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Category Archives: Reading

Year of the Re-read

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by cmadeleine0816 in Books, Reading, The Simple Life, Writing, Year of the Reread

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Books, reading, The simple life, Year of the Reread

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reread more books. I keep reading new ones because I want to read more new books by Sarah Dunant or Fitzgerald. However, we all know that you discover so much the second, third, or fourth time you read a book. Thus far in my life there are two books that I have consistently reread (and up to this point, I’m not a huge rereader).

First book was from my youthful summers on the shores of Lake Superior. In one of the tourist shops on either Mackinac Island or at Fort Michilimackinac, I discovered the book Traders in Time. It was the first time travel book that seemed plausible to me. Two siblings are playing in the woods; one gets hit on the head or falls out of a tree or something and gets transported back to the time of the fur trappers and traders in the Great Lakes regions. Awesome! I think I read this book almost every summer. Sadly, I have not read it since high school I think.

The other book I’ve read about once every 5 or 6 years is The Great Gatsby. Like all high school kids, I read it in American Lit. Then I read it in college just for the heck of it. Then I read it again when I was teaching it a few years ago. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is my all time favorite. I love it so much, I even bought this shirt. And then I bought one for my sister too. Seriously I love it that much. Fitzgerald is a genius. I love the movie as well. Also genius.

Anyway. I made a group on facebook for this year long challenge. It’s called “Year of the Re-read.”

If you follow me and you’d be interested in joining the group, check it out. Group.

There are some ground rules.
1. No book bashing. No hating on people just because they love a certain book.
2. Read for at least 10 min every day.
3. Try to keep track of when you start and finish the book. (Hard copy in a journal or join goodreads.com and friend us on there too).
4. Each month, take a picture of the book you read and add it to that month’s photo album. For each book include the following information:
– First time you read the book:
– Why you decided to reread it:
– How long it took you to reread it:
– New insights, epiphanies, and/or overall reactions/feelings about the book the second time around:
– Recommend it for others:
5. Post general awesomeness on this page to get people reading!

We hope you join us!!!!

School is almost over and I just can’t wait

02 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by cmadeleine0816 in 18th Century, 18th century clothing, Reading, Sewing Projects in progress, Summer crafts, Teaching

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home made crafts, quilted jumps, reading, school

Around the beginning of May, I begin to read books for fun again – voraciously read; devouring everything. I can read about 250 – 300 pages in five days. I love it. The problem – I still have essays to grade. Yet, I sit on the back porch in the sun content to finish my book and accomplish nothing else. This is how I functioned in the summer since I could read chapter books.

Summers were spent at the family built cottage in the Eastern end of the UP. My sister and I did not care that it was remote. We stockpiled our reading books for the summer, made frequent trips to the little library in town when we finished our own books, and then when we were old enough, started reading more adult books that belonged to my mom. Now all this reading was in between running through the woods, swimming/playing endless games on the beach, playing card/board games, putting puzzles together and playing paper dolls. The cottage was the best because it felt like a house that was actually “lived in,” unlike our city house in the Detroit area at the time which had sparse decoration and had an “everything in its place mentality.” The only time we were required to clean the cottage was before company arrived and the entire family happily pitched in to achieve a tidy house. But oh to sit around and read books.

My sister and I would have races to see who could finish books first. I remember staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. (with our door closed so the light would not bother anyone) just to finish. Whoever fell asleep first undoubtedly lost the contest because the the person usually finished the book that night.

Now when I read, that’s how I feel. I sit in my own little nest of blankets on the porch couch or if it’s warm enough, lay outside on a blanket and just plow through books. I want to hurry up and finish one book so I can immerse myself in the next. I’m usually pretty disciplined about forcing myself to get school work done first before I do anything else. But this time of year, I’m like the kids; nothing else matters but the summer.

And the worst part is my husband’s school is done THIS WEEK (June 7) and I have another two weeks!!!! I’m not done until June 12! Are you kidding me?!!!

When I’m tired of reading, I’ve been starting multiple sewing projects.

One – I turned an old t-shirt of my sister’s into a pillow. I cut across the top shoulder part of the shirt and sewed the top and arm openings closed. Then I stuffed in the pillow and top stitched along the bottom in a bright yellow embroidery thread that matched part of the design on the shirt. My sister loved it. I will make more of these!

Two – A little bit ago, I posted how I had started making my first 18th cent jacket that I wanted to hand sew. For whatever reason, I was really nervous to put the muslin mock up pattern pieces on the actual fabric I wanted so I thought, why not use some other fabric I had leftover from a petticoat. Okay great. I had about a yard and a quarter (maybe) and I laid it out on the floor. It took me a minute to lay out the pattern pieces so they all fit, but I got it!!! I was super proud of myself. So I go along dum de dum de dum and cut cut cut. And then……..I realized I never cut out the sleeve pieces!!!!!!!!!!! AH!!! Who does that?!! Seriously. I was really hoping to actually do a good job on this first jacket so it was wearable  and now I didn’t have any sleeves! Seriously. I was soooo mad at myself. But then, being the creative person that I am, I remembered seeing a picture of quilted bodices or ‘jumps’ in the Kyoto Fashion Institute book. There is a lot of speculation among groups/people as to whether or  not these are historically accurate. I honestly can’t say for sure. But can I trust this book and that there are actual garments in a well-known museum? I’d like to think so. Either way, jumps are basically a sleeveless jacket…..like a vest. According to my book, they are worn by women either under or over the stays, for warmth and/or comfort when women want to be lazy around their own house and not get entirely dressed for the day. I would like to think that a regular every day working class person would not have the time to just “lay around their house because they don’t feel like getting dressed” therefore, this garment would have been worn for warmth for them. As a result, I, too, will wear mine for warmth. Although I have not been to a ton of events (not where there is snow/cold rain), when the sun goes down at night, I get chilled. While my heavy woolen cloak is warm, my core feels drafty and I want something that is the equivalent of throwing on a comfy warm sweatshirt.

