Linderhof


Gardening, Cooking and Decorating on the Prairie of Kansas


Welcome to Linderhof, our 1920's home on the prairie, where there's usually something in the oven, flowers in the garden for tabletops and herbs in the garden for cooking. Where, when company comes, the teapot is always on and there are cookies and cakes to share in the larder.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

We Love to Read

We do --
we love to read
But we also love to own books
To have our own library

To be able to pull from the shelf
just the right tome

And not counting the shelf of cookbooks in the kitchen,
we have three (or almost half) of the rooms at Linderhof
with walls of books



In the living room are the classics, leather bound and slowly collected over time
Not bought just to fill the bookcases but bought because we loved them
and wanted Daughter Sarah to love them as well
We enjoy the feel of a leather book in our hands,
the quality of the paper
And there isn't anything better than rereading a much loved classic.

On the table is a tortoise shell and ivory "page turner"
Brought home from England
A page turner because books were rare and human hands contained oils.
How precious books once were


In the sunroom, a wall of books
A lot of cookbooks
Many books that I loved as a child
The horse and dog ones
As well as the "teen" ones

And the books that tell stories of living in other countries,
similar to "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "On Rue Tatin"
A girl can dream


A wall of books in the guest room
It had no focal point and we thought bookshelves and a window seat
would be that focal point.

I've always dreamed of curling up on a window seat
with a good book and a cup of tea
while rain or sleet picked at the window pane
or snow fell gently outside
But, alas, I never have.

These shelves are filled with my "England" books, my garden books,
my decorating books, my needlepoint books

And to remind me that I really should take time to read and sip tea
on my beloved window seat
on the door of the Guest Room
is a gift from a dear friend


And it's true!!!!

Books have always been important to me, both to read and to own.
As a child with my birthday money, I would buy books.
Favorite books that I loved.
I still have them and love them as much now as I did then.

And I truly can't imagine a house without books on bookshelves.
As I can't imagine a house without a tick tock clock!

And a tea kettle for tea!





10 comments:

Rebecca said...

Be still my heart! (We just may give you a run for the money on # of books - but drop out of the competition when it comes to leather-bound OR to their neat arrangement on your shelves.) Very, VERY nice!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I envy your bookshelves to display the collections. My couple of bookcases hold mostly gardening books.
Judith

Pondside said...

This made me think - and like you, I have several book cases in the house. None in the master bedroom, but two in each of the guest rooms, a wall of books in the TV room and another in the living room and a large book case in the kitchen. I can't imagine a home without books!

Bernideen said...

Oh my........and especially this time of year when winter is so long. We are supposed to get some snow next week. They rarely get it right for us though. Garden moisture is really needed!

Reggie Darling said...

I, too, love books. And I can't seem to stop buying them. Our shelves long ago were filled, and now we have piles of them on tables, chairs, and the floor. Every now and then I will go through them and purge, and donate the unwanted ones to our lock public library's summer book sale, an important fundraiser for a much needed (and under-appreciated) institution. Reggie

Reggie Darling said...

I meant "local" public library, not "lock!" RD

megan said...

How true the saying from your friend.
When in England last time, I visited the Jane Austen centre and purchased some book plates which said:
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!
How much sooner one tires of anything than a book!
When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library".
Jane Austen

On Crooked Creek said...

Martha,
What lovely collections of books and shelving to hold them all!!!
Dear friend, I think you owe yourself a date with a cup of tea, one of your most beloved books and that window seat!!! I feel the onset of a refreshing Spring Showering afternoon!!!
Fondly,
Pat

Tammy at Tammy Loves Dishes said...

We are the same in our house. We love books and reading. We have bookshelves full and stacks of books here and there and almost everywhere. I do love the feel of a book in my hands, but I have also come to appreciate reading on my Kindle as well (something I thought I would never say).

KathyB. said...

You might just as well be describing our home. Books on many shelves, fire in the fireplace, a kettle of water for tea, a coffeepot always ready to turn on. If I have books to read , should t.v. be unavailable, I would not mind. Sometimes I think it would be nice to ban t.v. from our home. So much more reading, writing, and simply taking in the joys of life would certainly be better for us.

I love your shelves of books, they look like the rooms were meant for them, and them for the rooms.