Not much going on around here this January. We're still struggling to get up in the mornings and heaving collective sighs of relief on Friday nights. You'd think we've been planted on earth for the first time the way we're behaving. I'm sure January was much worse in the countryside last year and I think the difference might be that now we are getting up about 7.15am and leaving for school at 7.55. Last year we were just getting up at 8 o'clock. My children all seem to be night owls like me so that doesn't help either. Still the days are getting longer though.
Evenings at the moment are spent watching the brilliant Mad Men on DVD. I hear the new series starts on Feb 10th. I don't know why this is consigned to BBC 4 or whatever cos some people like us don't have Freeview in our area yet and don't always remember to catch it on iplayer. If you haven't seen it do - it really is very good. Well acted, great themes (albeit a bit depressing) and wonderful clothes. Makes you realise how far we've come in terms of women's rights, relationships and smoking!
Other than that I'm totally absorbed in a book that that has been sitting on my shelves for thirteen years. It's The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature by Humphrey Carpenter:
I've decided that if I were ever on Desert Island Discs then this is the book I would take with me. It has (according to the blurb) over 900 entries on authors, illustrators, printers, publishers and educationalists. It's like being on the internet. One entry takes you to another and then back to someone else and although I decided to read it from the beginning I do go off on tangents.
I'm sure you've heard of the Kate Greenaway Award for outstanding children's book of the year. Well did you know who she was and when she lived and that she was intimate with John Ruskin? Did you realise that Robinson Crusoe was written as early as 1711 (I always thought it was Victorian)? Or that a lot of The Swiss Family Robinson was enlarged by translators and editors because the author left the manuscript incomplete and disorganised?
Sadly, the book is out of print but I did check and noticed that there is the odd copy on ebay. Mine was published in 1995 so it is a bit out of date now but no matter it does make for fascinating reading and also points you to new authors and titles too.
On the creative front, I've been trying to finish the hand towel I started over a year ago and I've been playing around with some yo-yos:
That's all. Just lazing in front of the fire otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------
Desert Island Discs is a very long time running radio programme. If you click on the link above you can read about it on Wikipedia. I haven't the foggiest which music I would take but I'm certain about my book (if they'd allow it). Want to share what you might take?
HI Simmy!
I spent a lot of time copying Kate Greenaway drawings when I was a kid. I loved her work! We got your Christmas card but have managed to LOSE your address once again and thus didn't get ours to you.... We're having a bit of a slow January ourselves. It's really hard to get out of bed and our school hours haven't changed at all!
Posted by: Sarah | January 24, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Hi there!
That looks like a wonderful book; we love to research our favorite authors and illustrators in our family. It makes the stories more meaningful, we think. We'll have to look out for a copy.
~Marqueta
Posted by: Marqueta | January 27, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Hi Simmy,
Our January has flown by but I'm not so sure that's a good thing. The main thing is that it's nearly Feb which means it will soon be March and then we can all breath a sigh of relief as Spring bursts forth :)
I have a tree of happiness award for you over at my blog. http://bohemianmumma.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/a-forest-of-happiness/
Posted by: Natalie | January 29, 2009 at 03:02 PM
Nice hand towel... so colourful!
Posted by: The Magic Onions | January 29, 2009 at 10:49 PM