More summer reading

It's almost officially summer, and already I've been working my way through this stack of books. Most of them I got from the annual summer recommendations of various media--New York Times, NPR shows, Wall St. Journal, Amazon, etc. Here's what I've read so far, and what I think of them:

City of Thieves, by David Benioff---WOW! Amazing. Set in Leningrad during the end of WWII, it's a story of friendship and coming of age in the bleakest of times. I think it might be a bit hyped in the media--and for this once, believe it. It's a great story, with all the cliches to make it so--I cried, I laughed, I didn't want to put it down.

The Ten-Year Nap, by Meg Wolitzer--This one is a fictional view of the lives of several different women as they reconcile their roles at home to that of work, and in the process develop and sever friendships. Because I'm a mom at home for now, I found a lot of truisms in this book. The story was good, but what I enjoyed most about the book was relating to the characters and the domestic situations they were in. It's a mommy book, for sure.

Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan--Set in mid-twentieth century Mississippi, this story is told through the eyes of characters toughing it out through life on a small, impoverished farm. Their stories make up the bigger story of the time--the conflict of race--as well as the ever-present story of family conflict, disappointment, and failed expectations. It's powerfully written, and sometimes shocking.


Next up, as you can see from the stack: The Children's Hospital, by Chris Adrian, Moloka'i, by Alan Brennert, The Memory of Running, by Ron McLarty, and Enslaved by Ducks, Bob Tarte.

Finally, I'm going to reread Ursula, Under, by Ingrid Hill. This is a sweeping epic that thrilled me a few years ago, and I've been missing all those characters, so I'm going back to it.

Now enough about me. What are you reading?

A scene from our day: the Peaceable Kingdom

The weather has finally cooled off, and the girls are enjoying their rainy-day activities, like making pictures with rubber stamps and playing with their farm set, where the lions lie down with the lambs, or, rather, the cow takes care of the baby tiger. The latest additions to the small toy collection are Esme's constant companions lately.


Hello little cow.


Hi baby tiger.



Esme is smitten, can you tell?

My Summer Reading List

It's that time again--the air is thick and sweet with the beach roses, salt, and oysters, and I've got a heap of books ready. I said it last year, and I'll say it again: there is nothing like the feeling of getting lost in a book, and quiet summer afternoons and evenings are some of the best times to do it. How I love naptime/resting time for the girls!

This entry merits two separate posts--one for the books I've already gotten into this summer, and one for those awaiting me.

First, the books I just finished:
A few weeks ago, I finally got around to reading Julia Child's My Life in France. It was well worth the wait--I was completely engrossed in her adventures in France, where she discovered cooking and her passion. Of course, she mentioned working with a young chef called Jacques Pepin, and I was off to find his autobiography, called, The Apprentice, My Life in the Kitchen. It did not disappoint. I made some lovely meals that week, among them a French-style sauteed chicken breast with garlic and herbs. Yum.

Anyway, I switched gears to more mystery the next week, with The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. I was, I admit, a bit doubtful at the outset. I was looking for something to get lost in, and I was a bit worried that I wouldn't "get into it." Ha. This book was a real thriller, not just because of the intrigue of seemingly tame bookbinders, but really because the characters were so vivid and sympathetic. It was one of those books I didn't really want to end; I found myself lingering over the last 30 pages just so I could keep the characters with me for a bit longer. It's definitely worth checking out for a weekend read.

Finally, a book to put on the shelf next to Wallace Stegner's beautiful stories of families and moving West. This book is called Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. It's been on the best seller's list, but it took me some convincing to pick it up. Why?! I kicked myself for waiting so long to read this! The writing is beautiful, and the narrator is loveable and convincing. When I finished it yesterday, it left me in tears.

Up next: The big list of books yet to be read...

Oh beautiful flower

A flower for my flower.

A Swap Meet

Personal mail is so underrated. I love getting it and sending it. While email is great, there is something nice about opening a thoughtful surprise that arrived in the afternoon mail. And since most things in the post are junk, receiving something personal is all the more appreciated.

Enter Swap-bot. If you haven't heard of it, here's how it works: you sign up for a swap based on your interests. I'm doing a few swaps there, and it is neat to see what we can trade with others.I like the fabric swaps (of course!) and paper crafty-type ones, and some themed ones are neat, too. (We just did a theme of things relating to monkeys, which was really fun to send and receive.)
Once you get matched with a partner, you look at their profile, blog, etc, and then choose things for the exchange that would make sense to them. I love looking around our house and studio and finding something to make or share--lots of times it's something I don't use but know someone else would like. I also love to make something new to fit the partner's tastes.

Here are a few goodies I sent in the past month or so:



This was for a reusable grocery tote. I love, love loved the fabric, and I thought it would make a great bag--I think I was right! Now I'm making one for me, too.


Here's one of the needle cases I made recently: owls are a favorite of mine, and these winkers are so cute. I especially like the covered button.


I used wool felt for the pages, and included a set of needles with this one.



I made this really fun pencil wrap for another swap about monkeys. See the monkeys jumping? The ties are made from a coordinating print of bandaids.


And here's what we received for the monkey swap. Ada loves her Bento box, and she's eager to use it!



Lots more swaps to come...let me know if you're interested in doing one with me.

Phiddling with Photoshop

Photoshop is becoming my friend--well, sort of. I need a lot more time to play around with it, which doing an alumni directory allowed me to do a bit. More on that later.
I figured the banner could use a bit more than the boiler-plate text that blogger gave me, so I present a new one, featuring our latest pet, Snaily Grey. Rescued from our front yard more than two weeks ago, Snaily Grey is still going strong. He's not lonely, either, now that Ada found him a snail companion whom she named Sarah.

Snails are surprisingly fast. Now I know what a "snail's pace" really is. Let me tell you, it is fast enough that he can get out of tupperware container and up halfway down the kitchen cabinet in less than four hours. Not speedy, but alarming enough that we got them a terrarium today. Who wants to find Snaily and Sarah kicking around in the cat's bowl, or worse, stuck on the bottom of a sandal? Not me.
Ada and Esme both take good care of the snails, and they are getting as spoiled as our rabbit, who eats a great diet of fresh food and trimmings. Now the snails have meals of fresh herbs and leaves from our garden. I think we're going to draw the line at eating the new vegetable sprouts that are finally coming up.

A Tea Party

The girls love to have a party, and play dress up, too. Here they are having tea (real tea!, says Ada) and eating cookies. How happy Esme is to have a cup for herself.

I'm happy to report we had no spilling, falling, crying, or breaking. And we are busy planning our next one--this time with costumes and invitations to a select few bears and dolls.