Scaifea's 2012 Challenge - Thread #14

Oh, hi there! Come on in, and welcome to the new thread!

Back to my favorite - Waterhouse - and his Nymphs Finding the Head of Orpheus. Orpheus and the myths and mystery cult surrounding him are fascinating. Devotees of his cult believed that, as initiates, Orpheus would guide them to the nicest part of the Underworld when they arrived, and many gold tablets have been found among burial sites with what is essentially road maps of the Underworld engraved on them, which were buried with the initiates. Amazing stuff.



Below you’ll find an explanation of my reading habits, which, I warn you, is a bit crazy. Usually I have about 10-12 books going at once, one each from the following groups (and occasionally other books slipped in there too):

1. A library book. In Library of Congress call number order. So, yes, from the beginning of the library's shelves. Crazy? Or crazy like a fox?...

2. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

3. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m working through a few different lists:
a. Newbery Winners list
b. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
c. Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids
d. John Bellairs' bibliography
e. The CYOA books

4. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

5. A book for the Presidential Challenge. Books for this category are read in chronological (presidentially) order.

6. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

7. Lists I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob:
a. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
b. The Pulizer list (in alpha order by author)
c. The Hugo/Nebula/WFA lists (combined, in chronological order)

8. For this category, I cycle through 7 different stacks:
a. A book from my shelves which I haven't yet read
b. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. Stephen King's bibliography (in chronological order)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list

9. An Eliza & Electra Book Club book

10. A bath-time book: I read aloud while Tomm gives Charlie his bath.

So, now you've got a glimpse of just how neurotic I am.
Please feel free to post comments, recommendations, or whatever else strikes your fancy. And Happy Reading, everyone!

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-The Tower at the End of the World (Bellairs bibliography)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Monster of Florence (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Checklists for Life (christmas gift from Tomm)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Books Read:
362. Vespers Rising (39 Clues) - 9/10
361. Into the Gauntlet (39 Clues) - 9/10
360. Storm Warning (39 Clues) - 9/10
359. The Emperor's Code (39 Clues) - 8/10
358. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (audio book) - 9/10
357. A Christmas Carol (Christmas read, 1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
356. Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Newbery award list) - 7/10
355. Paddington and the Grand Tour (Charlie book) - 8/10
354. Jingle Bells (gift to Charlie from his preschool teachers) - 8/10
353. Firefighters A to Z (public library book) - 8/10
352. The Great Bridge (audio book) - 9/10
351. A Year Down Yonder (Newbery award list) - 9/10
350. A Long Way from Chicago (prequel to a Newbery winner) - 9/10
349. Ella Sets the Stage (public library book) - 9/10
348. The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
347. My Red Umbrella (public library book) - 8/10
346. The Elephant Tree (public library book) - 9/10
345. The Viper's Nest (39 Clues series) - 9/10
344. The Children's Hour, Volume 11: Along Blazed Trails (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little) - 7/10
343. Paddington Marches On (Charlie bath time book) - 9/10
342. Hooray for Reading Day (public library book) - 7/10
341. Cat Secrets (public library book) - 8/10
340. In Too Deep (39 Clues series) - 8/10
339. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (audio book) - 8/10
338. Bear Stays Up for Christmas (public library book) - 9/10
337. The Biggest, Best Snowman (public library book) - 8/10
336. The Little Dump Truck (public library book) - 8/10
335. Christmas Parade (Charlie book) - 9/10
334. Bud, Not Buddy (Newbery award list) - 9/10
333. Little Duck Finds a Friend (CYOA list) - 8/10
332. Through My Eyes (Parent & Child list, 63 pages) - 8/10
331. Snip! Snap! What's That? (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
330. The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
329. Leonardo the Terrible Monster (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 9/10
328. Owen's Marshmallow Chick (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
327. Spot Goes to the Farm (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
326. Power, Faith and Fantasy (audio book) - 9/10
325. Rules (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
324. Nanook & Pryce Gone Fishing (public library book) - 8/10
323. Out of the Dust (Newbery award list) - 8/10
322. Team Moon (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
321. Fox (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
320. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
319. Ug (1001 Children's Books list) - 5/10
318. Wolves (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
317. The Night Pirates (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
316. A Bad Case of the Stripes (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
315. That Pesky Rat (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
314. You're All My Favorites (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
313. The Black Circle (39 Clues series) - 9/10
312. Beegu (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
311. The Day the Babies Crawled Away (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
310. Skippyjon Jones (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
309. Henry and Amy (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
308. Hi! Fly Guy (Parent & Child list) - 7/10
307. Esperanza Rising (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
306. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (gift to Charlie from the grandparents) - 8/10
305. Charlie and the Christmas Kitty (gift to Charlie from the grandparents) - 6/10
304. Beyond the Grave (39 Clues series) - 8/10
303. Holes (Newbery award list) - 9/10
302. Friends from the Other Side (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
301. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
300. Hatchet (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
299. Horrid Henry (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
298. The Sword Thief (39 Clues series) - 8/10
297. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
296. Math Curse (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
295. Stellaluna (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
294. The View from Saturday (Newbery list) - 10/10
293. The Midwife's Apprentice (Newbery list) - 9/10
292. A Single Shard (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
291. Walk Two Moons (Newbery list) - 9/10
290. The Giver (Newbery list) - 9/10
289. One False Note (part of a series) - 8/10
288. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
287. Tar Beach (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
286. The People Could Fly (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
285. Linnea in Monet's Garden (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
284. A Chair for My Mother (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
283. Zen Shorts (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
282. The Jolly Postman (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
281. The Maze of Bones (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
280. A Call to Conscience (audio book) - 9/10
279. This First Thanksgiving Day (public library book) - 8/10
278. Thanksgiving Day (public library book) - 8/10
277. Missing May (Newbery award list) - 8/10
267. Turkey Surprise (public library book) - 8/10
275. Bubble and Squeak (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
274. We the Kids (Parent & Child list) - 6/10
273. My Place (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
272. Animalia (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
271. Doctor De Soto (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
270. Henry and Mudge (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
269. Thank You, Thanksgiving (public library book) - 8/10
268. The Keeping Quilt (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
267. Pilgrim Cat (public library book) - 8/10
266. The Magic School Bus (Parent & Child list) - 6/10
265. Two Little Bears (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
264. Tea with Milk (Parent & Child list) - 9/10
263. Anno's Journey (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
262. Come Away from the Water, Shirley (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
261. The Beast under the Wizard's Bridge (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
260. The Adventures of Captain Underpants (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
259. Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel (public library book) - 8/10
258. Shiloh (Newbery award list) - 9/10
257. Miss Rumphius (public library book) - 8/10
256. At the Edge of the Woods (public library book) - 8/10
255. Little Rabbit's Baby Sister (CYOA list) - 8/10
254. The Worst Witch (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
253. Over the Hills and Far Away (public library book) - 9/10
252. The Paper Bag Princess (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
251. Miss Nelson is Missing! (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
250. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
249. Mr. and Mrs. Pig's Evening Out (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
248. Paddington at Large (Charlie bath time book) - 9/10
247. Job Site (public library book) - 8/10
246. The Ghostwriter Secret (audio book) - 8/10
245. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Parent & Child list) - 8/10
244. The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (audio book) - 8/10
243. Orson Blasts Off (public library book) - 7/10
242. Maniac Magee (Newbery list) - 8/10
241. All by Myself (public library book) - 8/10
240. Mog the Forgetful Cat (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
239. The Best Nest (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
238. A Ball for Daisy (Caldecott award) - 6/10
237. Strega Nona (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
236. A Sick Day for Amos McGee (Caldecott award) - 9/10
235. Amelia's Fantastic Flight (public library book) - 6/10
234. One Rainy Day (public library book) - 8/10
233. Hurry! Hurry! (public library book) - 8/10
232. Wall-E: Recharge (Charlie book) - 8/10
231. Number the Stars (Newbery list) - 9/10
230. It's Pumpkin Time! (public library book) - 8/10
229. Leo the Late Bloomer (1001 Children's Books list) - 5/10
228. Puss in Boots (Parent & Child book list) - 8/10
227. The Universe in a Single Atom (audio book) - 9/10
226. Ramona's World (Cleary bibliography) - 8/10
225. The Specter from the Magician's Museum (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
224. Tweak Tweak (public library book) - 8/10
223. Who Loves the Fall? (public library book) - 8/10
222. Frederick (1001 Children's Books list) - 3/10
221. Flat Stanley (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
220. Living Sunlight (Parent & Child book list) - 3/10
219. Wobble the Witch Cat (public library book) - 8/10
218. Strider (Cleary bibliography) - 8/10
217. Amelia Bedelia (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
216. Joyful Noise Newbery award list) - 6/10
215. The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
214. Pumpkin Day! (public library book) - 6/10
213. Pumpkin Pumpkin (public library book) - 8/10
212. Franklin's Halloween (public library book) - 8/10
211. Minerva Louise on Halloween (public library book) - 7/10
210. The Crafty Superstar Ultimate Craft Business Guide - 9/10
209. The Halloween Party (public library book) - 8/10
208. Too Many Pumpkins (public library book) - 7/10
207. The Art of Happiness (audiobook) - 8/10
206. Peter and the Starcatchers (audiobook) - 8/10
205. History of Rome - 8/10
204. Ivy & Bean (Parent & Child book list) - 8/10
203. Lincoln: A Photobiography (Newbery list) - 8/10
202. Little Pig's Birthday (CYOA series) - 8/10
201. Muggie Maggie (Cleary bibliography) - 7/10
200. Tractor (public library book) - 8/10
199. The Whipping Boy (Newbery list) - 7/10
198. The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport - 6/10
197. Harvesting Hope (Parent & Child book list) - 8/10
196. Little Chicken (public library book) - 7/10
195. Seven Hungry Babies (public library book) - 8/10
194. Paddington Abroad (bath-time reading) - 9/10
193. Clifford's Kitten (public library book) - 7/10
192. The Very Quiet Cricket (birthday present to Charlie) - 9/10
191. Sarah, Plain and Tall (Newbery award list) - 8/10
190. Diary of a Worm (Parent & Child book list) - 7/10
189. Swimmy (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
188. The Abominable Snowman (CYOA series) - 8/10
187. On Our Way Home (public library book) - 8/10
186. Foxie (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
185. Back to Bed, Ed! (public library book) - 8/10
184. The Stones of Green Knowe (Green Knowe series) - 8/10
183. Lucky Chuck (Cleary bibliography) - 7/10
182. The Hand of the Necromancer (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
181. The View at the Zoo (public library book) - 8/10
180. Count-A-Saurus (public library book) - 7/10
179. Horten's Incredible Illusions (Charlie book) - 9/10
178. Little Green (public library book) - 8/10
177. Gideon (public library book) - 8/10
176. Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America (birthday gift) - 7/10
175. Howl-O-Ween (public library book) - 8/10
174. The Gnostic Gospels (Audio book) - 6/10
173. Little Owl Leaves the Nest (CYOA book) - 8/10
172. Bossypants (birthday present, and I wanted to read it Right Now) - 9/10
171. Find the Duck (public library book, Charlie pick) - 8/10
170. Paddington's Garden (Paddington series) - 9/10
169. The Doll's House (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
168. The Bridge Is Up! (Public library book) - 8/10
167. My Father's Dragon (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
166. Detectives in Togas (1001 Children's Books list) - 8/10
165. The Blue Sword (follow-up to a Newbery book) - 9/10
164. Let's Share (public library book) - 7/10
163. Firefighter Ted (public library book) - 8/10
162. Doctor Ted (public library book) - 8/10
161. My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother (Parent & Child list) - 6/10
160. One Morning in Maine (1001 Children's Books list) - 9/10
159. Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (1001 Children's Books list) - 6/10
158. The Danger Box (audiobook) - 8/10
157. The Hero and the Crown (Newbery list) - 8/10
156. Making History (Fry bibliography) - 9/10
155. The Demolished Man (Hugo award list) - 9/10
154. James Madison: A Biography (Presidential Challenge) - 7/10
153. Persuasion (Eliza & Electra Book Club) - 9/10
152. An Enemy at Green Knowe (Green Knowe series) - 9/10
151. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Silverstein bibliography) - 8/10
150. Ramona Forever (Cleary bibliography) - 9/10
149. The Doom of the Haunted Opera (Bellairs bibliography) - 8/10
148. Look & Find: Cars 2 (public library book) - 9/10
147. A Plump and Perky Turkey (public library book) - 8/10
146. Tuck Everlasting (audiobook) - 9/10
145. George's Store at the Shore (public library book) - 8/10
144. Inside UFO 54-40 (CYOA series) - 8/10
143. The Last Lecture (audiobook) - 8/10
142. Funny Fingers Circus (public library book) - 7/10
141. A Stranger at Green Knowe (Green Knowe series) - 8/10
140. The Children's Hour Volume 9: From Many Lands (Children's Hour series) - 6/10
139. The Fox and the Hen (public library book) - 7/10
138. Brown Bear Gets in Shape (public library book) - 7/10
137. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Cleary bibliography) - 9/10
136. Mystery of the Maya (CYOA series) - 7/10
135. luffy Scourge of the Sea (public library book) - 8/10
134. The River at Green Knowe (Green Knowe series) - 8/10
133. Otto Goes to the Beach (public library book) - 7/10
132. Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? (Silverstein bibliography) - 7/10
131. Ramona and Her Mother (Cleary bibligraphy) - 9/10
130. The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
129. Myths and Heroes (public library book) - 7/10
128. My Dad's a Birdman (audiobook) - 8/10
127. Firefighters (public library book) - 6/10
126. Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms (Charlie book) - 9/10
125. Parade Day (public library book) - 7/10
124. Songs of Innocence and Experience (Charlie book) - 8/10
123. Treasure of Green Knowe (Green Knowe series) - 9/10
122. Sheep Trick or Treat (public library book) - 7/10
121. The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder (Bellairs bibliography) - 9/10
120. The Young Black Stallion (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
119. Pickles to Pittsburgh (public library book) - 3 stars
118. It Looked Like Spilt Milk (public library book) - 3 stars
117. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (public library book) - 3 stars
116. Oh, David! (public library book) - 2 stars
115. The Black Stallion Legend (Farley bibliography) - 2 stars
114. Down the Rabbit Hole (audio book) - 3 stars
113. Jeremy's Tail (public library book) - 3 stars
112. Down by the Bay (public library book) - 2 stars
111. Ramona and Her Father (Cleary bibliography) - 3 stars
110. Hickory Dickory Dock (public library book) - 3 stars
109. The Adventures of Odysseus (Charlie book) - 4 stars
108. Rocket Town (public library book) - 3 stars
107. The Best Mouse Cookie (public library book) - 4 stars
106. An Acceptable Time (to complete the series) - 3 stars
105. Big Fat Hen (public library book) - 3 stars
104. Let's Play in the Snow (public library book) - 3 stars
103. I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles (Charlie book - garage sale find) - 3 stars
102. Corduroy's Day (Charlie book - garage sale find) - 2 stars
101. I Spy Little Animals (public library book) - 3 stars
100. The Big Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook (1001 Children's Books list) - 3 stars
99. Many Waters (to finish the series) - 4 stars
98. Turtle Tale (public library book) - 3 stars
97. A Swiftly Tilting Planet (to finish the series) - 4 stars
96. A Giraffe and a Half (Silverstein bibliography) - 3 stars
95. The Real Mother Goose (public library book) - 3 stars
94. Sesame Street: The Library (Charlie book) - 3 stars
93. Play These Games (impulse buy at the book store!) - 3 stars
92. A Wind in the Door (toward completely the series, Charlie book) - 3 stars
91. A Manatee Morning (public library book) - 2 stars
90. Dear Mr. Henshaw (Newbery list * Cleary bibliography) - 4 stars
89. Tickle Teddy (public library book) - 2 stars
88. Dicey's Song (Newbery list) - 4 stars
87. Kaleidoscope (Charlie book) - 3 stars
86. Thomas the Tank Engine's Big Lift-and-Look Book (public library book) - 3 stars
85. Five Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake (public library book) - 3 stars
84. Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep (1001 Children's Books list) - 4 stars
83. Millions of Cats (1001 Children's Books list) - 3 stars
82. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs (public library book) - 3 stars
81. Fifteen Animals! (Charlie book) - 4 stars
80. I'm a Tractor (public library book) - 2 stars
79. The Brave Cowboy (public library book) - 3 stars
78. Time for School, Mouse! (public library book) - 4 stars
77. Stone Soup (1001 Children's Books) - 4 stars
76. For One More Day (audiobook) - 2 stars
75. The Harvard Classics: The Five Foot Shelf of Books, Vol. 25: John Stuart Mill: Autobiography, Essay on Liberty; T. Carlyle: Characteristics, Inaugural Address, Essay on Scott (library book) - 2 stars
74. The Ghost in the Mirror (Bellairs bibliograpy) - 4 stars
73. The Black Stallion and the Girl (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
72. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids list) - 4 stars
71. My Shape Book (Charlie - public library book) - 3 stars
70. I Want to be a Doctor (Charlie - public library book) - 3 stars
69. Maggie's Moon (Charlie - public library book) - 3 stars
68. Fish Eyes (Charlie - public library book) - 3 stars
67. When Marian Sang (Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids list) - 3 stars
66. Lafcadio (Silverstein bibliography) - 3 stars
65. Ramona the Brave (Cleary bibliography) - 3 stars
64. The Egypt Game (Charlie book - Newbery Honor book found on the library sale shelf) - 4 stars
63. A Visit to William Blake's Inn (Newbery list) - 4 stars
62. Jacob Have I Loved (Newbery list) - 4 stars
61. The Magic Pudding (1001 Children's Books list) - 2 stars
60. The Dutch Twins (1001 Children's Books list) - 3 stars
59. Terrific (public library book) - 4 stars
58. Nothing (public library book) - 4 stars
57. A Dirty Job (Moore bibliography) - 5 stars
56. Milo's Hat Trick (public library book) - 4 stars
55. My Rhinoceros (public library book) - 4 stars
54. Paddington Helps Out (bath-time book) - 4 stars
53. Mary Poppins and the House Next Door (NEH list) - 3 stars
52. Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane (NEH list) - 3 stars
51. The Swiss Family Robinson (NEH list) - 3 stars
50. Rempelstiltskin's Daughter (Charlie book) - 3 stars
49. Night of the Gargoyles (Charlie book) - 3 stars
48. The Children's Book of Virtues (Charlie book) - 3 stars
47. The End of Everything (audio book) - 2 stars
46. Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (a gift from the In-Laws to Charlie) - 3 stars
45. Stuart Little (NEH list) - 2 stars
44. Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (a gift from the Ladies Next Door) - 3 stars
43. Blink (audio book) - 3 stars
42. Mickey's Easter Hunt (Charlie book) - 3 stars
41. Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (Charlie book) - 3 stars
40. Dinosaurs Roar! (Charlie book) - 3 stars
39. Treasure Island (NEH list) - 4 stars
38. Mary Poppins in the Kitchen (NEH list) - 2 stars
37. Mary Poppins from A to Z (NEH list) - 2 stars
36. Mary Poppins in the Park (NEH list) - 4 stars
35. Mary Poppins Opens the Door (NEH list) - 4 stars
34. Mary Poppins Comes Back (NEH list) - 4 stars
33. The Children's Hour Volume 8: Myths and Legends - 3 stars
32. Coraline (Gaiman bibliography) - 4 stars
31. Four Past Midnight (King bibliography) - 4 stars
30. Duck and Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny! (Charlie book) - 3 stars
29. Are You My Mother? (Charlie book) - 3 stars
28. Blue Hat, Green Hat (Charlie book) - 4 stars
27. Moo, Baa, La La La! (Charlie book) - 4 stars
26. Barnyard Dance! (Charlie book) - 4 stars
25. Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! (Charlie book) - 4 stars
24. Mary Poppins (NEH list) - 4 stars
23. The Know-It-All (audiobook) - 2 stars
22. The Children's Hour, Volume 7: Favorite Mystery Stories - 3 stars
21. A Dance with Dragons (series) - 4 stars
20. Ulysses Annotated (for help with #19) - 2 stars
19. Ulysses (Banned Books list) - 1 star
18. Socks (Cleary bibliography) - 3 stars
17. The Mansion in the Mist (Bellairs bibliography) - 4 stars
16. The Black Stallion's Ghost (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
15. Ramona the Pest (Cleary bibliography) - 3 stars
14. Heidi (NEH list) - 2 stars
13. Bridge to Terabithia (Newbery list) - 4 stars
12. The Black Stallion Challenged! (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
11. The Black Stallion and Flame (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
10. The Secret of the Underground Room (Bellairs bibliography) - 4 stars
9. The Light in the Forest (NEH list) - 3 stars
8. Orlando Furioso (for a group read, of sorts) - 5 stars
7. The Horse-Tamer (Farley bibliography) - 3 stars
6. Kids Go! (found in Walmart sale bin for $4!) - 3 stars
5. A Gathering of Days (Newbery list) - 3 stars
4. The Chessmen of Doom (Bellairs bibliography) - 4 stars
3. The Black Stallion Mystery (Farley bibliography) - 4 stars
2. The Growing-Up Feet (Cleary bibliography) - 2 stars
1. The Trolley to Yesterday (Bellairs bibliography) - 4 stars

