I did mean it when I said that I thought I had enough sock yarn for a while, I really did, but more arrived at my house today anyway.

Here’s the latest installment of my Sundara Petals Collection–Bird of Paradise. It’s lovely and Spring-y and very cheery, if a little too Crayola-bright for my personal taste. I mean, it’s beautiful, but I don’t know if I’d ever wear the socks, you know? Because there’s really nothing in my closet that they’d match! But still . . . very pretty.

Nor was that the only thing that came today.

There were a few books–that’s Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri, which is making me drool just sitting there. The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. (Yes, that Hugh Laurie.) And the time-travel book Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove.

But wait, there’s more!

Not in the mood to read? Rather watch a movie? Hey, that even happens to me, so . . . Merchant-Ivory’s A Room with a View with Helena Bonham-Carter and Maggie Smith and The Unbearable Lightness of Being with Daniel Day Lewis, Lena Olin, and Juliet Binoche. Two completely different kinds of movies with nothing in common except that they’re love stories (of a sort) and were made in the mid-eighties. I haven’t seen either in years, but remember loving them both. Room with a View has, for one, incredible scenery in Florence . . . that alone is worth watching . . . and H. B-C. back when she was young and pretty (she did period-movies SO well), and I loved Julian Sands.

And then, Unbearable Lightness of Being? One of the sexiest movies ever, with a very young Daniel Day Lewis playing a brain surgeon in 1968 Prague. He’d purr “Take off your clothes” to just about every woman he’d meet, and she would. He was that sexy. And yet, the story goes so much further than that . . . I’m really looking forward to seeing this again . . . if only I had my DVD player back!

Gee, all this talking is making me thirsty. Maybe I should make some tea?

And yes, before you ask, I already know that I like this one.

And, I know, I was VERY popular with the mail-carrier and with UPS today.

Now, as to the book-log-entry thing. I’m up to 2003 . . . although, when I said that to Mom, she asked if I meant the year or the count . . . good question! And I’m not saying . . .

I am tired tonight, though. It was so lovely today–sunny and in the low-40s–that I took Chappy out for not one, but TWO walks. Which is more exercise at one time than either of us has gotten in ages. So, we’re both tired. Dad went golfing (though he and his buddies had to drive a couple hours south to find a course that was snow-less), and Mom had a quiet day at home because she didn’t feel well this morning. Luckily, she’s feeling more like herself now, although she wasn’t interested in having anything too substantial for supper tonight. So what did I end up eating for supper? Oatmeal porridge. I “dressed up” regular oatmeal a little–browned it in some butter before adding the water, added walnuts and some dried cranberries to the pot, along with some cinnamon and a dash of sugar. Yummy, although now it feels oddly like a Sunday morning….

And, before I forget, here are some tired feet of a tired little boy . . . just for La. And I entirely agree–there’s not much cuter than little feet, especially (in my personal opinion) the kind covered in fur. And Chappy’s feet have got a lot of fur! In fact, I really need to give him a haircut this weekend….

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:I Spoke Too Soon! // 13 Comments »

Well, progress is being made, at least.

I’ve got the back and the two fronts done on my Celtic Icon, and have two whole sides done on the side panels. (Please note my assistant.)

Now, there is a glitch, but I’m not sure how serious it will be. The top corner of the two sides is about an inch higher than I think it should be to match the back. I’m pretty sure the reason is because this particular cable has increases in the middle, and when I got to the “bind-off-5″ neck shaping part, it was during the section where the cable had more than its usual 36 stitches . . . So it took me longer to get down to the requisite number of stitches . . . meaning more rows.

I have no idea if this is going to be a problem or not, but I’ll wait and see. I figure, if necessary, it will be easy enough to rip back later to reknit those last 12 rows or so, without the increases. Or not. I’ll just have to see how the raglans fit together, once I’ve got the sleeves done.

They, incidentally, are going to take forever. They start with 62 stitches for the cuff. The two fronts had 40 each and were more or less straight and felt like they took forever, so . . . I’m really going to be knitting on this sweater for a while! But I shouldn’t be thinking about that now, right? I should just bask in the glow of another milestone passed . . . right?

Don’t forget–tomorrow’s the last day for my Reading List Contest. Some of you are really very generous in your estimates. Or don’t think much of my reading speed. I don’t know the total yet myself (I’m up to 2002 in my entry), but since the guesses so far are really, very disparate . . . I’m highly amused. I just hope some of you won’t think less of me when my actual total is less than you expected…. Or that I’m showing off when I do announce my final tally. But, you know, really, this contest is all about ME. (grin)

Well, me giving away yarn, anyway.

