Remembering Blueberry Hill

I'm growing blueberries in clay pots this year. As I search and pray for an old farm place to renovate, I find I'm impatient to start it all: berry patches, orchard, gardens- all of it. So blueberries in a pot will have to do. And you know what? They're doing just fine!

This is a Climax blueberry, which crosses with a Tiffblue blueberry, which is perfect for blazing, humid Texas summers. They're also perfect for muffins, cobblers, jam, ice cream sauce and salads. Heck yes.

Each day as I water them, I can't help thinking of Blueberries for Sal. Do you know this book? A teacher read it to me ages ago, and my older brain still projects images of the beautiful pictures of Blueberry Hill every time I glance at the blue-dotted bushes. In fact, I think I need to re-read it this week....

Wishing you a Blueberry Hill kind of day. Happy Tuesday!

Oh! My first job was on a blueberry farm. Read about it here. 

 And make my favorite Blueberry Breakfast Bars with this recipe.

This, The Other Typist

Y'all. Help.

Have you read this book? This, The Other Typist? This bewildering, infuriating, utterly fascinating novel?

It's been several weeks since I first heard of Suzanne Rindell's first (and thus far, only) book. I considered buying it but decided against it; don't I have more important things to read right now? But over my birthday weekend, I relented. I bought this... this...  I don't know. This, The Other Typist.

At first, you're sort of reading it and thinking about what you'll have for dinner. And that you really should paint your nails because, gaw, they look terrible. The next thing you know, you're flipping pages like you're searching for a number in a phone book. You're scowling at anyone/thing who dare interrupts. You care about the characters, but then again not really. You sympathize with them, but then not at all. You totally know what's coming, and then... what?!! Is my copy missing pages?! It's over LIKE THAT?!

I have never been so astonished-frustrated-delighted-taken with a book's conclusion in my life.

You should know, if you haven't ventured it yet, that The Other Typist is one of those unreliable narrator reads. Like The Lace Reader, which I adored. And apparently like Gone Girl, but I haven't gone there. To me, this book is Half Broken Things meets The Lace Reader. In other words, dark and perplexing and utterly stand-alone in a room full of books. If you like that sort of read.

And word is, Keira Knightley is producing and starring in the upcoming movie. It's been "in development" since January.

So... again: help. Have you read it? And what did you think? I have a theory, but I'll save it for the comments.

A Story Marker Giveaway!

I'm really enjoying my little story markers. It truly is the simple things that add up to make a pretty life...

Since a few folks are asking about them, here's the 'behind the scenes' on the latest item in my etsy shop. If you're anything like me- a dreamy, bookish type- you're reading a dozen things right now: books, magazines, catalogues, journals, cookbooks. And it's hard to keep track of where you are in all these places, isn't it?

The beautiful solution: a Story Marker Set. Made from cast aside, repurposed books, magazines, catalogues, lists, recipes, etc., these corner bookmarkers are a smart and simple way to keep your place in the story- without damaging your book. No more dog-eared pages or bent spines! I've adored turning my old reads and pages into something useful and pretty- while keeping my books in good shape, too.

This week, for my blog readers only, I'm offering free shipping on all domestic orders for my Story Marker sets. Just enter the coupon code MYTHRILLINGSTORY as you check out and taxes and shipping are on me!

For those who can't order at this time, I want to send two sets off to a good home. So here's the deal: comment on this post and tell me your thrilling story in 100 words or less. On Monday, the day after Mother's Day, I'll draw two lucky stories and their authors will get a Story Marker Set of their own! Please make sure you leave either a link to your blog or your email address so I can reach you. :)

Thanks for being here, thanks for sharing, and thanks so much for your support. It means everything to me.  -Brin

...How much piecing a quilt's like living a life...

The Lord sends us the pieces, but we can cut 'em out

 and put 'em together pretty much to suit ourselves...

-Eliza Calvert Hall, Aunt Jane of Kentucky

I started piecing this quilt four years ago, I think. I needed some bright spots, some lightness to my life. Some sunshine. Some open spaces.

