Yarn Along 1/18/17

Halfway through knitting my Pussyhat. I'm making one for myself even though I found out about the project too late to send any hats to DC. I am finding it very magical to be making the exact same thing as thousands of other women and very cathartic to be doing something--no matter how small and "menial"--to protest all the hate and negativity that the political sphere is throwing at us. This pattern is similar to the Kit Kat Hat that was in my Ravelry queue as well :)

I finished Written in My Own Heart's Blood last night and just started Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women. I found this book at a local thrift shop and thought about how it fits nicely into the criteria for the Goodreads book club my friend Maggie started. I hope to recommend it there after I finish it. It's one of my personal goals this year to read more books about history (yes, I am keeping that vague on purpose--history of countries, history of religions, histories of anything, really...).






Join the Yarn Along and share your current knits + reads by visiting Ginny's site.

New Year, Same Old Project (Yarn Along 1/4/17)

I'm so close!!!

5 more rows and then the final section!! I'm renaming this shawl the Never-ending Age of Brass and Steam...at least I took a photo where you can finally see the full beauty of the yarn color.

I meant to have a new project to show you today actually. I started a pair of fingerless gloves for myself as my hands are always freezing in this house, but I ended up frogging it after 12 or so rows once I realized that playing LEGOs and knitting simultaneously don't mix. Some day I hope to be able to multitask while knitting...at least I wasn't in love with the yarn I had chose :)

Currently reading:

1. Lots of info about Ebook writing...YES, I am going to be writing an Ebook. Can you guess the topic? Hint: It's not about knitting ;)

2. It's All Easy by Gwyneth Paltrow (I don't care what other people think; I adore her. Her recipe for salmon is one of my all time favorites).

3. Captain Underpants...Found two more in the series to add to our collection at the Little Free Library. Reading out loud to the boys...it's a good step up from a picture book, but keeps their attention more than a full-fledged chapter book.




I'm looking forward to seeing what you are knitting and reading to start the New Year! If you aren't already, please join the Yarn Along by visiting Ginny's page.

My Favorite Books of the Past Five Years!

2016 is the fifth year in a row I've kept track of all the books I've read (well, except cookbooks) on Goodreads! In celebration of this fact, I thought I would share a list of my utmost favorites with all of you today. These books are not in order of favoritism, but merely chronological by year.

2012


Columbine by Dave Cullen

This book still haunts me. It was an outstanding piece of journalism I read while rocking baby Orion in his bouncer all the wee hours of the morning at my parent's house.

What We Have: A Family's Inspiring Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Amy Boesky

This was a book about a family where women all passed away from ovarian cancer. It was one of the first books dealing with cancer I read after mom's diagnoses.

2012 was also the year I read the Game of Thrones series and discovered the writing of Anne Lamott.

2013

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

I liked this one so much I gave it as a Christmas gift. How could you not love a book that contains the quote: “Instead, we'd do what we always did, the only thing we'd ever been dependably stellar at: we'd read.” 

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton

Even now, having raised one non-adventurous eater and one borderline one, I LOVE this book. I recommended it to so many people in 2013-2014. I went bonkers when I discovered the Spilled Milk podcast with the author, Matthew, and Molly Wizenburg. I downloaded every back episode and listened to them all while walking Orion around the neighborhood. I still listen to and fan-girl hard for that podcast and this book. 

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

If I could be as bold as to recommend one book to read at this time of year from this list, it would be The Snow Child. A modern fairy tale of sorts that kept me captivated.

2014

A Good Marriage by Stephan King

SO scary. Absolutely terrifying. I loved it. This is really a small novella and a very quick but potent read. I got into reading Stephan King novels while Mike was on business trips that year...silly, right??

My Life in France by Julia Child

I absolutely love food memoirs...they are my favorite genre. Reading a book by Julia Child is as good as it gets and you can pass on that movie Julia & Julia and just read this instead for a vivid and full picture of what an amazing life she led. 

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler

I know...another food book, but I mentioned this one in my last post and it really is a game changer. 

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Haunting. Disturbing. Beautiful. 

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

I actually disliked this book after I read it. But then I kept thinking about it. And thinking about it. And then I realized it was a really great book because of it's ability to stay stuck in my mind. It's an intense read & very explicit, so be warned if that isn't something you are okay with in a novel. Now looking back, I would not only recommend it, but read it again. I love Amy Tan. 

2015

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I had no idea they had made this into a TV show when I found my copy at the library used bookstore. In fact, my first thought was "Hey! It's that really large and elegant looking book that always used to stand out to me when I worked at the library but I never opened it" (thank goodness, I was in high school then). 

