Must Sleep

I'm feeling a little bleary eyed lately from lack of sleep.  Red eyes.  Oh-so attractive bags under the eyes.  Falling asleep while reading books to Quinn in the afternoon.  (This is not so unusual actually.  I seem to have a lull in energy mid-afternoon, usually when they boys feel like relaxing themselves with some books.  Well, reading out loud at this time of the day just knocks me out and I literally fall asleep while reading.  Yep, eyes closed, head nodding, the whole thing.  That in itself is not so strange.  The strange thing is that I keep reading out loud but since my eyes are closed and thus not able to read the words, my brain makes up words to continue the story.  It cracks Mike and the boys up.  Keegan eagerly awaits for it to happen but unfortunately, it's not a trick I can perform on demand.  Giggles due to the arrival of seven dancing ballerinas in one of their books once woke me from a pleasant afternoon nap.  Not surprisingly, I also fall asleep in bed at night while reading only to be harshly woken up by  a book falling squarely on the bridge of my nose.  Sorry.  I digress.)   I wish I could blame my recent tiredness on someone or something but I have only myself to blame.  Wait.  Not true.  I blame Claire and Jamie.

I started reading this series in January and I have been whole-heartedly sucked into it.  I can't seem to put each book down until I finish it at which point I quickly pick up the next book in the series.  It goes everywhere with me on the slim chance that I may have a few minutes to read.  And as you may have guessed, I have been staying up far too late the last few nights reading about the adventures of Claire and Jamie.  I don't think I need to tell you that I am enjoying the books.  I only wish I had fewer obligations during the day so I could read in daylight and then get a decent sleep that night.  Must sleep.  Honestly, I don't foresee that happening tonight.  I am so close to the end.  Also, is it wrong to feel that I would leave my husband for a fictional character if said character just happened to step directly out of the book,  thick Scottish accent, kilt and all?  That's completely normal, right?  Right?

A Little Extra Jolt

The adventures of Claire and Jamie have been keeping me up far too late the last few nights.

Waking up a little more bleary eyed than usual has inspired two new batches of soap: coffee and citrus squeeze.  I'm hoping they will provide that little extra jolt on those mornings following a good book.  The coffee soap was made with good strong coffee with coffee grounds for a little exfoliation.  It smells like a great big cup of coffee.  The citrus squeeze soap is actually a salt soap.  I've added fine sea salt to the soap and is scented with lemon and orange essential oils.  Have I mentioned I like to make soap?

I think I'm going to try some kind of chai tea soap next.

My Daytime Book

When I was younger, I would often read more than one book at the same time.  In university, it was essential.  But when the boys came along, my reading time was drastically cut.  As a result, I find that trying to read more than one book at a time just doesn't work for me.  I need to stay focused.  That really should be my mantra.  I was not aware of having a focus issue until one evening a couple of months ago when I was doing the dishes while Mike was helping Keegan with his homework. As with most things in day to day life that he doesn't really want to be doing, Keegan often has trouble focusing on one thing at a time.  All we can do is help him realize how quickly things get done when you focus your attention.    As we were discussing this, I rip off the rubber gloves and exclaim, "That reminds me of something."  Five minutes later Mike finds me in the living room reading a magazine and mutters, "I can't imagine where he gets it from."  Huh?  What?  Oh yeah.  Lightbulb flashes.  Since this epiphany, I have noticed this beahviour more than once during my days.  In fact, I am subjecting you to one of those moments right now.  Focus, Tara.  Focus.

Anyways, back to books.  One book at a time for me except under special circumstances of which there are two.  The first:  my fiction-loving-self decides to read a non-fiction book.  Regardless how good that non-fiction book may be, I have to have a novel going at the same time.  Just the way it is.  The second circumstance: my scaredy-cat-self decides to read a scary book.

