One more stitch, One more page... Hooks & Books

When you crochet in public, people ask you what you’re doing.

When you tell them, they ask you can you teach other people.

When you say that you can, they ask you when you’re free.

And next thing you know, you’re running an after-school class, teaching middle schoolers how to crochet.

That’s how it all began.  But I didn’t want to only teach them how to crochet, I wanted there to be some academic component to it. I consider a math tie-in – there’s a lot there as far as gauge, stitches per inch, patterns, felting – but I decided to go with literacy. Surprise! I presented the idea to the Principal and ta-da – Hooks & Books became a thing.  And I did have to explain to some folks that no, I was not starting a fishing lessons class.  Thursdays, after school, yarn, crochet hooks, and National Book Award winner, Coretta Scott King Award winner, and Newbery Honor Book, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.

Week 1 was an intro lesson, we read a few pages and worked on chain stitches. 

Belated Happy Birthday to author Jacqueline Woodson!

Week 2 - we talked about the importance of names and what people call you after reading a girl named jack and our names. We continued to work on the chain stitch – there were a few kids still getting the first chains going, others whose chain was as tall as they are. For those who were ready, we moved on to double chain stitch.  Talk about differentiated learning and teaching.

I’m prepping for Week 3. We’ll be talking about the stories of South Carolina and perfecting the double chain.

One more stitch, one more page….

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Books I'm Carrying Around: Citizens Creek, The Abundant Community

It's Friday! * Can you hear my off-pitch singing of the happiness of the end of a long week? *  If the book fairies love me, at the end of the day I will settle down on my comfy couch with a nice, chilly glass of eggnog with these books for my #weekendread.

Citizens Creek by Lalita Tademy - Author of Red River and Cane River. Yes, her books have a southern river theme and they are all about family. Citizens Creek centers around the story of a slave family that is owned by Creek Indians. I know - who knew that was a thing, Indians owning slaves.  Cow Tom, the father of the family, speaks English and several Indian tribe languages and serves as a translator for the Indian Chief. It is the early 1800s and Cow Tom is sent to serve as a representative of the Creek tribe as a translator for the American government, during Removal of the Indian tribes from Florida and the southern states to the western Indian territories.

  - Update: my review of the book, posted on Goodreads

The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families & Neighborhoods by John McKnight & Peter Block. From the inside jacket: Each neighborhood has people with the gifts and talents needed to provide for our prosperity and peace of mind - this book offers practical ways to discover them. I feel like I'm in school again and this is assigned reading. One of my PTA-friends suggested we read this in preparation for a neighborhood book talk coming up. Because I admire her commitment to the community and trust her selection of books, it made it to my list.

The theme for this #PiddlinReads selections: community and the talents of the people in them.

What are you reading? Let me know in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter #PiddlinReads

Lists of All Those Books You Haven't Read Yet

December is the month of lists. The top 10 things you didn’t get around to all year long or the top 10 things you need to plan to do for next year.  And of course - all those books you didn't read this year, but luckily books don't expire.  To save you a little effort, I’ve gathered a few lists of books you may have missed this year.  My only criteria – it had to be a diverse list, presenting books by and about people of color. (Note that I didn’t say “for” because books can be for anybody, regardless of what the characters look like.)

Stock up for the hours you might steal away during the holidays or getting snowed in one day (if we here on the East Coast ever get out of this 50 degree weather.)

Adult Books

Toppa Top 10: Ten Great Books By Caribbean Authors In 2015

I already have Land of Love & Drowning on my to-read pile and will be adding a few more from this list. And I didn’t know Edwidge Danticat had a new book (Untwining), so that will go on my list, as it should for you if you haven’t read anything by her yet.  There are some promising looking new authors on this list – that’s always fun.

25 New Books By Black Women That Would Make Perfect Holiday Gifts (The Culture)

I like the variety of books on this list. There’s fiction, nonfiction, memoir, motivational – a little something for everyone. And a genre you don’t find on too many general lists? Cookbooks! I love a good cookbook, I own maybe 25-30, as a conservative estimate, and am always looking for something new and interested.   I’m adding My Life on a Plate to my list because international cookbooks are one of my favorites (desserts – cakes especially, is the other if you’re wondering.) 

