an American Girl author

Yesterday our local library hosted a wonderful event with Valerie Tripp, who is the author of many of the American Girl Doll book series' (Felicity, Josefina, Samantha, Kit and Molly). If you are unfamiliar with American Girl, you must not have a girl in your life between the ages of 5 and 12, have a girl who has been those ages in the past 25 years, or have been that girl yourself. American Girl is an icon in the toy world and has been...since I got my Kirsten doll 20-some years ago, right up to today, when my daughter  (and her Molly doll) and I got to meet the author of so many books we have read.

Ms. Valerie Tripp, my girlie, and her doll Molly

Ms. Tripp was the honored guest and speaker at an American Girl Tea Party at the library today, and she was so friendly, approachable, and genuinely interested in all the girls that attended, it was easy to see that she was an American Girl herself, in her heart. She spoke to the girls (and their equally interested mamas) about inspiration, and observing the world around them, and the value of good hard work. And she took the time for photographs with every girl, and autographed books for those who brought them. We were even able to get my mother's Meet Felicity book signed as well (for she's an American Girl fan, too!). What a wonderful time we had, and what a wonderful experience for my girlie to learn so much about following her dreams and working hard for what she wants.

All the girls attending, holding up their American Girl dolls

Many thanks to our wonderful local library for organizing this great event! It was truly a delight.

read :: what I'm currently reading

It is no news to anyone who knows me how much I love to read, and just how much I read. I love to stretch my mind, to expand my knowledge, to think about things and lives that are new to me. I love books that are about viewpoints that are different from my own that I can learn from, and books that challenge and grow my Christian faith. I do love fiction as well, but there are no fiction titles on my current list.  Lately I have had quite a few things going at once and I thought I might share with you what I am reading right now.

Books: (yes, I am in the middle of all of these, I do tend to flit from book to book, so some I go through quite quickly and others it may take me a month or more to read)

• Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. This is a beautiful book of prose about nature and about the nature of creation. It is peaceful to read and I love to read a few pages just before I go to sleep at night.
• The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides.  This is an interesting book I've been reading this week, about Eastern Orthodox spirituality, in the form of an ongoing conversation between Markides and a monk on Cyprus.  Definitely teaching me a great deal about what makes Eastern Orthodox unique from western protestant Christianity.
• Walking the Amazon: 860 Days, One step at a Time by Ed Stafford. I love a good travel book and adventure story. I love the chance to read about places and people that I in all likelihood will never see or meet.  This book was a follow-up for me to re-reading Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods (about the Appalachian trail) earlier this summer. Staffords "walk" along the Amazon is a completely different type of adventure.
• Beautiful in God's Eyes: The Treasures of the Proverbs 31Woman by Elizabeth George. This is one of my Bible Study texts right now, and I am always challenged by Elizabeth George to deepen my faith.

Things on my library shelf waiting to be read:

•  Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. This is a sequel to her book The Happiness Project which I read last year.
• Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. This Christian marriage book has drawn a fair amount of controversy and I have mixed opinions on Mark Driscoll's teaching/preaching, so I am curious to see what this one is like.
• The Radical Disciple by John Stott. Stott is one of the great theologans of our age and this book was meant to be his "farewell" book, summarizing what he thinks are the most important aspects of Christian life and following Jesus. Can't wait to dig into this one, too!
• A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael  by Elisabeth Elliot. I read this once when I was in grad school (about 15 years ago) and recently it was brought to mind again as a biography of a great missionary. Curious to compare it to the recent book I read Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, who at a young age has had a huge impact on children in Uganda.

I was going to list out some of my favorite blogs to read as well, but this entry is already getting pretty long. I'm always looking for something new to read...any recommendations?

