February 29, 2008

Today is Leap Day. I was almost a leap year baby, missed it only by a couple of years. It would have been lousy as a kid to only have a birthday every four years. However, at this point in my life, I can see where it might be really nice! But, it wasn't to be.

However, I do have this extra day. An extra day and a Friday to boot. I have decided what I am going to do with this extra day -- apart from the impossibly long "to do" list I have already made this morning. I am going to learn how to take the pictures off the camera, put them into the computer and then put them onto my blog. I read a number of blogs and they all have such lovely pictures of their needlework, their vacation spots, their crafts, themselves (that means you jlshall) and my blog is severely lacking.

Accomplishing this will require a lot -- paper and pencil to write down the process because I will NEVER remember it (I am completely unteachable in these matters) and A. A has to be here to walk me through it. I have 360 pictures on my camera that need to be stored and saved. I think this would be a good day to do that.

After all, we have an extra day -- a day to do something different.

Yes.

Birthday

Today is my birthday. So, what kind of a day is it? Well, for February, it is pretty nice. Morning is like late winter, afternoon is like early spring. I guess that sounds typical. It is sunny but windy -- and the cedar pollen is high -- again. I awoke with the remnants of the allergy attack of yesterday -- not gone but going. The cat is a bit punk and the laundry is multiplying itself in the dark. It is pretty much business as usual except that A gave me the gift that I had picked out a few weeks ago. It is much easier for him if I do the picking, he does the buying and hiding and presenting. It works well that way because sometimes I even forget what it is I chose! I guess those senior moments can work to our advantage if we look at it that way. So, all in all, it is a good day. The best gift is that I have today -- sneezing, itching, punky cat, cedar and all. I will take it. It is a good thing!

Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight

I am adding this book to my personal reading list. The author is Emily Brightwell, the publisher is The Berkley Publishing Group.

I am not a lover of the mystery. However, and I am not proud to admit this, I purchased this book because I was attracted to the dust jacket. The art work drew me in. Ok, I know that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

However, in this case, the cover was a fair judge of the book. It was a quick, easy read. It isn't very long and the hardback version is a small size which makes holding it easy for arthritic hands and wrists. The story got me from the beginning. While some of it was obvious, the ending wasn't -- I was surprised and it was very clever. The characters are pretty well developed, they were likeable (the ones that were supposed to be) and the ones that weren't supposed to be -- well, they weren't. I didn't expect all this out of a book that was really simply written and straightforward. No sophistication here but a good story, good characters and a novel ending.

I would recommend.

Letters From Rifka

My fifth book for the Young Readers Challenge is "Letters from Rifka" by Karen Hesse. It received the National Jewish Book Award and was published in the US in 1991 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

It is a true story of the author's family's immigration to the US from Russia during World War I. Even though there were some changes by the author it is the story of her Aunt Lucy.

The story details the family's life in Russia, their dangerous flee from their home and the perils along the way that separated the main character, Rifka, from her family for over a year. While that sounds quite dire for a twelve year old, she did have some good adventures and new experiences along the way -- like learning about bananas.

The story showed amazing maturity and insight for a 12 year old girl, a good example for girls that age who would be reading this book. It also showed how children in other places don't necessarily have the same things that we have -- like bananas. It gives the reader a glimpse into the life of people from other countries and in another time. In spite of the dire circumstances of the times, the book was not depressing. Even though it dealt with death, loss, and change, the main character is positive and tries to make the best of her situation.

I would recommend this for a reader at the upper end of the age range of our challenge. It does take a bit of maturity to read it and I think a younger reader simply wouldn't have an interest in it. This could coincide nicely as a supplement for a history class.

Rollie

I have a cat named Rollie. Actually his name is G. Rollie named for the stadium -- G. Rollie White Coliseum -- at Texas A&M University. I had a picture of Rollie up but I took it down so I can try to put it with this blog. We shall see if I can figure it out. I really like pics with the blogs, if appropriate, so I have to figure this out. Bear with me -- it might take a while because my technical brain cell is rather small.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler


The fourth book I have read for the Young Reader's Challenge is "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E. L. Konigsburg (1967).

I chose this book because it was my daughter's favorite book when she was growing up. I also chose this book because it was recommended by JLSHall. I have to say that both women have excellent taste in children's books.

