Five on Friday

1. The Great Clothes Heap Challenge.  Okay. I haven't made a ton of progress. I did mend a few things. However, the most important progress was in getting the sewing area semi-organized. Also, the piles of stuff surrounding the shelves are now sorted into different totes-- one for mending and one for items to be re-purposed. Three garbage bags of my mother's clothes went to Loaves & Fishes (my favorite thrift store). Progress, not perfection.

That stuff on the floor has found new homes.

2. Snow. In early January we got a small amount of snow. It was maybe enough for the children to play in, but they didn't because they were sick. They were not sick enough that they didn't notice a neat "gingerbread house" effect on the gutter that we'd not ever seen before. One child said, "So that's why the make gingerbread houses look like that!"

3. Not Christmas Cookies.  My kids always like frosting sugar cookies at Christmas; I do, too, to be honest. We'd been waiting since our "Big Trip Out West" to use the cookie cutters we'd bought my mother at Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately, the chance to use them with her never came, but I'd promised we'd use them soon. However, this year at Christmas, we were sick, so cookies didn't happen. 

So, our "Christmas cookies" fun came a little late this year. Over the last few years, I'd been storing up inspiration from The Frugal Girl's cookie guessing game. This year I even invested in candy eyes! And they were almost everything I'd hoped for, except when I put them in a little dish for fingers to easily grab, they got a little wet and smudged. This did not ruin my fun.

Tree and maybe Elton John

Wonder Woman, obviously

Three colorful fish and Tyrone (from Backyardigans)

Absolutely no clue what this one is

4. Spring Has Sprung (Maybe. I Hope Not). On the first of January, I cut spinach. On the last day of January, I took this picture. My daffodils were peeping out of the ground. This weather has been so strange.

Silly daffodils

5. Pride and Prejudice. I read it again. Folks, if you like a good romance, this is it.

Five on Friday

1.  Christmas Reading.  I've been wanting to post more about books I'm reading, so here goes. Over Christmas I was able to read two books.

My Christmas reading

Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey was a gift my husband gave me for Christmas because I picked it up in the used bookstore and said, "Get me this for Christmas, please!" He obliged after commenting that I was the only person who would want to read a book like that. 

Well, both of my teenage sons picked it up and read it before I did. All on their own. Then I picked it up and read it in one evening. I loved it. Florey meanders through a bit of the history of grammar instruction in the United States, falls into the old argument between language descriptivists and language prescriptivists, and lands somewhere in the middle with me. 

This book made me want to look up my 7th and 8th grade grammar teacher, Mr. Kite, and recommend it to him. Maybe I will.

The second book is Kim by Rudyard Kipling. I recently happened upon a comment somewhere online comparing this book to The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye. I read Kaye's lengthy novel when I was a teenager and reread it a few years ago, appreciating the historical aspect of it more the second time around. I was curious about Kim, and it didn't disappoint me.

Except the ending. The ending was disappointing to me. I wanted more, more, more. But the ending made me think, think, think about why Kipling chose it. In the end, I'm still thinking about it, and I think I like the ending better now. Have you read it? What did you think of the ending?

2. A Portrait of Me.  I'm glad I didn't get one with Mommy NOT "waering clohes," right?

Portrait of me by a dear child

3. Facebook.  I've ventured into Facebook land. Last night I created a Facebook page for Sideling View Crafts. I'm still not going to be active with my personal profile because I know I'd enter that rabbit hole and never return, but I do want to grow my business a little bit. Check out the page and like it or share it or whatever-- I'm still so confused about all of it! Feel free to leave a comment giving me some advice. 

4. What I'm Listening To. (Or, after reading Sister Bernadette, should it be "That To Which I Am Listening"?)  In either case, the children have been listening to this album the last few days; that means I am listening to it also. I'm okay with that because it's Snoopy, and who doesn't love Snoopy?

5. Great Clothes Heap Challenge Update. I haven't forgotten this challenge. I even moved a few bags around and begged my husband's help. 

Have a great relaxing (or, if you prefer, productive) first weekend of 2020!

Five on Friday

1.  Things Kids Say, Part 1. After reading a fairytale ending picture book (at the got married and lived happily ever after part), my 4-year-old said, "I would punch him in the stomach!"

Surprised, I asked, "Why? Don't you want to get married when you're older?"

Her reply was, "When I get married, it will be to somebody who is nice and kind and drinks coffee with me!"

I can't say I don't agree with her.*

2.  Things Kids Say, Part 2. Let's go to the other end of the age spectrum. Overheard recently, "Great! My least favorite-- negative cosines!"

