plenty of booklists

Looking for book ideas for children?  One resource for you is the Colorin Colorado page.  If you go to the Books and Authors section, you will find a plethora of book lists by theme and sometimes age, as well.

Another webpage that I have been looking at more lately is called What We Do All Day.  It is written by a mom who wants her children (and others) to spend much time reading and doing things that do not involve screens. 

books worth reading

This year I finished reading 55 books.  Here are a few that I would recommend reading.

• Runaway Saint by Lisa Samson-I read this novel for the second time this spring and was glad that I did.
• The More of Less by Joshua Becker-If you want to live a more intentional life, this is probably for you. 
• Gentle Ben by Walt Morey-A novel that I will likely read again some day.  Next time I make personalized reading lists for my family, it will be on my nephews' lists.
• The Rent Collector by Camron Wright-My book club read this one and enjoyed it...lots to think about regarding povety and literacy.  I first read it three years ago and it was worth a second read.
• Redeeming How We Talk by Ken Wytsma and A. J. Swoboda-Everyone is willing to talk and share opinions.  These authors talk about why what we say is important.  It would make a good book to read with a friend and discuss.
• Love Lives Here by Maria Goff -If you have read Love Does by Bob Goff, you would likely enjoy this one as well.  Maria and Bob sure make me think a lot more about how to love people well.   
• Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin -Martin has woven another story worth reading and probably rereading. He does such a great job at creating characters and developing a story that is full of surprises.

books for 2017

 

My total of books read for the year is 42.  Six were books I had read before-a trilogy by Renee Riva, The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, As Waters Gone By by Cynthia Ruchti and Unseduced and Unshaken by Rosalie De Rosset.

Recommended fiction

• As Waters Gone By by Cynthia Ruchti    Emmalyn moves to Madeline Island, wondering what's next in life and waiting for her husband to finish his time in prison.  Emmalyn meets some new friends and finds a way to make something good out of difficult circumstances. 
• Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson    Daniel was a young man living in Europe during World War II.  Now he is in his 80s, and he hires journalist Quenby Vaughn to find a girl he knew from his boyhood in Europe.  
• The Giant Pumpkin Suite by Melanie Heuiser Hill   This book is written by a Minnesota author and is the story of a group of neighbors who work together to grow a giant pumpkin. 
• Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke   Hannah goes to Germany to meet a grandfather she never knew existed.  Hannah learns much about her family history that she never knew.  Like Catching the Wind, this is also about World War II

Recommended nonfiction books are

• The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom   An autobiography of a woman who lived in Holland during World War II, including time spent in a concentration camp.
• The Art of Explanation by Lee LeFever    This book is for anyone in education, sales, marketing, human resources or someone who wants to improve their communication skills.
• Better Off (Flipping the Switch on Technology) by Eric Brende    Brende tells the story of his year living with minimal technology.
• Unseduced and Unshaken by Rosalie De Rosset    Written for women who want to live an intentional life.  Though De Rosset's target audience is young women, it is relevant for those past their twenties.

What books did you read this year that you would recommend?  

goals for 2015

Most of the time I do not like to share my goals with the world as it feels too personal.  This year, though, I am going to share a partial list of my goals in hopes to inspire you to make a few of your own.  Every year I make some, and though I never finish complete them all, I am always glad for the things that I did accomplish.  Here is a part of my list for the coming year.

1. Read 12 nonfiction books.  I prefer fiction 9 times out of 10, but nonfiction books help me understand things I would not get from reading a novel.  Foreign to Familiar and How Children Succeed are two great examples.
2. Finish the Spanish portion of Duolingo.  I started sometime last year or the year before, and have no excuse for not finishing this year.
3. Learn to can salsa or dill pickles.  Two foods that I cannot get enough of, why should I rely on others to make them and give them to me.
4. Complete my hexagon quilt.  I started it in the fall and has a good start.
   

