The Listeners & These Train Tracks

our friends, Breathe Owl Breathe, sent us their new hard bound children's book back in September!

one side is the story/song The Listeners (or The Mole & The Ostrich).

see the paper band going around the book?  the inside of it is printed with the names (including ours!) of all the folks who supported this book project, at a certain level on their kickstarter campaign, Something for the Kidz, so that the book could get made. 

remember this post?

it's about Breathe Owl Breathe playing an amazing outdoor show, on our backyard stage, because of the support we gave them, through kickstarter, for this particular book project they were trying to raise funds for.

the other side is the story/song, These Train Tracks!

yeah, so, since we contributed at the top level, we got to have a house concert, a sleepover, handmade screenprinted capes, the book, and other perks as well!  It's one of the best investments we have ever made!  And it's an investment we have got the best return on!

please support artists you love!  and if they have a kickstarter campaign going, support it however you can!  our friends needed our help and we were more than happy to oblige!  we feel we got the best deal of all and feel so fortunate to have been able to share the love with our local friends too when they got to see Breathe Owl Breathe, live, in our backyard! 

So now it's time for you to buy this book! 

You will get more than you give!

and don't wait!  it is a limited edition!

two awesome story/songs in one gorgeous little book!

all the prints in the book are from original woodcuts carved by our friend Micah Middaugh, who wrote and illustrated both stories.

these are some of my favorite pages from The Listeners.

and these are some of my favorite pages from These Train Tracks

and it is not just a book you will have,

in your hands,

when you order your own copy.

you'll have a 7 inch record too!

with a story/song on each side!

that's right!   this sweet little book comes with lovely story/song to read, beautiful art to gaze upon and adore, and vinyl to listen to so the good message comes through loud and clear!   lucky us!!

i don't want to give too much away because it's truly such a treat to have your own experience with the book, music, stories and songs.

did you listen to books on album when you were young?  we did.  there would always be a ding or a bell sound, so you would know when to turn the page.  the album for this book doesn't do that because it's songs really, not a spoken story, that you will be enchanted by when listening.  you will love it!

buy the book here!

wrapping, wrapping, wrapping,

xoxoxo

jennette

p.s. i am looking into getting a few copies to have for sale here at Smashing Rubbish so check in with me if you are interested!

 

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

hey friends!

here is a short review and pitch for Katrina Kenison's book The Gift of an Ordinary Day.

ok, be forewarned. this book will make you cry, weep, sob and laugh, smile & chuckle. i highly recommend it if you have kids, are a mother, have a mother, or know a mother, and all parents world wide, far and near!!!

my sweet friend Tiffany turned me on to this book. as many of you know, i spend a LOT of time in my car and i listen to a LOT of books on cd. of course i listened to this book and after Tiff shared the video with me:

how could i not?!

did you watch the video?!  are you crying yet?!

i am just in awe of the universe putting these much needed experiences in my path when i can really use them. this book is about a mom who has two teen sons and how she is maneuvering through all the changes that come with our kids getting ready to fly the coop.

i have been lamenting to friends, and really, to anyone who will listen, about how hard it is getting and staying centered in the here and now and enjoying the gifts of an ordinary day. i find myself complaining about the speed of life, the time lost or past that was not knowingly appreciated, and the unfairness of only "having" my oldest son for just two more years.

Kenison speaks to all of this and more. she writes about finding peace and balance and quiet. she writes about finding new adventures, new friends, and centering.  and about how all the hard stuff, the choices, the decisions, how it's all transient, fleeting, short lived. how all we have control of is ourselves and our next step. how the past is in the past and that we don't need to "future-trip" so much about the future.

