tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76744327453446208672016-12-24T02:47:55.616-08:00sweet little library girlgood books, my bike, and all things nice(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-8751559470505613562013-03-19T00:30:00.000-07:002016-04-27T22:34:10.674-07:00A little bookshop in Holland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span">When my friend recommended a children's classic that I hadn't read,&nbsp;</span>Satchkin Patchkin by Helen Morgan, I<span class="Apple-style-span">&nbsp;had to go hunting for it.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The trusty Book Depository had nothing, but I followed the trail to Abe's Books, and, hurrah, there was one copy available, for only $18. 10 days later a thin parcel arrived for me from a small town in the Netherlands. Such a painless purchase, it made me stop and think. The world is getting smaller in so many ways, some of them quite beautiful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2RqZ0hv4WU/UUgQR2QoodI/AAAAAAAAAzU/NrbsoSnyXGk/s1600/DSCF0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2RqZ0hv4WU/UUgQR2QoodI/AAAAAAAAAzU/NrbsoSnyXGk/s400/DSCF0247.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-70264745459939681062013-02-25T23:57:00.004-08:002016-04-27T22:34:25.424-07:00Thirteen - a lucky number<div style="text-align: justify;">Turning thirteen is a special milestone. For me, thirteen was an age held in the delicate balance between innocence and life experience, and driven mostly by a dreamy idea of the years ahead. It's definitely the beginning of something <i>big, </i>and worth a real celebration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the book <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Doodling-French-Anna-Corba/9780811878029">Doodling in French</a> didn't appear on any birthday wishlist, it has been a real hit with our newly-thirteen girl, and with it's sweetly simple drawings and beautiful page layout (very vintage french scrapbooking style), it has already inspired a new batch of drawings.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4pPvYcmE3d4/USvWlroKO2I/AAAAAAAAAyE/noWVlSKwRQU/s1600/IMG_0535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4pPvYcmE3d4/USvWlroKO2I/AAAAAAAAAyE/noWVlSKwRQU/s400/IMG_0535.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es2jsUUW4DM/USvX618LyBI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/BLTsbM2-f6s/s1600/IMG_0534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es2jsUUW4DM/USvX618LyBI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/BLTsbM2-f6s/s400/IMG_0534.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-77-CjLd8rKE/USvYBCnHg4I/AAAAAAAAAyY/BUCMGDfUzms/s1600/IMG_0564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-77-CjLd8rKE/USvYBCnHg4I/AAAAAAAAAyY/BUCMGDfUzms/s400/IMG_0564.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ice cream cake - soft ice cream transferred to a silicone cake tin and refrozen - simple, pretty and very popular (next time I am going to do layers of ice cream, plum sorbet and meringue...yum)</div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-3083720663498205962013-02-13T19:59:00.001-08:002013-02-14T01:08:22.607-08:00Big love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy Valentine's!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kykkr4T5--o/URxfpyhINxI/AAAAAAAAAv0/wcIlJcbDi-I/s1600/IMG_0452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kykkr4T5--o/URxfpyhINxI/AAAAAAAAAv0/wcIlJcbDi-I/s400/IMG_0452.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g6Yi2FsWxCQ/URxfq1VSXXI/AAAAAAAAAv8/hVkBVvPc6BE/s1600/IMG_0453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g6Yi2FsWxCQ/URxfq1VSXXI/AAAAAAAAAv8/hVkBVvPc6BE/s400/IMG_0453.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fefjBifwrjU/URxfr8Kp8TI/AAAAAAAAAwE/GBB9R1rZlf0/s1600/IMG_0450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fefjBifwrjU/URxfr8Kp8TI/AAAAAAAAAwE/GBB9R1rZlf0/s400/IMG_0450.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJ7_ubJ3uHQ/URxfu8RQ2BI/AAAAAAAAAwM/s4fdZUMcrY8/s1600/IMG_0454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJ7_ubJ3uHQ/URxfu8RQ2BI/AAAAAAAAAwM/s4fdZUMcrY8/s400/IMG_0454.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R4Spk_5aSHI/URxfvft8dOI/AAAAAAAAAwU/zO2hF2jWssY/s1600/IMG_0464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R4Spk_5aSHI/URxfvft8dOI/AAAAAAAAAwU/zO2hF2jWssY/s400/IMG_0464.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you look close on the heart kebabs you'll see a 'millie-bite'</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNz1JDBc3Wo/URxfv75zzaI/AAAAAAAAAwY/cPPZjbIYW2M/s1600/IMG_0461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNz1JDBc3Wo/URxfv75zzaI/AAAAAAAAAwY/cPPZjbIYW2M/s400/IMG_0461.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7WbeclhPvEc/URxfxCNu1mI/AAAAAAAAAwk/a9qLrTg9pIo/s1600/IMG_0466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7WbeclhPvEc/URxfxCNu1mI/AAAAAAAAAwk/a9qLrTg9pIo/s400/IMG_0466.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And a shout out to the CL christmas edition...this one is from the library, but I've definitely off to hunt it down for my much-loved christmas mag collection.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">xxx Library Girl</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-63882766688494578222013-02-12T01:22:00.000-08:002013-02-12T01:22:00.595-08:00Bookshop browsingToday I bumped into a customer from the library, or really, today I was caught out by a customer from the library. When she happened upon me, I was burrowing through a sales table in a book shop. She giggled and exclaimed, 'I don't think I've ever seen you without a book in your hand!'<br /><br />In the movie version of that moment I would have made some clever quip about a book in the hand being worth something something, but instead I just looked at my hand, and the book in it, and replied,<br />'yep, that's about the state of it'. <br /><br />Because it's true.<br /><br />But my book-ferretting efforts were rewarded. I've got a few new books to add to my bookshelf, and a few titles to save up for too, and I'll be back to wander around in Havelock North's delightful&nbsp;<a href="http://www.poppiesbooks.co.nz/havelock-north.php">Poppies</a>&nbsp;bookshop&nbsp;soon:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Rosie-Project-Graeme-Simsion/9781922079770"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">The Rosie Project</span></a> by Graeme Simsion is being heralded as the next big thing. It's written by a New Zealander (who was interviewed on <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2545952/graeme-simsion-the-rosie-project">Kim Hill</a> recently). It sounds very quirky and sweet, and I think I might put it on my birthday list.