This book is a charming account of two very brave and resourceful siblings who decide to run away. Well, Claudia, the main character and older sibling, decided to run away and Jamie, the younger, was chosen to go because of his vast financial ability -- and his $24.43.

Claudia planned her runaway down to the most minute detail -- her running away was to be DIFFERENT. ""Claudia knew that she should could never pull off the old fashioned kind of running away..." so she decided to run not from some where but to somewhere -- somewhere large, warm, comfortable, and beautiful. And that was how Claudia and her brother, Jamie, ended up living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art--and right in the middle of a mystery that made headlines."

The book is clever, the children are funny, there is something in it for everybody -- a little art, a little history, a little mystery. It is easy to read but not simplistic. I enjoyed it and hated to see it end.

I would recommend this for 8-12 year olds with the warning "don't try this at home".

Quilter's Block

I am a quilter. Sort of. I have been quilting for years and years yet my quilts still smack of "beginner". Oh well, that seems to be my comfort zone -- or rut -- whatever. Two years ago my DD asked me to make her a lap quilt in the form of an American flag for her classroom. I pieced together a lovely flag with the correct proportions and everything. Everything but fifty perfectly placed, appliqued stars. When I showed DD the pieced top, expecting squeals of delight, I was met with a dejected, disappointed look -- where were the fifty stars? Well, I cut out the stars, fused them on and I am STILL appliqueing the stupid things on the blue field which wasn't a solid blue field but rather a blue field with, yes, stars.

Ok, so being the sort of person I am -- I am sure there is a name for it -- I really hate starting a new project before I finish an existing one. I am not saying I haven't -- I have made about four or five other quilts while sticking these stars down -- but I don't LIKE to do it. So, during this whole process, I seem to have lost my "edge". I go to the fabric store but I just don't have the drive to buy the fabric -- even for my stash. The fifty stars seem to have sucked the very life out of my creativity. It is very sad.

In an effort to get past the "block" I am experiencing and to do something completely spontaneous, I dragged A to the Bear Creek Quilt Guild show this past weekend. The weather was lovely. The show wasn't so gigantic that you couldn't find your way around the hall because of the crowds. The theme was exciting -- "Four Score and Seven Quilts Ago" -- showcasing Civil War reproduction quilts.

Altogether there were some 400 quilts on display. Large quilts, small art quilts, old quilts -- all very exciting. I could just feel the urge to sew wash over me. It was a great show, a wonderful way to spend an early morning. We were done by lunch, even browsing the vendor booths. And, I managed to bring home a very special pincushion with much personality -- Miss Buttons. I even think A enjoyed looking at the Civil War "stuff" so it was a good time for both of us.

Well, I guess I should get back to those insufferable stars.

For my third review for the Young Readers Challenge, I have chosen three books to be reviewed as one. I refer to them as the Gossie Trilogy when, in fact, the titles are "Gossie", "Gossie and Gertie", and "Ollie". These are board books by Olivier Dunrea.

Gossie is a gosling. In the first book she is alone in her world with her boots, discovering all that is there to be discovered. The books takes the young reader or listener through Gossie's day and show how important her boots are to her. Then, the unthinkable happens -- she loses her prized boots only to discover them in somebody else's possession. Enter Gertie. This books parallels a toddler, or pre-K child's life with Gossie. It would be familiar to a child to see Gossie in her routine, not unlike the child's routine and to see Gossie have to deal with new interruptions to her life such as losing a cherised item and making a new friend. This books makes excellent use of concepts such as over, under, in, backward, forward, etc and provides familiarity in things like snow and rain. The sentence structure is very simple but provides a good vocabulary.

The second book, "Gossie and Gertie" introduces the two little goslings as best friends. They do everything alike and together, like wearing boots. Like the first book, spatial concepts are expanded, concrete situations are presented such as playing in the hay or swimming in the pond but intangible concepts are being introduced as well such as friendship, best friendship. The sentences in this book are longer and conversation is introduced.

The third book is Ollie. By this book, Gossie and Gertie are fast friends and exploring their surroundings in great deal in farther reaching area. They discover Ollie, who is an egg. They are intrigued. They are patient but Ollie doesn't want to come out. The concept of fear is introduced because Ollie is afraid to come out. He rolls away, he tries to hide, Gossie and Gertie try to make him come out and peck at him with their beaks but he won't come out. A bit of reversed psychology is in order, it seems, so G & G decide to tell him not to come out so the concept of reason is introduced. Suddenly Ollie realizes that he is alone and he waits -- then he decides to come out.

