Book of the Week

I just can't resist shating books I love! Here's my picks for this weekend.

Creative Discovery
Remember Elder Uchtdorf's talk in the RS broadcast in the fall? It has become hands down one of my very favourite conference talks. Talk about empowering! As a writer, it was so encouraging to hear that creative pursuits can be aided and encouraged by our Father in heaven. Read the talk if you don't know it, I like to review it every few months or so, but as it is not a book, let me come to the point. Julia Cameron's book "The Artist's Way" is like the how-to guide to apply the principles discussed by Elder Uchtdorf. The book could be considered self-help in that it gently prods and encourages readers to develop their creativity, but by seeking God's help to do so. I confess that I was skeptical-until I read it. Since then, I have been sharing the title with others. Elena has found it helpful too. I've kept recommending it to my friend Eva so often that I finally just bought her a copy. She was under the misunderstanding that it was some hippie, New Age blather, but then I showed her the chapter headings; Recovering a Sense of Safety, Strength, Integriy, Possibility, etc. I think it was that which convinced to her to actually read it. Here's a book for all children of God's children- and He is the ultimate artist.

Where's the Bear?
I'd say that all of us are familiar with the classic story of "Going on a Bear Hunt" and it's innumerable variations. They're about a dime a dozen for all the versions that are out there. My ultimate favourite for this one is Helen Oxenbury's version. She effectively captures the lilt and metre of the story which makes it so fun, and her pencil and watercolour illustrations of a daddy taking his four kids on an adventure are great. To be honest, the scenery of the pictures remind me of home here in Slave Lake (and yes, there actually are bears up here!) The touch of running across a blizzard while on the bear hunt really makes me smile, and makes me wonder if Oxenbury had Canada in mind when she put it in there.

Happy reading everybody!

Clutter's Last Stand

Obviously, I have not been keeping the blog current lately, but sadly moving will do that to ya. We are now reasonably settled into our new townhouse (if you ignore the odd boxes still stacked here and there) and Jason has received a renewed contract to teach at the high school next year. Hooray! While it's great that he gets to keep this good job, I will admit that what I'm mostly excited about is that this means we don't have to move for at least another year. Definently worth celebrating.
With all of the hubbub with moving our things into our new home, it was reinforced to me yet again just how much stuff we actually have. As I'm laboring to unpack I can't help but wonder "Why the heck do we have so much junk?!" Mind you, this move I got smart and dejunked beforehand sending at least half a dozen garbagebags to Goodwill, and that was great except we still have lots more left! One problem is that both Jason and are are packrats, but when it comes to getting rid of things I'm much more willing and ruthless. Most of the debris accumulates around Jason's desk-I filled a few boxes with it. However, as much as I would like to just purge it all when he's not looking I've learned from experience that this is not a wise policy with your husband's stuff (just ask Jason what happened to the two boxes of his Star War novels if you want the story).
The question is, how do I get rid of this clutter before is consumes the house? At least right now it is all neatly contained into boxes, but the thought of actually unpacking them makes me cringe. Jason has been lovingly informed that dealing with these little terrors is his job, but you know what they say about things being out of sight. All I can say is that if these boxes survive until our next move I plan to incinerate them in a massive bonfire. There they'll be, going up in a blaze of glory, and me, doing a celebratory victory dance around it!

Book of the Week

Here we are once again. Today once school's out, we're packing up the kids for the long trek to Medicine Hat. It's been ages since we visited the family down there and we're all excited, especally as they have sunny forecasts while ours here in Slave Lake is predicting more snow!
With our upcoming move I am currently in the deplorable condition that most of my books are in boxes. As such, I foresee that I shall become an even more frequent user at our local library. Anyways, here's some good reads.

Knitting Fun:
Unbelievably, I have thus far not mentioned any knitting books on here! This gets remedied now with "Knit 2 Together" by Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark. Don't discount this one (even if you don't actually knit!) Not only is this book crammed with fun projects that set your fingers itching to knit them up, but it's full of fun stories, anecdotes and useful tips about the craft. I've used this book a lot; the cabled legwarmers (or in Ivy's case armwarmers), the baseball tee sweater, etc. and I'm not finished with it yet either. Good fun even just to read and flip through.