I can't say I don't agree with him, too.*

3.  Misheard Lyrics. I found out Sunday night, thanks to the display on our van's dash, that The Marshall Tucker Band sings the song "Heard It in a Love Song"-- which I always thought was "Purdy Little Love Song."

I was inexplicably so let down, disappointed, etc.

4. Black Beauty.  Although I used to watch the old tv series on Nickelodeon early in the morning when I was a kid, I'd never read the book. Since we own it, I thought several years ago I might use it as a read aloud, but somewhere on the great internet I read how snooze-worthy it was. It remained untouched by me until we chose it as a homeschool book club pick.

This week I picked up the book and enjoyed it. Was it my favorite book? No. Was it a little bit preachy? Yes. But still, it was enjoyable.

5. Random Picture. Because I think I'll never catch up on what I want to post on this blog, I'll throw in a random picture that's been waiting on the desktop.

Amazing lightning storm in summer

*Yes, these are things I wanted to share with my mother. I am so used to grabbing the phone when the kids say or do cute things. I don't think I'll be saying this with every blog post because 1) you'll think I'm depressed, 2) I want to focus on a few things that aren't tinged with sadness, and 3) it will get old real quick-- BUT there's a whole lot of sadness blanketed over everything for me right now. If I'm not missing my mother, I'm missing our dog Calvin. 

Sheesh. I can't stand it when life throws the bad things at you so fast. It was about 17 years ago that both of my grandmothers passed away on two consecutive days. Throw in a couple more deaths that year, and it was just no fun. 

So why am I telling you all this? Well, I guess I know life goes on. Somehow God will carry me through it all and fill me up with joy. Eventually. If you're in a similar situation in your life, hang in there; He won't fail us.

Neglected Summer-- Reading

This was a summer of reading for me. I read more this summer than I have read (I'm guessing) for the past 10 summers combined. I guess that's what happens when your baby no longer wears diapers? I have had no time to take tons of pictures of my reading, but I do have a couple of pictures to share.

First, you should know that this was "The Summer of Jane Austen" for me. I read all the complete novels and thoroughly enjoyed each one for its own reasons. My favorite? I really don't know. I will have to read them all again, I guess.

Second, I read something completely out of my comfort zone. It was a book my husband was reading, and it was a mystery/detective novel. I also read another one by the same author. As I felt I was steeping myself in British literature this summer, this fit right in.

I think my favorite picture book of the summer involved the flower which is one of my favorites and, unarguably, my husband's very least favorite-- the dandelion. If you have a dandelion hater in your family, this is the picture book for you.

And I read other stuff (see the word "neglected" in the title of this post).

But let's get back to Jane Austen. First I gobbled up the books I had in my house. In one of them I found this delightful bookmark. 

Have you ever seen a more delightful bookmark? I thought not. By the way, if you know anything about the history of the booksellers this advertises, I'd love to know, too. When did The Book Store in Hagerstown close?

I would like to add that I actually was not the last in my family to finish the library's summer reading club program. There have been many summers which I have not even completed it. 

Thursday Things

The weather has been so warm here the last few days that the kids were outside in short-sleeves playing. Some were even begging for the air conditioner to be turned on! That didn't happen. At least it feels cooler this morning.

I've been too busy to blog much lately, so I've saved up a few random thoughts.

1.  Wonderful Wednesday. Yesterday was a lovely day. I was able to spend some time outside with the kids. Reading a good book (E. B. White's Trumpet of the Swan) aloud to your children in the woods with sunshine on your arms does wonders for a body.

I also saw pretty things outside which cheered me up. All of these added a touch of color to our brown "winter" world.

Bluebird house

Tulips popping up

My yellow crocuses! (Or is that croci?)

And if all that pretty was not enough, later in the day after a quick shower, God gifted us with this rainbow.

2.  Child Development.  The baby is at that funny/cute stage where she likes to "hide" by sitting in plain view and covering her eyes. We crack up every time it happens, and that is several times a day. If she can't see us, we can't see her! (Note: I fully recognize that my "baby" is actually a toddler, but she is still the baby.)

3.  Bookish Podcast. My high school BFF recently joined together with some of her co-workers to created a podcast about books they read. It is called Unabridged, and you can find it here. In their words:

Unabridged - Four Teachers Take on Books is a podcast that comes from the desire to share a love of reading, cultivate a reading community, and invite students to become lifelong readers. 