<br /><br /><a href="http://poppieshavelocknorth.circlesoft.net/products/594481-TheWinemakerGeorgeFistonichandtheVillaMariaStory-9781869799779"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">The Winemaker</span></a>&nbsp;by Kerry Tyack sounds like a really good read, so good that I bought it for my husband for his birthday. I will let you know what he thinks.<br /><br /><a href="http://poppieshavelocknorth.circlesoft.net/products/570716-DoodlinginFrench-9780811878029"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Doodling in French</span></a>&nbsp;was a bit of an impulse buy, but I bought it for my 12-year-old daughter's birthday. She loves to draw, and I thought it may also inspire her to start scrapbooking. As further justification, I thought I could use some of the images for embroidery (I say that quite confidently, when in fact I haven't yet found the time to embroider anything, at all). Such a gorgeous little book though, it was impossible to resist.<br /><br />And then home to sit and drink tea, and admire my roses.<br /><br />Library Girl x<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k8uWg4kI71w/URoFPuf2SJI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/2xpTFoQNjuE/s1600/IMG_0342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k8uWg4kI71w/URoFPuf2SJI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/2xpTFoQNjuE/s400/IMG_0342.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDlGBGh1CN8/URoFOYPBOtI/AAAAAAAAAvI/3qNw9E6QNWs/s1600/IMG_0347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SDlGBGh1CN8/URoFOYPBOtI/AAAAAAAAAvI/3qNw9E6QNWs/s400/IMG_0347.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-4019878913769147092013-01-14T23:44:00.000-08:002013-01-15T01:11:25.963-08:00Cecily Mary Barker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I got a card the other day from a friend who I've known forever. The message read 'this reminded me so much of our childhood'. The image on the front was a classic <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Complete-Flower-Fairies-Cicely-Mary-Barker/9780723265931">Cecily Mary&nbsp;Barker</a> - a little fairy skipping along carrying a branch of almond blossom.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of all the picture books we had as children, Cecily Mary Barker's flower fairy books hands-down had the most impact.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;She created a bit of magic in every picture, and we were completely captivated!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4WcS9UN8dI/UPUXeGwIhkI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/fJAzmsaWr0Y/s1600/mary+cecily+barker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q4WcS9UN8dI/UPUXeGwIhkI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/fJAzmsaWr0Y/s400/mary+cecily+barker.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-37322175159806322882013-01-05T18:52:00.003-08:002013-01-15T01:00:50.362-08:00New year, new bath<div>No matter from which angle I approach my stack of memories, last summer's weather lacks many redeeming features. I don't think I was the only one who decided last April that a summer without sun just <i>isn't</i>.<br /><br /></div><div><div>And I think it has made this summer all the more vibrant, all the more abundant, all the more <i>appreciated</i>. I find myself savouring things, simple summer things, as if it were the first time I had ever experienced them. Who knew what pleasure could be got from picking a basket of apricots, from riding down a (small) rapid in an inner tube, from having my cup of tea and christmas cake in a shady spot of the garden, or escaping to a patch of quiet to read.And yes, I have my escape route well sorted, and just as well,&nbsp;my beach bag is brimming over with bookish goodness.&nbsp;Here's what you'd find if you tipped it out on the picnic blanket:</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The latest Frankie and <a href="http://extracurricularmag.blogspot.co.nz/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Extracurricular</span></a> mags</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A borrowed copy of series 3 of<a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/the-good-word/video"> The Good Word</a></div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; New albums <a href="http://lytteltonrecords.co.nz/">Sad but True</a>, <a href="http://www.marbecks.co.nz/detail/index.lsd?catalogID=1036557">Carry Me Back</a>, and <a href="http://www.marbecks.co.nz/detail/detail.lsd?catalogID=1049220">Wreck and Ruin</a></div><div>and an amazing, 'unputdownable' book called <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Room-Emma-Donoghue/9780330519014">Room</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wishing you a new year filled with sunshine, surrounded by the riches of good reading, and most of all, sprinkled with plenty of true, take-a-skip moments of joy (and maybe an outdoor bath too - I cannot recommend them highly enough).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRvOUFbZj5s/UOjVbCBkvYI/AAAAAAAAArE/eMDE8_i_Bwg/s1600/IMG_0203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dRvOUFbZj5s/UOjVbCBkvYI/AAAAAAAAArE/eMDE8_i_Bwg/s400/IMG_0203.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div>(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-52313560095318417822013-01-05T18:50:00.004-08:002013-01-15T00:48:50.815-08:00love, hope, joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I know it's been quiet around here at SLLG headquarters, but for good reason I promise. On top of Christmas, already a beautiful, but <i>full</i> season, we have turned our house upside down and around the wrong way, and then back to (new) normal in a major renovate, as well as hosting our wonderful french rellies. Yes, it's been busy, and I think I would be understating it to say that there has been little time for reading.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It wouldn't feel right to launch straight into the new year without a little salute to our Christmas festivities. &nbsp;Despite the endless to-do list that accompany the celebrations, I am always grateful for the essence of what the Christmas season brings, the returning to the essentials: love, hope and joy. I hope you felt the magic of the season in your neck of the woods.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5QuTzBB1UcA/UOjePheoXvI/AAAAAAAAAr0/ePFUvjO4gLc/s1600/IMG_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5QuTzBB1UcA/UOjePheoXvI/AAAAAAAAAr0/ePFUvjO4gLc/s400/IMG_0067.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">St Nicholas' visit...and this pic says a lot about my tribe (not least that they need some new shoes, naughty, busy mama)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p0uJpA_MHBg/UOjdgT6RD2I/AAAAAAAAArk/HMXaQqKs_J0/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p0uJpA_MHBg/UOjdgT6RD2I/AAAAAAAAArk/HMXaQqKs_J0/s400/IMG_0079.