My Nook TBR Jar

I am an avid reader and have so many unread books, including more than 1000 on my Nook eReader. Yes, more than a 1000 on the Nook alone....I have a hard time deciding which book to read next, so I thought I'd make a TBR (To Be Read) Jar solely for my unread Nook books. It's nothing fancy - just a cute green mug. I wrote down the titles and authors of my unread books, cut them out in strips and folded them before throwing them into the jar. I'll get my daughter to draw from the jar when I'm ready to read one.

Books are one of my weaknesses whenever I go to a store. I always seem to gravitate to the bookshelves. I read all kinds of books, but my favorite genres are mysteries, thrillers, suspense, true crime and romance. I like some YA (young adult), but I find many are full of subject matter that I try to steer clear from - witches, demons, etc. Biographies and memoirs are usually quite interesting as well.  Reading transports me into another world for a while. Some stories, if written well, will stay with me for quite some time. Theological or religious books one has to be careful about as I've found that a lot of them are not Biblically-based and contain the author's own opinions rather than staying true to Scripture.

Here are a few thoughts on one of my favorite pastimes.

You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. -C.S. Lewis

You're never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read to a child. - Dr Seuss

There is no friend as loyal as a book. - Ernest Hemingway

I must say that I find television very education. The moment somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book. - Groucho Marx

A book is a gift you can open again and again. -Garrison Keillor

Baby, it's cold outside! Ugh!! At least the sun is shining today. I have spring fever already, but I'm afraid Old Man Winter has a lot more time to wreak wintry havoc on my spring frame of mind. Ah well....

Poetry

I love poetry. I've written quite a few poems myself over the years and I bring them out occasionally. It's usually a therapeutic exercise for me, kind of like journaling or blogging. Here are 2 poems that I've loved for many years.

IF JESUS CAME TO YOUR HOUSE

By Unknown

If Jesus came to your house
To spend some time with you,
If He came unexpected,
I wonder what you’d do.

Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room
To such an honored guest
And all the food you’d give to Him
Would be the very best.

And you would keep assuring Him
You’re glad to have Him there–
That serving Him in your home
Is joy beyond compare.

But when you saw Him coming,
Would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome
To your heavenly visitor?

Or would you have to change your clothes
Before you let Him in
Or hide some magazines
And put the Bible where they’d been

Would you hide your worldly music
and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right
in, or would you rush about?

And I wonder – if the Saviour
spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing, the
things you always do?

Would you go right on saying, the
things you always say?
Or would life for you continue
as it does from day to day?

Would you take Jesus with you
everywhere you go?
Or would you maybe change your
plans for just a day or so?

Would you be glad to have Him
meet your closest friends?
Or would you hope they stay away,
until His visit ends?

Would you be glad to have Him
stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great
relief when He at last was gone?

It might be interesting to know,
the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person, to spend
some time with you.

THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT

By: Joyce Kilmer

Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black
I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings
I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do
For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass
It needs new paint and shingles and the vines should be trimmed and tied
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade
I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I'd find some people who who wanted a home and give it to them for free

Now a new house standing empty, with staring window and door
Looks idle perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store
But there's nothing lonely about it, it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known

But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife
A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and has held up his stumbling feet
Is the saddest sight, when left alone, that ever your eyes could meet

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back
Yet it hurts me to look at the fallen roof and the shutters falling apart
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart

It's a blustery, cold winter's day. I have lots left to do. God bless.

My First Smash Book

I've been working on a "Smash Book" off and on for the last year. It's a neat concept where you create pages dedicated to a particular theme and decorate them accordingly by "smashing" ephemera and paraphernalia in them.  Here's some of what I've done thus far.

It's a fun little project to do in my spare time. It brings out the creativity in me.

This week is going to be quite busy. And it's supposed to turn pretty cold by mid-week. I don't look forward to that. Cold is one thing; bitter cold is quite the other. It's hard for me to tolerate the latter, but we'll have to make do.