I have listened to a couple of the episodes, and I wish I had more time to read. I also love hearing more of Jen's voice since we don't get to talk often. I am making a prediction that she will never not love a book they review. If you listen, you will learn that she is a real book lover.


4.  Another Place to Shop.  Recently a new family has been coming from afar to our little church-- and they have children! That's always exciting for a small church, you know. Anyway, their three older girls are crafty and have started a business. It is called KovalKreations and can be found here or on Etsy.  Right now they have some beautiful girls' clothing and baskets. I am in awe of their skills.

5. Vintage. And speaking of Etsy, after a long Christmas break so we could arrange things in our updated home, we jumped right back into Sideling View Crafts. I finally sold one pattern in January! And because we have developed an auction habit, I started listing some vintage items.

I'm still listing things because I have quite an accumulation of stuff and not an accumulation of time. Below is a cute vintage children's book I listed this week.

And that's all for Thursday because my family needs to eat breakfast!

Winter, Inside and Out

Last week we had ice. I tried to capture how the sun shining on the ice on Sideling Hill made everything look like a fairy world, but I couldn't. I'll show you the results anyway.

Meanwhile, inside we dealt in cold things, too. For my kindergartner, we are studying one picture book each week. We read the book aloud each day, and do some activity that connects to it. Last week was Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers.

One day we focused on the "and downy flake" page. We talked about snow and how each snowflake is different and has six sides.

On this day we did our "fun" activity for the week; we made tortilla snowflakes.

First we folded flour tortillas in half and then in thirds (to make a pie slice shape). We cut shapes in the sides, unfolded them, and baked them in the oven at 350℉  until they were crispy (not burned). Next they were brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar. This was a fun and tasty activity I plan on repeating with the younger two children!

I'm not sure we'll enjoy more winter around here, and most of us are still holding out for a big snow. But at least we found a way to enjoy the little bit of white stuff that we had.

**This book was a lovely book. The children learn a classic poem, and the delightful illustrations add another layer to the poem. I highly recommend it. It is also an easy one for memorizing.

Five on Friday (on Monday)

I've missed these posts, so here goes:

1.  Blog for Boys by Boys. My older boys have started a blog called Basically 4 Boys. They anticipate when their little brother can help them out (the 4 part). They want to post book reviews and Legos and whatever their hearts desire. If you have a boy who might like reading, here it is!


2.  Lovely Poem. A blog I read had a lovely poem about reading books. If you're a book lover, check it out.


3.  Funny Book Review. If you have children and have read the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? about a gazillion times, you will appreciate this review on Amazon.


4.  Those Stinking' Deer. My beans can't catch a break. Nor the pumpkins/squash. This culprit was caught in the act by my husband's game cam Saturday night. Today I plan to coat every plant in the garden with spray the deer supposedly don't like. This is on top of the most hillbilly-looking fence ever and noise traps. It seems like at least half of our garden work this year is trying to keep the deer out!

Time stamp is wrong; we figured it was closer to midnight.

5.  Beautiful Creation. My Etsy shop has been selling more supplies than finished projects, and it's neat to see what some people are making. For example, the talented lady at Thy Beautiful Self made a beautiful wedding bouquet with some of our guinea feathers:

Guinea feathers are the black ones with white spots

She also makes handmade beauty products including a natural insect repellent I'm interested in (the gnats have been so bad in the garden this year!).

And if you're wondering about the toilet paper tubes I told you about earlier, I have sold two batches already. I know the first batch was earmarked to make toys for rescue birds. I love it when buyers show me the cool things they're making.

It's time for breakfast, and the workers outside are already at work. That's my cue to stop typing!

Time for Poe

Halloween isn't our thing, but Edgar Allan Poe has made his scary appearance in our house recently.

Three book about/by Poe

We recently checked out three Poe-related books from the library. On the left is a kid-friendly biography (as much as Poe's dismal life can be kid-friendly). On the far right is a collection of his tales; again, only as kid-friendly as Poe's classic tales can be. These tales aren't adapted, but the book is easy to hold and has an audio CD (which we didn't make use of).

But in the middle is an awesome introduction for the littlest ones to Poe. It's called Edgar Gets Ready for Bed, and Jennifer Adams has a new fan in me. My 3-year-old has memorized the book about Edgar, a little raven who really doesn't want to get ready for bed. Truth be told, Edgar's repetitive "Nevermore!" reminds me of my 3-year-old's "No!"

The illustrations are so cute and bring in ideas from Poe's poetry and stories without all the scary and weird. 

Above the chamber door

Okay. These might be construed as weird, but. . . cool!