Think I'll finish it these next two weeks. I think I'll sit under that apple tree in the sunshine and stitch the layers together. And I think I'll attach a special tag on the back with the above quote stitched to it.

There's so much on my heart this week. So much I want to say. But something isn't quite right so I delete it all and wander back to my basket of half-realized quilt.

Here's to pieces and the hope that they will one day come together...

. . . . .

Oh yes. If you're not familiar with Project Gutenberg, you might want to be. Digital copies of thousands of ebooks and manuals- free for the greedy taking.

Big Girl World, Being Small, Stories and a Sale

She knew it was a big girl world,

but sometimes it felt really good

when she allowed herself some of the simple pleasures

of just being small.

-Jodi Hills, An Imperfect Life

Do any of you ever feel that way: small in a big girl world? I do. Heaven knows I do.

Some days, though, I embrace it... the enormity of the world and how I am, in reality, a small girl.  I have so many unanswered questions. So much I'm curious about. So many things I have yet to see. And you know what? I'm okay with that. We are all, in some ways, small girls (or boys), looking at the world in wonder.

Being small and living in place of fascination is one of my simple pleasures...

. . . . .

I am taken with stories. You probably know that. I think one of my greatest faults is looking at people as stories, and not as people. Does that make sense? Who are you? I wonder as I meet people. Where did you come from? Where are you going?  I've been guilty of labeling people as protagonists or antagonists, as meaningful characters or troublesome characters or supporting characters, when really we are all precious in the Author's sight. We all have our own "voice". Sometimes I get lost in my story and relegate people to the role I believe they play in mine, forgetting they are their own eternal character in their own eternal story. A story that never runs out of pages. A story without a final chapter or a "The End".

. . . . .

Today, in honor of big girl worlds, being small, and our individual stories, I'm offering my Story Marker Sets at Etsy for a storybook song... with free shipping. :)  I hope, as you journey through your personal story, that you'll see them and remember that you're here for a reason... that your story matters... and that this season is just one chapter of the beautiful story of your eternal existence.  -Brin

. . . . .

Staying on the story theme, over in the My Messy, Thrilling Life Community, please stop by and Tell Us: What Book Changed You?

. . . . .

(This week I'm featuring quotes from my favorite little book of all time. It's called An Imperfect Life by Jodi Hills. It sings, and its song will make your heart dance and cry. :)

Understanding that heavy things can't fly,

she let go of what was weighing on her heart,

the things she could no more control than carry,

and she gave herself a chance,

a chance to reach into the unassuming blue,

to embrace the possibility of an open sky,

with an open heart.

She gave herself a chance to soar.

-Jodi Hills, An Imperfect Life

. . . . .

(This week I'm featuring quotes from my favorite little book of all time. It's called An Imperfect Life by Jodi Hills. It sings, and its song will make your heart dance and cry. :)

Dreams We Carry

She woke each morning with a glow of hope,

not because a new dream had been born,

but knowing the one she carried

inside her heart would last.

-Jodi Hills, An Imperfect Life

There's so much on my heart today- so many questions. My morning news read felt like an ambush; surreal headlines jumped out at me from everywhere. There's a storm coming and some days I feel the weight of it. ...

But. But I also awake with that "glow of hope" that something Better is coming, and the dream I've carried in my heart all this time will last. No matter what.

Here's to the dreams we carry lasting.  -Brin
. . . . .

(This week I'm featuring quotes from my favorite little book of all time. It's called An Imperfect Life by Jodi Hills. It sings, and its song will make your heart dance and cry. :)

The Lacy List

I am blessed with amazing friends. Brilliant, captivating, compassionate, sparkling friends. Go-to friends. These folks are there... so patient with me and my little life... and I depend on them. A lot.

And they never stop giving. No worry or favor or crazy thing I'm into now has ever been too much for them. They don't throw up their hands and run away from my messy self, which astonishes me every day. They're my everything, and they deserve recognition:

Sara Elisabeth

Amber

Lisa

Erich

Emily

Jan

Brian

Kim

Shelley

and Lacy

You people make my world happy. I wanted to say Thank You.