Charlie showing off his dance moves:

And the Bonus Question:

If your house were on fire and you could grab only one thing to take with you, what would it be?

Hi Amber! I don't have much of sentimental value in my house, I'm afraid/fortunately, so my logical-mindedness would probably think like a thief does and grab small/quick/easy-to-grab stuff of value, which also isn't very much. Hmmmm. *Shrug*

The dog!

308. Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (Parent & Child list, picture book) - 7/10
A boy decides to keep a fly as a pet and meets with resistance from adults, who claim that flies are pests, not pets.
Meh. S'okay, but not great.

309. Henry and Amy by Stephen Michael King (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 8/10
For Henry, most everything ends up upside down instead of rightside up, or wriggly instead of straight. Until he meets Amy, who helps him to tell left from right and up from down, and who, in turn, learns how to be a little less than perfect all the time.
Adorable, sweet and lovely without being too saccharine. Recommended.

310. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 9/10
Skippyjon Jones is a young Siamese cat with a vivid imagination. When sent to his room to think about how he is a cat and not a bird or a mouse or a moose or any other kind of animal, he instead embarks on yet another wild daydream, in which he is a chihuahua famous for not being afraid of a single bandito.
Hilarious and adorable. Definitely getting this one for Charlie's shelves.

311. The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
During a fair/festival, all the town's babies crawl away and are rescued by a toddler.
Huh? I don't get it. Just, well, weird.

312. Beegu by Alexis Deacon (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
Beegu is a young alien who crashes to earth and tries to make friends.
Another Meh. Not terrible, but not great, either.

Richard: Of course!

Stephen: Don't you have a dog...? I suppose, though, that we could say that our dogs (I'm including yours, Richard, because I know you've got a smartypants breed as I do) could save themselves.

Hi Amber, again a beautiful opening picture and a lovely pic from Charlie.

What would I grab? Alex of course, the dogs and the hedgehog *smile*

Hi Amber - I'm a fan of Stephen Michael King's picturebooks. One of his early ones, The man who loved boxes is an all-time favourite.

Shyanne would be out of the door long before I realized the house was even on fire.

Besides, saying 'animals' is just cheating, EVERYONE would choose their animals in that situation. I think the spirit of the question is to see what kinds of items people are sentimental about. :P

Oh, in that case, all of my ID stuff. I'm not sentimental about anything that can't lick my face.

Assuming the husband and puppy would be right at my heels, I'd probably grab my dulcimer - hand built a few years ago by a dear friend who has since passed away. Mucho sentimental value in the whys and wherefores of the building materials and inlays.

Glad things are better in your household. Feeling bad over a holiday is NOT fun.

If your house were on fire and you could grab only one thing to take with you, what would it be?

My husband and dog are not "things" so the first thing that comes to mind is my mink teddy bear. Yep, mink.

There's a picture of me when I was two years old wearing my grandmother's mink stole. Fourteen years later, there is another picture of me wearing the same stole. When my grandmother died, my mother inherited the stole. My mother lives in Florida and has no use for a stole but there was a place that repurposed furs into teddy bears. She had the teddy bear made for me and one of the feet has my grandmother's initials - the silk monogram from inside the stole.

Bianca: Cheating! That's three things! ;)

Kerry: Thanks - that one's going on the TBR list!

Stephen: Good point.

Richard: *snork*

Riva: Oh, that sounds lovely! It's nice to have such things by which to remember our loved ones, yes?

********

Hive Update: The doctor says that it's not unusual for the steroids not to work, actually. Huh. So, I'm to keep taking the Benadryl (yay.) until the nasty stuff works itself out of my system, which may be a few days to 2 weeks longer. Grrrreeeaaat. Did I mention that 10 minutes after waking up this morning I was covered with hives again? Sigh. I'm going to try not to take back-to-back doses of the Benadryl, though, as it was seriously affecting my eyesight. I've only had one dose today and, like yesterday, I've not broken out again since this morning, so maybe I can get away with only taking it first thing in the morning now until it just goes away altogether.

Morphy: Oh neat - what a great idea, making bears out of old furs!

Unlike Stephen, I'd say 90% of my "stuff" has some sentimental value. I have to think hard about what might have the most irreplaceable spirit attached to it. A tough one.

I unwisely keep some gold coins. They are very near the front door as I plan to remember to grab them when the earthquake comes and makes my house uninhabitable. They are in the same spot as my passport, and social security card. I am sure Greta Garbo will be under my other arm. She would be too scared to run out on her own, poor dumb puppy.

Linda: It really *is* a tough question, isn't it?

maggie: Unwisely? Why so? I do think it's funny that you keep them already ready to grab in case of emergency...

It's unwise because they might attract pirates...

I dno't know where Charlie finds the time for the photos with all the books you keep reading him! Congratulations on your latest thread!

I was going to say ID papers (passport, birth certificate, and social security card), but they're too difficult to get in case of fire because they're in the safe, and the safe is fireproof anyway, so I would save my laptop. It's got my life on it.

I suppose I can't count my entire library as one thing, can I? Actually, one of the reasons I started using LT was to have a detailed catalog of my library, and the exact editions I own, stored outside of my house in case of disaster.

Stephen: *snork!*

Paul: You don't know the half of it - I don't list all the many re-reads with Charlie...

casvelyn: Oh crap. My weak little brain didn't even take me there before now. I'm certain to have nightmares henceforth involving my lovely books going up in flames...

Funny we should mention: the computer (lap top) is right next to the front door, right next to the chests of gold coins. Ape is right, I am deathly afraid of Pirates. As my family tree has Capt. John Morgan in it, there may be some who are waiting for revenge!

If we rule out the cats and dog, I suppose the computer would be next, as the vital papers are in a fire safe.

I don't worry about my laptop as I am a smart cookie and have a constant backup of my computer off-site.

maggie: Isn't putting all that stuff right next to the door just making it easier for the pirates to find it?

Roni: Hopefully it's a laptop and easy to carry!

Morphy: Yep, Tomm takes care of that for us, too. It's so nice having a techy physicist smartypants husband.

Amber
Oh how I love the art work of Waterhouse. My living room contains four prints and my office contains five. There are so many marvelous paintings that it is difficult to choose a favorite. My favorite of today is

Miranda and the Tempest

Linda: I think of you every time I look at a Waterhouse, knowing that we share an affinity for him. Of course, I'm always partial to his classical stuff, but I love everything of his that I've seen.

Amber: Disguises! Disguises! The Lap top looks like a dog bed, and I'm not telling what the chests of gold coins look like.... ho ho ho!

Ok, assuming the monsters have already made it out the door...

My bra drawer. Not because I care about my bras, mind you, but because that's where I keep my sentimental jewelry, and it'd be easier to grab the drawer than to pull things out. I'm fairly sentimental about my collections, but when it comes down to survival mode I'd like to think I could just let it all go as long as I have my hands on my babies. My most important "memories" are online - all of my computers/photos are backed up automatically, so not even my laptop would rate.

Well, >3 scaifea: coming after >2 scaifea:, it's a no-brainer. But if we're being materialistic, then ... the book collection, the photos, the bedside books, the kids' artwork from kindy, the ID stuff ... Oh - if we're being serious, I'd probably grab my handbag, with the important immediate things (like car keys; goodness knows where the passports are, so no point stopping for them), make sure the kids are out - and run.

Hi Amber, sorry to hear that the hives are still an issue. Will have to send stronger healing vibes.

Charlie's picture up top brought a big smile to my face, tell him he moves like Travolta!

Ok in a fire situation, I would probably lose my head and grab the first thing that came to hand and then find myself outside with a shoe in my hand! If I had time to think, I would probably grab my jewellery box and maybe my Kindle. Our important papers are in fireproof safe so one less thing to worry about.

Hi Amber, I am so sorry to hear that you still have got trouble with them horrible hives. I have heard quite often that people don't cope well with Benadryl and that it makes especially drowsy. One of our docs once said Benadryl is best taken at night time. If your hive problem continous it has to be tested anyway, but you could also ask for Cetirizine (Zyrtek) which doesn't make drowsy and is only taken once a day. *sigh* I really feel with you, it must be so awful.

I am entertained by the idea of Luxx rushing out of a burning house with a drawer full of bras in her arms.

maggie: There are more than one chest of gold doubloons in your house? Right next to the front door? Good to know.

Luxx: Oooh, smart thinking with the whole drawer grabbing. V. smart.

humouress: Passports, eh? Tomm's is in our fire safe, I think, but I don't even have one. That's how much of a homebody I am - I've only ever been to Canada. Ha!

Judy: Bwahaha! The shoe thing would absolutely be me, too, I think. I do not keep my cool in panicky situations very well, I'm afraid.

Bianca: Yep, the doctor told me yesterday that if the hives persist, I should think about switching over to Claritin (sp?) since it's non-drowsy, but she's confident that, given a few more days, it'll be out of my system. I'm clinging to that hope like no tomorrow.

