Getting Through the Winter Blahs!!

I feel like I'm finally coming out of the winter blahs! The weather was so great last week. We managed to get in a few walks to the grocery store and lots of outdoor playing. My mind is ready for a break from snow. We also survived our week of celebrations. Valentine's Day, Family Day, Beck's birthday, KC's birthday and Jae's birthday. I've finally found time today to finish, Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson. Someone in my book club picked this book to read and I am so glad she did. In elementary school I fell in love with Anne of Green Gables. This book is a prequel to the Anne of Green Gables books. Budge Wilson completed this book with the blessing of Lucy Maud Montgomery's family. This book renewed in me my love for Anne. This read reveals the darker, sadder side of Anne's life. The readers learn of Anne's parents and how she lost them. Then she is taken in by a family that shows her no love but demands her hard work in raising their children. Tragedy strikes again and again but Anne's spirit somehow survives despite little love or even caring. Anne cares for those around her physically and has her imagination to keep her company. Once again, I can't help but fall in love with the story of Anne with an 'e'.

10 years ago a book about creative living would have been the last thing you'd see on my bookshelf but 10 years, one husband and 2 kids later can change a person. The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule is a recent and wonderful read. I admit, I didn't finish it completely but did manage to get through a lot of it. It is the kind of book you want to read slowly and soak in all of her ideas. I am striving to be more creative and encourage that in my children. Ms. Soule encourages parents to look for where their creativity lies and take time for it. She has a tutorial on finger knitting that I used with Jae. That was a fun thing for us to share. Since reading this book I've been trying to listen more to what my kids can teach me....how the world looks through their eyes. Jae told me today on our walk that she thought two badly pruned trees looked like 2 deer....she was right! I have once again put this book on hold at the library and will eagerly wait through another 2 months to read it again.

Happy Ground Hog Day

There are other books I'm browsing through right now. I won't read them well enough to give a review but since this is a record of my book reading, I'll document them anyway.

Mosaic, Pieces of My Life So Far by Amy Grant. 2-at a Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. A Rainbow of Stitches. A few Vegetarian cook books that Beck picked out for me. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder is being read aloud to Jae and Beck. It has been fun to read Little House in the Big Woods with Jae because the little girl in the book is the same age as her. 2- at-a-time Socks is worth the read when you have time to sit down and learn a new knitting technique. Knitting both socks at the same time....wow! Oh yes, and a Children's Cookbook, Jae cooked spaghetti tonight.

Books on my Shelf that I don't know when I'll get to: Fall On Your Knees, Nightwatch, Before Green Gables.

The Jade Peony

This is my second book from the 2010 Canada Reads list. Wayson Choy's, The Jade Peony, is a great read. She gives a picture into the history and times of Chinese Canadians during the 1930s and 40s. The story is told from 3 different family members of a Chinese Canadian family. Revealed in the story are some of the feelings of the children who were born in Canada and feel Canadian but are told by their parents that they are Chinese. I liked seeing how each child finds a way to try to fit in, to be Canadian. Also the existing historical events that are taking place at the time (World War II), the bombing of Pearl Harbour etc. and how that is affecting the general population but specifically Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian families. I finished the book and feel like I'm still digesting it, thinking through what it all means.

Handmade Home

I love this book and didn't have nearly enough time to do all the projects I wanted to work on. I've been waiting for Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule for 2 months now. It was so worth the wait and actually a book that I would consider buying. Of course with a popular library book, you only have 3 weeks to soak it all in and then return for the next in line. Amanda Blake Soule has some great ideas for reusing items and repurposing them for something new. I made a rage bag (holds the daily soiled dishrags from the sink) out of an old pair of pajamas. It was a fun, easy project. My next project will be making a reusable Happy Birthday banner out of scrap fabric. I've already put my name on the waiting list to take this book out again.

Now Begins the 2010 Canada Reads List

Nikolski by Nicholas Dickner. I would neither rave about this book nor say it was poor. I finished it but it wasn't really my style. Nicholas Dickner takes the reader on a fictional journey that shows the reader connections people have to each other without even knowing it. It kind of shows how we may have contact with shop owner for instance and neither of us know that we have a common friend or acquaintance. Unlikely links to people are probably more common than we think. Other people obviously really like this book as it is on the Canada Reads list as well as winning other literary awards.

January, A Time To Read

I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby, was recommended to me by my mother-in-law. I finally picked it up from the library last week and finished it in record time. My interest in Hutterite culture was peaked when we were able to tour a colony in October. Mary-Ann Kirkby tells the story of her life as a Hutterite and then her life after she, along with her family, left the colony. It was really a beautiful telling of the her experiences both good and bad in the Hutterite life. Yes, I'd have to say I loved this book. In theory I love many of the ideas surrounding this culture that promotes simple living and the strength of the community but of course humanity always interferes with ideology. Pick this book up, it's worth the read.