Children’s Books

Mother in the Mix: 23 Children’s Books with Interracial Families 

Multiracial as an official race category is a relatively new thing, so its interesting to see books with mixed race families. I might even be a little bit surprised that she rounded up 23!  Reading over the titles and descriptions of these books, one thing that I like is that they aren’t all about race. There are the cultural stories which are great for kids to see their own food and traditions and stuff in books. Then I also like that some of them are just stories about a family doing family stuff – visiting grandma, figuring out what to do with a new baby – and kids doing regular kid stuff – taking over the world, becoming a cowboy.  These are the kinds of “diverse” books we need – a little bit of everything.

Tutu's Storybooks: Children’s Holiday Books

For children’s books, Tutu’s Storybooks is a great go-to source. Her books are available online and if you are in Maryland, you may be lucky enough to find her at local street fairs, book fairs and other community events. Be sure to stop by, browse and buy.

This is the Holiday Books list – they are specifically about celebrating Christmas and Kwanzaa and winter – so order these soon so you can read them while the tree is still up.  In addition to the posted list, check out her tweets (‏‪@TutusStorybooks) for more holiday books, too, like these:

All I Want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey

Little Red Gliding Hood – Tara Lazar, Troy Cummings

The Snowman Shuffle – Christianne Jones, Emma Randall

Roc & Roe’s 12 Days of Christmas – Nick Cannon, AG Ford

I know there are about 1000 other favorite books lists that I could’ve included and another 10,000 books. Leave your favorite recommendations in the Comments.

Packing the Perfect Vacation Read

What book will I read next?

Such is the angst of the avid reader packing for vacation. Because there is definitely a book (or two or three) going into the totebag or suitcase. For this finite time, for this limited stuff I can carry period, the choice of book is a weighty one.

 

What makes a good book to pack for vacation?

Of course, the invention of the iPad and e-readers has made the decision a less stressful one. You can carry all hundred of your books with you without an added suitcase.  But if you are like me – you’ve got to take a physical book, too.  Why? Sand, water, spilled drinks.

On a beach vacation, I’m taking my book to the beach. And I might even sit in the pool or at the edge of the water while reading. And that lazy river ride? Perfect (even if everyone else is looking at me like “what – is that a real book on a water ride?”)

Here’s my criteria for that real book that’s going in the suitcase.

• Must be paperback. It’s a weight thing.

• Got to be good. The frustration of taking a book that by chapter two I know I’m not going to like. Then what? Finish it? Leave it behind? And what do I do in the meantime?  Friend recommendations are a good choice. Sometimes a re-read of the classics is a good option, too.

• Okay to lose and/or mess up a little bit. See my comments above about sand, water, spilled drinks.   There’s many times I’ve woken from a sun-induced nap to find my book covered in sand or a victim of high-tide.  Add to that, general vacation distractedness.

• Doesn’t require too much concentration. Beach read usually means light and happy, that’s how I’ve described my own novel, Life in Spades.  But I’ll take a not so light book, too. I read Little Bee on the beach and while reading a particular scene (you know if you read it) wiggled my fingers in the sand.  I also was reading Ghana Must Go on the beach when I happened to be on the beach chapter in that book, and a wedding party showed up (in real life, it was a different gathering in the book.) 

Then what do you do with the book when you are done? Take it back home, leave it at your hotel?  I've stayed at some resorts with a library, where you can borrow and leave books. The library in Ocean City, Maryland also has a system that allows you to borrow books without needing a library card or donate books when you're ready to go home.  Some people leave their books in a public place, with the hopes that someone else will pick it up and enjoy it. A program like BookCrossing can help track your book's travels.  I haven't tried this, but considered it; sounds like it could be interesting. It reminds me of the Flat Stanley project from elementary school (am I showing my age?)

We’ve got a couple more weeks of summer vacation. A few more lazy afternoons at the pool. I'm hoping to get in at least a few more sand-filled, water-logged, rum-soaked books before it's all over.

What are you reading on vacation?

Join the conversation on Facebook & Twitter

6 Reasons To Go To The Library (Other than the Books)

Summer, sitting outside, and reading all go together in my mind. Well, so do cold days, snuggling inside with a blanket and reading.  So there's always an excuse to go to the library.  Obviously, the free books is the primary one, but there are others. Here’s 6.

