Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.
24.3.11
The Thirty-Third One
... or "things that make me wish I did more cooking/baking." Seriously, these are the things that make me think "if I had that, I WOULD cook more." I know myself well enough to know THAT'S not true, but it doesn't make these little gems any less delightful or fun.
Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.
Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.
12.11.10
9.11.10
1.11.10
The Thirtieth One
I can't believe it's taken me almost three years to blog thirty times.
At any rate, continuing on from post #28:
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien
These books were probably the most ambitious books my mom chose to read to us. In these books, Tolkien created an entire world, multiple cultures and societies and mythologies that sucked me in and left we with the same awe of elves that Gimli had. I treasured these stories, although to be honest I went many years thinking I had only ever heard The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Rings. In my memory we got to the end of Fellowship and Mom needed a break, so we read something else and never returned to them. Mom maintains, however, that she made it through all three books of TLoTR. She may be right, but when the movies came out, I was still surprised by the second and third.
Even as a youngster, aside from the elves, my absolute favorite character was Boromir. I related to his weakness and admired his strength and fortitude (not surprisingly, my favorite apostle is Peter). Personally, I believe that Sean Bean was perfect as Boromir in the movies, no other character or actor moved me like he did.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
I don't know how Mom found these stories, but they thrilled us kids to the extent that my younger brother Charlie actually requested them as a present one year. Each book consists of short stories divided into different chapters, and each chapter focuses on one child or group of children who have a specific problems (usually with their parents). My personal favorite is the "I-thought-you-said" kids who had problems listening. Inevitably trouble at home would lead the parents of these delinquent kids to give Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle a callMrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the beloved old lady that lives in the upside-down house or on the wacky farm depending on which book you read. She loves and understands children, they in turn love her, and their parents (if you can believe it) love her even more.
At any rate, continuing on from post #28:
My Childhood in Stories
pt. 2
All the books mentioned in this post were part of "Story Time" in my house. My parents boldly home-schooled us all which meant we could move at whatever pace we (they) wanted or needed. Often in the morning we would begin with Story Time. Mom would gather us in the living room, during the winter we would fight over the heating vents, and then when we were all settled she would read to us.
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
We read through all nine books in the series. These series probably began my love for all things western, even if the books themselves are not technically westerns. I delighted in hearing about the country before it was settled, the traditions of the families that first settled the area and the hardships they faced. It was fascinating to me that the place I was living at the time was roughly the same place that Laura and her family lived in the books.
Every year for a few years we had the opportunity to spend a day living like the settlers lived. One year we celebrated Christmas as they would have, another we spent a day in a one-room schoolhouse. For me, this experience did not make the past come alive, it made these books come alive. The books had already made history real for me.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
My list of stories is teeming with different series, but no book list of mine would be complete without these. They are delightful. They inspired my imagination and appealed to the part of me that still believed in fairytales. They brought Biblical stories and principles alive in ways that only truly vivid and thorough allegories can; at the same time Lewis created stories that exist and live on their own, allowing people of all backgrounds to be just as inspired as I was.
We read through these books as a family at least once, and I read through them myself at least twice. We had this set books, which are apparently sort of collectors items. My personal favorites are The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Magician's Nephew (because I have always been a sucker for an origin story). My mom, however is partial to The Silver Chair about which I cannot remember a thing despite having it read to me and reading it myself.
We read through these books as a family at least once, and I read through them myself at least twice. We had this set books, which are apparently sort of collectors items. My personal favorites are The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Magician's Nephew (because I have always been a sucker for an origin story). My mom, however is partial to The Silver Chair about which I cannot remember a thing despite having it read to me and reading it myself.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien
These books were probably the most ambitious books my mom chose to read to us. In these books, Tolkien created an entire world, multiple cultures and societies and mythologies that sucked me in and left we with the same awe of elves that Gimli had. I treasured these stories, although to be honest I went many years thinking I had only ever heard The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Rings. In my memory we got to the end of Fellowship and Mom needed a break, so we read something else and never returned to them. Mom maintains, however, that she made it through all three books of TLoTR. She may be right, but when the movies came out, I was still surprised by the second and third.
Even as a youngster, aside from the elves, my absolute favorite character was Boromir. I related to his weakness and admired his strength and fortitude (not surprisingly, my favorite apostle is Peter). Personally, I believe that Sean Bean was perfect as Boromir in the movies, no other character or actor moved me like he did.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
I don't know how Mom found these stories, but they thrilled us kids to the extent that my younger brother Charlie actually requested them as a present one year. Each book consists of short stories divided into different chapters, and each chapter focuses on one child or group of children who have a specific problems (usually with their parents). My personal favorite is the "I-thought-you-said" kids who had problems listening. Inevitably trouble at home would lead the parents of these delinquent kids to give Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle a callMrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the beloved old lady that lives in the upside-down house or on the wacky farm depending on which book you read. She loves and understands children, they in turn love her, and their parents (if you can believe it) love her even more.
5.10.10
The Twenty-Ninth Post
Or, my European vacation with my best friend. I had too much fun while I was there and have had too much fun playing with Shutterfly. Thanks Shutterfly, for making this soooo easy!
