scaifea's thread #6

Hi, everyone! Welcome to Thread VI!

Art inspired in one way or another by some of my current reads:

Old Path White Clouds:



War and Peace:



The Complete Sherlock Holmes:



An illustration from Ollie's Odyssey:



One of Peggy Fortnum's wonderful illustrations of Paddington:



And one of Quentin Blake's excellent illustrations for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:



From the Introductions Thread:
I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure. I spend my time sewing, knitting, baking, volunteering at my son's school library and with the PTO, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 41 going on 12 and live in Wisconsin with my husband, Tomm; our 8-year-old son, Charlie; and our two dogs, Tuppence the Border Collie and Mario the Golden Retriever.

The five-ish or so books I have going and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

1. 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).

2. 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 currently working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The Newbery Honor books
c. Cooperative Children's Book Center list

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

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

5. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker (and other) lists (combined, in chronological order)

6. For this category, I cycle through 7 different stacks:
a. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
b. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
c. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
d. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
e. John Boyne bibliography (in chronological order, sort of)
f. The NEH Timeless Classics list
g. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
h. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

7. An unread book from my shelves.

8. A book from my Read Soon! shelves.

9. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

10. Book-a-year challenge: Three years ago, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

11. A book from the couple of series that I'm reading together with my mom.

12. A full-on re-read through Shakespeare's stuff.

13. A read-aloud-to-Charlie-at-bedtime book (or two).

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

15. An audiobook for the car.

16. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

And on top of these, there will be a multitude of picture books and easy readers, which Charlie and I read together. I've decided again this year also to list our re-reads, but I'll just list them each day and not number them.

What I'm reading now:
-Old Path White Clouds (Buddhism list)
-The Inquisitor's Tale (Newbery Honor Book)
-Hrolf Kraki's Saga (BFS award)
-War and Peace (because Charlie wants me to)
-The Complete Sherlock Holmes (1001 Children's Books (sort of))
-Paddington Helps Out (Charlie's bed-time book)
-Ollie's Odyssey (another Charlie bed-time book)
-Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell (audiobook, Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list)

Books On Deck:
-A Lear of the Steppes (books by year, 1870)
-The Full Cupboard of Life (series that my mom wants me to read so we can chat about it)
-The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare re-read)
-Andersonville (Banned Books)
-The Gods of Pegana (The Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy)
-The Worst President: The Story of James Buchanan (Presidential Challenge)
-Murder in Mesopotamia (Christie bibliography)
-House of Leaves (unread book from my shelves)
-The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (from my Read Soon shelves)

In addition to these, I have some classics-related texts that I'm working through (VERY slowly (read: I haven't touched them in months)):
-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

Books Read

JANUARY
1. James and the Giant Peach (Charlie's bedtime read) - 9/10 = A
2. The Inverted World (BFSA) - 9/10 = A
3. The Cat Who Went to Heaven (Charlie's book club book) - 9/10 = A-
4. Don Quixote (from my unread shelves) 0 8/10 = B+
5. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (from my classics shelves) - 8/10 = B+
6. Prairie Tale (from my Read Soon shelves) - 7/10 = C+
7. A Bear Called Paddington (Charlie's bedtime read) - 10/10 = A+
8. The Dolphin Crossing (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B
9. The Year of the Book (a book I picked off the shelves while volunteering at Charlie's school library) - 9/10 = A-

FEBRUARY
10. The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Newbery Medal) - 10/10 = A+
11. Anna & Elsa: All Hail the Queen (Charlie book) - 8/10 = B
12. The Popularity Papers (#3) (Frequently Challenged Children's Books) = 8/10 = B+
13. The Hollow Hills (Mythopoeic) - 8/10 = B+
14. The Odyssey (audiobook in the car) - 10/10 = A+
15. Herobrine Scared Stiff (Charlie's read-aloud) - 7/10 = C-
16. Drama (Frequently Challenged Children's Books) - 9/10 = A
17. Where the Lilies Bloom (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B
18. More About Paddington (Charlie's bedtime read) - 9/10 = A
19. When the Sea Turned to Silver (Westview library book) - 9/10 = A
20. Ghosts (Westview library book) - 8/10 = B+

The Charlie, Mario & Tuppence Toppers:

Charlie has switched up his converse shoestrings for the season (and note the themed socks, too):



And The Gals:

And the Bonus Question:

Valentine's Day - love it or no? Best Valentine's present? Worst? Are you more of a Galentine's Day person? Or perhaps you prefer to celebrate Anna Howard Shaw Day?

I wish I could just close the door and start over when the clutter and mess gets too tough to handle! Happy new and tidy thread, Amber! (We really didn't have THAT much fun while you were gone....'cause you weren't here, ya know?)

Valentine's Day---meh. I like nice little surprises from time to time. And we like to celebrate by going out to eat---Valentine's Day is a TERRIBLE time to try to go out. Great excuse to lay in a supply of chocolate, though. I usually try to bring home some chocolate dipped strawberries from our local candy-maker, Gertrude Hawk.

Happy new thread! Looks like the unruly teenagers threw a party on your other thread in your absence :-p

*drags in some glitter on the bottom of her shoes*

Love Valentine's Day! Or the day after really when you can get some great deals on chocolate...

>7 laytonwoman3rd: Hi, Linda! Wouldn't it be great if we could just close up and move house when things get messy?

I'm the same about Valentine's Day. Meh. Tomm feels that he needs to ask me every year, "Are you SURE you don't want anything? Positive?" He's always worried that he'll get into some kind of trouble, even though he never has. I don't like cut flowers, and when I want chocolate, I buy it for myself. Silly, really.

>8 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle! Ha! I know, right? That place is a disaster.

>Morphy: Dagnabbit, woman! Take off those shoes! YEESH.

Oh, but excellent point about the cheap chocolate.

Not a Valentine's Day person. My best Valentine's Day was in Barcelona where it is celebrated as Sant Jordi Day. Traditionally men receive books and women receive flowers so the Ramblas was full of stalls selling books and flowers. Now it's a festival of book giving to everyone with flowers on the side. A wonderful day that we stumbled upon just by luck of being there.

Happy new thread, Amber.

Welcome back!

I'm not a Valentine's person. It's not a big holiday here, just something that's been imported from across the sea and that isn't really celebrated more than people buying flowers and sweets for their significant other, and primary school kids making cards or drawings at school. I don't think I know anyone who actually celebrates V Day. (It's called "All Hearts' Day" here, btw.) I just think it's kind of stupid and just a way to get people to shop more and if I were in a relationship I'd prefer if it wasn't fussed over. I'd rather a night in watching movies and eating those heart shaped sweets that are on offer that a dinner out or something (but I've always preferred small gestures to grand "romantic" ones - which I don't find romantic at all but just show off-y).

I will probably get some flowers and jelly hearts from dad, though, because he's a sweetheart. Otherwise I've got a doctor's appointment on Tuesday so that's how I'll "celebrate". :/

Happy new thread, my dear.

Since this is a family thread I am unable to share my favourite Valentine's present!

Happy new thread, Amber. I am neither yes or no when it comes to Valentines' Day. Like so many other "special" days it has become so commercial. I prefer to have my significant other express his love (and give me presents) spontaneously rather than because the calendar says so.

But I do always remember Valentines Day for my grandkids - a perfect excuse to slip them a little chocolate and some spending money!

Happy new thread, Amber!

As I'm a long-time singleton I'm not too fussed about Valentine's Day. I don't hate it, it's just not a big deal for me. Although often my Dad will get me a Valentine's Day card which is always super sweet of him.

