little reader

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

-Dr. Seuss

I have said many times that one of the most touching things as a homeschool mom is teaching my children to read. Actually, I get excited about my children learning, period. But, there is something extra special about watching them learn to read. Just seeing all the pieces come together...I love it!

Lucy is learning to read. We use this book for our lessons. We are about a third of the way through it. Most days she will ask to do more than one lesson per day. She gets so proud when she reads something new. Her eyes light up and she clasps her hands together in excitement.

She has not been reading books, but last week during a trip to the library she asked to pick out one she could read. In the past, I have liked the small simple books by Margaret Hillert. I pulled this one off the shelf first and Lucy was very pleased with the pumpkin on the cover.

She was so excited about reading it that she tried to start while we were still walking through the library! Once we got home, she had to have a little bit of help, but I was so proud of how well she did.

Maybe one reason that it is so exciting to see them learn to read is knowing that once they are able to read, they can take some other learning into their own hands. Not to mention all the places they can go with books (thanks, Dr. Seuss)!

I was just getting ready to close this post and Lucy entered the room and I asked her why she is excited to learn to read and she replied, "So that I can read on my own." And then I asked her what is so great about being able to read. And she replied, "You get to read mysteries and funny books. And you get to read the Bible and learn about people in it." I think those are some pretty great answers.

books :: the library bag

I went to the library to pick up a book or two I had been wanting to check out concerning self-sufficiency and natural home remedies. Well, as it turns out, I got to the shelves and ended up with a lot more than I had planned. I just kept seeing titles that intrigued me. Here is a snippet of what I picked up.

Storey's Basic Country Skills :: This book has all sorts of information from plumbing (no thanks) to gardening (yes, please). There is a lot of information that I would never use, but it is still a lot of fun to read.

Mary Jane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in all of Us :: Considering myself a farmgirl, I have read some of this book before and I think it is full of practical information. As many of you know, I am a big fan of Mary Jane and I love that she is so excited to spread the farmgirl spirit.

Traditional Kitchen Wisdom :: I have to admit that I picked this one up because I thought it was pretty. And it turns out that it has some helpful info as well.

Natural Beauty Basics :: Having sensitive skin, I am always looking for natural products. I recently switched to washing my face with honey because my skin was going through a phase of disliking pretty much everything I put on it. Actually, everything. Someone recommended that I try washing my face with honey. And I have loved the result. I then decided to look into more recipes for natural products which led me to this book.

The House That Cleans Itself :: Honestly, who wouldn't be attracted by that title? I checked it out assuming that it would be useless, but I was quite pleased when I found it to have some very practical methods for getting (and keeping) your house in order. I have implemented some and it has made a big difference.

Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper :: I have been researching beekeeping for a while because I would love to keep bees. I picked up a few books on the subject and thought this one looked quite interesting.

It seems that recently I have seen more and more self-sufficiency/country skills/home remedy books. Are there any that you have read or would recommend?

books :: the bedside table

I have just noticed that while this stack of books is on the bedside table, there is also a slew of others on the floor and a crate of them in the living room. People, I can't help it. And I will share those books with you later in the week. But for today, I thought I would share my current daily reads.

One Hundred and One Devotions for Homeschool Moms :: My friend, Cindy, recommended this book to me a long time ago and I have been reading through it this school year. It is full of great encouragement, just right for those who homeschool.

Amish Peace :: I saw this book months ago at a local bargain outlet. I was intrigued by it and considered purchasing it, but I wasn't really sure, as I had never heard of the author. Weeks, even a couple of months went by, and I kept thinking of it. I finally went back in the store and after digging for a while, I found it and decided to read a chapter in the store. And, well, now it is on my bedside table. (And would you believe I have seen it in two other stores since then?) I am really enjoying this book. I love to read about the Amish and am intrigued by their simple life. I read a chapter each day (they are only a couple of pages). Each chapter ends with a few questions to get you thinking about simplicity. I love the way it has challenged me during a time in which I have been trying to simplify our lives.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon :: I just realized that the same bargain outlet that led me to the last book, also led me to this book. Sarah Addison Allen also wrote a book called The Sugar Queen and after seeing it at the bargain outlet, I checked it out at our library. It was just the right amount of quirky with some fantasy (not my usual read) and I decided to check out another of her books. So far, this one is proving to be just as interesting. Oh, and apparently the author lives only a hour from me.

The Sacred Echo :: I recently read Scouting the Divine by Margaret Feinberg. I must admit that it was the first non-fiction book that I actually read all the way through to the end. It was such a wonderful read and made me see things in the Bible in a different light. I was very fortunate to win The Sacred Echo through a giveaway on Margaret's site and it is proving to be a great read as well.