Stephen: Ha! Me, too. I also imagine her as having very fancy pretty bras, but I usually assume that other women have nicer, fancier bras than my boring old thread-bare ones (I like the idea of fancy bras but not the ridiculous price of them).

*****

I woke up this morning and, so far at least, No Hives! And that's the first morning so far that I haven't broken out in them all over me within 10 minutes of waking. Here's hoping I am, indeed, on the tail end of this thing.
On the agenda for today (assuming the hives do stay away and I feel up to it), Charlie and I will start decorating the house for Christmas (the tree will go up this weekend) and then bake some brownies with peanut butter chips in them. I need to sit down, at some point soon, and give some serious thought to Christmas gifts - get my list together and get a game plan, that sort of thing. And I'm hoping to squeeze in some more quilting time: I'm nearly done with the first border and only have, then, the outer border to quilt and then the binding to sew on. Oh, and some reading, of course.

>34 drachenbraut23:: I don't know, Bianca; I'm on Zyrtec (same thing?) for this bee sting, and I've woken up halfway through the night for the past couple of nights, to find I haven't gone to bed yet. Of course, could just be lack of sleep :)

>36 scaifea:: Usually my husband keeps the passports safe, and won't let me near them, because he knows I won't be able to find them in a hurry. I think the last time we counted, my eldest had been to 21 cities in 19 countries, with some repeats. My youngest (disadvantaged also by the fact his brother has started big school, so we travel less as a family, as well as having 5 years less to work with) has only been to ... um ... hang on; I think 7 countries.

humouress: Whoa. It makes me homesick just *thinking* of all that traveling! :)

You're rich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mellon_Scaife

Ha! If only, deniro. I don't know how many times Tomm and I have been asked if we are related to the Mellon-Scaifes, and sadly, we are not.

We get that for the grape juice Welches. Same story, darn it.

My sympathies, Joe. :)

I must have missed it with the whole new thread changeover, but did you ever find out what caused the hives? Hope you feel better soon!

What would I grab? (and of course this is assuming both hubby and child are safe) My laptop so I have proof for my insurance company that I do indeed own over 700 books and would like to be able to buy them ALL again! :)

Valerie: The doc said that, according to the kind of hives I had, I either ingested or inhaled something I'm allergic to, but it's difficult to say what it was. I can't really remember eating anything different on Thursday, so, *shrug*.

It was your MiL. You inhaled her vile humours, and we see the results.

Richard: Don't think I haven't thought that... And you'd better believe that I'm packing Benadryl when we go visit them after Christmas...

****

Well, Day Two without any sign of hives, so, Yay for that. But. Was up half the night with nasty heartburn. Sigh. One of these days, I *will* be fully well - and feel that way, too.
It's a Charlie preschool day, so after dropping him off, I'll come back home and quilt like the wind! I finished the first border yesterday, so I only have the outer border left to quilt and then the binding to sew on. The end is in sight!

Hip hip hooray! The End is in Sight!

(p.s. heartburn in me comes after either too much sugar or too much rich, fatty food. Yours may be related to the meds, but you could try to avoid sugars and fats for a day or two and see if it helps)

maggie: Oh, I know what causes heartburn, as Tomm has it as a chronic problem. I just ate stupidly yesterday.

ah! great. Nice to be able to deal with the problem. I hate it when I don't feel well and don't know what I did to cause it. I like Pepcid Complete for my heartburn which is in part caused by my medications. Sigh.

Glad the hives seem to be going away for good!

Don't know what made me think of this now, but your doctor said you might have inhaled (rather than eaten) something you're allergic to? Did you (or possibly the in-laws) change any soaps (laundry, dish, hand) lately? Or dryer sheets? In any case, you're probably tired of trying to sort it--hope it was a one off and you never have to deal with it again!

Hiveless = gooooood

Heartburn = naaaasty

Amber = sweeet

Laura: Yeah, I'm nervous that it is, in fact, my in-laws' fault in some way, and that they've changed deodorant/detergent/something or other. Trying to ask them about it would only cause MIL to get mad, so I told Tomm that when we go visit them after Christmas, I'm packing a lot of Benadryl and if I do break out again around them, it's maybe a free pass for us to leave early...

Richard: Aww, gee thanks!

*****

Family Illness Saga Update:
Tomm has come home from work with what seems to be the flu (and when it's bad enough for him to leave work, it's BAD). I mean, seriously?! Can we all just be healthy all at once for maybe just one full day?! SERENITY NOW!!

313. The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (39 Clues series, 168 pages) - 9/10
Dan and Amy Cahill are still on the hunt for the 39 clues, still hounded by other teams trying to find them first and intending harm to the kids, and this time their traipsing around Russia. The hunt leads them to the trail of the Amber Room and on the path to discovering deep secrets about the mysterious Anastasia.
I am gleefully loving this fun little series. It's not perfect, but it *is* perfectly enjoyable, and this one got me through a night of painful heartburn, so 9/10 it gets.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (banned books list)
-Out of the Dust (Newbery award list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-Power, Faith and Fantasy (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington Marches On (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Amber, glad you are hiveless and hope Tomm keeps his germs to himself. If I could just grab one item from a burning house, it would be my iPad. I have a serious love affair with it -- and it is usually close to me.

I have been making Christmas lists like crazy. Today I am going to venture out and get some items crossed off those lists.

For many years I have had trouble with severe heartburn and acid reflux, and it has only gotten worse with age. You probably know all of this, but I would like to add a few things to the conversation.

Best immediate relief: Pepto. (Been around since 1901).
Best long-term relief: Prilosec (takes a day or so to work, taken once a day for a month or more, until your money holds out or the doctor says move on.)
Immodium can help, though it is primarily used for diarrhea.
Best allergy relief: Allegra but generic Claritin is cheaper.

Things (in my experience) that cause acid reflux/heartburn: chocolate (including esp. cake), caffeine, coffee, alcohol, sugar, citric acid (any kind of juice, some fresh fruit like pineapple and banana), tomato sauce (on pizza, pasta; tomato soup), soda pop/carbonation (except maybe for ginger ale, because ginger is soothing), high-fat meats or proteins (and sometimes milk or yogurt), cheese, vinegar, fried food, greasy food, rich food, spicy food, garlic, onion, dehydrated onion, MSG, cilantro (often found in salsa), salsa, nachos/corn chips/Doritos (Pepper Jack Doritos actually plugged up my head and ears and throat).

(But you know in small helpings or moderation, you can still eat this stuff.)

Stress, worrying, anxiety, depression. Which can also cause hives.

Avoid: lying down too much (like I do, reading on the couch and bed), lying down after eating, eating at night after dinner (i.e. snacking), eating then walking or exercising (or moving a lot…) immediately after; while sitting, propping legs up (angled upward) on desk or table (the idea is to stay vertical from the throat down when you sit); excessive weight.

Good Lord I feel old.

deniro: Many thanks for taking the time to type all the out! It must be different for different people, because for Tomm, carbonation (soda water or ginger ale) can help alleviate his symptoms, as well as eating pineapple. Neither of us are big alcohol drinkers - neither of us like beer, and wine gives me an instant headache - so that's not a problem. Otherwise, a lot of the things you list are on Tomm's danger list, too. I rarely get it (although as I'm getting older I assume I'll be more prone to it), and I think this time it was a combination of greasy food for dinner, stress, and perhaps the leftover steroids in my system.

You notice airplanes always carry ginger ale. Settles the stomach maybe.

I practically lived on the stuff when I was pregnant and constantly nauseous. It's the only soda we buy these days, in fact.

As a frequent sufferer also I blanched at the site of your lists, deniro! OMG, I'd be hard pressed to eat anything at all. Brown rice. With little itty bits of broccoli.

Any kind of alcohol can aggravate reflux, because it relaxes the sphincter that closes the esophagus off from the stomach, allowing contents to "back up". This is true of caffeine and chocolate as well.

Linda: Yep, Tomm tries hard to stay away from caffeine now at all times, and it does help.

*adds another item to "yay me" list: No acid reflux*

314. You're All My Favorites by Sam McBratney (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 8/10
A mother and father bear reassure their three little bears that they are all special and loved.
A sweet little book, with wonderful illustrations, that tells a good story, too. Would be great for families with more than one child.

315. That Pesky Rat by Lauren Child (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
A rat longs to be a pet and be loved; he finally gets his wish when a far-sighted man mistakes him for a cat and takes him in.
Kind of a neat story, but I just can't get past the type of illustrations used (a mix of pseudo-sloppy drawings and real photos that I find annoying and ugly).

316. A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 8/10
Camilla Cream is a young girl who worries a bit too much about what the other kids at school think about her, and this results in a strange illness.
A good story nicely told, with good illustrations.

317. The Night Pirates by Peter Harris (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 6/10
A little boy witnesses a gang of girl pirates stealing the front of his house to use as a disguise for their ship (?) and asks to tag along on their adventure.
A strange (not necessarily in a good way) story with not much of a plot or point. Too bad, because the premise seems like it has potential to be a cool little story book. Seems to me the likes of Gaiman or some such similar story wizard could do great things with this one.

318. Wolves by Emily Gravett (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 8/10
A rabbit checks a book about wolves out of the library and gets a bit more out of it than he bargained for.
A neat little story nicely and uniquely dealt with, with cool illustrations, too. I'll be looking out for more Gravett, for certain.

319. Ug by Raymond Briggs (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 5/10
A young caveman boy tries to better his world by inventing cloth pants.
Ugh, indeed. I've yet to read a Briggs book that I can stomach - they've all been abysmal. Should he come up again on any list, I'll be skipping right over him. Ptooey!

320. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 6/10
A young boy tries to get his little sister, who is a very picky eater, to eat her dinner by lying about what she's eating.
Yeah, I think I'm not a Lauren Child fan, either. Not a particularly inventive story, and I can't stand the bad-on-purpose style illustrations.

321. Fox by Margaret Wild (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 8/10
A dog and a wounded bird become friends, but that friendship is jeopardized when a fox manipulates his way between them.
Wow. This one is excellently crafted - the story is amazing and the illustrations are stark but beautiful. I definitely recommend this one, but also caution that I wouldn't really call it a children's book. It's bleak in it's message and even the illustrations are dark and in no way comfortable. I won't be reading it to Charlie, although I'd love for him to read it himself in a few years.

322. Team Moon by Catherine Thimmesh (Parent & Child list, 80 pages) - 8/10
An account of the landing of Apollo 11, the moon walk, and its return to Earth, focusing on just how many people were involved in making this momentous accomplishment happen.
This is a very neat book, and I (who know next to nothing about the space program) learned a bunch. An excellent book (with a good mix of stunning images and accessible but not dumbed-down text) for kids (maybe mid-level elementary age, I'd guess) interested in the history of the space program. I think I'll be putting this one on the wishlist for Charlie's bookshelves...

Richard: Yay you, indeed - it's not fun, and with my rare run-ins with it, I hate that Tomm has to suffer is so much more often. He's been doing pretty well with it lately, watching what he eats pretty closely and therefore not suffering from bouts as often, but when life gets stressful it's always harder to be good about what one eats, so occasionally he lapses into a bad bout.

When I had medication-induced digestive misery, I got Nexium (after omeprazole stopped working) and was astounded at how quickly the problem faded into memory. It is the only time I've had it, and goddesses willin' and the crick don't rise, will remain so!

I've often wondered it Tomm would benefit from Nexium - he just takes Zantac regularly now. It's really very difficult to get him to go to a doctor, though. Stubborn, he is.

Show him my testimonial! It took two days to get rid of a problem so painful I was constantly in funny positions looking for relief, and it never, ever came back.

Sorry you're not a Lauren Child fan. Personally, I like the Charlie and Lola TV series based on her books. Maybe it's because Lola (for some unfathomable reason) reminds me of my niece.

Richard: I'll give it a try...

humouress: I think it's because in the past 4 years I've read *so many* children's books that I'm much pickier about unique, well-told, well-illustrated stories that I ever had ben before, and Child's stuff just strikes me a mediocre. It's 95% a matter of opinion, of course, too. I'm always happy to hear that someone out there likes a book I don't, as a book is still a book and I want them all to be loved.

Hope you guys are feeling better today? We are finally out of the woods and just in time to head out of the city again. I can't wait till we are done travelling and I can just sit down and start to appreciate the coming holiday season. :)

Valerie: Thankfully, I think we're all finally well on our way to being well. Hopefully. I've had a nasty headache all day, but otherwise everything's looking good. And Tomm's on his way home with Taco Bell for dinner, so, yay!

(And yes, I know, I shouldn't probably, because of the heartburn issue, but I'm an idiot when it comes to food temptations...)

Mmmmmmm, Dorito tacos...

Stephen: I haven't tried those yet, but they look amazing. I went for my usual: 3 crunchy tacos supreme, no tomatoes. I was delicious.

They are REALLY good, but likewise, they need the tomatoes picked off. :)

I'm also a huge fan of KFC's Chicken Littles. I loathe KFC chicken, I find it entirely unpleasant, but 3-4 Chicken Little's = Happiness. Until they are gone. :(

323. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Newbery award list, 227 pages) - 8/10
Billie Jo is a young girl growing up in the Dust Bowl in the early 1930's, struggling, along with her Ma and Father, to make it through drought and dust storms on their small farm. When tragedy strikes, taking her mother and her newborn brother and leaving her own hands cripplingly burned (taking away her greatest joy - playing the piano), Billie and her father struggle to adjust and survive.
When I opened to the first page of this novel, I groaned. Right out loud. In fact, Charlie stopped playing with his Legos and asked, "Mommy, what's the matter?" I replied, "Oh, this silly book is in verse, and Mommy doesn't care for poems much." And I really don't. Not the modern stuff. Now, give me a good old ancient Roman epic and I'm in heaven, but anything past, say, Shakespeare or Donne, and Ptooey, I say. But, this was a book on one of my lists, which means it Must Be Read. So, I plunged in. And I'm so glad I did. What a powerful little book this is. A strong story, with deeply drawn characters and very well told. So well, indeed, that I forgot I was reading free verse. Definitely recommended.

Stephen: Funny; our Taco Bell is coupled with KFC, and I seriously considered trying the Chicken Littles. No I know I'll have to get them next time!

Haha, yeah, they are actually good. I usually describe fast food as incredibly addicting but poor in quality if you compare the food with ACTUAL food, but I actively enjoy the Chicken Littles. :D

I agree with your assessment of fast food - it's a treat once in awhile, but not a good idea to treat it regularly as a substitute for the real stuff.

If you put a Whopper or Quarter-Pounder in front of me, I won't lie, I'll think it's freaking delicious! And after I eat one, even if I feel like crap, I'll crave another the next day. However if you put either of those side-by-side with an actual, homemade cheeseburger, I'd take the real one anytime. That's how I describe it, addicting as heck but falls short when compared side-by-side with real food.