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our Christmas eve stories: <a href="http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Christmas-Eve-at-Mellops-Tomi-Ungerer/9780714862507">Christmas Eve at the Mellops</a> and <a href="http://www.abebooks.com/Christmas-Noisy-Village-Paperback-Astrid-Lindgren/3646374009/bd">Christmas in Noisy Village</a> (why is it I am so taken by Northern European Christmas celebrations? Is it because Santa lives up that way, I wonder?)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZuLYh4bmtzY/UOjePrwKLcI/AAAAAAAAArw/bsaJlQ9uNOY/s1600/IMG_0097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZuLYh4bmtzY/UOjePrwKLcI/AAAAAAAAArw/bsaJlQ9uNOY/s400/IMG_0097.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>&nbsp;Three of my favourite things: glimpse of sunset, new french doors and christmas lights.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uwkxYqPmrw8/UOjeVeAIVzI/AAAAAAAAAsM/7dCkzYVlGkM/s1600/IMG_0109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uwkxYqPmrw8/UOjeVeAIVzI/AAAAAAAAAsM/7dCkzYVlGkM/s400/IMG_0109.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Q2AGMTREUU/UOjeVVP0t9I/AAAAAAAAAsQ/Y__g2kjDGfw/s1600/IMG_0111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Q2AGMTREUU/UOjeVVP0t9I/AAAAAAAAAsQ/Y__g2kjDGfw/s400/IMG_0111.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKDHoLHEHFk/UOjeZrcWl8I/AAAAAAAAAsg/TG-lKkX6r0Q/s1600/IMG_0112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DKDHoLHEHFk/UOjeZrcWl8I/AAAAAAAAAsg/TG-lKkX6r0Q/s400/IMG_0112.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvNGYbJaX78/UOjeUszVqHI/AAAAAAAAAsI/AJ45dQdPjeE/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvNGYbJaX78/UOjeUszVqHI/AAAAAAAAAsI/AJ45dQdPjeE/s400/IMG_0104.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TyttRzMRFM/UOjecHvX_RI/AAAAAAAAAs4/tKJfLlqv_wE/s1600/IMG_0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TyttRzMRFM/UOjecHvX_RI/AAAAAAAAAs4/tKJfLlqv_wE/s400/IMG_0127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-60708989872325642952012-12-04T01:57:00.000-08:002012-12-04T01:57:17.934-08:00Librarian hipster musicA friend of mine once declared my beloved Gillian Welch album to be 'hipster librarian music'. He was insulting it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-stAi9Z61Ztw/UL3IpjF4ZhI/AAAAAAAAAqk/UNNdgLktgME/s1600/P1040922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-stAi9Z61Ztw/UL3IpjF4ZhI/AAAAAAAAAqk/UNNdgLktgME/s320/P1040922.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I don't know if he would have liked the gig I went to on a Sunday night last month....but me, I was in heaven.<br /><br />The Lyttelton Rough House Revival came to town, and despite feeling quite muddled up routine-wise, I slipped into my dancing shoes (yes, Mary Janes like any other hipster librarian), downed a glass of champagne, and braved Napier's nightlife (this story is better if you remember it was Sunday).<br /><br />Clearly not many other people were as brave as we were, because the Cabana was quiet, very quiet - until the gig started and then it got quite noisy, and well, very.....hot! Hands down one of the best gigs I have been to in a real long time.<br /><br />If you fancy a bit of hipster librarian music - and I personally can't recommend it highly enough :) - then check out these guys<br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/theunfaithfulways?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/theunfaithfulways?fref=ts</a><br /><br />or these guys<br /><br /><a href="http://nz.myspace.com/theeasternfamily">http://nz.myspace.com/theeasternfamily</a><br /><br />or (my current fave of all faves - and they have an upcoming tour NZers!)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/5965/Video-Delaney-Davidson-and-Marlon-Williams---Bloodletter.utr">http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/5965/Video-Delaney-Davidson-and-Marlon-Williams---Bloodletter.utr</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-36734291896028256342012-12-04T01:41:00.001-08:002012-12-04T01:41:22.891-08:00A very sweet wee yarn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Extra-Yarn-Mac-Barnett/9780061953385">Extra Yarn</a> by Mac Barnett</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ixaiu88DCB0/UL3EjKT_WiI/AAAAAAAAAqI/Wrm33f7GnPs/s1600/IMG_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ixaiu88DCB0/UL3EjKT_WiI/AAAAAAAAAqI/Wrm33f7GnPs/s320/IMG_0814.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I found my 12 year old daughter engrossed in this picture book the other day. When she finished it she sighed a happy sigh. Because she knows just how much happiness a bit of extra yarn can bring.(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-6867665467936711332012-10-16T03:32:00.002-07:002016-04-27T22:36:19.939-07:00The sky from my bike - that rare thing, a non-book related post<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I've always loved clouds, but lately I seem to have become a real cloud <i>geek</i> - my husband and his friends have even affectionately nicknamed me 'cloud girl'. I can name different types of clouds, and predict the weather from them. But mostly, I love just looking at them and exclaiming. Clouds over grapevines, clouds as backdrops for mountainscapes, clouds hiding sunshine (then letting it leak through), clouds painting pictures of non-cloud things - and mixing up a different colour palette every time. Clouds are awesome....don't you think?</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yDQPQZsBxRA/UH02uX4CzXI/AAAAAAAAAo4/sAdFWza5PzI/s1600/P1040885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yDQPQZsBxRA/UH02uX4CzXI/AAAAAAAAAo4/sAdFWza5PzI/s400/P1040885.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_U7CNxXa1Y/UH029yPdnmI/AAAAAAAAApA/Os3I3irYJCw/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_U7CNxXa1Y/UH029yPdnmI/AAAAAAAAApA/Os3I3irYJCw/s400/IMG_0611.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TIx6oL452tc/UAUwNI0u1yI/AAAAAAAAAh8/u4jq7mpxyhA/s1600/IMG_0550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TIx6oL452tc/UAUwNI0u1yI/AAAAAAAAAh8/u4jq7mpxyhA/s400/IMG_0550.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hwl_yPHfp2g/UAUwSfBgWdI/AAAAAAAAAiM/EoXHbzMGtPE/s1600/IMG_0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hwl_yPHfp2g/UAUwSfBgWdI/AAAAAAAAAiM/EoXHbzMGtPE/s400/IMG_0573.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-87188552790835885602012-10-08T15:25:00.002-07:002012-10-08T15:35:47.726-07:00Back to the Land - inspiration in book form<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QvpXATJntfk/UHIxu3Me5KI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/rdLl8Sc8rhk/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QvpXATJntfk/UHIxu3Me5KI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/rdLl8Sc8rhk/s400/IMG_0670.