yarn along, june 1

  

One of my favorite authors is Kate DiCamillo, which is no secret; her books have shown up often here.  Recently I read an interview in which she said that she is committed to writing two pages every day. I realized with a lightbulb flash that instead of always wishing I was writing poetry I should buckle down and do it and so I decided that I would write one poem per day this summer, and not worry about whether it's good or bad or terrible.  I feel such a sense of fulfillment when the words trickle out onto the page and I know that I'm practicing something I love.  I am considering whether to copy any of them here this summer, and I think I probably will because they fit well with the things I write about here. 

I am plowing through Kiddy Vertebrae cardigan now that I've got the right gauge and size.  I have approximately 8 inches knit under the arms and simple stockinette on the body after the sleeves were divided for makes easy take-along or evening knitting.  I am finished knitting my barn red Memoirs mitts and have decided finally to keep them for myself because I love their length and the feminine touches of lace and buttons on the back of the hand.     

Caddie Woodlawn (Carol Ryrie Brink) is delightful and a bit reminiscent of the Little House books.  With a chapter a night, it is fast reading, of course intended for children to enjoy but as always, I think I enjoy children's literature just as much as any child ever does.  
Dandelion Fire  (N.D. Wilson) is even better than 100 Cupboards, the first of the series.  Excellently written and exciting, intense, and not for young children.  I am very impressed and plan to go on to read everything by this author, who is working on a new series now.  

I just downloaded The Green Ember for free on my Kindle and added the audiobook for $1.99 - you should too!  Thanks to Carolyn at House Full of Bookworms for her heads up on Instagram! I haven't read this book yet but I hear such good things about the book everywhere I turn that I've been meaning to pick it up for some time.  S.D. Smith writes at The Rabbit Room which is a favorite website of mine, written by a conglomeration of some of my favorite writers and artists, so I was bought in before I heard the good reviews.    

Last, but not least, I finally caught up on the podcast installments of The Count of Monte Cristo and now I'm eager for Heather at CraftLit to release another episode - which is probably a bit similar to how the original readers felt since Dumas wrote it as a serial story in a newspaper over a long period of time.  It's fun to listen in small segments knowing that. 

I am linking up with the Yarn Along hosted by Ginny.  Do you have as many books as I have going right now?  Between my personal reading, audiobooks, and the read-alouds I do with my girls, I have at least 7 books going all the time right now and that seems about perfect - something for every mood as it strikes.