A shopping Dilemma Update or CSN Stores Rules!

Thank you, dear friends, for helping out with my little shopping dilemma.  The majority ruled and I purchased... 

These melamine mixing bowls are fabulous! 

The pros:
Happy yellow!!
Lightweight and easy to lift when full of batter.
Each bowl has a rubber ring on the bottom to prevent sliding. 

Only one con:
The largest bowl won't fit in my usual mixing bowl cabinet-- but I don't care.

   Love these bowls!

To round out my order, I went completely off track from from the cute yellow items everyone voted on-- Sorry!  I loved each one but all would have been redundant in my kitchen.  Plus, none were giving me free shipping for some reason. The order has to be wrangled just so to get free shipping--- you know I'm all about FREE! 

So what did I do?

I went with my other happy kitchen color: Aqua!! Or is it turquoise?  I never know but it is the color shown on my vintage pyrex (or as close as my camera will allow)...

Aren't they cute? I use the little square lidded one as a sugar bowl on my counter.  I have several others of various sizes and shapes and they are all in use.  I do not collect; I use. Very important distinction... (I've seen that Hoarders show!)

My aqua buys...

Love this Le Creuset pitcher!  It arrived in perfect condition! Can't wait till summer to make lemonade!

This barbeque set looks girly but it is sturdy and deadly.
I'm very pleased by the quality-- and the handles add happy to my kitchen!  

Shopping with CSN Stores was a great experience! If you haven't entered our Blogiversary Giveaway Spectacular to win a $40 CSN Stores gift code,  time's a wastin'.  Only 2 days left...

Those Stinkin' Kids! Part the first.

Oh yeah, there's gonna be more!

First off, I will apologize in advance for the photos. I cannot locate my actual camera as I have a husband. Do I need to explain? And it's been a bit of a hectic few weeks - my bon bon supplier didn't show up and the country club ran out of Perrier. (They are sooo uneducated, they pronounce it Pair-ee-ay, NOT Pur-ee-ur. Can you believe how Hicksville some of these people are??)

Anywho, I have been pretty secretive about my personal life. It may come as a surprise to most of you that I have a few kids here and there. Mostly here. Like RIGHT HERE. As in, THEY WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE.

And as you can imagine, me being the TOTALLY selfish selfless mother that I am, I wanted to do something for these little hoodlu-, I mean, honeys. Mostly so they would maybe, I don't know, leave me alone for half a sec??

So, on with it, dearie!
I re-did their room. Well, the boys' room at this pernt. They have bunk beds and they shared the same space and I thought it must be getting old. I mean, the same desk, the same area of sleeping, not much for personal space. It was getting uncomfortable. And there was no place to really read.

So I added an extra desk and chair and repainted and rearranged and....

I made those stinkin' kids a nook. A reading nook, to be exact. With their own spaces.

Two bean bags, a body pillow, books, a bear, and LIGHT.

Lucas' desk, the nook,and bed upstairs.

These are the basics for a 4th grader - a dictionary, an animal encyclopedia, a general encyclopedia, and a book about fungi. Fun, fun, fun! These are books he has chosen to read during his leisure time (well, I got the dictionary).

Nico's desk. Lampshade to be added.

These are Nico's books - early readers in English and Spanish (some of them the same), lots about dinosaurs and trains (btw, PBS has a show called DINOSAUR TRAIN! Can you believe that?? It's like two little boys' favorites in one!). And, of course, the all important hot water bottle. For his feet. Yes. He is such an old man. 

Anyway, that's what I have been up to as of late. Next is Nina's room. And my next post project is going to be those stinkin' kids' new school library. It is ridiculous how good these stinkin' kids have it!

In Search of Wilkie Collins

blip... blip... Enid Blyton... blip... blip... Wilkie Collins...

When classic  but  'unknown to you' authors blip on your book-dar, do you get all atwitter? Me too! 

But my excitement is also tinged with perturbation and embarrassment-- where have I been?!  I don't live under a rock, after all!  Even if I haven't read a particular classic, as a bookworm, I expect to have at least heard of the author or title.  Don't you?

When rave reviews of Wilkie's The Woman in White popped up on a few blogs last year, I thought: Who? Any relation to Jackie?  Yeah, my ignorance knows no bounds... 


Young Wilkie Collins



Of course, The Woman in White was added to my mental TBR list for someday... a day in a not too distant future. Then, Leslie, my favorite co-blogger, blogged about Wilkie Collins right  here  at Mrs. BG!  That, my friends, is a 'sign'!

And the search for Wilkie Collins began.

 Dang, that Wilkie Collins is elusive in Eastern Oklahoma!  (and based on the blank stares, I'm not the only ignoramus in my neck of the woods)

My county library didn't have any books by Wilkie Collins but could request The Woman in White from another library in their system through inter-library loan for a shipping fee of $1.50. 

Before committing, I felt compelled to check the library in the adjacent county, just in case. That library belongs to a different library system so there was a possibility-- ok, a slim chance-- alright, alright, probably no chance in hell that the The Woman in White might be on the shelf. 

And... And... No luck. *%#@ Rats! But.. But... Get this.. It was available through inter-library loan from another library in their system!! Ha! Doesn't that just beat all!

Before I expired on the spot from Wilkie madness, I filled out an application for a library card and requested the  inter-library loan. And, guess what? Inter-library loans are free in this system! A man drives the books around in his little truck. Of course, I requested two more books right away. Hey, could you resist free carpooling books!