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I went to out-of-the-way petrol stations, bought my groceries at expensive supermarkets, and always, always kept my blue and white card at the front of my wallet. I was a girl on a mission, lured by the idea of <i>free stuff</i>. Feeling the constraints of parenting on a single income, I was determined to get - no, I was single-mindedly focused on getting - enough Fly Buy points to order a treat.<br /><br />And, when Fly Buys finally wrote to say I could go shopping on their website, it didn't take me long to decide what I wanted to spend my hard-earned points on.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Lynda Hallinan had just taken the helm at NZ Gardener magazine, and she'd given it quite a makeover. With its new layout, fresh, stylish photography, and inspiring articles, NZ Gardener was the mag of the moment. So, I spent my points, and that year I took my first real foray into gardening.<br /><br />Quite a few years later, with a few years of gardening under my belt, I still enjoy Lynda Hallinan's writing, and her infectious enthusiasm for all things gardening.<br /><br />Her new book <i><a href="http://www.fishpond.co.nz/product_info.php?ref=1344&amp;id=9780143567080&amp;affiliate_banner_id=1">Back to the Land - A Year of Country Gardening</a></i>&nbsp;is filled with beautiful images of her first year living in the country again, after many years of city living. Apart from a brief history of her family's ties to the land, the book chronicles her year in the garden, and as well as anecdotes and reflections on farm life, it includes recipes, gardening tips and useful information on her favourite plant varieties.<br /><u><br /></u><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;"><u>Back to the Land</u></span></i> is more than just a book about living in the country (though, there's no denying it might just rekindle your long-held dream to up stakes and find your own little plot), it's also an ode to the simple life, and a nice reminder that sometimes to experiences life's greatest riches, all you need is a desire to get your hands dirty.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OhO_0tR7VCg/UHIxlvK1FFI/AAAAAAAAAoA/2Xsh3vrrFkE/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OhO_0tR7VCg/UHIxlvK1FFI/AAAAAAAAAoA/2Xsh3vrrFkE/s400/IMG_0673.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0MhTHnAFKkc/UHIxohEiyxI/AAAAAAAAAoI/JRC2vuPshHI/s1600/IMG_0675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0MhTHnAFKkc/UHIxohEiyxI/AAAAAAAAAoI/JRC2vuPshHI/s400/IMG_0675.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-32744161835158955002012-09-25T01:29:00.000-07:002012-09-25T01:29:50.758-07:00Charlotte in ParisFour years ago our family were lucky enough to holiday in France. It was a magical trip, a time that stays firmly at the top of our 'best ever family adventures' list.<br /><br />We travelled with my husband's mum, who, delighted to be returning to her homeland with her little entourage of wide-eyed Kiwi family, took us on a whirlwind trip to all her very favourite places.<br /><br />One of those places was Giverny, the little town in Normandy that was once home to Monet.<br /><br />In preparation for our trip, I purchased two children's books for the girls, about a little American girl Charlotte who goes to live in Giverny with her parents at the time when Monet and his many disciples are painting 'en pleine aire'.<br /><br />The first book, <a href="http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Charlotte-Giverny-Joan-Knight-Melissa-Sweet/9780811858038"><i>Charlotte in Giverny</i></a>, brings Giverny to life, and gives context to many of the famous paintings of that era. My girls loved Charlotte, and spent many hours poring over the books, with their delightful illustrations and collaged pages. The trip to Giverny was made all the richer by having a story, and a character, to link it to.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In the second book, <i><a href="http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Charlotte-Paris-Joan-Knight-Melissa-Sweet-Illustrated-by/9780811837668?cf=3">Charlotte in Paris</a></i>, Charlotte's visit to Paris to see an impressionist exhibition is tied in with her adventures in some of the city's most celebrated spots. The book has colour reproductions of many famous impressionist paintings, as well as biographical information about the artists. Our trip to Musee d'Orsay could have been quite painful, to be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that the girls recognised some of the paintings from Charlotte's 'scrapbook'.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCykZmzopyk/UE6nScvjH5I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/Di2L3R0jirQ/s1600/IMG_0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCykZmzopyk/UE6nScvjH5I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/Di2L3R0jirQ/s400/IMG_0644.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DV7_-5nbZps/UE6nPlqTWII/AAAAAAAAAmI/yxj9uPeKUwQ/s1600/IMG_0642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DV7_-5nbZps/UE6nPlqTWII/AAAAAAAAAmI/yxj9uPeKUwQ/s400/IMG_0642.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've just noticed that there are other books in the Charlotte series (it looks like she holidays in London and NY too!), and I thoroughly recommend them to anyone who is planning a trip to one of these cities with children....or for that matter, anyone who wants a lovely book for their children full of historical information and culture, with a sweet storyline to boot!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x Library Girl</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-70261815796949382462012-09-11T01:18:00.000-07:002012-09-11T01:18:30.691-07:00In my library basket I have....<div style="text-align: center;">another inspiring haul of books from both my fab local libraries.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3j-xGIOWuA/UE7xT4IY3WI/AAAAAAAAAnU/OzfidLFs9vA/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3j-xGIOWuA/UE7xT4IY3WI/AAAAAAAAAnU/OzfidLFs9vA/s400/IMG_0687.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Baby-Knits/9781741966466">Baby Knits - 50 beautiful patterns</a>&nbsp;-</i> published by Murdoch Books</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GY84OKJG_i4/UE7xRYaOd2I/AAAAAAAAAnM/KFVLxYqfGcg/s1600/IMG_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GY84OKJG_i4/UE7xRYaOd2I/AAAAAAAAAnM/KFVLxYqfGcg/s400/IMG_0685.