exercise book

 My mother and I decided some time ago, on the principle of use it or loose it, that in order to exercise our 'little grey cells' we would begin memorizing poetry.  We both are old enough that it was a school exercise when we were young, but we have taken it up again.  She has reviewed "Listen my children and you shall hear/Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere".  I took up Humpty Dumpty's Recitation by Lewis Carrol.  A couple weeks ago she called to say she wanted to memorize the "Night Before Xmas".  She wasn't able to find a single copy in the book shops, could I make her one?  And could I make it so that she could glue in the pretty Christmas cards she gets.  Sure enough.  The book shops came through in the end, but I was already well on the way in making her a copy so she's getting it anyway.  She will get exercise in memorizing the poem: A visit from St. Nicholas (the actual title) and I got exercise designing and making the book.  Word of advice, don't chat with a friend at the crucial time of gluing the text block together.

My plan for the text was easy.  I pulled the poem off the net to save typing, then I corrected all the minor mistakes against the version in my 1959 Treasury of Poetry. Oh the intertube.  Reminds me of a game of telephone.  What was the original message? 

I spread the text of the poem over several pages of 8.5 by 11.  Then I cut half inch wide strips of cardstock to go between each page at the spine so that when the pictures are glued in the book won't bulge (as much).  And this is where I got into trouble.  I had meant to glue a strip to each page, then hole punch the whole thing, then lace it up with the covers with ribbon.  But a friend was over using my scanner, and we chatted while we worked.  And I glued the whole text block together.  Never say die.  I hauled out the hammer and nails, solving the problem in a jiffy.

I am planning to memorize the Grinch. Noise, noise, noise, noise, noise.