Normally I'd be psyched about cheap post-Valentine's Day cheap chocolate but with having my wisdom teeth out in January, I still have a stash of chocolate leftover from Christmas I haven't tackled yet. :P

Happy New Thread, Amber!

Love seeing that peaceful Buddha up top.

We're usually pretty low key about Valentine's Day - flowers, a card, maybe a nice dinner out. But this year it's part of our New Orleans celebration.

>12 avatiakh: Kerry: I love the idea of everyone getting books, of course! Very cool!

>13 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

>14 PawsforThought: Paws: I do like making the valentine cards with Charlie for his classmates. Crafty and fun.

>15 PaulCranswick: Paul: Oh, hello! Gentlemen never tell, eh?

>16 DeltaQueen50: Judy: It *is* fun to get a little something for Charlie on valentine's day, and we also get him a box of chocolates, of course.

>17 MickyFine: Micky: I'm proud to say that I have a (very) little bit of my Christmas chocolates left, too...

18 Thanks, Joe! I do love that lovely Buddha up top, too.
How's NOLA? Don't forget Tujacques, if you can fit it in - delicious.

Happy new thread! Our Valentine's Day celebrations have been hit or miss. It's the day before Callia's birthday, and usually we seem to be really busy. Last year I proposed a couple's massage in lieu of gifts. We're doing it again this year.

>20 AMQS: Anne: Oooh, I like the idea of a massage! Tomm is traditionally out of town on Valentine's Day, and he will be again this year. So in the end it's good that I don't really care about it so much - ha!

Happy new thread!

I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. I think it has more to do with the compulsory class valentine parties and creation of large numbers of valentines for the children's classes. We got right out of the habit in NZ, as it's really an adult holiday there and not that big a deal, comparatively. I have been informed by my 4th grader that he is not aware of any plans for a class party, so maybe we're done with Valentines? A girl can hope.

Happy new one, Amber. We are not celebrating Valentine's Day.

Valentines Day was kind of fun in grade school when we exchanged those cartoony valentines - not fun if someone forgot you, of course. After that - meh.

Didn't you like the way we decorated while you were away? That was kind of valentiny with the glitter and all.

Happy new thread. And in answer to your question: seems like a marketing exercise to me!

>22 nittnut: Jenn: Ha! Well, yes, the Valentines can be tiring (and I got downright ready-to-throw-a-fit irritated this year, with my cricut machine (read: with me for not remembering how to use my cricut machine)), and I can't imagine having more than one munchkin, necessitating more than one batch of cards. Yeesh.

>23 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! It's interesting to see how far and where the Valentine's Day business has spread.

>24 Familyhistorian: Meg: I remember one year in school when we got to make our own little mailboxes for the other kids to place our cards. That year was really fun.
And yes, that other thread got very...festive. Thanks BUNCHES for that...

>25 charl08: Charlotte: Well, yes, I suppose it is, if you to what you're 'supposed' to do (buy cards and chocolates and flowers). We don't follow the rules here at Scaife Manor: Tomm and I don't exchange gifts, and Charlie and I always make his school valentines instead of getting those store ones. Fight the system!!

On the agenda today:
Grocery shopping this morning (thank goodness I prepped the list before leaving for the weekend), laundry, some baking (a heart-shaped cake and some heart-shaped cookies, of course), and hopefully I can squeeze some treadmilling in there somewhere. I also need to swing by the library at some point to pick up some holds. Cheesy Pizza French Bread for dinner tonight I think (Tomm's left again this morning for another business trip, so Charlie and I can gluten it up).

On the reading front:
Over the weekend I listened to a ton of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell but am still nowhere near finished, of course, and I finished The Hollow Hills (more on that later). Last night I managed a couple more chapters of Old Path White Clouds, which I'm loving lots.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "William Sleator (The Angry Moon, 1971 Caldecott Honor Book) wrote the musical score for the animated version of Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky (1969 Caldecott Honor Book)."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More of Herobrine Scared Stiff
-Buster's Sugartime by Marc Brown (public library book, easy reader) - 8/10 = B
-Ollie's Valentine
-Chapter 14 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 20 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The second half of chapter 5 in More about Paddington

And over the weekend we read I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy (public library book, picture book) - 9/10 = A
This one was excellent and I highly recommend it as a read-aloud for all kiddos. What an amazing woman.

We watched more episodes of The Muppet Show last night, with Julia Andrews, Peter Sellers (one of my favorites) and Jaye P Morgan.

Welcome back, Amber and happy new thread!

Morning, Amber! Happy New Thread!

>29 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda!

>30 msf59: Thanks, Mark!

Happy New Thread to you, too! I love the illustrations from the books you're reading - cool idea.

Old Path white Clouds is a good one. Love Thich Nhat Hanh - which reminds me I've been wanting to read his accounts of the Viet Nam war for quite a while now.

Happy new one, Amber!

Best Valentine's Day? 2005 when I got to take mrsdrneutron to Florence, Italy. We spent a week there - and I only had a single day's meeting! That was when we became fans of Chiantis. :)

Happy new thread!

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day -- I don't hate it, it's just not relevant to me.

Morning, Amber!

It may be we can't fit Tujacques in this time, but we'll be back. We had a delish meal at the Cajun restaurant Mulate's last night. Among other dishes, it was my first experience of Crawfish Étouffée, and it was very good.

Happy Monday! Grocery shopping is also on my list, although I am less prepared than you and may have to wing it as I don't have my list done and don't feel up to menu planning today

I don't know what Cheesy Pizza French Bread consists of but it sounds like something I would love!

The Julie Andrews episode of The Muppet Show is one of my favourites. :)

>32 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! This is my first TNH, but it most certainly won't be my last.

>33 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie!

>34 drneutron: Jim: Oh, gosh, that sounds amazing!

>35 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi! I get that; it's certainly not for everyone.

>36 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Yes, definitely chalk it up for next time - it's delicious!

>37 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle! Oh boy, I couldn't wing it with the groceries, ever. I'd come home with 5 bags of marshmallows, 1 banana and no milk. Hopeless.
Cheesy Pizza French Bread is pretty much what it sounds like: Slice a loaf of French bread in half longways and then into about 6-inch sections, spread pizza sauce on the sections, sprinkle cheese on top and broil 'em. Other toppings may be applied, of course, but we stick with the simple cheese ones.

>38 MickyFine: Micky: I know, right? Fabulous.

>36 jnwelch: Crawfish étouffée? I knew I'd love it before I'd googled it. It's a life dream for me to visit New Orleans, I'm so envious of you!

>12 avatiakh: Now that's a Valentine's Day I could get behind!! Happy new thread!

>41 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba!

I could take or leave Valentine's Day, but I'm also single. Usually it means a fairly normal day, maybe or maybe not topped off with watching The Princess Bride.

Also I'm totally with those who support the day-after-V-day chocolate.

It's a long story, but I 'popped the answer' and got engaged on Valentine's Day -- 29 years ago! So, yeah, we like it!

But we also like the chocolate sales too!

p.s. What's all this sticky stuff on the walls? :^)

I get the impression that Valentine's Day is quite different here that in the States. It's celebrated between couples, and pretty much only between couples. I'd find it quite odd if my son's school had spent time on any Valentine's Day themed crafts, for instance. Certainly children don't send each other Valentine's cards, not until they get to the potential boyfriend / girlfriend stage anyway, and very definitely not to the whole class.

Wow, that all sounds awsome and a lot of hard work to keep it up as planned. But I love to see a good reader.... haha, meaning, anyone who is reading Agatha Christie is a good reader in my eyes

>43 bell7: Mary: Oh, I like the idea of watching The Princess Bride...

