An eclectic order

Eclectic isn't a word I use often. In fact, I don't think I've ever used it written or spoken. I do like the sound of it.

So, last week my online order arrived. It was a mix of things that I've had on my 'I want' list for a while and things that have just become available. Ja, ja - have a laugh on me. Check out the three things I ordered online.

I've had adventure racer / ultra runner Marshall Ulrich's  new book on order for a few weeks. It finally came available. I'll start it after I've finished the charming and fascinating 'At Home', by Bill Bryson.

On 'At Home' - it is delightful. The first Bill Bryson I read was his 'A short history of nearly everything'. I devoured every word. Oddly, I'd tried one of his travel books some years earlier and it did nothing for me. I don't remember getting much past the first chapter. I've since read his books on the history of the English language ('Mother Tongue' - fascinating!) and the truths and myths around Shakespeare. 'At Home' is well worth a read. The write up on it says,

Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to "write a history of the world without leaving home". The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has figured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.

Crochet Bouquet was recommended by a knitting/crochet blog I've been following. So far I've only tried the daffodil. Came out pretty-pretty. Trying to decide on a nice flower for my friend's headwarmer. It's her birthday next week.

Mary Poppins... I've been on a waiting list for some months. I've always loved this movie and as a child would have seen it a few times - certainly not as many times as children these days who play DVDs over and over and over. We didn't have a video player until I was in high school and even then we never owned any videos. I watched my Mary Poppins DVD (45th anniversary edition!) on Thursday night and loved every minute of it. It's amazing how much of the movie I remembered. Dick van Dyke's penguin dance counts as my top favourite sequence. The animation is absolutely charming! I don't think I've watched this movie for a good 20 years.

Although I sang along to most of the songs (memory is a funny thing), I'd forgotten how 'A spoonful of sugar' begins. It starts with Mr Banks saying the words:

In ev'ry job that must be done
there is an element of fun
you find the fun and snap!
the job's a game

Then I think the next verse is where Mary Poppins comes in...

And ev'ry task you undertake
becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree!
It's very clear to me 

That a...
Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...

So true. When you find that silver lining in any task, it is definitely easier to do ;)

Still, I don't think my order is quite as eclectic as my friend's. He recently bought Bhagavad Gita, a book on rugby coaching and a third book of absolutely no relation to the other two (I can't remember what it was; but I recall it being equally strange in this mix). I'll add it in to the comment below when I remember.