I bought "Gossie" to read to my infant grandson. However, the illustrations are so pleasing and the books so charming that I had to get the other two. The characters are shown in a natural growing progression with enough challenge to require problem solving but not harsh enough to result in any trauma. They are gentle books that children could identify with, they teach some life lesson as well as vocabulary and concepts.

Does my grandson like the books? I don't know but he likes to chew on them which is another reason I bought them being board books and all. I like them though and we read them every time he comes over.

I definitely recommend.

The Alamo Cat by Rita Kerr

I just finished my second book for the Young Readers Challenge. The book entitled "The Alamo Cat" was written by Rita Kerr, a San Antonio retired teacher who chose writing as a second career. The book is only about fifty pages and I would say that an eight year old could read it.

My initial impression of the book was that I wasn't going to like it. There was too much going on, too much history, too much description, just too much. Yet, there were some areas that I thought just screamed for more explanation. Being a native San Antonian myself, I knew the history and the references but I could see that a child could use more explanation in some areas. However, I think there were some areas that were too descriptive when it wasn't necessary.

With that said, as I read the book, I began to enjoy it. As the book progressed, the verbage seemed to calm down and flowed better. Of course, all of that seemed to fade into the background when you got to know "Ruby", the Alamo cat. For those of us who have cats, it is immediate recognition and connection. For those of us who call San Antonio our home there is definitely a bond. For those who would like a little glimpse into the workings of the Alamo, this gives a bit of information.

If you would like to obtain this book for your child, however, I will give you fair warning. It doesn't end happily. It is, though, a historical account and many of those don't end happily either but be aware, if you have sensitive children, you should read the book first.

Without doubt, Ruby was, indeed, a latter-day hero of the Alamo whose name should go down into history with Crockett, Bowie, and Travis. It was a very touching book.

When I discovered blogging it was a sad day, indeed. Why, you ask? Well, I discovered that I had nothing to say. Oh I have ranted and raved about my children, my pets, grocery bags and whatnot but really had nothing to say.

I, then, discovered the pleasure in reading OTHER people's blogs. I have read quilting blogs, needlework blogs, reading blogs, parent blogs, empty nester blogs, all sorts of blogs. As a result, I have embarked on a project, the reading challenge, which, so far, has been great fun. I have learned a lot from the quilting blogs too. Being a quilter for many years, yet still thinking like a beginner, I enjoy reading about other's adventures in their quest for quilt perfection.

So, today I have something to say. For my fellow quilters and blogreaders, I would like to share a website that I found today while doing a search for "scrap quilting". The website is http://quiltville.com. For those of you who have more scraps than you know what to do with and need to organize, sort and use them up, visit this site. It is chock full of patterns, suggestions and lovely pictures that are very inspirational. I am sure I will visit it often.

Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I guess I am back to the kitchen table that is piled high with all sorts of fabrics just calling my name to do something with them.

"The Amber Cat" by Hilary McKay

I have just finished my first book for the Young Readers Challenge. I chose "The Amber Cat" by Hilary McKay. My copy was obtained from a public library sale and still had the dust jacket which stated that the age group it was suitable for was 9 -12. I would have to say that I think it would be better enjoyed by the older of that group.

The book takes place in contemporary England and is a story within a story. The primary story is that of a women raising her son alone after the death of her husband. She and the son live in a large semi-detached house, the other half which is occupied by her husbands best friend and his family. The primary story is complete on its own. The secondary story takes the form of flashbacks but not just momentary flashbacks for the sake of clarification or plot progression, but rather a complete story on its own.

Both stories contain elements of mystery, ghosts, human fraility and understanding. Both stories are good works alone but the way the author blends them is very good. It would hold a child's interest, I think, but the child would have to read carefully in order to grasp the nuances throughout the book, therefore, I think it would be more suitable for an older reader.

My favorite character was Sun Dance -- he seemed to be an old soul. I could envision Kevin Corcoran (Moochi of Walt Disney fame) playing this role.

I won't give away the plot. It is simple and obvious to an adult but the way the web was woven was still charming and interesting.