this week

This week I have...
...enjoyed the earliest spring I can remember, as exhibited above! Windows are open, birds are singing, (allergies are in full swing), sun is shining. Life is beautiful.
...made my first (but not last) batch of homemade granola (recipe to come soon...). Low calorie? No. However...yum.
...signed back up for Weight Watchers (after a break of about 5 years).  Looking  forward to seeing the scale going down. In the meantime, re-learning how to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. Which, I won't lie, is not making me very happy.  I'm trying to figure out how to balance my love of baking and cooking (see granola, above) with the kinds of foods that WW is telling me I should be eating.
...started reading Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst, which is challenging me to eat healthy for the right reasons.
...been living with a four year old boy who really wants to give up his afternoon nap. He really needs that nap, however. And so we have been riding the rollercoaster of fussing and tantrums on the days when sleep is really needed.
...pondered getting the garden started this weekend. As warm as it has been, this may even be a week or so later that it should  have been. To do: buy some compost and mix it in well, get lettuces and peas and anything else cold-tolerant planted.
...been working on some knitting projects that have been "in progress" for far too long. And realized that I never did get photos of the kids wearing this year's knit hats, having never had a good snowy day to take those pictures!
...been adding bookcases to an upstairs area, because you can never have too many bookcases or too many books. And dreaming of a big soft squishy beanbag chair to make it into a cozy reading nook.
...gone with hubby to a parenting seminar by Tim Smith, who wrote The Danger of Raising Nice Kids, and been challenged to be more intentional about teaching character to my kids.

Happy (early) Spring, Everyone! Get outside and enjoy it.

read:: the dressmaker of khair khana

Its been quite a while since I did a book review here, so when I read this book over the past few days, I knew I had to tell you about it!

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, tells the true story of  Kamila Sidiqi. Kamila was a young women in her late teens living in a suburb of Kabul, Afghanistan, when the Taliban overtook the city over a decade ago, and follows her life over the 8-10 years that followed.  This book was truly eye-opening to me as I found myself ignorant of all the history of Afghanistan prior to 9/11 when it was suddenly pushed into the world spotlight.  I am ashamed to say how very little I actually knew about this country and its wonderful history, of modernization and westernization through the 1950s-1970s, of the years fighting and eventually defeating the Soviets, and then of the Taliban and their insistant return of the Afghani culture to something that attempted to mimic the 1600's!

Kamila Sidiqi's story is of how she and her sisters learned to survive and even thrive during the time of tremendous oppression of women by the Taliban.  Kamila developed a tailoring business that eventually employed many of the neighborhood women, allowing for her family and the families of her employees to support themselves when many of the men had been forced to flee to northern Afghanistan or to Pakistan, Iran, and other countries to avoid falling under the Taliban's rules. 

This book drew me in, led me through the days and nights of the Sidiqi family during Taliban rule, made me love these tenacious women, and opened my eyes to life I was previously unaware of.  I love when I read a book that changes me and how I think about the world. This is one of those books.  Read it!

rainy days at home

It seems as though it has been raining for weeks...although I vaguely remember roasting in the sun as we closed the pool up last Sunday. How can that be? I am loving the cooler weather, though, and am so happy that fall is on the way.  We have been spending a lot of time inside, since the yard is mostly under water and you can only go shopping so many times before you start to wonder if the bank account will continue to support this activity, you know?

Here's what's been going on around here in the past few days:

• Twenty five pounds of Roma tomatoes turned into eleven pints of spaghetti sauce, and into the freezer for an...ahem... rainy day.  We used two recipes, one is chunky and the other smooth.  I think we will enjoy the smooth one better, but we'll see. It was the recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's wonderful book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and she kindly puts the recipes online here, since I don't (yet) own this book (but may yet have to buy it...so much garden and healthy eating wisdom!).

• Painting with the boy

• Three loaves of oatmeal-whole wheat bread baked from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, by Brother Rick Curry, S.J.  I love my library. This is one great bread book!  And this is a really yummy bread!!!

• Dancing in the living room with my little buddy yesterday afternoon.  I had to admire his creativity turning the hobby-horse into his very own air guitar to rock out...where did he learn how to play air guitar??

• Taking the girlie to her very first Irish Dancing lesson last night in the rain.  Wish I was young enough to join her in class! It seems like so much fun and I think will be very good for her coordination and discipline. 
• Still working on my "hurricane vest"...a knitting project that was started as Irene arrived, and is now nearing completion...pictures soon, I hope.

So, the rain keeps coming down, and we are hanging in there, keeping our spirits up with yummy smells from the kitchen and lots of music on the radio.  Then there is always the ark-building project....we may need it yet!

create:: farmer's market bag

Here's the market bag I've been mentioning, finished at long last. The pattern is called "Mineco" and I've added my Ravelry notes.  It is a bit longer and narrower that expected but quite functional and stretchy.  I took it out for a couple hours of yard sales and the farmer's market yesterday.

