Notes from Me
Reading: I like to incorporate the Psalms into my regular Bible reading. I use an app called Five Psalms.
Stretching: I’ve been doing this 15-minute stretching routine a couple of times a week over the last year. I like that it doesn’t have any sound other than background music and a countdown for each stretch. And I can tell I’ve gained flexibility in my hamstrings and strength in my wrists.
With the Boys
Reading: We just finished reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. All of my sons (ages 3, 5, and 6) liked it. The book weaves Chinese folktales into an adventure story about protagonist Minli, a young girl who goes on a quest to obtain a fortune that would change the lives of her struggling parents. Lin develops her characters well and is just a really good story teller. We are looking forward to reading her companion book Starry River of the Sky and then When the Sea Turned to Silver.
In the Kitchen
My sister lives in the Midwest and I live in North Florida. At Christmas, we gifted each other Deb Perelman’s new cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers so we can make her recipes and share reviews with each other as we go. We’ve both made the spinach pasta and give it five stars. An aside: I substituted minced garlic from my fridge instead of slow roasting a garlic head. So my version may have lacked a deeper roasted garlic note, but I didn’t feel I was missing out.
Small Joy
Anno’s Counting Book is one of my favorite picture books. It teaches counting, yes, but it is also a beautiful visual calendar. You can see a teacher walking through the book in Spanish here.
Until next month,
Susie
P.S. I’m interested in this film about artist Mary Cassatt.
Thanks Susie, your posts are always so informative and I’m sure helpful to moms with young children. I’m forwarding them to my daughter so she can share them with her friends.