I hope that these book posts aren't too boring. I love seeing what other bloggers are reading and I find a lot of great books that way. Oh, and remember when I said that I didn't want to count my collection of vintage books for teenage girls for fear of the number? Well, I counted anyway, and it turns out I have 63. Not the astronomical number I had feared, but they do take up quite a bit of shelf space.

What is on your bedside table right now (or next to your bed)?

book nest :: january and february

I talked about these little bird friends and their book nest last month. I did what I had planned to do by rotating out the books, I just didn't get around to posting last month's nest. It is the one above. I thought it might also be fun, at least for vintage book lovers like me, to talk about some of them each month. With very few exceptions, I find my vintage books at library book sales and the majority of them cost around a dime a piece.

The January nest took on a cool, crisp theme. Here is a bit about some of the books...

More Silver Pennies :: Yes, I know the title on the binding is upside down, but for it to be right side up, the top of the nest would be the back of the book and the cover is just too pretty to hide (you can see a better image of the cover in the link). This is a very sweet book of children's poems published in 1949. As for the theme, er, I just thought the color of this went well, and ice is kinda silvery...

At the Back of the North Wind :: Michael and I both love George MacDonald's writing. We have a nice sized collection of his works.

Snowbound with Betsy :: This book was written by Carolyn Haywood. I have a large collection of her books as well. She made it into the December nest. And I am pretty sure you will see her again. Thinking back, we should have read this one aloud while we were snowed in a few weeks ago.

Lets us move on the February nest. I went the obvious route and let it take on a lovey-dovey theme.

First Love-True Love (by Anne Emery), Lasso Your Heart (by Betty Cavanna), and Confusion by Cupid (by Janet Lambert) :: When I was much younger, I would comb the library by my grandmother's house for these type of books, mostly written in the 1950s by several different authors. I was attracted to earlier time periods even when I was young and I loved reading stories about girls during the 50s. Several years ago, I purchased by first copy of one of these books and I have been collecting since that day. I haven't counted how many of these I have, partly because I am afraid the number will be astronomical.

The Valentine Party :: This book was also written in the 1950s, so I guess I have more than one theme this month. We haven't read this one yet, but I plan to this week.

So, that catches us up on the book nests. I am planning on posting more about books this week. I have quite a supply from the library that I am excited about and want to share.

relaxed wednesday

This feels like such a lazy Wednesday even though I have been busy in the kitchen for a couple of hours now. But somehow, it is actually relaxing. I started out by baking this...

The recipe can be found here. And no, this is not the best shot I could take. Who cares about my new stacking, rust-proof cooling rack? Me. Probably not you but definitely me. And while waiting for it to cool, I was flipping through this...

It is beautifully done. I have really enjoyed it. And while we are on the subject of canning, Shannan wrote a great post about it here. She even has a great giveaway to boot! And while I am planning all the wonderful preserves I am going to make, I am snacking on these that were handpicked yesterday...

But even I have to take a break from taking a break and while the oven was hot, I roasted tomatillos, onion, jalepeno and garlic, tossed them in my new blender (again, you probably don't care, but we were without one for quite a while and it was stressful)...

And then after a bit of pulsing, I have this cooling in the refrigerator...

And so that it is not alone, I decided I needed to do something with some of the cucumbers from Lucy's basket and I have some cucumber mint water in there as well...

I hope your Wednesday is finding you relaxed and well.

bread and butter

We are officially finished with our second year of homeschool. And we have a full week of summer break under our belts (which included a homeschool conference for me), so I figured it was time to get back to blogging.

I bought The River Cottage Family Cookbook a while back and quickly fell in love with the photos and recipes. However, I am just now getting around to using it. I feel like I have made something out of it already but can find no written documentation of that, so apparently I am crazy. This afternoon I was craving bread but didn't want to bother with kneading. I have no-knead recipes, but they require that the bread "sit" for a bit before baking and I had no time for such nonsense. The recipe for soda bread in this book was exactly what I needed. And I decided that the perfect partner for the bread was homemade butter. And wouldn't you know, just 18 pages over in the very same book, were instructions for just that. Perfect.

Here is the cream waiting to become butter and the soda bread ready for the oven...
For the butter you pour heavy cream into a mason jar and shake away until butter magically appears. Larkin, Lucy and I passed the jar around and each shook it for a bit. It was so amazing how quickly the butter forms (less than ten minutes for us). Here is the butter still sitting in the buttermilk...

You then pour off the buttermilk and rinse the butter several times with cold water and then squeeze out the remaining buttermilk and your butter is ready. It is that simple!

