Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Windy Wednesday


The wind is blowing a gale today. The little finches are hanging on to the feeder perches for dear life. They must have remarkable balance and strength in their little bodies. I'm having a cup of tea before I brave the wind to run a few errands. 

Whether our grandsons and I sit side by side or FaceTime, we love to read. Sometimes they request a specific title and sometimes I offer them a choice from the nearby basket of books or the stack on the coffee table. From time to time I choose books to match the season. Micah, the guy who wants new hats, suggested we read a different Christmas book this season. I admire this new adventurous spirit. Last night I read Santa Mouse, a favorite since his mother was a toddler. Once I began, I could almost recite it by heart. Soon I hope to read one of Patricia Polocco's Christmas books. Polacco writes longer texts that often combine two cultural traditions. She also illustrates her books and they are beautiful. Two of her other titles, Thank You Mr. Falker and The Junkyard Wonders speak to her experience of overcoming dyslexia. 


I am enjoying an old collection of short historical pieces called Christmas in the Midwest by Clarence Andrews. The book was published in 1984 by Midwest Heritage Publishing Company in Iowa City, Iowa. This light seasonal reading is a combination of fiction and nonfiction. The endpaper is a copy of artwork by Ted Kooser, who was born in Iowa but has lived in Nebraska most of his life. Interestingly, none of his poetry or prose appears in this book. The businesses have names that I suspect hold meaning for him. The large store on the bottom right is labeled, "Younkers," a department store that originated in Iowa but currently has locations in Omaha and Lincoln. Kooser's father worked at a Younkers in Iowa. Once I heard him read an essay about making Christmas bows at the store when he was a boy.




I am ready to knit the decreases on Micah's hat and nearing the end of the Contrail Shawl. I have never done a Christmas Eve cast-on but this might be the year. Maybe the wind will blow in an idea for the next project. 

Link - Kat and the Unravelers   

6 comments:

  1. I love imagining you reading to your grands :) Love the art work of the picture book! Sounds like you are going to be shipping out that hat all to soon enough.

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  2. I just love your Christmas book tradition! I must renew my interest in children's hoilday books . THey were my favorites to read to my kids. There was one called HAPPY WINTER that a friend gave mykids and we LOVEd it. I started, Happy Winter Rise and Shine, I love the early morning time. :)

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  3. I love reading to Genevieve via FaceTime! It makes the distance seem manageable!

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  4. My fave Christmas books are sitting on the table in the LR, waiting for a certain little 3.5 year old boy to come over and sit a spell...and I also hope to take him to the bookstore to pick out a new one or two or three books. Love the knitting...you are making progress and seems like peaceful days ahead before the Day!
    Enjoy them all!
    Cheers~

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  5. christmas children's books really are the BEST, aren't they??? Have you come across Penguin and Pinecone? One of my favorites!

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