Books and Bonnets
Here are two examples of 'What's in my hand' at our house:
What I had 'in my hand' was a large collection of paperback mysteries. We enjoy our mysteries- they are comfort reading. We are also picky about them. Since they are comfort reading we do not wish to be disturbed by graphic violence, Peeping Tom glances into the very intimate, personal, and private details of the character's romance life, or rude and crude language. We also prefer it if the victim is somebody we never much liked anyway, and it's better still if the victim is tidily disposed of before we've been properly introduced- say, in the scene just before chapter one.
Being so picky, we keep them around for rereading (I'm older now, I can reread the same mystery half a dozen times and be surprised by who done it every single time). I wanted somewhere else to put them besides the boxes under my bed or the book case in my room- I wanted that bookcase for other purposes.
What I also had in my hand is an unfinished closet under my stairs:
It's not fancy, but it is functional. I measured where I wanted shelves and marked the spots where screws needed to go on the boards. Jenny came along with the electric drill and put the screws in. Then she and my husband scrounged for boards to cut down to the right size to rest on the screws for shelving. Some of the pieces that worked best were actually trimmings from our cork flooring. Then the youngest two children carted books from my room to the closet and put them on the shelves. It was a family effort, which is the family sometimes groans and looks apprehensive when I get a certain gleam in my eyes.
Now, my children say, we retire to this closet during tornadoes and curl up with a good book.
Next:
This is a counter-top towel hanger. I really love these things- they are so convenient when you don't have wall space near the sink for a towel rack. I've picked up three or four of them at our thrift shop for three dollars or less.
My eldest daughter likes them for another reason:
We are a family of hat wearing women. The girls and I love our hats, and we have, well, far too many. Storage can be a problem. Set them down on a flat surface and the brims can gradually get pushed the wrong way, or the nap gets rubbed off the edges over time. So the HG appropriated a couple of towel stands and uses them for her favorite hats.
I said we all like hats- I should clarify that the Equuschick does not like hats, except for riding hats of a horsey kind. She feels that hats make her face look smaller, and we say, 'Sweetie? Your face IS small.' Because we're an encouraging, supportive family that way.
Back on topic- another improvised hat stand is an old doll stand for porcelain dolls.
Oh, and I must explain the couch. I don't mind it, but it's not exactly the couch I would have chosen if I'd been given a thousand dollars and sent unsupervised into a furniture store. However, it is exactly the couch I'd choose if I had no spare cash and an elderly lady who only sat on her couch on Sundays after church called my mother and said, "We're redecorating, as we do every three years, and so of course, we are getting a new sofa. Do you know anybody who would want the old one?"
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6 Responses to “Books and Bonnets”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:15 am
I would love to know what some of your favorite mysteries are … I’m always on the look out for a good mystery and I’ve about worn out my Agatha Christie’s!
August 1st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Ah… You might not like all of the ones on our list, but the girls and have blogged about this before.=)
Try
here
here
here
here
You can also go to our librarything (linked from The Common Room over in the sidebar) and search for the books labeled ‘mystery.’
Hope that helps!
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I love the hat
I’ve been looking for one exactly like that for years, but haven’t been able to find one anywhere! What can I say, I’m envious 
August 4th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Try Joanne Fluke’s series. I’ve read them all twice. I love the characters.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Thank you for the suggestions! I’m starting a list for the library and paperbackswap.com.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Sarah, I love the hat, too, and I am envious because it doesn’t fit me. I have a big head (and let’s not say anything more about that), and my girls are all petite.
She found that one at a thrift shop, and it is so Myrna Loy.
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