My loot:  8 books, including The Daring book for Girls (we have the boy's one already), a hardback Pollyanna, 3 Magic Tree House books, a Ramona book, a book on Trains, and one of my favorite childhood books, Mrs. Pigglewiggle by Betty MacDonald.  Also, a puzzle for the girlie, a monster-truck Matchbox-style car for the boy, and a pair of shorts. Total: $6.

From the market, a quart of sweet strawberries and a bunch of pea pods, to be shelled and cooked with tonight's dinner. Total: also $6.

I'll take the kiddo's to the market next time; this week was just for me (taking them to yard sales ends up with a lot more "stuff" being bought!). A mommy's morning out...good and cheap entertainment.

read:: broadening my horizons with 2 new books

The advantage of having a horrible cold and cough is that I get a lot of reading done. And I love to read. So while the little guy's new curtains are languishing on my sewing table, and chores are piling up, here is what I've been reading this week: Queen of the Underworld by Gail Godwin, and Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez.  It's been a week of new horizons and new locales. 

 

Kabul Beauty School is a non-fiction memoir of a fascinating lady who went to Kabul (Afghanistan) after 9/11 with a relief organization, and later established a beauty school as a way to support women in that male-dominant culture. She draws you into the life and daily struggles that she experienced there, and it was an amazing read.

Queen of the Underworld is my current read, and I am about half-way.  All that I've read from Gail Godwin has been wonderful, and this novel has not disappointed.  Different from most of her works, this book is not about a small-town insular society, but instead takes place in Miami during the 1950's, and it deals largely with the emigration of Cubans as Castro took power.  I find myself woefully ignorant of much of this history. My sister-in-law's family come from Cuban roots and so I am entranced by this portrait of what that time was like for many wealthy Cubans, coming to Florida to start anew with nothing--that they would rather have the nothing that comes by their choice to emigrate, than to have nothing that comes by force when Castro seized land and property. I am anxious to see how things turn out in the novel.  

What are you reading lately? I'd love to hear...I'm always looking for a good book!

read:: 52 loaves

This has been a slow week...feeling like I'm moving in slow motion. Lacking energy and waiting for spring. So I spent most of the weekend reading 52 Loaves, by William Alexander. If you like bread like I do (which means...its one of your top 3 food items in the world...ok, maybe one of your top 1!), or like baking, then this book is for you.  If you are a Food Network junkie, or have America's Test Kitchen on your DVR and watch it just about every night like we do, then this book is for you. And hey, if you just want to read about one guy's crazy idea for a year long project, that just happens to send him on a "field trip" to a baking school and monastery in France, then, again, this book is for you. 

I dabble in bread baking, having found a recipe for sourdough that really works for me, in Lovina Eicher's The Amish Cook at Home.  I love the yeasty smell of the starter as it develops, and the dough as it rises.  But I'm also a friend of my breadmaker. So I have to say that the best way to read this book, is laying on the couch, under an afghan (preferably made by your Mom-mom, or other such relative), while smelling your breadmaker slaving away on garlic-herb bread. Yum.

Gotta go...there's some bread calling to me....

my new favorite craft book

Loving Scandinavian Stitches, by Kajsa Wikman! This was a post-Christmas treat to myself, and I am oh-so-very delighted to have it! It was totally an impulse buy,  and one with such delightful results. After this post, I am headed right up to my craft area and may not emerge for quite some time (luckily there are leftovers for dinner!).  Kajsa  lives in Finland, and I love her unique color palate and her simple, creative designs. It makes me want to dig through my fabric stash for all the reds, and apple greens, and icy blues... I love that not only are her projects cute and very do-able, they also immediately give me a ton of new ideas of my own.  Have I mentioned that I love this book? Much crafting to follow...

{lesson of the week}

Not a new lesson, and not original, but a good one nonetheless:  Favorite books truly are like old friends, where the friendship picks right up when you meet again, no matter if days or years have gone by since you last met. 