Toy Time:
Mo Willems is possibly one of the funniest children writers of the decade. He started out writing for Sesame Street, but has now turned his attention to books. Although justly famous for his hilarious Pigeon books, we first discovered him through his book "Knuffle Bunny". Not many weeks go by before we sign this one out of the library yet again-probably high time that we got our own copy. After an exciting adventure to the laundromat with Daddy, the trip home becomes dramatic once Trixie realizes that her beloved toy is missing. Her attempts at communication coupled with the pictures makes for a wonderful story. Parents and kids alike will chuckle over this one.

Happy reading all!

My Inner Princess

Well, we had an awesome weekend in Calgary. It was so great seeing all the family, especially the returned missionary Janine! We went to the zoo, visited with everybody, and ended up eating a lot of yummy food at the Sunday brunch  Mom threw together before church. 

One of my favourite things that we did though was our traditional princess party on Saturday night. The princess party has a long and illustrious history in the Redd family. It all started fourteen years ago when Mom and Dad left town for the weekend. Jaima got the idea that we should make something especially fancy and yummy for dinner, and we all ended up even dressing up for the occassion (can you guess as what?) to eat. This is what can happen in a family with five girls (but I shan't tell other goofy things we got up to, at least not in this blog.) 

Over the years it has become a beloved tradition for  us. Now though, we have to make a contingency plan for the boys in the clan, since the male population in the family has grown prodigously in the past few years. It's become simpler now, generally we go out for supper (sparing us the work of cooking and cleaning), and some other fun activity whether it's hiking, shopping, facials and pedicures, or just watching Jane Austen movies. This time we were joined by some dear family friends, Aurora van Buren (our unoffically adopted sister) and Kyley and Kari Attfield. We did facials-much to the hilarity of Ben and Blake, who in their three-year old sophistry could not understand why something like that qualifies for fun. Brigham in particular seemed intrigued with my temporarily green face! The highlight was the incredible pink princess cake concocted by Kyley, complete with a cookie crown perched on the top.

I'm quite fond of the princess parties. Growing up in a family of girls did not prepare me for my current family situation where I am the only female around. Every now and then I need to indulge and do something ultra girly, and spending time with my  Mom,sisters, and old friends is always a great. Saturday's princess party accomplished both. Sometimes every girl needs to get back in touch with her inner princess.

Book of the Week

I'm very excited to go to Calgary this weekend for Janine's homecoming. We haven't seen her since she came home, and the boys hardly know her at all. Although Ben says he remembers his Auntie Janine, all he seems to know about her is that she was a missionary in Finland and met Santa Claus! Briggy was only two months when she left, so for him it'll be like meeting her for the first time. Anyways, we have a 5 1/2 hour drive ahead of us this afternoon, which will give me plenty of time to read...

Modern Manners:

It was my sister Jaima who first introduced me to the witty columnist Judith Martin, famous worldwide by her pen name of Miss Manners. Ever since then, I've been hooked. I just love her book "Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior". Her wry humor and astute observations make for an amusing read. Most etiquette books are as dull as ditch water, but Miss Manners sparkles with captivating satire. She enlightens us in many a manners dilemma; from answering the Great Fork Question (which fork do you use?), airplane manners, how to properly eat anything from corn on the cob to crab, etc. This book is both informative and a delight.

Pleasing Poetry:

In my first student teahing I was aghast at how my cooperating teacher had set up an entire unit of poetry. It was merely "Here's a couplet-write one. Here's a haiku-now write one of those" and for some inexplicable reason, all their poems had to be about space. Talk about sucking the fun out of it! I know normally poetry seems reserved for academia and superior intellectuals but I really dislike that. Poetry-especially that for children-is grand fun, and too often ignored. I for one love A.A.Milne's book "Now We Are Six". While A.A.Milne is mostly remembered for his books about Winne the Pooh, his poetry is some of the best that children's literature has to offer. Ben's favourite is "Knight-in-Armor", and there's just so many wonderful poems in this book!
Here's a sampling (from "Binker" about an imaginary friend):

Binker's brave as lions when we're running in the park;

Binker's brave as tigers when we're lying in the dark;

Binker's brave as elephnts. He never, never cries...

Except (like other people) when the soap gets in his eyes.

Happy reading everybody!