Speaking of books. I had ordered an out-of-print book from Amazon a week or two ago. Then promptly within about three days, my package arrived . . . the wrong book. It turned out that the seller had accidentally sent me someone else’s book, and her my book. He asked if we could just directly send the books to each other, and then he would refund the shipping costs to us. Well, fine. These things happen. I shipped out the woman’s book yesterday, Priority Mail, and she should have it tomorrow. But her? I haven’t heard a thing from her. She hasn’t replied to any of the emails either of us have sent. I’m trying hard not to pass judgment right now . . . she might be busy. She might have shipped the book but just hasn’t bothered to send the email. I don’t know. But it’s been days now since the seller got in touch with the two of us, and I’m starting to wonder . . . I don’t doubt that the seller would refund my purchase price if this woman doesn’t actually ship me my book, but . . . What makes it so hard for people to communicate with each other? Wish me luck!

Oh, and I knew it was going to be Tim the TA.

Okay–back to entering books into Excel!

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Fronts // 11 Comments »

A Birdie told me I’d get a package today. A Red Bird, to be specific.

I’m starting to feel like I should knit nothing BUT socks, the amount of sock yarn I’ve got all of a sudden!

Let’s see, from left to right, we have Colinette’s Jitterbug superwash merino sock yarn in “Copper Beach” This stuff is so, so lovely, and the colors? Browns and blues and reds . . . just absolutely beautiful. I saw this in person in a local shop I don’t like very much when Liz was here, but didn’t want to buy it there . . . but it kept haunting me, so I made a point of finding it online, and I’m glad I did. It’s fab.

Then we have Fleece Artist’s Sea Wool in “Lichen.” You’ve heard of their Sea Silk lace yarn? Well, this is the sock version–70% merino and 30% seacell. Incredibly soft and lovely. If you’re interested, hurry over–they’ve got fewer colors up and available today than when I placed my order, so it’s obviously going fast.

Lastly, a skein of actually-not-sock-yarn, Red Bird’s Handpainted Cormo Lace in “Fall Mums.” I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it’s got beautiful shades of orange, and well, it’s Cormo.

Seriously, though, my sock yarn stash is now FULL. If anybody sees me about to buy more sock yarn for any reason whatsoever for a while . . . stop me, okay??

Today’s weather? Not what Chappy was hoping for. There were about two inches of snow outside this morning, but it drizzled, flurried, and rained pretty much all day, so there was never a chance to just go outside and romp. And, of course, it was Monday, so I had to go to work and, well, after his cozy weekend with everybody home and baking and walks and all that other nice family stuff . . . well, it was just very, very Monday for my pup, you know?

Hey–Fledging chapter number five is up today, if anybody’s reading!

And, if you like skirts, check out this lovely (but somewhat expensive) website.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:A Birdie Told Me // 14 Comments »

Well, a girl’s got to keep herself occupied, huh?

Today was another one of those quiet, peaceful kinds of days.

I did a little baking, as you can see. I’d forgotten how scrumptious fresh chocolate chip cookies can be–how crisp around the edges, but soft in the middle . . . mmmm… Addictive, really–which is one of the reasons I don’t make them very often!

Chappy got out for a walk today, too, prior to the snow storm that we’re supposed to get tonight. My car is in her “storm position” with her windshield cover on, and we’ll see what tomorrow is like. Chappy was just happy to get out of the house.

I did some reading, and worked on my reading list . . . I’ve got everything through 2000 entered on the computer. Which is when I switched from that other journal, which is literally falling to pieces, to this one. I don’t know what I was thinking. Gel pens on dark blue paper? I can see that 2000-2003 is going to be a real treat for my eyesight….

Keep the guesses coming for my Reading List Contest. (Make sure your guesses are in the comments for THAT entry.) I’m enjoying seeing the wide range of estimates . . . and you know, really, I have no idea myself what it’s going to be. I’m almost tempted to enter the contest myself, but I suppose some of you would think that was cheating, or something….