Luckily, I had some natural batting lying around and my mom got me these old muslin bed sheets that are of a pretty sturdy quality. I’m still using my brown striped fabric on the outside, adding one layer of batting, and then lining with white muslin. Here’s the other fun part of this: I’ve never really quilted before. It’s one of those things where I understand the concept, but I’ve never made a quilt (except one teeny quilt square for a colonial days project in 7th grade) so this should be fun!!! As of now, I have the batting attached to the outer fabric and the two back pieces sewn together and I have to cut out the pieces of the lining and attach them to the three sections. then I will quilt the side pieces each and the back piece, then attach the two side pieces to the one giant back piece. I think that will work. The last thing I have to figure out is how to measure the spacing to make eyelets for spiral lacing.

Image

Striped fabric leftover from petticoat

Image

Jacket bodice pieces minus the sleeves

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by cmadeleine0816 in Books, Reading, Writing

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reading

I have this “thing” when I buy books. I usually drop anywhere from 20 – 80 dollars at a time on books for my own personal library. I love buying books. I’m an extremely visual person and therefore, I am drawn easily to books with certain pictures on the cover as well as books made of a certain paper material that are not the glossy cover, but the oddly smooth/rough type. (It’s hard to explain and as it is late at night, I’m not going to really attempt any great feats of imagery here. Sorry). So anyway, after I buy the books, I never read them right away. They usually sit in a pile by my bed or by the couch where I can see them every day and I can lovingly caress their covers and day dream about the day when I will not have any papers to grade and there is nothing more pressing than starting a new book.

Well, that moment finally arrived. I purchased Island Beneath the Sea at the end of last school year. It was on my list to read over the summer, but I never really got to it. I picked it up in August right before the new school year began and I am over half way into it (normally I can read very quickly, but during school, I can only read a few chapters a night, but it’s worth it). Allende’s writing style utterly engages me. I bought this book because I adore her other book, Daughter of Fortune. I am a historical fiction fanatic and Allende’s knowledge of the time period (1700’s for Island…) transports me instantaneously. I prefer regional historic fiction and the setting for this novel is Santo Domingo during the French occupation. All the names of people and places are French which is lovely as my minor is in French and my studies focused on France French. Furthermore, as a reenactor for the Revolutionary War time period, I’m intrigued by what was going on in other countries during that same time period. I knew that the location of her novel was instrumental in the Triangular Trade Route I learned about in middle school social studies, but now I have characters who lived there and breathed the air. It seems all the more real to me. Now that I’m halfway through the book, I can’t believe I let the book sit as long as I did. I guess it’s a form of withholding satisfaction? Not sure. Regardless, I’m really glad I bought it and that it is now part of my library. If I could meet Allende, I would. If anyone knows of her tour schedule, let me know if she is in the Milwaukee/Chicago area. Also, if you have not read any of her books, you should. She’s an excellent writer and has some wonderful descriptive passages that can be used for upper level writers (high school mainly).

Island Beneath the Sea

Autumn walks and character point of view

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by cmadeleine0816 in Books, Cat, Reading, Writing

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cat

I thoroughly enjoy books written in first person because I love connecting with characters who tell a story in their own words. Like many active readers, I connect so strongly with a character that I literally feel as if I’m walking by their side, experiencing every moment with them. It’s very dream-like/movie-like. As a good/expert reader in my classroom, I try to verbalize these images/thoughts when I read aloud so I can model what goes on in the mind of good readers. Usually, my students snicker and think I’m totally whacked. I fully admit to being weird. I really do. And here is the next weird part: because I usually think in terms of other characters’ point of view, I constantly wonder what my cat is thinking. Oh to hear her inner monologue.

Many of us who have pets wonder this I’m sure of it. But today, as I walked my cat around the yard after school, her face overflowed with pure elation. The leaves crunched beneath her tiny paws, her claws sunk in to tree bark, the birds twittered overhead, and I gazed from afar. What do you smell? Do you really want to catch those birds? Could you if you put your mind to it and gave 110%? After being cooped up all day in a house, I wanted her to bask in the afternoon sun and breathe the fresh air. I would suffer the zesty autumn afternoon air because I, too, had been confined in a windowless room. Near the end of our outing, she trotted over to the shade garden. There, a pile of medium sized boulders makes a perfect kitty perch. She found the one smooth, flat rock and sat there. My mind wandered again….isn’t that stone cold on your bottom? Do you keep track of all the birds you’ve seen so far today? Aren’t your paws cold now?

Alas, I will never know what my cat thinks. As long as there is a happy lImageook on her face or a peppy meow greeting me every day, I’ll take it as a good sign and take each moment to connect with my pet.

Ox Bow Tavern Living History

Ox Bow Tavern Living History

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