Books Should Be Made of Paper

Photo courtesy of Carmen Moreno.

 For as long as I can remember I have loved reading books.  I still have books that my parents read to me when I was little, many of my childrens' picture books, the Little House on the Prairie series that we each read 4-5 times, my own favorites that I love enough to read again, and LOTS of books that I'm saving for my nieces, nephews, and future grandchildren.  We are still a book-loving familly (Glenn read 6 books just last week!)... but now there is a conflict.  My husband has an ipad and has discovered ibooks!  He loves them but there's something disturbing about that trend to me.

Photo courtesy of http://selinalake.blogspot.com/.

I think it reminds me of Star Trek.   Much of our technology seems to be beyond what they had now!  But remember how Captain Kirk had an antique book and pair of reading glasses?  

I heard recently that Amazon.com now sells more ebooks that physical books.    And our Borders recently closed.  I'm guessing because people aren't buying books anymore.  Where am I going to sit and read and drink coffee now?  

Well, I'm still buying books!  And reading them.  And decorating with them.  I'm sharing some of my favorite book photos from Pinterest.  Don't just leave your books on the shelf.  Stack them on tables or the floor, lay them on the coffee table,  open them to your favorite part...

As you saw in a recent post, I'll have some books available for sale on my shelves at Room With a Past next week.  There are some great titles for teachers!  This photo below was one of my favorites.  Reminds me of when I used to read paperbacks in the tub and they'd get all soggy.  You can't do that with an ipad!  :-)

I'll leave you with a quote from Ray Bradbury and let you make up your own mind about ebooks/ibooks, ‎"(in response to Kindle) Those aren’t books. You can’t hold a computer in your hand like you can a book. A computer does not smell. There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better. It smells like ancient Egypt. A book has got to smell. You have to hold it in your hands and pray to it. You put it in your pocket and you walk with it. And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry."  

Photo from kohler.com

Back-to-School Books

Getting ready for the next sale at Room With a Past already!  I love decorating with books and I'm always looking for books with interesting titles.  My favorite is, Mental Hygiene in Teaching!

What is Felting?

Yesterday I shared this photo on Facebook of my cat laying next to a felted dryer ball.   Jenn asked me what "felted" meant.  Here's a definition I found online:

"What is Felt? Very simply, felt is matted wool. Wool becomes felt when it is subjected to moisture, heat, and pressure. (In fact, if domestic sheep were not shorn, over time their wool would felt or "cot".) Hot soapy water makes the wool slippery, and causes tiny scales on the fiber to "open up". The scales prevent the fibers from backing up again after they slide across each other; with agitation, the fibers get hopelessly tangled together. When cooled and dried, the scales close and lock the wool into the tough, durable material we call felt."

Here's a close up of the felted dryer balls I made last year.  It's a lot of fun to make them.  Just roll 100% wool yarn in a small, tight ball.  Stick in a pair of panty hose.  Tie a knot before adding another ball.  I used an old pair of knee highs & put about 4 balls in each one.  Then run them through the washer & dryer with several loads of your clothes.  Hot water & a hot dryer temp are good, too.  After doing that a few times the yarn will start to look like felt & all stick together.  Then you can take them out of the panty hose & use them in your dryer to fluff up your clothes.

I've also run a few old wool sweaters through the washer & dryer.  Just getting ready for some projects.  But I haven't made any yet.  I've bought some fun old wool sweaters at the thrift store for $1-3 that I wouldn't mind cutting apart.

I did buy this book with lots of ideas of felted things to make.  I love Betz White's books & her blog.  Lots of really cute ideas!  

280 Crochet Shell Patterns

I have more crocheted afghan photos but Blogger isn't letting me upload them right now. So since several people have asked about the last afghan I showed I thought I'd show you where I found the pattern. It's from one of my favorite crochet books - 280 Crochet Shell Patterns by Leisure Arts. I love shell patterns because it's just the same thing over & over. Nice to do while we watch TV... I don't have to think too much about it.

I'll try uploading the photos again tomorrow. It's almost time for our Monday night TV shows and that's my crochet time. :-)

Shopping on Saturday

I bought another dress today.  Jordi & Glenn like it better than the navy one.  Lauren hasn't seen it yet.  Best of all, I bought it at TJ Maxx for $100 less than the price tag!  I saved so much money that I bought Jordann another sewing book.  (With my 50% off coupon, of course!)

And another thing I was going to share with you... one of the reasons I got so much crocheting done last week was the Andy Griffith Show marathon.  Still one of my favorite TV shows.  I know there are other AG fans out there.  Have y'all seen him in the Brad Paisley music video?  Take a look here.  It didn't win the CMT video award, but it's the one I voted for.  :-)

My New Crochet Book

I haven't done any crocheting since I finished my pillow.  But I did buy a new book of crochet patterns!  It has 30 different stitches that all look pretty easy.  But for each stitch it shows 3 different color combinations to make them look completely different.  I can already see more pillows with some of these stitches & others would look great as scarves.  I may pull out some yarn and start something tonight.  Stay tuned...

Book Review - A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

I was going to post some more photos from the pumpkin patch but Blogger won't let me right now.  So instead I'll recommend one of my favorite books to you.  I first read A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23  when I was in high school.  Lauren received it as a graduation gift but left it here when she went to school.  I found it & decided to read it again before I send it to L.  It's a small book, quick & easy to read.    It'll make you really think about the words to Psalm 23.

I think I'll make J read it before I mail it.   (Sorry, Lauren!)  She left some other books here, too, that I think I'll read before I send them to her.  

If you've never read this book, I highly recommend it!

Wednesday Update

The temp got up to 99 degrees today. I knew it felt hotter than 95. The pool felt good tonight!!!

Lauren's graduation is June 9, Jordann's is June 10. Which is very convenient for anyone coming out from Texas!

Jordann also got her schedule via email today. She's taking English, History, Physical Science, Algebra/Geometry, PE, Bible, Latin/Logic, and her electives are Classic Films, C. S. Lewis, and Art History (1 per trimester).

We found a REALLY fun book today, too. Some of the things in here reminded me of what Grandmama used to make. We're thinking about making a few of them. Especially the notebook made from album covers! I wanted the girls to make the popsicle stick purse but couldn't convince them.

Food, Flowers, and Books

Aren't summers supposed to be calmer and quieter? We're having a busy week! I haven't taken any photos so I'm sharing some that I took last week and I don't think I've blogged them yet. The photo above is Jordann's salsa. Delicious!!! Better than any jarred salsa out there! I told you she was making enchiladas last Thursday. She decided to spice them up a little and add pepper jack cheese on top. There was some left over so we used it on the macaroni and cheese that I made the next day. Imagine Great's mac-n-cheese with pepper jack on top! It was good!!!

These photos are taken around our house. I'm not sure what the flower above is. The clematis below is the one on my patio that was so amazing in the spring. It took a break from blooming and now is blooming again. Not as much or as large as before, but it's still beautiful.

I ordered the book below right before I went to Texas on vacation. It's one of the books I read on the plane. I highly recommend it. I love the idea of using words in scrapbook pages and altered art projects. And, LOOK, there's a used copy for only $4.00! (One thing I love about using Amazon.)