Our House in the Middle of Our Street

* Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury -- Although I found this slim book in the LHEA (Langley Home Educator's Association) library to use for teaching kids economic principles, this is a subject I feel I know very little about, so I picked it up for myself. My kids are still young and really only understand money as gifts, and pay for chores. I know nothing about the history of economics, and although understand, generally, a few principles, I knew this would be a good primer. It was! I learned a lot from the 1-5 page chapters, easy-to-digest " Uncle Eric " book and went on a mission to read all of the ones I could find this year. See below for #2. * The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp -- This book is Ann's long-awaited sophomore book, after 1,000 Gifts. Although I don't typically enjoy Ann's writing style, I find I struggle to slog through the flowery and repetitive language, I do love her content, which is what matters most to me anyway...

crisp January morning in Vancouver Every year I make a little goal list of fun things I'd like to try; things I've never done, or just things I want to be intentional to make time for. They're fun (books read to the kids!), often simple (make an intimidating-to-me ethnic food), or they could be things that I've wanted to do, that with some strategic planning, will happen within the year(specific travel/outdoor goals). You can see my 15 in 2015 list HERE and then the final " What Happened, What Didn't " after the year was over.  Here's my original 16 in 2016 list I made at the beginning of last January. I like to keep one or two lines blank, because I can't always think of everything by Jan 1! 1) We got a dog!! Copper joined our family in August and he's been a great addition. Although we're still working on his struggles with other dogs, he's such a happy guy. He's always ready to play, go on a hike, walk, or bike ride...

Jasper, water, wool (keep reading to see how they relate!) Awhile back, one of my favorite Young Adult and children's authors, Caroline Starr Rose , told her blog readers that her newest book, Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine , was going to be coming out soon, and did anyone want to volunteer to read and review it?! Um, yes please**. I've been a fan of her writing since her first book, May B . came out, and then loved her sophomore book, Bluebirds , so I knew this third youth novel would be strong, even though it would be written in prose and not poetry like the first two.  The story of Jasper, the young boy on the front cover, and his brother, Mel, starts in a sad, dilapidated home devoid of a mother and a father who is emotionally unavailable due to grief and alcoholism. The two young boys struggle to stay out of their father's way, and hear about the Klondike gold rush. With fool's luck, street smarts, and the brotherly relationship, together thes...

Ani reading the Sibley while watching the ducks If there's one thing I love about a new year, it's a new batch of titles I'm excited to read over the coming 12 months. My 2016 list was a bit full, and what I found out over the last two years-here's 2015 's- (I think I was in denial in January last year), is that I need to start with a small list, because the book club books, new releases I can't wait for, and recommended books by my favorite people, podcasts, or magazines inevitably are the ones I read. I have so many awesome thrift store books-upwards of 20-that have been vying for my attention, so a lot of this list are those hopefuls. I average 60+ books a year, and if I have 30 on that list? Well, I can count on maybe 10 of those getting read. Maybe.  This year I'm finally being realistic. Right now on my list are 2 that I'm currently reading and will finish by the end of the week. One is a book club pick that I'll be picking up in abou...

I've seen a few 'Top 10' book lists going around, so I'll play along. These are my favorite reads from 2016, not any particular order.  Over the next day or two I'll put out my 2017 hopefuls. ;)  * Being Mortal by Atul Gawande  * Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed  * Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling  * The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker  * Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach * The Collapse of Parenting, Girls on the Edge, Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax (I'm looping these as 1, and they were all excellent!) * Still Alice by Lisa Genova * The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd * Bent Hope by Tim Huff  * The Summer of the Great-Grandmother by Madeline L'Engle