>44 michigantrumpet: Marianne: Aw, Happy Almost Anniversary!!

>45 SandDune: Rhian: Interesting. I think the kids here get a kick out of it, but yeah, it is a bit strange, I guess.

>46 annus_sanctus: Hello, Hans! Oh, it's really no work at all - all pleasure. I couldn't function properly without my lists. And a little Christie is what everyone needs, no?

13. The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart (Mythopoeic award, 490 pages) - 8/10 = B+
The second book in a series dealing with Merlin and Arthur, this one is solid and entertaining enough. I do love Stewart's Merlin, but the story did drag in parts. Definitely enjoyable, but not as magical as reading Malory or The Mabinogion, I think.

14. The Odyssey by Homer (audiobook for the car) - 10/10 = A+
Gorgeous, as it always is. Stanley Lombardo's translation is the best out there, and he does a wonderful job reading it, too.

Well, the Anna Howard Shaw cookies and cake are finished - not perfect, but they'll do, eh?

>49 scaifea: Loverly. Also, love the plate the cookies are on. :)

>50 MickyFine: It's from the set that was my grandma's - it was her everyday set of dishes, and so it shall be mine. I *love* the Blue Willow pattern.

Thanks for letting me know about Anna Howard Shaw Day, Amber. I was vaguely familiar with her but had no idea she "had her own day". My friends and I have always referred to 14/2 as "Hellentine's Day" but henceforth it shall be known to me as Anna Howard Shaw Day. You can never have too many holidays celebrating incredible women!

Happy new thread Amber my dear. I love Valentine's Day but this year with Karen not feeling well we will just exchange cards and have not got gifts.

The cookies and cake look scrumptious! Those and day-after chocolate sales are good reasons for Valentine's Day.

I'm listening to The Hollow Hills now (a reread) and agree it's not the best of Stewart's series, but I'm enjoying it enough. I did still like The Crystal Cave a lot. Some books hold up better on reread than others. I wonder how the next two books of the series are going to hold up.

>40 PawsforThought: :-)

>52 PawsforThought: Paws: Ha! You're welcome. I learned about AHS day through my dear friend, Liz Lemon...

>53 johnsimpson: Thanks, John! Oh, poor Karen - I hope she's feeling better soon!

>54 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary!
I read The Crystal Cave because it came up on one of my lists, liked it okay enough, but wasn't going to read the rest of the series until *this* one came up on another list. I still won't pursue the series unless, of course...

>56 scaifea: I've just finished The Crystal Cave and while I found it was OK, it fell a bit between two stools for me. It wasn't magical enough for a traditional telling of the Merlin story, and it wasn't realistic enough for a historical approach. Or at least it didn't agree with my idea of what a realistic approach would have been: as someone who comes from South Wales, I certainly felt it ought to have rained more for a start!

Happy sort-of new thread, Amber!

We aren't huge into Valentine's Day. If the spirit so moves us, we'll do something special - we went away for a long weekend in Colorado our first V-Day when we were dating. And he was inspired once and surprised me with a nice dinner and a classical guitar concert, which was unexpected and very sweet. But other than that, it's usually pretty low-key... I give The Wayne a card, he feels bad because he forgot to get me one, he overcompensates by humoring me for a few days in random whims, and then we go back to normal :-P

>39 scaifea: Sounds yummy and carbalicious! Mmmm

I wing it a lot with groceries. We tend to get a lot of the same stuff every week and just change out the dinner items which I tend to buy what's on sale for meat. Today I found a whole chicken on sale for $7 so I consider that a winging it win :)

>57 SandDune: Rhian: Ha! I love the rain comment. And I agree that it's not quite enough of, something. As I said, I've read the Mabinogion and Malory, and so I generally am difficult to impress with Arthur re-tellings.

>58 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! Tomm's pretty much always away on a business trip on Valentine's Day, so it doesn't mean that much to us, either.

>59 ChelleBearss: Chelle: Winnerwinnerchickendinner!!!

>60 scaifea: Although I may need to retract my statement as I just realized that we have 6 boxes of crackers in our cupboard now. Whoops.

>56 scaifea: Ah, that's a Tina Fey character, isn't it? From that show I can't remember the name of because I never watched it (do I need to hide now? I feel like I might) I've heard of "Galentine's Day", which I think is Amy Poehler? From another show I haven't watched. Yeah, I think I'm going to go hide now.

>61 ChelleBearss: Chelle: Ha! See?! That's what happens...

>62 PawsforThought: Paws: No need to hide. If you don't like them, then you don't like them. I happen to love both shows tons, but I don't expect everyone else to get that kind of humor.

For Valentines, I love sentimental cards--I have two for hubby tomorrow. And the kids like chocolate. ;0

I just remembered that February 14th was my Grandma Katie's birthday! She's been gone so long, and I can't recall much in the way of celebrating her birthday, but tomorrow I will! She would be 127 if she were with us!

Definitely pro-Valentine's. I don't care that much about presents, but I am with Kim on the mushy cards.

>64 Berly: Kim: Gosh, I can't even imagine what Tomm would do if I were to get him a mushy card. Panic, probably. Ha!

>65 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Oh, Happy Birthday, Granda Katie!!

>66 banjo123: Rhonda: Here's hoping you receive the mushiest today!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, a bit of laundry, some writing, some sewing. Chicken Pot Pie for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I picked up Drama from the library and read straight through it (more on that later), and then started reading Bone, but haven't gotten too far into it just yet.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "'Paul Oser Zelinsky' (Rapunzel, 1998 Caldecott Medal) in an anagram for 'Rapunzel's key oils.'"
Wow, both incredibly trivial and weird. *sigh*

What We Read Yesterday:
-My Fuzzy Valentine
-Penguin in Love
-Strega Nona
-Chapter 15 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 21 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The first half of chapter 6 in More about Paddington

And (cue the angel chorus) Charlie finished:

15. Herobrine Scared Stiff (Charlie's read-aloud, 86 pages) - 7/10 = C-
I can't claim to understand anything about Minecraft, really, and a poorly-written published fan fiction about it isn't really high on my To Read list. But, Charlie loved it and read the whole thing aloud to us, so yay. And there's another in the series, ohdearlordylou.

Morning Amber! Close to 50 again today. Happy Camper!! Enjoy your day.

>70 msf59: Morning, Mark! Yesterday was glorious, with that 40s weather and sunshine! I think we're slated for clouds today, though.

16. Drama by Raina Telgemeier (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, 233 pages/GN) - 9/10 = A

A sweet and funny look at middle school life and love. I enjoyed getting lost in this one for an afternoon.

Morning, Amber! What time should I be there for dinner?

Morning! Hope you guys have a great day!
Does Charlie do VDay at school today? Chloe takes hers in tomorrow

Good morning, Amber!

I need to grab Drama. That's one of hers I haven't read. I can't remember whether you read her newest, Ghosts. Madame MBH and I both loved it.

>73 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie! 5:30 okay with you?

>74 ChelleBearss: Morning, Chelle! Yep, he took his Valentine bookmarks in today, and they also get a pajama day. He's pretty excited.

>75 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Drama is the first of hers that I've read, but I now know that I need to correct that!

Happy newish thread, Amber!
No Valentines here, it was tried to promote it here, but most Dutch ignore Valentines day. If I was forced to celebrate on February 14th, I would pick the (>12 avatiakh:) Sant Jordi Day or celebrate Anna Howard Shaw Day :-)

>77 FAMeulstee: Hi, Anita! Ha! I love that they tried to get you all to celebrate it but you refused! Excellent!

>77 FAMeulstee: Another reason to move to the Netherlands!