Over the weekend, I had the chance to catch up with a few of them. Lacy and I even spent time knocking around Barnes & Noble, which is my idea of a super time. Several of my friends are English teachers/professors, and Lacy is one of the highest caliber. Her mom's a librarian, so Lacy was born with books in her blood. And when Lacy says you should read a book? You read it. You buy it right then and you read it.

Between us, this is Lacy's Latest List. These are the books I bought over the weekend based on her recommendations. Here's what I'll be flipping through this spring... and what I'm reading right now:

The Book Thief

People of the Book

The Handmaid's Tale

The Know It All

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Just in case you don't have a reading/book/genius friend like Lacy, I thought I'd share.

I'd even share the rest of my incredible friends, too, only we better not mention I sent you. Much more from me and they'll probably assume a different name and move to the mountains of Uzbekistan.

(Are there mountains in Uzbekistan? I'll bet Brian would know....)

Brin's Bargain Books

Okay. Strange time for this picture, I know, considering it was taken last summer as I lazily napped and read alongside the Dolores River in Colorado. Not Christmasy at all.

But here's the thing: while this little house is warm and Christmasy, the boxes of books scattered around are not. This little place is woefully short on space! So I've decided to fill my little book shop powered by Amazon with some titles I've lovingly read from the past few years at Freeman House. Some books were ones I've read and am ready to send along. Others were gifts or duplicate copies. Others were craft or cook books that I learned from and think someone else should get to as well....

If you're so inclined, hop on over to the book shop and grab something for yourself or a friend. (Click the link above... or the "my book shop" icon on the sidebar.) And please note that some of the books have my inscriptions or scribbling in them (where indicated only), or that if you'd like me to inscribe the book or write a special message, I'd be glad to do that, too. I even have some Freeman House cards left, the others destined for the history books...

Wishing you a cozy afternoon. -Brin

Belated Summer Reading List

I get nervous, usually, when I post my reading lists.

It's silly, but when I stop to consider how diverse the readership of this blog is: young, old... single, married... liberal, conservative... city folk, country folk... believers, doubters... it poses a few issues. I mean, every time I post a list I get a flood of email. Grandmas complain that my list is too "young", while twenty-somethings get freaked out by "heavy" subjects. Liberals object to Mike Huckabee books. Christians protest that I'm advocating the reading of books outside of Bible bookstore-lit, but all the folks who visit here everyday who have little to no interest in God, much less a personal relationship with Him, castigate me for offering titles they deem "preachy" and "indoctrinating".

Truth is, a girl can't win. Even on her own blog.

So here's what I decided this time: I'm going to post my summer reading list. Revolutionary, I know. But here on my personal blog, I'm going to ahead with posting a few of the titles of the books I'm attempting to read and enjoy this summer. Can I guarantee you'll heartily endorse every last one? No. But hopefully we'll both come away with a favorite new title or two. And isn't that the best thing about reading, anyhow? A journey of discovery turn familiarity?

THE BELATED SUMMER READING LIST:

Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

Bride Island

The Fiction Class

He Has Made Me Glad

Adelaide Piper

Captured by Grace

What In the World Is Going On?

Happy reading and discovering! -Brin

Most Precious Gifts

Bad things do happen; how I respond

defines my character and the quality of my life.

I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness,

immobilized by the gravity of my loss,

or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure

the most precious gift I have - life itself.

-Walter Anderson

Freeman House is no longer mine. I handed the keys to the new owner Wednesday and left quietly through the kitchen door. I've never cried so hard in my life. My eyes are still puffy.

But it's only a house, right? Four walls, a roof and a floor. I can't take it with me. And how I respond to this does define my character and the quality of my life. So I'm choosing to rise above and treasure the precious gift I still possess: life. Possibility. Faith. The hope of things to come.

There's always the hope of things to come. That, to me, is one of the most precious gifts....

(Some great reading I've relied on when facing loss, sadness, or general down-and-out blues? Rising Above, Let the Journey Begin: God's Roadmap for New Beginnings, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Soul Catcher: A Journal to Help You Become Who You Really Are. I hope, if you're working through something, that these books and journals help you as much as they've helped me.)

Keeping...

