2011 Books

I had a brief crisis of conscience today as my heart was singing with the bright skies and warm weather. It felt like spring! And then I thought, "Is it okay to feel this way when I'm supposed to be writing about loving winter?" Of course it is!!! The whole point of all this is to find joy IN THE PRESENT -- whatever that means. We have another warm day tomorrow (52F) and I can't wait to enjoy it!

Last year was a good year for reading. Not that there was much different from previous years (except the books) but I did feel that I read more than one or two really great books. I'm going to put my highly recommended books at the top of this list and then the rest will follow. (Note: the descriptions of the books are written in my record right after I read the book, that's why the word "loved" appears so often in the top 10 or so books!).

One Thousand Gifts

Ann Voskamp

Perhaps my favorite book of the year. A book on gratefulness and one woman's journey through grief and depression to living fully through counting gifts.

A Praying Life

Paul Miller

Excellent book on practical prayer. This, with "Praying Backwards", would be my favorite work on prayer.

The Gift of Rest

Joe Lieberman

LOVE this book on the Sabbath!!!! Highly recommend this to everyone who takes the 1o Commandments seriously!

What the Bible Teaches About Guidance

Peter Bloomfield

Extremely helpful book on knowing the truth about God and His will.

Eat That Frog!

Brian Tracy

"21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time." Very helpful and easy to read.

The Happiness Project

Gretchen Rubin

LOVED this book! So thought-provoking and enjoyable to read and think about. A year of projects to spur on happiness.

Hamlet's Blackberry

William Powers

Excellent book on the power of the digital age and how to establish a balance in it.

The Distant Hours

Kate Morton

Totally engrossing novel set in modern and WWII Britain. Mystery to be solved. Well written.

Winter Garden

Kristen Hannah

Loved this novel that is set in modern America but weaves in the Leningrad occupation in WWII.

A Red Herring without Mustard

Alan Bradley

Another terrific Flavia de Luce novel. I love these!!!

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Joan Aiken

Loved this interest-grabbing kids book set in Victorian England. Two girls must solve a mystery and escape a wicked governess. We also enjoyed the two sequels.

An Irish Country Courtship

Patrick Taylor

I do love this series set in Ireland a generation ago and bringing the day to day life in a little village to life through the eyes of a student doctor. Always disappointed that there is some language.

Hope

Louann Gaeddert

Historical fiction for kids on life in a Shaker village in the 1800's.

What's He Really Thinking

Paula Rhinehart

Some good insights into relating to your husband. Favorite quote: "Don't make your husband pay the bill another man left in your life."

Betrayal at Cross Creek

Kathleen Ernst

Juvenile historical fiction set in North Carolina at the start of the Revolutionary War. The kids and I enjoyed this.

Marriage to a Difficult Man

Elisabeth D Dodds

An endearing biography of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards' marriage. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Swamp Fox of the Revolution

Stewart Holbrook

I thought this was dull but the kids liked it. General Frances Marion of South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. Namesake of Marion County!

Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley

Marguerite Henry

Sweet story of a little girl and her mule.

The Journey of Hannah

Wanda Luttrell

Very good Christian story of a slave girl beginning in South Carolina and going to Kentucky.

Heart of the Artichoke

David Taris

Beautiful and enjoyable cookbook.

Good News for Anxious Christians

Phillip Cory

An incredible book detailing "ten things you don't have to do". Very helpful.

Mitt, the Michigan Mouse

Kathy-jo Wargin

Such a cute book about a mouse. Kids loved it. End did not bring much resolution but I guess there is a sequel.

The Books of Ezra and Nehemia

F. Charles Fensham

Commentary

Diary of an Early American Boy

Eric Sloane

Read this with Andrew who loved it! A year in the life of a 15 year old boy in 1805.

Why We Get Fat

Gary Taubes

Helpful -- points to insulin as the problem.

Steady Days

Jamie C Martin

Helpful little book on setting a routine for young mothers -- mostly helpful for mothers with kids under school age.

When Helping Hurts

Corbett & Fikkert

Thought provoking book about ministry to the poor

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

Nicholas Drayson

Adorable, light novel set in Nairobi.

Black Hearts in Battersea

Joan Aiken

Sequel to the Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Just as engaging as the first book.

Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter

Vicki Courtney

Good but mostly giving statistics....body image, growing up, relationships, virtue

Our Triune God

Ryken & LeFebvre

Short, helpful book on understanding the work of the trinity in salvation.

How to Make Money on Etsy

Tim Adam

Helped me to know I don't want to do what it takes to make money on Etsy!

Chu Ju's House

Gloria Whelan

Story of a young, Chinese girl who has to find her own way in life.

A Little History of the World

E H Gombrich

A small, easy-reading overview of world history.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Helen Simonson

Adorable little novel about middle-aged, cross-cultural love in an English village.