What are some of your goals for 2015?

favorite books of 2014

I read 52 books this year, a few less than normal as it is a little harder to access English books here.  This is a list of my favorites that I would recommend for your reading in the upcoming year.  I blogged about all these books earlier so if you want to see more detail about a certain book, click on the title. 

• Wonder by R. J. Palacio-written for older elementary students, anyone with school aged children or who works in a school should find this story engaging and worth reading.
• Runaway Saint by Lisa Samson-Contemporary fiction novel about secrets and family
• The Testament by John Grisham-Perhaps my favorite of Grisham's books.  It is the second time that I read it and it was just as good or better the second time around.
• White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner-This is the second time I read this book that mixes history and the complexity of family in one story.
• Sing for Me by Karen Halversen Schreck-An historical novel about race relations in the 1930's, it would be a good book for a book club to read and discuss.
• Foreign to Familiar by Sarah A. Lanier-My only nonfiction book on the list, every adult should read it to better understand other people, especially those of cultures different than their own.

Any recommendations from your year of reading to share?

recommended reading

A couple of weeks ago I gave my brother a short list of books I thought he should read. He made a comment about it not even being February and I love to read month. It seems to me that it is always a good time to read, and below are a few books that I think everyone should read. If you click on the title, you'll be able to see what I wrote about it on my blog.

Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin

Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris

End of the Spear by Steve Saint

Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Saint Ben by John Fischer

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

Have you read any of these?

12 days of Christmas

I got a cool gift from my sister for Christmas. She made 12 bags (see here) that are about six and a half inches by seven and a half inches when closed. Then she put numbers on them and put little presents in them. One was for each of the 12 days of Christmas. (The twelve days of Christmas begin on December 25).
Day1-homemade Chex mix
Day2-an ornament
Day3-post it notes
Day 4-a box of Reese's Pieces candy
Day 5-a pumpkin pie spice candle in a jar
Day 6-2 spools of thread
Day 7-2 pairs of blue socks
Day 8-a homemade needle case
Day 9-Chapstick
Day 10-a box of Reese's Pieces candy
Day 11-6 handmade cards
Day 12-some fabric for quilting

My sister Anita also got twelve bags and I will have to compare with her a bit more to see what she got-some of our gifts were the same, but she got tea bags in one of hers and that never showed up in mine (thankfully). I thought that maybe the Helen Reddy tape would show up in one of the bags. If someone was making bags for you, what are a few things that could be put in them?

58 books in 2008

I read 58 books for grown ups this year.

My favorite books of 2008 are...

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

Blue Heart Blessed by Susan Meissner

Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark

The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter

The Healer's Heart by Diane M. Komp

A Minute before Friday by Jo Kadlecek

Revelations of a Single Woman by Connally Gilliam

Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston

French by Heart by Rebecca S. Ramsey

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

This is the second time I read Revelations of a Single Woman and I have read Flabbergasted at least twice already... What are some great books that you read this year?

random list

10 things that I have done in my life that I would probably do again (well maybe not #7).

1. Chaperone teenagers on a trip overseas (to Jamaica)
2. Been to a Buddhist monastery in Mongolia (with my sister)
3. Driven halfway across the country alone (Minnesota to California and back several times)
4. Travelled overseas alone (to England)
5. Read more than 70 books (for adults) in one year
6. Learned how to quilt
7. Made a bridesmaid dress and wore it (for my brother's wedding)
8. Walked on the Great Wall of China (with my sister)
9. Started a book club
10. Read through the entire Bible

What about you?

what I read this summer

Here are the books that I read this summer.

• Skid by Rene Gutteridge
• Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner
• Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin
• Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn
• The Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman
• Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury
• A Mile in My Flip-Flops by Melody Carlson
• Coming Unglued by Rebecca Seitz
• A Minute Before Friday by Jo Kadlecek
• Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck
• Revelations of a Single Woman by Connally Gilliam
• The Shack by William P. Young
• Where the River Ends by Charles Martin
• Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston
• A Delirious Summer by Ray Blackston
• Lost in Rooville by Ray Blackston

My overall favorites were A Minute Before Friday, and Revelations of a Single Woman and the Ray Blackston books.

