Thursday, January 8, 2015

Record temperature and reading fun


The thermometer showed 19 degrees Fahrenheit this morning on our screened porch. That is a record low for this date in our usually mild coastal region. 

Not cold enough for a real igloo, but chilly enough to remind me of igloo photos languishing on my laptop.The kids’ reading hideout above was featured at our local library on a warm day in October.

Milk jug building blocks

Snowflake to boost curb appeal

The igloo was something I would have loved as a child. Even as an adult I appreciate it as a tempting hideaway for reading.

Of course, gone are the summer days of childhood when I would hide to read uninterrupted. My best-remembered early morning escape was the scramble up a ladder my dad had left propped against the carport roof. 

The rough texture of the roofing shingles somehow heightened my anticipation of opening the day’s chosen library book. I would climb farther up to my perch against a gable. It created welcomed shade for reading.

Around noon hunger would call me back down, but the black shingles would have absorbed the intense heat of the South Mississippi summer sun. Their heat would send me into a frantic dance to the ladder. 

That hot-foot experience was no match, though, for my summer urge to ditch shoes and to read without spending time doing chores.

My parents did not discover that particular hideout for most of one summer. I don’t remember being punished. I do remember that Daddy moved the heavy ladder, eliminating my access to the roof.

10 comments:

  1. Welcome back, I missed you!! And you have returned with a bang! What an awesome igloo all made from milk jugs! I used to read at the table and in bed, but now i see what I was missing!

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  2. The igloo is really neat and would be a fun place to hide away and read. I always remember my mother's consideration when I was reading and she needed me to stop. She always said, "...when you get to a stopping place." I'm sure there were probably times when I stretched out that "stopping place" a bit.

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  3. so good to see your post and to know you are ok.. i love that igloo.. i used to close my bedroom door and read and read and read, but no hiding from the parents because of Daddy..he kept my toes to the line... also i am afraid of heights so no trees or roof for me. but i would read any time any where..

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  4. Love this Linda. Welcome back to the land of blogging.
    I have missed you.
    I would read all the time too. In bed, while eating, snuggling down in my favorite chair...on the "throne". You name it...I would read.
    I can picture you dancing like a cat on a hot tin roof....
    Great post. (:0)

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  5. Good to see you back, you have been missed. That igloo is really clever and a great use for milk jugs. My mom was a former English teacher so she really encouraged reading.

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  6. Oh those favorite hiding places for reading from our childhood days. They do hold special memories.

    The igloo is very clever. My children's father built one in the back yard one year for the children. They loved it! They would hide in it. Then they would climb to the top and slide down it.

    Good to see your post. Also thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are doing well.

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  7. I still have favorite places to curl up with a book, but no igloos. Glad to see you out and about again.

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  8. It's so good to have you back! I've thought about you often, and wondered how you were doing.

    I love the picture of the igloo. What a neat idea for a reading hideaway! I didn't instantly recognize the plastic jugs either.

    It was cold here, last week, too. I think our low was a couple degrees warmer than yours though. Now it's just wet, very, very wet!

    I enjoyed reading the tale of your childhood reading adventures, and am looking forward to future posts:)

    Take care,
    Kathy (from Reflections by Kathy)

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  9. It's awfully good to see you. I hope your camera is recovering and that your computer is new and fresh. What a magical story. Thank you.

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  10. Haha, I spent similar summers with books at my grandparents' farm. My ideal reading place was under a particular pecan tree. That is until I started seeing banana spiders. Ewww!

    That is a cool idea with the milk jugs for the kids. What fun!

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