  
When this happens, I have what I call my daytime book and my nighttime book.  You guessed it.  The daytime book would be the scary book, in this case, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's book The Fall.  It is the second book in a vampire trilogy and these are not Twilight vampires, people.  These are the vampires of nightmares.  I can't read this book before bed.  Heck, when I was reading the first book last spring, I remember sneaking out to the backyard for some alone time reading and then running right back inside a few minutes later because I didn't want to be alone.  That's how my mind works sometimes.  It doesn't matter how curious I am about the fate of our vampire-fighting heroes, when the night falls, I'll be snuggling up with Diana Gabaldon's The Outlander.

I decided the vampire book needed a little brightening up so I made a bookmark for it.  It has absolutely nothing at all to do with vampires.

 

A Library of my Own

"We can imagine the books we'd like to read, even if they have not yet been written, and we can imagine libraries full of books we would like to possess, even if they are well beyond our reach, because we enjoy dreaming up a library that reflects every one of our interests and every one of our foibles -- a library that,in its variety and complexity, fully reflects the reader we are."

                                                       Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted my own library.  I have fond memories of visiting the library when I was a child.  I still remember taking the elevator to the second floor of the building where the library was located.  I still remember the view of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, as I looked out of those second floor windows.  I still remember the huge pile of books my mother and I would return home with each time.  I think this is a safe place to admit that I may have even played librarian a couple of times.  Okay, fine, I alphabetized my books and each book may have had a little label on it, reminiscent of the Dewey decimal system.  I have since passed some of those books onto my boys, with their little labels and the name of my stuffies and dates when the book should be returned written on the inside cover.  They, of course, asked what it meant.  When I explained it, I was met with silence.  They may love books but that game seemed to boggle them.  Oh well, as they grow older, I'm sure they will learn more things about me that they will accept silently. I will do the same in return.

My dreams of having my own library continue -- a room in which all the walls are bookshelves, a nice big comfy chair and a good lamp.  It could happen.  I have a room in mind but it's going to be a while.  Said room now serves as a play area.  So at the moment, I am happy with my library being scattered throughout our house -- the kitchen the living room, the dining room.  It doesn't matter.  It's still my library.

Happy Winter Solstice!  I did not wake up in the middle of the night to watch the lunar eclipse but I was greeted by a spectacular moon this morning anyways.

Yarn Along and Sour Candies

I'm joining Ginny for her Yarn Along this week.  On the needles, a pair of fingerless mittens.  I really enjoy knitting stripes lately.  I am still reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods which I am loving, just not finding enough reading time during a normal day.  After paying my sizable library finds, the boys and I are getting ready to start Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl.

My diet this week has largely been a fluid based diet -- tea, juice, broth.  See, I have an infected gland under my tongue (sublingual) and it's painful, especially when I eat.  It makes me grumpy, very grumpy, and I feel for those who have to live with me this week.  However, on the up side, my mom (who under different circumstances should have been a nurse and a wonderful one at that) was researching my condition which is often caused by a stone blocking the duct.  She called last night with the advice that eating sour candies sometimes kicks the salivary glands into overdrive, thus forcing the stone away.  Heck, I've just been given an excuse to eat my favourite candy.  The only problem is I don't have any candy and it's dark, very rainy and windy.  Ugh.  Standing ovation for Mike who agreed to change out of his pyjamas and go out into the rainy night to buy me candy.  I guess I made a good decision all those years ago.  I'm not feeling much better today but I do get to enjoy a sour candy every now and then -- guilt free.

Abandoned

This morning after swimming lessons, we went to the first Christmas craft sale of the year held at the local church.  The countdown to Christmas can now officially begin.  After having a snack and visiting the children's treasure room where items were 25 cents, my three men promptly abandoned me.  Abandoned me in the sense that they went home, leaving me alone.  By myself.  At a church sale.  Alone.  So much fun.  My first stop was the Spirit of Christmas Past room where I found these little ones who will be joining us for many Christmases to come.

My next stop was at the "Nearly New" book room.

Several good finds here.  A Paddington bear book.  A book of Greek myths and gods.   Not that I need another copy of Pride and Prejudice but I couldn't resist this small hard cover edition with hand written notes in the margins.  Oh, flipping through this book, I just found a piece of paper with information about polio vaccinations.  The book that I am really excited about is the book on the bottom of the pile:  Speaking Canadian English.