This week I've been renewing my friendship with Emily of New Moon, by L. M. Montgomery (of Anne of Green Gables fame).  It remains a favorite year after year, and as I get older, I find more depth and meaning in it than I did as a child.  I feel a true kinship with little Emily Byrd Starr, and am so thankful for Ms. Montgomery's talent and words. What books are like old friends to you?

garden dreams

As a child, I did everything I could to get out of having much to do with our small vegetable patch at home. I did not want to hoe, dig, weed, or maintain.  I think I may have helped with watering, when coerced.  And probably helped with harvesting, since the reward at that stage was great.  In fact, I can almost hear my mom laughing as she reads this post about my dream for a garden.  I have never been one to have a particularly green thumb.  But more and more I find myself wishing that I did.  And now I'm planning, and dreaming for the future.  There is a lovely area in the back yard, where a shed currently sits, that will hopefully in the next 6 months become a empty spot of earth ready to create a garden in.  So I have been dreaming and pondering as I page through Garden Anywhere, by Alys Fowler, and Grow Great Grub, by Gayla Trail.  Sadly, these books are both mine only temporarily, from inter-library loan.  Maybe they can go on my Christmas wish list... 

I'm dreaming of raised beds, and lots of tomatoes for the kids to eat raw and for sauce making, of zucchini, and carrots, beans, and lots of herbs.  I'm dreaming of blueberry bushes.  Lots of lettuces.  I realize I'm going a little crazy when I start to picture dwarf apple trees along the fence line.  I'm also dreaming of eating our own produce, of making preserves and of a freezer full of garden goodness waiting to be eaten through the winter.   This year's applesauce making, I hope, is only the start.

We'll have to see what materializes. How fast that shed really disappears. And whether my thumb of black starts to show any signs of green.  I will need good friends who don't mind helping me along...my friend Patty had a fabulous garden this year.  I will need good books, and some good luck, and good weather.  

I love these cooler autumn days.  I love the beauty of fall, and pumpkins and leaves on the sidewalks, and seeing the winter birds in the back yard for the first time this season just this morning-- juncos, chickadees, cardinals, and even a squawking blue jay.  But today, I am dreaming of next summer, and of green.

convicting eating habits

So I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's amazing non-fiction book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, which documents her family's attempt to eat only locally and self-produced food for an entire year.  Its a great read, which is no surprise as I have enjoyed her fiction (especially The Poisonwood Bible) so much.  And it is challenging my view of reality (also no surprise, similar effect as her fiction!).   It makes you think a lot more about just where your food comes from, how it was produced, and how much it cost to ship it to your table (fresh fruit in January, anyone?).

Today at lunch I'm sitting there reading a little bit about her planting the years tomatoes, and realize the contradiction:  I have a bowl of Chef BoyRDee in front of me, and had just been proud of my self for choosing a healthy lunch, as the can assures me I'm getting "15% of daily grains, 20% of daily vegetables and 10% of daily meat per serving, good source of 6 vitamins and minerals".  Since I'm eating the whole can, which is really 2 servings, I'm thinking I'm doing pretty well.  And then it hits me.  Anything called "ChefBoyRDee" and served to me from a can is probably not produced locally by family farmers. Huh.  In fact, as I read the label further, I see it is made by ConAgra foods, one of the big 3 food producers in the US.

Well.  I obviously have a long way to go in being aware of my food choices.  Eating healthier for me would be a good start (and I'm thinking the Twizzlers for dessert were probably not a good choice).  Eating healthier for my family, the worlds food producers, the local economy and the environment would be good too.  Its a good start that I'm even reading the can, I guess. Little steps.  Once again, Ms. Kingsolver, you are rocking my world, and its a good thing. Thank you!

book report: the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society

Just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press, 2008).  As in, finished this morning.  This was a quick read, especially as I found myself reading in every spare moment over the past 2 days or so.  It never even made it to my "currently reading" list.  But just because the reading went fast, doesn't mean it wasn't without substance or value, in fact, quite the opposite! I think I will have this book in my mind in some way for a very long time.  It tells the story of the Island of Guernsey (U.K.) during the German occupation of WWII, through the eyes of Juliet, a journalist who becomes connected with these people shortly after the war.  Told in the form of a series of letters, it draws you in, and honestly by the end, you feel that you too know the characters like close and dear friends.