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"><br /></span><i><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/My-Cool-Shed-Jane-Field-Lewis/9781862059337"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7;">My Cool Shed - an inspirational guide to stylish hideaways and workspaces</span></a></i> by Jane Field-Lewis<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKvc5kw8210/UE7xWvn-rhI/AAAAAAAAAnc/gC8u1MpcPSE/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GKvc5kw8210/UE7xWvn-rhI/AAAAAAAAAnc/gC8u1MpcPSE/s400/IMG_0688.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Cross-stitch-Embroidery-for-Babies-Toddlers-Children-Isabelle-LeLoup/9781742661308">Cross-stitch and Embroidery for Babies, Toddlers and Children</a></i> by Isabelle Leloup (another from the Made in France series)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igE87NyXJWs/UE7xJE2BaQI/AAAAAAAAAm0/IB1AmF3H2m4/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igE87NyXJWs/UE7xJE2BaQI/AAAAAAAAAm0/IB1AmF3H2m4/s400/IMG_0665.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Made-France-Sweet-Treats-Cross-stitch-Tinou-Le-Joly-Senoville/9781741969696">Sweet Treats in Cross-stitch - 53 delightful projects to embroider</a></i>&nbsp;by Tinou Le Joly Senoville (from the Made in France series)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aN9_4pYMTjQ/UE7xMXZlAGI/AAAAAAAAAm8/Rrp7B-LPjD8/s1600/IMG_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aN9_4pYMTjQ/UE7xMXZlAGI/AAAAAAAAAm8/Rrp7B-LPjD8/s400/IMG_0677.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVM71EIchwY/UE7xO-k99AI/AAAAAAAAAnE/jROr2GuLElA/s1600/IMG_0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVM71EIchwY/UE7xO-k99AI/AAAAAAAAAnE/jROr2GuLElA/s400/IMG_0679.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">and last but not least;&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.wheelers.co.nz/books/9781869663735-home-away-award-winning-travel-stories-by-new-zealand-writers/">Home &amp; Away - Award-winning travel stories by New Zealand writers</a>&nbsp;-</i>&nbsp;Selected and edited by Graeme Lay &nbsp;(with pieces by many of our favourite journalists)</div>(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-41303137997681508212012-08-28T03:13:00.001-07:002012-08-28T13:44:21.142-07:00The young readers' dilemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sometimes it really hits me just how many and varied are the responsibilities of parenting. There's stuff like the values we model, and then there's other stuff like making sure they get to all their teeth when they brush. It's a big gig.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's a gig that gives me infinite joy, (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">oh, and sleepless nights occasionally too</span>) but I don't take the responsibility lightly. I'm conscientious, that's just how I'm wired.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And I'm also a librarian.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, imagine this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I go to my daughter's parent/teacher interview, and am told that my child is doing just fine (good), but....there's one thing....(uh oh)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>she could do with extending her reading</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WImEo65aGxU/T__dCjwMkEI/AAAAAAAAAhs/SRQ6i90ktu4/s1600/coming+of+age+books.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WImEo65aGxU/T__dCjwMkEI/AAAAAAAAAhs/SRQ6i90ktu4/s400/coming+of+age+books.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As I walk past the empty playground after the meeting I erupt; "bwah hahahaha". Because the irony certainly isn't lost on me.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But, I'm so glad for that parent/teacher meeting. &nbsp;It got me to thinking. Both my older children have been hooked on reading book series - churned out, formulaic and<i> safe</i><i>. </i>Up until now, I mostly just&nbsp;let them be, reassuring myself that 'atleast they were reading', and&nbsp;afraid that if I interfered I might upset them in their embryonic phase of 'becoming readers'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But after a nudge from the teacher, I began to think about what the kids have been missing out on by playing it safe. Although I do think that reading of any kind is valuable, and I don't want to get to a stage when I am judging a book good or bad, &nbsp;I was reminded of the value in encouraging children to read books with depth, books that stretch them, that allow them to really see life through another's eyes, to develop empathy, and inhabit someone else's &nbsp;world, sharing their experience of challenges faced and overcome. &nbsp;I know that this much is true: thanks to an incredible home library, and no TV, I read a lot of amazing books when I was young, and by experiencing hardship, difference and other people's worlds vicariously, I &nbsp;created a strong foundation of experience to draw on in the face of life's real challenges big and small.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, by the time I arrived home that night after the meeting, I had a plan. To set both of them a challenge; a "five book challenge", each list containing books that I knew would take them out of their comfort zones, that would challenge their thinking, but also that would hopefully inspire them to keep on reaching for books that 'stretched' them.&nbsp;</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And, I've been amazed! Like me, sometimes they just need a nudge.</div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-17265771876202467962012-08-21T01:59:00.000-07:002012-08-21T02:55:43.419-07:00More of the Made in France series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I know, I may as well set up camp in their promotions department, but I just love them so. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Cross-stitch-Embroidery-for-Babies-Toddlers-Children-Isabelle-LeLoup/9781742661308"><i><b>Cross-stitch and Embroidery for Babies, Toddlers and Children</b></i></a>&nbsp;by Isabelle LeLoup has some really sweet little projects....and even though I haven't made anything from it, I am happy to just gaze at the beautiful styling, and feel inspired <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(to tidy my house and make it pretty like in the book)</span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2MNRVz9Sw7s/UDNMMOhmA2I/AAAAAAAAAlY/bQsHM5wRNB4/s1600/P1050261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2MNRVz9Sw7s/UDNMMOhmA2I/AAAAAAAAAlY/bQsHM5wRNB4/s400/P1050261.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNBlsJD-od0/UDNMSfq1DtI/AAAAAAAAAlg/Eij8vB8RmTE/s1600/P1050267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNBlsJD-od0/UDNMSfq1DtI/AAAAAAAAAlg/Eij8vB8RmTE/s400/P1050267.