Oh, and you know how I mentioned a couple days ago about my campaign for a dog after our dachshund died? Well, judging by my reading lists, Mom never stood a chance. The first “dog” book appeared on my list one month and eight days after Jilly died, and the book on the Boykin Spaniel? A month later. Really, after finding a breed with my name (almost) on it . . . what chance did she have? And obsessed . . . for a while there, about every third book on the list is yet another book about dogs, dog training, dog nutrition, shelter dogs, dog breeds, dog health . . . even a series of mysteries focusing around dogs . . . Really, there’s no way she could have held out. And she’ll admit that she’s glad I won . . . now, anyway!

The Oscars are on tonight, of course, although I don’t expect to watch much of them . . . although the clothing IS fun.

Speaking of great movies and gorgeous clothes, though–Mom and I watched North by Northwest last night–a true classic, which you no doubt know. I mean, really. Alfred Hitchcock. Cary Grant. Eva Marie Saint. James Mason . . . what’s not to love? I mean, sure the plot’s a LITTLE contrived from time to time, and the acting by some of the players–the generic “thugs” in particular who look more deranged than menacing–but still. This movie is a classic for a reason.

And may I just say that Eva Marie Saint wore some beautiful outfits in this movie, but my absolute favorite? The dress suit she wore while being chased across Mt. Rushmore. A rust-orange short-sleeved dress, with a fitted jacket, and a matching wrap over all . . . be still my heart. I WANT that outfit.

• Tags: Baking, General, Reading • Permalink:Keeping Busy, Part II // 10 Comments »

Okay, so yesterday, I mentioned that I was working on entering all my book lists into the computer. I’ve been jotting down the titles and authors of books I read since January 1996, and it occurs to me that this is an excellent idea for a contest.

So, here’s the deal. Guess how many books will be on the list by the time I’m done entering all of these. I’ll put a cut off date of February 28th on the count, although I might not have all the data entry done by then. The final count will have that cut-off date. (Meaning, any books I read in March won’t affect the total for the contest.)

You’ve seen my monthly reading lists for the last two years, so you’ve got some basis for an educated guess, right? Again, the period we’re talking about is January 1, 1996 through February 28, 2007. The person who guesses correctly–or who is closest without going over–will win.

The prize?

These two skeins of Koigu KPPPM. Plenty for a pair of socks.

Yes, Koigu. Because that’s the kind of generous girl I am.

In the event of a tie, I’ll come up with a back-up prize that’s just as good.

So–to enter: Email me your guess, with your name and blogsite (if you have one), at this special email address, chappypup AT aol DOT com .

Never mind! Leave your guess in the comments–Chappy’s email is being stubborn

(Chappy was excited about this idea and offered his own email address for the entries–to help keep this organized. If they all came to my regular email, they’d get mixed in with all the usual kinds of emails and we don’t want to “lose” anybody!) (And yes, so my dog has an email address. You got a problem with that? Heck, he’s got a microchip and a blog named for him, too, and a driver’s license–he’s a 21st century dog, you know!)

I’ll announce the winner on March 1st or whenever I finish entering all the titles into the computer . . . whichever comes first

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Reading Contest! // 48 Comments »

Mom didn’t want to go out this morning, but I’ve been managing to keep myself busy.

Not only did I spin on my Journey Wheel for the first time in several weeks…

I even upgraded its drive bands. Granted, the green is a little on the neon-bright side, but that’s okay. It’s playful, right? Although I might opt to go back to string for just the upper band, though, since I had trouble closing the wheel with the extra tension in the new, springy band. But still. I rather like it. And I didn’t even have to melt anything to get it on the wheel, either.

Here’s the results of the morning’s spinning–another nice, little skein of the Falkland roving that was RAOK’d to me from Kae last December. It’s really such a lovely color. I like it so much–and it’s so much softer, spun up, than I thought it would be. I’ve still got about half of what she sent to go, but so far, I very much like what I’ve spun of it.

I spent some time at the computer–I finally decided to bite the bullet and start entering my reading lists into the computer, and have been plugging away for the last several nights, typing in dates, titles, author’s names (when I can decipher my own handwriting). I’m up to September of 1998 now, having started keeping my log in January 1996 . . . clearly, I have a ways to go. It’s interesting, though. I usually just jot down the titles, but every now and again, I’ll have a comment about the book, or what I’d done that day–like seeing my best friend, or being on vacation with Mom–and I’m enjoying those little reminders of what I was doing at certain times.

