scaifea's thread #7

Hi, everyone! Welcome to Thread VII!

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

Old Path White Clouds:



Hrolf Kraki's Saga:



War and Peace:



The Complete Sherlock Holmes:



The Inquisitor's Tale:



An illustration from Ollie's Odyssey:



One of Peggy Fortnum's wonderful illustrations of Paddington:



And 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)
-(awaiting library holds) (Newbery Honor Book or a 1001 Children's Book selection)
-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)
-The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (another Charlie bed-time book)
-Elantris (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+
21. The Inquisitor's Tale (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B-
22. Wolf Hollow (Newbery Honor Book) - 10/10 = A+
23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie's book club read) - 10/10 = A+
24. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books/audiobook) - 9/10 = A

MARCH
25. Ollie's Odyssey (Charlie's bedtime read) - 10/10 = A

Charlie, Mario and Tuppence Toppers:

Charlie and his Pluto Swag (because I love this photo):



Mario and making her leg look weirdly longer than it already is:



Tuppence looking pensive:

The Bonus Question:

It's gloomy and rainy here this afternoon, so how about this one: Favorite rainy-day activity (besides reading, of course).

Happy new one, Amber.

BQ: visiting a museum.

BQ: napping!

Happy new thread :)

>7 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! Great answer!

>8 katiekrug: Hi, Katie - I like your answer, too...

Happy New Thread, Amber!

Love the Buddha topper. And all the photos.

I finished Infinite Jest! Huzzah!

Happy new thread, Amber. Rainy days often bring on the urge to bake, but if it's a gentle, somewhat warm rain, I do love to get out for a walk.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Amber, dear.

>6 scaifea: Well until a few years ago I would have had to say a three letter word beginning with s and ending in x and no, I don't play the saxophone. Maybe the cinema nowadays.

>10 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! And WOOT to finishing the Wallace!!

>11 DeltaQueen50: Hi, Judy! A nice walk in a gentle rain sounds lovely.

>12 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle!

>13 PaulCranswick: Oh, Paul, I predicted your answer, 100%! Ha!

Cool! I love the Charlie topper! (Of course)

Rainy day activity besides reading - cooking something new.

Sleeping in, nowadays. When I had other people around, bring out the board games!!

>15 drneutron: Hi, Jim! GOsh, I love that photo, for all of the things in it - my favorite person, of course, books, evidence of the awesomeness of the 75ers, Charlie's Harry Potter knitwear in the corner,...

And I love the idea of a cooking adventure for a rainy day! Perfect!

>16 ronincats: Roni: Oh, yes, board games are essential!

Happy new thread, Amber!

Bonus question: watching a favourite movie while snuggling with Smee.

>6 scaifea: Tea, books, movies, video games. Ah, the life.

Rainy-day is everyday in Portland!! LOL. Happy new thread. Glad the Charlie photo made it to the new thread.

Happy new one, Amber. Love the topper art and photos.

Happy Friday, Amber.

Rainy day? Well, when I lived in a big city I'd head to a museum or art gallery, but I don't have access to that anymore so I generally don't set foot outside the door unless I have to. Curled up with a blanket, a cup of tea (or hot chocolate) and plenty of good TV or films is how I usually spend lousy weather days.

>18 MickyFine: Micky: Oh, a favorite movie sounds great!

>19 rosylibrarian: Marie: I remember the days when I would spend an entire day playing video games...

>20 Berly: Kim: Ha! Business as usual, then, for you.

And yeah, that's such a great photo, I had to move it on over here.

>21 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

>22 Ameise1: Thanks. Barbara!

>23 PawsforThought: Paws: I wonder - are museums then considerably more crowded on rainy days? I suppose they would be.

On the agenda for today:
Groceries this morning, then treadmilling, house cleaning, laundry, prepping dinner (Pork and Split Pea Soup) in the slow cooker, bills, organizing the week's photos, writing and sewing. Charlie has gymnastics class this evening, too. Unless, that is, school is canceled, which is what I'm half-expecting to happen (we've got wintry mix and snow in the forecast for today).

On the reading front:
I listened to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, read more of The Inquisitor's Tale and more of War & Peace yesterday.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Editor Walter Lorraine suggested David Macaulay write Cathedral (1974 Caldecott Honor Book) after seeing an illustration that Macaulay did of a boy locked in a cathedral."

WHat We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-The Three Billy Goats Gruff
-Paloma's Party by Pat Mora (Charlie's homework book, 24 pages) - 7/10 = C
-Chapter 24 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 29 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The rest of chapter 1 in Paddington Helps Out

Happy Friday, Amber! Happy New Thread! Looks like it might be a wet one out there today. I could use some of that Pork and Split Pea Soup. Yum.

The Meet-Up looks like it is taking very nice shape. Smiles...

>27 msf59: Morning, Mark! To be honest, the soup depends on whether I can make it to the grocery shop today to get the pork roast... Fingers crossed, eh?

Yes, the meet-up is really looking good - KAK may be coming?! Wha?! So cool. I *really* need to be there!

We had what sounded like a heckuva hailstorm last night, and the wind was blowing to beat the band (as my Aunt Clara would say). But we're meant to get mostly rain with a little snow mixed in, so that's good. And frankly I'm relieved to have the temperatures back closer to where they are supposed to be in February.

>24 scaifea: Hmm, good question. I can't remember really. Though museums are definitely less crowded on really hot days, which I find odd because tehre's no better refuge from sweltering heat than in an old museum with marble floors throughout.

Happy new thread, Amber! Your rainy afternoon will be our's on Saturday, with diving temps. But today, another glorious 70f day!
Yay for Pluto love!
BQ: as boring as it may sound, I simply love to watch rain. The rhythm is so relaxing and rests the mind. If that gets old, binge watching Netflix.

>29 rosalita: Julia: I hear you - the warm weather may feel nice, but it doesn't bode well in the long run, really. (My dad uses that same phrase all the time!)

>30 PawsforThought: Paws: Huh. Yep, I'd much rather be in a cool museum than out in the hot sun.

>31 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! I love watching the rain, too, when it's a calm, quiet one. But I also love thunderstorms.

Lovely toppers! That photo of Tuppence looking pensive is so gorgeous - it looks like an oil painting.

I love me a rainy day - cries out for comfort food and Netflix. And usually also napping.

Rainy days in the past: My mother, grandmother, and I would put on bathing suits and shower caps and go dancing in the rain

Rainy days now: computer stuff (games, LT) and/or movies from Netflix

>33 Crazymamie: Mamie: Tuppence is so photogenic, isn't she? Such a gorgeous dog - we love her to bits.

And, oh, comfort food! Yes!!

>34 Morphidae: Morphy: I LOVE the dancing in the rain - perfect! I used to get raincoat and rainboots on and take my umbrella out and splash in the puddles.