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x Library Girl</div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-23073638075188634532012-08-12T18:14:00.000-07:002012-08-21T01:40:00.356-07:00Developing an understanding for The Language of Flowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Language-Flowers-Vanessa-Diffenbaugh/9780307878939"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">The Language of Flowers</span>&nbsp;</a></b>by Vanessa Diffenbaugh</i> was recommended to me by several friends, and after another phase of reading non fiction, it was an extra special treat to have a compelling bit of fiction to look forward to at the end of each day....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;to be honest, I didn't always limit myself to bedtime reading - a few chores were ignored in the reading of this book!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;Victoria Jones overcomes the emotional scars of a tumultuous and bleak childhood in foster care through a love of flowers, and the messages that they convey. The tale, told in a dual narrative between her child and adult self, weaves a story where struggle is intertwined with little glimpses of hope, and carried along by an underlying tension - she has done something that she fears she will never be forgiven for. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Victoria's tentative move towards happiness and love unfolds rather like a delicate flower - it's subtle and affecting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtyaWcAAD4o/UCn-ZPjGFDI/AAAAAAAAAks/D-uuEeV2KWU/s1600/language+of+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtyaWcAAD4o/UCn-ZPjGFDI/AAAAAAAAAks/D-uuEeV2KWU/s320/language+of+flowers.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-67606217875066849922012-07-24T03:26:00.000-07:002012-08-21T01:41:05.235-07:00This month's musicI'm unashamedly soft when it comes to 'music moments'. Nothing gets me in the same way as the right song, in the right place, at the right moment. Nothing. I've got a stockpile of memories, magical spots of time, when music has got me. Those moments can't be manufactured - it's the show of human qualities that make the magic. I like that - a lot.<br /><br />So, I take my hat off to people who commit themselves to making music. Who work at their craft even when it's going badly, who commit themselves to daily practice, who turn up for the weekly band practice. I've never been one of those people - a proper musician - so I can only imagine that it's not always a picnic, but that perhaps the lure of being part of (or the cause of) one of those special moments can go a long way.<br /><br />Here's my pick for this month's top three hard working New Zealand bands, bringing the magic. (Click on their names to check out their video)<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdFp-aMweLw"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Nightchoir</span></i></b></a> - who are about to head off on a <a href="http://www.myspace.com/nightchoirnz">national tour</a>. Check them out live if you possibly can!<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2.<b><i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAbpKR5fDBg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Beach pigs</span></a></i></b><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;3. <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ghost-wave"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Ghost wave</span></i></b></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-56862539687356171282012-07-17T02:25:00.003-07:002012-08-21T01:41:50.988-07:00Ripe cookbook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My dear friend Gin (of <a href="http://bakeclub.yolasite.com/">bake club</a> fame) has supplied me with just about every beautiful recipe book I own. I consider myself spoilt - I've been a grateful recipient of some real classics.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Last Christmas Gin bought me the <a href="http://www.ripedeli.co.nz/collections/frontpage/products/ripe-recipe-book">Ripe deli</a> book&nbsp;<i><b>Ripe Recipes</b></i>&nbsp;by Angela Redfern.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've looked through plenty of recipe books in my time. While most inspire me to dream, &nbsp;it takes a special cookbook to inspire me to action. This one did. I have used it numerous times in the last six months, and absolutely love it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I made brioche for the first time, a little tentatively (my husband is half-french and he's got a frenchman's taste for brioche!), but I needn't have worried, they were such a hit. The recipe was really straight forward, and the filling (rhubarb and custard) was divine! I'll be making them again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J6yja9TF-Zs/T__XGdV8V2I/AAAAAAAAAhY/6AFinvxND8M/s1600/P1050114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J6yja9TF-Zs/T__XGdV8V2I/AAAAAAAAAhY/6AFinvxND8M/s400/P1050114.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To continue the rhubarb theme, I also made the rhubarb butterscotch layer cake. It wasn't quite as straightforward (it took me three tries to get the caramel sauce right for starters) but it was really worth it. Cream cheese, and caramel, <i>and</i> sponge,<i> <b>and</b></i> rhubarb....it's gooooood! And the next-day leftovers were <i>even better</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmKe8UMDQrs/T__W-wkro5I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/kgtGL9Vkqio/s1600/P1050092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmKe8UMDQrs/T__W-wkro5I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/kgtGL9Vkqio/s400/P1050092.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There's such a nice combination of practical/real and decadence to this book. From chutneys to chocolate easter nests, it's jam-packed full of good ideas. And it's a real keeper.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x Library Girl</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-78748890488674320392012-07-12T00:03:00.000-07:002012-08-21T01:42:51.789-07:00Quiet Spaces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vj62wZc1AtY/T_5o9C5-l4I/AAAAAAAAAf8/v3bWzvaNwPU/s1600/P1040909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vj62wZc1AtY/T_5o9C5-l4I/AAAAAAAAAf8/v3bWzvaNwPU/s640/P1040909.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I have been reveling in holiday calm the last few days. Released for a moment from my full-time role as family taxi driver, I am amazed with how much free time and domestic energy it has left me with. I have cleaned, run along the beach, baked bread, taken long baths, and even managed an afternoon nap tucked up with a Joan Trollope book, (<i>Other People's Children)</i>, and a cup of rooibus.<br /><br />Inspired by my current fave home and interior magazine (library issues only, often out-of-date, not complaining, at all. I love it), <i>Homes and Antiques</i>, I thought I'd share with you some nursery pictures I shot during my day of domesticity.