I searched the author (Jennifer Adams) and found out there are more Edgar books-- plus other "classics" for wee ones. I definitely want to get my hands on these because all the kids loved that book.

Two Library Books, Recommended

Last year on one of my book blogs I post a review of The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham.  Since my son and I read it last year, we've been waiting for the follow up. Here it is:

Book, recommended.

We were not disappointed. Rye's adventures continue and kept my interest. Not only that, but I was struck by the author's portrayal of family. In many books for younger people, the adults and parents, in particular, are a bunch of dummies the smarter kids barely tolerate. Not so with this book. Mr. Durham's characters respect their elders even if they don't always obey them entirely. I appreciate the characters' family values.

While Rye (the main character) does experience some confusion over which characters are good and evil, unlike many books for kids I've read recently, there is no question that good is good and bad is bad. I've become annoyed by kids' books that blur the distinction between the two, books that leave even me wondering.

This book's ending is satisfactory even while leading up to a sequel. Mr. Durham, we're looking forward, once again, to the next installment.


Now, for my children's favorite picture book so far this summer. . . ummm... well, it appears their favorite picture book has no pictures. What do you call a book like that?

The Book with No Pictures by B. J. Novak was a favorite read over and over and over and received by many giggles. Even after we've returned it to the library, the children are reciting parts of it and laughing.* Basically, the book "forces" the grown-up reading it to say some pretty silly things that make kids laugh. Hey, it's silly, but it is cute and funny.

Definitely I recommend it. Check it out from your library.

*It reminds me of another favorite from the library because most of my kids memorized a large chunk of it-- Gruffalo Crumble.

Book Confusion

I'm finally partially back into the swing of things. That means I've taken it into my head to give my unsolicited advice about a "kids'" book I recently read.

But I'm not really sure if it's a "kids'" book. It is shelved in the juvenile fiction section of our library. Now, I noticed that our library also has a young adult section across the room, and I've always assumed that this section is for books more appropriate for teenagers, somewhere in the 14-18-year-old range. But this book is about a 14-year-old and is about some pretty heavy stuff.

Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby is about Portia, a young girl who is abandoned by her parents and later her aunt. She is handed over to the dubious and dark fellow who runs McGreavey's Home for Wayward Girls. Suffice it to say that it is a bad place run by a bad dude.

It's also a dark place where her friend commits suicide. And Mister has secrets.

Portia ends up running away and joining up with the freak show at the circus. Since she's a "normal," she ends up being abnormal. With a host of colorful characters joining in the narrative, Barnaby definitely kept my interest. However, along with colorful characters comes colorful language in a few places, language I definitely don't think is appropriate for the younger set. There's also a colorful allusion to the sex act between two former freak show performers.

As an adult, I enjoyed the read, but I wouldn't say this is a great work of literature. Barnaby's writing has some high points, mostly contained to the beauty of her language. She also painted some vivid characters.

I would say a weakness of the novel is a feel of not being certain that the author knew where she was going with the story. Maybe that was on purpose since Portia was wandering, too, but it didn't really work for me.

As a mother, I do not want my children to read this book until they are older teenagers because of the language, the rather lewd allusion to sex, and because of the general dark feel to the book, even if the book does end on a hopeful note. Unlike some books I think should wait until my children are older, I don't really see any reason they should be awaiting their 15th birthday just so they can run and check this one out at the library.

One thing this book has caused me to think about is the distinction between the label "juvenile" and "young adult" on novels. In fact, I hope to investigate how this labeling happens at our library. I would really like to see the "younger kids'" section at the library a little safer for younger kids to navigate. And there are probably a few other half-decent books that older teens might enjoy that are lost in the "little kids'" section.

So my overall recommendation is to avoid this one for the younger set, but, if you're not avoiding all bad language and hints of sex, then your (probably older than 14) child (probably girl) might enjoy this book.

Picture Books, Pardner?

All of my children have gone through (and continue to go through) from time to time a cowboy phase. Their interest is usually stoked after watching a John Wayne movie with Daddy. They especially enjoy a rowdy game of Cowboys 'n Germans outside (their uncle told them it wasn't politically correct to play Cowboys 'n Indians).

Three cowboy/cowgirl-themed pictures books found their ways into our library tote this winter.

My favorite was Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads by Bob Shea, illustrated by Lane Smith.  It is cute and smart. A small kid rides into an Old West town overrun by the Terrible Toad gang. He becomes Sheriff Ryan, and he uses his expansive knowledge about dinosaurs to round up the bad guys. This book is filled with fun cowboy language and great humor. The only problem I see somebody possibly having with it is that it uses the phrase, "Dang it." I'm not fond of my kids using this phrase, but it just fits this rough and tumbleweed town.