>63 scaifea: It's not that I don't like them, it's that I've never watched a single minute of them to start with. Just never got around to it or thought they seemed interesting enough, I guess. If they pop up on Netflix I might add them to my list. We'll see. (It's a really, really long list.)

>80 PawsforThought: Even less reason to hide, then, eh?

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, menu-planning and grocery-listing, writing, sewing (I'm making good progress on my new bathrobe!). I also need to take down the Valentine's Day decorations and get the St. Patrick's Day stuff out, so that Charlie and I can decorate after school today.

On the reading front:
I abandoned Bone after just a few pages - not my thing at all, as it turns out - and instead started Where the Lilies Bloom, which is much better so far. I also read another couple of chapters in War & Peace last night.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Maurice Sendak based one of the 'wild things' in Where the Wild Things Are on a relative who scared him as a child by saying, 'I could eat you up.' The other wild things were also based on Sendak's relatives."
Ha! Interesting...

What We Read Yesterday:
-The first couple of pages of Herobrine Saves Christmas (woot.)
-Happy Valentine's Day, Sweet Babboo!
-My Wild Family by Laurent Moreau (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 8/10 = B+
-Chapter 16 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 22 in Ollie's Odyssey
-Another couple of pages in chapter 6 of More about Paddington

Morning, Amber! I am off today and of course, it will be the chilliest day of the week. Better stay in and read, right?

>84 msf59: Morning, Mark! Woot for having the coldest day off! And yes, you'd better just read all day, really. B.A.G.!

Hey, congrats on jumping into Good Reads. I do not spend a lot of time over there, but I like sharing my books and watching what others are reading. It is very user-friendly that way.

>86 msf59: Mark: Ha! Thanks! I've put it off for years, but finally decided to jump in. I don't expect to do anything social over there, but I do like the looks of the organizing aspect, and it's the only way to snoop on some of my FB friends' reading (those who are not here)...

>82 scaifea: Ah, you brighten my day with Sendak trivia.

Amber--Happy Wednesday!! Could you just run a few extra on the treadmill for me today? I am not up to working out yet. ; ) And my Valentine decorations are gonna hang around for a few more days. What's not to love?

>88 PawsforThought: Paws: Aw, you're welcome!

>89 Berly: Kim: Ha! Well, I did an hour, so is that enough for both of us? It's certainly enough for me. Yeesh.
It's funny that we even put up St. Patrick's Day decorations, because we don't at all actually celebrate the day. I just need the house to be festive through Easter, since it's so barren-looking outside.

Morning, Amber!

>91 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

Hi Amber Happy New Thread as asked for:

>93 BBGirl55: Byrony: Ooof! Hellloooo....

I didn't realize you delivered! Excellent service!

I like that Sendak trivia, too, Amber. I'd like to meet his relatives some time - I think. :-)

If you want to see David Tennant in a very different part, he's terrific as the bad guy Kilgrave in the Jessica Jones series.

Madame MBH can't wait for Emma Watson's Beauty and the Beast to come out.

>95 jnwelch: Hi, Joe!
I've heard very good things about David in Jessica Jones - I'll have to check it out at some point. I just watched his reaction to receiving a recognition award at the recent British somethingorother awards - adorable.

And I'm pretty excited about Emma's Beauty, too - it looks amazing. I just love her - so smart and strong.

Hey Amber! Hope your Wednesday has been spectacular! Will's HS band is learning music from BatB. They'll be playing it at Disney later this year.

Happy Wednesdsy, Amber.

>97 Carmenere: Lynda: Oooh! Two things: 1) The music is wonderful - I hope they enjoy it! and 2) I played at Disney when I was in my high school band!! So much fun.

>98 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

Afternoon, Amber! Happy New Thread. I so enjoy your toppers, including (of course) the ones of Charlie, Tuppence, and Mario. Charlie's shoes (and socks!) are awesome. I have had a variety of Converse sneakers over the years decades. My faves were the red high-topped ones and the black-and-white houndstooth checked ones.

>94 scaifea: Glad you liked!

Hi Amber, hope you are having a good day my dear, Karen has not been too bad today but things are still up and down from day to day. Karen says hello my dear and we both send love and hugs to you all.

>100 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen! I still have my first pair of black high-top Chuck Taylors, which I got when I was in high school. My current pair are blue low-tops.

>101 BBGirl55: *grins*

>102 johnsimpson: It's been a pretty good day so far, and Charlie and I have decided that we deserve Chinese buffet for dinner. Woot! Big hugs right back to Karen!

Look, everybody, what arrived at school for Charlie's entire class today:



They each got all of this amazing Pluto swag! As if our excellent drneutron couldn't get any cooler...

>104 scaifea: That's better than awesome. Nice work drneutron. :)

>104 scaifea:, >105 nittnut: oh, awesome!

>105 nittnut: Jenn: I know, right?!

>106 drneutron: Thanks so much, again, Jim. You're fabulous.

>104 scaifea: Love it!!

>108 Berly: Kim: I know, right?!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, part of the grocery shopping, then a PTO meeting before going in for my Thursday afternoon library volunteering.

On the reading front:
I listened to a nice chunk of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell yesterday, and I'm just loving it. It's one that follows you around during the day. I quite love Mr. Strange and I love to be irritated by Mr. Norrell. Excellent stuff. I also read a bit more of both Where the Lilies Bloom (heavy-ish stuff for a middle grade book) and The Complete Sherlock Holmes (a complete delight, still).

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Author and illustrator William Lipkind and Nicolas Mordvinoff based The Two Reds (1951 Caldecott Honor Book) on their own Greenwich Village neighborhood."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Red: A Crayon's Story
-Chapter 17 i Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 23 in Ollie's Odyssey

We watched Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, because we forgot to watch it on the proper day. Yeesh.

>104 scaifea: Like!!

Morning, Amber! Sweet Thursday! I was able to snag Norse Mythology on audio. Just sayin'...

>112 msf59: Mark: Ooooh, audio! I had my hardcover pre-ordered, and it's now waiting patiently for me on my READ SOON shelves. I know it'll be excellent and amazing.

>104 scaifea: Wow, thats great!
I *love* that look in Charlie's eyes.

>114 FAMeulstee: Anita: Me, too. I love it when he looks over his glasses at me like that. So mischievous and adorable.

Morning, Amber! Sweet Thursday!

Pluto swag for the class from Dr. Jim - how great. Love our LT connections.

I'm glad you're loving Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - me, too. I found the King's Road section particularly fascinating, for some reason. In case it hasn't been mentioned, the tv mini-series based on it was well done - BBC, probably.

Morning Amber!

>104 scaifea: Oh my, that is awesome. And the look on Charlie's face is so great. And all the books in the background! Yay Books!

I haven't yet read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell but I'm enjoying your enjoyment.

>116 jnwelch: Joe: Morning, Joe!
That Jim is something, isn't he?
And yes, I'm loving Strange & Norrell, and I definitely love the King's Road! V. cool. Funny, I was just wondering earlier today if there had been a movie, so I'll have to check out the BBC thing. Thanks for the tip!

>117 EBT1002: Morning, Ellen!
Ha! Pretty much every photo taking in our house has some books in the background - there aren't too many spaces here where there aren't book shelves...
And oh, do put Strange & Norrell on your list - it's so excellent!

>104 scaifea: That is just over and above!! Nicely done Jim.

>104 scaifea: Love the Pluto swag! Yay Jim! Gosh, I'm so old that I remember when Pluto was a planet. Hmmm, I could get that on a t-shirt.

>119 RebaRelishesReading: Reba: Agreed!

>120 susanj67: Susan: Heyheyhey, no. Just, whoa.