29.6.10
The Twenty-Eighth One
Or:
My Childhood in Stories
pt. 1
When I was a kid I liked to sleep with people, things, and animals in bed. I loved when one of parents would stay with me until I fell asleep. I loved to sleep with every single one of my (very extensive collection of) stuffed animals (NOT dolls). I would let my dog Jenny actually sleep under my covers, sometimes with her head on my pillow, if that's what she wanted. And sometimes I would sleep with books. I surrounded myself with as many books as I could get my hands on, so there was no room for me to turn over or move at all, really, without books falling to the ground. My parents never understood. To be honest, I don't know exactly why I did it either. That's alright. Sometimes it's okay to just chalk things up to being a kid.
Let me just say that this was a very difficult assignment for me. Once I started listing books I wanted to include in the list I couldn't stop! I constantly had to cheat by going from individual books to series of books and in some cases I even had to just include significant authors. My list is by no means a comprehensive list of all the books I read throughout my childhood. In fact today's list only includes a few selections from my over-all, non-comprehensive list. Apparently, when it comes to books, I could go on and on and on.
I have futilely tried to divide my list into different categories in an attempt to organize my post. This will work for today and tomorrow. Beyond that, I don't know.
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss was a very popular storyteller in my family. Not only were his stories often read to me, but they were some of the first stories I read by myself. There are so many stories I could talk about, so many I love, but there are two that for some reason stand out in my memory.
First: There's a Wocket in My Pocket. There's not much to this book in terms of in-depth, life-changing plot lines and character development. It's just silly, frivolous rhymes and illustrations. It appealed greatly to me as a child, because I was sort of silly and frivolous myself. At one point, I had the entire thing memorized. Be aware: don't buy the "board book". Apparently it's missing some pages!
Second: The Lorax. There are so many things about this book that I adore. It is already a story within a story; if it was read to me it was a story within a story within a story. It has never taken much to amuse me. "I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees!" He was such a charming little guy. And it was difficult to hate the Once-ler completely (difficult, but not impossible), he was making such a cool product ("A Thneed's a fine something that everyone needs!"). The Once-ler who let his greed and ambition consume him so he was blind to what was going on around him and deaf to the Lorax, who was eventually driven away from his home. Only the Once-ler was left to tell the story of what used to be a beautiful and magical place. It's like Avatar, but not in space... or 3D (so many stories to compare to Avatar. Here's three more: Fern Gully, Dances With Wolves, Disney's Pocahantas). But I digress. When I was a kid I was mostly just enchanted by the world that Dr. Seuss created. And I really wanted a Brown Barbaloot all for myself.
How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky by Mirra Ginsburg
I love this book. The story and illustrations have stayed with me for more than a decade. The title, however, often eludes me. Which is silly, because it truly is a book about how the sun was brought back to the sky. This was accomplished through the perseverance, dedication, and teamwork of a group little chicks and the animal friends they met on their journey. I especially love the part of the book where all the animals ride the suns rays back to their homes at the end. I could always envision this so clearly in my mind that I just assumed their was picture of this in the book, but as I sit here with the book in my hand, there's no picture of the animals riding the rays. I guess I just imagined it.
My grandmother owned this book. She lived down the street when I was a kid. I read this book all the time when I visited her. It never got old. I don't know if it is out of print, but you can definitely by a used one on Amazon. I am privileged now to own my own copy. I plan to take very good care of it.
Little Dot and Richie Rich
I already mentioned one grandmother, who lived down the street. My other grandma lived two and a half hours away in Kansas. In her basement she had a huge stack of (not-very-well-taken-care-of but certainly-well-loved) comic books. There was Archie, Casper the friendly ghost, and Wendy the good witch. But mostly (in my memory anyway- my brothers probably remember differently) there was Little Dot and Richie Rich. I can't be sure, but this was probably my first experience with comic books and I still read them. I have graduated from the wonderfully child-friendly comics my grandma owned to ones slightly darker, but I still apparently got started early.
Little Dot was my favorite. I loved her various Aunts and Uncles that the encountered in every story and I loved her obsession with dots, somehow it always helped her out of a tight fix. She was such a resourceful little girl.
Stories from the Mouth
This, like the previous entry, is not a book. Technically, this list is My Childhood in Stories, NOT My Childhood in Books. I like to capitalize on loopholes whenever possible.
My dad worked nights, so he wasn't often there to put us kids to bed. But when he was, there was nothing I loved more than for my dad to rub my back and tell me a "story from his mouth" until I fell asleep. This simply means that he wasn't allowed to read the story, he had to make it up. I'm pretty sure sometimes he cheated and told stories like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" or "The Three Little Pigs," but I'm equally as sure that he added his own twists along the way. I could be getting this wrong, but I don't think I allowed my mom to tell me stories from her mouth. She got to read stories to me. Dad had to make things up as he went along. Poor dad. Such pressure!