And to see how often certain titles crop up. Like, for instance, Archangel by Sharon Shinn. I’ve mentioned many times that it’s one of my favorite books. Well, I read it for the first time on May 3rd, 1997, nonstop, between 11:00 pm and 3:00 am. Obviously, I loved it from the start . . . and was able to restrain myself from rereading it again for three whole weeks, until its second reading on May 24th. As of where I am in the log books (Sept 18, 1998), a year and a half later, I had already read it five times. I like discovering these little details of my own reading life…

After all that spinning and data entry, though, I was kind of hungry . . . even having had a decent-sized lunch (leftover chicken chow mein from the other night). So I baked some scones and made some tea and called the parents in for a snack.

By then, I was a little tired, so I curled up by the window with Chappy to finish my book, An Assemby Such as This by Pamela Aidan, the first book of her “Fitzwilliam Darcy” trilogy, which tells the story of Pride & Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. Hers isn’t the first to do this, by any means, but I think it’s one of the best. I’ve read the entire trilogy twice so far . . . um, give me a couple weeks and I can give you exact counts . . . and think it’s entirely enjoyable. Definitely recommended.

Oh, and while we were sitting there? I was able to admire the view of the blue, blue sky out the window . . . and the moon. Always kind of a surprise at three in the afternoon, but perfect for Saturday Sky, huh?

And, oh yes….

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Countess Deb the Spurious of Dicken St Charles Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Sky • Permalink:Keeping Busy // 5 Comments »

So, let me tell you about this happy little Golden.

Back in 1999, we lost our 15-year old miniature dachshund–an event that was incredibly sad, but not wholly unexpected, since she lived a long, full doggy life. But, see, within a couple of months, I was obsessing on the idea of getting a new dog. I was buying and reading books on dog training. Looking at cute pictures. Pouncing on nice dogs in the park. Obsessing.

Only–and I’ve told this story before–Mom swore that we would NOT be getting any more dogs. And thus began my campaign–the Campaign to Get a Dog. I still say that I felt like I was 12 again, begging Mommy and Daddy for a puppy. I talked about dogs. I read about dogs. I researched dog breeds, and my dog-book-library started to grow.

This picture–of that happy, doggy face was part of the campaign. I knew that he was there to welcome the new dog, but I told Mom that he would just be there to welcome people to our house. (Yeah, like she bought that excuse.) Of course, this friendly little dog wasn’t the winning move in my campaign. No, that was when I told Mom that, if I GOT a dog, I’d name her Katama, and we could call her Katy. If you don’t know, Katama is the South Beach area of Martha’s Vineyard, and the family joke is that Mom can’t resist anything from Martha’s Vineyard. It worked, anyway, because in October, my little Katy came to join the family.

I’m sure, though, that this little fellow definitely helped. Who could resist such a happy face?

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Chappy, Eye-Candy Friday, Katy, Jilly, Muppy • Permalink:The Great Campaign // 6 Comments »

I really have very little to talk about today, so here are some random links to keep you entertained:

Like, this great analysis by Anthony Bourdain of the current chefs on the Food Network.

And Julia wrote out her rationale for the Create-along’s yarn limitations, which we were discussing the other day. I admit I’m still not sold on its being necessary, but appreciate that she had good, clear reasons for the decision–that always makes me happy, especially when it’s on an issue that I disagree with. So much better than, “Because!” I DO definitely agree that designing in the face of certain limitations is normal if not helpful–just like tossing together a dinner out of leftovers can be so much more creative than simply going to the grocery store and buying exactly what you need to follow a specific recipe–where’s the creativity in that?

And anyway, it’s not like it makes me feel specifically excluded, just ever so faintly nose-to-the-candy-store-window-ish. But I suppose that’s as much my fault for not wanting to go buy the qualifying yarns, right? (Not to mention that more than half of them are cotton–ick!) (Well, to be clear, I love cotton, but I don’t, as a rule, like knitting with it, and don’t even like wearing purchased cotton sweaters, so . . . no temptation to go running out to buy cotton yarn, you know?)

Meantime, Marnie posted a great tutorial on using Excel for planning color-work, which I thought was very helpful and well worth hanging onto for future reference.

For that matter, Mim wrote about her lace-designing inspiration….

I’m looking forward to part three of Grey’s Anatomy tonight. Did you hear that they’re going to spin off Addison into her own show? I do love option “A” of these “suggested” titles . . . Montgomery’s Ward just cracks me up. Still, I’m going to miss her character–somebody said she’s the only one who occasionally acts like an adult around that hospital, and I appreciate that! If I ever finish spinning all that pretty greyish-purple merino/silk roving of mine, maybe I can even join the Greys’ KAL one of these days.

