Snow and Books and More Books

The first snow (oh, and probably the LAST one, too) of the year.  So beautiful.  The birds were totally into it.  Those are bird prints under the feeder in the side yard.  The hummingbird that rules the backyard has been making frequent forays to his feeder, too, running off the other hummingbird in the neighborhood from his vantage point on the curving blackberry canes over the hillside.  I got up at 4:30 am and checked the streetlight below us and saw the first few flakes start to fall.  Truly, the first snowfall is one of my favorite things.

A truck full of books!  Now, if I can get out of the driveway...

Today, if all goes well and I can actually get out of the driveway, I will deliver 9 boxes of books to my local elementary school, Bailey Gatzert, on behalf of the Northwest Literacy Foundation.  2,500.00 worth of books going to the library! The librarian here, Kathleen West, sure knows her kids; she has boxes filled with reference books, books on Antarctica and sharks, joke books, books of world records, maps, lists...All 6 of the schools we'll be making deliveries to have very different collections and their librarians really know what they need in their libraries.  One school is focusing on art, one on fiction, one has mostly picture books and poetry. 

The schools we deliver to are schools that may have to decide to provide lunch or books for their schools and, rightly so, need to provide lunch.  NWLF helps with the book part.  The schools are a melange of languages and are filled with the most amazing art and gardens, much of which are made by parents whose native language probably isn't English.  The books we provide help the entire family as many of the kids will read and share these books with everyone at home.  Happy New Year, kids!

Books for this kind of come-in-from-out-of-the-cold day?  Children's books about winter and snow, mysteries, old classics like Rebecca, I Capture the Castle, and The Egg and I.  The Polar Express, Narnia, A Child's Christmas in Wales, Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.  A tidy little stack, a big old chair and a fine, heavy blanket will do for starters.  Christmas lights, candles and the smell of cinnamon are a good chaser.  A chance at a nap, two pairs of socks and an unbroken afternoon with time enough to slip deep inside one or two of those fine pieces of literature... that makes for a cozy, toasty day off.