The bakery has been dead since summer began. Or, you know, since school let out. I've been worried. Now I'm just exhausted. Yesterday I closed early and walked home and folded my legs under me on the couch and reached for the nearest book and read.

Have you ever tried to settle in with Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson? It's rhythmic and quiet and reading it is akin to trying to run with a bloated, near-bursting water balloon - you simply have to slow down and give it your full attention. Any less and it wobbles and slips out of your grasp and you lose it all.

Most of all, I love how one of the characters, at the beginning of the book, is spelled out: She had always known a thousand ways to circle them all around with what must have seemed like grace. She knew a thousand songs. Her bread was tender and her jelly was tart, and on rainy days she made cookies and applesauce. In the summer she kept roses in a vase on the piano, huge, pungent roses, and when the blooms ripened and the petals fell, she put them in a tall jar, with cloves and thyme and sticks of cinnamon. Her children slept on starched sheets under layers of quilts, and in the morning her curtains filled with light the way sails fill with wind.

I adore it. I want to go there. I want to know her. But most of all, I think I'd want to be described something like this. Yesterday I put a vase of roses on the piano, and left several more to dry with cloves and cinnamon and thyme. Just to see what it felt like.


Still playing at my Garden Grocery Game. I think I'm winning. The past two days I've had baked potatoes for lunch. Dinners have been stir fried veggies with rice... the next day vegetable soup. Tonight is an herb pasta with the first two tomatoes picked from this year's garden. Nothing too inspiring there. Next week I'll do some Spinach Gnocchi and Onion Tarts and Creamed Squash. Or something. Next time I do this, I'm planting a row of cheeseburger and chicken fajita and cheese plants. That's right. If I had any hopes of becoming a strict vegetarian out of this craziness, I think it backfired.

(A row of pork tenderloin would be nice, too.)...

Wishing you a warm and lazy summer weekend from Freeman House, the home of warm and lazy summer weekends. -Brin

A Tuesday in Fall

Not sure about you, but fall fever has hit me. Hard. This morning Millie and I went on a leaf peeping/collecting adventure at the State Park. It froze here overnight, and I worried that the puppy might get cold on a morning hike. Please. The cold seemed to invigorate her, and she ran and nosed around as if it were the greatest day of her life. (She did not, however, belly flop into the lake as she usually does.)

We pulled up to the park entrance and the Ranger came to the Jeep. I rolled down the window. "Good morning, ma'am," he said politely, his breath hanging in clouds around his hat. He can't be much older than I am.

"Morning," I said. "How much?"

"Just you?"

"And the dog," I replied, gesturing toward the back seat. He looked in. Millie wagged her tail and licked the window.

"Two dollars," he grinned. Then he looked at me closely. "Mighty cold morning to be out."

I raised my eyebrow and nodded in agreement. He stood there as if he needed an explanation.

"Guess I just need some air," I said.

He looked at me again, studying me. Then he nodded. "Well, you'll have the park to yourself. No one's here."

And no one was. Millie and I had the entire place to ourselves. It was so serene. So, so beautiful, watching the blazing colors reflect off the water and listening to the wind rattle through the crunchy leaves. Summer has blazed into fall and already fall is pointing to winter. The mistletoe, high in the trees, reminded me that even Christmas is a handful of weeks away.

It was inspiring. I came home and began working on my fall aprons, one of which is pictured above and already listed in the Freeman House Shop on etsy.

I think tonight I'll make a pumpkin something and settle in and work on a quilt. (And maybe read. I'm devouring the classic The Ivy Tree, and so far it's my favorite book of the fall. It's shockingly good.)

Wishing you a warm, pleasant day. -Brin

Life:Beautiful Winners

The answers were beautiful... the reasons why our lives - despite their challenges and heartbreaks - are beautiful. I loved them... each and every one. Your tellings made me smile, cry, and even gasp. They were wonderful. Thanks.

I wish I could send each 85 of you a subscription. But I'm no Oprah. So, in no particular order (at all), here are the randomly-drawn winners of the Life:Beautiful subscriptions, together with their comments:

APRIL
"I always think my life would be more beautiful perfectly arranged like that lovely picnic. But it is in the mess that the true beauty of God's provision -- husband, daughter, son that I couldn't imagine having just five years ago -- shines through."