>28 scaifea: - I would love to make it there! Just not sure because job situation is up in the air... But I've checked flights and hotels and such :)

>36 katiekrug: Katie: Woot! So cool.

Happy Friday, Amber!

How are you liking The Inquisitor's Tale so far?

Happy Friday! Hope Charlie didn't have to stay home again! You guys have had lots of snow days this year!

>38 jnwelch: Happy Friday, Joe!

I can't decide, honestly, whether I like The Inquisitor's Tale or not. There are things about it that I do like, but there are others that I most definitely do not. We'll see how the ending goes - that'll likely clinch it one way or the other for me.

>39 ChelleBearss: Chelle: Nope, he's at school, for now, at least. I still think they may decide to let them out early. We'll see.

On a rainy day, I love to make a big pot of soup, or spaghetti sauce---something that simmers for a long time and makes the house smell great. Baking bread is good too.

>41 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Both excellent ideas. In fact, I've got soup in the slow cooker right now...

So, I have a few projects going on various knitting needles, but right now this one is my favorite - I'm making a tea cozy for my Blue Willow teapot. I just love the colors in this yarn:

>43 scaifea: Oh, those are gorgeous colors! It looks like soft yarn, too - is it nice to work with?

In answer to your bonus question, on rainy days now if I don't have to go out and work I enjoy staying at home and knitting (or reading, though I know you said "besides") and enjoying a cup of tea. When we were kids, my brothers and sister (this was before the youngest sister was born) and I would set up these big cardboard "bricks" as forts and set up a room for each of us to hunker down in for the storm. We'd each bring it whatever we felt like playing with or reading, and blankets and maybe even take a nap. It was so much fun!

>44 bell7: It's fabulous to work with - I'm hoping it felts well. It's Plymouth Yarn Gina, and I love it so far!

I love the idea of the separate rooms in the fort! Very cool.

>45 scaifea: Oooh, felting, I haven't done that yet. Hope it works out!

I should have said "rooms" we only had enough "bricks" to make the outlines, maybe stacking two on top of each other but it was enough to make out like we each had our own space.

>43 scaifea: Those colours really are gorgeous. Reminds me I really should finish the couple small crochet projects hanging around the apartment.

>46 bell7: Mary: Happily, felting is one of those things that turns out to be way easier than you think. Try it sometime - it's a hoot!

And still, the 'rooms' sound totally cool.

>47 MickyFine: Micky: Aren't they, though? I had a difficult time choosing, because that same yarn has several different colors and they're all beautiful. I may need to think up some other projects for an excuse to try more of them.

>48 scaifea: Looks like it would make a good baby blanket/ throw blanket. If you want to get ambitious. :)

Hi Amber, Happy new thread my dear and great thread topper pictures. In answer to your question I would get my paints or pastels out and do a bit of art a while listening to some music. I hope you are having a really good day and wish you all a great weekend dear lady, sending love and hugs.

Re: Bonus Question: I don't suppose checking up on LT threads counts? Then my next go-to activity would be baking.

Happy new Thread, Amber!

>49 MickyFine: Micky: Well, it's wool, so it would probably be a bit scratchy for a baby.

>50 johnsimpson: John: I'm not at all an artist, but I imagine rainy weather would be good for such a thing. It sounds very peaceful and soothing.

>51 michigantrumpet: Marianne: Catching up on LT totally counts!

Happy new thread, Amber, awww my latest favorite Charlie picture again!!!
Walking Ari on his usual time, he & me don't mind walking in the rain together, and checking the threads here.

>53 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Mario doesn't seem to mind rain at all, but Tuppence doesn't want any part of the stuff.

Howdy! Rainy days are for napping and drinking warm drinks.

>55 luvamystery65: Roberta: Mmmm, warm drinks - HoCho!

>5 scaifea: What wonderful photos! It was spring like today. The temps were in the 70's. It was good to enjoy the sun, the slight wind, and the lovely feeling of a day without grey skies and rain.

I hope your week end is a good one. I'm reading the Caldecott and Newbery winners for 2017. Thus far, all are very good indeed.

>57 Whisper1: Hi, Linda! I've not been super-happy with the Caldecott books (although I've yet to get my hands on the actual winner). I didn't much care for Leave Me Alone! at all (what grandma says that to her grandchildren?!) and They All Saw a Cat was fine, but not Caldecott level, I thought. I'm still waiting for Du Iz Tak to come in for me, and I did love Freedom in Congo Square. Newbery-wise, I LOVED The Girl Who Drank the Moon, so much. Amazing. I'm nearly finished with The Inquisitor's Tale, which I have some issues with so far, and I have Wolf Hollow on my shelf waiting for me...

Happy new thread, Amber! No special rainy day activities here because well, Vancouver. Nothing special about a rainy day. Sounds like you guys have quite a meet up planned. Don't forget to take pictures!

>59 Familyhistorian: *rueful chuckle* Maybe you could tell us what you love to do on a sunny day, Meg!

Happy Weekend! It's like Spring here, blossoms popping out everywhere. Amazing.

BQ - rainy days are for naps. And reading.

>59 Familyhistorian: Meg: So you get lots of rainy days, eh? We woke up to snow this morning, although not too much, it seems.

I'm pretty excited about the meet-up - I'm hoping I can make it!

>60 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Agreed!

>61 nittnut: Jenn: No buds here just yet - it's snowing...

On the agenda for today:
Weekend pancakes are done and dusted. I'm not sure if I'll do the weekend baking today or tomorrow: Focaccia Bread, Chocolate Pecan Cups, Chocolate Butterscotch Cereal Bars. Also laundry, of course. But that's the extent of my weekend plans. Maybe we'll have a Family Game Night tonight. Oh, and pizza tonight - Tomm's treat.

On the reading front: Yesterday was more Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, more The Inquisitor's Tale and some Sherlock Holmes.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Mary Hall Ets (Nine Days to Christmas, 1960 Caldecott Medal) found drawing in Mexico City difficult because too many people gathered around her and asked questions."

What We Read Yesterday:
-Witches and Magic-Makers by Douglas Hall (Frequently Challenges Children's Books, 59 pages) - 8/10 = B+
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 25 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 30 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The first half of chapter 2 in Paddington Helps Out

Happy Saturday, Amber!

You do such great reading with Charlie. Debbi and I are still working our way through the Little House on the Prairie books with each other.

Plymouth Yarn Gina, eh? That would make a beautiful scarf me thinks.

Happy weekend, Amber.

>65 jnwelch: Hi, Joe! I hope your Saturday has been a lovely as ours!

We sure do love reading with Charlie, and I'm so grateful that he loves it, too! We need to get back to the Little House books soon...

>66 RebaRelishesReading: Reba: I bought my from loveknitting.com, my favorite online yarn shop - they've lots of great colors in that one.