*I* remember when Pluto was a plant.

...

*ahem*

>121 scaifea: A plant? Now, that's a phase of Pluto's reclassification that I definitely missed.

>122 PawsforThought: Most likely the DOGwood tree.

>123 Morphidae: XD

Howdy Amber! Awesome swag for Charlie! I bet he was super happy!

Jim's Pluto swag is wonderful. He is a treasure!

A quick question: Is this Charlie's first experience with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? That is one book I wish that I could go back and read again as if for the very first time.

>122 PawsforThought: >123 Morphidae: Shhhh.... Quiet now, ladies...

(I'm letting it stand. No sense in changing it now, and it's not as if you all don't know what a dingaling I am.)

>124 PawsforThought: Hi, Chelle! He was so excited! (I almost typed "over the moon" but thought better of it.)

>125 ChelleBearss: Marianne: An LT treasure for certain.

Nope, this is the second time through for Charlie - we read it together sometime in the past couple of years (I can't remember how long ago); this time through is because it's this month's pick for his book club at the library.
I can't remember how many times I read it when I was a kid, but it was many *many* times.

>127 scaifea: Over the moon... *snerk*

>128 drneutron: Jim: Completely unintentional. I made myself groan.

On the agenda for today:
Grocery shopping this morning, then treadmilling, cleaning, laundry, bills, organizing the week's photos, and possibly some sewing. Charlie has gymnastics this evening, so we'll likely have Short-Order Cook Breakfast for dinner when we get home.

On the reading front:
I made progress on both Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Old Path White Clouds yesterday.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Chris Van Allsburg helped write the screen story for his picture book Jumanji (1982 Caldecott Medal), but Tod Strasser wrote the novelization of the motion picture."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-A bit of Flat Stanley (Charlie's read it before but decided he wants to read it aloud to us)
-I Am a Story by Dan Yaccarino (school library book, picture book) - 10/10 = A+
-What Do You Do with a Problem? by Kobi Yamada (school library book, picture book) - 9/10 = A
-Gingerbread Man Loose at the Zoo by Laura Murray (public library book, picture book) - 8/10 = B+

Morning Amber! Happy Friday! Let the warm-up begin.

>132 msf59: Morning, Mark! It's supposed to get close to 60 here today - woot!!

Sounds like you have a busy day ahead! Enjoy

Yay for warm-ups! And I don't mean the athletic kind. Have a great day!

>134 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle. Busy is good!

>135 Berly: Kim: Ha! Agreed. And thanks!

Hi Amber, Karen has had a good day and she has her a appointment for her scan on Monday, yay. Hope you are having a really good day my dear and have a great weekend, sending love and hugs.

>137 johnsimpson: John: Oh, that's great news!!

Had to come over and brag a bit (but just softly because it's been so long since I've had the sewing machine out and this one is a new one I've used only once before and we haven't really gotten to know one another's quirks yet) as I finished a gift for my friend's birthday next week, a walker caddy to hang over the crossbar of her walker.

And I'm very proud of myself that I didn't have to rip anything out, even though not all the seams are even.

>139 ronincats: How lovely! And practical, and thoughtful....I'll bet it will be greatly appreciated.

Knowing that you are on the treadmill is making me tired.

Have a great weekend, Amber, and don't overdo it.

Morning, Amber! Happy Saturday. I am currently listening to Neil Gaiman, being interviewed on the NYT Book Podcast. Catch it if you can.

>139 ronincats: Roni: Oh, what a lovely idea! What sort of machine do you have?

>141 PaulCranswick: Paul: Ha! It's the weekend - I do NOT exercise on the weekend. Yeesh.

>142 msf59: Morning, Mark! Oh, that Neil. Love him.

On the agenda for the day:

We're off to Dubuque later today for lunch out, some shopping and to see the Lego Batman Movie. Woot!

On the reading front:
I listened to more Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (STUFF is happening! Exciting!), I finished Where the Lilies Bloom (more on this later), started When the Sea Turned to Silver and read a bit more in War & Peace.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "When The Egg Tree (1951 Caldecott Medal) was published, author/illustrator Katherine Mihous made fifteen egg trees with forty eggs each to send to various book stores and libraries."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 18 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 24 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The rest of chapter 6 in More about Paddington

Oh enjoy the Batman Lego movie! I would like to try and take Chloe to that soon

>146 ChelleBearss: Chelle: Thanks! We LOVE the Lego Movie and Will Arnett's Batman, and the previews for this one look amazing. We're all pretty excited.

17. Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera Cleaver and Bill Cleaver (1001 Children's Books, 174 pages) - 8/10 = B
A 14-year-old girl in Appalachia struggles to hold her family together after both her parents die, keeping their orphanhood secret from the adults around them and taking up wildcrafting to survive.
A harsh tale, fairly softly told. I enjoyed it mostly, although the ending was a bit too pat, really.

I don't know if you saw that Neil Gaiman announced his next book will be a sequel to Neverwhere?

>144 scaifea: STUFF is happening!

*snickers* Yes, it's not the most *exciting* of books.

>148 scaifea: I read that a few years ago, and I thought it was pretty amazing to imagine one little girl taking care of her family like that. I don't remember the end at all though.

Happy Saturday, Amber!

You're welcome re the BBC Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell series. Very good actors in it.

Hello dear lady, sounds like a great Saturday that you have planned, we have had a good day and Karen is fine. I will post more on my thread soon after I have perused all the other threads, sending love and hugs.

>149 MickyFine: Micky: I did see that. I'm wondering if I'll be able to read it without feeling ill. Oh, the humanity.

>150 Morphidae: Morphy: Oh, I wasn't being facetious there; stuff is actually happening that is exciting and surprising. I don't find it uneventful in the slightest, really.

>151 nittnut: Jenn: Yeah, it's not all that remarkable, just abrupt and to neat-and-tidy.

>152 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! It's good to know that the acting is good - it would be sad if the film version didn't live up to the characters.

>153 johnsimpson: Hi, John! I'm so glad to hear that Karen is doing okay today!

Back from our big day out - the Batman Movie is excellent! Very funny.

Happy Sunday, Amber.

I've never read Gaiman, or at least I hadn't until I picked up a new short story collection and one of his - almost a micro short story- about a haunting experience at 15. I'll have a look for some more now I think.

Glad to see you guys enjoyed your outing yesterday!

>156 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

>157 charl08: Charlotte: Oh, do! He's wonderful!

>158 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle!

On the agenda for today:
bit of a slow start this morning - the Scaife Men let me sleep in a bit - but then I made cake doughnuts for breakfast and now have some Italian Bread setting. I'll make some cookies (Out-On-The-Range Cookies, which involve peanut butter and chocolate chips) and a Fudge Pie today, too. Also, laundry and hopefully catching up on the threads here. Taco Soup with Black Beans for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I managed a bit of When the Sea Turned to Silver last night, which is lovely, as all of her stuff seems to be.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Illustrator Louis Slobodkin and author James Thurber didn't discuss Many Moons (1944 Caldecott Medal) at all during the creative process."
This is one of my favorite Caldecott winners, too. Such a lovely story.

What We Read Yesterday:
-Friends (Mostly) by Barbara M. Joosse (public library book, picture book) - 8/10 = B
-A bit of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 19 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 25 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The first half of chapter 7 in More About Paddington

Happy Sunday, Amber!

Hmm. Now I need to find Many Moons. Thanks for the tip.

>162 jnwelch: Joe: I hope you can track it down - I'm pretty certain that you'll love it.