No one will ever tell me that Burger King's new fries aren't super delicious. They still leave you with that weird 'dry' feeling and they taste vaguely like fluffy chalk, but they're delicious anyway. :P

Oh, agreed! Hmmmmm, Whopper.... And those fries are *amazing*! But, yeah, I'll take one of my mom's homemade hamburgers over a Whopper any day. Or her meatloaf - yum!

Nothing beats a grilled cheeseburger with Sweet Baby Rays Hickory and Brown Surgar barbecue sauce. I literally have a difficult time eating a cheeseburger with ketchup now because it tastes so plain and boring...

Amber, Out of the Dust was one of the most memorable books I read while teaching Middle School. I was so impressed with the sparse and yet elegant style of telling a bleak story. It is one of those titles I can not forget! I'm glad you found it to be excellent, as well.

Glad to hear your family seem to have regained health! Yea! Can't participate in the fast food discussion as I've reached a point where fast food tends to make me sick. I think it is the grease. It just does not go down any more. Just as well, I guess.

>76 scaifea: I am **so** not falling for your wiles, Miz Lady Ma'am, and am NOT NOW NOR EVER IN TIME TO COME reading another YA poetry novel.

NO!

Stephen made me read one, and Linda made me read one, and that, I declare, is outside of enough for one lifetime!

>84 richardderus:: Third time lucky, Richard :0)

*lalalalalalalala*

Can't heeeaaar you

*lalalalalalalala*

Oh, sorry.

THIRD TIME LUCKY

(got it that time?)

Joining in the chorus: Third time - Lucky!!

Morning Amber- Funny, I just saw an article featuring Out of the Dust. It was mentioned in regards to the latest Ken Burns doc. Sounds very good. Nice review.

Hi Amber,
I really hope that Tomm will be better soon and great to hear that your hives are finally gone.
Great review on Out of the Dust. *smile*

Wish you and your family a lovely weekend.

Richard: There, there - you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Don't let those ladies bully you into it if you don't want. Although I even forgot that I was reading poetry, it was so good. And it didn't read like a YA in the least.

Mark: I was thinking of you and your of-late interest in the dust bowl when I finished this one, in fact. It would be a nice supplement to the documentary.

Bianca: Tomm seems to be recovered in full this morning, thank goodness. So, at least for the present, all three of us are healthy! WooHoo!

*****

Busy but cozy weekend ahead for Scaife Manor: Putting up the Christmas tree today, plus Tomm and Charlie will be finishing the outside lights on the house, and putting up a string of colored lights in Charlie's room. I'll be engaging in some light baking this afternoon (a strawberry fruit-on-the-bottom type cake), and I think I'll make a chicken pot pie for dinner. Tomorrow we'll be taking our Christmas photos (we do it ourselves, and it's way cheaper and the pictures turn out better that going to a studio), and then we may go drive round to look at Christmas lights tomorrow evening. It's time to break out the Christmas movies, too - on the roster for this evening is likely to be National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - a classic.

324. Nanook & Pryce Gone Fishing by Ned Crowley (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Nanook and Pryce are two arctic friends, who, with their dog, go ice fishing and experience all sorts of victories and defeats along the way.
Told in silly rhymes and with excellently funny illustrations, this is a cute story and fun to read with a wee one - Charlie loved it. Recommended.

325. Rules by Cynthia Lord (Parent & Child list, 200 pages) - 8/10
Catherine, big sister to a brother with autism, struggles to balance her life at home and the 'normal' life she wishes everyone else would think her family lives. A new girl moves in next door, and Catherine is desperate to make friends with her and yearns for the new girl's 'normal' life. And then she discovers an unlikely friendship with a boy in a wheelchair, whom she meets at the office where her brother goes for occupational therapy once a week. Eventually, all of these elements conspire to reveal to her that there is no Normal, and that she can indeed be happy in the life, friends and family she has fallen into.
Another read that I thought at first I'd not like, but by the end I was very much enjoying the characters and the story. Catherine could have easily been annoying and difficult to like, but the author did a nice job of balancing her unhappiness with a caring for her brother that made her sympathetic and not whinging. Recommended.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (banned books list)
-Bud, Not Buddy (Newbery award list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-Power, Faith and Fantasy (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington Marches On (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

>91 scaifea: *defeated sigh* Requested. *trudges off to liberry*

Haha, I love that you convinced Richard to read a book by telling him he doesn't have to read it if he doesn't want to. :P

We took our yearly family pictures today. As Tomm doesn't like his picture posted online, I'll just share the one of Charlie and me:

Oh, you two look lovely! What a warm and inviting photo.

Lovely!

how sweet!

Very nice!

Lovely!

Same hair color.

No sign of hives anywhere on the photo Amber. Hope you are all feeling much better and can enjoy what is left of your weekend.

Many thanks, Luxx, Stephen, Laura, Linda & Morphy!

deniro: Yep, and Tomm has the same hair color, too, so if Charlie had come out with dark hair, I think I'd have been in a certain amount of trouble...

Paul: Boy, you sure know how to charm a lady...

>103 scaifea:: Boy, you sure know how to charm a lady...
*snort*

Lovely picture. It is always a joy when the camera can catch everyone with a nice expression on their face! Especially the kids. They don't always know how to look natural when the camera is pointing at them.

Happy Holidays!

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww so sweeeet!

Laura: :)

maggie: Charlie is usually fairly camera friendly. He should be, as he's had much practice; I've taken a picture of him every day since the one on which he was born...

Richard: *blushes* Now, stop that. And, really, shouldn't you say something about how good Charlie looks, too? ;)

******

326. Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren (audio book) - 9/10
A history of the U.S.'s involvements with the Middle East from the very beginning.
I was concerned, going into this, that, a) it would be booorrring, or, b) it would be dense and way over my head. I was very happily wrong on both counts. Fascinating stuff about how deeply the U.S. has been mixed up in Middle Eastern affairs from the time of it's (the U.S.'s) birth. Amazing tidbits lurk everywhere in this book (did you know the US used to have a camel corps? or that the Statue of Liberty was originally intended to be built near and as a tribute to the Suez Canal? I sure didn't.), and I can't believe how much I've learned listening to it. I knew next to absolutely nothing about the Middle East before starting, and now I feel that I have at least a decent grasp on our history with the region and a history of the upheaval over there, too (and how cool that, just as I finish this book, I read that Palestine is getting recognition in some circles as its own state!). Unbelievable how long we've had our thumbs in their proverbial pies, and how many thumbs and how many pies! Highly, highly recommend this to anyone even remotely interested in the topic. I promise you won't be bored (or you certainly shouldn't be). I was shocked that I didn't get completely lost in the description of the more modern-times stuff, but Oren does an excellent job explaining it all without talking down.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (banned books list)
-Bud, Not Buddy (Newbery award list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington Marches On (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Beautiful photo, Amber!

Thanks, Joe!

Great picture, Amber! Charlie looks like such a little man!

Hi amber- Love the photo of you & Charlie!

Terri & Mark: Many thanks! I love how he looks in that little suit, and would you believe that I picked that up on sale for $20?! He certainly looks sharp in it, I think.

You sound like my Craig. He got a suit, shirt, and tie at Goodwill for $40 to wear at my Dad's funeral. Not as good a deal as the $25 size 42 suit he bought for his high school graduation and made his grandmother alter it for him (Craig is a stick man).

Terri: Oh, he sounds like my kind of guy - I love a good bargain! And, in general, thrift stores are an excellent place to find suits.

Woo, look at the redheads! Great picture!

I enjoyed Rules when I read it last year.

Roni: We're not as red as the picture lets on, although we do both have reddishness to our hair. The pictures came out a bit sepia-ish, but I liked them that way and left them.

>107 scaifea: - I knew about the camel corps and have visited Camp Verde in Texas where the camels were housed. I didn't know about the Statue of Liberty. The book sounds interesting; I may even suggest it to our book club.

Nice photo, Amber. Charlie does look so grown up. (And so do you ;0) )

Such a cute picture, Amber!

Suez Canal, New York Harbor...same diff...

Riva: Oooh, it would be a great group read, I think, although it may be a bit on the long side - I don't know how many pages, since I listened to it, but it was quite a few cds...).

humouress: Why, thank you! :)

Susan: Thanks! I thought it turned out pretty good.

Richard: *snork*

327. Spot Goes to the Farm by Eric Hill (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Spot and his father look for baby animals at the farm.
Meh. I like the original Spot just fine, but this one was a bit of a flop. Charlie loved it, though, as he's all about the lift-the-flap books right now.

328. Owen's Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henkes (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Details Owen's Easter basket, it's contents, and how all but one piece (the eponymous chick) get devoured quickly, but the chick gets played with instead of eaten.
Not great, but, again, Charlie liked it, and he picked it out at the library, so I'm not complaining, really.

329. Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 9/10
Leonardo is really bad at being a monster, but discovers that there is indeed something that he can be good at.
I went into this out convinced that I'd hate it, as I've hated every other Willems book I've read (I honestly can't stand that damnable pigeon and it's ridiculous bus struggles. Honestly.), but I *loved* this one. And so does Charlie. So much so that we read it several times in a row (not really his usual M.O.), and then, after about the 4th time, he had it memorized, and we proceeded to play-act it out for another good 45 minutes. Hilariousness ensued. So, (and I can't believe I'm saying this about a Willems book) heartily recommended.

330. The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon Mini Grey (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
The further imagined story of what happens to the Dish and the Spoon, after they've ran away together.
Ugh. Okay, can this fad of being cutesy and 'real' with fairy tales and nursery rhymes be over? I find it neither amusing nor clever. Don't misunderstand - I welcome and encourage playing with traditional stories and tales, but only if the results are actually good and talented and clever. Sigh.

331. Snip! Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman (1001 Children's Books list, picture book) - 7/10
Three children find themselves being stalked in their own home by an alligator and are, naturally, scared.
Okay, I get the idea of having the kids, in the end, face their fears and scare the alligator off, and I understand that this kind of story may be helpful, maybe?, to kids who have fears such as monsters in the closet at night or some such thing, but I won't be reading this one to Charlie, who has yet to develop a fear of potential alligators out to get him in his own home, and his imagination is such that a mere suggestion (let alone an entire, vividly illustrated book on the topic) would send him into night terrors. So thank you, but no. I'm sort of in the camp of If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It, here. I learned while teaching that it's a very bad idea purposely to show language students examples of poor grammar (it doesn't help in the least and can, in fact, hurt), and I see a certain similar problem with books of this nature. Don't present a child with something scary and then tell them not to be scared of it. Sheesh.

332. Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges (Parent & Child list, 63 pages) - 8/10
The auto-biographical account, told in simple language and with photos of the actual events, of Ruby Bridges, one of the first 4 black students to attend integrated schools in New Orleans in 1960.
Excellently told in a way that is easily accessible, but not overly-simplified, to kids. I didn't know much of anything about her story, and now I want to know more. She seems to have been an amazingly strong little girl, who has grown into and amazing woman. Recommended.

I honestly can't stand that damnable pigeon and it's ridiculous bus struggles. Honestly.

Hahaha!

Hi Amber, just strolling through. Your picture with Charlie is lovely, he's growing up so fast!

I'd say you don't seem to be having a lot of luck with children's books lately; but then, they still got 8s.

As for the pigeon, it's great for reading aloud, but it leaves me baffled, because it never tells you why the pigeon can't drive the bus. But when I asked the kids, my older one said (in an explaining-the-obvious-nicely way) that you wouldn't want a pigeon to be driving a bus. Oh well.

Stephen: It's no laughing matter. Those books are atrocious.

Judy: Hi! Good to see you. And yes, he's growing Too Fast, although, when I posted this picture on Facebook, I had to explain to someone that he's in fact standing on a chair. Yes, he's tall for a 4 year old, but he's not *that* tall!

humouress: Yeah, I've read worse lately. I'm happy that, with this bunch, I'm out of the 5-7 age category and ready to start the 8-12 age section of the 1001 Children's Books book - hoping I like more of those...
My issue with the pigeon (and Willems books in general) is that everyone seems to think he's so damned clever and I think he's just annoying and not funny. I really *really* hated the flufflebunny one. Ugh. But this Monster one is pretty good.

Leonardo is on our list of favorites, but I'd select Willems over that eye-bleed-inducing sadist Seuss any day. We took Big One to see "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical" and it was fantastic!

But to each her own. I've found that moms generate very strong opinions about books (legitimately, I say), especially when they are forced to read them again and again. And again. And again (I know I do). One of my good friends hates all the "monster" books I read my boys (I Need My Monster, Goodnight Goon, My Monster Mama Loves Me So, etc), but her son is stuck on Thomas books, so I think I win.

Luxx: Oh, christonacracker, there's a *musical*?! *shudders*
Ha! We like Thomas. To each her own, indeed.

Slightly potentially busy day here in ScaifeLand: Charlie and I have a playdate with a new(ish) mom and little boy; we met them last spring when they started coming to the playgroup that we frequented (but we've stopped going now that Charlie's in school, which meets at the same time). I ran into the mom in the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and we decided to get the boys together (her little guy is a bit younger than Charlie, but Charlie does really well with younger kids, and this guy is extremely well-behaved, so I think they'll get along really well), and she and I get along well, too. I'm excited. So that's later this morning, but before that, I need to get a bit of cleaning done, and then it's baking day, so Charlie and I are going to whip up some brownie sandwiches with cream cheese icing for the filling. Then, hopefully, more quilting will happen this afternoon. I'm nearing the end, but got a bit behind in the past few days, as I lost quilting time to packing up and shipping some stuff for my etsy shop (people are in actual fact buying stuff from me, it's crazy!).

>122 scaifea: I'm all about the lift-the-flap books right now, too.

>129 scaifea: I fully admit to trolling your Etsy site all the time.

Nora: Ha! The flap books are pretty fun. And I haven't added anything new to my shop in awhile (it's mostly my mom's loom rag rugs) because I'm still working on this ridiculous quilt. But as soon as I get it done I'll get back to making stuff for the shop. I've got fabrics to make a bunch more purses, and also stuff to make light switch plates, votive candle holders and other stuff with decoupaged book pages. An a bunch of other projects, too (skirts made out of old ties, skirts made out of old sweaters, hats for little boys made out of men's sport coats,...). I just need more time!

Hi Amber,
My 1 and nearly half year old Lenny has just discovered lift the flap books. Accordingly we have bought him a collection of 5 Spot books, in a little matching bag, for Christmas. He will love them, and because he will, so will his big brother. Lest he be left out :)

>122 scaifea: I love all the kids book reviews, there are some stonkers out there, ones that you just have to wonder how they got published at all!

Lovely picture, Amber! Based on how handsome Charlie is, I'm sure Tomm must be a dashing gentleman as well, even without picture evidence. ;) We were thinking of doing a family Christmas card this year as well, but like you we might just take the picture ourselves. My sister-in-law gave me this scrapbooking software thing for my bday this year and I think you can generate your own cards so that will save us a tonne of money. :)

Megan: Oh, they'll both love those books, I bet! Another excellent lift the flap is Dear Zoo, in case your on the lookout for more...