28.6.10
The Twenty-Seventh One
Or: My Childhood in Stories
Or: Just One More Stolen Idea
Or: Support Local Business
I had the opportunity to go home a few weeks ago to Lincoln, NE. It was wonderful. Not only did I get to see a LOT of family (including Aunts) I had the opportunity to meet up with and old friend, and of course I got to spend some quality time with the fam.
Let's get this out of the way: I love the Midwest. More than that, I love Nebraska (for all its cows and corn). More than THAT I love, love, love Lincoln. It's just such a great city. Every time I go home my family asks what I want to do. Most of the places I want to visit have to do with food (or drink): Amigos (best ranch dressing EVER) has "Two Taco Wednesday" and I was lucky enough to be there on "Five Tacos on the Fifth." There's Runza, Valentino's, The Grateful Bread/Freakbeat Vegetarian (try the Moroccan Tomato and soak in the atmosphere), The Mill (where we went to drink coffee, smoke cigars and watch people at the Farmer's Market on Saturday), and Jake's (where my brother works, we can actually, legally, smoke cigars indoors, and which has a selection of liquor the likes of which I've never seen).
But Lincoln is not only about food and family (just, you know, mostly). Lincoln has a remarkable selection of locally owned shops and restaurants (all of the one's I listed above originated in Lincoln and, as far as I know, only the food places have branched out to surrounding areas). Having grown up with this, I didn't realize how remarkable it was until I moved away. Maybe it has something to do with being a college town, but I currently live in a place that seems to house very few local, well, anything. There are quite a few restaurants and bars, but the most frequented joints seem to be the chains. I have yet to find a local bookstore and have found only one local coffee shop.
Keeping all that in mind, I do enjoy stopping in at some of the local shops whenever I'm in Lincoln. My absolute favorites are: Paint Yourself Silly (from which I own several dishes) and Ivanna Cone (where once I had a Nerds sherbert [sherbet?] and another time had a mango and chili pepper sorbet). Both shops are located in the same building in downtown Lincoln (although Paint Yourself Silly has another location I believe). The same building which also houses Indigo Bridge Books (please check it out. I love that it's local, I love that it has several events and book clubs, I love that it is dedicated to a bilingual community). Which brings me to the whole point of this post.
As I was browsing through the store I came upon a display entitled "My Childhood in Stories." Not only did have different books, but whoever (whomever?) made the display had also written little blurbs on notecards about why the books were so significant to him even as an adult. This idea made me swoon (metaphorically, of course) and I jotted down the idea for safe keeping. That said, that's what the NEXT few posts will be about. This one is just an introduction and chance for me to say: support local business! (as much as you can).
Or: Just One More Stolen Idea
Or: Support Local Business
I had the opportunity to go home a few weeks ago to Lincoln, NE. It was wonderful. Not only did I get to see a LOT of family (including Aunts) I had the opportunity to meet up with and old friend, and of course I got to spend some quality time with the fam.
Let's get this out of the way: I love the Midwest. More than that, I love Nebraska (for all its cows and corn). More than THAT I love, love, love Lincoln. It's just such a great city. Every time I go home my family asks what I want to do. Most of the places I want to visit have to do with food (or drink): Amigos (best ranch dressing EVER) has "Two Taco Wednesday" and I was lucky enough to be there on "Five Tacos on the Fifth." There's Runza, Valentino's, The Grateful Bread/Freakbeat Vegetarian (try the Moroccan Tomato and soak in the atmosphere), The Mill (where we went to drink coffee, smoke cigars and watch people at the Farmer's Market on Saturday), and Jake's (where my brother works, we can actually, legally, smoke cigars indoors, and which has a selection of liquor the likes of which I've never seen).
But Lincoln is not only about food and family (just, you know, mostly). Lincoln has a remarkable selection of locally owned shops and restaurants (all of the one's I listed above originated in Lincoln and, as far as I know, only the food places have branched out to surrounding areas). Having grown up with this, I didn't realize how remarkable it was until I moved away. Maybe it has something to do with being a college town, but I currently live in a place that seems to house very few local, well, anything. There are quite a few restaurants and bars, but the most frequented joints seem to be the chains. I have yet to find a local bookstore and have found only one local coffee shop.
Keeping all that in mind, I do enjoy stopping in at some of the local shops whenever I'm in Lincoln. My absolute favorites are: Paint Yourself Silly (from which I own several dishes) and Ivanna Cone (where once I had a Nerds sherbert [sherbet?] and another time had a mango and chili pepper sorbet). Both shops are located in the same building in downtown Lincoln (although Paint Yourself Silly has another location I believe). The same building which also houses Indigo Bridge Books (please check it out. I love that it's local, I love that it has several events and book clubs, I love that it is dedicated to a bilingual community). Which brings me to the whole point of this post.
As I was browsing through the store I came upon a display entitled "My Childhood in Stories." Not only did have different books, but whoever (whomever?) made the display had also written little blurbs on notecards about why the books were so significant to him even as an adult. This idea made me swoon (metaphorically, of course) and I jotted down the idea for safe keeping. That said, that's what the NEXT few posts will be about. This one is just an introduction and chance for me to say: support local business! (as much as you can).
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