>67 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

Happy Saturday! Family pancakes sound yummy! I am hoping to do that with Nate for an afternoon dinner before he heads to work tomorrow. He found a protein pancake he wants to try

21. The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz (Newbery Honor Book, 352 pages) - 8/10 = B-
Hmm. Yes, well. It's okay. I guess. I didn't loathe it. But there are certainly more things about this one that irritate me than there are that don't. The tone seems all over the place (there are 'ass' jokes and then there are serious-seeming moral lessons, or something), and the completely unexpected violence sticks out like a sore appendage - pointless and weird. Plus, the plot twists were either visible a long way off or not that interesting, really. But the bit that pushed it over the Nope-I-Don't-Really-Like-It Cliff for me was (I'm spoilering this part not so much because it gives something away, but for those of you who may be offended at someone being irritated by Christian rhetoric - if that's you, please feel free to skip on by this next bit) the 'God works in mysterious ways' wrap-up. Ugh. That ridiculous trope of an explanation is as lazy and inappropriate a consolation in a book as it is in real life.

>69 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle! I love breakfast for dinner! Woot!

>60 laytonwoman3rd: Sunny days I love to get outside and go for a walk, Linda. We have to make the most of those days when they come around!

>62 scaifea: Yep, lots of rainy days, Amber, Vancouver is in a rain forest and, where I live at the bottom of a mountain, the rain clouds dump their loads before they go up and over so we get even more rainy days than Vancouver. There was sunny this morning but I didn't get out in time to enjoy it, this afternoon there is either supposed to be rainy, sleet or snow *sigh*.

Weekend Baking Results:

Focaccia Bread:



Chocolate Butterscotch Cereal Bars (don't mind the 'festive' cereal - I needed to get it used):



Chocolate Pecan Cups (aka, mini-pecan pie tarts with a bit of chocolate added to the filling):

>72 Familyhistorian: Meg: Oh, goodness. I do like a nice, rainy day, but that sounds like a little much, eh? I hope you can enjoy the next sunny one you get!

>70 scaifea: I guess I liked it more than you. I agree on the ending, though he had painted himself into the corner plot-wise so there wasn't much else to do. I liked that the story was about religion, intolerance etc etc and introduced children to the world of saints which were so strongly believed in in those times. My son had done a paper on medieval religion and talked about the greyhound, so I was quite excited to see it in a popular children's book. I've read the author's first book and he does tend to throw in irreverant silly language, as adults we don't go for it but if it encourages a reluctant reader to keep going then maybe it's worth the adult cringe.
I remember reading Gaiman's Stardust and loving everything about it except for the one swear word in the book which just clanged so loudly for me it took a bit of gloss off the book.

I also thought They All Saw a Cat was fairly ordinary.

>75 avatiakh: Kerry: I don't mind silly language in books for any age, really, when it's consistent with the tone, but I thought this one used it in too hodge-podge a manner, I guess. It's funny that you mention Gaiman (and not liking something about one of his books); when I finished this one, I thought, "Well, it was a good idea, if only Neil had written it...) - ha!

Oh funny that. Have you read Gaiman's Norse Mythology yet? I saw an article yesterday that I just glanced at (I see lots of articles, can't read them all) about appropriation of the Viking legends etc etc. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/the-politics-of-retell...

Oh yum!! All looks delish but especially those pecan cups!! Care to share the recipe? Or maybe just mail me some ?! :)

>77 avatiakh: Kerry: Not yet, but it's on my shelves waiting for me (I had it pre-ordered yonks ago)! And I saw that article - because Neil posted it on FB! Ha!

>78 ChelleBearss: Chelle: The pecan cups are SO GOOD and pretty easy - here's the recipe:

Chocolate Pecan Cups
Ingredients:
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• dash salt
• 2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips
• ½ - ¾ cup chopped pecans

1. Beat ½ cup softened butter and cream cheese in medium bowl until blended.
2. Add flour; beat well.
3. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
4. Heat oven to 325⁰F.
5. Stir together egg, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon melted butter, vanilla and salt in small bowl until well blended.
6. Shape chilled dough into 24 balls.
7. Place balls in ungreased small muffin cups.
8. Press onto bottoms and up sides of cups.
9. Place 2-3 chocolate chips in each cup.
10. Fill each cup with egg mixture and sprinkle pecans on top.
11. Bake 25 minutes or until filling is set.
12. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Happy new-ish thread! Like many others here, I like cooking or napping on rainy days. And on rainy summer days, I don't mind just sitting on the porch and watching and listening to the rain for a while.

Happy Sunday, Amber.

>79 scaifea: Thanks!! That does look easy enough! Perhaps I'll try it on my mini vacation next week :)

Dangerous thread for my waistline!! I am making quiche, pancakes and lots of bacon for breakfast today. The kids have several friends sleeping over. Happy Sunday, Amber!

>80 foggidawn: foggi: I miss the screened-in porch we had in our first rental house for that reason!

>81 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

>82 ChelleBearss: Chelle: You're welcome! Let me know how they turn out!

>83 Berly: Morning, Kim! Ooof, I haven't braved the sleep-over business yet. Bacon sounds pretty good, though...

Morning, Amber! Happy Sunday! Not much on the docket for the day, so it looks like Me & the Books! I will suffer through it.

Enjoy your day!

On the agenda for today:
A bit of laundry, possibly some time in the sewing room, but I'm mostly hoping for some quiet reading time. We'll see.

On the reading front:
After finishing The Inquisitor's Tale, I started Wolf Hollow (which is *excellent* so far), and then read a bit more of Old Path White Clouds last night (which is still absolutely lovely).

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Margot Zemach's (Duffy and the Devil, 1974 Caldecott Medal) stepfather frequently took her to art museums and galleries. He treated her as an adult during conversations about art, and he genuinely valued her opinions."

>86 msf59: Morning, Mark! I'm hoping for a bit of the same here today...

What We Read Yesterday:
-More of Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Cinderella
(And that's as far as we got last night before Charlie feel asleep!)

Happy Sunday, Amber!

Your baking looks scrumptious!

Rainy (snowy) day activities: Besides all the lovely ideas of curling up with books or watching videos, I like experimenting with new recipes and during the winter, I usually have a jigsaw puzzle going.

I've been working on this 1000 piecer since DD gave it to me at Christmas:



I'm pretty much down to the black cat. I'm despairing of getting this one completed.

Happy Sunday, Amber!

Thank you for the candid comments about The Inquisitor's Tale. That certainly gives me pause.

>68 scaifea: I'll have to check them out.

>90 streamsong: Hi, Janet! Oh, I love puzzles, but I can imagine that the cat part of yours would have me frustrated, too.

>91 jnwelch: Joe: I'm feeling bad about writing that review. It seems harsh and mean. I don't like it when I don't like a book - I feel guilty, and at any rate I should have tried to phrase it differently. I certainly don't want to keep others from reading it - clearly lots of people feel differently than me about it - it's a Newbery Honor Book!