The soda bread is delicious and the butter is perfect! This was such a simple treat for us to enjoy this afternoon. The butter was so much fun it makes me want to buy a churn. Seriously.

stuff

Don't you love the way I post about coming back to the blog after an unexpected break, and then I don't post for over a week? Yeah, me neither. But, I am back this time. I think it took me a little more time than I expected to get back into the groove around here. And see that photo above? That is the kind of stuff I am working this morning. And rest assured that the other side of the room looks pretty much the same. Stuff is just tossed everywhere in the room. The room stayed pretty much tidy during the school year and in the last few weeks it has gotten out of control. 

I have been slowly working through the house cleaning out the clutter. I find that I am a much happier and pleasant person when the house is clean and simple. We are planning on having a yard sale this weekend. And what doesn't sell goes straight to the thrift shop. It better not even look back toward the house!

Oh, and you probably can't tell, but in the photo, perched on the top of all that stuff, is this book. I checked it out at the library and love it! I am planning on getting my own copy. The recipes look great and the photos are quite lovely. I also love the way the recipes are written...very conversational. Larkin actually asked me to read it to him one afternoon!

OK, off to tackle more clutter. And don't worry, this week is not going to be all about me cleaning. I have some other stuff to post!

dressed

I have been trying to post since this morning. The day quickly got away from me. But it did start quite peacefully with a cup of my favorite tea and this great book I picked up at the library last week. It is full of some great photos. This one is my favorite (of course, if you don't count the ones of Cary Grant)...

It is a still from The Pullman Bride in 1917. Now I really want to see the movie. If you follow that link you will see another photo of the cast members. You have to love the costumes. And seriously, where can I get a pair of those boots!

And while I am sort of on the subject of my local library (yeah, I know it is a stretch), I just have to say that in the past year I have fallen in love with the library all over again. I went every day as a child since my grandmother lived one block from the library and I stayed with her after school and during the summer. I didn't just visit the library. You see, my best friend's grandmother, who also lived a block from the library, was one of the librarians, so my friend and I would just hang out all day and read and nose around the library. It was amazing. I have been able to learn about so many things and through the power of imagination I have been able to visit so many magical places! I am so blessed that I was encouraged to read at such an early age. I can't really hang out at the library all day these days, but I do visit at least twice a week. And my mom and I actually call each other to talk about our library trips! She loves it as much as me!

Our library system has over 30 branches, so there are a lot of materials available. The closest branch is a little over a mile from our house and I usually have books and movies transferred there and then go and pick them up. This past week I finally ventured out to the Central library in downtown Atlanta. I am so smitten. The thing is at least four levels. I could so easily lose myself in there. Usually, I go to the bookstore or to Goodreads and find books that I want to read and then check them out at the library (it's free!), but it so much fun to just wander around and find all sorts of goodies. I picked up the 1931 French film, Le Million, and Michael and I loved it!

OK, so that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about my library habits, but I have just been so excited lately that I had to share. Use your local library!

lounging little one

i made these flannel pajama pants for lucy last week. i got the fabric 75 percent off because it was halloween fabric. although, i think it could pass as non-halloween. they are very cozy. i wish i had a pair. you may notice a little bit of her mr. happy cold pack at the top. she had a run in with the wooden arm of the rocking chair yesterday. she is better today, but i think she just likes to hold the little guy.

for those of you who are curious about whether or not my book was indeed good to the very end...indeed it was! i love historical fiction and this book was no exception and a bit of mystery thrown in was just the thing i needed. the author did a great job because i was hooked from page one and the images were so vivid i could imagine myself being there. so there you have it. my first book recommendation on the blog.

bookish fun

i did a little sewing today, but the weather is quite dreary, so no good photos today. however, i saw this over on amanda's blog a little while back and found it entertaining. so, i decided i would post it here today (plus i just have to share a little bit of the book i am reading).

grab the nearest book.
* open the book to page 56.
* find the fifth sentence.
* post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
* don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

i am currently reading the blackstone key by rose melikan. people, i can't put this book down. it is so good. i can hardly wait to see how it ends. so here ya go...

"In this respect Mary proved a disappointment. She reacted soberly to the news of Tracey's  death--not even the hint of a swoon--and the message from the military gentleman failed to raise a blush. Appearances, however, were deceptive, for the maidservant's communication actually sent Mary's thoughts into a disturbing spiral. As she dressed she wondered whether a new set of difficulties awaited her--difficulties that might prove both awkward and dangerous."

while we are on the subject of reading, have you checked out good reads? nikki introduced me to it and i am hooked. i love having virtual bookshelves. my favorite is my "to read" shelf. i see books all the time that look interesting, so i come home and enter them in my list and then i can check the my library for them. i love it! i am thinking of starting to post more about some of the books i read. anyone have any book suggestions?