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winter is for reading
December 17, 2009
You know me, I can't stay away from this space too long. I had a lovely, exciting surprise (which I will be sharing more of in the new year) that energized me today. The creative juices started to flow again and amazingly I didn't feel like going to bed at 9pm, which has been a regular occurrence these days. A nice occurrence mind you, but one that doesn't leave much time for my usual hour of creative downtime after the kids are in bed.
Anyway, here I am using this last half hour of Wednesday night to share a few photos from the past couple days and a some book links. I've been reading a lot, which seems to ebb and flow with my creative pursuits. If I'm taking lots of photos, I'm not reading much. If I'm reading lots, I'm not sewing or knitting. There's a give and take to my activities; in the same way there is to my mothering/homemaking - days that I'm a great mother I feel like a lousy housekeeper. You know that story.
Our days have looked like this; in between getting packed up for our Christmas trip and putting the finishing touches on gifts, cards and soap. The kids and I have been reading Christmas and winter stories and we just finished the classic My Side of the Mountain, which left Laurent literally hopping up and down with excitement; that boy loves the woods.
My personal reading has been quite eclectic. During breakfast and lunch this week I've been laughing my way through Pilgrims: A Wobegon Romance. I started (and was greatly inspired by) reading Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning during a hot bath this past weekend. A couple weeks ago I enjoyed the pat on the back I received from In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms and before bed I've been listening as Damien's been reading to us all Zero Days: The Real Life Adventure of Captain Bligh, Nellie Bly, and 10-year-old Scrambler on the Pacific Crest Trail.
I've been kind of missing the usual love affair with my camera (though I have to say the waning light makes it tricky) but reading has been nice and just perfect for these dark and wintry days.
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Karen on Dec. 17, 2009, 4:07 p.m.
I've been reading Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz, which has grabbed my interest and fancy to indeed go wild about fermented foods. However, I need a good comfy, captivating book - a holiday read that goes beyond the sour delights of healthy bacteria. (Albeit, I do wish I'd have purchased said book at the Common Ground Country Fair - I even had it in hand, priced around $10-$12, another shopper beside me highly recommending it...our local Chapters retails it for >$30 - a post Christmas visit to Amazon, I guess.)
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Mel on Dec. 17, 2009, 6:19 p.m.
Winter IS for reading! While we still get outside a lot the early darkness (4:30pm) makes for good reading time. We keep a box of books especially for winter/holiday reading. The box comes out after Thanksgiving and gets put away in January. The stories seem even more special when we read them every year.
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John on Dec. 17, 2009, 9:04 p.m.
Speaking of books, I'm looking through your wish list and wondering which 1 book you would like above all others.
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Alisha on Dec. 18, 2009, 2:19 a.m.
I have finally sat down to read some "fun" books instead of the brain eaters. The boys and I are about to start reading Farmer Boy since we're all into off-grid life. (Currently we are not off-grid, but hoping to be and to move to Alaska... BUT that's probably not going to happen in the near future, unless God wills it.)
Thanks for the comment! Sorry it took me a while to find it! Hey, I love long comments! LOL I'm long winded, so it fits.
Yes, I am a preacher's wife. And oh boy you are so right about the pressure!And God surely has a sense of humor putting me in this position. I bet it's like some sort of sitcom. Currently, my husband isn't pastoring a church, this is still new to us, nearly a year old, but he fills in when needed. Jobs are scarce in our parts and you just kind of have to take what's readily available, so his new job schedule doesn't actually allow him to be off most Sundays, which stinks.
Yeah, our kiddos get language from the newer kids movies that come out! I can't believe what gets put in those and with the ratings! I am really put out about that. That and I leave the TV on sometimes for noise and commercials have profanity in it, too. Lol..I have come up with really interesting frustration words and have nicked a few from movies. One of my favorites is "Flapdoodle!" from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. And I sometimes say "Well Doody Fee!" Lol... where that one came from I don't know. Lately my 3 yr old is going around yelling "What tha H***!"and "Oh, Craaaaaaap!" And where THAT came from, I don't know. Yay... let's hope that doesn't pop out on a Sunday morning.
Alisha's last blog post... Life Stinks
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~kristina~ on Dec. 18, 2009, 3 a.m.
So glad your creative juices have started flowing again - look forward to hearing more!
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nicola@which name? on Dec. 18, 2009, 6:22 a.m.
yes yes yes. i am the same with the ebb and flow (such a nice way of describing it) of creative interests. i have been missing reading so much, i picked up a book last night, rereading a favorite, and hope i can finish christmas gifts before the urge to read full overcomes me. and yes to a similar waning of photos as the light lessens. lovely photos and i will be back to link through! nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com
nicola@which name?'s last blog post... health and beauty from the kitchen (and a giftable recipe)
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John on Dec. 17, 2009, 3:32 p.m.
I miss reading. It seems with my job and the kids and all the other family responsibilities I can never find the time for books like I used to. I did manage to read Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road" recently. I enjoyed it but it was very bleak. And I think I enjoyed the movie better than the book which rarely happens.