Parenting:Commence Hyperventilating Now

Late last week I had an awful moment as a mother. On of those moments where you're convinced something truly awful will happen and your poor children will be left permanently scarred. Gather round dear readers and hear my tale of trouble...
It was on of those rare times where I was actually using the van (don't need it too much around town when it's so small). We had a bunch of errands to run, and with Brigham being my little crab, I judged that the driving would be more judicious and less of a headache. Oh the irony! Our new van is a four door, so after buckling up Briggy, Ben and I went around to buckle him up too. Great was my surprise to discover that the door was locked. The surprise turned to horror when I discovered (about a split second later) that all the doors had mysteriously locked, leaving brigham trapped inside-along with any method I might have of rescuing him on my own. Both the keys and my purse were also within the van.
Trying not to panic, Ben and I raced to the next apartment, hoping frantically that my friend Theresa was home so that I could use her phone to call Jason. She was, and on the verge of tears I called Jason to come to the rescue. Then, fearing for Brigham's safety we dashed back to the van to await Jason's arrival. He, the teacher ditched class, borrowed the secretary's car, and raced home and rescued our imprisoned son. Ironically, although his Mummy was a worried bundle of nerves, Brigham handled the entire episode quite calmly. When I got back to the van, there he was, sitting tanquilly with his hands in his lap. I'm guessing that he at least escaped the event without any emotional scarring-as for myself, not so much.
In retrospect, it could have been so much worse. The weather could have been frigid or sweltering, Theresa could've been away, or Jason's school more than the three blocks away from home that it is. But still! Did I panic perhaps a bit too much? Probably. Though I did not lose it during the entire affair I was worried sick and have felt awful about it ever since. I am a mother; therefore I worry.
Still, life goes on, except now I always keep the keys in my hands while buckling the kids up!

Books of the Week

Well my fellow readers here we are again. Take a look at this weeks picks.

Bizarre Botany:
A few years ago I developed a taste for non-fiction and it has since become the most dominant form of books that I read. There are some fascinating reads out there in the non-fiction section, and "Orchid Fever: A Tale of Love, Lust and Lunacy" by Eric Hansen is one of the most fascinating that I've found so far. I just finished reading it this week. Hansen delves deep into the zany, passionate characters that inhbit the orchid world-most of whom would seem more at home in a novel than the real world. There's the infamous (though possibly maligned) orchid pirate Henry Azadehal, the orchid man Eric Nelson who spends his time rescuing wild orchids from road construction in the wilds of Minnesota and many more. What intrigued me about this book was the conservation aspect that has ensnared orchids worldwide. I would not call myself an enviromentalist, but the bureaucracy and red tape that basically does squat to protect these plants. With this coupled with the orchid people is worthy of a good screenplay. Did you know that it is next to impossible to take endangered species of orchids across borders, all in the interests of preserving them in their native habitat? The irony is that while you can't take orchids out-even for scientific study-there are no measures to protect them in the wild, so that these flowers are regularly plowed over in construction projects.
Reading this book left me itching to buy myself an archid. You know, to see what all the fuss is about.

Move Over Wonderland:
Pierre Burton's book "The Secret World of Og" is shockingly unknown by many, even in his native country where it has been lauded as a "Canadian classic". This is one that I'm just waiting for Ben to be old enough so that we can start reading it together. In my family growing up it was an adored favourite. The story goes that Mom bought it for Jaima when she was in Grade 1 and learning to read. The plan was to read it to her, but before she had the chance, Jaima got her hands on it and read the entire thing on her own! I guess that it was so good she just had to learn to read. It's the perfect book when you want to start a child on chapter books: great characters, exciting story and pictures on every page (Ben loves just looking at the pages of this one).
The story centers on four siblings who set out to rescue their baby brother after he mysteriously disappears from the playhouse. Accompanied by their stalwart pets they dicover a trapdoor that leads them to the Secret World of Og, a land covered by incredible mushrooms, and green inhabitants who love taking anything left out of doors in our own world, and who's only word is "Og"!
I just love the characters. There's the children;Penny the oldest and leader, dreamy Pam, Patsy who keeps snakes and frogs in her pockets, Peter who wants to be a garbageman, and the baby Paul who thinks he's a dog. The Ogs; the rascally Captain Hook as he calls himself and the Sheriff. The pets are great fun too, there's Yukon King, their tiny dog who's convinced that he's a mighty mastiff, and the cat Earless Osdick who thinks he's a dog. Throw them all together in this adventure and you get one wonderful story!
Maybe I have been burbling overly long about this one, but this book deserves to be read and better known by all. Happy reading everybody.