IT'S BIRTHDAY TIME

If I hadn't been there, I would think this kid was born with a book in his hands.

 His first love has always been reading, studying --

Learning --

About anything and everything --

He never goes anywhere without a book, or his Kindle, or a map and a notebook --

Always thinking and figuring -- doing math problems while waiting for a train --

 We should have known from the beginning that he would be a traveler, a high school math and science teacher, an interesting person, and a great son.

Have a Happy Birthday, Mike; and a safe and fun trip to Japan with your students this summer!

ARE YOU A BOOKCASE PEEPER?

I admit it - I'm nosy! I love learning about what people read; what makes them tick; what their interests are. I never sit down with a shelter magazine without my magnifying glass, so that I can check out the books displayed in homes. Then, I'm terrible when going to some one's home straining to see what's on their book shelves.

Well, turn about is fair play. Here are some of our bookshelves and a chance to learn a little about us.

I'm a proud third-generation native Coloradan. We have an extensive library on Colorado history.

Once an engineer, always an engineer. Bob retired after a 44-year career as a Civil Engineer.

Ah, yes, the cookbooks! You would think I liked to cook. WRONG. Even though I have the cookbook, "The JOY of Cooking"; I never found much joy in it. The large collection of cookbooks is only because I'm not very creative when cooking, but have certainly cooked thousands of meals in 51 years of marriage.

My favorites on the bookshelves are my decorating books. I read them over and over.

I spent 20 years as a professional quilter making quilts and doing designs for publication; so there are quite a few quilt books.

Then, there is the antiquing and collecting habit. Bob and I share this hobby.

We love to travel, but got a late-in-life start at that. We do have a couple of great trips planned for 2011. Bob is the one interested in foreign languages - I just limp along in that department.

Oh, yes, we have even written a couple of books around here.

I'm a magazine junkie. Someone (that would be me) really needs to purge. But how can you throw out every issue of Mary Engelbreit's magazine or copies of Romantic Home from 1992.

And, of course, there is the most important book of all.

What are on your bookshelves? Do they tell your story?