(Updated with one new important piece of treasure! See end of post!)

There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy’s life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.
~Mark Twain

Indeed. This boy has not stopped digging. I search for treasure everywhere and one of the most profitable dig sites of late has been the internet. Where else can one find so many people with both similar and different interests with whom to exchange the precious jewels of ideas and interests or the cherished gift of a good conversation? This is of course not the only place for treasure to be found but it is indeed a good one. Just this week I have found several nuggets in the form of posts that have thrilled me and I want to share my treasure with you.

Continue reading Tuesday’s Treasure →

Continuing the interesting discussion on children and reading started in the comments on yesterday’s post I thought I would share the following. I copied this from some site awhile back to put in a post and forgive me, I don’t remember where. I think it might be from young adult author Shannon Hale‘s blog site (great book conversations there including this one and this one and this one on teaching classics vs. more contemporary lit in junior high and high school).

Continue reading Children and the Art of Reading →

“Book-love, I say again, lasts throughout life, it never flags or fails, but, like Beauty itself, is a joy forever.”
~Holbrook Jackson

I love books! And I love blogs by and about those who love books. Considering the plethora of blog sites out there it is a wonder sometimes that we true book lovers stumble across one another. I say ‘true’ book lovers indicating those who spurn pretension and refuse to let genre prejudice or book snobbery get in the way of a good read. Recently I have come across some of these sites that I just cannot help but visit day after day. And if I am going to visit daily (or more) then why not make the path of the information superhighway as direct as possible? Why not indeed. I have paved the road from my front door to theirs by adding these new sites to my blog links and I wanted to introduce you to them in the hopes that you will roll on over, knock on the door, kick off your shoes and stay awhile. I give you, in no particular order:

Continue reading Four New Blogs and a Meme…in a pear tree. →

This past weekend started early for me as I took Friday off to (finally) paint the bookshelf that my dad and I built last month. I’m very pleased with the result and need only to put a coat of finish on it before it will be….er, finished…and then pics will be posted.

Friday night Mosker had us over for a wonderful dinner and games. The food (including artichoke spinach dip, mini quiches, and two other wonderful things that I can’t remember the names of) was fantastic and it wasn’t long before we were groaning from being overstuffed. We then played several games of Trivial Pursuit, the Genus V edition I believe. Great edition of the game with a mixture of simple and more difficult questions. Tori and I took on Mary and Nic and we both won twice so everyone was happy…especially once we had ice cream with fresh raspberries and blackberries for dessert…ummmmmmm! Thanks Nic, we had a terrific time! In addition to all that Nic’s cats and their varied personalities kept us entertained throughout the evening.

Continue reading 4 Day Weekend? →

Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you have not committed.
~Anthony Powell

Wanted to take a quick moment and wish James a ‘happy birthday’. James and his wife Jules were the first friends we connected with 8 years ago when we made the permanent pilgrimage from Tulsa, OK to Kansas City. They have both been an integral part of our lives since that first fateful meeting.

James, hope you have a wonderful time at the birthday/bachelor party on the Alpine Slides tonight and look forward to celebrating with you when you return from Colorado.

And why, you ask, is James in Colorado? Wedding bells are ringing, that’s why. James’best friend since childhood is getting hitched.

Rob and Sarah are tying the knot tomorrow afternoon.

There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.
~ Homer

Please join me in wishing them all the best. They are a wonderful individuals and a very sweet couple. Congrats you two, look forward to seeing pics on the net in the near future!

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands and crystal brooks,
With silken lines and silver hooks.
~John Donne

Happy Birthday,James and Blessed Union, Rob and Sarah!