Random quotes for the day:

The pine stays green in winter...wisdom in hardship. -Norman Douglas

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. -Paul Theroux

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. -Albert Camus

O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? -Percy Shelley

Trying to stay positive amid the throes of the Winter season.

Time With The Grandkids

Our granddaughter, Kaylee, spent the night with us last night. Kaylee loves her some Play-Doh. She can sit for hours and watch Play-Doh - related videos on YouTube. We're keeping her her own little stash at our house.

She has on her Spiderman pajamas. :)

Here she is again, playing with her new Frozen stationery set. She made us a card.

Here is me and my daughter with my youngest grandson, Christian.

And here is Christian catching a few zzzz's....

And our middle grandchild, Caleb, age 2...

Caleb and Kaylee playing with blocks...

I plan to start this lighthouse latch hook project soon.

It's been a while since I've done latch hook, but from what I can recall, it wasn't that difficult. I've found a lot more I'd like to complete, so hopefully, I'll enjoy it and can turn it into a hobby.

As stated in last night's post, my husband picked up 3 pizzas from Pizza Hut and we spent a few hours with our son and his family. Kaylee spent the night with us and we watched the ball drop in NYC. I don't know why, but I get a little choked up every year when I see that. I guess it's the inevitable passage of time and how we have no control over it that gets to me. Maybe it's the reality of lost time and what could've or should've been done or said. No sense in dwelling in the past though. Upward and onward, as they say.

Time flies over us, but leaves it shadow behind. -Nathaniel Hawthorne

Lost time is never found again. -Benjamin Franklin

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. -Coco Chanel

How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness, how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? -Dr Seuss

Happy New Year

I can hardly believe it's almost 2015! My goodness!! We'll be eating takeout pizza for supper this evening and will watch the ball drop at midnight. I'm looking forward to the new year and hoping and praying that it'll be a good one.

Happy New Year!

The Week After Christmas

The week after Christmas seems like a time of "mourning" for me. I don't know...I guess all of the hype and excitement leading up to the big day is enough to cause one to 'crash' into melancholia after it all ends. Perhaps it's just me? I know the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in all of the commercialism. It leaves me scratching my head. I was watching YouTube videos this week and a great number of them were uploaded from young people entitled "What I Got For Christmas" or "My Christmas Haul". All of these videos are prefaced with the disclaimer that they're not trying to brag, but of course they are....But, honestly - don't we all contribute to this kind of mentality? We live in one of the richest nations on Earth and let's face it, our kids are spoiled. Mine too. I thank the Lord for the blessing of having been born in the US, but then I think of those in other parts of the world who are much less fortunate than we are and I'm quite ashamed. I don't know where this diatribe is leading. Just a few thoughts I've been having for a few days now...

I'm currently reading these books:

This is the second book written by Shelley Shepard Gray that I've read and I'd highly recommend her books. They're sweet, clean romances and I just adore her writing.

Yesterday, it was a gorgeous sunny day. I spent a while, jacket-free, on my front porch swing reading.

My son and his family are now in town. I haven't seen them in 8 months and I treasured the time we got to spend together today. My 3 grandkids are growing so fast.

Closing this post with a verse my pastor focused on in this morning's sermon:

I Peter 5:8 (KJV) - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

Merry Christmas!

I haven't been much into the "Christmas spirit" this holiday season, which is unusual for me. Nonetheless, it is a day that lightens my spirits and makes me feel a little more joyful than most other days. Today was no exception. My daughter opened her presents on Christmas Eve. Here is a little bit of what she received.

She loves the Frozen movie and all of the songs in it, so we thought we'd get her the Frozen songbook so she could learn how to play the songs on her guitar and keyboard. She also loves Marvel Comics, hence the Captain American Vinyl Pop-Up.

We all met up at mom's house for lunch - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, chocolate fudge and watergate salad.

Tomorrow we begin the last week of 2014. It's hard to believe it's almost 2015.

Our gas has now below $2.00/gallon. I didn't think I'd ever see that again.

My daughter and I painted our nails last night with Christmas-y colors. Just for fun...

Happy Birthday, Jesus. Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.