I think part of my sore spot about it comes from something that my mom was telling me about, while crying, the other day: she read in her local paper about a 9-year-old blind boy who was found dead in his foster home. His foster parents had let him starve to death. His body weight 15 pounds. Fifteen pounds. I'm crying again as I type this. It's this sort of thing that makes me wholly unable - and unwilling - to believe in an all-knowing omnipotent god who is also all-loving. Nope. Can't work that way, mysterious or not. Or if it does work that way, I don't want anything to do with him. This book suffered because of my pondering over that poor, sweet 9-year-old blind boy and the suffering he must have gone through.

>92 RebaRelishesReading: Reba: I love that website. And they package they're yarn so nicely, in cloth bags and usually with a little butterscotch treat, too!

>93 scaifea: - Your response to Joe made me go back to read your review of The Inquisitor's Tale and I would just like to say I love the final sentence of it.

Have a good Sunday!

>94 katiekrug: Katie: *fist-bump* That's not the part that I feel badly about. Ha!

Wait, you didn't read it before? Yeesh.

I didn't read it before because I saw you only gave it a B-! I usually only read rave reviews or total rants about books I'm unlikely to read anyway :-P

I'm drooling, Amber. Save some for me.

>96 katiekrug: Katie: Ha! I'm just joshing you - I honestly don't know why folks read my reviews at all; they're barely long enough to be called such anyway.

>97 BLBera: Beth: You're welcome over any time (but hurry, because there's not much left of any of it right now...)!

>90 streamsong: & >93 scaifea: I used to have a 2000 piece puzzle of a dolphin jumping out of the water (in the ocean). 2000 pieces that were all shades of blue and grey. I never finished it.

>99 PawsforThought: Ooof, I don't blame you for not finishing it! Yeesh!

Hi Friend

How interesting that I also like jigsaw puzzles. They are addicting. When Barnes and Noble had their recent 75% sale table, I acquired quite a nice collection.

I read the 2017 Caldecott Medal winner. The Radiant Child is very interesting. I started to read The Girl Who Drank the Moon and will get back to it sometime this week. I think Wolf Hollow is deservng of the award, but the bullying was very upsetting.

>87 scaifea: I very much enjoy your Caldecott/Newbery trivia! Thanks for posting this.

>101 Whisper1: Linda: We haven't had a puzzle out for a long while - Mario is big enough to put her head on the card table we use for such things, and she apparently loves puzzles, too...

I haven't been able to get my hands on the Caldecott winner yet - none of the local libraries have it in yet. I'll get there, though.

I agree that the bullying is troubling, but so many kids face it today and I think the way the main character is handling it is spectacular.

Our Newbery/Caldecott order has yet to arrive at the library. I think they are awaiting a new printing.

>103 thornton37814: Lori: The children's librarian here told me that by the time she got to the library on the day the winners were announced, Amazon was already sold out of the winners and honor books that she didn't already have, so yeah, I'm not surprised.

Happy Sunday to you all Amber. xx

>105 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

22. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk (Newbery Honor Book, 291 pages) - 10/10 = A+
To Kill a Mockingbird meets, um, some other wonderful book from my childhood that I can't quite recall just now. At any rate, it's a gorgeous book and I loved every word of it.

>93 scaifea: No worries, Amber. That's an awful story. Poor kid. Wow.

I have no idea whether there's an omnipotent all-knowing being. I suspect not. But I do think it's an amazing universe we're in. And that kindness is a major key to being here. We unfortunately are unlikely to see the end of what that blind boy suffered in our lifetime. I wish we could.

>108 jnwelch: Joe: I agree with you that there is a lot of amazing out there, and that kindness is essential, absolutely. It's the best - and sometimes the only - thing we have to offer.

>109 scaifea: Well, at least we can do our part, my friend. Also, I understand the meaning of life is . . . 42..

>110 jnwelch: I love that you put a spoiler tag on that! XD

Good morning, Amber. Wishing you a good start into the new week.

>110 jnwelch: Joe: Ha! Exactly.

>111 PawsforThought: Paws: *grins*

>112 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara - wishing the same for you!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing, and the a few quick errands before picking Charlie up from school. Spanish Rice with Beef for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
After finishing Wolf Hollow (and immediately ordering a copy to be shipped to my mom because I know she'll love it), I read a bit of Hrolf Kraki's Saga.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "As a baby, Uri Shulevitz (The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, 1969 Caldecott Medal) scribbled on walls. By age three, he was drawing pictures. At age twelve, he won a drawing competition."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story by Lisa Westberg Peters (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 9/10 = A
A really nice and simple look at evolution and where we came from. Charlie really enjoyed it.
-Chapter 26 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
-Chapter 31 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The rest of chapter 2 in Paddington Helps Out

Morning, Amber!

>116 msf59: Morning, Mark!

Morning, Amber!

Morning, Amber!

How is Charlie liking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

>113 scaifea: :-)

>93 scaifea: I don't like it either, Amber, when I don't like a book.
That is so sad about that young blind boy, made me cry too. I don't believe (anymore) in an all knowing god. I only believe in love and kindnes to all living beings on our planet.

>118 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

>119 jnwelch: Morning, Joe!

This is the *second* time that we've read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together, and he loves it, still. Me, too.

>120 FAMeulstee: Anita: Love and kindness to all is where it's at, for sure. I absolutely agree.

>79 scaifea: I need a gross of those chocolate pecan cups. Stat.

>122 Morphidae: Morphy: Ha! They are pretty good, I have to day.

Hi Amber hope you are having a good Monday my dear, Karen wasn't too bad this morning before she went to work but I have no doubt she will be tired when I pick her up from work in an hour's time, sending love and hugs.

>124 johnsimpson: Hi, John! I hope Karen isn't too tired, poor dear. And I hope they can get her in for the surgery soon!

>125 scaifea:, Karen rang the doctors this morning and Dr Javali is in on Wednesday so she will ring up first thing Wednesday morning to make sure her scan results have arrived and will go in to see her at the end of her morning surgery hopefully. Before she went to work she had four spoonfuls of cornflakes and that seemed to stay down so I will see how she has gone on when I pick her up.

>126 johnsimpson: John: I'm glad that it sounds like she's starting to be able to eat a little food...

>121 scaifea: Heck, I still like Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

>128 drneutron: Jim: Who doesn't?! I remember reading it for the first time when I was about Charlie's age, and I actually looked up from the book at one point and looked around me, to check if anyone else around me realized just what an amazing world was inside those pages. It was maybe the first time I experienced that complete joy of discovering a favorite world inside of a book.

>129 scaifea: Yes!! The magic happens over and over again. Just two days ago with The Bear and the Nightingale. *happy sigh*

I'm putting Wolf Hollow on the WL because I don't see you handing out too many 10 stars, and also it seems like there is less attention paid to girls bullying girls although that certainly happens. We just had a girl switched out of some of her classes and into different classes because her "friends" were bullying her. Our code phrase for it was "too much drama" and she is much happier now that the drama has stopped. Granted, she was part of the drama, but it was still ultimately bullying.

