the second in a series of glimpses into *real* houses...*real* people....what I love very much about this little meme, is that the aim is authenticity and not something posed or contrived.  Which goes a long way in this den of chronic catastrophe....


It wasn't easy choosing which corner to photograph. We have numerous bookshelves scattered around the house, and more than a few baskets stuffed full in impromptu reading areas. I chose this one simply because it was closest to where I keep the camera.  :)

Our shelves hold more than books...in this case, a candle, a pen/pencil holder, a bag of postcards and the aftercare instructions from True Grit Tattoos and Piercing. Underneath that, I think are some notecards that Ducks Unlimited sent me in the ill-advised attempt to gain my financial support.

Once upon a time I had my books organized in a vague system of authors and genres.  That was two shelf-movings ago and before Sebastian became fond of taking them all off and putting them back on again.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

dirty hippie feet at the park

bare feet in lush, green grass...and sand...you have to expect a bit of dirt.



another impromptu detour to the park -- after picking up a package at the Post Office and the purchase of snacky goodness at the drug store -- SmartFood for Sebastian and Doritos for Savannah -- which naturally taste so much better on an orange blanket under a tree.



Savannah grows weary of the paparazzi...I think she liked it better when the camera wasn't working

and the package? The fruits of our Amazon budget for the month....the audiobook version of the first Harry Potter book and a long-time wishlist resident for me by one of my fave writing gurus, Julia Cameron.

And so I ask myself for the umpteenth time, who wouldn't want to live like this?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Stack-Rat Tuesday...



The main road we walk along to get to the library is....well....fairly hideous. Nothing really that you could put your finger on...it's just old and ugly and completely lacks character.  Thusly, the stark and dismal sight of these huddling pigeons completely captures the feel of it...especially since a rather biting wind was tunnelling through...

We rather enjoy our little neighbourhood branch. Sure it's not as fancy as some of the larger branches and sure, you pretty much have to put holds on most of the books you might want...but it's small and rarely busy and the librarians are very sweet and helpful.

So we prowled for 'next-ones' of some of the series books we're reading (getting all giddy when we discovered they were actually On The Shelf as opposed to at the branch across town), Sebastian played on the computer, amusing us greatly with his earphones-on Loud Talking and Savannah did the provided craft.

As per usual, after we pillage the stacks for our reading material for the week...it's a short (and chilly) walk to the coffee shop for our traditional apres library snack.  Today was cold enough to merit a hot chocolate in lieu of coffee...and...of course....



Ye Olde Gingerbread cookie..all dressed for the season


Sebastian enjoyed the polar bear version....













The remains of a nest that we spotted on the walk home...we went a more scenic way for the trip back.

Finally, windswept and runny-nosed, we retired to the warmth for an afternoon with our stash......




Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Oh, the places we go....

Savannah announced yesterday that reading is "the most important thing". I tend to agree. Then again, I'm a bit biased as I have an uncontrolled addiction to books. Seriously, an intervention may be required at some point.

So we decided to take a tour of the bookish places in our house...and, it seems, there are many...

Even here... a couple of books squashed between the shelf and printer on our computer desk. No idea why they're there..likely because one of them I was using for an online course and the other two as handy reference guides - the computer desk not being too terribly far from the kitchen...

Then of course there's the one shelf next to the computer....which is stuffed to capacity...overflowing even...
Those 'in-progress'....(I'm on my way out to drink tea and read in the garden when I'm done with this)...

The basket under the TV...it also overfloweth.....


The shelf in *my* space...these volumes are 'in-between shelves' at the moment await the purchase of an additional shelf to complete *my* space (a modest corner of the bedroom for my arting and writing pursuits)


The stack on my side of the bed...reads in-progress and the to-be-read pile...


The shelf in Savannah's room...we divided up the big shelf from the Bat Cave to lessen its load and she claimed some volumes for her own...

The basket beside her bed.....a bit empty-ish now as she's gone off the bedtime story routine...


Ah...the Bat Cave Collection...Sebastian's I Spy books...a perennial favourite
A beloved set borrowed from Cousin K....



The Bat Cave shelf...recently lightened to accomodate another attempt to simplify and organize our obscenely vast toy collection...
Sebastian's box o' books and his favourite reading chair....bucket o' dinosaurs within arms reach should the urge to act out a scene overwhelm him...

Yes, I'd say reading is mighty important....in our little family, anyway...