Valerie: Yes, Tomm is definitely a dashing fellow, if I do say so, and I often lament that I can't show out what a catch I made here. Sigh. I got a great photo of the two of them, Charlie giving his dad a great big hug and giggling, and Tomm smiling while kissing the top of his head. Definitely one for the album.

I was the same way a few years ago, but after I posted my first picture here it was very liberating. I'm still not sure what I was so paranoid about...

333. Little Duck Finds a Friend by Marcia Leonard (CYOA series, picture book) - 8/10
Little Duck has just moved with her family and is scared that she won't make any new friends. The reader chooses what Little Duck does, and the result is a new friend found.
Overly simply, maybe, but still cute,.

334. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newbery award list, 243 pages) - 9/10
Since his mother died when he is 6, Bud had lived in a orphanage during the Depression and has been shuffled into one abusive foster home after another until he's had enough and runs away to look for the man he thinks is his father. After a few misadventures, he finds this man, finds out who he really is, and finds a home.
Excellent tale, wonderfully told. I cried right out loud in parts. Bud is such a well-developed character that you can't help but alternately mourn and cheer right along with him. Absolutely recommended.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (39 Clues series)
-In Too Deep (Newbery award list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington Marches On (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Stephen: Yeah, I know, but it's his mug, not mine, and I just can't flout his wishes about it, now matter how handsome that mug is. Sigh.

ETA: And his stubbornness is such that his paranoia won't ease up about it, I'm certain.

>135 Ape:: I'm still not sure what I was so paranoid about... I know what you mean! I was just thinking the other day how we have all become much more willing to share our real names. Some people even have screen names that are essentially their real names. I completely understand privacy and risk of identity theft but I'm glad we have all become comfortable enough to be ourselves.

Or have we? :)

#134: Oh, Dear Zoo!! A friend's daughter used to LOVE that book when she was little. I once read it to her six times in a row, and she still wanted "more, more!". Her mother used to say "cheeky monkey" for the monkey page, and tickle her, and it was so cute to watch her waiting for that page, knowing that the tickling was coming. I started buying it for other little kids and they all loved it. It was a sad day when all the children got too old for picture books and I had to start on the 5-8 shelves.

>138 lauralkeet:: Darn! You sussed me!

>139 susanj67:: My little guy's favourite was Good Night, Gorilla, and I must admit it's a pretty good book (especially considering how little text there is). Somehow, it got spoiled (I think he asked his dad to read it in the bath, and the pages ended up getting stuck together), and even after I rescued it, I decided my best option was to get a second copy, because I didn't think it would survive such frequent readings. (I was NOT pleased). He hasn't asked for it in a while, but that may be because bedtime reading opportunities have been rather fewer than we'd like.

We have a heap of lift-the-flap books; including a lot of Spot books and Dear Zoo, too.

Laura: I'm pretty open about who I am, and I share a lot of pictures (as you all know!) of Charlie, but sometimes I do worry a bit about the Charlie pictures. Not because of people here in LT, but, well, you know.

Susan: There are a couple of other books that Charlie requests frequently for the bedtime reading, and he has a similar anticipation of certain pages, because both Tomm and I are quite goofy when it comes to reading to him and like to make them as fun as possible.

humouress: Oh, I'm glad *you* like Good Night, Gorilla - I can't stand that book. Thankfully, Charlie's never been exposed to it, so I don't have to suffer through it!

335. Christmas Parade by Sandra Boyton (Charlie book, picture book) - 9/10
A rhyming, silly, adorable story of a Christmas parade and all the animals and instruments therein.
I picked this up for Charlie at BAM! yesterday, knowing we'd both love it (I didn't even crack the cover until I got it home), and I was right. Boyton has yet to do anything but make me and Charlie utterly gleeful. Love her. Excellent new Christmas book to add to the pile.

336. The Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A sing-songy story of a dump truck, his driver, and what they do all day.
Cute, but nothing spectacular.

337. The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A little girl, who has been told that she's too little to do anything, gets help from her woodland friends to make a ginormous snowman.
Adorable. Lovely drawings with a sweet little story that's not syrupy.

Just ordered Leonardo the Terrible Monster for Charlie (because we're *still* reading it at a rate of at least once every half hour or so and we'll eventually need to take this copy back to the library), and they had a Leonardo puppet. Yeah. So. Charlie's getting one of those for Christmas. Even though we've already went waaaaay over our (read: Tomm's) set budget for Charlie xmas presents. I may get some stern looks when the Mister finds out...

>139 susanj67: Her mother used to say "cheeky monkey" for the monkey page, and tickle her
I love that part of reading stories! In the original Spot book, whenever I got to the monkeys in the wardrobe Id tickle Wilbur all over til he was in raptures while spouting "oo oo ah ah" noises. He would anticipate it and start laughing from the page before :) So fun.

>143 scaifea: ill have to check out the Leonardo book, as Lenny's real name is Leonard, and I sometimes call his Leonardo!
ETA: yup, bought it. Watch out there are terrible influences around here....making you buy good books for your children :)

Megan: I predict that he will *love* it. It's a crazy fun book (and there's a page that Charlie giggles in anticipation for every time, too).

There is little danger involved in posting your picture on the internet. Every time you go out in public/take your child out everyone around you can see what you look like. A picture on the internet isn't going to put you in any danger.

I think the issue is when people post their full names, their addresses, and then post on facebook that they are going on vacation, which screams to potential thieves "Hey, my house is going to be empty for a week."

Amber - The discussion on the use of "monikers" or real names on here is an interesting one. I think some of the names are quite inventive and don't muddle them up too often anymore. Mine on the other hand is as inspiring as its owner.
Have a lovely weekend.

146 - That's my take on it too, Stephen, although I frequently clear out my FB photos, just because I'm not entirely sure of their terms of use.

A photography teacher told my class a story of a woman who's picture was snagged off a public site for an advertisement for birth control measures and when it showed up on those huge bill board advertisements she was dreadfully harmed, embarrassed, and ended up moving out of the town where all this happened. Rare event, certainly, but I do not believe posting pictures is an entirely risk free endeavor. I have stopped putting my nieces and nephews on the interwebs in part because they are not my children, but also in part because I do not feel entirely safe about it. I don't think we should be pollyanna about this. That is my, not so very humble, opinion. I of course respect everyone's clear right to make their own judgments and choices.

>141 scaifea:: I'll be right round with my youngest, and we'll read Goodnight Gorilla to Charlie, so he can get addicted to it, too ;0)

On the names and photos front, I'm so tempted to put up photos of my two gorgeous kids, with so many other people showing off theirs, but you do come across the occasional scare story, which makes me unsure. As for monikers, I would never have put my name up before, but LT does feel safe. .... but you never know who else is watching.

Me, paranoid? Who said that?

Love that picture of you and your sweet Charlie! I am so glad to be part of a group that feels like family. We even have an Uncle Tomm who won't let his picture be posted! My husband hates to have his picture taken, and usually looks angry (or very stiff and uncomfortable) in his pictures.

>95 scaifea:: that's a beautiful photo of the two of you. Greatly reduced internet time these days, with Christmas prep and making of things, so glad I caught this.

Stephen: That's comforting, really - thanks!

Paul: Ha! Mine's not much more creative than yours, I'm afraid.

Luxx: I can't claim that I understand facebook and its policies at all, but I've never really believed that deleting something from the webs actually deletes it at all, sadly...

humouress: The day you come over with that book to my house is the day I post a picture of the eponymous gorilla claiming it's a picture of you. Ha!

Donna: Agreed about the family feeling round here.

tiffin: Good to see you!

deleting something from the webs actually deletes it at all

It doesn't - you're right there. But taking it off facebook makes me think that maybe facebook can't use it for ads and things.

Once things go online they stay online. I always remind my students of this, and warn them that PIs now specialize in finding virtual information on potential employees, etc.

Luxx: Yes, I have trouble believing how dumb college kids can be about what they put on their Facebook pages. Sigh.

338. Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
Bear, who famously can't stay away in the winter, does his best to stay up all night on Christmas Eve to welcome the holiday with his friends.
We love this series - both the illustrations and the stories are cute and catchy. Recommended.

339. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E. L. Konigsburg (audio book) - 8/10
Margaret Rose is a young girl who gets in trouble at summer camp, is adored to no end by her adorable uncles, and works together with some unlikely companions to save the enormous towers that her eclectic uncles have built in their back yards.
It's hard to describe this book for some reason, so I feel that I've not really summarized it very well. I was excited about finding this audio book at the library, since I've 100% loved everything else I've read by Konigsburg. However, this one fell short of her other works, I think. It's not terrible, but it's not on the same level as the others by far. Full disclosure: some of my disappointment may be attributed to the reader, Molly Ringwald. Yep, really. And when I started the book, I was excited that it was her; it seemed appropriate, as the book is set in the 80's, and I've always loved all those Brat Pack movies, having grow up with them myself. But, her reading of the novel was *terrible*. Absolutely terrible. Yuck-o. So if you are interested in this one, *do not* listen to it - read it yourself instead.

340. In Too Deep by Jude Watson (39 Clues series, 206 pages) - 8/10
Dan and Amy go Down Under for this entry in the series, and discover that their parents were there before them. More attempts are made on their lives, and they learn more than ever that they can trust no one.
Still a fun series and I'm still eating them up.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-The Viper's Nest (39 Clues series)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington Marches On (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 10: School and Sport (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

341. Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A group of cats, addressing the reader directly, try to figure out if said reader is a cat or not; if so, they'll read aloud from the book of cat secrets, if not, they won't. All the while, a mouse is trying to sneak up and steal the book from them.
Delightfully silly (one must meow like a cat, purr like a cat and stretch like a cat in order to try to convince the cats that one is in fact a cat, too), with v. cool illustrations. Charlie and I both enjoyed this one.

342. Hooray for Reading Day! by Margery Cuyler (public library book, picture book) - 7/10
A little girl has trouble reading aloud in front of her class mates, and now has to face the horror of a special school program, to which parents are invited, and at which students must read aloud.
S'okay, I guess, but not great.

343. Paddington Marches On by Michael Bond (Charlie bath time book, 144 pages) - 9/10
Paddington has another series of adventures, including helping the neighbor out in a snow storm, attempting to clean out the Browns' chimney (!), a day at the seaside and a trip to Madame Tussaud's.
Adorable. Paddington can do no wrong, or so the popular opinion runs at Scaife Manor.

344. The Children's Hour, Volume 11: Along Blazed Trails (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little; 372 pages) - 6/10
This volume is a collection of stories about exploring the New World and the Wild West. Ugh. Not my area of interest in the least, and that's the reason for the low rating. I'm sure others would enjoy this sort of thing, just not me, please.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-The Viper's Nest (39 Clues series)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

We had a complete set of Children's Hour books when I was a kid. I read all of the volumes once, but I don't recall ever rereading the Western volume. It's not my cup of tea either. The set as a whole, though, is excellent--it's how I found authors such as Elizabeth Enright and Kate Seredy, both of whom I still read as an adult.

*Makes note to self to go down to the basement and see if we still have those books*

casvelyn: It is indeed a good overall collection, although I find that, because I've been reading so many classic children's stories over the past 4 years, I've skipped over quite a few of the selections, as I've already read them recently!

It's snowing today - a big, fat, heavy, wet, wonderful snow! So, we all went out and played for awhile. Happy December from Wisconsin!

Charlie pelted all of us pretty good with snowballs, giggling the entire time, of course:


Tuppence *loves* the snow, and tries to catch the snowballs thrown at her as if they were tennis balls...

Beautiful picture of you and Charlie! How do I look up your Etsy shop? Hope you are feeling 100%.

Regina: I sent you a PM with the etsy address - I think these folks are likely sick of hearing about it. Ha!
And, yes, at least for now, we all seem to be fairly healthy (fingers crossed it lasts!).

Double cute! Shyanne loves the snow too! She runs at full speed with her nose down in it, like she is some sort of furry high-speed snow plow. :)

Stephen: Adorable! Dogs in snow are hilarious.

345. The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis (39 Clues series, 190 pages) - 9/10
Amy and Dan spend this volume in South Africa, looking for a clue left about Shaka Zulu by Winston Churchill. Again they manage to escape a couple of attempts on their lives, but this time they discover what branch of the Cahill family they're from.
Still an excellent story and a hoot - can't wait for the next one to arrive on hold at the library for me!

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-A Long Way from Chicago (prequel to a Newbery winner)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Sunday-ending *smooch*

PUPPY!!!!!! Is she a border collie? Even if she's not, she's beautiful.

Richard: Aw, thanks! I haven't been to you thread in over 50 posts - hopefully I'll get over there tomorrow morning.

casvelyn: Yep, she's a border collie, and I agree - she's beautiful, no? Too smart for my own good, but adorable.

I really want a border collie or Australian shepherd (but preferably the collie) if I ever realize my dream of living in the country and owning some livestock. They're adorable and so smart.

They're excellent babysitters, too. ;)
In fact, my mom had one when my brother was little, and he was slow to start walking because she's lay a blanket down and then sit him on it, and the border collie would patrol that blanket like nobody's business; if my brother tried to stand up and walk, the dog would gently tug on his pants and make him sit back down so he wouldn't leave the perimeter of the blanket. Ha!

Busy day today, filled with a collection of small things To Do. A wee bit of cleaning is in order (the kitchen is on the agenda for today), then bill paying, then an outing to the library (yay!) and then to the bank, where I can hopefully get a visa gift card for $10 (can't find anything less than $25 in the stores). Last stop on the Errand (Errant?) Train is the Dollar Tree (and you know what that means, Stephen...) for cheap boxes of Christmas cards. I was going to make ours this year, and even bought the supplies to do so, but this (*&^&* quilt has taken up all of my crafting time of late and I realized that I needed to relieve the stress of ohmygodi'mnevergettingallthisshitdonebyxmas and decided that the homemade cards can wait until next year. That gives me more time to relax and finish above-cursed quilt. I managed to get a bit more work done on it this weekend, and now have just three more sides of border to quilt and then the binding to make and sew on.

*waves* Hi, Amber. Just popping in to catch up. Such a busy time for everybody. You gave me a big smile with the pictures of Charlie and Tuppence in the snow. Border collies are bossy by nature, aren't they?

I love the story of the border collie and your brother!

Linda: Well, sort of. Tuppence fancies she has a job to do, and so tries to herd us sometimes, but otherwise she's extremely obedient and sweet. So I wouldn't call her terribly bossy. Other, more serious working-dog border collies may be different, though.

Laura: It's a hoot, isn't it? When Charlie started walking, Tuppence didn't try to stop him, but she did follow right behind him and watched him very carefully. It was pretty adorable.

Morning Amber- The snow looks great! But would you mind keeping it up north?

Mark: Ha! I'll do my best, but can't promise anything...

I'm happy that someone is getting snow. Great pictures. Love Charlie's big smile! I've put in an order for our snow to arrive on Christmas Eve.

Great photos of Charlie and Tuppence in the snow, Amber! I'm with Mark on it being better to enjoy it in your pictures than have it show up here, but we can only hold out so long.

We had a pug named Tuppence when I was a kid. One uncle always called her "Tubbles".

Donna: That would be perfect, as long as it was gone (or at least all roads clear) by the day after christmas (that's when we'll start our traveling)!