>130 nittnut: Jenn: !! I've got that one on my list!

>131 cammykitty: Katie: Oh, I hope you love it as much as I did! The bullying issue is handled really well, I think - the bullied girl handles herself really smartly, and I can see that giving other kids hope (and a good example to follow).

I also loved Wolf Hollow, a really great read.
Australia's Inky Awards longlist has just been announced and I've only read one book. They do two longlists, one for Australian YA and one for international YA. https://insideadog.com.au/blog/its-here-2017-inky-awards-longlist-annoucement

>133 avatiakh: Kerry: It's wonderful, isn't it?

And ooof, I haven't read any of those Inkies...

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing, and the errands that didn't get done yesterday (I got a last-minute call to sub in the afternoon). Charlie has his library book club this evening, too. Chicken Salad for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I'm nearly finished with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (I think - and it's SO GOOD), and I read more of The Complete Sherlock Holmes, too, plus more War and Peace.

It's a testament to how much and how well Charlie reads that several teachers came through the office (where I was substituting for the Admin. Assistant) after school, saw the large Sherlock Holmes volume sitting on the desk, and ask Charlie, who was by that time hanging out with me, how he was liking it. Just assumed that he was the one reading it. Ha! His response? "No, that's my Mom's - I'm reading Charles Dickens right now." (He's trying his hand at Great Expectations.)

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "As a child, Emily Arnold McCully (Mirette on the High Wire, 1993 Caldecott Medal) drew 'two-minute' portraits during fair time She charged twenty-five cents for each drawing."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-How Many Jelly Beans?
-Chapter 32 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The first half of chapter 3 in Paddington Helps Out
And we finished:

23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (for Charlie's book club/re-read, 155 pages) - 10/10 = A+

Morning Amber! Short work week, due to the weekend off, so no complaints here. Enjoying Nat Turner. Have you read this one?

>137 msf59: Morning, Mark! No, I haven't read that one - are you enjoying it? And yay for short work-weeks!

Morning Amber! Hope you guys are having a good week

>139 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle - you, too!

>135 scaifea: Good morning, Amber. I've read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell seven years ago and I loved it. It's such a great story.
Happy Tuesday.

>141 Ameise1: Hi, Barbara! I am absolutely LOVING Strange and Norrell - what a great story, and so well told.

Morning, Amber!

Strange and Norrell is a great book, isn't it. I'm happy to hear you're loving it.

>136 scaifea: I love that Charlie is such a reader that his teachers would just assume the Sherlock Holmes book was his. How is he liking Great Expectations? I confess I tried it once in high school maybe and couldn't get through it, but I liked it pretty well when I tried again a couple years back. A Christmas Carol remains a perennial favorite and I'm looking forward to reading it to/with my niece someday.

>143 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Yes, it's wonderful! I'm sad that I'm getting toward the end of it, really.

>144 bell7: Mary: He seems to be liking it so far. He read A Christmas Carol just a month or so ago and loved it, of course.

>135 scaifea: Wonderful Charlie story! What a guy!

>146 streamsong: Janet: Thanks, Janet - you'll get no argument here!

>127 scaifea:, We seem to keep speaking too soon about Karen's food intake and for the moment I will not mention it again as no sooner do I mention it and think we are on a good way then things go to hell in a handcart.

>148 johnsimpson: Oh no, John! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her!

Hooray for Charlie and Dickens. :)

>150 nittnut: Jen: *grins*

Hi Amber--Just popping in to catch up. Love that Charlie is such a reader. You done good!

>152 Berly: Aw, thanks, Kim!!

24. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books, audiobook) - 9/10 = A
Ooof, I loved this one. The story was excellent, the characters were fabulously drawn (even the one I loved to hate, I felt kindly toward in the end), and although quite chunky, I was still so sad to see it end. A bit in love with Jonathan Strange, now, of course, and not ashamed to admit it. I highly recommend this one.

>154 scaifea: Jonathan Strange is pretty swoon worthy. I do recommend the recent miniseries as they did an excellent job of adaptating.

>155 MickyFine: Micky: I just had a chat on FB with a friend who talked up the Netflix series. I think he's convinced me to give it a go (along with Joe or Mark (I can't remember which right now), who recommended it as well). Strange isn't nearly handsome enough in it, from the photos I looked up, but Norrell looks just perfect, and I quite like the looks of Mr. Thistledown Hair, too. Plus, production looks fabulous...

>156 scaifea: Strange kind of grows on you in terms of attractiveness. And the rest of the casting is brilliant. The production is gorgeous and the magic effects are quite impressive.

>157 MickyFine: Micky: Yeah, I'm pretty much sold on it. I'm gonna try to get Tomm to watch it with me.

On the agenda for today:
Another quiet work day at home: treadmilling, laundry, writing, sewing.

On the reading front:
I finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and am both happy and sad about it (happy because it was amazing and sad because it's over). I didn't start my next audiobook because I needed a little time to mourn. I'll likely get started on Elantris today, though. I also read a nice chunk (three more stories) in The Complete Sherlock Holmes, which is also just so excellent, of course. Already planning a re-'read' at some point with Mr. Fry...

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Chinese decorations dominated the room at the 1939 Newbery/Caldecott Awards ceremony. Frederic Melcher, who originally sponsored the idea of the Newbery and Caldecott Awards, dressed as an Oriental sage to commemorate the Caldecott winner, Mei Li."
There are a couple of things about this one that trouble me, but, well, there it is.

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Don't Splash the Sasquatch! by Kent Redeker (public library book, picture book) - 9/10 = A-
-The San Francisco Exploratorium by Ruth Brown (Charlie's homework book, 24 pages) - 8/10 = B
-Chapter 1 in The Bad Beginning (Charlie's new book club read)
-Chapter 33 in Ollie's Odyssey
-Another small chunk of chapter 3 in Paddington Helps Out

Morning, Amber! Well, we sure got plenty of rain here. Makes up for the complete lack of snow. Enjoy your day.

>161 msf59: Morning, Mark! We're *still* getting rain! When, yes, is better than the snow they were predicting...

Morning, Amber!

Morning, Amber!

(happy because it was amazing and sad because it's over). A book can get no higher compliment. I'm happy you had such a good time with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

Hey, did you ever read The Magicians and Mrs. Quent? It's the start of a trilogy set in a pseudo-Regency society, has a similar vibe to Jonathan Strange.

>159 scaifea: I will be interested to see what you think of Elantris. I am rather fond of Mr. Sanderson. I was introduced to his work by my cousin, who shared an apartment with him in college. I had previously only associated him with the Alcatraz books, which were OK, but not my favorite. I've read his really epic stuff and his shorter stuff, and to this day my favorite is a novella called The Emperor's Soul. My daughter and I are awaiting the sequel to The Rithmatist, which is a very long time coming. Sigh. His work ethic is insane. He seems to be always writing multiple books at once, just not the one I want. Interesting guy.

