Book Collection.

Years ago, I watched a show about hoarding

and it scared the heck out of me that having

"collections" can lead to over crowding in a

home. Since then, and now that our children

are grown and the house isn't full of toys, we

have made a very conscious choice to still love

our items that we collect but ensure they all

have a spot AND that we don't have to have

every single item within a collection. This

has worked well for us. However, the book

collection we have amassed over the years is

a bit much! So much so we've actually joked

that we need to build an addition on to the

cottage that would be exclusively a library!

I know many people who read a book and

pass it along, and we do purge at least once

a year. But the books we have, we do read

again and again, and can't imagine parting

with them. Too precious to us! Is it actual

hoarding? No, it is our love of reading ....

💗 Chy 💗

Bedtime Reads.

Dear grandson sometimes sleeps upstairs if his mom

has to work a night shift. He wanted to read the other

night, and while he was down in their apartment, I

grabbed these 3 books that we gifted him as a baby

and a toddler. He was surprised but did read them!

The first two on the pillows have his name in them

and really special as his name is not super common,

so it's hard to find things that have his name. And the

big one below the pillows is actually the first book we

bought for him after he was born. It's got some moving

parts in it and he loved when we'd read this to him. I

love that we've instilled our passion for reading in him.

~ Chy

The Love of Reading.

Reading has been a love of mine since I was a young child, even before I could read! One of my aunties worked as a book publisher for a large firm here in Canada and every Christmas, we get books. My cousins who were older and younger would sometimes complain .... "Books? But we wanted toys!!" But me, I was in Heaven! I feel like some people read a book and I devour a book. I'm thankful to have married a man who also loves to read and collect books. Not what attracted me to him, in fact, it was something we discovered when we bought our first home and we're moving in. He had boxes and boxes and when I asked what was inside, his words "my books" intrigued me. And here I thought I knew everything about him! In time, we have filled bookshelves, and corners, and we both often have a little stack beside the bed. I love to read in a warm, soapy tub, or curled up in bed on a rainy night. A favorite memory has always been introducing reading to our babies, whom we read to in utero. When they each learned to read themselves, that was a big moment in our tiny house. Each Christmas, as the reader became stronger, they were gifted the right to read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and everyone would cheer the new reader on. Now our grand kids read and it makes our hearts sing. There is nothing more precious in the World then curling up in a comfy chair, with a small child, who asks you to read them a story. Especially in front of a warm and cozy fire. I love that this tradition is carrying thru with our kids. Books are often an extra gift under the tree or in a birthday basket. I'm thrilled that instead of hearing the words "Books? But we wanted toys!" we hear "Yes, more books!" When they were small, and even now, as adults, a favorite spot to visit if we were out and about shopping would be our local book store. We'd ask "Where should we go today" and always we would get "Can we stop at the bookstore?" I can't imagine the investment we've made in books over the years. Some are bought at full price (not many!), some are thrifted, some are gifts but all are cherished. The love of reading is strong here.

Do you love to read?

Are you a book collector?

~ Chy

Reading Tower.

While we are tucked away in our little cottage, safe and snug from the raging Pandemic outside, we've taken time to create lists of tasks we can tackle with the extra time we have on our hands. It's a long list, with things we'd like to finish up inside and a separate list for outside, once the snow finally goes away. Our days are filled with work and helping out dd with homeschooling our dgs but without the commute and shopping that happen so often when life is normal, there is definitely extra time to fill. We try to do something each day that is fun as well. Something to look forward to. Yesterday I pulled out all the books I want to read while we're home. Two are library books. Two I just ordered as the lockdown was about to take place. The rest are books that were given as gifts or I had found online, at the charity shop or donated by a friend. A total of 10 in my little "reading tower" that will dwindle over the next few weeks as I tackle each one and then find a spot for it in one of our many bookcases scattered around the cottage. 

So what's on my reading tower list? From the top down, I have "Four Meals for Fourpence" by Grace Foakes. A heartwarming tale of family life in London's East End. Under that is "The View from the Corner Shop" by Kathleen Hey. It's subtitle says The Diary of a Yorkshire Shop Assistant in Wartime. Both were ordered and arrived a few weeks ago, just as we were preparing to settle in. Once I'm done my current book on the tower, I'll dive in to these first. 

