Oh to be a princess....

I have spent the most delicious day READING. The kids entertained themselves, the dishes went undone and I read The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I just finished The Constant Princess also by Philippa Gregory and I am hooked on her books.

I was looking for a little fluff to end the summer with. I thought perhaps a little historical romance.
What I found are books that are well written and extremely well researched. Certainly they ARE fiction, but they are definitely based on actual people and events and Ms. Gregory does her best to be as accurate as possible.

We just finished reading about Henry VIII in school and so I find these books most interesting. They are very detailed and are very plausible as to the character development.
What fun.

I DID take a little break and worked on some logic with the kids. We are to study logic this year and we started today by solving a mystery. I bought a book called one-hour mysteries. It provides clues and logic puzzles that you must analyze and work through in order to "solve" the mystery. It did indeed take us just a little over an hour.. and would have taken less if I would have had all of the copies run beforehand. I think the kids enjoyed it. I know I did. I look forward to working on more of these type of problems with them. A lot of deductive reasoning.
Katie and Noah enjoy this especially, although Bekah was a most willing participant.

Okay, it is extremely late and I must go to bed. Tomorrow I must actually do something USEFUL, although I DO have the next book... The Boleyn Inheritance. It all started when I told myself I could read while I walked in the morning (on my eliptical machine). I did... but then I never put the book down. I shall try again tomorrow... but only while I walk.

Do you believe I can do it? Or rather not do it?? (read all day) We shall see.

Books

Okay... the joke around our house is that Brian is going to make me a bed. See, we had a headboard way back in Florida about 9 years ago. We didn't love it and the mattress we had was so hard it was HORRIBLE, so when we moved we didn't bring it with us. When we got into our little house on Holly Street we went down and bought new mattresses and box springs and a frame but no headboard. What does this have to do with books?? Keep reading.

So.. I, of course, would like a headboard for my bed. My dear, darling husband replies,"I can make you one." First he cut down a tree. (no joke) Then he milled the tree into boards with the milling attachment on his chainsaw. Next he stacked the boards in our garage to "dry". They have been there for at least two years.

Here's the deal (you've been waiting right?). I no longer want the bed. I want more bookshelves.
I already sleep well at night. The bed won't really feel that different with a headboard (okay, I would love for my pillow not to fall of the top but after nine years, you adapt.) What I have decided I really want is more bookshelves for my piles of books. One on each side of the bed.
I can even put one of those little swivel reading lamps on the side.

I have been cleaning out my classroom all week trying to get ready for school. We have TONS of books. I said I would clean out and get rid of them. I did part with a few. But we are readers and we love books. I suppose at some point I won't need more bookshelves. I can't imagine it, but I guess it could be so. The girls asked what I would do with the classroom when they all went to college... I can't really say. Perhaps by then one of them will want to live down there in the "apartment". I don't know. I suppose I will eventually part with all of the curriculum.. but not the classics. Not the friends I have back there on the shelves. I hope to read and reread everything I currently own and of course there are so many more out there. I don't have enough hours for all of the books I want to read.

So... I have told Brian to skip the headboard and make more shelves. He of course embraces ANY wordworking project (at least in theory). But I believe we already have the wood for this one!

A Guinea Pig

Well... if you would have told me that we would have multiple animals in our home.. I would have told you that you were crazy! and yet... tonight we drove to Fayetteville and purchased a Guinea Pig for Katie for her birthday. The pig's name is Sadie. She is sweet.. as sweet as a large rodent can be. She truly is cute and Guinea pigs are supposed to make very good pets. We will have two living areas so that we can take her down to the classroom and she can also be at this end of the house in the evenings with the family. I pray she adjusts well to the cats. Right now we also are dogsitting for Tyson... my brother's lab/boxer mix. (Just til my folks get home, then they get him back until James returns for him.)

At any rate, this is many more animals than I ever thought possible in one Karp household. Four kids and three pets... whew! (plus Tyson)
I am going to let the dog out one more time and go to bed.