Monday, December 30, 2013

Prairie Grlz Writes Book List, Part 2



Sadly, Prairie Friends, you will find no Kurt Vonnegut on my list.  I wish he was on my list so I could appear edgy and intellectual.  Not surprisingly, Kurt and I are on the same wave-length concerning  book burnings and librarians.  


“And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I love still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”
Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country 


And now, Part 2 of a very special, "Top 10 Books That Touched My Life At Some Point in Time."




Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

If only Ashley had been honest with Scarlett, Melanie, and himself.  (Stupid, stupid, stupid Ashley.)   If only  Bonnie Blue hadn't fallen off that damn pony.  Just because a child wants a pony doesn't mean they should get one.  If only Margaret Mitchell had written a sequel, or at least another book.

One of my favorite lines:

“Dear Scarlett! You aren't helpless. Anyone as selfish and determined as you are is never helpless. God help the Yankees if they should get you." -Rhett Butler”  


Little House in the Big Woods series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I went through four sets of the Little House books.  I read them in a constant rotation.  I related to Laura.  Her brown hair that wouldn't stay curled.  Her feelings of inferiority.  Her love of adventure.    It was refreshing how Laura wanted to run around instead of calmly stitching a sampler with Goodie Two Shoes Mary.  I was horrified after seeing photos of the actual Ingalls family.  I was used to the pleasant, sanitized Garth Williams illustrations.

A BIG plus is that Prairie Sherry and I bonded over Little House books.  We have been known to drive our co-workers crazy by taking Laura Ingalls trivia tests over lunch breaks.  (Sorry Bobbi Jo!)


In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

I read this book in less than 18 hours and was horribly creeped out.  This book made the list because I am still creeped out.  It is understandable why Truman Capote never wrote another book after this one. 

 


Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys

No! No! No!  Not 50 Shades of Gray, BETWEEN Shades of Gray!

This is the newest addition to my list.  I read this book in September and am still thinking of Lina and her family, forced into farming beets in Siberia.   Oprah and I love books where the human spirit triumphs.  Throughout the book I asked myself, "Could I have lived through that?  Could I have survived?  Why?"

“Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy—love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.”   Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys



The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton

I raptly listened to Mrs. Koutre read The Outsiders out loud in 7th grade English.  Then I read every book S.E. Hinton ever wrote, at least 7 times each.  I was particularly fond of That Was Then, This Is Now.  Many, many years later I found myself reading The Outsiders to my 7th graders. 

Why does this poorly written, 45 plus year old book capture tweens' hearts everywhere?  Not sure, but I still cry when Dallas Winston gets shot in the open field.  I always tear up when Johnny tells Ponyboy to "Stay Gold."  I love it when Ponyboy realizes everyone, including the delicious Cherry Vallence, looks at the same sunset.



“It seemed funny that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.”

You are probably wondering what my favorite scene from the movie is.  It is when Matt Dillon (in a hospital bed, wearing tidy whities) insists, through gloriously gritted teeth, that they must "Do it for, Johnny!"

Now.  I am off to create another list.

Prairie Eydie

 



  




  



Saturday, December 28, 2013

Prairie Grl Writes Book List, Part 1




It may surprise Prairie Readers,  but there aren't any  Jane Austen books on my Top Ten list.  I wish there were because it would make me appear smart and refined. 

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
Jane Austen

Father Time is marching towards New Year's Eve.  This always puts me in the mood to write "Best of . . . " lists.  Sadly  I can't write a list of 2013's best movies because I only saw two movies this year (up from NO movies in 2012) - The Book Thief and Hunger Games:  Catching Fire.  I went to those movies because I loved the originating books.

A list I am extremely qualified to write is "Top Books That Touched My Life At Some Point in Time."


 
1. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

I am still upset that Laurie married Amy instead of Jo.  And why Jo had to marry that kindly Mr. Bhaer is beyond me.  It is like she was sentenced to marrying a subdued Santa Claus.  



2.  Breakfast at Tiffanys, by Truman Capote 

I reread this book at least once a year.  Where else can you find out what the mean reds are?

Holly Golightly: “You know the days when you get the mean reds?

