I finished my last bobbin of singles tonight. I just need to ply this with the other bobbin of peppermint singles and this raspberry cream yarn is done. Four skeins. Woohoo!

Now, all I need is for the pattern to arrive. I ordered it a couple weeks ago and am just waiting, now . . . although I do have those Christmas items to finish. I actually finished one of them tonight, which means I’ve got one more I have to do, and one more I want to do, and my holiday knitting is done.

I’ve got my Christmas cards ready to go in the mail, too–all I need to do is write one note to include in one of them, and out they go.

I do love having things prepared!

Of course this weekend is going to be the dreaded Stollen Weekend. Ugh. I really dread it every year, but, well, it’s for Dad, so . . .

1. They say that books read as a child make more of an impact on a person than books read at any other time in life. Are there any books that you particularly loved, that shaped the way you think when you were little? I’m not asking if you believed in fairies then but don’t any more. I’m asking about patterns of thought, morality–something that made an impact. There absolutely were. I think it’s one of the best things about children’s books, actually, that they can give things like lessons about good, evil, kindness, compassion . . . all of that . . . in a way that is entertaining and fun. Classics, especially. I think too many of the modern books are so dark and “Real”–they hit kids over the head with “Life is hard” far too much. The books that I loved as a child were gentler, more enjoyable, more imaginative as a rule. L.M. Montgomery. Louisa May Alcott. Frances Hodgson Burnett. Noel Streatfeild. . . .
2. And, of course, examples, please! Two life lessons that have always stuck with me?
   First, from E. L. Konigsburg’s “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil. E. Frankweiler“–towards the end, when Claudia and Jamie are given an hour to find the answer in her library, Claudia makes her brother sit down and make a list of things to look up, because (something to the effect of) “Fifteen minutes worth of planning is worth an hour of blindly searching.”
   For that matter, the Commodore in Nancy Bond’s “The Best of Enemies” (one of my all-time favorites) says something similar when reining in the young kids who were helping, that “Now is when you have the time. Now is when you can stop to think, but you youngsters never understand that.” Because, of course, it’s true–events pick up speed and momentum as they go along, but if you’re going to have a chance to shape them or change direction, it’s easier at the start than later on.
   Second, from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “A Little Princess.” When Sara explains about why she keeps her temper, doesn’t cry or run away when Miss Minchin scolds her, because by keeping her temper, she shows that she is the stronger person, that the only thing stronger than a rage is the force that lets you hold it in, and she doesn’t want to give Miss Minchin the satisfaction of showing weakness. I’m a pretty even-tempered person, but I did have a temper when I was little, and that passage made quite an impression on me. I’d never really thought that keeping my temper was a way of showing . . . I don’t know . . . fortitude, or moral strength, or whatever. But that helped me face down that weakness. I used to have that whole little speech memorized and everything….
3. Also, did you read this book/these books more than once? Many times? Even if that’s not a usual habit of yours? Oh, lordy, yes! Over and over and over . . . Not only did I love them, but it’s not like I had a large amount of disposable income to buy more, and Mom could be convinced to drive me to the library for armfulls of books only so often….
   

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Almost //