Joe: Ha! When Charlie was just learning to talk, he used to call her Tubby. Hilarious!

Love the picture of Charlie playing in the snow! My little one loves watching the snow falling from the comforts of the large kitchen windows but is still quite hesitant to actually do anything in it. I'm okay with that for now because I know it's only a matter of time before he is demanding to be out there all the time. :)
We finally were able to get the house cleaned up and Christmas decorations and tree are now all in place. The monkey is having a ball of sticking the presents under the tree and cares not a squat that they aren't even for him..haha!

346. The Elephant Tree by Penny Dale (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
A little girl and her animal friends (I'm fairly sure that the friends are her stuffed animals 'come to life') help Elephant find a tree all his own.
Slightly strange story, but in no way a is this a bad thing. Sweet and interesting, with lovely text and even lovelier illustrations. Recommended for a nice bedtime read to a little one (Charlie loved it).

347. My Red Umbrella by Robert Bright (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
A little girl goes for a walk, taking her (very) large umbrella with her, just in case. Of course, it starts raining, and all manner of animals come to seek shelter under the protection of the umbrella.
Cute, but nothing out of the ordinary. The appeal in this one (for me and for Charlie, I think, since, when he picked it out off of the library shelf, he said, "Oooh, Mommy, look at the teeny tiny one!") is it's petite size, which goes nicely with the sweet illustrations. I love teeny books; I can't help it.

348. The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning (1001 Children's Books list, picture book, with Browning's poetry) - 8/10
I've read this famous tale several times before throughout my life (I had at least one child's version when I was wee), and I'm fairly sure that I've read Browning's poem before, too, but the illustrations for this version (by C. Walter Hodges) was worth the reread.

I'm adding yet another book to my current list: A Christmas Carol. It just happens to be next on the 1001 Children's Books list and the timing couldn't be more perfect. I've read it before, but it's been a very long time. I'll likely be doubling up on books from this list for a bit now, as it will likely take me a healthy chunk of time to finish the Hoffmann collection from this list (it's a hefty volume, and the type is tiny).

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-A Long Way from Chicago (prequel to a Newbery winner)
-A Christmas Carol (1001 Children's Books list, holiday read)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Valerie: For Charlie's first couple of winters, he wanted *nothing* to do with snow. But now, he loves it. Your Monkey will, too, soon enough. I'm just happy that this snow came on the weekend, when Tomm was here to be outside with Charlie - I'm not a big fan of the cold, wet stuff, unless I can look at it from the cozy inside, holding a mug of HoCho!

*****

Grocery shopping today while Charlie is at preschool, and then possibly a trip to the vet with Tuppence (or at least a consultation call to the vet), as she is having some issue controlling her bowels at the moment. I cleaned up some dog diarrhea from the carpet yesterday, and had to let her out several more times than usual after that, finding her whining and scratching at the door. And then again early this morning Tomm found a 'package' on the rug by the door, and she's been out three times already, always with, um, results. Poor thing must have eaten something she found on the ground Sunday (she's bad about that, being a dog and all). Hoping this particular phase passes soon, as I have a very weak stomach when it comes to cleaning up dog droppings, especially very loose ones. It doesn't help that Charlie told nearly everyone we talked to yesterday that Tuppence had pooped in the house and it was very stinky. Sigh. It is hilarious to hear him say, "Peeee-hyew!", though.

Ah! the joys of dog companions. I am sure I am a little bit crazy as I'm looking for dog #2 for our home. Greta is a sad only dog.

Sorry to hear that Tuppance isn't feeling well! One of the grossest things is dog-do in the house. Tempe has been slowly re-learning the whole pooping-outdoors-thing but she likes to leave me a poo-present sometimes if she really needs to go and I don't see her laying on the mat.

Hi Amber, finally getting caught up. Love the picture of Charlie in the snow, he looks like he's having fun. Sorry to hear about Tuppence not being in top form, she is sure one good looking animal. I love border collies, my father-in-law used to always have a border collie and every one that he had went by the name of Duke. I think I met at least three of them over the years.

Thanks for the Tuppence concern, ladies - I think she's starting to feel better - at least the pooping is less frequent now. We fed her rice last night for dinner, which is supposed to settle the stomach. So, we'll see how today goes.

Finished up the christmas cards yesterday (not my favorite holiday chore, so I'm happy to have it done). Today I need to pack up my brother's gift and get it ready to ship to New Mexico, where he'll be this year (he's a bit of a drifter, so it's hard to predict from one year to the next), and then Charlie and I will be making cupcakes for him to take as tomorrow's preschool snack. Oh, and some quilting. Always with the quilting. Sigh.

Here are the cupcakes for Charlie's snack today at preschool:





Why is it that whenever I'm making decorated cupcakes of this sort, I can't help but imagine that I'm building a horde of minions for my evil empire? What does that say about me? And really, what good would a bunch of Rudolphs be at the job of minion? Sigh.

Those look AMAZING! *Drools*

Stephen: Back away from the minions...

Those are adorable!! Amber, you are so creative.

Those are amazing cupcakes! You sound like you're very organised for Christmas.

The other mothers hate you, you know that, right?

Laura: Thanks! I didn't invent these, though - found the idea in a Nabisco pamphlet.

Susan: *snork!* I certainly don't feel organized about it...

Linda: Ha! Yeah, but it's mostly because my kid is more adorable than theirs (oh my, did I just say that?!)...

(Kidding, of course. But not really.)

349. Ella Sets the Stage by Carmela D'amico (public library book, picture book) - 9/10
Ella is a little (elephant) girl who, because of her introverted shyness, is dreading the school talent show. In the end, she finds a way to participate without being forced to perform on stage.
An excellent excellent book, especially for children who are naturally shy, because it teaches that it's okay to be shy, and one shouldn't feel like one needs to be forced into pretending to be an extrovert. There are always ways to participate without being forced to be uncomfortably the center of attention. Absolutely recommended!

@ 188

Those cupcakes look both awesome and delicious!

How did you cut the cookies so they came out just the right shape and didn't get all crumbly? A hot knife?

Wow! Those cupcakes are adorable. Nice work, Amber! Charlie is a lucky boy.

AMBER!! AMBER!! Tuppence is errrmmm evacuating on your bed!!!

*steals all Charlie's cupcakes and skedaddles*

Laura: Aw, thanks! I have a small serrated knife that worked great (although there were a fair amount of crumbled cookies. Such a shame that I had to eat those...)

Regina: Thanks - I feel the same way about him.

Richard: Dammit! Get back here with those!!

*smack smack* Hmmm? Oh hey, you know what would be great for the next batch? They make these GOLDEN Oreos! Kinda like blondes, they're more fun.

Where should I toss all these little wrapper dealies?

Sigh.

Charlie is lucky indeed. Those look great, Amber!

Those are amazing cupcakes, Amber! Glad to hear that Tuppence is feeling better.

*Licks the icing of Amber's minions*

Those look delicious, Amber. I'd steal one but with my luck I'd get one of the ones that Stephen licked. eww ...

Great job on the cup cakes! Wish Richard hadn't eaten them all and had left me one :-(

What does that say about me?

Just that you're awesome.

When I lick cupcakes, they become calorie-free and develop curative properties. Just saying.

Cute cupcakes. I'm sure they are all gone by now.

Joe, Roni: Thanks!

Stephen: I've heard that if you let dogs lick diaper rash, it'll get rid of it fast - you should try that and see if it works for you...

Judy: Ha!

Chelle: Even worse, Richard stole them from a group of adorable little preschool children. The man has no shame.

Luxx: Aw, thanks!

Lori: Indeed, they are long, long gone.

I had my yearly physical yesterday, and since I had forgotten to go back and get my tetanus shot last year, they just gave it to me yesterday. And now my arm hurts like *crazy*. Still even this morning. Ugh. And Charlie and I are going in to get our flu shots today, so my other are will be (hopefully not as) sore today, too. But the real concern is Charlie, whose fighting spirit comes out in droves when we visit the doctor. For his flu shot last year, it too me and 3 nurses to hold him down and a fourth to give him the shot. Not looking forward to that in the least.

350. A Long Way from Home by Richard Peck (prequel to a Newbery winner, 148 pages) - 9/10
A young boy and his little sister spend a week every summer with their grandma in the country and never cease to wonder at the things she pulls off.
Amazing story, told year by year (one year per chapter) - hilarious and touching, and very well written. Absolutely recommended.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-A Year Down Yonder (Newbery award list)
-A Christmas Carol (1001 Children's Books list, holiday read)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

I love your border collie. That smile and those bright eyes and the energy. Just beautiful. I believe dogs are one of God's greatest gifts to us. Lord Byron etched on the grave of his swimming companion Newfoundland: "All the virtues of man and none of his vices." I find it incomprehensible, almost, when I see a dog treated cruelly. I almost feel the pain myself.

I love the border collie breed, the smartest of all dog breeds. My only hesitation was that, because they are working dogs (herding, usually), they need work to keep busy -- all the time. I heard of one guy who had a border collie he left alone at home while he was at work. The dog completely destroyed the inside of the house.

I have the cold that everyone else has. I haven't had a cold in so many years, I can't even remember.

deniro: We're very careful to give Tuppence a lot of exercise, even in snowy, cold weather. And walking her doesn't work - we need to throw a ball for her over and over for about 20-30 minutes at a time, and she lets us know when she's had enough by trotting over to the back door (to tell us she's ready to go in). In Ohio we lived on 4 acres, which was perfect for her, but here we at least have a big enough back yard to throw the ball far enough to give her a good workout. So, yes, I wouldn't recommend anyone get a border collie as a pet (as opposed to getting one as an actual working dog) unless one is willing to put in that kind of time for it. She's worth it, though; as you say, she's beautiful, and so so smart, and she has an amazing personality. Just love her.
Sorry you're not feeling well, either. I've been feeling progressively worse all day, and finally broke down and took some dayquil. Sigh.

351. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (Newbery award list, 130 pages) - 9/10
Grandma Dowdel is back in this sequel to A Long Way from Chicago. This time, Mary Alice comes to live with her for a year while her parents struggle to get back on their feet during the depression.
Like the previous book, this one has some fantastic stories of how Mary Alice's grandma seems to be able to get the best of everyone and want the best for all despite her gruff exterior. I enjoyed these two books so much that I've already ordered them to give to my mom, who I know will love them too.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Newbery award list)
-A Christmas Carol (1001 Children's Books list, holiday read)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Great Bridge (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

I am so stealing that reindeer cupcake idea, Amber...and looking forward to the Oreo crumbs! Charlie sounds like me as a kid when it comes to shots, though I'm very brave now. LOL.

Donna: Oh do steal it - they're very easy, in fact, and a close look will be enough to show you how it's done. Charlie was a *very* good little man for the nurse, and only cried right when he was stuck, and only then for a minute or so. He was duly rewarded with a trip to the Walgreen's candy aisle and, as he suggested himself, a trip to the library.

Apparently Charlie has gotten some maturity under his belt. Next time he may ask for a reward of an expensive electronic game! (-:

I'm so impressed that he's asking to go to the library as a reward. Awesome. :)

Stephen: I know! I'm so proud.

352. The Great Bridge by David McCullough (audio book) - 9/10
The story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, along with the stories of the men (and woman) who built it.
Amazing. But I knew it would be - McCullough is one of the best modern historian out there, for me. Can't recommend it enough. Fascinating stuff. Plus, as a bonus, Edward Herrmann does the reading for the audio version!

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Newbery award list)
-A Christmas Carol (1001 Children's Books list, holiday read)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here.
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.

Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, Good night.

The epitaph that Mark Twain wrote for his daughter. It seems fitting for the moment, and I find some comfort in it.

Oh, Amber...that is very appropriate. We must find comfort where we can. It must be even harder for those with young children than for the rest of us.

Thanks for the tip about the audio version of The Great Bridge. I'm always on the lookout for decent audio books, and the reader can be the make-or-break element. Edward Herrmann sounds like the perfect choice, if McCullough wasn't doing it himself.

Linda: I heard the Twain poem near the end of the McCullough book, in fact. Washington Roebling, who built the bridge, had it among his papers when he died. Apparently he had written it down and kept it with him after his wife died. And yes, do seek out the audio version - it's excellent!

I just put it on hold at the library, Amber. It's "in storage" at the main branch, so I expect it will take some time to get to me. But that's OK, as I do have one going in the car at the moment, and no lengthy drives in the immediate future.

I think there also may be a public TV documentary based on this book. I know I saw some documentary on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Quite a feat!

Sunday *smooch*

This made me cry when I first saw it this morning, but in a much better way than I have been for the past few days. I need to keep reminding myself that there are still wonderful, loving, caring people out there (You all are definitely evidence of this), people who love their children and who love children in general. I also like the Mr. Rogers quote that's floating around facebook these days, about how his mother always told him to look for the people who are helping when he saw tragedy on the news. And I keep thinking of the bit at the beginning of Love Actually, about how all the messages from the people in the planes and in the towers on 9/11 calling their families were messages of love, not hate. Love actually is all around us...

Linda: I'll be excited to see what you think of it once you get round to it.

maggie: Cable/satellite is one of the things we gave up to cut our budget, so I wouldn't know, although with Tomm's new job, we've invested in Amazon Prime, which has a bunch of stuff to watch for free or cheapish - I'll have to check if they have documentaries (which are some of my favorite kind of TV). Thanks for the tip!

Richard: Always good to see you here, friend.

******

On the agenda for today:
A wee bit of cleaning, then bills, then some packing for the post office (another etsy sale - woohoo!! - and some christmas presents to mail to a handful of people). If Charlie wants to, then we'll treat ourselves to some more library-ing while we're out. Once back home, I need to make up a grocery list that will get us through christmas (we leave the day after for family traveling), which includes our own little christmas eve dinner, dinner with friends (nothing huge, a couple and their 3 children) and cookies, cookies, cookies this week (sugar cookie cutouts and gingerbread men for Charlie's school christmas pajama party on Thursday and peanut butter cookies for Santa (Santa's favorite (aka Tomm's favorite)). Must remember to write carrots on the list for the reindeer, as all we have are the mini carrots, and those just won't due for hungry sleigh-pullers...

Oh! And, News Everyone! The quilting is finished!!! I'm working on sewing on the binding now, and should have the whole stinkin' thing done in a day or two! WOOHOO!! Cue the angel chorus, please! Photos to follow once the thing is finished.

*shooting off confetti cannons*

*snork!* Thanks, maggie!

What a busy woman you are! Congratulations on coming down the home stretch with the quilt. I'm really looking forward to pictures. *Brushes confetti off clothes before leaving for work*

Thanks, Linda! I started designing the quilt very early last spring, so this has been a close-to-a-year-long project. I'm both glad that it's almost finished (I have so many other projects that I want to get started on) and really excited to see my parents open their present!

That's great news about the quilt! I love all stitchery, so am looking forward to the pictures.

Nice reminder with Santa and your comments, Amber, so thank you for that.

And congrats on the quilt! My sister-in-law is a quilter, and I know how much work that is. And how beautiful the product of that work is.