The impact of this book on me was that of awareness of suffering.  I was born long after this great war, and it truly humanized all the textbook reading of my high school years to paint a portrait of real people, real suffering, and in the midst of it, triumph through friendship, and yes, books.  It reminds me of the smallness of my own "suffering" (it seems pride to even call it that) in the little hurts, challenges, and difficulties that I face. And it gives me hope to persist in these little sufferings, to trust God, to be strong, to live each day for itself, and to love those around me even more dearly. 

It is cliche to say it but I shall:  I laughed. I cried.  I loved the characters, and I miss them now that I am finished this novel. It changed me for the better, really.  Read it.

i love interlibrary loan

When you love to read as much as I do, there is no way you can 1. afford to buy every book that strikes your fancy, or 2. spend as much time perusing Amazon and my local booksellers to figure out if I really want that book or not.  And so, I have grown to truly love my local library, and inter-library loan (ILL).  Our county library system is great, they have most of the books I look for, but every few months or so I find a book or two that they do not have.  And invariably I have been able to request it through our ILL program, and miraculously it shows up at my local branch with these paper sleeves and my name on it. 

Today is another rainy September day. And what fun to have these two great titles waiting for me on the library hold shelf:   Grow Great Grub, by Gayla Trail, and Wee Wonderfuls: 24 dolls to sew and love, by  Hillary Lang.  The biggest surprise today for me was that the second book was requested from a library system in New Jersey, apparently not being available in Maryland at all, and that they will let me have it for a full 6 weeks:  this book looks NEW...as in no one before me has read it? Can this be-- a library in NJ orders this lovely book, gets it in, and immediately ships it off to me in MD? However it came to be, I am grateful. 

Wonderful to page through two gorgeous books on a rainy afternoon.

read & create : : fanned bag

I love crafting books. Knitting books. Sewing books. Scrapbooking books. Quilting books. And since my budget is not infinite (!) I also love my local library, and interlibrary loan.  I've been reading Simple Gifts To Stitch: 30 Elegant and Easy Projects, by Jocelyn Worrall recently, and this afternoon I tried out her "Fanned Bag". In the book she makes it with a metallic sheen vinyl, which is nice and even dressy.  I decided to dress it down a bit, with a cotton decorating-weight fabric I had picked up a while ago, nice and sunny and bright. 

I was delighted that it only took about an hour to make, perfect for during the little guy's nap time.  I even added a little metallic clasp.  And now its just waiting...probably to have a knitting project put into it for easy transport!  A fun little project for a sunny afternoon.

classic literature

This is my book, from when I was about 4.  Now it is my little guy's favorite...we read the stories all throughout the day.  What is it about these stories that have such appeal to us throughout the generations? The animal characters and the hilarious pictures appeal to me now, and of course to the kids.  A favorite is, of course,  "Building a new road", which is better known in our family as "The bumpy road story", so named by my little brother when he was about 4 (now almost 32).   We love to see the cars having all sorts of accidents on the bumpy road,  to see the workmen and the "bugdozer" working on the road, and Grandma Cat getting the first drive on the new road.  As an adult, I have new appreciation on how much I truly learned from this book when I was young...from how cotton is harvested and used, to how a house is built, to the life cycle of water, and so on through the whole book.  My little guy loves to see Huckle Cat being rescued from a burning house by Smokey pig, jumping into a big net with a target (100 points if you hit the red center!).  And we all love the pancake supper on the end pages, attended by all the beloved Busytown people...from Doctor Lion all the way to Lowly Worm.  Now that, friends, is classic literature. 

just starting out

welcome to my life. OK, a little glimpse of it, anyway. I'm hoping this blog will inspire, illuminate, and challenge my readers. I'm hoping it will illustrate what goes on in this suburban mom's life. And since I'm reading something just about every day, there will be a lot about books. And since I'm creating something just about every day, there will be a lot about what my current projects are. And since I'm living life with two kids, there will probably be something about them, from time to time. And the hubby. And the two cats. And the things that go through my head as I'm reading, creating, or just living my life.  In the process I hope to remember as I do all these...we are here not just to live, but to THRIVE.