Weather and Books

28°f/-2.2°C, mostly clear all day. Nice enough to open the doors and let in some fresh air, but chilly in the shade. High was about 44.

It sounds like we all need to brace for a humdinger of a weekend ahead, at least weatherwise. We have been preparing---extra milk, water stored, feed for the animals, snow shovel on the porch, tractor ready to go, generator checked, etc, etc. We have plenty of projects lined up to keep us busy too, so we won't be bored. The only concerning thing in the forecast is the possibility of rain and ice Sunday. That could be very bad indeed. But there is nothing to do about that except be prepared, and hope it doesn't happen!

A friend on Facebook asked about our favorite children's books, and that question certainly stirred some memories.  How about you? Any favorites come to mind?

I found that I had too many favorites to pick just one. Little Women and the other Alcott books, The Little House on the Prairie series, Nancy Drew, Sue Barton (she was a nurse, and the series followed her from her student nurse days and on through her career). Also the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Boxcar Children, Grimm's Fairy Tales....and on and on. I remember that one day in the library, I had read every book I wanted to in the children's section, so I moved across to the adult section. The librarian, Kathryn Connor I think her name was, just smiled at me. The first book I checked out that day was a biography of Anne Boleyn.  I think I was 10. It was an eye-opener for a sheltered Catholic girl!

When I was 11, I found a big stash of books in our attic that had belonged to my grandma. They were best sellers from the 20s, 30s, and 40s. I read them all that summer; that's where I found Janice Holt Giles, whose books I loved.  They were about a city woman ending up in the mountains. I would look out the half-moon window of our attic in Manassas at the distant Bull Run Mountains and dream about living in the mountains myself one day. At 23, I moved here, and have never looked back.

I do not remember any picture books being around. I read all the time, but all I remember is chapter books and story collections. Wait, I remember The Little House, and it was one of my favorites. Also Little Golden Books---Little Black Sambo, The Gingerbread Man, so many others. So I suppose those definitely were picture books! Books in our house were well-used and by the time the younger ones got them, those childhood books were probably in tatters.  

Last Fall I gave my old copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales to a granddaughter. The book was quite beaten up, the spine loose, and my name in a childish scrawl, written in crayon. I loved that book, and still enjoy fairytales. This morning, I had my tea in a "Fairy Dell" teacup, made by Copeland china in England. Just the name sent me back to my young days, and I recalled the happy expectation that perhaps, just perhaps, a fairy might be lurking somewhere nearby. 

Well, enough nattering! Today was a hard one, lots of work so I am really tired, and treating myself to Chardonnay in a very pretty wineglass. Tomorrow is booth day, so I will soon be in bed, and, I hope, sleeping soundly!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.