Thursday, April 28, 2011

Old stories

If you are like me, life may not afford you the time to sit down and read an entire book in one sitting.  And, if you are like me, you may find that you think about the story or the characters during the day when you aren't reading that book.  So, if you are like me, and you take a gander at the news online when you aren't reading, you might find it particularly cool to come across a news story that ties in perfectly with the book you have been reading!

I am making my way through People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks.  As someone who loves both history and books, I am really enjoying this history of a very old book!  I haven't finished it yet but was excited to see this story online, a few days ago!  I can't help but wonder about the past of this 500-year-old Nuremberg Chronicle!  They say it proves that you never really know what you have in your basement but, as we are the first owners of our current home, I'm pretty certain ours contains nothing but insulation and dust! 

I am constantly telling my husband when the homes near my daughter's school put "for sale" signs out.  (Those homes are well over 100 years old.)  I love the unique design of each house, love to think about the stories the house could tell, wonder about who lived there during the last century but I'd never even thought about what might be left in the attics!  (I'll never know.  Where I see old charm, old stories and character, my husband sees old pipes, lack of central air and pending roof repairs!)

People of the Book offers a fictional history of a real codex.  Hanna Heath,  an Australian rare-book expert is offered the chance to examine and restore a 500-year-old codex, the Sarajevo Haggadah.  During her examination, she finds a small insect wing, a stain on one of the pages and what appears to be salt on one page.  In the chapters that follow, the book alternates between Hanna's life and people of other centuries--illuminating both what their lives were like back then and how they left their mark on the text.

Speaking of texts, it's time to get back to revising my own, unless I take yet another break to finish reading!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Whether the weather bothers you or not...

...it bothers my kids.

The tornado warning ended officially at 10:15pm but tell that to the kids!  We are all fine but they have pulled the sofa beds out in the basement and are quite comfy!

A house on the next street over WAS hit by lightning today so I guess I can see where they'd be a little concerned.  Guess I'm not getting much work done and/or sleep for a bit...

...but we're good.  Goodnight!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

April showers, May flowers...June books?

April showers bring May flowers...and might help budding books grow, too!

Since my last post, I spent most of my time on the computer planning our spring break vacation, then changing those plans, changing them again and finally going back to plan A.  After plan A (driving down to Destin, FL) was arranged, we spent the next week there.  The weather was not expected to cooperate but it did, and it was a much needed break from the still-winter weather here.

Since our return, I have accomplished some spring cleaning, helped with field trips and service projects, read and started planning our summer vacation. ;) 

It's time to get back in gear!  Especially as our next trip may take us back down closer to where my "other" book is set.  The "other" book is the one I began during NaNo in 2010.  It flowed nicely, seemed easy to write, but I keep putting it off, feeling like I should organize and polish the first one that I've been working on forever.  (It just might be time for me to admit that if another book is actually easier to write, I should focus on that one!)

Spring is here, I think.  After sunshine and record temps on Sunday, the rains came and cooled everything back down again.  But the sun is out today, flowers are blooming and a few new ideas are budding, too.  It's time to help a book grow!