Moving down the tower, the rest of the books are as follows:

* Village School ~ the first novel in the beloved Fairacre Series. I'm almost done this book and it's been great so far. I'll have to order the next in the series for sure. 

* Dollhouses. This one showcases dollhouses in a museum. I'll have to add the description later. 

* Beautifully Organized. I'm pretty organized but always love a quick read to keep up with new ideas. This is one of two library books that I know have indefinitely as our library is closed and all due dates dismissed until they reopen. 

* Becoming by Michelle Obama. I've wanted to read this for a while and was excited it was finally available at the library. Lots of time to read it now!

* The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. A book given to me by someone who ordered it and then never had time to read it. I'll dive in to it once the others are devoured.

* At Home with Beatrix Potter. Such a fan, I am. Our first daughter's nursery, her blankets, her stuffies, her clothes and her baby calendar were all Beatrix Potter themed. Her first set of books were the complete collection, all in a pretty box. Lovely memories and I'm looking forward to this read.

* Where Woman Create is a collection from the popular magazine that on occasion I add to our grocery cart. Having a very full art studio, this gives me inspiration to continue to find new ways to keep everything organized. I love to see what other women are busy creating as well. One day, when my work is done, I can see long days in our little studio!

* The Big Book of a Miniature House. Takes the reader on a journey to creating an incredible dollhouse, filled with inspiration for those of us who are still learning. I've browsed through it but now I have time to actually read every page and take notes for creating my dollhouses. 

That's my "reading tower" and as much as I want this Pandemic to end immediately, I'm happy to use some of our time here at home in the cottage to tackle each of these books. A great distraction from what could be as we make our way through each and every day, hour by hour. 

Do you have a reading list or "tower" to tackle?

Is reading a great past time for you to fill the days?

~ Chy

More Bookcases.

As promised, I've captured the last few

bookcases around our cottage. I didn't

take a shot of the open bookshelf in

the laundry room or our walk in closet.

We love our little bookcases on either side

of our fireplace in the master bedroom. I

have started to put some smaller books in

here, which right now is my Beatrix Potter. 

The other side has some petit point pictures,

candles, a pretty rose bag, a painted vase and

a tiny set of salt and pepper shakers that we

found when we cleaned out gramma's house.

Our wall unit in our bedroom is another

book storage source. It is actually three

pieces but we recently split it up as it

truly swallowed up the wall too much.

We placed the other piece in the turret as part

of our office space. You can see that up above.

Can you spot a new old piece for our bedroom?

Isn't that the sweetest blush arm chair? It was

listed and then reduced on our local marketplace

so I was suprised when I contacted the seller and

she told me it was still available. When I went to

view it, we clicked and then she surprised me by

reducing it again! Very happy and it is so comfy.

It came from a family who had lived in a heritage

area in the Big City and they said it was made by

the great grandfather back in the early 20's. It's

been recovered by the fabric is period and so

perfect. The small bookcase is in our upper hall.

On the left, the little house bookcase we have in

our guest bedroom that holds books for our grand

kids when they sleep over. I love buying books for

the two of them to truly enjoy! The final picture is the

end of our island in the art studio. This was meant

to be just one more spot for books but I've switched

it up a bit. It now holds all my scrapbooks along with

pads of paper and some art books. It works very well.

Well friends, that's end of my bookcase tour. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing our book nooks!

~ Chy

Light Reading.

Magazines were not something I could

indulge in while raising many children.

Not a budget item but we were frequent

users of the library, so I could borrow.

But now my kids are grown and we're double

income, so I do let an indulgence (or two!)

hop in to my shopping basket on occasion.

I love a great read on cold evenings in a hot tub.

I've figured out a few spots to house my "light reading"

magazines that I've begun to collect. All are centered

around farmhouse, country, English cottage living,

gardening and quilts or scrapbooking for a few extras.

Do you have any favorite magazines?

Do you have any favorite collections?

~ Chy

Reading.

"Reading gives us someplace to go

when we have to stay where we are."