>163 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

>164 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! It is a pretty high compliment, and I did absolutely love the book.

>165 drneutron: Jim: No, I haven't read that one. Onto the wishlist it goes - thanks for the tip!

>166 nittnut: Jenn: Well, to be honest with you, I don't have high hopes. I read the first Alcatraz book and didn't like it much at all. So, we'll see how it goes.

On the agenda for today:
Tuppence has a laser treatment this morning, so I'll drop her off for that and then go do some of the grocery shopping for the week, pick her up, head home, unpack the groceries, do some treadmilling, clean the house, work on the weekly bills and photo organizing, then go in for my Thursday afternoon volunteering.

On the reading front:
I started listening to Elantris (it's okay so far, but the reader isn't fabulous, which is not helping), read some more of The Complete Sherlock Holmes (which just gets better and better), and a bit of Old Path White Clouds (which has been consistently lovely from the beginning).

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "While Leo Dillon (Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, 1976 Caldecott Medal; Ashanti to Zulu, 1977 Caldecott Medal) was in art school, his only real competition was a young woman named Diane, who eventually became his collaborator and wife."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 1 in Dog Man Unleashed (another one being read by Charlie, who brought it home yesterday from the Scholastic order and couldn't wait to get started on it - he LOVED the first one)
-Nasreen's Secret School by Jeanette Winter (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 9/10 = A
-The first part of chapter 2 in The Bad Beginning
-Chapter 34 in Ollie's Odyssey
-The rest of chapter 2 in Paddington Helps Out

Morning, Amber! Sweet Thursday! Good luck to Tuppence.

>170 msf59: Morning, Mark! Oh, she needs no luck with this - she gets one of these sessions avery 6 weeks and it does wonders for her arthritis. We tend to call them her trips to the day spa, because she loves it! They get her to lay down on a cushy dog bed and then run this laser over her joints. She tends to fall asleep during the process, but half-wakes every so often to lick the technician's hands. Oh, and she gets to wear these cool sunglasses (so the laser doesn't get her in the eye). She's so well-loved at the vet's office that the technicians all (good-naturedly) fight over which one gets to give her the treatment *this* time... Ha!

>171 scaifea: Sounds like a great day spa! I wouldn't mind getting that myself.

>171 scaifea: What a day spa. Glad it helps her.
Sweet Thursday, Amber.

Good Thursday to you, Amber!

>172 PawsforThought: Paws: I know, right?! *sigh*

>173 Ameise1: Hi, Barbara! It helps her immensely - we've been doing it for her for over a year now, and the change in her is wonderful. She clearly feels so much better. People are shocked when they meet her to find out that she's nearly 12 years old!

>174 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! Happy Thursday to you, too!

Morning, Amber!

>176 Crazymamie: Afternoon, Mamie!

How is Charlie getting on with Dickens? Colour me impressed!

>178 charl08: Charlotte: He's still plugging away and says that he's liking it!

>156 scaifea: Amber - I absolutely loved the miniseries of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I had read the book when it was first published so only vaguely remembered the plot. In contrast I only lasted an episode of Wolf Hall.

I'm trying to remember, Amber, are you waiting until you've read all the Holmes tales before you do the Benedict Cumberbatch series?

>180 avatiakh: Kerry: Oh, that's good to know! I've only heard good things about and I'm not pretty eager to watch it.

>181 MickyFine: Micky: Yep, I'm waiting. I'm not a huge fan of Cumberbatch, but only, really, because I've never seen him act in anything. Tomm is convinced that I'll be in love by the end of the first episode...

>182 scaifea: I'm with Tomm on that one. So much goodness awaiting you. Also the wonderful Martin Freeman as Watson is just as good.

Also, if Charlie hasn't watched it yet, I've always been super fond of The Great Mouse Detective which is a great animated riff on the Holmes canon.

>183 MickyFine: Micky: We love Martin Freeman, too. He's so adorable. And yep, we own The Great Mouse Detective, although we haven't watched it in a long while...

I was humming "To Rattigan" this morning to myself as a customer suggestion for purchase was written by an author named Rhattigan. :)

>183 MickyFine: YES! Love The Great Mouse detective. Sadly one of the most underrated Disney films. Rattigan is a fantastic bad guy, and I love Toby the dog.
Also, Olivia's hat and coat are so pretty!

Happy Friday, Amber. Sending big spring waves over the pond.

>185 MickyFine: Micky: Ha! I get that song stuck in my head randomly sometimes! But that's the case with a lot of Disney tunes...

>186 PawsforThought: Hi, Paws!

>187 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! It's definitely not spring yet here - it's quite cold still.

On the agenda for today:

Busy, busy, busy - grocery shopping this morning, then hustling home to put groceries away, then hustling to school to substitute for the administrative assistant for an hour or so, then home to get dinner in the slow cooker, then off to pick up Charlie and one of his friends (there's an Early Release today), then down to Dubuque to take them to the new indoor trampoline park for the rest of the afternoon. I'm hoping for a comfy spot to sit and read while they play. Southwestern 7-Up Chicken for dinner tonight (per Charlie's request).

On the reading front:
I listened to more of Elantris (which is okay so far, but hasn't really just pulled me in quite yet), read more of The Complete Sherlock Holmes (which is still fabulous, of course) and a bit more of Hrolf Kraki's Saga (which seems a bit slow to get started, but that's not too surprising - these epic sorts of things sometimes take a little while to get going).

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Suse MacDonald took her portfolio and went on forty-seven interviews with publishers and art directors before she received a contract for Alphabatics (1987 Caldecott Honor Book)."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 2 in Dog Man Unleashed
-The rest of chapter 2 in The Bad Beginning (Charlie's ready to abandon this one - he really doesn't like it. I'll try to convince him to give it a little more time, since it's for the book club, but I can't say that I blame him - I didn't like it when I read it, either. Ptooey.)
-Penguins on Parade by Kay Winters (Charlie's homework read, 24 pages) - 8/10 = B
-The first half of chapter 4 in Paddington Helps Out
And we finished:
25. Ollie's Odyssey by William Joyce (Charlie's bedtime read, 294 pages) - 10/10 = A

Morning, Amber! Happy Friday! This is my weekend off. Yah! My next weekend off will be for the Meet-Up. Can you believe it?

I wish it was a bit warmer today, I would go on a "walk".

Morning, Amber! Have fun at the grocery store!

Morning, Amber!

Morning, Amber!

Enjoy the trampoline park! We have one a couple hours from here and it looks very fun!

Good Morning Amber! Our trampoline park has massage chairs. I will wish for you one of those. Even if you don't turn them on, they are comfy.