POLLY
"What makes my life beautiful? These days its a phone call from my Marine son in Iraq. Just hearing him say *Hey, Mom*, and knowing that, at least for this moment, he is safe can light my entire week!"

JEAN
"Hmmm, there are so many beautiful things about life. One of them are those brief moments in the midst of crazy, hectic fun or sublime merriment where you pause, take a deep breath, glance around meaningfully, and realize just how blessed you really are--that profound stillness filled with thankfulness directed to the God who has graciously allowed us to enjoy all things."

Congrats, ladies! I'll be in contact shortly for your information and Life:Beautiful will be on its way to you soon thereafter.

To the rest of us - thanks for sharing your lives, your families, your hopes and your thoughts with me. It means more than you'll ever know. The community we have here at this blog is one of the many, many things that makes my life beautiful. God's blessings on you all! -Brin

Quiet Summer Reading

For the first time in a long time, I've taken time to read. Hours. Days, even. It's so relaxing and peaceful: me with my book in the gorgeous, bright sun. Millie on the blanket beside me, quietly chewing her Nyla Bone or napping. It's made me extraordinarily happy.

Reading is such an escape. I think that's why my sister and I both have turned out to be such voracious readers: reading provided an easy, strict-parent-approved escape from our lot in childhood life. Even though I don't read primarily for the escape anymore, I do still appreciate the transportation to other times, lives, and places. Even if the ones I'm living now aren't so bad.

So here you have it - my summer reading list for 2008. Some surprises, some old friends, and some new delights. Be sure to tell me what you've read and/or suggest, as I may be looking for new titles soon....

A Long Fatal Love Chase - a little known Louisa May Alcott, and likely my favorite book by her. If you've never tracked this one down, do.

The Chronicles of Narnia - (Sara, quit jumping up and down.) I know, a strange pick for me. I was strongly encouraged to read these as a child but rebelled when The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe started featuring fauns that talked. Twenty years later, I've finished the aforementioned title (pictured above) and actually enjoyed it. Surprise, surprise.

Rose Cottage - I've never read Mary Stewart before, but at Alicia's recommendation, I'll try. Besides, it looks like just the sort of thing I always gravitate to. Here's to hoping it's not boring or vulgar. (UPDATE: I like it! Decent, solid writing. Predictable, maybe, and a smidge slow, but good. I'd definitely add it to your summer list...)

The Ivy Tree - "I might have been alone in a painted landscape." That's how this Mary Stewart novel starts. I'm excited about this one.

Half Broken Things - My college pal Lacy, now an English teacher, swears this book is awful, but she's... wrong. (!) This book rules. I'll read it ever summer until I die, unless Morag Joss comes out with a better one. (And I think anyone with a name as intriguing as Morag Joss should be read, at least once.)

40 Days in God's Presence - Because you know how I love devotionals. And you will too with this one. Thus far, it's excellent.

The House at Riverton - Has anyone ever read Kate Morton? This book comes highly recommended, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Looks delicious, anyway. (UPDATE: Get this. Get this and read it before the summer's over.)

The Shack - My friend Lisa recommended this saying she adored the book even though she found bones to pick with the theology. I'm in. Has everyone read it already?

Blue Like Summer

If we were young girls again with lazy, idle summer hours to pass, this is the apron we would make. Sky blue checks - blue like a brilliant summer afternoon - with delicate white wildflowers with cherry red centers. We'd make our apron with three wide pockets for hiding a Jane Austen novel and a love letter. Maybe some bluebonnet seeds, too, and a ribbon to tie back our hair. And we'd take the time to embellish our apron with a red blanket stitch because really, on afternoons like this, time taunts and stretches out before us as if it's taking a nap and forgetting to pass. Later, when Mom asks what we did all day, we can show her our tiny red stitches on our apron and get a quick, tight nod of approval.


