Share and Share Alike?

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman really strikes a chord with me. One of my favorite chapters is the very first one: "Marrying Libraries". Fadiman begins by telling us how long she and her husband have been together, yet they've never combined their libraries. The rest of the chapter tells delightfully how they finally married their libraries.

Ray and I have been married 31 years, but our libraries have never wed. This is my fault entirely. Ray does not care one whit about where his books are, or how they are ordered. Although I freely admit to reading all classes of books (high-bred down to trash), I shudder to think of putting his books among my own.

In our current home, we have a room that serves as a library. It houses my books. The adult fiction and non-fiction are arranged alphabetically by author on one wall with a short shelf of reference and cartoon books at the very end. The juvenile fiction (alphabetical by author) and picture books (randomly, sort of by size) are on another wall. There is also a small section that contains some Church books, arranged alphabetically by author.

Ray and I also have a tall bookshelf in our bedroom. The left side is mine, the right side is his. The top three shelves on my side have books I own that I have not yet read. They are arranged in a way that would make no sense to anyone else, but it's a system of prioritizing for me. The order shifts constantly. The bottom three shelves hold some reference books I keep thinking I might use someday, and our wedding photos. The right side (Ray's) has a bunch of books shoved on the shelves in no order whatsoever. He also has a bunch of books in his office (also in our home) and random piles of books on the top of our bed frame.

When I need a book I can usually locate it quickly. When Ray needs a book he just starts pulling books off his shelves until he finds the one he wants. Last week Ray wanted to loan some of his books to our nephew David. He found several and handed them to David. I didn't think anything of it at the time.

It's been a busy week. I've hardly had time to breathe, much less pay any attention to the house (and it shows). This morning I glanced at the bookshelf in our bedroom, and did a double take. My first thought was "who put those books on MY shelf?" There are five or six extra books in a pile on my top shelf. I glanced at Ray's shelves. Aha! there were gaps which would add up to those five or six books. Then I remembered the books he loaned to David. I'm sure he moved those books out of the way to find the books for David. Then he forgot to put them back. He probably thought it wouldn't matter to me if his books were on my shelf. It certainly wouldn't matter to him if my books were on his shelf.

I thought I was getting better about sharing. After all, I share chocolate with Ray now. But I still can't bring myself to share shelf space for our books. Maybe someday. Maybe not.

It does help that he's oblivious to the whole matter.

The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert

I really like Susan Wittig Albert's books. I have enjoyed the China Bayles series for years. The Beatrix Potter series is fun. I liked the first book in this Darling Dahlias series.

But this one was just okay for me. I like the characters, but I felt I was getting just a little too much information on the Depression and way of life then. The story wasn't very plausible, and didn't move along very quickly. At sixty pages from the end I was wondering when the mystery was going to unfold. Or even be presented.

Maybe the next one will be back up to par.

Block of the Month Quilt 2011

This year's block of the month quilt didn't really set me on fire. I liked the blocks just fine, but couldn't find the energy to figure out a wonderful way to set all the blocks into a striking quilt. In fact, I had decided I wouldn't even finish it, and would save the time for sewing something I really wanted to sew.

Then I had an extended email conversation with Ray's cousin Kim. She had an idea of somehow using a quilt as an object lesson in church, illustrating how each individual with their own talents is a vital part of the world. Even though they are unique, they still are part of a beautiful whole. Well, we batted around several ideas, and I sent off photos of several quilts, and none really seemed to fit her idea exactly. Finally I said, I have these blocks, and could put them together... Well, from there a few more ideas came to mind, and we decided that was the best plan. 

Then I sent a photo with the blocks on my design wall. Did she want the blocks sewn directly together, or with a narrow sashing between? She chose the sashing, saying she would call that the Faith,  Hope, and Charity that we all share that binds us together as individuals. I have to tell you, she has some amazing ideas. I wish I could hear her lesson. 

I have a whole new appreciation for this quilt. It is simple, but now has some meaning for me. I will never look at it the same way again.

I guess we could carry that into the lesson - isn't that how it is when we get to know and love people? They may not have impressed us initially, but once we know who they truly are we see them through clearer eyes.

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

I was browsing the list of Newbery winners recently, and noticed this book on the Newbery honor list. I've only ever know Tomie dePaola as a picture book illustrator, so the book sparked my interest.

I requested it from the library and had it in just a few days.

The book is dePaola's autobiography. Or rather, the start of it. It turns out that there are several books now in the series, and I found it delightful. It took me less than an hour to read, and I was captivated the whole time. I giggled, I was intrigued, and couldn't put it down.

Tonight I requested all the books in the series from my library. I can't wait to read the rest of them.  If your child is not old enough to read it by himself, it's worth reading out loud to him. It's a short chapter book with illustrations so it fits that difficult category of books between picture books and long chapter books for children who have just caught the burning desire to read everything in sight. And if your child doesn't like to read, this may spark that burning desire.

Pictures

I found out the reason my camera wouldn't take good pictures is that the lens had a problem and needs repair. So we are in the process of having it repaired. Meanwhile, Ray found a longer telephoto lens for me on KSL (equivalent to Craig's List). It's a 55-200 mm (the regular lens is 18-105 mm). I took the camera with me to Wendover for the half marathon, and had fun trying out the new lens. 

The result was an overabundance of photos, a mere pittance of which I chose to post here. So you can imagine how many pictures that was.

Austin

Elizabeth

Madeleine

Diane

Matthew

Diane

Diane

Madeleine

Austin

Audrey and Joseph

Audrey and Diane (me)

Audrey and Joseph

Debra

Elizabeth, post orange Powerade

Diane and Debra

Madeleine, Diane, Elizabeth - playing ring-around-the-rosy

Audrey and Diane

Audrey, Diane, Debra

Salt Flats Half Marathon

Last Saturday Audrey ran in the Salt Flats Half Marathon. She's only been running since January, so that was quite an accomplishment. Debra and I drove out to Wendover early Saturday morning with Madeleine and Diane so we could be there to cheer for Audrey when she came in. 

Audrey did better than she expected to, and I thought it was an amazing feat. I certainly couldn't do that right now. I'm so proud of her!

I took lots and lots of pictures. Here are a few to give you an idea of the venue. They ran 6.55 miles out, and 6.55 miles back. The Salt Flats are just that, flat. Audrey said she could even see the curvature of the earth as she ran (as a point of interest, Wendover is one of very few spots in the world where that is possible).

And yes, the Salt Flats are salt. I had to wash the car thoroughly when I got home to avoid any corrosion, and the floor mats on my car had piles of salt from our shoes (looked like little piles of snow). 

The start and finish line

We just set up "camp" and could relax while waiting

These are my ragamuffin grandchildren (Audrey's children) - Elizabeth, Matthew, Austin

Elizabeth

Debra, Diane, Madeleine. It was VERY windy.

Our friend Jannette Perry also ran - here she is coming in.

Diane and Madeleine, pretty impervious to the wind

Here comes Audrey! (the one on the right in the blue shirt)

Finishing strong

Audrey

Audrey

Jannette and Audrey

Way to go, girls!

Spellweaver by Lynn Kurland

This book is #5 in the Nine Kingdoms series. The first three were a trilogy, and it looks like the second three are also going to be a trilogy.

I've had this book for a while, and just couldn't seem to fit it into my reading schedule. I picked it up last week, and promptly lost myself in another world and time.

Lynn's books always have some good romance in them to keep my interest. I'm ready for the next book in the series - I want to find out what happens - but it's not due out until January. I've already pre-ordered it.