TOP FIVE FRIDAY #31

JUST DO IT

TFF is based on TOP TEN TUESDAY by The Broke and the Bookish. I always frown in a defeated manner when trying to come up with ten answers for TTT, so...

THINGS BOOKS HAVE MADE ME WANT TO DO

1.

GOODREADS

Mo, Meggie's father, repairs rare and antique books. The descriptions of inks, endpapers and bindings in the INKHEART SERIES are beautiful. I would still love to learn how to do this, even if I only work on my own collection of antique and classic books.

When I went to get the Goodreads link I saw that the Kindle ebook of the first book is only $1.99!

2.

GOODREADS

I always wanted to be a governess, preferably in another country, after reading JANE EYRE when I was thirteen. I made a list in my diary of things I needed to study in order to be a proper governess. I successfully managed Latin, French, playing the piano, basic nature drawing, how to properly serve tea, embroidery, and how to waltz. *chuckles* I think for some reason learning to ride sidesaddle was on there, too, at which I have never been successful. Ha ha. I was a nanny for a couple of years, but none of these skills came into play.

I saw that you can get the ebook for 99 cents!

3.

GOODREADS

When I was a preteen I binge read books about horses and dogs, and this was one of my favorite trilogies. I had been riding at a family member's stables for awhile and when I was twelve I wanted to start participating in horse shows, but my stepfather said the two hour round trip and two hour practice three times a week was taking up too much of my mother's time. He also  said the expense of owning my own horse and showing it was out of the question, so my mother suggested getting a show dog because my best friend's family had a show kennel and I could go to shows with them.  I think the reason I chose an Irish Setter for my first show dog was because of the BIG RED books. *note: my mother got hooked and we ended up having our own show kennel; so much for saving time and money. Heh heh.

4.

GOODREADS

We moved from the city to the country when I was in fourth grade and the teacher was reading Little House On the Prairie. I was hooked, so I took the other books out of the library to devour on my own. We had moved to an old farmhouse near where my mother and stepfather were having our new house built, so they could keep an eye on the construction process. It had a barn which was being rented by the family next door for their horse Peaches and there was a huge open field out back that gently slopped down to a small creek. It was the perfect place to live for Little House fantasies! There were gooseberry bushes in the side yard so I named it Gooseberry House.

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My grandmother had moved in with us and I guess I thought she knew how to make the all foods and do all the crafts in the books  because she was older. I hounded her all the time about the hows and whys of pioneer life. If she was ever offended I thought she was that old she never let on. Ha ha. I begged her to sew a long skirt and sun bonnet out of calico print for me. I was thrilled when I found out I had to have these for the Old Homes Day celebration anyway. They had more usage than just that day because I would dress in them and wander the property with my dog Toby, pretending to be Laura's best friend. 

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I made a patchwork coverlet for my bed (with the help of my grandmother) like Laura and Mary had on theirs, and stitched an embroidery sampler. I remember asking If I could have an orange in my Christmas stocking that year like the Ingalls girls received. I also made molasses candy on snow and cambric tea. Now there are Little House craft books and cookbooks. I would have loved that.

5.

GOODREADS

I read this when I was seven and still lived in the city, but there was a gigantic weed lot across the street from the apartment house where my mother and I moved after my parents divorced, so I would put on a dress I had that looked a bit like an alpine outfit, tie a scarf on my head, tie cheese and bread up in a bandana and go out into the lot and pretend to be a goatherd. Ha!

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There was a thirteen year old boy who lived upstairs and a couple of times he caught me and teased me about it. He was a skateboarder and would do tricks out in the parking lot and set up sand filled cans he had painted red on the sloping sidewalk adjacent to the weed lot and slalom. To save face I asked for a skateboard for my eighth birthday and had him teach me tricks. This was back in 1964 and girls who skateboarded barely existed, so me being caught doing something geeky led to me learning to do something that made me look super cool!

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Anyway, I really did want to be a goat herder and I took out every goat care book I could find from the library. I knew all the breeds and about good goat nutrution, diseases, and grooming. When we moved to the country I begged for a goat, but was told no. Who knows though, maybe someday I will have a goat and I will be able to use my vast caprine knowledge.

Have you ever done a craft inspired by a book, or cooked something from a story, or maybe even wanted a pet from a book?