>191 msf59: Morning, Mark! Woot for the weekend off! I'm so excited about the meet-up - I hope I can make it! It's looking pretty good at this point...

>192 Carmenere: Lynda: Ha! Yes, well. It's over, at least. Honestly, though, I don't mind it too much, and today was especially good: I had a coupon for something and discovered that there was also a store special on the same thing! Woot! I love it when that happens - I feel like I'm beating the system, somehow.

>193 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

>194 drneutron: Morning, Jim!

>195 ChelleBearss: Chelle: I'm sure the boys will have a fabulous time. I'm only a bit jealous that I won't be jumping with them; the reading time makes up for it, though.

>196 nittnut: Morning, Jenn! Is it weird that I would feel guilty sitting in the massage chair if I weren't going to turn it on? Yeah, probably.

Hi, Amber! I'm too far behind to properly catch up, but wanted to stop by to wish you a great weekend!

Happy Saturday, Amber. Saw the great video on FB about basketball.

>198 tymfos: Hi Terri! Good to see you!

>199 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! That video was pretty funny, no? Tomm's brother is an engineer, and the two of them are always teasing each other about which is better, physics or engineering, so I posted that one for Tim.

On the agenda for today:
Just a relaxing Saturday at home, spending time together, since Tomm will be leaving again tomorrow for another week-long business trip. I may do some baking today (Chocolate Pots de Creme) but I'll probably save the rest of the baking for tomorrow and instead do some sewing and reading today (and possibly we'll have a Family Game Afternoon).

On the reading front:
I spent time yesterday with Elantris (I'm still on the fence about this one), The Complete Sherlock Holmes and War and Peace.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Dav Pilkey (The Paperboy, 1997 Caldecott Honor Book) hated school. He often played practical jokes that got him into trouble. When the teacher forced Pilkey to sit in the hall for being bad. He took the opportunity to draw."

What We Read Yesterday:

NOTHING. Charlie was so tuckered from the trampoline park (where both boys had a blast!) that we practically had to carry him up to bed last night! That never happens here - so strange. But adorable.

>202 scaifea: sounds like he had a great time!

>203 drneutron: Jim: He sure did! That place is pretty cool - I think I've convinced Tomm that we all three need to go sometime...

Hi Amber, just trying to catch up - yay for all the baking, and I still want to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell - it's been on my shelves since October of 2007, which means that I probably got it when it was published in 2004. Yeesh.

I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Saturday.

>205 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Oh, do try to get round to Strange and Norrell - it's so SO good!

Hello, Amber!

Hi Amber, hope you are having a good weekend my dear, I see that sewing and reading are on the agenda for today and baking tomorrow, I look forward to seeing what you bake my dear. Sending love and hugs to you all dear friend.

>196 nittnut: Trampoline Park *and* Massage chairs? Now that's a combination!

Hi Amber! The trampoline park was always a big hit with my kids. Glad Charlie had fun. What is this laser treatment for the joints? Is it for arthritis? Do they use it on people as well? Never heard of it before.

>207 alcottacre: Stasia!! Woot!! So good to see you, friend!

>208 johnsimpson: Hi, John! I did a little sewing tomorrow and will maybe finish up Charlie's new robe tomorrow. I also made the Chocolate Pots de Creme today and will bake some more tomorrow. I'll try to remember to post photos...

>209 michigantrumpet: Marianne: This trampoline park did, in fact have a massage chair, but I didn't work up the courage to sit in it. Alas.

>210 Berly: Kim: The trampoline park was a big hit and I suspect we'll go back at some point.
The laser treatment is for her arthritis and it really seems to help. I have no idea if it is in practice for humans, but I don't know why it would be...

You mentioned that Tuppence doesn't care for the rain - does he like the snow?

My beautiful Border Collie, Khayman (daughter was in Anne Rice mode when we got him and his sister),
loved our big Wisconsin snow drifts - would leap and roll and run all the time we were in their Dog Park!

>212 m.belljackson: Yep, she loves snow - they both do. Tuppence loves to catch snowballs.

Good morning, Amber. Happy Sunday.

>214 Ameise1: Morning, Barbara! Happy Sunday to you, too!

On the agenda for today:
Tomm leaves in just a few minutes for another business trip (he'll be gone until next Saturday), so it'll be just Charlie and me for the week. Today I'll get the baking done that didn't happen yesterday (I've already made Cherry Upside Down Coffee Cake for breakfast, and I'll also make Buttery Bubble Bread and some Peanut Butter Cookies). Charlie is eager to have his new robe, so I'll try to finish that today, and then I'm hoping for some sitting-in-the-rocking-chair-and-reading time. We'll see how it goes.

On the reading front:
I spent some quality time with The Complete Sherlock Holmes yesterday, and I love every minute of it. That Mr. Holmes is a delight, really.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "James Thurber, author of Many Moons (1944 Caldecott Medal), said, 'With sixty staring me in the face, I have developed inflammation of the sentence structure and a definite hardening of the paragraphs.'"

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-Chapter 3 of Dog Man Unleashed
-The first half of chapter 3 in The Bad Beginning
-The first few pages of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
-The rest of chapter 4 in Paddington Helps Out

Good morning, Amber! Buttery Bubble Bread sounds lovely.

>218 rosalita: Morning, Julia! The bread is a good one, and pretty easy, too:

Buttery Bubble Bread
Ingredients:
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 to 4 ½ cups flour
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 350⁰.
2. In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
3. Add sugar, shortening, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour.
4. Beat until smooth.
5. Stir in enough remaining flour to form soft dough.
6. Turn onto a floured surface; kneed until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
7. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
8. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
9. Punch dough down.
10. Shape into 1 ½-inch balls.
11. Dip balls in butter and arrange evenly in a greased 9-inch fluted tube pan.
12. Drizzle with remaining butter.
13. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
14. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
15. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. Serve warm.

I found it in Taste of Home: Baking

I love a kid who is excited about a bathrobe. He's got his priorities straight, as there is nothing better :) I have a fleece one that I'm partial to for the winter but will need replacing soon...

Happy Quiet Sunday, Amber!

>217 scaifea: Daughter and I loved Lemony Snicket! It's so much fun, so articulate.

I hope you and Charlie have a great day.

Morning, Amber!

Did you read News of the World yet? I'm hopping on board with the other warblers - great book.

Thanks for the recipe! I wondered from the name if it was one of those pull-apart loafs. I love those.

I always suspected that adults liked The Series of Unfortunate Events better than the kids do. The kids haven't read all those unfortunate orphan suffers and then is rewarded by rich, unknown relative books that we did. Those books were old when we were young!

>220 katiekrug: Katie: I know, right? Further proof that he is, in fact, an 80-year-old man.