That's a Yuletide memory for the ages, Amber. Sweet!

Amber, thanks for sharing that picture. It gives me chills. Looking forward to pictures of the infamous quilt!

What a relief! Now I'm also waiting for the picture!

Congrats on finishing the quilting project, Amber. I'm also looking forward to pictures.

I also have been on the edge of tears since Friday, but you are right, we have to remember all the good that there is in people and work together to help each other overcome the evil that can appear at times.

You've reminded me that I had better get going with my pre-Christmas grocery list. So much I should be doing instead of playing around on LT.

Susan: Thanks! I'm quite proud of the quilter's calluses that I'm developing...

Joe: Yes, I was grateful for whoever posted that on facebook today, because I needed it, too. I'm certain that your SIL is a much better quilter than I, since this is my first hand-quiting experience, but I love doing it, and I love the finished product, too and I love seeing other quilters' projects.

Richard: Agreed.

Regina: The good kind of chills, I hope, which is certainly the kind we need right now.

Judy: I've just finished my grocery list and I'll be going tomorrow morning after dropping Charlie off at preschool (that is, if I can bring myself to leave him there tomorrow...), and a good thing, too, since I just heard that here in Platteville we're expected to receive 6-12 inches of the White Stuff Wednesday afternoon through Thursday. The stores are certain to be packed for the next couple of days. Sigh.

>229 scaifea: yup, that picture makes me want to cry! I bet this kid and the dad cry too :)
There is so so so much good in the world- and it never makes the news. So it pays dividends to seek it out.

I've been working on a new army of minions, uh, I mean, baking gingerbread men for Charlie's school holiday party tomorrow (moved up from Thursday, since it's likely there won't be school on Thursday due to the massive amounts of snow heading our way (6-12 inches, apparently)):

Megan: Amen, sister.

Hi Amber- Very festive over here! And I love the Santa/soldier photo. Great stuff! and congrats on your quilt.

Mmmmm.....those gingerbread men look yummy (and kinda girly, to tell you the truth!).

Hi, Mark! Good to see you!

Linda: Girly?! They're bald!!

yes, they are and they are wearing frilly clothes, too.

Ladies, ladies, please. It's never a good idea to insult minions. You just never know where that will lead. And just what, pray tell, is wrong with boys wearing frilly clothes if they want to? Who says my minions can't be fabulous?

******

I'm going to have a very difficult time walking away from Charlie at school this morning. I can hardly keep myself from crying just thinking about it. I'd ask for good thoughts to be send my way this morning, but I can't help but believe that that is unbelievably selfish of me - all such thoughts should be winging their way to Connecticut right now, to other, much *much* less fortunate parents.

I apologize for going on and on about this here, and I understand if you've had enough and want to take a break from my thread for awhile, but, as I've said, I'm having a rough time with this and talking through it here is comforting and helpful to me (and it's my party/thread and I'll cry about it here if I want to. So there.). I've always fought over-protective motherness from the beginning with Charlie, but this is making it worse, and I know that in fairness to him I have to rein that in, but right now it's very hard for me. I'll be doing my best, a) to make it to the car at all, and, b) to make it to the car before I start sobbing.

Amber, I'm sending good thoughts, because I'm sure all parents need them right now. Lots of other mums will probably feel the same - do you know any of the others well enough to maybe go for a coffee after drop-off, somewhere near the school, just so you don't have to drive home immediately?

It just occurred to me how hard it is to cry when you are singing. Maybe you could try teaching Charlie a couple of Christmas carols on the way to school. They could be the fun ones like Rudolph, or more serious like Hark the Herald, Angles Sing!

Just an idea

Otherwise, know that legions of mothers, and aunts, and dads, and granddads, and big bro and sis, are also feeling very raw and tender these days. Thank goodness, we have the capacity to have empathy with the pain and grief felt by our fellow citizens. It is not a bad thing.

@ 249

I've always believed the human heart is elastic--there's always room for love and kindness for one more. Which is a long way, maybe, of saying I don't think that's selfish at all and I'm sending good thoughts your way.

(Also, those gingerbread men look yummy.)

#252 Yeah...what she said. (She learned that from me, of course!) You have Mommy-strengths you don't even know about. You'll be OK, you'll see.

Hang in there, Amber. I like the idea of connecting with other mums from his school. You're not alone.

353. Firefighters A to Z by Chris L. Demarest (public library book, picture book) - 8/10
Not story here, just an "A is for..." structure, but the illustrations are great, and Charlie loved it.

Susan & Laura (lindsacl): I kept myself busy (grocery shopping, wrapping presents...) so I was okay, but the mommy-support idea is a good one, and I'm friends with a couple of the moms already.

Laura & Linda: Thanks. Very much appreciated. I did better than I thought I would, but, boy-o, I've never been so happy to see him than when I picked him up! Whew!

PS: To Thread Police: Apologies, but I'm just gonna let this one run on until the end of the year, since I'll be out of town and not posting much from the 26th on. Hope this doesn't land me in the 75er's Clink...

I dunno, lady. There's a lot of leeway this time of year, but we might just have to take drastic measures...

Linda: Ha! Now I have to cross police tape just to get in here! Sigh.

I'm sure you can bribe Richard with more baked minions.

Hi Amber, mmmm... I could go for a small plate of those minions. They look delicious! I hope the school drop-off went smoothly. I know life goes on, but it's hard to put this tragedy to the back of the mind.

I did however finish my Christmas shopping today, which takes a lot of stress off me. The hard part is done, now I can get to the wrapping which I always enjoy.

Stephen: At first glance I thought you had written "naked minions"...

Judy: I'm finished with our shopping - and with the wrapping! I hurried home this morning and wrapped Charlie's presents, and then he helped me wrap everything else this afternoon. Oh, there is one more present to buy and wrap - Charlie and I are going shopping tomorrow morning so he can pick out something for his dad, which is always a fun outing and I'm looking forward to it (so long as the weather holds long enough...).

Your gingerbread minions look mighty edible to me!! Wanna send me some ;-)

Enjoy your snow, if you get it. We got our first real snow today. Might be about 3-4 inches on the ground and the dogs are loving it!

Richard could probably be bribed with naked minions too, I bet. :)

Chelle: I'm afraid they've gone the way of my reindeer minions already. I need to get better minions.
We're scheduled for 12+ inches of snow over the course of the next two days (!), and Charlie is so excited. I don't mind, really (and it'll be nice to have it for christmas) as long as we get out and get that last present shopping done this morning before it hits.

Stephen: You speak a likely truth.

****

Did I tell you all that last Thursday I got a tetanus shot? My arm *still* hurts like nobody's business. Argh.

Charlie had a *wonderful* time at his school party, and every student received a book from the teachers as a present - how cool is that?
As I said, today will include an early-morning outing for Charlie to buy his dad a present, then I need to tackle the laundry and do a bit of cleaning. Other than that, I plan on hanging out with Charlie and watching it snow.

Kid + snow + Christmas = perfection!

12 inches of snow! I'd be happy with any snow, at this point. We don't have any at all yet, and it doesn't look like we're going to get any for Christmas at all. The forecast is a bit of rain tomorrow and Friday, and sunny all through next week. *sigh*

Sounds like a wonderful day!

Hi, ladies! Yes, I'm looking forward to today, although I just read that we have a chance of a thundersnow... What the what is a thundersnow?!

Amber, I too am feeling so sad about the CT shootings and find it comforting to come here and read about the love that surrounds us and looking for the good in life, etc. Those cheery gingerbread men cheered me up, too. I love the smell of ginger baking. My hubby would be so pleased if I made him ginger cookies. Off to the store to buy a new jar of ginger as mine is ancient. Keep smiling! It's hard to smile and cry at the same time.

Thundersnow = thunderstorm + winter cold = LOTS and LOTS of snow

We had "freezing rain" and thunder the other night. Brrrrrrr

>268 scaifea: We had a thundersnow a couple years ago! (Back when we used to get snow. Those were the days.) It was scary. Giant black snowstorm clouds, with thunder and lightning.

Um, I mean. Thundersnow is a piece of cake!

Donna: I hope the ginger cookies brighten the day for both of you!

Morphy & Nora: Oh, Lordy Lou.

354. Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani (given to Charlie by his preschool teachers, picture book) - 8/10
A re-thinking of the classic song, with some added verses, which tell how christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world.
Cute, and the illustrations are nice, too.

355. Paddington and the Grand Tour by Michael Bond (Charlie book, picture book) - 8/10
Paddington has a short adventure with a tour bus and a group of tourists. As usual, there is a misunderstanding, but then, again as usual, somehow Paddington comes out on top.
Cute little addition to the series, although I don't enjoy Bob Alley's illustrations nearly as much as the ones in the original Paddington stories - the 'newer' Paddington is too cutesy to be right, to my way of thinking.

A foot of snow would bring London to a complete halt, possibly for weeks. We are impressed by half an inch of snow, but even then trains are cancelled and it is chaos. I hope you got everything you needed and can just look out of the window and enjoy it!

Susan: We are indeed ready for the storm: grocery shopping done, christmas shopping done and ready to sit back with a cup of HoCho and watch it start falling! The good people here in Wisconsin seem to know what they're doing with the snow, though, and get the roads cleared efficiently, although we've not experienced a blizzard up here yet. We'll see...

*sitting down with a cup of hochoco, whipped cream, choc powder on top!*

My Spidey senses tell me that naked minions are being discussed around here. *awaits delivery of baked minions by naked minions*

Well I can't say that I have ever experienced thundersnow before!
Good luck with your foot of snow! We have gotten about 6 inches today and it's.still.snowing.

Richard: Sorry, but the minions had to put their clothes back on - I didn't want certain of their *ahem* bits getting frostbit...

Chelle: Well, we experienced the thundersnow last night. V. weird. Thundering while snowing - who knew?

Well, we've probably got about 6 inches on the ground, but the blizzard is still on it's way and it's still snowing pretty hard. I've nowhere to be today - or for the next couple of days - so bring it on (so long as we don't lose power...)!

Stay safe! And try to enjoy the snow :-)

The view out our front window this morning (and this is halfway through the storm, apparently):

Amazing! Send some of that my way :-)

Nora: Ha! Well, Tomm's out shoveling like crazy right now, so I suppose I could box some of that up...

>282 scaifea: OOO Pretty! Pretty! (said the man whose predicted snow from this storm is "freezing rain" ewewew)

Never mind, clothes come off, so send 'em on!

Oh, I don't envy you the freezing rain. Gross. I'll stick with our hip-deep-in-snow situation. Sending the minions on...

Holy moley. Stay warm, Amber!

Hi Amber- I hope you are surviving the blizzard. It's after 9pm and we just have a coating on the grass but it is getting cold & windy.

Just passing through, Amber, I hope you're not totally buried in snow. Stay warm and drink hot chocolate.

Read my lips:

SNOWBLOWER

Hi Amber, thanks for the tip over on Mark's thread, about the North Market in Columbus. I Googled it, and it reminds me a lot of Reading Terminal Market in Philly, which is wonderful. Perhaps not the best place for young ladies to locate the latest fashions or that much-needed new winter coat, but would be a fun visit that's for sure.

Judy: 14 inches of snow on the ground, and it seems to be over. Whew! But we never lost power, thank goodness, and the HoCho just tastes better when it's snowing, no?

Morphy: We can't afford such a luxury right now, I'm afraid, and our driveway isn't long enough to necessitate one. Tomm kept on top of it yesterday by going out every 2 hours, so it's not that bad.

Laura: Oh, I didn't mean that the North Market would in any way be a substitute for the horror that is Easton, but it's an excellent way to spend an afternoon (and one of my all-time favorite restaurants is right in front of it on High Street - the Japanese Steak House!). The whole of the Short North is a great neighborhood, in fact.

*****
On the agenda for today:
It was blowing and snowing and gusting so much yesterday that we couldn't go out and play in the snow, so Charlie and I will be going out this afternoon for some serious snowman construction and possibly a snow cave/fort. Afterwards there will be much HoCho imbibing and cookie munching, to be sure.
At some point today I've got to package up a surprisingly large order for my etsy shop and get it ready to ship to Australia (!). When I told the customer that it may be a day or two before I get myself shoveled out enough to make it to the post office, she was delighted at the idea of snow, as she's apparently in an area that's entering the very hot and rainy season. I'm having such a lovely experience with my etsy shop; I love the personal aspect of being able to chat with my customers and get to know them a bit. All online shopping should be so personable and friendly, no?

NEWS, EVERYONE:
The quilt is *finally* finished!!! WOOHOO!! I'll try to get some good photos of it today before I wrap it up. I'm so happy to have the thing finished, although I had a great time making it, and I can't wait to give it to my parents. So, also on the agenda for today is cleaning up my sewing room and getting prepped for the next project, which I think will be making some t-shirts for Charlie.

The weather picture is 'snow' pretty, Amber. We had that gale force wind and a little snow that mostly blew to eastern Missouri. Not enough left to make a snowman. Have fun making yours. I'll be making cookies instead. Can't wait to see a picture of the quilt for your parents. They are lucky to have such a talented daughter!

Congratulations on finishing your quilt!

14 inches of snow! Oh my word. At least you didn't lose power. I'm looking forward to pics of the quilt too!

Hello Amber! Very exciting about the snow. I wish I could stay and chat longer, but I'm off to Will's holiday show and Hank is getting ansy in the swing! I need to go visit your etsy shop!

Donna & Linda: Thanks, ladies!

Susan: The sun is out today and it's quite pretty on the sparkly snow.

Brit: Wonderful to see you! Have fun at Will's show!

Well, here are the photos (I wish I could get some better ones, but Tomm's at work and not here to hold the thing up for me, so I just spread it out on our bed):

Amber, the quilt is STUNNING!!! Just the piecing together is beautiful, quite apart from the gorgeous stitching on top (I don't know the quilting words - can you tell? :-) ) Your parents will be thrilled with it. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Indeed -- echoing Susan, well done on the quilt. It's amazing what a little adverse weather can help you accomplish.

@ 297

Beautiful!

wow great job on the quilt! lovely!

Susan, Laura & Chelle: Aw, thanks, ladies!

Gerard: Ha! Indeed, I did work hard yesterday during the snow to finish it! I've been working on it off and on since early last spring, so I could have used even more bad weather, I suppose.

Gorgeous quilt, indeed! When will I be getting it again?

Wait...your PARENTS?! But they're already married, and I'm sure it said in the Life Manual that every unmarried man gets a beautiful quilt. Page MMMCLV.

Richard: But I've already sent you undressable minions - sheesh!

Ah yes, the minions. Page MMMMDCXIX: "Minions, while deeply desirable in and of themselves, are not to be considered as substitution(s) for fabric arts."

Make with the warmth.

BTW, so happy there was no power outage!

That's a beautiful quilt, Amber! Wow. Congratulations!

Your 14" of snow was mainly a whole lot of rain down here in the southern latitudes. We got a smattering of snow last night, but not enough to have to shovel.

Wow, stunning indeed. Your parents will be thrilled.

