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Reading Room:  What book do you go to...  |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 26 2007 : 11:30:55 PM
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when you need a little inspiration - a little "pick-me-up?"
I know that for me, when I'm feeling a little like I need a "comfort book," I reach for Hannah Hinchman's amazing illustrated notebook/journal/books, MaryJane's book or magazines, or, oddly enough, a housekeeping book.
What about you?
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
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emma.birdwhistle
True Blue Farmgirl
187 Posts
Elizabeth Ann
Ontario
Canada
187 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 06:26:28 AM
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If I ever find myself feeling discouraged or uninspired, I like to take time to look through Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts and The Private World of Tasha Tudor. They never fail to refresh me a little. For the same purposes, I will never tire of Henry Beston's Herbs and the Earth and John Seymour's Farming for Self-Sufficiency. All of the above have just the right balance of wit, wisdom, beauty and encouragement to renew my appetite for the simple life.
- Elizabeth Ann
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. - Thoreau
http://resolutelyoutmoded.etsy.com |
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cmandle
True Blue Farmgirl
846 Posts
Catherine
Minneapolis
MN
846 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 07:28:59 AM
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Any of my knitting books (Stitch 'n B*tch is my very favorite) or my binder of knitting patterns. Sometimes I just need to be reminded of the possibilities and then it seems that new things just start to flow from my needles again! Yarn catalogs too. KnitPicks and Halcyon Yarn are my favorites.
Catherine, the Farmgirl with a one-track knitting mind
http://yogurtandgranola.blogspot.com |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 07:46:24 AM
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| Gladys Taber- she is my favorite and reading about her life makes me want to get up and go do the same thing. I also love my Katharine Hepburn book that shows how she lives- it is photographs of her at home. My favorite is the picture of her laundry drying on the lawn of her estate home. Imagine a 3 time Oscar winner drying her granny panties on her lawn. |
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primjillie
True Blue Farmgirl
138 Posts
Jill
Antelope
CA
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 08:15:45 AM
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| I usually reread Rosamunde Pilcher's books when I need comforting. Her books are so cozy and relaxing and I love her way of describing scenery and people. Some of her books are short so they are a quick read, or if I feel like a longer read, I pick up her long novels and just settle in. |
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Vintage Redhead
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Kaylyn
Saint Charles
IL
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 08:31:31 AM
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I have an oddball selection. My *pick-me-up* book is called "Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History" (Barbour, Evarts, & Popper, editors).
A few years ago, DH and I traveled to the central California coast for vacation and had the privilege of hiking some of the redwood forests. When I read that book, I get both re-invigorated and relaxed at the same time. I'll try my best to explain it.
I was struck by the awesomeness of the forest. By the sense that I was *truly* in the presence of God, that there *ARE* things in this world larger than me -- and they are not created by human hands. And the "prehistoric ferns" that grow in the redwood forests - that are found nowhere else in the world. I get a charge knowing that the next time I get back there (hopefully in 2008!) my two sons will be with me and I will have the awesome task and responsibility of sharing these natural wonders with them.
I am also relaxed by the book. Just remembering the sense of quiet and peace and subtle sunlight in the redwood forests brings me a sense of calm. In addition to giving me a spark, the sense of God equally brings me a calm. Knowing that the forests are there, that nearly 100 years ago, the earliest conservationists thought ahead to preserve them from destruction gives me peace.
I suppose it is a good thing I don't live closer to the redwoods. I suspect I would make frequent pilgrimages and would get little down around my home! (Well, even more little than my art allows me to finish now!) ~ K
~ Kaylyn
(Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Current Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/ |
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sweetproserpina
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
meg
Vinemount
Ontario
Canada
535 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 09:41:31 AM
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The Secret Garden, it's my absolute favourite. Just reading about Mary discovering the garden and the key, her sourness melting away as spring comes... It's so very heartening. I too, also like going through my homemaking books like "Polly's Homemaking Pointers" or "Home Comforts" by Cheryl Mendelson. I can identify with her so much when she writes about having a secret life - being a homemaker. It's a great pick-me-up, when I feel stuck in the full-time job blues with no time to bake bread, or sew, or just putter..
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world."
http://theprimroseway.blogspot.com/ |
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kitchensqueen
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
521 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 2:10:33 PM
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I either read farming and country life memoirs or my cookbooks when I need some me time. Both are great escapes from daily stress. There is nothing more fulfilling than planning a party menu (even if I never have the party) or planning a season's canning. :-)
http://apartmentfarm.wordpress.com
Now Open!: http://shadetreestudios.etsy.com |
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Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 3:33:24 PM
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The Bible first and then any book by Wayne Dyer.