That's the funny thing with making aprons. I end up inventing a story for each one. They ship out with a life of their own, even if it only played out in my thoughts for the few minutes I sit on the porch and stitch the pocket trim. Seems every apron I make I promise to keep for myself. I can't, of course. One glance at the aprons hanging by the kitchen door makes that clear. Besides, it's better to make than take, right?

I'll be posting handfuls of apron toolbelts on the Freeman House Shop on Etsy tomorrow (Wednesday) at noon CST. I'm letting you all know up front because someone told me it's unfair to sneak listings as they're finished and let one right time/right place person grab all the loot. So consider yourself advised: apron toolbelts go on sale tomorrow at noon. Be there or wish you were.

Smile

The garden is keeping me busy. On top of everything else keeping me busy. I added a row of peas yesterday (they're selling for $30 a bushel down here!) and some okra. I'm now keeping watch over 12 vegetable, 19 herb and numerous flower patches. The bad news is I have to weed it all. The good news is if there's another Great Depression and all the world is hungry, I can help. Everyone show up at Freeman House and we'll gorge on fresh tomatoes and basil... fried squash and canned relish... buttered potatoes and green beans... bacon-boiled peas and spring onions... fried okra and hot-water cornbread... pecan pie and home-churned ice cream.

There's something else really big in the works this week, too. I'm expecting a shipment today and an email tomorrow, then hopefully it's game on. Sleep's being lost over this exciting venture. It's fulfillment of a five year long dream. I can't wait to show you. It's big.

Other than that? Normal stuff. I finished The Sacred Ordinary late last night. Have you gotten a copy? Do. Then I read the first chapter of Blue Like Jazz. And now I'm in love....

Spring Reading (Or, The Sacred Ordinary)

Drove home today and I can't tell you how lush and green and heart-stoppingly gorgeous it is here. My eyes got all watery... from allergies, of course... but still. This scenery could convert the most hardened of city hearts into country-loving fools.

I wanted to get home and immediately run out to the back and read. I couldn't, but I wanted to. An enormous stack of books is waiting for me this spring and I can't wait to slow down and pay them all a little mind.

Guess who went out and wrote another book while we weren't looking? Our girl Leigh McLeroy, author of the much beloved A Beautiful Ache. (I think we talked about A Beautiful Ache back in July, and would you know I am still getting emails about how y'all are blown away by this gem? I know. I was too.) So I sneaked Leigh's latest masterpiece, The Sacred Ordinary, out during a Sonic stop on the way home. Are you as good as your predecessor? I asked it as I cracked open its spine. Forty-five minutes later I realized I was still sitting at Sonic and that, yes, The Sacred Ordinary is every bit as wonderful as I'd hoped. Leigh's done it again. (To read more about the book, visit the website by clicking here.)

So The Sacred Ordinary is at the top of my spring reading list. Matter of fact, I'm going to dive in on Monday, so if you want to find a copy of your own and join me, we can do a few open posts and discuss it. Maybe we'll even invite Leigh to stop by and answer a few of our questions/observations about the book, too.

I'm so glad it's spring. I'm so excited about spring reading time. Looks like I need to get candles back in my outdoor tree lanterns and head out soon for a good long read....

(Updated observation: Alicia posted her spring reading stuff today as well. Looks like we share a common spring read!)

New On My Lap...

... this gorgeous knit and this gorgeous magazine. I discovered both in NYC a few weeks ago on my way home from Istanbul. And they say layovers are horrible.

Apparently I have a thing for a new scarf and hat every fall. This will be mine this year. (Getting a bit of a jump on things, huh?) I'm working it all up in Sublime's cashmere merino silk. sigh It's Shade 0006, which is actually a soft, creamy gray - not blue and stormy as it looks in these pictures.

And don't even get me started on Saveur. If I could make a food magazine, this is exactly what I would go for. The colors are deep and rich. The writing is fantastic. Last month's issue dealt with butter. This month is pasta. I love that simplicity. Of course, there are plenty of other recipes and articles in there, too, but I love the straightforward concept. This magazine is beautiful.

So that's what's on my lap this weekend. Planning on curling up here in the city (after a bit of a big birthday bash tonight) and settling in with friends, books and knitting.

Huh. I could have just said "friends". They're all the same. ...

