You Don't See That Every Day

I found my list! And now that it's on here, I can find it anytime I need to Last year I started a list of all the books I read for the year. And so, just in case you wanted something to read, or were wondering what I did with my spare time, here it is.  (As a side note, some time in October, I started reviewing the books I read on my Instagram page @julikenyon) January 2019 - a book by Louise Penny. Somehow I missed the title on this one, But I love her books! Little Men- Louisa May Alcott Jo's Boys - Louisa May Alcott Kissing Adrian - Siri Mitchell Love's Pursuit - Siri Mitchell Journey to Riverbend - Henry McCloughlin Christmas with Anne - L.M. Montgomery February - The Messenger - Siri Mitchell From the Hood to the Hill - Barry C. Black Children at the hearth - Barbara Swell Kingdom of the Blind - Louise Penny Nory Ryan's Song ((my daughters school reading book)) 12 Rules for Life - Jordan Peterson (have to admit on this one, I made it part way throu...

Back in the beginning of 2019 I started a list... (have I ever mentioned I thrive on lists?) .. of all the books I read in the year. Originally I did this to make sure I didn't repeat a book. In the past I've started a book and thought it seemed familiar and by the middle I realize I've already read it but I'm into it so I finish it. This past year I wanted to avoid that. Plus it was fun to look back on at the end of the year to see what I put into my brain. My average for each month was about 8 depending on the events of that season. December was the lowest with only 3 books read. October was the highest with 10. That was when we were in the rental house waiting to move on with our lives. My favorite book of this year... is too hard to choose! I've read a lot of good ones. I also read some I didn't like and didn't finish. And I reread a few from my past, some classics like Little Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Persuasion, I found as the year went on I liked...

Dear Librarian, I am sure enjoying the new checkout system that our library has! You set your books down and zap, they are checked out. It's almost that easy. Ii haven't had time lately to stop at the local bookstore (to get more books from L.M. Montgomery), but I regularly take the girls to the library, so here's what I have on my reading stand this week: 1. Bess and Harry - a biographical rendering of the Truman's. Just finished this one, and I really liked it. They seem like normal people .. not like anyone in politics today. 2. The Oregon Trail, a New American Journey. - I have yet to start this one, it's about two brothers who take a covered wagon on the entire Oregon Trail, in 2007. 3. The Orphan Train Girl - I'm going to start this one later today when we have reading time. About an orphan who ends up with a lady who was also once an orphan. 4. Bing - a biography on Bing Crosby. love his movies; I wonder if I will like them still once I finish the ...

Going to the library is a big deal in our house. The kids beg me to take them more often than whenever the books are due. So last weekend I took the older girls so they could have some fun reading material outside of schoolwork. Which meant I also got to spend almost an hour looking at books. I'm on a cookbook fixation this month. (Swim season is rapidly approaching and rumor has it that my swimmer girl isn't supposed to eat sweets or sugars during the season. It's going to be a challenge to feed this girl. She loves her cookies and ice cream. So do I!) So I am looking at various cookbooks to get some new ideas. Hmm, this sounds a lot like a post I wrote a couple of months ago ... needing new dinner ideas. Anyway, there is a cookbook for just about anything! I came across the Polish cookbooks, and being half Polish, decided to look into them. Just to be fair to my husband's side, I did glance at the Irish ones... but didn't find much in the one I looked at. Head ch...

It's no secret to those who really know me how much I love to read. I'll try one genre for awhile, get bored with it, and move on to something else. Last year it was biographies. There are some fascinating people out there. Tim Conway's bio was one of my favorites, along with Carol Burnett. This year I am back to fiction, but not the Christian fiction I once gorged on. I got so tired of the predictable romance novels, (I can hear my Peruvian friend cheering at this.) Our family passes books and magazines around and one came across my doorstep titled My Sister's Keeper (by Jodi Picoult) - interestingly enough, my sister brought it over. Once I started it I didn't want to put it down. It's a fascinating read, taking on a bio-ethical topic but yet written in a compelling story of a family dealing with leukemia. It made me think, and at my age my brain needs workouts. I also learned that I should NOT read stories of children with leukemia when my own child is s...

In my corner of the world this past week: The Mr. found a new car. I don't know if it will fit all 7 of us   Little K has been a big helper around here. She is nearing 5 yrs old and growing in leaps lately - here is what she wrote (with help!) to her daddy (I will miss you daddy)  She helped make jam this week And she demonstrated her awesome coaching strategies on the whiteboard I've been reading a new author - David Rosenfeldt ; good mysteries and not so scary that I can't sleep at night. Basketball season is winding down. The Boy has one game left (sob) and the girls have about 3 each to go; so I get my fix a little longer.

I am often in search of a good book to read. And it often depends on my mood and what is happening in my world at the time. Occasionally I will pick one up that I think I am not going to like, and then I am pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoy the book. " The Virginian" was a book like that. My friend recommended it to me, and trusting her opinion, I checked it out from the library and read it. Slowly. Savoringly. Imaginatively. It was that kind of book - an old one and a good one. This past week I was in need of another good read. I don't have a lot of time to read, but I like to ponder a few pages before bedtime. So I grabbed a book by Melody Carlson titled "Finding Alice" . And I could not put it down! It follows a college-age girl down her path of increasing schizophrenia. The author writes from Alice's viewpoint and gives the reader insight into the mind of someone with this mental disorder. Because I have a relative whom I care a lot about th...