That is so beautiful...great job, Amber! And how perfect that you finished it during a snowstorm.

Lovely work, Amber! You must be so chuffed about this quilt.

Your quilt is wonderful! I love the color/pattern combinations. You did such a great job!

Karen O.

Richard: Well, the next quilt I'm planning on making will be out of recycled plaid flannel shirts - still interested?

Joe: Thanks! As far as the snow goes, 14 inches and none of it snowman snow. Sigh. Charlie and I still had fun playing around in it this afternoon, making snow angels and such.

Laura, Linda tiffin and Karen: Thank you, ladies! The hard part has been keeping it a secret from my mom. I call her every morning, and we tell each other everything, so especially this morning it was hard not to burst out and tell her that I'd finished this huge project, and it's been hard not telling her anything about it for the nearly-year that I've been working on it. Can't wait until next Wednesday when I'll finally be able to give it to her and dad!

356. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Newbery award list, 262 pages) - 7/10
After his mother's death, a young peasant boy must ran away from his small village because he's been accused of theft and murder, neither of which are true, and so begins his journey to discover who is truly is. He meets up with a street performer who half kidnaps half adopts him, and together they evade those looking for the boy and travel toward adventure and possibly treason.
Sounds pretty good, no? At least it sounds like a book that I would, under normal circumstances, enjoy. But these aren't normal circumstances; Avi wrote this, and I've never, ever even remotely liked anything I've read by him. This one was at least readable, but not good enough for me to continue with the series. How this author wins awards I have no idea; he's certainly not to my tastes, although I'm glad for his livelihood that at least some people like his stuff.

What I'm reading now:
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 26: Continental Drama (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.26)
-The Harvard Classics Five Foot Shelf of Books, Volume 27: English Essays Sidney to Macaulay (library book - call #AC1.A4 v.27)
-Women in Love (Banned Books list)
-The Emperor's Code (39 Clues series)
-A Christmas Carol (1001 Children's Books list, holiday read)
-The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1001 Children's Books list)
-The Faerie Queen (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List)
-The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (Presidential Challenge)
-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (audio book)
-Augustus (NBA award)
-Little Men (NEH list)
-(Awaiting discussion of Persuasion and choosing of next read) (Eliza & Electra Book Club book)
-Paddington at Work (bath-time book)
-The Children's Hour Volume 12: Tales of Long Ago (I'm working through this series of old volumes that were my brothers' when they were little.)
-The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)
-Our Country's Presidents (to accompany the presidential challenge)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (quite slowly):
-Asinaria by Plautus (reading in Latin)
-Iliad by Homer (reading in Greek)
-Latin Literature by Gian Biagio Conte
-The Cambridge History of Classical Literature Volume 1 Part 1
-A History of Greece to 322 BC by N. G. L. Hammond

That quilt is gorgeous, Amber. Your parent are going to be thrilled with it. 14 inches of snow - that's probably all the snow we get here in a couple of years! I hope you and Charlie got outside and enjoyed playing in it, I remember the fun of building snow forts and having snowball fights when I was young and we lived in Eastern Canada.

Oh my, for some reason I didn't realize the quilt was also a surprise. I don't know how you managed to keep mum about it for so long (pun intended!!!!). I wish I could see the look on her face when she opens the gift.

Good Morning Amber! You make such gorgeous stuff!!!

Laura: I know, I can't wait! Tomm's been teasing me, saying that I'm going to make them both cry...

Brit: Morning! Always wonderful to see you here - and thanks!

I, of an older generation, am here to predict your Mum and Da will be over the moon happy with the quilt. And your keeping it quiet is excellent fun, too. And the quilt! Gorgeous.

You get all five stars.

(p.s. I'm one who likes Avi, funny, that.)

Love the quilt! *

*as the husband of a quilter I have some claim to expertise...

I remember distinctly disliking Avi since as early as 3rd grade. I have no idea why.

Amber, congratulations on the quilt. Your piecework looks meticulous! Hooray for your Etsy sales too! Wishing you and Charlie and Tomm a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Amber - congratulations on a productive year. Quilts, 300+ books, parenting and keeping up with all of us. Way to go. Happy Christmas and I hope to continue to struggle to keep pace with you next year.

Oh, how wonderful it is to wake up to messages from my friends!

maggie: You can keep Avi. Preferably far away from me.

Jim: Thanks, Doc!

Nora: It is indeed hard to put one's finger on what makes Avi so distasteful. I like neither his plots nor his style of writing, but I can't really go any further into an explanation than that. I just don't like it. *shrug*

Regina: Many thanks, and a very happy holidays to you, too!

Paul: If I find the time in the next couple of days, I want to sort through and count up how many non-picture books I've read this year. I'll report back.

I keep thinking that I will enter all the picture books I read to Will here, but then I just don't. I probably would have breezed right by 75 if I did! Does Charlie have a favorite book right now?

Brit: My neuroses won't let me not post the picture books Charlie and I read (but I only note the first read - multiple reads would put me in the thousands!). His favorite right now (so much so that we've both got the entire dialogue memorized and no longer need the actual book) is Leonardo the Terrible Monster. I definitely recommend it for Will!

357. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (christmas read, 1001 Children's Books list, 95 pages) - 9/10
A canonical classic, no doubt about it. Love this little tale, but I've never read it at actual christmas before, so this time was lovely.

****
Well, I've signed up for the new group, but I will try to remain steadfast and not start a thread until after the new year (we'll be driving back home on Jan. 1, so it will likely be the 2nd before I get round to it). I'll likely have a couple more books to list here first, at any rate.

Yes, I think that is where I had trouble - whether or not to somehow track multiple reads. I think I may read all of our Curious George books about 75 times each this year! I will have to check that book out!

Morning Amber- Have you guys dug out yet? LOL. We got very lucky, as far as snow goes. Maybe an inch, if that. Whew! Lots of winter left though.

Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family!

Mark: We've been out, although it took Tomm most of the day on Thursday to get us shoveled out of the driveway (he went out every two hours). We went sledding yesterday with Charlie for the first time, and he *loved* it!

Of course, he did! How could any kid not like sledding? Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

358. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (audio book) - 9/10
This is a re-read, many times over, but it has been awhile since the last time. I saw this audio version on the library shelves and thought that it would be nice to listen to something comfy and familiar while I sew, so that I could drift in and out and not get lost whenever I need to concentrate particularly hard on some bit of sewing. The 9/10 is a bit high, really, but it's for sentimental reasons and because I just love the Narnia books so much and have from childhood. I'm stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that, this first book at least, doesn't really stand up to an adulthood re-read. I don't care - I still love it.

What a marvelous quilt, Amber! They will be so touched.

Hi, Amber ~ just stopping by to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you and your family, Amber. I hope there is no more snow!

Roni: Thanks - I'm so excited!

Mary: Thank you, and happy christmas to you, too!

Susan: Happy holidays! I'm definitely hoping that the snow holds off, but this time at my parents', who are supposed to get 5-9 inches on the day after christmas, which is when we are planning to drive there!

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Amber. I'm excited for your surprise of that gorgeous quilt for your parents. That was a huge secret to keep all year! Safe travels.

Merry Christmas Amber!!
Hope you and your family have a great holiday and I hope Santa is very kind to Charlie!

HI Amber :)

I LOVE your snow pictures and the pictures of your fantastic baking!

I absolutely Love the stunning quilt you made for your parents. They will be soo proud to get such a beautiful present!

And LAST I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year :)

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Amber. I will look for you on the 2013 threads when I get back from visiting my Mom in the New Year.

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

I want to wish you a glorious celebration of that time of year when we all try to unite around a desire for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All. Merry Christmas, Amber!

Merry Christmas Amber!

Donna, Chelle, Bianca, Judy, Roni, Nora and all my LT friends: A Very Happy Christmas to you all! Tomm and I played Santa last night after we finally got Charlie to bed (after our traditional viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol), and now I'm up waiting for my men to wake up and get Christmas morning started. I love getting up early on Christmas morning and enjoying a bit of quiet time sitting by the tree, looking at what Santa's brought for Charlie and sipping a cuppa Earl Grey. Here's hoping we all have a wonderful holiday!

359. The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman (39 Clues series, 190 pages) - 8/10
Dan and Amy Cahill are still on the chase for the 39 Clues, being chased themselves by other members of their extended family. This time, they follow the clues to the very top of Mt. Everest (with the help of a special helicopter), and discove along the way that their au pair is not who she's been saying she is.
Still enjoying the series, even though this one seemed to lad a bit.

Merry Christmas, Amber and family!

>334 scaifea: I'm not looking forward to the 5+ inches either. I was supposed to buy a car on Wednesday, but now that's deferred until Friday. Still, I suppose I was right when I told a friend from another state that we rarely get substantial snow in central Indiana until after Christmas. I just didn't mean the day after.

casvelyn: It may go south, or at least that's what the forecasts are saying this morning, and I hope so. I'm packing up our stuff today anyway, and I'm still hoping we can go tomorrow...

Well, ding dang. We're all packed and ready to leave for Indiana tomorrow, but Snowpocalypse II is being a pain in my patootie. I *hate* it when I have to change plans right at the last minute, and we still aren't certain if we'll leave tomorrow. DING DANG, I say! We're thinking of starting out mid-morning and going as far as Champaign, IL, then calling my parents to see what the weather and roads are like and deciding from there whether to continue on or get a hotel room for the night. I just hate not knowing what's going to happen. Grr. Argh.

Anyways, I hope everyone has had a lovely day, and other than this annoyance, we surely have. Charlie loved everything he got and has played with all of it all day. Tomm gave me two books from my wishlist (the last of the Sandman collections - completes the set! Yay!) and Checklists for Life, which is right up my alley. He also gave me a lovely big box of Godiva Chocolate Truffles - yum! I feel like a queen. Charlie was s excited for Tomm and I to open the presents he picked out for us that he handed those out to us before wanting to open any of his presents (after seeing what Santa brought, who doesn't, in our house, wrap the presents but just sets them around the tree). He handed each of us his gift and immediately whispered to us what it was before we opened them. How sweet and adorable is that?!? I have the best Charlie on the planet, hand down. He's the very best gift I'll ever receive, and no mistake. I feel so very grateful for him, every single day.

What a lovely day that was, even with the annoying uncertainties. It's you and your two favorite guys! How bad a road trip can it be, no matter where you stay? *smooch*

Your Christmas sounds divine, Amber. I hope your travels go smoothly.

Richard: Agreed, friend. Agreed.

Laura: It definitely was. And I hope so too! I'll be calling my parents in a little while to see what the damage is so far and we'll decide from there.

360. Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (39 Clues series, 190 pages) - 9/10
Amy and Dan Cahill are still on the chase, of course, and this time they discover some big secrets about the chase itself and their au pair. Some cool twists are revealed in this one, and the tension leading up to the end had me turning pages as fast as I could.
One thing that I appreciate about this YA series is that they give a nice amount of historical background about the places to which they travel, and, at least for the bits that I know something about, they're dead on accurate. A nice way to slide some history into an action series for kids.

I don't know what part of the state your parents are in, but here in Indianapolis, we've got 7 inches of snow and more is coming down. With the wind, the snow is drifting. There's going to be less snow in the northern part of the state than the southern part--the Columbus area currently has 1.5 inches more than Indianapolis. I-69 north of Indy is just bad and is closed in parts (as are parts of SR 37 around Martinsville), but the other interstates are open, but traffic is moving slowly and lane markings are hard to see.

We're here in Indiana safe and sound! My parents live close to Terre Haute and have only about 3 inches total. Roads were wet but clean all the way. Whew!

Oh, I'm so glad you made it! And wonderful work on the beautiful quilt, lady.

Happy holidays!

>351 scaifea:: great news! I can't wait to hear about your mom's reaction to the quilt.

So glad you were able to make it, and I'm also eagerly awaiting your folks' reaction to the quilt.

Yes, I think there is a world wide anticipation!

Wake up, Amber! We're DYING here.

*sits and waits in anticipation*

Ha! Good morning, all! Well, they LOVED the quilt!! And their present to me? A beautiful old treadle sewing maching, complete with its own cabinet, in amazing condition and fully functioning! I feel so grateful and happy to have such a loving and happy family.

Wow both parties did great out of christmas. Good in-laws are definitely an ingredient which help a successful marriage.

Will there be pictures, or are your parents internet-shy? At least we can see the sewing machine, right? Will that be tricky to get home?

My brother will load up the sewing machine in his truck and come visit soon, which will be nice on both counts.

Oh, a treadle sewing machine. I learned my first machine sewing on one! I love beat of it. You may need to adjust your expectation of how long it takes to make a seam but you may also be romanced by the thrum thrum thrum....

I too await a photograph with anticipation! Hope your bro ties it up good and secure for its ride to your house.

Yay for the treadle sewing machine! Sounds like an awesome Christmas was had by one and all. Oh yeah, I think you do have the best Charlie on the planet. Too cute.

My beloved grandmother had a singer treadle sewing machine. I wonder what ever happened to it.

All good wishes for a wonderful New Year of sewing!

It looks like you got a lot more snow than we did. Wednesday afternoon brought an icy storm that melted on Thursday.

Oh Amber, how wonderful, and what a set of parents you've got! *smooch*

Great to hear they loved the quilt (how could they not?), and that sounds like a terrific present. Your family sounds most excellent.

Your reading has been almost as prodigious as your quilting! Happy new year to you Tomm and Charlie and look forward to more of the same in 2013.

Happy New Year, Amber!

I wish for you in the next year that you have all that you wish to have, do all that you wish to do, and that you be all that you wish to be. Happy New Year, Amber for you and your sweet family.

Here's to a great new year ahead, Amber!

361. Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix (39 Clues series, 327 pages) - 9/10
362. Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan et al. (39 Clues series, 238 pages) - 9/10

These two volumes wrap up the 39 Clues series, and they do it very well. I so much enjoyed reading this series, but I'll likely put off the next series (Cahills vs. Vespers, I think?) until later, since I've so many other little series to get to.

Back in a mo with my year-end wrap up - many thanks for to my visitors in the past couple of days! Charlie, Tomm and I are now safely home, happy, though exhausted from traveling. I'll post pictures of my new sewing machine on my 2013 Thread, which I hope to start tonight, but may no get to it until tomorrow.

Okay, so my year-end wrap up isn't terribly fancy; it's just this:

I read 362 books this year, out of which 161 were not picture books. So, not bad, really.

Many many *many* thanks for being here with me through this year - I look forward every day to checking in to see what visitors I've had, and checking in on your threads as well. Library Thing and the friends I've discovered here are among my most prized treasures.
See you all (I hope) over on my 2013 thread, which I'm off to start now...

Going to look for your new thread...

A link, perhaps?? Or you could have used that nifty continuation feature down there...

The continuation feature will create a thread within the same group, but 2013 is a new group, so that won't work here. I hope Amber doesn't mind if I leave the link!

Scaifea's 2013 Challenge - Thread 1

Oh, right you are Laura. Thanks for the link. I was searching, but hadn't found it yet.

Thanks, Laura! I've been busy this morning taking down the tree, and so away from LT for a couple of hours.