And, that’s about it for me for now! Not even any pictures of my cute little boy . . .

. . . What’s that?

. . . Well, okay, if you really WANT one . . .

But let’s make it an old one . . . because who can resist that little 3-month old face??

• Tags: General • Permalink:Little // 7 Comments »

Why, what’s this, Chappy wants to know. It looks like it could be fun. Is it a stick? Something to chase??

Well . . . indirectly, I suppose . . .

I mean, it is made of wood, and you could chase it around in circles . . .

It’s my new, handmade, mahogany swift, bought from Knitting Notions. It was swift, too, since I only placed this order at 11:04 on Friday night–it was shipped on Saturday, and even with yesterday’s Federal holiday with no mail delivery, here it is, Tuesday, and it’s here. Swift!

Naturally, I promptly tried it out, winding my leftover STR from my socks into a skein . . . Because, yes, it can be used both for winding off a skein into a ball, or for winding yarn into a skein. Gotta love the versatility, huh?

Will this completely replace my Majacraft Wheel Skeiner in my affections? Despite our differences of opinion, no, not necessarily. That’s a little easier to rotate because of the vertical position and, you know, gravity, but this one seems not to have the, um, tensioning difficulties I was mentioning. I expect I’ll probably use both.

The piece of equipment that should be shuddering in its clamp is the plastic umbrella swift . . . We haven’t really been getting along lately, although to be fair, it’s not that it’s done anything wrong, exactly, just . . . I wanted something better . . .

Which, naturally, makes me happy . . . which is great, because today is the day Jessica is kicking off her Happy-Along. How can anyone resist that, huh?? The rules are so simple–either do something that makes you happy, or do something to make someone else happy.

Oh, and did I say “leftover STR” earlier??

All done! This is, of course, Socks That Rock in the “Harlotty” colorway, bought at Rhinebeck. (For which, thankfully, I did not have to stand on a three hour line. I very much enjoyed this yarn, though, and an delighted with the way the socks turned out. (And, good gracious, do they ever match my rug, huh?)

Lastly, go read what Scout and Jessalu have to say about this, and I’m just as appalled as they are. Scout, incidentally, is putting her money where her mouth is–if you make a donation to this poor teacher’s defense fund, she’ll enter you in a drawing for a $25 Scout’s Swag gift certificate.

Chappy’s all chuffed for his species today–not only did Velvet the Lab help save her family from freezing to death, but Lanea’s dog helped save his fellow family member, too.

Meanwhile, he wants to know–does anybody want to play??

• Tags: Chappy, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Swift // 15 Comments »

I actually had the day off today (a rare thing for my company on President’s Day), but instead of filling it with fun and exciting thing, I basically did chores.

Like, doing my taxes. Strange as it may sound, I still do them the old-fashioned way–pen, pencil, calculator, and paper. You know, with, like, real, bad penmanship and everything! I’m well aware that this means that there are no doubt deductions that I’m missing and am therefore paying more in taxes than I strictly need to, but as it is, my taxes are really simple. I am my only deduction, no dependents, no quirky, fiddly numbers to play with–just my income from my W-2 plus my interest income minus tax-already-withheld, compared that to the amount that the government thinks I should pay . . . and boom, done. A couple hundred dollars back, and I’m finished for another year. Could I get more back by using TurboTax or an accountant? I’m sure I could–but would it take me longer than the 15-30 minutes it took me to do my federal and state taxes? And cost me more? Yep. So, really, I’m good. They’re out in tomorrow’s mail, and my civic duty is done for the year.

Then, having gotten that mathematical landmine out of the way, I immediately dived into another–balancing my checkbook. Which reminds me, I really need to get to the bank to make a deposit . . . I get these piddling little checks that are worth like $.37 and frankly, it’s just not worth rushing right over until I’ve got a reasonable pile–like, enough to cover the gas. I’ve had checks sit on my desk for months and then still made a deposit that was only $14.97. (No, really!) I mean, my paycheck gets direct-deposited, so it’s not like I have to go to the bank every week . . .

So, let’s see. Taxes, check. Bank statement, check. Helped Mom put away the groceries, check. Sat with Chappy for a while and read, check. But then, the highlight of the day . . . I went to the dentist. (I know, be still my heart!) I got my permanent crown cemented in and am good now all the way until . . . April, when I need to get another one. (Sigh.)