A Child's History of Indianapolis

Ann Mallatt

Cute, interest-grabbing history of Indpls from about 1816-1840's.

Like a Mantle the Sea

Stella Shepherd

Sweet story of eight years spent on Papa Stour, a small island off the Scottish Shetland isles. Amazing how different life was even 50 years ago.

A Thousand Resurrections

Maria Gairiott

Maria's story of her marriage and inner city life as a minister's wife in Maryland.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

C S Lewis

The Silver Chair

C S Lewis

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler

E. L. Konigsburg

Entertaining kid's book taking place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pioneer Woman -- Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

Ree Drummond

Easy read, entertaining. Enjoyed reading on my trip to Oklahoma.

Captive Queen (Eleanor of Aquitaine novel)

Alison Weir

Loved this though a bit shocked at the beginning but got better. Weir is my favorite author.

Nightbirds on Nantucket

Joan Aiken

Final book in the Woves of Willoughby Chase series. Another good book!

Turkish Delights and Treasure Hunts

Jane Brocket

"Delightful treats and games from children's classic books."

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver

E L Konicsburg

Story of Eleanor of Aquitaine -- maybe for kids? But suited more to teens except for one or two things. Not very interesting.

Organized Simplicity

Tsh Oxenreider

"the clutter-free approach to intentional living"

The 24 Days Before Christmas

Madeleine L'Engle

Cute, simple, more heartwarming if you had read the Austin family books.

The Rhythm of Family

Amanda and Stephen Soule

Another enjoyable book by Amanda organized by the 12 months.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Nina Sankovitch

I guess I must label this as boring -- more about Nina dealing with the death of her sister and her journey through that than about the 365 books she read in a year.

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

Steve and Annette Economides

Helpful to me -- especially if you are not couponing.

Embrace Winter #1: Read Good Books

How would we get through winter without good books to read? I have such delightful childhood memories of spending the entire day after Christmas reading new books. What bliss to lay on the floor and read and read and read.

I keep a list throughout the year of each book I've read and it is always fun to look back and see what I've covered in a year. I would love to be completely methodical and choose 12 novels, 12 non-fictions, 12 of this or that. While I do make a list of books that I would like to read in the coming year, part of the joy of reading for me is to go where my fancy leads me and order books at whim from the library.

Here are some ideas for enjoying books this winter:

Read books about winter. Jane Brocket suggests 10 books to read by the fire in winter:

The Box of Delights by John Masefield

The Rat-a-Tat Mystery by Enid Blyton

Little Women by L. M. Alcott

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

The Long Winter by L. I. Wilder

The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden

Five Go Adventuring Again by Enid Blyton

A Little Princess by F. H. Burnett

The Mystery of the Secret Room by Enid Blyton

Order a new magazine to enjoy throughout the year

Join a book club or start one!

Read aloud to a friend, spouse, child, group, elderly person

Write your own book or memoir!

Spend hours at the library

Sit in a chair with a stack of books next to you and look through them all

Check out library cookbooks with winter foods

Go to a bookstore and make a list of books you would love to read

Exchange book reading lists with a friend

Go to the library every week in winter

Cook foods mentioned in your favorite stories

Listen to books on tape and do something with your hands (knitting, painting, etc.)

Set aside a bookshelf just for the books you want to read in the coming weeks

Pick a reading chair and make a habit of sitting there to read, adding a candle, a flower, a cup of tea

Start an Amazon wishlist

Mail a favorite book to a friend who would enjoy it

Tomorrow I hope to post the books I've read in 2011......

Embracing Winter

"In a way, winter is the real spring,

the time when the inner things happen,

the resurgence of nature." -- Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist

It was several years ago that I realized I loved winter: the new beginnings, the quiet, the less hustle and bustle, the time to create, the comfort of hot food, the afternoon teas, the good books to curl up with, a breather of sorts. What if we never had a rest like this? Would spring and summer mean so much to us?

"Winter is the time for comfort,

for good food and warmth,

for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:

it is the time for home." -- Edith Sitwell

Oh yes, "the time for home," -- isn't that a wonderful phrase?! Winter is a time for fostering contentment with that which is here before me in my own space.

"When the bold branches,

bid farewell to rainbow leaves,

welcome wool sweaters." -- B. Cybrill

I do love the chance to dress in my cozy sweaters, scarves, and turtlenecks. Imagine if we had no use for such articles? Of course to some that may sound like paradise, but at least a few weeks of wearing our woolies is a necessity I think.

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."

~Carl Reiner

Please don't think that I find the cold easy to bear for the winter months. It's not so much the weather I love as the effects of it, as mentioned above. Of course winter gets long for me too -- but the best way to deal with winter is to find a way to actually like it, and then it will be gone before you know it!