The results of Baking Day:

Out-On-The-Range Cookies (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip):



Italian Bread:



Fudge Pie:

>143 scaifea: I have a Kenmore. Bought it when the local Sears Express store was going out of business some years ago at 60% of original price, but it's fancy and I've only used it a couple of times. And if you look at the green swoosh in the middle, with start/stop--it keeps sewing after you take your foot off the pedal and we had a few tussles about that!

>165 ronincats: Oh, interesting! I love looking at sewing machines of all kinds, so thanks for sharing!

Keeps sewing after you take your foot off!?!?! That's anarchy.

>167 RebaRelishesReading: Reba:

"Stop sewing now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."

>168 scaifea: Ha!

Your thread is yummy!! I would like a piece of all three items, k thanks!

>169 rosalita: Julia: I creeped myself out a bit with that one, if I'm honest.

>170 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle! Help yourself!

>168 scaifea: My sewing machine is NOT named Hal. (At least, that is what IT says.)

>172 ronincats: Roni: *snork!*

Hey Amber, I'm returning to LT after a week of mostly-disconnected vacation. No way can I catch up on all threads, so I'm just going to start fresh from here.

* waves *

>174 lauralkeet: Hi, Laura! Good to see you!

My old Bernina had a glitch in the foot pedal. How I found out about it was one night when I was up at O'dark O'clock sewing curtains and I was nowhere near the machine and it started sewing. Creepiest thing ever.

>176 nittnut: Jenn: Oh holy moly, that's nuts!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing, and a quick trip to the library before picking Charlie up from school.

On the reading front:
I finished When the Sea Turned to Silver yesterday - more on that later.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Virginia Lee Burton (The Little House, 1943 Caldecott Medal) usually pinned sketched illustrations on the walls of her studio before writing the text for her books."
Love this one; there's a house on our summer dog walk route that looks just like it, too.

What We Read Yesterday:
-A Tree Is Nice
-More of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 20 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 26 in Ollie's Odyssey
And we finished:

18. More about Paddington by Michael Bond ((one of) Charlie's bedtime read(s), 129 pages) - 9/10 = A

19. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (Westview library book, 370 pages) - 9/10 = A
An evil emperor with a secret past, a grandmother/storyteller who also has secrets, a granddaughter with more within her than she guesses, a friend who can't always remember his past, horses that are really dragons, gods walking among mortals, and beautiful stories within beautiful stories. Highly recommended.

Morning, Amber! I am enjoying the holiday off. Yah! Looks to be another beauty.

>181 msf59: Morning, Mark! Woot for a day off! Charlie has school today, but he doesn't seem to mind.
We supposed to have warm weather again today, but there's rain coming with it.

Haunted sewing machines? This is not making me want to concert to sewing my hems instead of just sticking them woth wondaweb.

>183 charl08: Charlotte: Ha! Well, I have nine machines and none of them seem to be haunted, if that makes you feel any better...

>184 scaifea: Nine?!?! Good Lord, and I thought mrsdrneutron was over the top. She's got three (that I know of!) in the house, plus at least two she bought, then traded or passed on. Plus I hear there's a new Bernina she's got her eye on at this year's quilt fest this week.

>185 drneutron: Jim: I think I'm mentioned this before, but I essentially run a shelter for unwanted sewing machines. I rescue them from garage sales and thrift shops, have them restored, and I use them all. Three of the nine are non-vintage: a Singer that my mom bought me for my first machine when I was in grad school, an embroidery/quilting machine and a serger. All the rest are rescue ones.

>178 scaifea: I adore Virginia Lee Burton. The Little House was a favorite for years. I hope in my boxes somewhere I still have that copy that I carried around with me everywhere as a toddler. Fingers crossed.

>180 scaifea: Requesting When the Sea Turned to Silver this instant. Grace Lin is fantastic. The stories are beyond amazing, and to make it all even better, the cover art! Oh my. I splurge on hardcovers of hers for the family library for sure.

>186 scaifea: Clearly I need to go garage sale-ing where you go, or maybe with you. I would dearly love to rescue a couple of sewing machines, and maybe a cover-stitch machine.

>187 nittnut: Jenn: Oh, fingers crossed for sure - I hope you find it!
Grace Lin is amazing; if you love her other stuff you'll definitely love this one.
I don't know if it's the area or if I'm some sort of sewing machine diviner, but I see them everywhere.

Hi, Amber!

What a great idea to rescue sewing machines. I'm going to mention that to our SIL, who's a quilter and does a lot of sewing.

All those baked goods look great; I'm a cookie monster, so the Out-On-The-Range Cookies (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip) are particularly enticing.

>186 scaifea: well, as long as Sarah McLaughlin does ads for your rescue mission... :)

Happy Monday, Amber!

>190 drneutron: - Makes me cry every time!

>168 scaifea: LOL

The Best 2017 Valentine was a bar of SUSS (2 dots over the U - forget what they're called)

Bourbon with Sea Salt Caramel - so smooth and adult melt-in-the-mouth taste.

Their SUSS Sweets website also lists Maple Pecan and Pumpkin flavors.

Located in New Hampshire, they are definitely pricey even before shipping charges -
ours came in a Harney's Tea Box Drawer with Chocolate Valentine's Tea and an
Organic Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Bar.

5 Satisfying Stars.

>189 jnwelch: Joe: The key to the entire rescue business is that I know a guy who can fix up any old machine, and I'm not certain how easily others of his ilk may be found...

The cookies turned out pretty good, if I do say so, but how can you go wrong with that combination, I ask you?

>190 drneutron: Jim: *snork!*

>191 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! Same to you!

>192 katiekrug: Katie: I can't watch that stuff at all. Yeesh.

>193 RebaRelishesReading: Reba: *grins*

>194 m.belljackson: It's an umlaut (the little dots over the u). You're very much in the right place for language questions!
I'm glad that you enjoyed your chocolates! I'll take a pass, though - I don't like bourbon and I can't abide sea salt caramels.

>195 scaifea: I'll pass on the bourbon, but any time you have sea salt caramels that you need to get rid of, I will be glad to take them off your hands.

I will take any left-over bourbon sea-salt caramels, thank you!

>196 foggidawn: foggi: Ha! Yeah, sorry, but no one here likes them so they don't darken our door.

>197 banjo123: Rhonda: Ooof, I'm clearly in the minority here, eh? Well, that's just more for you then. Good news!

20. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (Westview library book, 240 pages/graphic novel) - 8/10 = B+
Fun, and sweet in parts, but not as enjoyable as Drama, as it seems to me. Still, definitely worth the hour of one's time.

I also picked up a few of this year's Caldecott and Geisel winners at the library today:

-Go, Otto, Go! by David Milgrim (Geisel Honor Book, easy reader) - 8/10 = B
Meh. Essentially it's just Dick & Jane, but with a robot. *shrug*

-Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol (Caldecott Honor Book, picture book) - 7/10 = C
I didn't care for this one at all. A crabby grandma wants to get away from her grandkids to knit in peace and yells at them (and all sorts of other things) to leave her alone. Yeeeaaah, that doesn't really work for me. And I didn't think that the illustrations were good enough to compensate, really.

-Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford (Caldecott Honor Book, picture book) - 9/10 = A
Now, this one was definitely worth the Honor - beautiful illustrations give a boost to the already-powerful story of slaves toiling all week and having Sunday afternoons to gather together in NOLA.

-Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! by Mike Twohy (Geisel Honor Book, picture book) - 8/10 = B
Dog-and-mouse chase story, told in one-word, alphabetical phrases. Cute.

-Good Night Owl by Greg Pizzoli (Geisel Honor Book, picture book) - 8/10 = B
I found this one a little annoying, to be honest. An owl keeps hearing a noise in the night (it's a squeak, so CLEARLY it's a mouse) and destroys his entire house looking for the source. Yeesh.