I did get some knitting done–I’ve got both of Mom’s socks started. Look, they’ve got toes! (Exciting, I know, huh?) The Regia Bamboo is nice to work with–kind of “splitty” with its multiple plies, but it’s soft, and the colors are nice, so really, no worries.

Did you hear about the Create-Along that Julia and Marnie started? The idea is to encourage you, me, everyone to venture out and design something of our own–something small, something big–that’s not important. The idea is to get your creative juices flowing, and share the process, struggle, joys with the other -alongers. I thought it sounded like a fabulous idea, but they lost me on their first rule: “You must use Classic Elite Premiere, Rowan Calmer, Rowan Denim, Tahki Cotton Classic, or Rowan Kidsilk Haze.”

Sigh. I do happen to have some KSH in my stash, but I’ve knitted with that before–I want my next lace project to be one of the other, beautiful lace yarns I’ve got waiting patiently in the closet–and I don’t have any of the others (not counting a skein or so of Calmer) . . . so, you know, oh well! To my mind, restricting the KAL to projects primarily made of one of five specific yarns kind of defeats the “creativity” purpose–but that’s just me. I’d probably feel differently if I had some Classic Elite Premiere in my stash that I’d been dying to have an excuse to use, but since I don’t, and I have no desire to use KSH again (yet), and I’m certainly not going to go buy yarn I don’t need when I’ve got plenty I already love . . . well . . . obviously this one isn’t for me. It’s certainly their preogative to make whatever rules they want, so don’t think I’m complaining just because I can’t join. It’s still a great idea, which is why I wanted to be sure you knew about it.

And . . . I can’t guarantee that this method of jump-starting a car works, but I’m guessing that all of you have the wherewithal to give it a try, so I thought I’d point it out….

• Tags: General • Permalink:Chores // 12 Comments »

Where’d it go?

Well, yesterday’s ice cream cake was good while it lasted anyway….

We all had a nice day today. Just another happy-family moment to celebrate Mom’s birthday. We had goulash for dinner, ice cream cake for dessert, and generally a good time. One person wasn’t in the happiest of moods, but still . . . nice day.

Dad’s mystery birthday present from last month was finally revealed, when we collectively gave Mom HER present . . . two tickets to see the Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway next month. See, since we were obviously giving both parents a ticket, if we’d given Dad his, Mom would probably have figured out what her present was. (You think??) So instead, my sister made up a “Save the Date” sign telling Dad he would find out what it was for “later.” Well, today was later.

My favorite part? My sister first made a “Save the Date” sign for Mom, too, which she opened first . . . and then the tickets were wrapped separately in this cute little box that my sister painted. But for a couple minutes there, Mom was as mystified as Dad was last month… Oh, and the other part of the surprise is that we (well, my sister–she really did all the work) asked two friends of my parents if they’d like to meet them in the city for the show–they used to do this fairly regularly, but it’s been a while–and so it’s not just the theater tickets, the gift is the fun day with friends, too. My sister gets all the credit for this one–her idea, which she executed. All I did was give her a check for one of the tickets…. (grin).

Speaking of Broadway, I hadn’t even realized they were trying to bring the Princess Bride to the stage . . . did you?? Although it doesn’t look like it’s happening now….  I’m still shuddering at the thought of the Lord of the Rings as a musical, though I could have pictured Buttercup and Westley quite easily. And I’d love to see Billy Elliot when it opens on Broadway…. Have I ever mentioned how much I love that movie?

I don’t think it should surprise anyone that Chappy and I are kind of tired after all this celebrating. Especially for him . . . having to be extra cute and charming can be wearying, you know? It’s just a good thing I enjoy cooking–the hard part was keeping Mom out of the kitchen!

I started Mom’s socks, too. They’re just really not big enough yet to manage to photograph . . .

And things brings our birthday celebrations to an end . . . at least until “Birthday Season” in May!

• Tags: Family • Permalink:All Done? // 9 Comments »

What’s this? More yarn? Well, yeah . . .

First, there’s the sock yarn from One Planet Yarn & Fiber that arrived in today’s mail. One skein of Yarn Botanika’s superwash wool/nylon in color “Pumpkin Spice“–all autumny oranges and browns–and one skein of Lanas Punas’s merino in Night Sky–beautiful gray with hints of blue and rose.

Do I get credit for resisting the Black Pearl Cashmere? Although, speaking of cashmere, let me direct you to this site, where they sell 100% cashmere yarn at pretty decent yardage and pretty decent prices . . . although I haven’t seen their yarn in person to be able to verify its quality, so . . . you know . . . it’s your gamble.