Paul Varjak: The mean reds. You mean like the blues?


Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you’re getting fat, and maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid, and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?” 


 

3.  The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

This book stays with me.  I will open it to random pages to revisit the words.  Some people can't move beyond the book being narrated by Death.  I was immediately hooked.

Markus Zusak says it best:    “Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it.”   I want to be near The Book Thief.



 4.  A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park

Every year I read this book to my students.  Every year I am amazed by the strength and heart of Salva Dut (one of the Lost Boys of Sudan).  I never take a glass of water for granted.



5.  To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

This is probably on everyone's list.  How could it not be?  I gave this book to Prairie Pa a couple years ago because he claims not to enjoy reading fiction.  I think this book changed his mind.  Atticus Finch had it going on:

 “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

To be continued . . .

Prairie Eydie






  



 

Monday, December 23, 2013

Prairie Grl Shops Local Part I - Coffee and Candy

Prairie Brother, Mark, set a high standard for tour guides everywhere.  He drove through 5 inches of fresh, lake effect snow, cited historical tidbits, and did local shopping of his own.
 
Last Saturday, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I enthusiastically shopped and ate local with my brother, Mark, sister-in-law, Heidi, and niece, Molly.  We did not enter a Starbucks.  Nor did we cruise Boston Store's irresistible yellow dot racks.  No Cheesecake Factory for lunch or Barnes & Noble for a book break.  I can safely say none of those cookie cutter, corporate stores were missed.

Don't you just love Mark's handwriting?  If you guessed he is an engineer, you are correct.

Mark was the tour guide and had us on a tight schedule.  We started off with coffee and bakery at The Amaranth Bakery & Cafe (3329 W. Lisbon Avenue).  

Get outta of the snow Wisconsinites and cozy up in Amaranth with  a cuppa coffee.
 Isn't my niece beautiful?  Next year she will be taller than her Aunt Eydie. 

 
The coffee was delicious and I had the BEST oatmeal cranberry cookie ever.  There was a gorgeous array of breads to buy.  Amaranth makes their bread by hand, typically with flours grown in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas  (Woot!  Woot!  Laura Ingalls Wilder approved). They also use all fair-trade organic sugar and wholesome sweeteners. No YUCKO corn substitutes or fructose corn syrups will be found in any of Amaranth's bakery.  I did a little holiday shopping myself and bought cardamon bread and chamomile/lavender tea. 


Heidi and I are caffeinated and ready to shop!  



Next stop is Kehr's Candy Shop  (3533 West Lisbon Ave)Since 1930, Kehr's has been selling the best hand-dipped chocolate available.  Walking into Kehr's is like walking back in time because not much has changed since the 1930s. 



Kehr's  will ship anywhere in the United States.  Do NOT miss their exquisite Fairy Food.  I bought a stack of adorable boxes of 4 chocolates.  Most of my co-workers love fine chocolate but exist most of the year on cast off Halloween candy.  (NOTE:  Remember Kehr's when Valentine's Day rolls around.)



Prairie Grl Shops Local Part 2, will include an Edgar Allen Poe lunch box (a gift for beloved Prairie Sherry), a delicious burger, mini art, and glorious antiques.  Time is a ticking toward Christmas Day - get out there and shop local.

Prairie Eydie  


   

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Remembering a Wedding


This picture was taken two days after
their wedding.  
On the winter solstice, sixty-nine years ago, my mother and father married.  "The longest night of the year..." my dad would say with a wink.  My sister arrived just three days shy of nine months later. No more need be said about that long, long night.

Harriet and Wayne Puttmann were united in marriage on a  Marine base in Quantico, Virginia* on December 21, 1944.  No family was present.  My dad's platoon made up the guest list. Mom was the only female at her wedding, and she said that every Marine in attendance gave her a kiss.  Dad wore his uniform, and my mother wore the wedding dress she had carried with her on a train from Sioux City, Iowa.

Mom and Dad  met the year before while attending college in Ames, Iowa.  Mom's roommate offered her a ride home. The roommate's cousin, my dad, share the back seat with my mom. Romance ignited! Dad enlisted and headed east for basic training. Mom waited until he received permission to marry, and then traveled alone on trains filled mostly with soldiers.  She arrived the day before her wedding.

