Recently in Books Category

My 2010 Bookshelf:

You can check out my 2010 reading list at Goodreads, my favorite site for bookworms. Sadly, my 2010 total was only eight books. George W. Bush read far more than that while leader of the free world and it looks like Obama also enjoys reading. If they can find the time to read several books a year, I think I should, too. I would like to at least complete one book per month.

What sort of books did I read this year? Two were children's books. One was an autobiography. Two were mysteries. Two were classics. Four were written in modern times. Six were set during the French Revolution and/or Napoleonic Era.

I have one book already on my to-be-read list for 2011:The Histories by Herodotus. I began it two years ago and really need to complete it. Anyone have any reading recommendations?

For a Christian, every day is Earth Day because God made the Earth and everything in it and set it under the stewardship of man.

For a bit of "earthy" scripture (courtesy of my Twitterfeed today):

Am I the only mom who hums the Redwall theme song? I always thought the tune was rather catchy.  I never actually watched the show, but the children saw all of the episodes - thanks to Netflix. And, yes, they informed me of every discrepancy with the Redwall books.

For those who play instruments, here is the sheet music.

The Official Redwall website is here.

I've always wanted a Hobbit home. I think it has something to do with the round doors. I prefer round things, curvy things. They meander gently, without the sharpness of angles.

Knowing my fondness, my daughter made me a tiny Hobbit hill with a minusucle Hobbit house.

Isn't that so sweet? I'll completely overlook the fact that she made this whilst she was supposed to be engrossed in schoolwork. Ahem.

Really, though, who can be mad at her for long? She is such a sweet lass. And her left eyebrow always rises when she laughs. Just like her father.

He has very curly hair and promised she would too. He swore she'd have a head full of delicious baby curls.

Imagine my surprise when the midwife handed me a nearly-bald baby girl. But my husband promised me...and I've been bringing that up for fourteen years. 

Yet, the poor child still had nothing but straight hair.

Then, suddenly, these springy spirals came from nowhere. I still can't believe it and I can't stop making them go boing-boing.

What an obnoxious mother I am!

But, honestly, could you restrain yourself around such angelic ringlets?

It took quite a while, but my husband did indeed keep his promise and gave me a beautiful, curly-tressed daughter.

But I supplied the freckles.

Much thanks to all of you CafePress Shoppers!

After several years, my itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny sales commissions accrued and I used the money this week to purchase three books for the children - two American histories and one music history. The music history book is the second volume of a two-book set. We picked up Volume I at a thrift store a few years ago and now we can finally read about composers M through Z!

I appreciate your help in our homeschooling adventure and I hope you find other interesting CafePress items for purchase in the future.

Thanks again and blessings to you all.  

When I was 12, my mother and I took a brief adventure in homeschooling. Though short, our time homeschooling commenced with a visit to the local library where my mother earnestly requested I read two books. One book was Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place; the second book was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I think I might have broken my mother's poor heart when I declared my dislike of Jane Eyre and, alas, I have yet to favor any of the Bronte sisters with my time since then.

However, since many Janeites are not as persnickety as I, I thought I might alert you all to a Bronte-Along in progress on the internet. It looks to be great fun. If only...

"Prayer's a very tricky business....Well, for inexperienced pray-ers it sometimes is. You see, they're apt to think of God as a slot-machine. If nothing comes out they say 'I knew dashed well it was empty'--when the whole secret of prayer is knowing the machine's full."

~ The Vicar to Cassandra in I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmatians.

P.S. Liked the book, but stopped watching the movie after only a few minutes. It's terrible.

Prior to the unfortunate theft and vandalization of our property, I decided to give the entryway mirror a little makeover.

This mirror was gained at a yard sale - way back in 2006. Can you believe it was free? The seller had broken one of the side mirrors. Each side panel is about 8 1/2 x 11, so the whole thing is rather large. It hung in my son's room for a long time, but he never really used it. Turns out boys aren't as into mirrors as girls are. Go figure.

So, I kind of stole it from him.

But, look, the size and shape is perfect for that entryway wall.

Convinced? Okay, back to the mirror makeover.

I decided to print out a picture of Jane Austen for the left panel. My shamelessly purloined version of Dear Jane is, I believe, the 1879 engraving which was based on Cassandra's drawing.

For the right panel, I chose one of Miss Austen's witty quotations, printing it out with a downloaded Jane Austen font.

"Pictures of Perfection make me Sick and Wicked."

When we return to our normal balmy weather, I think I might use this instead:

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."

The portrait and quotation are printed on turquoise paper and I have placed three turquoise glass votives from Big Lots betwixt the two panels.

So, what do you think? Would Dear Jane approve?

***More lovely transformations are linked at Between Naps on the Porch for each Metamorphosis Monday.***

I know several gluten-free people and thought it was quite prodigious when I happened upon a lovely gluten-free blog, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, this past week. Really, how many gluten-freen people do you know that are also married to their own chef? None, right? I suppose that is what makes this site so different.

The Gluten-Free Girl, Shauna James Ahern, tells about herself in quite a long narrative from 1966 'til now, so I'll let her tell you about herself. Basically she is gluten-free, married to a a chef, and eating wonderful food.

I think you'll enjoy:

the long list of gluten-free links,

the recipe list,

the book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...And How You Can Too

You can also communicate with the Girl and Her Chef:

Follow Shauna & Danny on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Email us at mailglutenfreegirl@gmail.com

When the preview for "The Lightning Thief" appeared, I thought it might be a pleasant family movie. Thus, when I happened upon a copy of the book recently at the used bookstore, I snatched it up for a little pre-movie reading.

The book is not "Pride and Prejudice" and no large words were harmed during Rick Riordan's wordsmithing, but "The Lightning Thief" is an exciting tale for those who like Greek Mythology. I read the whole book in one afternoon...and one evening...because I refused to put it down without knowing the ending.

The movie, however, shares little in common with its book. The title and character names, that's about it. The movie should really be called "A Movie Very, Very Loosely Based on 'The Lightning Thief'".

Now, this is not to say that the movie is bad. One family member has not read the book and he enjoyed the movie. The movie even takes a trip to The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee - a location special to our family. Brownie points for that. I do wish, though, that the suggestive material had been left out. One main character seemed to be continuously on the prowl.

In essence, the book is a Grade B and the movie is a Grade B, but the two aren't really connected at all.