<br /><br />Hope you are having a nice week too.<br /><br />x Library Girl<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HDcdYu3fvZ8/T_5o5LFE9oI/AAAAAAAAAfw/vB_jrL6D6d0/s1600/P1040908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXAMCh3kJeY/T_5ohxEMDlI/AAAAAAAAAfY/_EtUipJz0Lo/s1600/P1040902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXAMCh3kJeY/T_5ohxEMDlI/AAAAAAAAAfY/_EtUipJz0Lo/s640/P1040902.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mi1p5MwSkt4/T_5pDLX91dI/AAAAAAAAAgE/N1PzsaOAqJY/s1600/P1040910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mi1p5MwSkt4/T_5pDLX91dI/AAAAAAAAAgE/N1PzsaOAqJY/s640/P1040910.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aQOjH-cnSaE/T_5pI4qTXuI/AAAAAAAAAgM/1-3sAOR9zqo/s1600/P1040911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aQOjH-cnSaE/T_5pI4qTXuI/AAAAAAAAAgM/1-3sAOR9zqo/s640/P1040911.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n3hDPCk1UII/T_5pUVwUQyI/AAAAAAAAAgc/ILr3aa9SnfU/s1600/P1040915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n3hDPCk1UII/T_5pUVwUQyI/AAAAAAAAAgc/ILr3aa9SnfU/s640/P1040915.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v9C1BvRmHQ0/T_5pObdo7nI/AAAAAAAAAgU/wBodDVcUysk/s1600/P1040912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v9C1BvRmHQ0/T_5pObdo7nI/AAAAAAAAAgU/wBodDVcUysk/s640/P1040912.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gw4f-SLGkPM/T_5op7wGJ4I/AAAAAAAAAfg/3Zq7Rnuajck/s1600/P1040904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gw4f-SLGkPM/T_5op7wGJ4I/AAAAAAAAAfg/3Zq7Rnuajck/s640/P1040904.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HDcdYu3fvZ8/T_5o5LFE9oI/AAAAAAAAAfw/vB_jrL6D6d0/s1600/P1040908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HDcdYu3fvZ8/T_5o5LFE9oI/AAAAAAAAAfw/vB_jrL6D6d0/s640/P1040908.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w1it6KVWT_I/T_5pY9oHTnI/AAAAAAAAAgo/WO9ZrV3jzMo/s1600/P1040922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w1it6KVWT_I/T_5pY9oHTnI/AAAAAAAAAgo/WO9ZrV3jzMo/s640/P1040922.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RxKWFlepk5M/T_5ozNaxcdI/AAAAAAAAAfo/_zzAMtmUSqY/s1600/P1040905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RxKWFlepk5M/T_5ozNaxcdI/AAAAAAAAAfo/_zzAMtmUSqY/s640/P1040905.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-72789424799781805022012-06-26T15:54:00.003-07:002012-07-24T17:27:46.847-07:00Made in France craft seriesI've made excited exclamations about the Made in France series before. I love the way they put these craft books together, the styling is beautiful, the craft ideas are gorgeous, and I'm always inspired.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mdptPZdmGMA/T-o635wYm1I/AAAAAAAAAfM/34mrdA1Iiys/s1600/IMG_0542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mdptPZdmGMA/T-o635wYm1I/AAAAAAAAAfM/34mrdA1Iiys/s400/IMG_0542.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Cross-stitch samplers</b></i> by Marjorie Massey is as stylish as all the others, and with a focus on linen, and white, blue and red, it has a distinctly french feel.<br /><br />I've never managed to complete a cross-stitch project (I still have the unfinished rooster I was cross stitching for my older brother's 10th birthday, and he just turned 40. I did contemplate finishing it for his birthday this year, but I decided the time had well passed since it was appropriate to give my brother a cross-stitched <i>rooster</i>), but if &nbsp;I ever get inspired to start a new cross-stitch project, I think I'll begin right here with one of the loose leaf patterns in this book.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qvhxCJIEL7c/T-o61nx_jiI/AAAAAAAAAfE/WeIAI9PXh2k/s1600/IMG_0541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qvhxCJIEL7c/T-o61nx_jiI/AAAAAAAAAfE/WeIAI9PXh2k/s400/IMG_0541.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;x Library Girl(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-76723048039141286562012-06-19T02:35:00.003-07:002012-06-26T02:16:59.201-07:00The Paris WifeI finished The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain, over a week ago, but every time I think of it my throat constricts, my eyes get smudgy, and I realise I'm still a little bit heartbroken.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pratejvilOA/T-BHY7n051I/AAAAAAAAAe4/0QR2GB5I_jE/s1600/IMG_0548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pratejvilOA/T-BHY7n051I/AAAAAAAAAe4/0QR2GB5I_jE/s400/IMG_0548.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The story, written as fiction, and told in the voice of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife, is based on known facts about their relationship. It's a love story, but as far as love stories go, it's pretty devastating. Hadley and Ernest meet at a party in Chicago, when he is only 21, and she six years older. Each carrying sadnesses and baggage, they fall in love. They marry and move to Paris, where, spurred on by new friends such as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, Hemingway begins to make tentative steps towards fiction writing. They become parents, he becomes famous, and they come apart.<br /><br />I cried.<br /><br />x Library Girl<br /><br /><br />PS I feel abit guilty. I got a recommendation for this book from a friend, and rushed out to get it from the library. Somehow, in doing so, I actually pipped her at the post - it turns out she hasn't yet read it, and has been waiting patiently for her reserve to come up at the library! Hope it helps that I couldn't put it down - and got it back to the library in good time! x<br /><br /><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-15464852548924899432012-06-12T03:09:00.003-07:002012-06-13T19:53:57.026-07:00When old favourites go wrong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am unsettled.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have a handful of authors who, in my opinion, can do no wrong. It's their names I rattle off when people ask who my favourites are. They are my top people. And being a bookish librarian, that says a lot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anne Tyler has topped my list of favourite authors ever since I read Patchwork Planet a decade ago.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As John Updike describes, she "gives the mundane its beautiful due". Her work has been described as 'domestic realism' - she writes about people grappling the stuff of ordinary life, and she captures the nuances and quirks of that everyday life in such a way that we see it afresh. Her work always carries an edge of melancholy; yet her amused tone makes us smile as we read, detached and charmed, taking nothing to heart.