Dad was a farm boy who would have probably stayed on the farm if it hadn't been for the war.  Once over, he made full use of the GI Bill and became a teacher and then a professor.  He was the first in his family to graduate from high school and then college.  He never forgot his Great Depression farm roots.

Mom lost her own father when she was ten, grew up with her reclusive mother, contracted polio as a teen, and ended up being the opposite of her mother--an adventurer. At age 47, she graduated from college after years of being a wife, mother, and homemaker. Dad cheered her on.  

Both Mom and Dad died in 2006--just six months apart.  They were very alike and very different. Dad taught my mom how to dance and play cards (she was raised a conservative Baptist), and Mom taught Dad the joys of the theater. While they would argue over politics or the pruning of a crab apple tree (that one was a whopper), they always had each other's backs as parents.  They were a united force.

Their wedding picture hangs on the wall in my living room.  For me, the celebration of Christmas begins with the first day of winter that marks their anniversary--the longest night of the year.

Prairie Sherry

*Hopefully my brother or sister will correct me on the location of the marriage.  I thought they had married before the moved to North Carolina and Camp Lejeune, but I may be wrong.  Mom wrote the story of their romance and marriage, but my copy is buried in packing boxes that have yet to be emptied.

PS

The Prairie Grlz are taking a bit of a rest during these next few weeks.  We may post, if the muse moves us, or we may just sleep late and read trashy novels.




Monday, December 16, 2013

The Art of Accepting the Inevitable

Yes, many did bring in teddy bears.
It is the last week before winter break.  For some unknown reason, our school always has a "Spirit Week" on these final days.  As if students weren't wired up enough, we encourage them to put on ridiculous outfits, which just encourages them to do ridiculous things. Today was "Pajama Day."  Picture halls of 8th and 9th graders and their teachers slopping around in pj's, robes, and slippers.  No, no one shows up in scanty negligees.  For goodness sake!  This is Wisconsin!  It didn't top 12 degrees today, and we had a snowstorm!  More on that later.

I won't go into all the details of how badly young teens can behave, but let's just say that this was day that I more than earned my pay. Why, I earned my entire day's wage during my 30 minutes of "noon duty" in the cafeteria.  The exceeding long-seeming day with students required extra time at my desk after school just trying to come up with something that could educationally compete with "Wacky Dress Tuesday."

As I stepped out off the school an hour later than usual, my slippered foot (Yes, I, too, was in pajamas.) stepped into  a rather nifty pile of snow which extended throughout the entire parking lot. Usually, I time my 40 minute commute home to be 10 minutes ahead of rush hour traffic. Today, I landed right in the middle of it... in a snowstorm.  I live in Wisconsin.  This should be expected.

All movement ground to a halt about 50 minutes into the drive home.  I did get the opportunity to take this picture.  I would like to point out the distance between my car and the one in front of me.  This, my dear Prairie Readers, is defensive driving.  Unfortunately the snow had accumulated to the point that I could no long see out of my rear window, so I have no idea how close the yahoo was behind me, but let's just say that his headlights made no flash necessary for this shot. 

I got home in time to drag out the snowblower--and prove that I hadn't lost my newly acquired machine moxie.  And then the awful thought of dinner (or the lack thereof) popped into my head.  


Insert "Hallelujah Chorus"


I wish I had the Photoshop ability to put wings and a halo on the daughter who stood at my stove making me a frittata. Let's just say that the heavens opened and the overhead fluorescent light beamed down upon her.


   
And I opened a beer.

Prairie Sherry




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Prairie Eydie Goes "All Hallmark" - AGAIN!

Life's so different than it is in your dreams.
 - Tom Waits

I have a problem thinking my life should mirror lives shown in Christmas movies.  Schroeder should play the piano while I dance. Townspeople should crowd around me as I discover how my life has touched many other lives.  A single tear should coarse down my face as I open the most perfect, meaningful gift, ever.