~ Mason Cooley

I'm a lifeline lover of the written word. I recall being fascinated by letters and word well before I could read. I couldn't wait to learn and was super disappointed when I found out in Kindergarten that I would be introduced to the alphabet and finger plays but I wouldn't actually learn to read the books I had in my room and playroom and at the library. What?? I was told by the teacher I had to wait until Grade 1. I recall pouting all the way home that day! Grade 1 couldn't come fast enough. And then when I did get there, I still had to wait. We all had to learn to read together and that meant starting at the beginning with the alphabet again. I was sooooo frustrated. But by that Christmas, I was a full reader and couldn't put books down. When I look back now, it wasn't just the stories that captured me but it was also at times, an escape from the struggles of every day, of growing up with 2 very young parents, too young to parent then and who fought a lot but I will say managed to figure life out and they were married for 40 solid years before my dad died. Reading was a way to block out the shouting and the slamming of doors. It helped me disappear to another time and it helped me to dream of what I wanted for life and for my kids in time. Didn't make me a perfect person or an amazing parent but it did give me hope, vast amounts of hope that anything I would be faced with, I would survive and thrive. I loved stories of despair with triumph. Hope!

Books have always been my favorite gift, not just to receive but to give. Thankfully, I live in a family with a dh who adores reading as much as I do and kids that always asked if we could go to the bookstore or library as they were growing up! The only thing we hoard in our house? Books!! I haven't even unpacked all of them as we're still figuring out where they could all go. We have 2 built in bookcases on either side of our fireplace in the great room that almost go to the ceiling. It's not filled with books as we did use a few shelves for some special items. I may have to change that. 

We also have the shelves above our built in desk and with rearranging, we could place many more books there too ....

At the end of our kitchen island, we also have this sweet little spot for our cookbooks and again, cherished items ....

I'll add another post later to show the other spots in our home where we store books. So far, we have 4 spots on the main floor. There are 2 more to show and then up in the upper level, the art studio and even in our walk in closet. Plenty of spaces that we could use for book storage. Next house, maybe we'll create one room that is lined with bookcases and call it "The Library!" That would be a dream ....

Do you love reading? Do you collect books?

If you do collect books, where do you keep them? 

~ Chy

The English Home.

I love this publication. Discovered it just before we moved into our new home and have spent time each month "hunting" for the latest issue. We seem to get not each issue here in Canada so I cherish the ones I am able to find. My other favorite is Country Living but the British Edition. This issue is for February (no January in sight) but I was happy to grab it yesterday when we were out and about in the Big City. We woke up to a very snowy landscape ~ huge flakes fell gently from the sky all day. But it didn't stop us from  driving in to celebrate our "first" Christmas with our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.  We had the best time (pictures to follow) and when it was time to leave, we drove back to see my mom, then stopped at the small store by her house to fill up our big water jugs for our cooler. That's when I spotted The English Home and it was such a treat to hold it in my hands all the way home. Once we were done our tasks for the day and crawled in to our warm bed, with our tiny tree illuminating our space, I read each article and drooled over the pictures. Such a great read! Tonight, after we finish our baking, our wrapping and have dinner and watch "It's a Wonderful Life", I'm looking forward to our warm bed again and another magazine to read through before we turn out the lights. 

Have you ever read The English Home?

Do you have a favorite publication you read?

April 2015 Photo Challenge ~ Day Ten.

My Superpower?

I have many but I loved this image &

felt it truly does reflect me. An early

reader, it is a daily task, a treat, a big

part of my job, a trait I passed along to

my children, an activity that my dh also

loves & something I can teach to others.

What is your Superpower?

Feel free to share it with everyone here.

Gratitude.

There are so many things that I 

am grateful for in my life. 

A fun, loving family,

a warm, cozy home,

a creative, flexible career,

a circle of support that we can

lean on, sharing the good 

days and the bad. 

Today, I am grateful for

the amazing blogging world. 

Laying in bed, utterly miserable

with pain and congestion, 

your blogs have taken me

away from my plight, given me

hope with your beautiful pictures of

spring that ours might just be

around the corner, and

you've entertained me with

stories and images of your lives,

a wonderful distraction from

these dreary days. 

Thank you all for sharing your

journeys with all of us who

spend time each day reading them!

Cold Winter Afternoon.

When the weather outside if frightful,

with temperatures of more than -30,

this is where you will find us.

 

 

 

Cozy on the couch,

reading, playing, dreaming.

 

 

We'll have lots of time to play outside

soon, when the weather becomes warm

and the days longer. But for now,

we stay inside, cuddly, warm

and loved!