Winter's Quiet, and a Quiz

Winter is usually a quiet time for me. Storytelling comes to a stop, usually, for several months. I use the time to recharge, to plan programs for the coming year, to write and to read. Especially read. We have the fireplace in our log room burning most events, and it's the perfect place to read.

Recently I re-organized all of my books, an undertaking that took a few days--perfect for winter. My library might not be as large as most, with around 1000 volumes, but almost every one is a research tool for storytelling and writing.

Every now and again I go through the stacks and try to downsize, and indeed I did manage to pull about 40 books this last round, but it doesn't take long for the empty spaces to be re-occupied. I mean, who can resist a Civil War diary by a woman living in their home county, or a collection of Irish or Appalachian ghost stories or out-of-print, rare volumes or poems or I?

In the process of sorting my books, I realized that there are quite a few I have not read, as well as old favorites that need to be re-visited. So I pulled out a reading stack. I plan to continue pulling a new volumes as I finish one in the stack, and work my way through the bookshelves over the next year--or two or three or more, probably.

Currently I'm reading:

The Civil War Diary of Henrietta Fitzhugh Barr or Ravenswood, VA (now WV) (completed)
Winter Morning Walks by Ted Kooser (poetry)
Irish Ghost Stories by Jeremiah Curtin
The Apple That Astonished Paris by Billy Collins (completed)
Volume 24, WV Encyclopedia
Volume 25, WV Encyclopedia (completed)
Windfall by Maggie Anderson (poetry)
Mountain Trace

I'm also listening to music both for its soothing presence and to search for new songs to add to my repertoire, especially for this summer's library programs since the theme this year is music. So John Langstaff's Songs for Singing Children, and the Watersons and Cherish the Ladies are my companions right now.

I suppose if I was really driven (or hungry) I would be working on drumming up more work during these winter months, but the pleasures of home, books, and music while watching the snow fall are all I really want right now. Life will speed up soon enough.

One little volume I found on the shelf is a small ring binder with the title "Handy" and a copyright of 1927. Apparently it was bought as a series of booklets that were hole-punched for the binder and cost 25 cents each. Each booklet focuses on activities on a specific topic: mental games, quiet games, outdoor games, leadership, etc. In mental games I found a game that challenges the players to complete old sayings. Here are a ten from the list; how many can you complete?

1. As poor as....
2. As thin as....
3. As brown as....
4. As stiff as...
5. As busy as...
6. As ugly as...
7. As red as...
8. As bitter as...
9. As flat as...
10. As neat as...

So, how did you do? Answers tomorrow!