It was a REALLY cold Sunday, and I needed a project for my dear children.  A "Hallmark Vision" twinkled in my head.  I would take the kids to Target (Ouch!  Not local, I know.) and they would choose meaningful gifts for their grandmother.  Their grandmother who insists they stay well hydrated.  Their grandmother who actually watches Wow, Wow Wubzy with them. Their grandmother who lets them jump off furniture. Their grandmother who loves them to pieces.

I envisioned things to unfold like this:

Leonard:  Can I please buy this GreenPan so grandma can cook healthy, eco-groovy breakfasts for us?  I don't want Grandma to be eating toxins.  Please!!!

Gus:  Look at this cuddly purple blanket!  Can I buy this so Grandma and I can snuggle under it while watching Despicable Me for the 34th time?

Lulu:  Mom!  Here is a tiara!  Grandma needs this because she is a beautiful princess.  

While driving the kids to Target I explained what fun we would have, choosing gifts, and making sure Grandma had meaningful presents to open on Christmas.  (Yes.  I did branch off on the "it is better to give than receive" tangent.  Children under 10 just aren't buying it.)  

Here is what the kids chose for their beloved grandmother:


Nothing Says "I Love You" like a 6 inch battery operated Christmas tree.  PLUS!  It's flocked!


Grandmas wear old sweaters, don't they?  Now their ornaments can too!
These battery operated lights mimic Grandma's sparkly personality!


Prairie friends, I tried to steer my children towards more meaningful choices, but they would have none of it.  Gus said the flocked tree would add PZAZZ to Grandma's guest bathroom.  Lulu didn't even know what she chose, she just wanted to peruse the Barbie aisle.  Leonard at least chose a somewhat personal (if somewhat ugly) ornament. 



How does this particular bashed Hallmark moment end?  Well.  I bought the presents and promptly returned them the next day.  Eighteen dollars worth of nonsense.  

I have obviously learned nothing from this episode because today a student told me how she always makes delicious, homemade caramels with her mother.  YES!   Next weekend I will make lovely caramels with my kids.  We will play Christmas music, wrap the chewy squares of goodness in twists of waxed paper, reminisce about past Christmases . . . . nope, I will never learn. 

Prairie Eydie   


    

Monday, December 9, 2013

News Flash! Prairie Sherry Rocks the Snow-Blower!

Sacked out in Grandma's big bed.
It is time for me to be heading to dreamland, but we celebrated Maia's 17th birthday today, and this is the first extended time I have had at the keyboard.  The actual birthday is on Tuesday, but this is the day we could get everyone together.  I just got the grand-kidlettes to bed. They are staying the night, and I will take them to school tomorrow morning.  
I am always one for a little visual hyperbole.

For many years, I was a single mom.  From 1991 until 2006, I lived in northern Wisconsin with the three girls.  Somehow, I always managed to get mountains of snow moved off sidewalks and driveways without mechanical means. And folks, I do mean MOUNTAINS! At times that meant that I would get little ones tucked into bed and sound asleep before I would venture out with shovel in hand.  There were many 3 AM mornings when I had to clear snow before I got the family ready for school.  My girls were shoveling by the time they could get their boots on the right feet without help.  Even when I married and moved "south," I was often the one who made sure the snow was cleared.  I just was never good about waiting until cars and feet had packed fluffy flakes into cement.  

Last spring, dear friends gave me their deluxe snow-blower as they prepared to move to much sunnier and less snowy climes in South Carolina.  I brought it home in the back of a rented pick-up in late February.  I had no idea how to get it from truck to garage, so I just backed into a sizable snowbank and dumped the blower off the back end.  Somehow, I got the machine into the garage, and just left it there for the duration of the winter--too scared to try to figure out how it worked.
A ridiculous hat is always a great fashion accessory
when there is the chance you may end up in the hospital  
after the machine turns on you.

Today we had our first significant snowfall.  As the flakes accumulated, I kept thinking about that machine sitting in my garage.  I had had one short lesson in its operation months ago, but now was the time to prove myself.  Better to show yourself as a fool in two inches of snow rather than a foot.  


Victory!  Two of inches of snow removed!!

Yes, I realize that I could have probably swept this snow away with a small broom, but there was a great sense of accomplishment as I fired up the big engine and blasted those bitty snowflakes to the moon. 

I am woman.  Hear my snow-blower roar!