And so, tomorrow I will post the first of a dozen ways in which I "embrace winter."

Growing Up

It looks like Laura's hair can now fit into two pony tails. Our little baby is growing up! She loves to sit in a real chair at the table to eat her dinner -- and she eats way more food if we let her do this. She spends what seems like hours drawing on paper and loves to play with the kids. Her favorite word right now is "milk", but I'm also tickled that she says "tea" and "hot" very frequently. Her feisty spirit and strong will are going to be in for a shock now as she's going to have to face reality and the wishes of her parents. What a gift she is to us!

Happy New Year!

It's the new year! Tonight we finally got our tree and decorations down and now it will really feel like a new beginning. I love January! I know you think I'm nuts, but I have my reasons, and that is one thing I want to blog about this season -- embracing winter.

Today I took time for a little tea and one of my gluten-free mince pies (topped with Brandy butter of course!). We are back into the swing of things with school -- only 97 more days to go! And now it's time to make my plan for tomorrow and enjoy reading.

Christmas Pictures Part 3

We celebrated Christmas Day on Monday the 26th. Here is the tree the night before, all ready for the morning.

And the stockings were all stuffed.....

The kids were allowed downstairs at 8 a.m. and they could open their stockings as soon as Mom and Dad came down. Check out the stash!!!! I loved the mini apples I found at the winter farmer's market.

Breakfast was very traditional: bacon wrapped brown sugar sausages, tropical fruit salad, cardamon bread, tea ring, and this year two gluten free breads.

We had the amazing apple monkey gluten free bread!!!!!

And some delicious panetone which turned out to be scrumptious toasted. (must make more!!)

Michael always reads Luke 2 before we begin the presents.

At the last minute I did get my nails painted red! And I also collected some horribly cut up and swollen knuckles from washing the floor.

Chapstick necklaces were a fun little item I made for the kids this year.

Laura wore her Santa dress -- far too cute!

Rachel made everyone gifts. She cross-stitched this lovely teacup for me.

Laura was quite pleased with her baby doll stroller!

Emily and Craig (who, by the way, I can never photograph with simultaneous smiles, though they are a very happy couple) came back over for the gift opening and breakfast.

It was a happy morning.

In fact there was a lot of laughing, especially when mom read "advice from Pooh" from a book she received.

Michael wrote and illustrated a book for the kids about keeping their things tidied up. I wonder if they will learn from it?

Laura loved Christmas. She was old enough to have fun but young enough not to be greedy.

The book:

In the afternoon we took a hike and got a family picture:

Laura pretty much complained the whole way because we didn't let her walk.

Being outside is so wonderful!

Rach snapped a picture of me and you can see the difference in my eyes. I had the lid surgery on Tuesday and have been recovering this week. Fortunately, no pain, just swelling and an embarrassing black eye, which I'm sure people attribute to Michael when I go out in public.

I love these funny pine trees.

Kids enjoying the woods:

We stopped in a log cabin to enjoy a snack of hot cocoa, tea, crackers, cheese and salami.

Laura stopped crying long enough to smile a bit.

I love her little coat and red shoes.

Wearing my Shetland gloves which a friend brought me from Shetland eons ago -- long before I was married.

Another smile just for the camera.

And so it was a most pleasant Christmas. And now for the new year......January is one of my most favorite months!

Christmas Pictures Part 2

Christmas Day dawned bright and unseasonably warm -- no white Christmas!

After church everyone congregated here for lunch and the afternoon.

I am so pleased to say that we were healthy for Christmas! That was a gift!

Cranberry punch, mince pies, and appetizers were available until the ham was ready.

Yay! We managed to get a family photo!!!

Grandma looked so pretty in her plaids......

There were games and conversations going on.

The appetizer table:

I tried a new salad: citrus, fennel and black olives with mint, lemon juice and olive oil. We all enjoyed it!

Lunch consisted of ham, my favorite green beans, a potato leek gratin, the citrus salad, and honey roasted parsnips and carrots.

I found British crackers for us to enjoy around the table and everyone wore their crowns!

Emily and Craig -- they made sure we were well supplied with Trader's Point Creamery eggnog even though it was sold out across country.

John was so excited about opening his tools and promptly started fixing my furniture for me.

(note: why does my house look so clean in these pictures? it sure doesn't feel that way in real life :)
I made zip cases for the ladies in the family, with Burt's Bees creams inside (and yes, I managed to stay in budget of $5 via an internet deal!).

Emily surprised Christina with the cowboy boots she really wanted.

And the kids had such a fun time!

Eventually we had dessert: cookies, mince pies, eggnog, and Christmas pudding.

Three cheers for the Christmas pudding and the rum sauce and the homemade eggnog ice cream to go with it!

And there was the Christmas china to use -- one of my favorite sets I brought back from Scotland.

And so ended another day of Christmas celebration.