So glad it’s Wednesday–halfway through the week. It’s been unusually warm this week, too–Spring clearly is coming. Chappy’s gotten a walk four days in a row, which is practically a record for winter-time walks. There’s rain coming, though, but we’re hoping for good weather on Saturday. My friend Cindy is back from New Zealand, and there’s a chance we could get our three dogs together at the park–Chappy hasn’t seen his best friend since last summer. And that’s just wrong!

This picture, incidentally, is from their first meeting, back in September 2001, when they were about three months old–Horatio is just three weeks older than Chappy, so they’ve pretty much known each other their whole lives. (Chappy looks very impressed, doesn’t he? “You can do tricks??” And, lord, he looks so darn fuzzy! His puppy-fur was just like an extra soft stuffed animal. Sigh.)

Still, no exciting knitting photos to show you–again, there’s progress, but it’s not exciting to look at . . . yet. I’ve got the feet of my socks a little more than halfway done. Another inch or two, and I’ll be ready to do the heels. My sweater has another inch or two to go before splitting for the sleeves. It’s not going that quickly since I’ve got a fair number of stitches on the needles by now, but progress is being made, and I’m very happy with the way it’s looking. Knitting with handspun is great.

Mom and I watched Cutting Edge tonight. The skating movie from 1992 with Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney? Remember? We enjoyed it–but did you know? They’ve made a sequel? Centered around the daughter of the original two characters, now a skater herself. Apparently, it’s availabe on DVD, but is going to be aired on the ABC-Family channel on Sunday night. (I was happy to learn, in fact, from the preview, that Moira and D.B.’s characters did, in fact, win the gold medal at the end of the original. It’s something that was never actually made clear–the movie ended with their performance–no sign as to what sort of scores they got. Just for the mere sense of closure, I’m glad to know it worked out for them.)

Now, another little reading meme for you all, from Shelly:

1. Do you reread books?
   All the time!
2. If yes, which ones have you reread and why?
   • Practically any book I’ve really enjoyed, I’ve reread. Some, I’ve read so many times, I couldn’t begin to estimate how many times I’ve read them.
   • Here’s the way I look at it: The first time you read a book, it’s all new, all exciting and unknown. This is always my fastest read, as I race through to find out what happens. Like a first date, just getting to know each other.
   • The second time, the basic roadmap of the story is established–you know who lives, who dies, who succeeds, who fails, who falls in love, who quarrels, and so on. But this time, you’re going to catch things you didn’t see the first time–foreshadowing you didn’t notice because you didn’t know what would happen. Shadings in conversations between people who secretly love or hate each other. Forebodings. Hidden meanings. You start seeing more layers. It’s as exciting, in its way, as the first time.
   • By the third reading, you’ve got a pretty good handle on what’s going on–although, the more deeply-layered a book, the more you’re going to catch. (Again, one of the reasons I love Dorothy Dunnett so much.) By now, though, the route is familiar enough that you see the road signs for the upcoming turns and exits, and get to enjoy the anticipation of knowing what’s coming.
   • But if you keep going–fourth reading, fifth, sixth, twentieth–the books become old friends. And like seeing any old friend–you know what to expect, there aren’t going to be any surprises, but it’s comfortable, pleasant. Reminiscing. Going over old times. Just enjoying each other’s company. (“I’ve always loved this scene.” “This is one of my favorite parts.”) Like comfort food, or watching a rerun of “I Love Lucy” for th umpteenth time–it doesn’t matter that you know what she’s going to do when the chocolate conveyer belt speeds up–it’s just good to sit back and enjoy the ride.
3. If no, would you want to if you had the time, and if so, why?
   (Nothing to answer, here, since my answer was an emphatic “yes.”)

(Incidentally, I’m proud of myself for figuring out the HTML to do the sub-list there in answer #2. I know, it’s simple, basic coding, but I did it myself without using a reference, so, good for me!)

Tags: Chappy, Friends, General, Reading // 13 Comments »