Cleaning up the 'spare' room and I have some school books to sell. Many of them are A Beka, and some of those are brand new. Mostly 5th grade items, but there are a few 6th grade, or 3rd grade, or other things in there. If you are interested leave a comment and I will find a way to get these to you. Abeka Arithmetic 5 Curriculum/lesson plans, grade 5, $5.00 Abeka Enjoying good health answer key to text questions, grade 5, $1.00 Abeka Enjoying good health test, quiz, worksheet key, grade 5, $2.00 Abeka God’s gift of language B quiz, test key, grade 5, $2.00 Abeka God’s Gift of Language B, Writing and Grammar Work Text, Grade 5 $5.00 Abeka Health, safety, and manners 2 nd edition, grade 3, $ 5.00 Abeka Investigating God’s World answer key to text questions, grade 5, $1.00 Abeka Investigating God’s world quiz key, grade 5, $2.00 Abeka Investigating God’s World test key, grade 5, $3.00 Abeka Investigating God’s World Textbook, grade 5, $5.00 Abeka Math...

The second day of this vacation - the kids did not sleep in again! What is the deal?! Oh, yeah, the 2 year old doesn't tell time yet. We spent the morning in the library. What a wonderful building. If I could I would have a room in my house filled with books on shelves. Kind of like that room in the Beauty and the Beast movie. I am so thankful my kids love to read. Going to the library is a joyous occasion for them. Having a limit to how many books they can have - not so happy. But we've had too many "I don't know where it is!" moments to let them have as many as they can. This week we've decided to have them do a report on one of the books they read. Keeping their minds going you know. The Boy got to choose from any of Steinbeck's works. He chose Of Mice and Men. I have to admit I never read the book. I saw the movie back in college. And my dear friends who went with me to see it - Ann and G - did not tell me how it ended - and boy was that a surprise I...

Have you ever been too tired to even do the things you *like* to do? It seems I am running these days that way a lot lately. (And that sounds very grammatically incorrect.) (and I don't care.) Too many items on the need-to-do list. So many distractions from getting them done. And then I have my wish-I-could-do list that sits waiting for me to cross just one item off. I did however find time for a few minutes of reading in these past weeks. I wish you could see my nightstand. It has a lovely stack of books, already read, waiting to be put away (that's another on the to-do list) About a month ago, I was given the book, "The Help." I did not see the movie, and did not know too much about it, but I had heard it had great reviews. So I gave it a try. And I was mesmerized. I did not want to put that book down! I made myself stop so I could get some sleep. But my nightly ritual of reading for a few minutes before sleep became reading-for-more-than-a- few -minutes befo...

It was time to unload all the photos from my cameras today. And I even found time to do a little blogging. What a week! My husband was able to work from home part of the week, so the computer was not readily accessible to me. It was sure nice to have him around though! I made these cream puffs and they did not last long at all. We devoured them! I went through the boxes and boxes of baby clothes that I have had stored in our 'playroom'. It's all part of my de-clutter and minimalism effort. Plus, I'm pretty dang sure we don't need the baby clothes anymore! The girls' book reports this past week were 'dioramas' that portrayed a scene in the book or an important idea from it. All three wanted to make one - so we've got the kindergartner's book, Bailey goes Camping The 3rd grader did "Princess Alice and the Glass Slipper": And the 5th grader did a Boxcar Children book: In the middle of the week we took part of the day off...

I am trying to sell some of my books that we no longer use or need. Some are brand new.  Homeschool Books for sale *Singapore Math – Primary Math series             6A Textbook, brand new $6             6B Textbook and Workbook, brand new $6 each             Home Instructor Guide 6A and 6B, brand new $10 each 5A Intensive Practice $5             Textbook 5A and 5B $5 each             Home Instructor Guide 5A and 5B $10             4A Textbook $5             2A Textbook, Workbook, Instructor Guide and Extra Practice $5 each *Apples 2, Daily spelling drills for secondary st...

I got the first coat of paint on the side wall done yesterday. It really needs another coat, or two, but it will have to wait until I have some time. I've got a race tomorrow morning, deliver my son to a birthday party, and in between get some bread, milk, eggs, and birthday gifts. My little girl has a birthday coming up and I have nothing prepared. G. got the 'pony wall' put up today. Sadly, no horses nor saddles were involved in this. We did have a diving board however. But again, our hopes were dashed when all that was seen underneath was concrete. And the board moved soon after that, as he cut it into pieces. The second wall is put together! It is framed and ready to be wrapped in green and have the windows placed in it. Hopefully on Monday it can be raised as well, and then we'll have two walls up. But none of this would be of any account to Jane Austen. There is not much relationship involved in this report of building progress. So, for Jane ... I thin...