Has anyone read any of these books? What did you read this summer?

book club

Last year I started a book club...not sure why it took me so long to do that since I have been an avid reader since second or third grade. We have been meeting a little over a year, with a break in the summer and for Christmas. Anyway, the books that we have read so far are

• The End of the Spear by Steve Saint
• Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury
• One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
• Angry Housewives Eating BonBons by Lorna Landvik
• At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
• Scrap Everything by Leslie Gould
• In An Instant by Lee and Bob Woodruff
• A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
• Hamilton Heir by Valerie Hansen
• Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

The two books that I like the best are The End of the Spear and Like Dandelion Dust. As you can see by the titles, the book have been a mix of fiction and nonfiction. I think in May it will be my turn to bring the books. Does anyone have a recommendation for a book that would be good for a book club? Has anyone read any of the books that our book club has read?

6 things

Things that I would like to learn how to do

1. Stipple a quilt. For those who are not quilters, this is a kind of quilting that requires meandering. My quilting has been limited to straight lines.
2. Play the piano. I think this is something I would like to do...but I have never had any music lessons and don't know how it would go.
3. Play tennis. Maybe because this guy that liked me in college did. My friend Sarah plays, too, but she lives in California and is too far away to give me lessons.
4. Be content. That may take the rest of my life.
5. Swing dance. My dad might not be impressed with that one, but my friend knows how and loves it. It would be good exercise too.
6. Speak Spanish well. So I could have a conversation with native Spanish speakers. It would help me in my job, as all my students' parents are Spanish speaking.

What would you like to learn to do?

edit: I forgot to add to my list that I would like to learn how to swim. Yes, I live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. My students find it difficult to believe that their teacher cannot swim.

75 books

This picture shows 44 of the books that I read this year.

Here is how I would classify some of the books of 2007. I haven't included all of them, but you can also see that some of the books made more than one list.

Books Good for Anyone

• The End of the Spear by Steve Saint
• Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
• Bible
• It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh
• Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper

Best Nonfiction

• The End of the Spear by Steve Saint
• Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner
• Revelations of a Single Woman by Connally Gilliam
• It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

Good Books for a Book Club

• A Song I Knew By Heart by Bret Lott
• The Last Juror by John Grisham
• All in One Place by Carolyne Aarsen
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
• The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth

Books that I would read again

• Ghost Writer by Rene Gutteridge
• Ever After by Karen Kingsbury
• A Mile After Sunday by Jo Kadlecek
• It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh
• All in One Place by Carolyne Aarsen
• Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
• Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner
• Snitch by Rene Gutteridge
• Bible
• Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper
• The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth
• Revelations of a Single Woman by Connally Gilliam

Books that I would not recommend

• Saving Alice by David Lewis
• Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
• Cassidy by Lori Wick
• Adelaide Piper by Beth Webb Hart
• One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus

Happy New Year!

handmade gifts

Some years for Christmas (and other occasions) I have made handmade gifts for people instead of buying them. While I couldn't sleep last night, I wrote down all the handmade things that I could think of that I have either given or gotten as a gift. They include...

• address labels
• apron
• baby blanket
• bath mat
  
• bath salts
• bed skirt
• canned salsa
  
• cards
• Christmas cookies
• cinnamon rolls
• cookie mix
• dill pickles
  
• dress for a little girl
• fleece hats
• hot cocoa mix
• ornaments
• pen/pencil holder
• pillowcases
• pot holders
• purse
• quilt
• rag rug
• tote bag
  
• t-shirt decorated with pictures

I love getting handmade things. A few of the best ones have come from my sisters. One year Amanda made me over 100 handmade cards, and Kevin made address labels on the computer to go with them. Anita has made me a rag rug (one of the first ones she ever made) and a crocheted bath mat that matches my shower curtain.
Gifts that I have liked giving (though not always making) are pillowcases, little dresses, quilts, and cards.
What are some neat handmade gifts that you have gotten from others or that you have made to give away?