So much of what Kenison shared, her insights and her opinions, were like crystal clear gifts of love to me. i listened with my kids in the car and they just silently watched me weep and wipe my eyes. it was nice having my teenager hear some of what i have tried to tell him about why i do and say what i do and say! it is such a gift to be reminded of how i want to live and interact with my boys, what i want them to take away when they go and what it is that is important to me that they "get." Kenison nailed it, spot on, and i am so thankful and appreciate to have had the opportunity to hear this from her now while i am in the thick of it. earlier would have been nice too but at least i got it now. for that i am grateful.

here is a quote from kenison's website:

“Watching my sons growing and changing so visibly, almost from one day to the next, I sensed something in me breaking loose and changing as well, something no less powerful for being invisible. It was almost as if, having strived for years for predictable comforts, urban conveniences, and security of our well-established routines, I was suddenly haunted by all the things I hadn’t done, the dreams that might never be realized, the sense that the tidy, civilized life we’d worked so hard to create didn’t quite fit the person I really was, or, rather, still thought I might be.”–from The Gift of an Ordinary Day

if you have young children, tweens or teens, i would love for you to get your hands on this book. Dads too!  the small bit Chad has listened to so far has given us so much good stuff to talk about.  and i dare the dads to not be moved to tears as well! 

even though Kenison has two boys i think all of us parents, with 1 or 4 kids, girls or boys, who parent thoughtfully and with much care, can learn from her experiences. the earlier the better, i'd say. and i will definitely be revisiting this one over and over again. it's a keeper and i am thankful!

listening to Aimee Bender's, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake,

a little escape after the serious,

xoxo

jennette

Blood, Bones, Butter

i am determined to start showing y'all some of the things i read, listen to and come across in the literary/media world, on this blog.  many of you know that i spend a crazy amount of time in the car chauffeuring my kids around and generally getting out and about so i end up listening to a LOT of books on CD.  (I also watch a LOT of movies in the evenings so they will be revealed here too)

 

it should be noted here that i do belong to a book club wherein we read historical fiction and i have been known to "read" the book by "listening" to it!  i cheat.  and i digress.

recently i came across a review of this book, Blood, Bones and Butter: the Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. 

OK.  lots of you know i consider myself a "foodie".  totally amateur, for sure, but a foodie non-the-less.  i have much, much, much to learn about food, ingredients, methods, etc.  but boy do i love me some good beautiful delicious food.  and almost more than food, well not more than, but a close tie, i love books (or CDs!) about food.  i could go on and on about my favorite books being the ones about food, memoirs about cooking, details of what someone ate, and most especially any book that has recipes included. 

i got started in that particular genre by reading (yes, actually reading!) When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman.  then i read The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones (who published Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking).  then i read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  then i read a Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. 

well. life just wasn't the same.

(it kinda freaks me out to think that there are likely hundreds of more books out there, like this, that i don't yet know about.  i want to read them all and i can't wait!)

So Blood, Bones and Butter does not have recipes.  but i am telling you, it does not matter.

I LOVED THIS MEMOIR!

Gabrielle Hamilton writes from a place of poetry, honesty and pure brilliance.  all about food and life.  a magical life.  you will laugh, be shocked, cringe, and cry.  yes.  it's that good!

you know how when you are reading/watching/listening/seeing/witnessing something SO GOOD you don't want it to end and if you have the power or the will, you slow it down so it won't end?  ok.  that's this book.

it's about eating.  and cooking.  and finding your way.  and the ups and downs of life.  it's funny.  and it's ordinary in an extraordinary way. it's about her 30 seat restaurant Prune, in New York.  and a lot more.

Mario Batali says: "she has raised the bar for all books about eating and cooking"

Anthony Bourdain says: "Simply the best memoir by a chef ever.  EVER."

but don't take their word for it.  or mine.  run as fast as you can to your local book store or library and grab this book (or CD).  you won't be sorry.

and since i did listen to it on CD, and Gabrielle reads it herself, (which i love when the author reads their own book,) i think you should listen to it.  i'll just say that.  listen to it if you can.  and know that it is not completely "clean" if there are little ears around.  not clean, but oh so worth it!

Enjoy!

xoxo

jennette