Late fees make you feel like you are contributing to society. The books are really only free if you don’t lose them and turn them in on time. Otherwise, you will owe your library some money. But unlike a parking meter ticket – which feels like such as waste, because, really, did that extra five minutes actually cost the city $40? – you can talk yourself into feeling good about your library fine. It goes to the library, a public good, one that you like.

There’s more than books to borrow from the library.  Libraries now have audiobooks (our must-have for roadtrips and other continuous hours in the car), CDs, and DVDs. On the bookshelves, there’s books in different languages, whether you are bilingual or wanting to learn a new language.  Many libraries also have computers for public use for internet access, as well as getting documents done. And I noticed at our new library, you can borrow iPads while you are visiting.

They are everywhere (and there’s WiFi.)  At least at our libraries there is. As a mom and busy lady that’s always going from here to there, I’m often looking for a place to hang out when I'm away from home, that’s not necessarily a Starbucks because even I can only drink so much coffee. There’s always a library somewhere nearby, along my route of errands.  I can find a spot at the library, do something quiet – work on my laptop, read, wander around looking for my next book.

You can check out books without even going to the library. Need the next book for bookclub? On vacation and run out of reading? Open up your e-reader and borrow an e-book from your local library. What a life-saver this was for me. My oldest daughter is a voracious reader. Of course, I’m very excited about this, but it required me taking her to the library all the time for her next pile of books.

The library takes your old books. How about that? Not only can you borrow books for free, you can take your old books and leave them there. The library will then sell them in their used book sale to bring in more money for the library. Again- like the late fees, you can feel good about your contribution to society.

There’s free stuff to entertain your kids. What tired mom doesn’t love having an activity for your kid where you don’t have to do anything?  The library offers kiddie movies, music concerts, puppet shows, scientists doing ahh-inspiring experiments, and read-aloud mornings. Just get there, find a spot on the floor, and let someone else talk to your kid for an hour. Ahhh!  You will be re-energized, which is a good thing because she’s going to have you reading those library books about 50 times, over and over, before you bring them back. 

With my love of books, in recent years, I’ve crossed my fingers and wished – all the library needs is a coffee shop. And I hear that the new library will have a coffee counter. I can’t wait to get there to buy a cup of coffee and check out a book.

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances & Twitter

Books I'm Carrying Around: The Sleepwalkers Guide to Dancing

The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've had this book on my shelf for a year. And I bought a second copy!  Anyway.... I should've read it sooner.  This is another book that I picked up because of the title, though I'm still figuring out it's meaning.

This long tale of a family and all it's secrets, a thirty-something still trying to find her way and figure out who she is, in relation to her parents and her own self, is a great story. Jacob does a great job in weaving in the family culture as part of the story and illustrating who they are. (In so many "diverse" books, the culture becomes the central character, rather than the background.)

Amina deals with not only the loss of her brother and impending loss of her father, but also all of the "rules" and customs that make it not acceptable to talk about it all. Her and her mother have that kind of strained, not close relationship, built on duty rather than any commonality, other than being family.  The family shares unconditional love, although no one will say the words.  But when it comes to all the important things and needful times, they come together to support each other.

I read the first half of the book in a rare day that I found some quiet hours, then was wrestling to find the time to finish the rest over the next week or so.  In my writing group, we've been talking about the proper length for a debut novel. This comes in at 498 pages - way above any recommended length.  Which proves that you can break the rules when you make it worth it.


View all my reviews

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Summer To-Read Pile (#1)

This weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer.  All those hours relaxing by the pool: hat, sunglasses, nice cold sweet drink, while the kids frolic happily on the way far other end.  Those days lazing on the beach, toes in the sand.  Those cool evenings, swinging in the hammock.

(Or more likely...) The mornings, afternoons, and evenings sitting poolside waiting for your swimmer kid to finish his one event in the 3-hour meet, running your own kid camp - summer school - sports practice - Vacation Bible School - friend's house bus route, or trying to keep one eye on your kid who just ran to the far other end of the playground and hoping you don't get arrested on suspicion of being a free-range parent.

Whatever the summer plans, we still have our to-read pile. That stack that - if the sun aligns just right with our sweet tea - we'll be able to get through by the end of August.  Here's the start of mine (more to be added, of course) - and a warning if you've never read my to-read pile selections before - I'm not promising I actually know what the book is about. It's either been recommended to me by someone I trust to make a good book selection or the cover and/or title is intriguing.

Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
"Lydia is dead. But they don't this yet." That's the first line - what else do you need?

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
Keep seeing it on must-read lists, so well, I guess I have to read it.

The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing, Mira Jacob
This just sounds like a fun title.

Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads, Rosalind Wiseman
What happens to those middle and high school mean girls when they grow up?


Children's Books
I generally don't read too many children's books for myself, but I have picked up these two.  They happen to be free verse novels - stories told in a series of poems. Note too, if you are looking for diverse books - these are both African-American authors.

The Crossover, Kwame Alexander
Alexander was the guest reader for my school's PTA Family Reading Night.  My high schooler (my avid reader and basketball player) read it and loved it, though it's written for a younger age, so it's a good intro to poetry for the little people.

Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
I read so many "must read" reviews on this and then realized it was a children's book. It's a memoir of the author's childhood in the 1960s and '70s.


Still looking for more suggestions - what's on your summer to-read list? 

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

*and keep up on my reading pile on Goodreads

Always Overpacked But Hopeful

With time away from home, whether for vacation or a business trip, I always imagine that I will have all this free time. While I'm traveling (if not driving), during large group meetings where I just have to listen or sitting on the beach, late in the quiet evening. I foresee hours of open time to catch up on my to-read pile and to-crochet stash, as well as maybe some of the not so tedious tasks on the ever going to-do list. Thus, I pack a tote bag full of all this potentially productive stuff.

If I get to half the stuff, I'm doing excellent.

This week is another attempt. I have a conference to attend and I'm gathering all the stuff I'm going to get to without the distraction of cooking and folding clothes and going to meetings and driving around the county.

I'm packing:
- Toni Morrison's just released new book, God Help the Child. Like folks waiting for the new iPhone, I was at Barnes & Nobles first thing in the morning to buy my copy, despite my husband's assurance that there probably was not going to be a line at the bookstore. Who buys hardback books, from a real bookstore anymore? We may be a dwindling breed.

- Yarn. I have some pretty orange and white souvenir yarn from Madrid from a trip a bit ago. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but have now decided on a poncho/shawl for the spring. Though I wish there was a less 1970s word than "poncho." I think of those granny-square, orange and brown, rough acrylic mini blankets with fringes every little girl had in her closet. If there's a better word, please tell me.

- Blank cards and stamps. To catch up on thank you cards, notes, birthday cards. I love personal notes - giving and receiving - and I'm trying to get better at actually writing and sending them.

I wonder how much I'll get done. At least I finished a blogpost.

The Book I'm Carrying Around: Strange Library

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reading confession - I totally picked up this book because of the cover. The cover is everything, I always judge a book by its cover.  Unlike any normal adult book, the cover flips open vertically so of course, I had to feed my curiosity and figure out what this book was about.

And now that I've read it... I still don't know exactly what it's about. The summary tells you right off: a boy gets stuck in a crazy weird library with an old man, a man dressed in sheep's skin, and a beautiful girl that only he, but sometimes the Sheep Man, can see. He's terribly upset because now he will be late for dinner and his mother will be upset and he eventually tries to escape.

I know there's a deeper meaning, I just haven't figured it out yet.  This is the first book I've read in a long time in 1 sitting, so I was excited about that.  Aside from being a short story, it's printed in 18 point font.  So there is the possibility of reading it again, if necessary.

I've ranked the stars based on the cover & the smart writing.


View all my reviews on GoodReads

Currently... A Status Update on My 2015 Plans

Hello February!  It's the day we wait for the Groundhog to see or not see it's shadow; I've never been able to keep straight which means there will be more winter, but looking out of my own window, I'm going with "more winter."

It's also day after the SuperBowl. Oh, we're not talking about that? Okay. Agreed.

We've cleared the first month of the year and did well, or not so well, on those new year's resolutions/ goals/ hopes/ dreams/ targets/ visions - whatever we are calling them this year. How'd you do? 

I'm not much of a resolution kind of person, but I do have some plans and intentions and still have some work to do.  A few I'm currently working on?

