Sunday, May 10, 2009

Welcome Aboard -- The Book Nook

Officially it's the pass through / hallway on the starboard side of the boat (opposite the galley). This space has a lot of potential and we've seen many incarnations in different versions of this boat. For us, it's the library. Naturally all of those shelves on the outboard side became a home for books (more books are stored ALL over the boat but this is the main area). The weight of the books is centrally located and evenly distributed (an important factor in a catamaran). And the lockers under the shelves are craft and homeschool supplies.

But the inboard side of the hallway has been a big question mark for the past 5 years. Honestly, more like a big mess. One of our 37hp Yanmar diesel engines lives under that counter. And the top of that empty counter seems to magnetically pull in piles of unfolded laundry, stacks of unread mail, and anything that hasn't been put away. But my boy had an idea. He said, "mommy, clean up your junk so I can do something with this counter." And so I did. And so he did.

He laid out some quilts, plopped down some pillows, hung up his drawings, set up his lantern (we still need to install a light on the ceiling), and of course picked out his favorite books of the moment.



Then Z declared the Book Nook was open for business.






Now when it's really quiet all of the sudden on board, instead of wondering if he's coloring the walls or raiding the dark chocolate stash, I know he's curled up here.





Of course now I need to find a new place to sort laundry.

12 comments:

Amanda T said...

Ah, that looks so cozy :)

Mimi Hornberger said...

I have, just recently, found your boat and am now living (vicariously) on one of the shelves in the book nook. I love Z's adventures and I love the way you Mother. What an amazing life you have. I am a paper crafter and generally just scroll through my favorite blogs to look at their creations but I rarely read about them. But, first on my blog list are you and Soule Mama. So, while sipping my morning cuppa joe, I read of the adventures of two very wonderful women who raise their children in a way that I envy. Please, never stop sharing with us in blogland. XO, Mimi

wholarmor said...

Wow. He did a great job! I just found your blog through a friend's suggestion, and I love it! I am a homeschooling mom, and I'd love to be able to do something adventurous like homeschool on a boat.

Thanks for sharing!

boatbaby said...

Gosh Mimi, I am blushing. Thank you for the kind words.
And welcome aboard wholarmor! It's always nice to connect to other homeschooling mamas!

cupcakesandcoffee schwartz said...

LOVE it! I love how the minds of little ones work...

indigorchid said...

What a cool kid you have there! Which means, I think, a couple of generous and cool parents. I'm impressed with the "make it happen" attitude he is showing, and yours as well. It looks like he is experiencing (and being *allowed* to experience!) so much. Lucky kid.

lily boot said...

Awesome! Your writing and photographs are so very enticing. Life on a boat - it looks so comfy and good. I love Zach's booknook and wish him many hours of pleasure curled up there.

boatbaby said...

indigorchid - thank you for the kind words. Many generations of cool parents. My tribe of parents (I had 4) were the best! I only hope I can give Z all the love and confidence that they gave me.

lilyboot - we think life is pretty comfy and good here, though it's not for everyone. But I think more people would enjoy it more than they think.

Seven C's said...

Well, we don't live on our boat (Seven C's) but with five kids, we certainly have a book nook - or several :)
What a great way to do the books! Looking at the pictures, I see "The Children off Noisy Village" Our kids LOVE that one and have the video also. Astrid Lindgren did fantastic childrens books.

boatbaby said...

Seven C's - We love Astrid Lindgren here too. And wow - 5 kids, that's enough to have your own pirate crew. Perfect!

MommyLydia said...

I'm going back and reading through your blog having just found it and I'm inspired by how you live in so LITTLE space!

Keep writing, please!

I wonder how you control the number of books? Books are overruning us right now (Toys are too but I have ideas how to handle that. I hate to get rid of a book!)

boatbaby said...

Thank you My Boaz's Ruth and welcome aboard! The books are my biggest challenge too. We ARE overrun by them :)
Some things we do -- we have seasonal book baskets. That way the winter/ holiday books are not cluttering in July and they are fresh and exciting again in December. We rotate them out by season and keep the off season ones in large plastic bins in the forepeak.

Also, some of my book I have donated to the local library. That way I always know where to find them if I need them :)

And of course -- the library in general is a golden resource. We try like crazy to find it there first, bring it home, decide good and hard whether they are worth buying.
My weakness is thrifting books. Who can resist when they are 3 for $1?!!

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