Prairie Sherry

Friday, December 6, 2013

The Twelve Days of Christmas


Lulu and Kristen are both are fans of puffy, sparkly bows.
My darling friend, Kristen, has the best ideas!  Like going trick or treating with me and my kids on a blustery, rainy, chilly, dark Halloween Eve.  She even wore heels!!!  (Admittedly, wearing heels wasn't her bEsT idea.)



While on one of our pumpkin spice latte runs, Kristen told me about a tradition she has with her former college roommate.  They cleverly call it, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." 

Here is how "The Twelve Days of Christmas" works.  Kristen and her roomie buy each other 12 presents.  Each present is festively wrapped and labeled with a number.  Every day from December 13th - December 24th they get to open one present. Woot!  Woot!  

For example, Kristen bought her roommate a Mac n' Cheese cookbook for day 11. She marked her 11 favorite recipes.  (It seems dear Kristen and her roommate enjoyed Mac n' Cheese after hitting the bars.)  For day 6, Kristen bought a Lifesaver Storybook that had 6 rolls of Lifesavers.  Oh alright!  I will give you one more example. Day 12 is a holiday cupcake mix that makes a dozen cupcakes!  


I wonder if Prairie Pa ever ate any of the chocolate covered cherries???

I had to jump in on the fun.  I decided to choose someone who often comes up lacking in the gift department.  Prairie Pa came to mind immediately.  Prairie Pa spent Christmas after Christmas with the same gifts from me and my brother, Mark.  A mug and a box of chocolate covered cherries bought from Holt Drug.  There were never any complaints and he always seemed THRILLED with the traditional gifts.  Have I mentioned that Prairie Pa is an excellent actor?


Have FUN Prairie Pa!
I did not feel advanced enough in the "12 Days" tradition to figure out the numbers, plus I am terrible with math.  So, I ignored making the gift correspond with the number and bought Prairie Pa 12 specially chosen presents.  I wrapped and numbered the gifts before delivering them to him over Thanksgiving.  (I don't want to give anything away, but Prairie Pa will NOT be opening any mugs or chocolate covered cherries this year.)


   
I would love to do the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" for all my family and friends.  I love shopping and I love my peeps.  But, I am following the advise of beloved Prairie Grl, Mother Teresa.  "If you cannot feed one hundred people, just feed one."  Next year, I will choose a new person and start all over again.  (Hmmmm.  My fabulous High School friend comes to mind.) 

Prairie Eydie 

PS - An update from Kristen.  She was having problems thinking of a gift for number 8.  So, Kristen bought a box of 18 mints, ate 10 of the mints, and then changed the number on the box.  Love it!  I can't wait to see what idea Kristen comes up with next.  

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Surprise! Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Here's an interesting idea from the past that could
get you some years in the state pen.

I have had an aching tooth for over a week.  It isn't a sharp pain, but more like "electrical tingles with a dull throbbing."  That's what I told my dentist as I sat in his chair for an hour yesterday afternoon.

It all started with an unfortunate incident with a pistachio shell.   

I was on the computer, talking to Prairie Eydie, and eating nuts at the same time.  I pride myself in being a multi-tasker, but to be honest, I often try to do lots of things at one time and do none of them very well.  My Prairie Sister will be the first to tell you that talking to me on the phone goes something like this:

Me:  "...and then she said..." 

PLOP!  

"Sh-t, I just dropped my pizza slice on the keyboard."

PE:  "Why are you on the computer, and what kind of pizza?"         

Me:  "I'm trying to find the telephone number for the Boy Scouts.     The wreath I ordered wasn't delivered, and it's green olive and mushroom.  Oops, there's the timer.  I have cookies in the oven."

 CRASH!  CLATTER!!! 
        
"Damn, I burned the whole pan and just dumped it on the floor.  Are you still there?"


Some people have compared phone conversations with me to talking to a squirrel on speed.

"Excuse me, I am just having a little snack
while I have a nervous breakdown."


So back to the tooth and the nut.  I was computing (Is that a proper gerund?), and talking to Prairie Eydie, and trying to shell and eat pistachios, when  "OUCH!!!"  I bit down hard on a shell--so hard that I actually had to take my hands off the keyboard and out of the pistachio bowl.  I kept on talking to PE because she was on speaker phone and, frankly, I needed some sympathy.