>195 scaifea: I've never understood the appeal of salt on sweets period. I've tried caramels and chocolate with sea salt and they are just blech.

I rather like the sea salt on caramels, but it must be used Sparingly. My MIL sent us some dark chocolate sea salt caramels for Valentine's, and they were good, after I rubbed off most of the salt. It's got to be a sort of hint of salt vs. Kaviar mit Schokolade.

I can't really explain why that had to be in German. But it did.

>200 Morphidae: Morphy: Agreed. Plus, the sea salt is obnoxiously large. Blech, indeed.

>201 nittnut: Jenn: I agree, if by 'sparingly' you mean not at all...

>104 scaifea: That is too cool!

I don't understand the sea salt caramel craze either, why tamper with a good thing by adding salt?

>104 scaifea: Awesome!

>139 ronincats: Beautiful Roni!

Hi Amber!

>203 Familyhistorian: Meg: I know, right? So cool.
I like salty and sweet together in some cases, but not this one, plus sea salt is so, well, big. Blech.

>204 Copperskye: Hi, Joanne! Jim is the coolest, no?

On the agenda for today:
The Usual: treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing. Charlie's school (the entire school, grades 1-4) is bussing over to the high school this morning to watch the high school musical, which is Peter Pan this year. He doesn't seem terribly excited, but I suspect he'll come home that way. Bangers and Mash for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I read through Ghosts (see The Inquisitor's Tale (another of the Newbery Honor Books this year), and read a bit of The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "The father of Dr. Seuss (If I Ran the Zoo, 1951 Caldecott Honor Book) managed a zoo in Springfield, Massachusetts."

What We Read Yesterday:
-The Family Book by Todd Parr (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 9/10 = A
I love Parr's stuff, and this one is just as wonderful as his other books. In simple terms, he explores how families can be different (some are small, some are large, some have two moms, some have two dads,...) and in what ways they are all the same (the all love hugs). And the illustrations are, as always, bright and bold and excellent. Highly recommended.

-More of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 21 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 27 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The first third of chapter 1 in Paddington Helps Out

We watched Finding Dory last night, which has popped up on Netflix now. Just as good as it was when we saw it this summer in the theater.

In other news, Neil Gaiman has announced a sequel to Neverwhere, which means I may need to try to re-read the original. Ooof. Can the great literary tragedy of my life be repaired?! I need to gather the strength and courage...

Morning, Amber! I heard rain during the night. Good. We could use it.

Hooray for the Neverwhere sequel. Very cool.

>207 scaifea: No Finding Dory on Swedish Netflix. :,(

And did you hear that Philip Pullman is writing a companion trilogy to His Dark Materials? The first one is due out in the fall - it's available for pre-order already.

>209 msf59: Morning, Mark! I'm not sure that *we* needed the rain here (our back yard is a small lake right now), but it was a lovely rainy day. And yep, I'm both excited (a new Gaiman book!!!) and troubled about it. Maybe if I drink lots of ginger tea while re-reading, I'll survive the nausea...

>210 PawsforThought: Paws: I did hear about the Pullman trilogy and am pretty excited. Tomm and I read the original books aloud to each other at night, just after Charlie was born. We were already in the habit of reading to each other, and with Charlie's crib in our room, we wanted the sound of our voices reading aloud to wash over him while he was sleeping. Pretty good books to choose for that, too.

>211 scaifea: Aw, that's super sweet! I can imagine them being good books to read aloud. I read them during a summer when I did a lot of walking so I listened to an audiobook with Pullman as narrator and a full cast doing the other voices. Really good production (BBC, I think). Made the 1h+ walks go by much faster!

ETA: I've already pre-ordered my copy of the new book.

Morning Amber!
Neverwhere is in my TBR list. Perhaps a group read to help you with your trauma?

>208 scaifea: I have never read Neverwhere, in fact have never read anything by Gaiman but have a few on the shelves including Neverwhere. I must have missed something, why the drama around reading it again, Amber?

Oh, that's lovely that Charlie can see the Peter Pan Musical. Wishing you a lovely day.

>212 PawsforThought: I have to listen to music when I'm on the treadmill - when I try listening to audiobooks, I'm too distracted by how much I dislike exercising. Music seems to distract me from the exercise more. I do listen to audiobooks while cleaning and driving, and it does make household chores and long drives go by faster.

>213 ChelleBearss: Chelle: I'm not fabulous at group reads. Too much pressure, or something. *shrug*

>214 Familyhistorian: Meg: I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but it may have been a while: I read Neverwhere when I was pregnant with Charlie and suffering from 24-hour 'morning' sickness. I'm certain that in other circumstances I would love the book, just as I love everything else of his, but I can't even think about that one without feeling sick. So, so tragic.

>215 Ameise1: Barbara: Well, it's the high school production, so the quality won't be *amazing,* but I'm sure he'll still have fun. I suspect he'll be a part of those productions once he gets into high school - he's already writing plays and leading his friends (read: likely bossing them around!) in productions of them in the library before school...

>216 scaifea: It isn't fair that morning sickness doesn't respect the clock at all. Little fellow was worth it anyway.

>217 PaulCranswick: He was, quite. But I not ever doing it again. EVER. And why should I? I got it totally right the first time round. (Odds being what they are, the next one would likely be hell on wheels.)

Oh, dear. I quite like sea salt and caramel, especially in ice cream or gelato form. Hope I can still hang out here ;-)

I've never read Neverwhere but it's on the shelves AND in the audio files...

>219 katiekrug: Never really liked the idea of salted caramel ice cream but I had a huge scoop with a Victoria Sponge on Sunday out with Hani and I have to say I would eat it every day given the chance.

>219 katiekrug: Katie: Of course! You're just responsible for bringing your own ice cream...

>220 PaulCranswick: Paul: Oooh, Victoria Sponge!

Hiya, Amber!

I'm sorry Ghosts didn't work better for you. I probably missed it - is Neverwhere being discussed in part because he announced a sequel? Neverwhere is my favorite of his (although I understand your pregancy-related reaction), and I'm excited about there being another one.

I want to read The Inquisitor's Tale after Birdy's enticing review.

>219 katiekrug: I also love sea salt and caramel. Also ditto on the Neverwhere comments. Hoping to get to that one soon.

Afternoon, Amber! Daniel and Birdy went to see the new Lego Batman movie, and they both LOVED it. Said it was even better than the Lego Movie.

>216 scaifea: I listen to music when I'm working out, because I need a high tempo to keep going, but audiobooks work when I'm just walking. I like podcasts when I'm doing chores but audiobooks don't work then because I'll get distracted by the narrative.

>22 nittnut: Joe: My review (if you can call it that) is misleading - I enjoyed Ghosts just fine. I guess I was expecting to love it as I loved Drama, and didn't just quite.

Yes, the Neverwhere discussion is because Our Friend Neil announced the sequel.

I'll have to go seek out Birdy's review - so far I'm trepedatious about this one. I like the *idea* of it, but there are a couple of things already in the execution of it with which I'm not super-happy. We'll see how it goes along...

>224 PawsforThought: It's a fine line with the chores: I can dust and straighten and vacuum and fold laundry while listening, but definitely not cook; I need to concentrate on that lots more than the other things.

I finished my new bathrobe yesterday and I LOVE it! The fabric is French terry cloth and it's so soft and comfortable. And I love the colors, which will go well in our in-the-process-of-being-re-done bathroom (the new colors are sage and various shades of brown).