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k_J2qyT7_wY/T9cMMtAnBnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/vZexoKP6Mb0/s1600/the+beginners+goodbye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k_J2qyT7_wY/T9cMMtAnBnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/vZexoKP6Mb0/s320/the+beginners+goodbye.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, when I finally had her new book, <b><i>The Beginner's Goodbye</i></b>, in my clutches last month, I quickly made up an excuse to spend the afternoon curled up reading. It's a slow-moving tale of a man grappling with grief, and finding his way back to equilibrium and happiness, after his wife dies in a freak accident.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I emerged, book finished, I felt a bit let down. It's just a bit sad really - flat, like the melancholia took over, and left little room for a redemptive tale to emerge.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But I still love her. I'm loyal like that. However, when I next name her in my top five, there may be a disclaimer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><br /><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-45736894385412882752012-06-12T02:29:00.000-07:002012-07-24T17:28:18.412-07:00Knitting in company<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;I have found the perfect company for my knitting projects this week:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>Lark Rise to Candleford</b></i>&nbsp;<i>by Flora Thompson</i> and <i><b>Cranford</b></i>&nbsp; <i>by Elizabeth Gaskell</i> are two of my all-time favourite classic books, so it is pure happiness to snuggle and knit in front of the fire, brew of tea at my side, and watch them brought to screen in these BBC productions.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppOME9riGvU/T9cIsE3SpAI/AAAAAAAAAeA/eYTlVqXFtw8/s1600/larkrise+to+candleford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppOME9riGvU/T9cIsE3SpAI/AAAAAAAAAeA/eYTlVqXFtw8/s400/larkrise+to+candleford.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />And thanks for all your enthusiasm about my helmet project...it's all finished and packaged off to it's unsuspecting recipient, and now, fired up with the excitement of accomplishment, I am starting in on another fair isle project, a pair of warm, winter socks. &nbsp;I heart winter knitting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AtodL96v0O0/T9cIp9R0dSI/AAAAAAAAAd4/EXB-kpkgrJk/s1600/hat+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AtodL96v0O0/T9cIp9R0dSI/AAAAAAAAAd4/EXB-kpkgrJk/s400/hat+pic.jpg" width="313" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x Library Girl</div><br />(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-89127822430102415892012-06-01T03:36:00.003-07:002012-07-24T17:28:42.382-07:00Fair isle mash-upI got this idea in my head about a baby's hat I wanted to make. A helmet style with an extra front flap to be fastened up with a button....and a bit of fair isle thrown in too. My freestyle knitting confidence is not peaking right now, but I knew I had to push myself to bring the idea to fruition, else I may regret it for<i>ever</i>. So I gathered several books from the library, and between them, and with a bit of extra experimentation thrown in, I am getting closer to the finished object.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9sKFe9rUXYA/T8iZwpPMDiI/AAAAAAAAAdY/404ui4XanrU/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9sKFe9rUXYA/T8iZwpPMDiI/AAAAAAAAAdY/404ui4XanrU/s400/IMG_0505.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I've never done fair isle knitting before, but by following the little grids in the book <i><b>Icelandic Knitting </b></i>by Helene Magnusson (I guess it's not technically fair isle then? but I love it no matter!) I nutted things out, and was delighted when I saw real deal knitted snowflakes starting to form!<br /><br />I think I'll have to make the most of the long weekend and head down the garden with my knitting and thermos to enjoy the last of the autumnal sunshine, and finish this thing I've started.<br /><br />Happy Queen's Birthday weekend to you all!<br /><br />x Library Girl<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>PS the other book I drew inspiration from was <i><b>Baby Bloom</b></i> by Erika Knight(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674432745344620867.post-76538379144081025032012-05-30T19:13:00.000-07:002012-06-26T02:19:11.630-07:00New York food for the soul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Memoirs involving New York, good food, and colourful women definitely go to the top of my book pile, and I haven't been disappointed so far. I have just finished<b> <i>Blood, Bones and Butter</i></b> by Gabrielle Hamilton and really loved it.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hamilton's chapters are almost like stand-alone essays on different aspects of her life, from her idyllic childhood, through her tumultuous teenage, to her unexpected and unconventional marriage to an Italian doctor, and the equally unexpected adventure of opening her now well-acclaimed restaurant Prune (at the same time as juggling the demands of becoming a parent).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;It's gritty and real, the writing is quirky, and the storytelling very honest. It's full of <i>life</i>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Postscript: this book was recommended to me by the lovely author of the food blog <a href="http://passthesalt.co.nz/">pass the salt</a>. If you haven't already discovered her, take a peek, she's a clever one!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1cXdszqo04/T8bOCZak0uI/AAAAAAAAAdE/EoJrXt01S0I/s1600/IMG_0502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A1cXdszqo04/T8bOCZak0uI/AAAAAAAAAdE/EoJrXt01S0I/s400/IMG_0502.jpg" width="351" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My other favourite New York based memoir is <i><b>Madeleines in Manhattan</b></i> written by french food writer Collette Rossant, who, at the age of 22 years, moved to New York with her husband, Jimmy. As a reader, it is exciting to discover New York's world of food with Rossant as guide, to be party to her private world as she falls in love and becomes a parent, to follow her career as it unfolds, and to be given a glimpse into her colourful, rich world.&nbsp;</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These books make me desperate to get there and experience the city's diverse and exciting food scene for myself....meantime I'll keep on hunting for books like these to fuel the dream!</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">x Library Girl</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>(sweetlittle)librarygirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05773862304096655241noreply@blogger.com2
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