Journals to gift

Recently here at Mrs Baja we have been talking about gifts, and I am revisiting an idea I had last year.





For Christmas last year I wrote my thoughts, rules, if you like, for my girls in a beautiful Korean notebook that my mother gave us.


Time has proven them to be still popular. My little one, Dellylu, recently told me, 'When I'm old, like when I carry a handbag, I'm gonna carry my rule book in there.' Not a bad endorsement for a year-old gift.

Some of the 'rules' I will add to their books include;

If it starts with, ‘No offense but…’ then it’s better left unsaid.

Never leave your friend until she is safely inside her house, or has started her car.

Learn how to make one good meal for entertaining, and always have those ingredients on hand.

So, I have found a couple of likely journals at Amazon you could use to make a gift for someone you love, if you like. They are just beautiful, and maybe now would be a good time to start a journal for yourself. I know some of us Mrs BG contributors are inveterate journal keepers.

Enjoy!

Russian literature

...uh.. no.  
I tried. Not hard, but I did try.  Russian shopping?  Yes. Yes.  I tried. I succeeded and I had company.    
     When I was in Texas a few weeks ago, my sister, my daughter and I all went on an international outing for the day in Houston. Texas gets a bad rap sometimes. What with Enron, ex-presidents that shall remain nameless, strip malls, big hair, etc. the reputation isn't entirely undeserved but there's another side and it's an interesting one.   

    The first stop we made was to the Russian General Store.   The store is on the small side with deli counters lining the walls and of course there is a great deal of Russian food that would be comforting if you're Russian and that far away from home, but all sorts of things were packed onto the shelves.

Soaps: Smell like дом! ("home" to the rest of us..)

     They had everyone covered.    Can you imagine what it must be like to be in a strange country and need to feed your baby?   I thought this was odd at first.  American grocery store shelves are full of baby formula, but if I'm a Russian mother with a baby, these cans represent one less thing I need to worry about because people I know have used them and lived to become adults.  Who knows what they put in that American stuff?  I'd have a point.

     In the very back of the store was something that would delight any Russian book worms heart, a book shop. I was busy buying shiny things, but Leslie spotted it behind a counter and a curtain that had been pulled to one side.  None of us were sure if we were allowed back there, but it didn't stop us.  Ugly Americans are ugly Americans in America too.  We did ask if it was okay when the shop keeper came to make sure we weren't getting too much out of hand.  Good call on her part. We're rowdy.  I regret to say I neglected to photograph the large collection of contemporary fiction in my haste to get back to my more shallow pursuit of shiny things, but here is a bit of what we found:

 Note: This is not Tolstoy.

The Classics, and not just the Russian ones.

The Queen's Necklace, Dumas.  I asked.

    

Do all places have far flung surprises?  Arm chair travel anyone?

Kindle Children’s Books

I never knew that my kids were dumb. Up until now I had thought them to be pretty clever, but then I browsed the children's Kindle book selection. There are some serious gaps in their reading. Enough with the Allison Miranda series and the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and pft on the L'Engle collection. My kids are reading drivel, I tell you!

Thank goodness for Amazon pointing this out. Otherwise they might have faced dire consequences in their academic future.

They are not reading Homer's Iliad! And they have not started on the Jane Austen canon, either. We are reading Emma, why not them?

According to Amazon, Dostoevsky is appropriate reading for little ones. Since Crime and Punishment is part of their everyday lives, see. Like they do the wrong thing and get grounded or a detention.

It's a huge oversight, but I don't believe even the school's Senior Curriculum has War and Peace, even though Amazon considers it a children's book.

Our long summer holiday is coming up and I may have to take back those fun books with attractive covers that I've set aside for Christmas and get my little girls something a bit weightier.

That's it! We are starting with Tolstoy!

Uh Oh... Airline Travel Restrictions for Bookworms!

Did that get your attention? Don't worry, bookworms can still fly but we might all need to get e-readers! Check out number five in this list of personal items allowed in the carry-on policy for United-- bookworms get their own mention.   

The following personal items are not counted toward your one bag and one personal item limit:


Assistive devices (canes, crutches, etc.

Child safety seats for ticketed children

Infant restraint devices (infant seat with or without stroller, front pouch or back carrier)

Outer garments (coats, hats, etc.)

Reading material (a reasonable amount)

Umbrellas (one per passenger)

Food and beverages to be consumed onboard

Hahaha-- too funny! Bookworms do lug too many books!!  But dang, what is a reasonable amount?  Maybe taking my nine hundred page tome isn't the best idea but I could sure do some damage with that baby if the air marshall requires back-up! Whack Whack-- thud!................ I'm back... I'm back... Just drifted off on a gratifying flight of fancy! 

Two hours left to choose my reasonable amount of reading material-- Oh, the pressure-- and Oh, the agony of leaving behind my current hefty read.  What to take... hmm... maybe a couple of paperbacks from my TBR--- that sounds worthy and reasonable... but which ones?!

By the way, my last flight was in 2004 and I had the most horrendously difficult but hilarious (in retrospect) time getting on the plane-- really it was worth of a Seinfeld episode.  

My adventures involved an expired drivers license; a wild taxi ride to a DMV;  a race to get through check-in and security; and of course, wouldn't you know it--- getting singled out for  the super security check pat down. Yep, little ol' me-- guess I did look half crazy and mighty suspicious by that time!! They even pawed through my picnic bag of bacon sandwiches and garden tomatoes! Ooo.. scary tomatoes! Guess I could've been masterminding a food fight. ;o)

This time, I have been checking and double-checking travel requirements and carry-on policies-- and renewing my driver's license!! Yep, expired again-- just happened to be at the DMV this week to renew car tags and checked my license on spec... whew!

 So if you see any airport ruckus on the news, I hope and pray that it isn't me!!

Library Lagniappe!

Every trip to the library results in a lagniappe: a benefit, a treat, a little unexpected something extra.

Wednesday night, I sat in the library finishing the last ten pages of Emma thirty minutes before closing time.  Why? Well, it was overdue after multiple check outs and I really needed to return it. (and pay my fine)

Have you ever tried to read an Austen novel under pressure? It is not easy, let me tell you. Ten pages of an Austen novel is like reading fifty or more pages of my usual fluff.  First, I tried to finish at the barbeque restaurant. Silly me--  Emma is just too highbrow for barbeque. 

The peace and quiet of the library did the trick though with time to spare. With Emma returned safely, what to read next? One of my TBR books at home? No, of course not, I grabbed the fifth Percy Jackson for an easy fun read. Then glanced at the case of new books... just in case... and there was my lagniappe!!

SQUEE!!! The thirteen book in the Wheel of Time Series came out and I didn't even know it! Woot! Woot!

At this particular juncture (the beginning of a busy holiday week), I absolutely do not need to be obsessively reading a nine hundred page book but no way could I leave it there. For goodness sake, some slow reading Wheel of Time geek fan might come along and then who knows how long it would take to get my greedy little paws on it. 

Naturally, in my excitement, I couldn't locate my library card-- then realised with dread that I didn't have my library card. Yikes! That is what changing purses will do for you! Before panic set it, Lola the Librarian came to the rescue by checking it out to me on her card. Whew! 

I love the fifty-two page prologue of this book! I love lagniappes! And I love Lola the Librarian!

Have any books sneaked up on you lately?