>221 karenmarie: Karen: Well, that makes two of you. Ha! Charlie and I both pretty intensely dislike it. I've read it before and stopped at the first one because it irritated me so much, and Charlie's really not liking it either. It's for his library book club, but I suspect we'll be abandoning it (which is okay according to the rules of the club, so long as you at least give it a go).

>222 jnwelch: Hi, Joe! I haven't read that one yet, but it's firmly on the list - it sounds amazing.

>223 rosalita: Julia: You're welcome! I love the pull-apart breads, too, and Charlie will eat *any* kind of bread. He loves the stuff.

>224 cammykitty: Katie: Yeah, I don't like it at all. In fact, I've yet to read a Snicket book that I do like. And from what I've heard about the man himself, I'm not impressed much by him, either.

Weekend Baking Results:

Yesterday's Chocolate Pots de Creme (so, so tasty, and I love that they seem impressive but are actually really easy):



This morning's breakfast (Cherry Upside Down Coffee Cake) - it was attacked as soon as it came out of the oven, and we just went at it with forks right on the serving plate, so the only photo I could get was of the aftermathy carnage:



Peanut Butter Chews:



And the Buttery Bubble Bread:

Hi Amber, I am loving the photos of your baking my dear, so much so that I am drooling. Karen will love the photos but the fact that she couldn't eat any of it causes her sadness. I can just imagine the two of you in the kitchen ruminating what to make between you and then seeing the results which will be absolutely gorgeous and then obviously I would have to do the taste test just to make sure everything is ok, I may have to have a few samples just to be fully sure. What am I saying, I would just dash off with everything and stuff my face if truth to be told, ha ha.

>227 johnsimpson: John: Ha! A day in the kitchen with Karen and you sounds amazing! One day...

>228 scaifea:, I certainly hope so my dear.

And the robe is finished - he seems pleased:

Goodlooking! Both Charlie and the robe!

>231 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Charlie chose the fabric, and it's very *very* soft, but not so fun to sew. I'm glad it's finished, to be honest.

Love that color! Great job, Amber!

>233 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia!

I'm impressed, Amber! Looks great and Charlie looks happy.

That robe looks wonderful. Beautiful color and oh so cozy looking.

>235 karenmarie: >236 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, ladies!

Your upside down thingy looks a lot like what we call dump cake - a camping speciality. Basically you dump the ingredients in a Dutch oven, put it on the fire, and dig in when it's done!

Happy Sunday, Amber! Hope you had a nice weekend.

>230 scaifea: My favorite color!!

My word the buttery bubble bread looks to die for!

>238 drneutron: Jim: Yes, sort of, but there's actual mixing involved in this one; melted butter, sugar and the cherries go in the bottom of the cake pan, then you mix together what is essentially a biscuit dough and spread that over the top. It looks like a dump cake here because we demolished it - it looked much more put-together before we ate it...

>239 msf59: Thanks, Mark! It was a great weekend, although we didn't like saying so long to Tomm for a whole week this morning. We called in for story time tonight, though, so that was nice.

>240 Berly: Kim: SOOO purply!

>241 PaulCranswick: Paul: Well, I don't know if it's worth risking one's life, but it *is* pretty tasty...

Love the robe. I also Hate sewing with that fabric, but the end result is very cozy.

Mmm, the baking is making me drool, Amber. Love the aftermath of the cherry upside down cake, looks like everybody there loved it too! That's a pretty cozy looking bathrobe that Charlie has there.

Great rob. He looks so happy. Wishing you a great week ahead, Amber.

>243 nittnut: Jenn: As soon as I was finished with it, I immediately pulled out the vacuum cleaner and went to town on my sewing room. That stuff was *everywhere*!

>244 Familyhistorian: Hi, Meg! Thanks! It was a productive weekend, for certain.

>245 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara!

On the agenda for today:
Treadmilling, laundry, working on the Latin book, sewing. I'll also try to get a new thread up and running. Then a trip to the library before picking Charlie up from school this afternoon. Carrot Soup for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I spent more time with The Complete Sherlock Holmes yesterday, and also with Old Path White Clouds. Both continue to be wonderful in their own ways.

The Newbery/Caldecott Trivia: "Robert McCloskey's original idea for Make Way for Ducklings (1942 Caldecott Medal) was to use pigeons as the main characters, but he found pigeons too difficult to draw."

What We Read Yesterday:
-More Herobrine Saves Christmas
-The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter (Frequently Challenged Children's Books, picture book) - 9/10 = A
-A few more pages in The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

And we watched Frozen, by Charlie's request. I didn't mind a bit - I love this one. I love that the princess saves herself and doesn't need a prince to do it for her, that they focus on sisterly love and not *needing* a man (but being free to chose to have the man in one's life).

Morning, Amber! It will be my long work week but the weather is supposed to stay fairly mild, so that helps.

Hope your Monday goes smoothly.

>249 msf59: Morning, Mark! We're supposed to get some rain here today - I hope you stay dry!

Morning, Amber!

Whoa, I'm loving the baking weekend results. And Charlie looks smashing in his robe.

Hey Amber, just stopping by to pick up the crumbs left behind from a tasty looking weekend.
LOL, the blurry pic makes it look like Charlie was flapping is arms in purple happiness !

Charlie looks great in his robe. Well done!

That Buttery Bubble Bread looks awesome. I may have to try that.

>230 scaifea: what a lovely purple rope! Charlie does look happy!

Good morning, Amber! Your day sounds fun and productive. I hope it's a good one.

>251 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! The baking was a success, I think, and so was the robe!

>252 Carmenere: Hi, Lynda! He *was* happy-arm-flapping!

>253 lycomayflower: Thanks, Laura! Do try the bread - easy and very tasty. Plus, if you dip the dough in cinnamon sugar after dipping in the butter, you'll have Monkey Bread instead...

>254 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle!

>255 karenmarie: Morning, Karen! Thanks! So far so good - I'm looking forward to my library trip this afternoon.

>226 scaifea: Good lord that all looks incredibly delicious! (How come you don't live down the street from me?)

Love Charlie's robe. AND it's in our Miss Lily's favorite color----Puuuuppple.

>257 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: You're welcome to come over and sample any time.
And yes, the robe is very purple. Charlie braved the fabric shop to pick the fabric out himself (all the while reminding me that I *promised* not to get carried away while in there... I didn't... He was amazed at my self-restraint...)

The new thread is up!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/250588

>258 scaifea: all the while reminding me that I *promised* not to get carried away while in there... I didn't... He was amazed at my self-restraint...)

*cracks up* Does he know his mom or what?

>260 Morphidae: Morphy: Oh, he knows his Momma. Oh, he knows. He also will generally say, as we're walking out the door, "Mommy, do you have your keys? Your phone?" He knows that I'd forget my butt if it weren't attached.

>261 scaifea: You made me laugh again and I needed it. Lots of frustration here.

>262 Morphidae: Morphy: Oh, good! I'm glad you're laughing! I'm sorry for the frustration, though.