Books by the DECADE

So, we are going to document our reading this summer thanks to a challenge over here. I'm joining the challenge mostly to accompany and encourage our children. LORD knows I am busy enough and probably won't need to add something like this to my schedule. But. They found the challenge, and I am NOT going to discourage reading! Besides, I found some books I'd really like to read (or reread).



"Attorneyback" just got back from camp, and so he has a lot of deciding to do, to finalize his list. He will likely read twice as many books as he is listing, so it will not be a problem. He just has been away for two weeks, and is EXhausted right now.

Here is the list for "Attorneyback" , for (20) books, so far:

2000's. TBA
1990's. TBA
1980's. Bourne Identity
1970's. God In The Dock, C. S. Lewis
1960's. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.
1950's. Hornblower, C. S. Forester
1940's. There Is A Tide, Agatha Christie
1930's. Flying Colors, C.S. Forester
1920's. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, C. S. Forester
1910's. TBA
1900's. The Sea Wolf, Jack London
1890's. TBA
1880's. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
1870's. TBA
1860's. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
1850's. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
1840's. The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
1830's. Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
1820's. Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott
1810's. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen


Here is the list of (15) books for little "PinkBalletToes":

2000's. The Tale Of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
1990's. Running Out Of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix
1980's. Sweet Valley High/Lost At Sea, Francie Pascal
1970's. Nancy Drew/The Mysterious Mannequin, Carolyn Keene
1960's. Harriet The Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
1950's. Mary Poppins/In The Park, P.L. Travers
1940's. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery
1930's. Mary Poppins Comes Back, P.L. Travers
1920's. The Fairy Caravan, Beatrix Potter
1910's. Daddy-Long-Legs, Jean Webster
1900's. Secret Garden, Frances Eliza Hodgson
1890's. Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang
1880's. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
1870's. Little Men, Louisa May Alcott
1860's. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
(and might read more!)


Here is the beginnings of my list. (I am still exhausted from getting kids home and settled from camp, but I promise I will work on my list this weekend!)

List of (12) books for "KathyinDC" is as follows: (as you can see, I want to totally "live/read" in the past, heh)

1940's. The Diary Of A Young Girl, Anne Frank
1930's. Murder At The Vicarage, Agatha Christie
1920's. Mysterious Affair At Styles, Agatha Christie
1910's. The Tale Of Mrs. Tittlemouse, Beatrix Potter
1900's. Heretics, G. K. Chesterton
1890's. Personal Recollections Of Joan Of Arc, Mark Twain (he states this as HIS favorite of all his writings)
1880's. A Study In Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1870's. TBA, undecided.
1860's. TBA, undecided.
1850's. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (the book he wrote midpoint of all his books, and his most "autobiographical")
1840's. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
1830's. Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo

Ninja-Kitty.

First, some seasonal Eye Candy for you:















Now, the ceilings. See what I mean? Those are 25 feet UP! It literally took 2 1/2 years to find anyone willing to climb up there and paint all of it. It looks nice. With the white (primer-white) gone, all the angles just look striking, not disturbing.
Check out crazy ninja-cat!!!! She even jumps from the top of the cabinets to that window sill 20 feet up and sits there looking outside! She's a wild 'thang'.

Nightmare ALMOST Over . . . . .

We've got these 25-foot tall cathedral ceilings, which looked like they had never been painted ever (just white primer). It has taken us 2 1/2 years to find a painter willing to climb up there and teeter on the edge of ladders, risking life and limb, but we finally found one--thank you, Louis. So, our house has been looking like THIS lately:









It was a NIGHTMARE all through Father's Day, and the whole weekend when we had lots of things planned, and it is going to take a few days to put it all back together (and clean all the floors, rugs, etc. ). But it will look fabulous when we are done.








This is some swatching I'm doing to plan for a garter stitch jacket EZ-style. I see why EZ said she loves garter stitch. I'll have to get some other color for accent/trim. Maybe a red?

Check back soon and I'll try to post some "after" paint photos.

Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice

So, here is the sugar:

Something about it being "rough cut" cubes, and of course, it is pure cane sugar, minimally processed, all that crunchy goodness. If you have a cup of tea you want to sweeten, it really is good! So, I promised to post it, and here it is!

Think I better show some knitting after all this tea sweetening, and traveling to Paris and all!


Here are some socks I am (SHhhhhhh) secretly knitting for my son. He loves all things "weapons" (hmm, have to watch him), but also loves ships, chess, Sudoku and similar puzzles, DEBATE, and reads like a fiend. That's a good thing. Anyway, he is going off to Debate Camp for TWO WEEKS later this month. SO. Didn't want him to forget about (or miss too much?) dear mom, so, I'm sending him off with some appropriate handknits.



I think he'll like this:
Lorna's Laces hand-dyed yarn in "camouflage"! A dream to knit.