Okay, so this isn't a fabulous picture, but I've tried taking one with the robe on a hanger and even with Mrs. Danvers (my dressform) modeling it, but none of them looked right - this actually is a much better photo of it than any of the others I tried (and no, I will most certainly not model it - ain't nobody wants that):



You can see Tomm's old robe peeking out underneath - I'll be started his new one soon...

Continuing on the Gaiman theme, you know about the forthcoming American Gods TV series that's supposed to be airing sometime this year?

>227 MickyFine: Uh no, I did not know that!!

oh, hi Amber :) Love the bathrobe!

>104 scaifea: Charlie looks super excited about the swag, in a cool and calm kinda way. Wilbur does that same excited/not excited look ;)

>164 scaifea: fudge pie!!? Oh Em Gee. That is just crying out to be eaten with French Vanilla ice cream. Im dying here. My baking days have been seriously curtailed by a broken oven. It stopped working half way through a batch of delicious chic chip cookies, and I had to grill the tops and bottoms! It was OK, but not ideal.

>227 MickyFine: Micky: I do know about the series. I haven't decided if I'm excited or not, really. Can they really do it justice, I wonder?

>228 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle!

>229 LovingLit: Megan: That's one of Charlie's frequent looks. Adorable.

And yeah, the fudge pie is pretty great and excellent with ice cream. Grilled chocolate chip cookies?! I'm impressed! I hope you oven gets fixed soon, though.

>230 scaifea: It would definitely be a challenge to adapt. The cast is super impressive though (scrolling through IMDb list I see they got Gillian Anderson to play Media which is awesome).

>216 scaifea: Even it's a high school production the kids like it. It's the same here when my pupils can see oroductions of other classes, they love it.

>231 MickyFine: Micky: I also think Neil is fairly involved, which is a good sign. For me it's a mix of being happy with what it looks like in my head and not having cable or satellite...

>232 Ameise1: Barbara: I was being unfair to the high schoolers and I apologize to them and you for that. And you're absolutely correct - Charlie LOVED it! He said that the guy playing Cap'n Hook was hilarious!

Re: SUSS (umlat) Bourbon and Sea Salt Caramel -

In case anyone makes it to their store, this was a BAR with NO visible Sea Salt - !

I've not liked it on the top of any candy since you just end up with a bursting unpleasant taste of pure Salt.

>234 m.belljackson: Good to know - thanks!

The view of the sky from our front yard this evening:

Gorgeous!

>237 foggidawn: I know, right?! The whole sky looked like that a bit ago. Gorgeous.

>236 scaifea: Beautiful!

>239 MickyFine: Isn't it, though? I love those sorts of sunsets.

Beautiful sunset picture!

Pretty pink sunset. Ours tend to be more on the orange side for some reason. Hopefully the sequel to Neverwhere will help you overcome your feelings towards it, Amber.

>236 scaifea: Wow, that's amazing.

I'm glad that Charlie liked the musical. I thought he would.

Happy Wednesday, Amber.

>241 ronincats: Roni: Isn't it, though? I love it when those happen.

>242 Familyhistorian: Meg: We get a lot of orange ones, too; this one seemed more rare.

>243 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!
And I'm glad that Charlie liked the play, too!

On the agenda for today:
More of the same, again: treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing. Not that I'm complaining - I like it when life cooperates and I can enjoy my quiet, scheduled ways.

On the reading front:
I listened to more of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, read more of The Inquisitor's Tale and more of Old Path White Clouds.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Author Arthur Yorinks used his profits from Hey, Al! (1987 Caldecott Medal) to buy property in rural Nova Scotia. Many birds inhabit the area."

What We Read Yesterday:
-Oh, the Places You'll Go
-More of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Hush Up! by Jim Aylesworth (Charlie's homework reading, 24 pages) - 7/10 = C
-Chapter 22 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

>236 scaifea: Ooh, I like it!

Morning, Amber! You must have been getting much more rain than we have. We were dry.

Now, that I have the mighty IJ, off my shoulders, I should really be cruising the route today.

>247 msf59: Morning, Mark! Isn't that sky gorgeous?! Charlie and I were hopping round outside, soaking it up last night.
We didn't get tons of rain, but we did get rain that melting the crap-ton of snow we still had on the ground, so that's where the backyard lake came from...

And I NEED to get round to IJ soon! Love him so much. Woot to you for finishing!!

I was so glad that IJ worked so well on audio. I would suggest going that route, but you need the print book handy at all times too.

>249 msf59: Mark: Who was the reader? I think I really want to read the print version - something about his stuff makes me want to be holding the book and looking at the words...

Good morning, Amber!

I'm about 800 pages into IJ. You'll want a print copy on hand for the footnotes, methinks, and Mark may have other reasons. It's a whopper to carry around, but I wanted to read it in print, too.

>251 jnwelch: Morning, Joe!

I'm used to carrying around the whoppers - I've got two going now, with War & Peace and The Complete Sherlock Holmes...

Love the bathrobe!

>236 scaifea: Wow!

Morning, Amber!

>253 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba!

>254 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie! I know, right?! So pretty.

>252 scaifea: War and Peace and The Complete Sherlock Holmes - oh yeah, very comparable in whopperosity. Builds strong muscles twelve ways, right?

>256 jnwelch: Joe: Ha! Most definitely! Good for body *and* mind!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, laundry, menu-planning and grocery-listing, and then some of the grocery shopping before heading to school for my Thursday afternoon library volunteering. I'll also try to get a new thread set up at some point.

On the reading front:
I listened to more Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, read more of The Inquisitor's Tale and started Hrolf Kraki's Saga.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Nicolas Sidjakov said his Russian background, as well as his four-year-old son, helped him illustrate Babushka and the Three Kinds (1961 Caldecott Medal)."

What We Read Yesterday:
-My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 9/10 = A
-More of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 23 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 28 in Ollie's Odyssey
-More of chapter 1 in Paddington Helps Out

>236 scaifea: Love the sky picture.

If there's a group read/ reread of Neverwhere, I'd join. Having read his short.story contribution to Head Land I'm keen to give his full books a go too.

>258 scaifea: You keep making me want to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell but I don't have time for it.

>260 charl08: Charlotte: Oh, you should dive right into his books - they're wonderful!

>261 PawsforThought: Paws: That's really too bad because it's really, really good.

Morning, Amber! Sweet Thursday! I have to day off and not much planned. Sounds good to me.

The narrator of Infinite Jest, is Sean Pratt. He does a fantastic job. I am surprised he doesn't do more audio work. I think reading the print book, is probably the best way to go, but it is a MAJOR COMMITMENT.

>263 msf59: Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday! Enjoy the day off, friend.

Thanks for the Pratt info - I do think I'll do it hardcover-style, though. I like big books and I cannot lie.

Morning, Amber!

Sweet Thursday, Amber!

I'm almost to the top of Mount Infinite Jest. It's a special one. I hope you decide to give it a go. "I like big books and I cannot lie". Ha! I love it. This fits the bill.

>265 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

>266 jnwelch: Sweet Thursday, Joe!

Oh, I'll definitely read it, I just need to bookhorn it. I'm so glad that you and Mark both enjoyed it! I can't express how much I like him enough.

Sweet Thursday, Amber.

*wave* Off to make myself treadmill. Sleepy, because DD wouldn't go to bed last night and everything was hilarious. Sigh. Love her. But, makes it hard to make myself do stuff.

>268 Ameise1: Hi, Barbara!

>269 nittnut: Jenn: I'm happy that it seems as if Charlie's not wanting to go to bed phase is over. Most nights he's nearly asleep before head hits pillow. Good luck with the treadmilling!

The new thread is up!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/249812