So my convoluted search for Wilkie Collins comes to a happy and successful conclusion. I have a brand spanking new library card so no more dependence on hubby's card.   Plus, with access to sixteen more libraries and free interlibrary loans, I now have the whole eastern half of my state under bookish surveillance.  Hoo-rah!! Yeah, I'm bad...

And The Woman in White will be in my hot little hands by 3:30 this afternoon! Yippee!  (I would've had it last Friday but the little truck couldn't make it over the icy roads to get my books)

Wilkie better be worth the wait!


Old Wilkie Collins



 Have you heard of Wilkie Collins? If so, did you know of him before bookblogging?  What authors have blipped on your book-dar and knocked you for a loop because you can't believe you have never ever heard of them?! 

Owl Reads: True Confessions of a Slush Reader

Do you know what a slush reader is? I didn't but that is no surprise since I know next to nil about the publishing industry. For any fellow dunces out there, a slush reader is a person who weeds through a magazine's submission pile. 

Owl wrote an informative and humorous article about her job reading submissions for a memoir magazine. 

Owl Reads: True Confessions of a Slush Reader

You must read the article to find out how long Owl's vow of 'kindly slush reader' lasted. 

Due to the response Tracy's recent call to write received, I thought the writers amongst you might particularly enjoy reading about the 'almost piece' and the 'seven writing sins' that made poor Owl a hater. (She is a writer too so don't worry-- she isn't too harsh!) 

Enjoy!  And tell Owl that Lesa from Mrs. BG sent you over to visit!

Oh yes, please visit Slush Pile Hell too-- I just discovered it while researching slush reading. Such a hoot!

Tuesday Treasures: The Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln

 Tuesday Treasures is a recurrent feature in which I share the bookish distractions that catch my eye in the school library I work in on Tuesday. I'm not the librarian; I am the speech pathologist. You will hear no complaints from me about sharing a workspace-- this little old school library collection is chock full of wonderful treasures. Plus, I get to release my inner-librarian. The students who wander in looking for books assume I am the Tuesday Librarian.

Can't believe it has been so long since I've posted a Tuesday Treasures! My only excuse is personal difficulty with the space/time continuum that the school had no heat for over a month and it was too cold  in the cavernous library to think let alone take photos with frozen fingers. (FYI: articulation therapy is not good when the speech path is chattering from the cold; now I have stutters to fix.)

Today, I spotted a very ugly book on the library cart...

See.. isn't it ugly? Poor dingy grey thing. Never one to judge a book by its cover, I took a peek inside and it is an absolute treasure!

Can you believe that books this old are still in the school library?! Makes my little bookish heart go pitter-pat.  The first few pages are a bit worn and torn but the book is in remarkable condition considering how many book reports it has aided over the last century. Don't you wish more hardbacks today had sewn bindings?


Helen Nicolay, the author, was the daughter of Abraham Lincoln's secretary, John G. Nicolay.  You can read more about them here.  Very interesting-- especially the part about Mary Todd Lincoln not trusting Mr. Nicolay. Bet there is a good story there.


Anyhoo, back to Helen:  As a young woman, she took dictation for her father's ten volume biography of Lincoln. Following her father's death, she began writing her own books of history and biography, as well as becoming a recognized artist. This talented lady wrote many books for children to make 'history seem alive and interesting to young people'.  

Helen sure succeeded with this one. It is very engaging and informative and I lost myself in several chapters!

The book is loaded with compelling black and white illustrations. Here are a few...

'He borrowed every book in the neighborhood.'   Gotta love a bookworm!

"He always brought a cheery atmosphere into the dining-room."   Lincoln told great stories and loved to jest. If political dicussions became too hot, he was able to soothe any ruffled feathers. 

I didn't get a photo of Lincoln scything hay/wheat but apparently politicians were expected to prove their muscle and mettle out on the campaign trail. Lincoln won many a vote by helping out farmers or joining a game of quoits.

The house in which Abraham Lincoln was married. I'd like to pop right in this one-- in living color, of course, not black and white.

"The lad took her picture from his pocket and showed it to him." 

This illustration refers to a meeting with soldier William Scott who was sentenced to be shot for falling asleep on his watch within range of enemy fire.  Lincoln heard about the incident and went himself to talk to the young man. After chatting awhile, the president kindly said... 

"My boy, you are not going to be shot to-morrow. I believe you when you tell me that you could not keep awake. I am going to trust you, and send you back to your regiment. Now, I want to know what you intend to pay for all this?" 

The young man had no money but said his family might mortage the family farm or, if the president could wait till payday,  perhaps his comrades would help. The President replied:

"My bill is a great deal more than that, it is a very large one. Your friends cannot pay it, nor your family, nor your farm. There is only one man in the world who can pay it, and his name is William Scott. If from this day he does his duty so that when he comes to die he can truly say 'I have kept the promise I gave the President. I have done my duty as a soldier,' then the debt will be paid."

William Scott fell in battle a few months later and the debt was paid.  Can hardly bear that one, bloggy friends!  You know how battle, honor and glory affect me...  

There are funny little penciled notes scrawled here and there throughout the book but look what I found on the back of one illustration:  notes for a whole book report assignment! Some of it makes no sense.  Number three reads 'His reason in writing this book'... hmm...

Like I mentioned before,  this biography has been well used by a century of students (and still being used). I really really had to fight the urge to swipe it for it's own protection but if it has survived this long...  

If you are interested in The Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln,  the text is available to read online or for ebook download at Gutenberg.org.