Since I love HUGE novels that take me forever to go through...I decided to buy and read it...and now here I am, seven HUGE novels later, reading the 8th and final book she has out in the series for the moment. 

This book has everything. My least favorite genre is historical fiction because I usually feel like they don't have enough time to capture everything. Well, this series certainly does. There is time travel for folks who that matters to, sex, death, war, love, many medical procedures described that will make you glad you live in modern times...etc...

I'm also very glad that I've been lucky enough to share my experience reading this series with my friend, Kristen. It's the kind of book you definitely want to share opinions on, make fun of, and have someone you can text at all sorts of weird hours to say "OMG!!" about.

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

When I was in college, I went to go see Elizabeth McCracken speak one night, because I had read and enjoyed her novel The Giant's House. She talked about writing a book about a circus family, but I believe that that never came to fruition, because this was the next book she wrote, after that talk. It's terrible and so very sad, but beautiful and something everyone should read, regardless if you are a parent or not. 


2016

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole 

I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed this one in at least the last five years. It was the perfect thing to read in the current political climate. I studied English in college and postmodern literature and searching for hidden meanings/enjoying subtleties was one of my favorite parts of my classes. This classic delivered in spades. I actually laughed out loud multiple times, something that no author except maybe P.G. Wodehouse has had me do before.

Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn

I've read a lot of spiritual books in the past five years, but this is the one that stuck. Quotes from it bubble up in my head nearly every day and remind me to be more mindful and present. I'm very grateful for books like Hands Free Mama, The Saint's Guide to Happiness, Woman Who Run with the Wolves, etc...but this book is presented so simply and effectively that it was hard to top:

• “We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.” 
•  “Each time you look at a tangerine, you can see deeply into it. You can see everything in the universe in one tangerine. When you peel it and smell it, it’s wonderful. You can take your time eating a tangerine and be very happy.” 
• “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” 

There you have it! My (hopefully) exciting book recommendations. I would love to hear what your favorite read of the past year was if you'd like to leave a comment! Maybe I will read it in 2017 :)

If we aren't already friends on Goodreads, I would love to connect there too!

Yarn Along 12/7/16

From left to right we have the start of Orion's red Barley hat, the wee beginnings of a Lace Mess Shawl, and my never-ending Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief that I just completed the second eyelet section on, even though I started it this past spring. I just can't get into shawls...so why did I cast on the Lace Mess last night in sock yarn nonetheless? Sometimes I question myself.

Not much reading going on at the moment since I need to buy the 8th Outlander book. I have been reading cookbooks during lunchtime (a very pleasant activity, believe it or not) and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook never fails to inspire. I'll be making the Raspberry Rugelach on Friday.

My new planner just had to sneak in the photo too...Last year I had the large My Happy Planner and really liked it, but the size of this one is much better for me and my lifestyle. I love personalizing these types of planners and keeping a "hard copy" of my schedule and to-do's instead of using an app. I promise to write a planner post sometime soon!

As always, please feel free to join the Yarn Along! Started by Ginny of Small Things, you can go there to join the fun and share what you are reading and knitting :)

Everybody Wants to Know About: Books!!

One of the most common and polarizing topics that inevitably comes up when discussing minimalism or simplifying one's space is the topic of books. Specifically, should we hang onto them after we've read them? Should we even buy them or just borrow them exclusively? Should we go 100% digital with our collections?

All these methods work with differing amounts of success for different people, unsurprisingly.

My personal method is cobbled together from all three.

We will start with a little talk about my Kindle.

Between seven to eight years ago, Mike and I were living in Ohio. He had decided to try attending services at a church maybe thirty minutes from our house. I was not in a spiritually minded place at the time and really didn't enjoy going, but went along with it for support and especially because we fell into a very nice after church ritual of lox bagels at Einstein Bagel (which, WHY are there none of these chains around here? Big Apple Bagel is a joke and after getting sick the same day as eating at Good Earth, I am fresh out of bagel options in the Holland area...but I digress) and then hitting up the Boarders Bookstore across the parking lot. It made me so happy and giddy to have these weekly bookstore trips, but we were spending at least $40 a week on books!

So, for Christmas that year, Mike took action and bought me my first Kindle (and Boarders went out of business, so we had a huge spending spree at that sale and then it was bagels only, poor me). I was slightly resistant at first, but warmed up to the device quickly. In fact, I now have a Kindle Paperwhite, and Mike has inherited my original Kindle. I love seeing how it has inspired him to become a more prolific reader (he takes it on all his international trips) and my Kindle has become invaluable to me, especially during the days/nights of seemingly endless breastfeeding. Much easier to hold a Kindle than even a paperback while supporting a baby. I also use the Kindle for night time reading and for travel. I would say 60% of what I read is through my Kindle. Even though the experience is different, it is not to be discounted, especially for a busy young parent.

