"Reading to Find Out"

I love old children's books and have a nice collection.

My favorite books are the old school book 'readers' from the '50s and '60s, when I was a girl.

I have the perfect spot for a small bookcase near my kitchen so I have most of the readers in this bookcase. And one of my favorite chores is working in my books. So when I dusted the shelves, I spent some time looking through some of them. (or was it that I was looking through old books and decided to dust....I forget! hahaha) But it seemed like a good time to take a few photos!

I guess a lot of us learned to read with the Dick and Jane books.

I have children's books that are a lot older than I am....just saying!

I love them all! 

Do you have a favorite that meant a lot to you?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

What I've been reading

I've been able to take more hikes this summer than I did last summer. If we have a little rain shower, I try to get out after that to enjoy the cooler temps. But I found something else to enjoy too. I check books out from my local library as ebooks and I love to go online and see 'what's new' in books. They have a new section called 'The Great Outdoors' at the top of the website that I love. It features books about nature, gardening, hiking, novels, poetry...all with nature as the theme of the book. I have several checked out right now.

My favorite so far is Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li.

Here's a quote, "And even more amazing is the fact that not only do the beautiful and magnificent sights of nature make us feel better, they can actually improve our health. There is no medicine you can take that has such a direct influence on your health as a walk in a beautiful forest."

There is so much great information in this book that I would recommend it to everyone! Even if you are only able to pull up a chair to the window and look outside, it would be beneficial. If you have a bird feeder or some flowers to look at that would be even better.

 I love this beautiful book of poetry by Mary Oliver, Upstream. 

A few others I've read or skimmed through are How to Read Nature by Tristan Gooley, A Woman's Guide to the Wild by Ruby McConnell and The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. 

 A mystery I just finished was Heart of a Killer by David Rosenfelt. I love all of the books he writes and I'm on the waiting list at the library for his new book, Bark of Night! I can't wait to read it!

What have you read this month? 

Anything you think I would like?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays .

Summertime Books and Movies

I've mentioned how HOT it is here in Florida this month. And now we are having showers roll through. The rain is needed but it makes it hard to plan your day. When we have a rain shower, it rains and then the sun comes out and leaves it hot and muggy. Later...we might even get another shower. But I'm still finding lots to do inside. When I get 'cabin fever' I go to some of my favorite places and then walk in my neighborhood in the evenings.

I found these beautiful old books for sale in the lobby of my local public library.

I love the illustrations in these books. 

Isn't this cover beautiful? 

The Princess series! Don't you love that and the little sticker inside the front cover that says "Be An Angel, Wait 'til Dec. 25th"!

 Last winter I read some of the Little House on the Prairie books. They are so enjoyable, no matter what your age!

 Aren't the little drawings at the beginning of each chapter pretty?

 I started reading a mystery series by John Dunning and the main character, Cliff Janeway collects rare books. I really fell in love with the references to the books he found and what he collected! 

 

We've also watched a few 'new to us' movies lately. We can check them out from our community library and keep them over the weekend so that's been a lot of fun. Well, unless you get one that is terrible. I'll start with that one. The Favourite....it was just awful and we only watched for about 15 minutes before we turned it OFF! Creepy and crude! 

But we watched a wonderful movie this past weekend. 

 

Instant Family

We both loved it! Lots of great actors and a beautiful story!

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

What to do....what to do!!!

What have I been doing lately? NOT hiking! I sure miss my hikes in the woods and along the Rainbow River but it's just been too hot to hike! High 90s during the day and it doesn't cool off a whole lot at night....mid to high 70s! I'm sure I'll find a cool morning soon and hit the trails but in the meantime...there's lots to do inside!

Reading....

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

If you only have time to read ONE book this summer! Read this one! It is amazing! You'll never forget it!

And I saw Eileen's review on Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben on Goodreads and just had to read it. 

And it was GOOD! Can't put it down, want to stay up late at night reading....GOOD!!!

Card making...

I made several quick and easy cards to give to the Hospice patients at the Legacy House. Always feels good to have something to give and put on their bulletin boards. Cheers the room up!

Watercolors and sketching...

Not sure I'm getting any better but I'm still loving it.

And Cleaning... Time to clean out the big walk-in closet.

Wait!!! no photo? I forgot to take a pic? Or did I forget to clean! hahahaha! Like to venture a guess?!!!

Have a wonderful week! If it ever cools down or rains, I'll HIKE but for now, I'll enjoy being at home!

 

What have you been up to this week?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE .

 

 

The Freedom Library

If you've visited me over the years, you KNOW that I love public libraries! I was fortunate to have a best friend, Jeannie Carol who lived across the street and also loved to read. She was just a couple of years older so I was able to tag along with her and walk to the library, especially during the summer months. We would spread a quilt under the Silver Maples in her front yard and read to our heart's content! She helped me with any words I didn't know and we even played 'school'. I went back to school in the Fall knowing a little more than my other classmates as a result! Aahhhh! Such good memories!

 Wendy can read!

 Of course you probably knew that already! hahaha 

(I've sure had fun with her lately! Thanks for playing along!)

So what did I bring home from the library this week? I'll start by saying that I check out books online and read them on my IPAD now using a program called Overdrive. FREE from the library!

But this week was the Book Sale! 

 I'll make some mosaics to share my 'finds'! 

 $7 bought everything you see here!

 No wonder it's so hard to pay $5 for a Golden Book. We bought them for 39 cents back in the 'olden days'!

And I picked up some new bookmarks,

 And got some good movies to watch, 

And the latest Ocala magazines were in the lobby!

What a haul! And in case you wonder! I don't 'hoard' all of my children's books. I donate a lot of them to the family room at the Legacy Hospice house where I volunteer doing patient visits every week.

Have you used your library card lately?

I’m joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE 

and Amaze me Monday HERE.