  Said the famous Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock: "I myself talk Ontario English; I don't admire it, but it's all I can do; anything is better than affectation."   I cannot wait to read this book.  I have always been interested in language.  Can't wait to get to Chapter 8: Slang.

Having been abandoned meant I had to walk home and it was a beautiful day for a walk.  I bought a couple of other things but I think I'll share those on another day.  I'm going to end this post with a picture from my walk home.  These berries were too pretty to not take a picture or two of them.

From their Shelf to Ours

My weakness:  used bookstores.  I love them.  I love the endless hours of browsing that they offer once you step across the threshold.  I love the books crammed together on the shelves, piled on top of one another on the floor.  Now, I'm not looking for cheap books although the reduced price is a nice little perk.  I like high quality used books.  They have lived a life as can be attested to by the creased spines and yellowed pages but it was a life in which they were well cared for.  I am no longer just looking for myself but also for two little bookworms.  Children's literature opened up a whole new world to me that I had thought I had left behind many years ago.  I am so glad I didn't.

Last weekend, I brought home some treasures from a used bookstore I was able to find while we were away.  (Truth be told, I already knew the name and address of the store.  I did my research before we left.)  First is a collection of short stories by the Newfoundland writer Michael Crummey.  In his last book Galore , he created a fantastical world embedded in the heart of Newfoundland.  It begins with the man Judah being found in the belly of a beached whale and comes full circle at the end.  read it.  next was American Gods by Neil Gaiman and I cannot wait to throw myself into this one.  (If you read earlier in the week, the Sookie Stackhouse book has fallen by the wayside.)  Two Pippi books also managed to find their way into my arms because, well, it's Pippi.  Last but not least, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

okay, now brace yourselves.  This is actually the first time I have read Roald Dahl.  I have no reason, no excuse.  I just never came across his work when I was a child.  When I saw this book, I knew now would be a great time to introduce all of us to his work.  Sometimes the boys, especially the oldest, have pretty particular ideas about what books they want to or don't want to read.  When I first showed this book to Kee, he actually didn't seem that interested.  I didn't let that stop me.  On Monday, when they were both sitting at the table drawing and playing with playdough, I decided to take advantage of my captive (kind of) audience.  i sat down and I just started reading.  They listened.  And the more I read, the more their eyes lit up.  They loved it.  And we are continuing to love it.  I say we because I am also totally hooked.  i look forward to reading it every night before bed.  And it is such a great book to read out loud.  Ah, so many years without Roald Dahl.  So many books now to discover.

Our Day's Little Things

Today's post is a mish mash of the little things that make up our day.

Keegan recently inherited Mike's old wallet.  The last couple of days, he has been occupied with making his own money and credit cards.  But they are counterfeit.  He wants that made perfectly clear.  As Quinnie replied to Mike when he joked that Keegan could buy us supper the other night:  "Dad, didn't you hear the 'counter' and 'fit'?"

We have also started decorating for Halloween.  Meet the ghosts --  a juggling ghost . . .

and a silly ghost.

I was reading Ginny's blog small things a couple of days ago and she had taken a picture of her current knitting  project with her current book.  What a great idea!  Ginny graciously allowed me to share in this tradition of hers.

The knitting :  The beautiful aqua yarn will eventually be a pair of felted clogs and are so much fun to knit.  The books:  I have two books going at the moment.  The first is a collection of short stories by a favourite author Neil Gaiman.  The man is just so creative.  The second book, I'm afraid, may have been a mistake.  It's the book that inspired the TV series True Blood.  I don't watch the show.  Not really interested in at all, to be honest so I don't know why I suddenly decided to read the book.  I'm not enjoying it.  I don't like the writing style and I don't like any of the characters.  I've put it aside at the moment.  I may come back to it; I may not.  Any thoughts on the book?

Quinn can't seem to stop playing with playdough lately.  It's everywhere, especially on the bottoms of my socks.

And good days are always better with chocolate chip cookies, right?

May the little things be making your day a good day.