The Kindle can be expensive though, because unlike buying used books through Amazon, local thrift store, book sale, etc, you usually need to pay around $10 for the average book in the Kindle store. I don't read Kindle singles or many small self-published books....just not my style/I haven't been impressed with the quality of those I've tried, but they are more reasonable priced ($2.99 ish). I do ask for Kindle gift cards for holidays, make small amounts of money that gets put in my Amazon account through Crowdtap, and utilize my library's free ebook sharing site (I have about 20 books on my "wish list" that I download from whenever I want something new). There are other various ways to acquire ebooks for free, but the legality is maybe in a grey area so I won't discuss that. Also, someone with a Kindle can loan you books from theirs, so that's one more option as well.

Moving onward, this is the current state of my bookshelf. 

I just did a "deep clean" of the book shelf this Spring and it was looking pretty sparse, but I recently allowed myself to add quite a few books to the current selection by attending the yearly book sale at our library. Over two separate trips, I spent $30 and gained three bags of books. Most of what I choose to add to my collection falls into a few distinct categories: Spiritual/Self-Help, Parenting, Cooking/Food Memoirs. My most-loved cookbooks are on the third shelf in the picture, left hand side. I usually purchase 2 new cookbooks a year (or "new to me") and only after careful consideration--since I love to spend time in the kitchen, these become well-used and loved. Eventually I hope they will have their own home in my kitchen area. On the right side of the same shelf are Mike's piano music books.  

Some of the books I own are also titles I have on my Kindle! An example of this is the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read it on the Kindle soon after it was released, but a like-new copy appeared at the library sale and I snatched it up quickly. This way, I can share it with someone in the future (because it is a great read) or go back and read it slowly with a highlighter in hand. There is just something about highlighting in some of my more beloved books that the Kindle function cannot compare to. I'm sorry if the highlighting thing seems abominable, but I promise I don't fold the corners of the pages in my books!

One of the major reasons I added so many books back to the collection soon after paring it down quite a bit was because of the fact that I am currently raising very small children. It just isn't feasible for me to get us to the library as often as I would like and, honestly, when I do take us all to the library, it is a major endeavor with a two year old who wants to run the whole place and an almost four year old who somehow learned that they sell cookies in the library basement, plus a pregnant mama who has to lug at least one huge bag of books out to the car because she has no restraint in a library... This way, I have many new books on hand that I am interested in and can pick up leisurely from my own personal "mini library." No hassle of inter-library loans to deal with either. 

When I am done reading a book, if it isn't one I will be coming back to, my usual course of action is to either donate it to the Little Free Library down our street (which isn't a financial loss of any real concern because of the fact that I acquired 90% of my books used--Oh, local tip: The Salvation Army in Holland has a great book selection & sells them for a quarter apiece) or pass it on to a family member or friend.  

The top shelf in the picture is a few more cookbooks that aren't in regular rotation but are still used, reference books, a few precious magazine issues (Taproot and old Mary Jane's Farm from my mom), and children's books my kids are still too young for. Oh, and on the right hand side of the top shelf is where I currently stuff all my old journals...

To give you an idea of a better perspective of this space in my house, here is another photo:

There is a matching built-in shelf on the other side of the fire place, but it hold only one row of Mike's books and half a row of children's chapter books (such as a box set of Roald Dahl). The other shelves hold Mike's video games, our small DVD collection, our "paper collection" area, and office supplies that need to be kept away from small children. 

Lastly, kid's books! This is the area I have the most trouble with. I definitely want them to have a wide selection of books available, but I do feel like there is such a thing as too many books (especially because they all get pulled out, stepped on, and scattered around the house too often). 

Recently, we consolidated most of the kid's books to a small impromptu "reading nook" in the living room. I do have a system of swapping out some of their books for the different seasons and holidays, but mostly the collection just grows and grows...We do have talks about treating books nicely and I finally have a good system for keeping tabs on library books (which, thank goodness for library books, because another thing about owning kid's books is that I am SO SICK of reading most of them)! I just can't bring myself to sort through their books with the same sense of discrimination that I can with my own personal reading material. 

I do get this nice warm feeling when I walk in the room and see them snuggled up with a (let's face it) mess of books all around them and looking at one intently...so the inevitable mess and lack of minimalism in this area is worth it to me personally :) 

Thanks for joining me for a look into my not-so-minimal but definitely mindful way of handling our collection of reading materials in our house! I look forward to hearing from you in the comments (and if you are a fellow book enthusiast, please feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads)!