Reading is FUNdamental!
Recently, I have renewed my acquaintance with the Arkansas City Public Library. We are old friends, actually. It is such a pretty and historic building. I first visited this library within days of marrying The Hubster, more than 28 years ago. Libraries and I go way, way back.
I was always a reader. When I was a kid, my favorite time of year was when the William Allen White Award winners list came out. I proudly bore that list to my school library and checked out every one. Usually, the librarian had them all set aside for me already. (We had a very simpatico relationship). In the sixth grade, I won a special award, because I had read every book in the school's library.
Every Saturday, I rode my bike or my dad dropped me off at the Derby Public Library. It was a modern concept (in the 70's) building with a sunken reading pit full of pillows and modular study cubicles. I spent many happy hours there, roaming the stacks, absorbing books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne (I was a precocious child).
My paradise, or Garden of Eden, was the Wichita Public Library, Main Branch, in downtown Wichita. My mom and I went there every couple of months, to breathe in the rarefied air. I reveled in the sheer volume of tomes; rows upon rows and floors upon floors of poetry, art books, plays, adult fiction, periodicals, all ready to be swallowed up. Even the fountain out front of the building assured you that this was a dignified and important address.
Reading was one of the first ways that I connected personally with my mom. Not just that she was the woman who gave birth to me, but as humans. My childhood home was full of books of all kinds, and everyone in my family read, to some degree. I remember a particularly hot summer when I was reading "The Long Winter," by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I sat huddled underneath a heavy quilt, shivering for a solid week. My mother was convinced I was feverish. Books are cheap transportation!
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The August meeting of the Cowley County Writers Guild was a big success. We were seven. That's more than twice as many attendees as last month, so word is getting around. We talked about fall activities and research techniques. NaNoWriMo is in November (Google it!), so we are planning something fun.
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Exercise Update: I did four sets of hand weight calisthenics and four aerobic workouts last week. I have started to notice some definition and improved muscle tone in my upper arms. The increased reps are starting to pay off!
***
Notable Quote
"Become a vessel God can use to pour encouragement into the lives of those you know and love."--Dayspring
I was always a reader. When I was a kid, my favorite time of year was when the William Allen White Award winners list came out. I proudly bore that list to my school library and checked out every one. Usually, the librarian had them all set aside for me already. (We had a very simpatico relationship). In the sixth grade, I won a special award, because I had read every book in the school's library.
Every Saturday, I rode my bike or my dad dropped me off at the Derby Public Library. It was a modern concept (in the 70's) building with a sunken reading pit full of pillows and modular study cubicles. I spent many happy hours there, roaming the stacks, absorbing books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne (I was a precocious child).
My paradise, or Garden of Eden, was the Wichita Public Library, Main Branch, in downtown Wichita. My mom and I went there every couple of months, to breathe in the rarefied air. I reveled in the sheer volume of tomes; rows upon rows and floors upon floors of poetry, art books, plays, adult fiction, periodicals, all ready to be swallowed up. Even the fountain out front of the building assured you that this was a dignified and important address.
Reading was one of the first ways that I connected personally with my mom. Not just that she was the woman who gave birth to me, but as humans. My childhood home was full of books of all kinds, and everyone in my family read, to some degree. I remember a particularly hot summer when I was reading "The Long Winter," by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I sat huddled underneath a heavy quilt, shivering for a solid week. My mother was convinced I was feverish. Books are cheap transportation!
***
The August meeting of the Cowley County Writers Guild was a big success. We were seven. That's more than twice as many attendees as last month, so word is getting around. We talked about fall activities and research techniques. NaNoWriMo is in November (Google it!), so we are planning something fun.
***
Exercise Update: I did four sets of hand weight calisthenics and four aerobic workouts last week. I have started to notice some definition and improved muscle tone in my upper arms. The increased reps are starting to pay off!
***
Notable Quote
"Become a vessel God can use to pour encouragement into the lives of those you know and love."--Dayspring
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