I've cleaned out the crates for school and weeded out the books we won't be using again. So if anyone is interested here they are. Leave me a comment, or email me. I have no idea for sales prices right now. Make me an offer and I will probably take it. If shipping is involved, we'll figure that out too. I'm flexible. Apples 2, spelling drills, 2 books available; brand new Art A (Abeka books art series), grade 4, 2 pages missing; Basic Spotter’s Field Guide (weather), 2 books available; brand new Latin History Reader , for use with children’s Primer A; brand new Little Annie’s Art Book of Etiquette and Good Manners , a few pages marked; Sequential Spelling 1 and Student Book, a couple of pages marked; Singapore Math 4A and 4B textbooks and teacher’s guides; good condition Singapore Math 5A and 5B textbooks and teacher’s guides, excellent condition; Intensive Practice book 5A, 1 st lesson done Singapore Math , 6A text and teacher guide, 6B textbook, workbook, ...

The Virginian , by Owen Wister; Runner's World Magazine; Dare to Disciplin e; Strong Willed Child , both by Dr. James Dobson; Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free ; by Nancy Leigh Demoss Good Housekeeping; What we have here folks is a list ( I like lists ) of the books and magazines I am currently reading. At the same time. Well, not that I have them all open at once and am reading them at the same time. But I am reading through each of them this week - that kind of "at the same time". I don't think I have ever had this many going at once. Is it a problem? A disease? A syndrome? ("I have a syndrome." Harry Connick Jr. said this in a movie. Know which one? It's one of my favorites.) Perhaps it's just because it's summer and I have so many books I want to read in my time, and now they are piling up on me. Because even though I have some free time off from school, I don't have a whole lot of 'free' time with a 15...

We read a lot of books. And I wanted to share one with you that I have read to all of my kids when they were little. I started reading this one to Baby K this week. Minerva Louise is hilarious. She has a unique way of looking at the world - through the eyes of a chicken. There are other books besides this one; it just happens to be the one we own. One other great thing about having kids - I can justify buying kids books that I like to read!

I saw sunshine on the walls yesterday!! Really! Here in Oregon, on a day in January -- that is a rare occurrence. Looking up from the couch to the ceiling this is what I saw overhead (skylight). And outside one of the windows - no rain! It was a nice change of pace, if even for a little time. It gave me the little boost I needed. Today I went into the garage and cleaned out some more packed boxes. Packed back last year when we thought we would be moving, and in a new home by now. All my old bookshelves were cleaned off and in the process of moving them out, they were broken; so now all the books are in boxes. And for a family that loves to read, this is getting to be a hassle. I am looking for new shelves, and G mentioned he would like to build some for me. Of course there is this other project going on in the garage. G is building something else. Top secret. Not a national security kind of top secret, but rather an Awana Grand Prix kind of secret. So maybe when that is done,...

The girls have been begging me for weeks to bring out "Christmas decorates". So today I pulled out the boxes from the garage labeled Dec. 25. Boxes and boxes and boxes. And inside those were more boxes. And inside those - delightful treasures that we see one month out of the year - our Christmas decorations! I set up the Nativity scenes that I have. I really, really, really like Nativity sets/scenes. As of now we have 5. Is it wrong for me to want more of those? village my mom made I set out all the Christmas candles; hung up the wall hanging and snowflakes; found an arrangement for the stockings; set out the holiday books. Ah, the books. I only bring these special children's books out in December.We have been slowly building our holiday library over the years. Included in it are these titles "The Night Before Christmas" (of course!); "How God Decorated Heaven for Christmas"; "Who Is Coming To Our House?"; Norman Rockwell's Chris...

Expectations. Everyone has them, whether they are good or bad. Last week all 5 children went to the eye doctor. I decided to get the eyes checked on the 4 older kids, since both G and I wear lenses. (I have had glasses since I was 7; G first got glasses in 6th grade.) We were there for nearly 2 hours, since all 4 had to go in and out. The older two had their eyes dilated, and this added some extra time onto the appointment. All in all, the kids did pretty well. None need glasses yet! As we were preparing to pay and leave, the doctor commented on how calm the children were, and how well-behaved they were. He said something to the effect of how rowdy his own 2 are and they would never have been so good for so long. I was a little surprised, b/c I thought they were just acting normal (my kids, that is). Later that evening G and I talked about this and we thought that maybe it has a lot to do with expectations. If you expect your child to obey you and behave in public, then ch...

So I just finished up a third book by author Nancy Moser . I am waiting for the library to get in the 4th one, and then once that is done, augh where will I be?! The one I am waiting for, about Elizabeth Barrett Browning ( How Do I Love Thee ) promises to be just as interesting as the others. I have enjoyed biographies in the past, and these books wonderfully blend my love of fiction and biography. The books are historical fiction about these ladies: Jane Austen ( Just Jane ), Nannerl Mozart ( Mozart's Sister ) and Martha Washington ( Washington's Lady ). Of course, they are fiction, but Moser has done plenty of research and puts the story together so well that I think it is all real! Plus they made me think about how good I have it today as a woman in this culture - a lot more freedom, and probably, a lot less responsibility!