May God bless those who love the soil,
Patsy
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2007 : 1:40:48 PM
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Around the first of the year, I purchased an illustrated journal by Marjolein Bastine, who does the Nature's Sketchbook cards and giftline for Hallmark?? I absolutely love her illustrations, because they are mostly birds and berries, or feathers, eggs etc...It's a real pleasure to calendar in this book, and to keep track of my goals for the year. Every single page has a full color illustration, and I really have to keep myself from peeking, so as to not spoil the next week for myself! Some of them I'm going to frame when the year is over.
Not to beat a dead horse, but the Countryliving UK version really does it for me, too :)
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Mar 28 2007 : 2:43:42 PM
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For me it's the Scriptures. After that, I sink into some Jan Karon. Nothing like a trip to Mitford to lift you up.
Karin |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2007 : 08:46:42 AM
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Definitely my Bible -- reading the Psalms brings me joy. Then it would have to be a magazine like Mary Jane's, Cottage Living, or something about gardening.
www.annarosetta.com |
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2007 : 10:33:36 AM
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well,actually the other day in the rain,grey place we live in, I was feeling kinda the same way(grey and rainy) and there sat MJ apron and her big book, I started looking at those books and got cheered right up, all the aprons and smiles, they all looked so springy
shirley |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2007 : 11:17:34 AM
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"Walden", every time.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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junebug
True Blue Farmgirl
2421 Posts
Sue
West Plains,
Mo.
USA
2421 Posts |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 11:33:36 AM
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Okay - last night it was MJ's book, the new Stitching Room one - and a hot cup of tea. Somehow her writings always leave me with an "it's okay - I can do it!!!" feeling. Hooray for farmgirls!
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
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Mikki
True Blue Farmgirl
1510 Posts
Mikki
Austin
Indiana
USA
1510 Posts |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 11:27:00 PM
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I would sure never laugh...I LOVE them!! Anne of Green Gables too!!
I go to the scriptures alot, as well as several of my "back to the land" type books..for inspiration. I am not too much into the pretty fancy books..but those helpful ones!!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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mrsmorgen
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
morgen
coudersport
pa
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2007 : 07:03:12 AM
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Oh this is wonderful!!! I had no idea that anyone else thought of Home Comforts as a comfort book!!! I do too, and Mitford books and Anne of Green Gables!! I also love the Love COmes SOftly series by Janette Oke and reread them when I get into a "why dont they deliver pizza to my house mood." I hate to admit it but it happens usually in the winter. The Country living UK version is wonderful too. As a homeschooler I reread Pocketful of Pinecones a lot too. It's by Karen Andreola. Thanks for the heartwarming suggestions and Im going to have to pull a few of them out again and reread them now!!!!
Morgen in PA
I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all..
laura ingalls wilder |
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ArmyWifey
True Blue Farmgirl
712 Posts
Holly
Abilene
KS
712 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2007 : 3:48:11 PM
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The Bible, Memories of a PackRat by Ruth Bell Graham, The Cottage on the Fell or a Jane Austen.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
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EnchantedWoodsGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
959 Posts
Kathy
New Jersey
USA
959 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2007 : 6:37:32 PM
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Reading any of Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow books that remind me of why I am living the life I do - hehehe, she is the one that got me hooked on seeing how many Cocker Spaniels would run my life.
Also, any good nature books such as Walden, A Year in the Maine Woods - they put me in touch with my inner core.
Kathy of the Enchanted Wood
http://enchantedwoodmusings.blogspot.com/
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mima
True Blue Farmgirl
1573 Posts
1573 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2007 : 7:11:21 PM
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| Okay, I'm gonna sound totally "heathen"! LOL! If I'm having a rough day nothing beats grabbing a Starbucks,or diet coke and getting a people magazine and just zone out with celeb gossip! I know I'm terrible! |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2007 : 11:35:50 PM
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Okay - confession time? - I browse through "People" in the checkout line at the market....
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
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BotanicalBath
True Blue Farmgirl
1014 Posts
Elizabeth
Ohio
1014 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2007 : 12:09:34 AM
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Join a swap. Looking at others work usually inspires new ideas. Most of the time it is usually something very slight and unintentional by the artist that caught my eye. Also going shopping. I get ideas and inspiration from the strangest thing... it could be how the fruit is stacked at the store, or the color combination of fat quarter sets ( I dont quilt).... really anything.
Going to the library and being able to cruise the stacks.... taking out 20 or 30 craft books with pictures.... is a great way to spend an hour or two while the baby sleeps.
E-
BotanicalBath@peoplepc.com |
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Reading Room: What book do you go to... |
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What book do you go to...