Working out.  I admit it, I passed by the treadmill and my sneakers many of times in January. Although, I didn't eat as much cake and pie as in December.  I'm getting back to my marathon/month, plan.  Started today with 2 miles, only 24 more to go in 26 days.

Reading.  According to my Goodreads list, I did not read that much last year! Maybe I've been bad at recording my books, I'm not sure, but I'll do better this year. Right now, I'm reading The Girl Your Left Behind.  Totally picked this up because JoJo Moyes' Me Before You was so popular last year and it was not on the shelf at the library.  I had no idea what it was about, and I do like opening the pages of a book without any idea where its going - this one is in WW1 France, a small town that has been taken over by the German Army.

Book I'm Carrying Around right now

Crocheting.  This is always on my to-do list, but particularly I'm working on baby blankets! I seemed to have gone through a lull of no new friend babies, and then all of a sudden, I've got a bunch of friends with brand new babies!  I've working on blanket number 1 (pink!) during this weekend's swim meet and SuperBowl, and, at current count, I've got three more to go (1 pink, 2 blue.)

Baby blanket in PINK!

Volunteering.  I'm pretty active in PTA and my sorority, and gearing up for the year ahead in both of them.  I hold a leadership role in both, which I enjoy, however I often have to remind myself to make time for the actual hands-on work of the organization, not get weighed down by the administration aspects. That's one thing that I do want to work on this year.

Piddlin'. Of course!

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances

Currently... Establishing Priorities & Slowing Down

It’s the second week of January.  And while we're usually thinking about how to do more and more, I've started thinking about how to focus on my priorities and maybe slow down while doing so.  Just a little bit.  For now, I’m getting the week started on this rainy, freezing rain, school two-hour delay (again) being a little more mindful.

Drinking coffee from a bowl instead of a mug. Last week, the kids and I treated ourselves to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar. They had s’mores and the 80’s chocolate milkshakes, I had a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It’s spiced up with chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper - plus the obvious fact that it’s also hot, it amps up the spiciness. I like spicy, but I felt like I needed some cake or something to go along with it to balance the spiciness.

Chocolate treats from Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar

Anyway – it was served in a funky little tear-drop shaped bowl, their Hug Mug.  To imagine it – cup your hands together like you’re holding water – that’s the shape of the mug.  It felt so cozy. Since then, I’ve been drinking my coffee at home in a bowl, too. In addition to being warm, another thing I discovered – it makes you slow down. I usually scroll through emails, Twitter and Facebook with coffee mug in one hand. Can’t do that with a bowl. It makes you slow down and not multi-task everything.

My coffee bowl and cranberry cornbread from a recipe I found while decluttering.

Still decluttering.  I’ve made a good dent in my cooking magazines and found some good recipes along the way. Last week I made a delicious cranberry cornbread on the snow day.  And the empty organizing containers are piling up in my office. Empty because I was holding onto so much stuff, when I finally went through it, I realized I didn’t really need all that stuff.  It’s a process, but I'm definitely starting to feel a little lighter.

Planning our menu for the week – starting with the freezer.  Somehow my freezer is packed but each day I’m wondering what we’re going to have for dinner. When I can see some more light in there again, I’ll go shopping again.  Until then, I’ll be defrosting and cooking.  And probably throwing out some food that has been in there way too long.  Cleaning out the freezer is a good way to start out the year. Planning meals is a good way to stick to a a healthy eating plan.

Making time for my workout.  My husband is good with his schedule – everyday he works out. Me? I get the kids off to school then decide – workout or check email and Facebook?  The fit of my jeans is a tattletale on which I generally choose. So, I’m trying to get better at putting my workout – and me – first as a priority. As a sniggling reminder, I get dressed in my workout clothes so that eventually I either will go run and exercise or admit that I did not.  I’ve got my sneakers sitting right next to me as I write.

Making time to read.  I’m squeezing it into my waiting time, as well as allowing myself the downtime to read, rather than completing other stuff or flipping through social media doing nothing. I make sure I’ve got my book in my purse when I leave the house, read a page here and there while waiting. Right now, I’m trying to finish Americanah which I’ve been carrying around for an embarrassing long time, even if it is a long book.

1st book of the new year - finishing up "Americanah"

And of course, I’m still just piddlin’.

Have a good week!

Join the conversation on Facebook: Just Piddlin' with Frances