10 things I like

About two months ago I got a letter from my aunt and she asked me what I liked. I thought about it a long time...so long that she ended up sending me a birthday present before I answered. But here is a long thought out answer. IF you know me, at least some of these things should not be a surprise.

1. books
2. paper
3. snail mail
4. postage stamps
5. decorative boxes
6. music
7. lists
8. bath and body stuff
9. food
10. names

What things do you like?

summer is over

Summer is over for me. Not weather wise, but I went back to work today. Not a bad day-it was a lot of sitting, but it was also good to see some of my coworkers.
So I had 10 goals for this summer...I accomplished 6 of them.
The ones that I met are...

• Make 2 or more sets of cards for the card exchange I am part of-I got three sets done.
• Finish the blue and yellow quilt. I have been working on it for a long time.
• Go somewhere new. I have been lots of places I have not been, including Jamaica, and a bunch of towns in northern Minnesota.
• Memorize a chapter from the Bible. I memorized Psalm 121. If you see me in the near future, ask me to say it for you...it will help me keep it in my head.
• Clean out all 7 of my closets. I still have to find my other pair of scissors and my handheld solitaire game.
• Read less than 20 books. Here is a list of the 17 books that I did read.
  
  1. Tristan's Gap by Nancy Rue
  2. The Recital by Robert Elmer
  3. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
  4. The Sound of My Voice by Jo Kadlecek
  5. Tisha by Robert Specht
  6. Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce
  7. Adelaide Piper by Beth Webb Hart
  8. These Boots Weren't Made for Walking by Melody Carlson
  9. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  10. tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
  11. The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis
  12. The Englisher by Beverly Lewis
  13. The Brethren by Beverly Lewis
  14. The Penny by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford
  15. fair game by Elizabeth White
  16. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  17. The Last Juror by John Grisham

All the books were good-some were sad-Tristan's Gap, Adelaide Piper, Feeling for Bones, tuesdays with Morrie, The Poisonwood Bible, and The Recital. The funniest one was fair game. And the most suspenseful was The Last Juror.
Has anyone read/liked any of the above books?

The goals I didn't make were three craft related projects and learning more Spanish.

summer

My summer has been busy...I have only read 5 books since school got out, and I don't know when I will get a chance to finish another. This summer so far I have...

1. gone camping with my brother
2. had my niece and nephew (Mariah and Mark) overnight
3. attended two grad parties (for my cousins Greg and Christy)
4. gone to Michigan and drove back to Wisconsin with my sister, Zach, Parker, and Abby
5. made a lap size quilt for my friend in CA that got married
6. celebrated my birthday with the Jamaica group, my family at the farm, and then at the Mexican Village in St. Cloud, and lunch on Friday with Emili at Griff's
7. went to Patrick and Tricia's wedding reception
8. went to 11 Jamaica meetings (I think)
9. made chalk drawings on the Nybergs' cement in Michigan
10. packed a van very full of my sister's (and her family's) stuff

This is not in order, but this gives you an idea of what I have been doing. I am leaving for Jamaica on July 7 and will be back on July 18 if all goes well.

If you look at my sister's blog, you can see the quilt I made her two years ago when she turned 30. Her blog is at http://www.crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/

things to be happy about

• 9 days of school left
• My sister is moving to Hudson, Wisconsin (from Michigan) this summer. This is SO MUCH CLOSER.
• shorts from last summer that fit great
• spring flowers
• ice cream
• cute children's books- I read a couple by Mo Willems that made me smile. They are My Friend is Sad and Today I Will Fly!
• an inexpensive commute to work. I walk, and with gas prices at $3.29 a gallon, I am thankful I don't have to fill my tank often.