Sunday Afternoon Tea

It has been an exhausting week at our house with staying up late to watch all the election returns; getting the lawn, deck, porch, and shrubs ready for the soon coming winter weather; and, keeping Christopher in meals and snacks as he is studying long hours.

Pooh's blustery day has returned, only this time he brought wind from our Northern neighbors. I just about froze my giblets as I walked down the lane to the mailbox yesterday. The temperatures combined with high winds made the chill go right through my jacket.

The day was spent doing some baking, making soup as well as a casserole (with extra chicken not used for the soup), and grinding wheat to be used for bread and muffins later today.

Even the necessary task of washing dishes after cooking and baking was a welcome event. For hot and sudsy water feels good when the temperatures are hovering near freezing outside (which means it is quite cool inside!)

My ponderings this week were of many things as the change of seasons will do that to one's brain. Even when one feels like Pooh and that she is a bear of little brain... or pig if one reads Jewels' blog (and if you don't you absolutely must).

When I was at the clinic Friday to have blood sugars checked and pick up my insulin, I had to ask two different people if brain transplants had been perfected and unfortunately, both said no. Sigh...

All that to say I spent time this week doing a little blog surfing rather than putting together the pantry and preparedness links for the sidebar. It also meant I didn't get e-mails answered if they required more than a simple thought or paragraph. Instead I drifted from one blog and website to another, letting my mind absorb the work of others while relaxing my sore muscles.

I finally came to a question that perked me up and turned on a few brain cells, if only for awhile. The question was asked, "What five books do you find yourself reading over and over?".

Well, I have more than five but for the purpose of the question, I thought of the five that came to my mind the quickest.

So... besides the Bible and your daily devotional, what five nonfiction books have you re-read the most? As for me...

The Hidden Art of Homemaking and What Is a Family by Edith Schaeffer
A tie as I usually reread them one right after the other and I think of them as one.

Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard
Greatly influenced my thoughts toward interior decoration.

A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
Although I have re-read many of her books, this is still my favorite.

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
I read this many times before Sally became a friend.

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola
I lived and breathed this book as a homeschooling mom.

Honorable Mention: Beyond Survival by Diana Waring
This was my original book perused dozens of times in those first years of homeschooling.

Now, what five fiction books have you re-read the most? Hmmm, perhaps...

Christy by Catherine Marshall

The Mitford Books (all of them) by Jan Karon

A Wrinkle in Time (and those that followed) by Madeline L'Engle

Perelandra and the rest of the Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis
Perhaps the fiction that I most often think of from time to time!

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe... also by Mr. Lewis
Classic... pure classic.

I'm sure I'll think of others as the days pass, perhaps those I've read even more than the books listed above. But these are the titles which "floated to the top" and are most likely the books I have re-read the most.

Now, there are other books I would put in the re-read category but they are a different sort of read. These are my Victoria books (two of which are on the side bar that I have off the shelf now), various decorating books, lovely cookbooks, favorite Christian books that I'll peruse quickly... perhaps just a chapter or two (Phillip Keller is a favorite for this), a beloved section of Wind In the Willows or a Pooh book... none truly re-read but over the years picked up and momentarily cherished a hundred times.

Now... I would be delighted if you take the time to write the titles of books you reread often. I'll be taking out pen and paper to write your recommendations and take to the library with me. :)