Book Love, Love, Love

A good book is the best of friends,

the same today and forever.

-Martin Farquhar Tupper

My job is nonstop. I'm sure many of you know how that is, whether you mind house or mind a boss. In the oil and gas industry, companies pay handsomely but for that they require your soul. Or so it seems lately.

But tonight there's a thunderstorm and I'm finished before 7 PM and I have a stack of books waiting, thanks to a midnight madness order off Amazon. So before I'm off to read, let's talk books, shall we?

The book above, The Thirteenth Tale, is astounding. I'm only on chapter three, because I picked it up last night after completing a 63-page report, but so far it may be my favorite book. And I mean ever. I adore it. Whatever may come next, I want it carefully noted that the first few chapters of this took me to a world I don't want to leave. The narrative is seamlessly sloppy, which I love, and strong. It sings. I can't wait to get under the covers and drink more in.

Then there's this gem: Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. Even the title makes me giggle. And everyone's raving over it. I've read bits and pieces of it... here and there. Have any of you read it through? It's hard to put down, but I managed somehow and now I wish I hadn't. But it's to be continued very, very soon.

A journal I've been working through for almost a year now... Finding God in the Broken Places. Don't pretend you don't have them, broken places. We all do. When I've been open, and ready to heal, I've found it's really spoken to and encouraged me. Maybe it will you, too.

And oh. The Crafter's Companion. Beg, borrow, or buy this... or steal a friend's copy. You won't be sorry. She will, but you won't. This baby will have any crafter slobbering and gasping and clapping and ... craving a new project. I love books like this one.

And this. Knitting Nell. Talk about mattering. Any girl, young or old, who does or wants to knit should have this book. I read it several times a week and the end almost makes me cry everytime. Even on the twelveteenth time. Besides Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, it's my favorite children's book.

Oh gosh. I'd hang around and talk book love but I'm zonked and my current paper fling is calling. Let me know about your loves and current crushes, too. We'll dish. -Brin

Warm and Wonderful Wishes

Hot Drinks for Cold Nights? Sound perfect, thanks. Especially since, this very hour, it's *snowing*. Really. I'm about to settle down in the gathering room's chaise lounge for an evening of B&B talking and snow watching. Heap on more wood -The wind is chill; but let it whistle as it will, we'll keep our [holidays] merry still!

Actually, I'm a flurry of activity tonight, trying to pack and load the car and get ready for a long, long drive back to east Texas for the holiday. I'm dreading the 12 hour haul but am eager to lay eyes on family I haven't seen since this time last year. Like my little cousin John Mark, who prefers mice cat toys from PetSmart over real toys from Toys 'R' Us. And my uncle Mark, who makes the best coffee and always steps on my feet with his enormous boots. And my Grandmother, Nina Faye. Her homemade Macaroni and Cheese all but makes up for the fact that she keeps her house so stinking stuffy we can scarcely breathe.

Of course, for every face I see and neck I hug, there will be several I'll be missing. Like Sara's, my dearest childhood friend who just shipped me this book from far-flung Asia. She thought it would be a great addition to my ever-expanding, delightful cookbook collection. And Sara, you were right. Really right. (More right than that time we played When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves From Alabam'. More right than that time you told Misha Duke to fire me from the daycare because I was immature. :p) This book is cozy and creative between covers, is what it is. There's a recipe in Some Like It Hot for Gingerbread Men. And Hot Buttered Rum. And Mistletoe Mist (with sugared cranberries). And Sugarplum Punch. And Pumpkin Potion. And S'more Meltaways. (All hot, beautiful drinks, every one.) I adore this book, and it will be my winter drink concoction go-to until it's time to put away the sweaters and the electric blankets once again. Thank you, dear friend!

(By the way, you can click on the book titles within this post to buy copies of these heart and house and throat warming books -for less than $5!- from Amazon.)

Wow! Can you believe the holidays are here? I leave you, reluctantly, with a shot of Some Like It Hot's Cookies 'n' Cream, the drink we've made to sip alongside the fire tonight. Well, that, and wishes for a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever it may find you and yours tonight.

Happy, happy holidays! All my love, Brin