My girls picked out two books in a series: Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse and Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots by Rebecca Janni with illustrations by Lynne Avril. Nellie Sue is a suburban girl who is a cowgirl at heart. Like Ladybug Girl, Nellie Sue has a little personal issue to overcome in each book, and she does so admirably. Not only that, her voice shines through in language alive with all sorts of fun cowboy metaphors and similes. The books are completely worth a read and would make great gifts for girls.

My advice is to round all of these books up at your local library for fun reading time.

(Mostly) True Animal Tales

Nonfiction seems to be a favorite of the boys in our household. Throw in a few animals, and this week's two books are bound to be favorites-- or are they?

My mother put a lot of effort into finding books for the children for Christmas this year--books that would both interest them and books that seemed age-appropriate and had good reviews.  For my 7-year-old son she picked two nonfiction picture books, one about a young Teddy Roosevelt and one about an elephant named Queenie.

As per the way things go when at Grammy's house, the children were tucked in by their loving grandmother. She even read one of the new books to each of the little ones. My 7-year-old picked Queenie: One Elephant's Story which is written by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe. After reading the tale, my mother came out to the living room and apologized for reading the book to the children. She was worried that it upset them too much.

You see, this beautifully illustrated book is a true story about an Indian elephant named Queenie who was a mainstay in the Melbourne Zoo in Australia for quite a long time. She gave rides and was a huge attraction. Then one day, *SPOILER ALERT*, she crushed her caretaker. Then she was put to sleep, not only because of the accident, but also because of a food shortage during World War II. 

This book is a good book, but it joins Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War* (by Yukio Tsuchiya) in the category of good picture books (about zoo elephants who get killed during World War II) that really are not meant for little kids. These books can upset an adult. They are not necessarily kid material; preview them first, especially if your children are young or sensitive.

On to the second book.

One of my main goals in blogging about kids' books is to help parents find "safe", if not great, books for their children to read that the children want to read. It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that the book in one son's hands had visited his hands more time than I could count, and my other son had also read it more than once. It is True Tales of Animal Heroes by Allan Zullo.

True Tales is a nonfiction chapter book about real animals who rescued kids and teens. The author notes in the beginning that dialogues and situations have been dramatized and names and specific incidents changed, and I definitely saw that while reading it. Overall though, this book was a fun read, and I can see why kids like it. If your child can read it, it's appropriate. My boys started reading it after the Magic Tree House stage of reading; it's fairly easy. I looked to see if it is still in print because it's a Troll book, and I figured it might not be the kind of book that has staying power; many used copies are available on Amazon for a penny each. Animal lovers will love this book.

* When looking online to find the author of Faithful Elephants, I found there are some who dispute the truth of the book and many who object to its strong anti-war propaganda-like message. I just thought I'd let you know since I hadn't really intended on reviewing that book since I hadn't read it for years--but it seemed to go hand-in-hand with Queenie.

First Book Review

When I started this whole blog thing, a friend much wiser than I suggested I try only one blog instead of three. I am finally following her advice.

Now, instead of trying to keep up my neglected book review blogs, I'm going to attempt to post weekly (on Mondays) about the children's books I've been perusing. If you're interested in my motives for such an endeavor, here's an explanation.

 The Mystery of Meerkat Hill 

The Mystery of Meerkat Hill by Alexander McCall Smith is a library find for me. (You'll find that most of the books I review are ones I pluck randomly off the shelf in the kid's section.) It's a good find. Precious, actually.

The main character in this mystery for early independent readers is a girl named Precious, and she lives in Botswana. In this, the second in a series, Precious makes two new friends at school and helps them with a big problem. 

Much more than a formulaic mystery for young readers, this tale weaves together good values and friendship in a framework of beautiful storytelling. Throw in interesting factual details about animals and life in Botswana and lovely illustrations by Iain McIntosh, and you've got a good read for children.

Although Precious is a girl, this is a book that isn't "girlie".  My 10-year-old son enjoyed it, and I suspect it would be enjoyed by readers as young as 5. 

Eventually I might even come up with a rating system, but for now, I'll just tell you it's worth a read. I found nothing offensive, and it was so refreshing after having read so many books for younger readers that are just passable because the words are easy.

I do hope to read the rest of the series some day, including the first which is The Great Cake Mystery. Perhaps you'd rather start by reading that one first.