The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

I wanted to recommend this book I just finished. I saw it in a Scholastic Book Order and it looked good but had a disclaimer that it had "mature content" so I wanted to read it before my kids. I loved it so much that now I'm reading it aloud to them. The mature content refers to some graphic war references. I might gloss over that when we get to it, but probably not.

It is about an 11 year-old girl living in Texas at the turn of the last century. She has 6 brothers and no sisters. She is interested in nature study and science but she is expected to learn cooking and sewing so she can grow up and run a household.

I loved the humor that is throughout the story. The author is a practicing physician and lawyer and this is her first novel. I hope it's not her last!

I noticed that most of this book can be read on Google books but I have a hard time snuggling up to the computer to read a good book so let me know if you'd like to borrow it!

Another Quiet Book Idea

My sister sent me this link on how to make your own texture book. I'm excited to try it (after my next trip to Hobby Lobby, of course).

Paperback Swap

I don't know if you already know this, but I thought I'd let you know about a neat site called Paperback Swap. It's a place where you can swap books that you're done with for books you'd like. Here's how it works: You create an account and list 10 books that you would be willing to trade. When you've done that you get two free credits to use towards books you want. You can search through what is already listed and request a book for each credit you have. Then someone somewhere gets an e-mail that you are requesting their book. They print a wrapper with your name and address on it, wrap the book, stick on postage and put it in the mail. When you get it in the mail you confirm you have received it and then the person who sent it earns one credit. And then when someone requests a book that you have you do the same and earn a credit. Postage is usually about $2.40 which is less than new book. Also, there aren't just paperbacks. There are also hardbacks and audiobooks. (I think the audiobooks are 2 credits.)

We love books around here but we don't want to live with all of them for the rest of our lives (but you should see how many we do want to live with! ;o) ). Paperback Swap has been a great way to get rid of them while acquiring more for a good price!

Online Radio

I'm probably one of the last ones to know about this but I discovered the online radio station Pandora and love it.  It's kind of amazing.  You just type in a favorite artist and it finds that one and others in the same genre and plays them one after another.  Then you can keep that radio station and have several others and you can combine your radio stations for variety.  Pretty cool.  It's gotten me through a lot of hours at work.

Pandora Internet Radio

Simple Drawstring Bag

Here are instructions to sew a simple drawstring bag. They are so handy to use for toys, games, and puzzles, or even as gift bags.

First, cut two rectangles of fabric. I used 14" x 15".

With right sides together, sew along three sides of the rectangle.

Next fold down the top edge about 1/4" and press with an iron. Then fold it down again about 3/4" and press again. This will enclose the raw edges along the top.

Now sew along the edge of the fold to make a casing for the drawstring. End your seam about an inch from where you started. This is where the drawstring will be inserted. Make sure that you backstitch when you start and end to secure the seam.

Next cut a length of ribbon that is about 3 times as long as your top edge. Attach a safety pin in one end of the ribbon and insert it through the opening you left in the seam. Inch the safety pin along through the casing until it comes full circle and out the same opening. Remove the safety pin and then tie the ends together securely.

Now if you turn your bag inside out it's done. But, if you want to take a few more minutes you can make it a little better. It isn't that hard to make something called a gusset and it will make the bag wider and more usable. All you do is lay your bag flat and draw a square on each corner of the bottom. The size of the square will depend on the size of your bag, but keep in mind that a 2 inch square will make a 4 inch wide bag. I

used 1 1/2 inches for this bag. After you draw square, cut it out.

This is the trickiest part of the whole project. Pick up the bag and match the side and bottom seams together, squashing the sides so the new seam you are going to make lays flat. Pin it together and sew along the raw edge. Repeat this for the other corner.

That's it! You're done! Now just turn the bag inside out and fill it with stuff! If your fabric is kind of flimsy you may want to iron along the edges just to make it look better, but it's not totally necessary.

Good luck!

Snack Attack

This afternoon, Joseph woke up from his nap just as we needed to head out the door for piano lessons. He was hungry and not going to be a happy camper so I needed a good snack quick. Several months ago I compiled this list of healthy snack ideas and taped it inside one of my cupboards. When I need inspiration I ponder the list. Honestly, I usually resort to popcorn, but today I thought I'd try the Peanut Buttery dip since I happened to have all two ingredients. It was SO yummy I ended up eating more than Joseph (I need to be a happy camper, too!). I dipped graham crackers because that's what we had on hand, but apples would be way yummy, too. Happy snacking!

Audiobooks

You can get free audiobooks at LibriVox.org. Unlike some internet audiobooks, these are divided into chapters, so if you lose your spot on your mp3 player you don't have to rewind/fast forward your way through 20 hours in search of your spot.

And if you're concerned about piracy, rest assured that these are safe. LibriVox volunteers record books in the public domain (generally, works published more than 50 years ago). My husband has listened to Walden, and I'm finishing up Middlemarch, which has gotten me through my last 7 weeks of running.