I was sure I cracked a tooth, but because I really wished I hadn't, I decided to ignore it for a while.  

I like to think of this as my Pollyanna Persona.
"I'm sure that old tooth is just going to be perfectly
fine!"

That was over a week ago.  The tingle and throb has continued and increased.  I have taken copious amount of ibuprofen, and please don't leave comments about this drug's many dangers.  The day before Thanksgiving, I decided that I really needed to do something about this, and I got a appointment for Tuesday, December 3rd. 

That was yesterday.

Well, despite the tingling, throbbing, slightly swollen gum, and my general malaise (I have always wanted to use that word),  the tooth looks fine.  My dear dentist x-rayed, poked, prodded, probed, and even hammered on the tooth.  Diagnosis:  Possible trauma to the nerve (it will get better in time) or...

...the nerve is slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y dying.

No one wants to hear that any part of him/her is heading for the Pearly Gates, especially a part that may require a root canal or an actual removal in the future.  It seemed like I was looking forward to a simple crown, and now we are talking gaping holes in the mouth.

Things are not always as they seem.

Speaking of which, let's talk about one of my birthday gifts.  Yes, somehow I got this post back to my birthday.  My daughter, Maia, gave me this lovely scarf.  It has a lovely floral design in browns and burgundy.  It will look great with my brown boots.  She asked me what I wanted, and this is what I asked for, no cords attached.







I unwrapped the package, unfurled the soft folds, and draped it dramatically over my shoulder.



All of us screamed. 

This photo does seem to bring me back to that dying tooth.  

Prairie Sherry 
      

Monday, December 2, 2013

Dining Room Make Over is Revealed

Lulu  gives the new dining room two thumbs up!
Travel back in time with me, Prairie Friends, to a more formal time when I had a dining room table and four, solemn, high-backed chairs.  Truthfully, the chairs were never filled with guests and the table was never adorned with turkey and twice baked potatoes.  (Refer back to blog on November 15th - "Prairie Grl Ditches Dining Room") 

The dining room table and chairs are now in storage.  The only china surviving the purge is my collection of Bobwhite dishes.  Everything else is Goodwill bound.  Smell ya later!

Originally I had planned to fill my dining room with bean bag chairs AND an art table.  Being a Pisces on an Aquarian cusp, I never thought to measure the dining room before ordering the Cozy Sacks  (made in the U.S. of A!).  SURPRISE!  The Cozy Sacks take up the entire dining room footprint.  Another surprise was the cow print cozy sack,  I thought I'd ordered zebra.  I was going to return it, but that seemed like too much effort - considering how huge and puffy they are.  Besides, I live in Wisconsin and I already have a zebra print chair.  


I moved one of the kids' bookcases into the space.  Notice the crate of Christmas books, basket of stuffed animals, and the encroaching cow sack.  


The china hutch is now the game hutch.  I am still gathering up games that have been squirreled around the house.  Cozy Sacks are a great place to play Battleship and Guess Who.  I still haven't emptied out the drawers of abandoned cameras and limp placemats.  But not even the skilled decorator, Nate Berkus, could tell that from this photo. 

Lulu has her brother, Len, in a headlock.

Has the transition from dining room to reading room been all smiles and Kodak moments?  Nope.  I have to warn you that Cozy Sacks make kids wrestle. And wrestle.  And wrestle. Cozy Sacks also encourage children to leap off of chairs and sofas into the pillowy goodness.  I can recall at least three times threatening to sell the cozy sacks on eBay.   

Wrestling and leaping aside, I have to go back to my original intention - creating a place where my kids would want to read.  The intention to create meaningful space out of wasted space.  The intention to look at things differently.  Gus says he has been having a hard time sleeping because he wants to be reading or chilling in the dining room.  Gee.  He never said that before the dining room make over.

"Don't even think about sitting on my
cozy sack..."

Buddy would like to remind you that December is national "Read a New Book" month - cozy sack optional, of course.

Might I suggest . . .



Prairie Eydie