Speaking of cashmere . . . remember last week, when I bought two skeins of Punta del Este Mericash yarn? Well, it really IS delectable . . . So, today, I bought these. Three skeins in . . . I know it looks red in the picture . . . a beautiful, warm, reddish brown. I’m not sure what, exactly they’ll be, but I’m thinking lace of some kind . . .

But then, there’s this–the point of having gone back to a yarn shop again so quickly after last week. For Mom’s birthday, I promised her a pair of handmade socks. Since Modern Yarn doesn’t have as much of a sock-yarn selection (especially the reinforced kind of sock yarn), we went to Stix-n-Stitches, which has a really nice selection to choose from, and this is what Mom picked out. Regia Bamboo. That’s 45% bamboo, 40% wool, and 15% polymide for strength. The colors are lovely, the yarn feels like it will be a pleasure to work with, and Mom likes it better than the yarns in my stash. So, all’s good right?

Well, it gets better? While we were at the checkout, we saw a sign mentioning a discount if you came on your birthday, and we said, “Oh, we missed that by three days,” but the girl ringing us up was nice enough to give us the discount anyway–especially since the yarn was specifically FOR the birthday. And the added plus? It was Monica from Calling on Kahlo. We’ve been reading each other’s blogs for a while, but hadn’t met . . . and I’d forgotten that she works at the store . . . so that was a really nice surprise. It’s so great to meet bloggers face to face, you know? (Oh, and Monica? We drove past Yarnware on our way home, but as predicted, they were closed. What kind of yarn shop is closed on Saturday?? I can see they won’t be getting much of this working girl’s business, because, well, WHEN??)

When we got home, after stopping at the grocery store, we took Chappy for a quick walk. After which, I gave him a bath so he’ll be nice and fluffy tomorrow. Then I started dessert for tomorrow’s family dinner. It’s pretty much the same as we had last year. Little, individual ice cream cakes–except this year, I baked the cakes right in the serving dishes. (Last year, I baked “regular” cake and then crumbled it into place.) Hopefully, that won’t make these harder to eat! But, yes, I baked the cake and then scooped out the centers–so there’ll be more room for ice cream–and then topped each one with Knott’s blackberry syrup.

Then each one was topped with vanilla ice cream and some sprinkles for color . . . and, voila! Individual ice cream cakes.

The best part? When I started making these, I’d make full-size ones in a springform pan–a thin layer of cake, topped with a gallon of ice cream–but they were so hard to SLICE. These little ones are sooo much easier.

I did try to capture a Saturday Sky picture for you, but left it until kind of late in the day . . .

Mom sent me this link today–a little gizmo to keep coffee from splashing out of those drinkable-lids on disposable cups. Thought it was interesting….

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky • Permalink:Yes, More…. // 12 Comments »

Carole’s Valentine’s Day post made me think of these. The “Cream Pups” I made for Chappy’s 2nd birthday in 2003. (Please note the curl on the top, in honor of Chappy’s top-knot.)

They made him very, very happy!

His friends rather liked them, too! (They, of course, only got the bits without chocolate–I left a couple completely plain for the dogs–jut in case you were worrying.)

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Baking, Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Cream Pups // 8 Comments »

I finally got around to skeining that bobbin of re-twisted, re-re-plied yarn. (You know, the bobbin full that I spun once, wasn’t happy with, ran it through again to take out some twist, ended up with very UNDER-twisted yarn, and then re-plied it AGAIN?)

Yes, that yarn. It’s finally done. I wound it off its bobbin onto my skein winder last night . . .

On the plus side, it came out balanced this time

On the negative side, as you can see, that was more an exercise in frustration than a time-saving chore aid.

See? Here’s what happens. As I wind more and more yarn onto the skeiner (which is, of course, the point), the pegs start bending inward, the yarn starts sliding toward the ends, and well, all hell breaks loose.

I had to stop so many times to coax various strands back onto the skeiner, which of course was lots of fun, since just as I’d edge one group of rowdy strands to the correct side of their peg, another group would fall off . . . all, naturally, while the entire wheel skeiner was rotating on my Little Gem . . . because the game wouldn’t be any fun if gravity weren’t playing its ever-changing tricks, right?

To make the whole thing more entertaining . . . and this really is pretty cute . . . Chappy wanted to help. Naturally, he hates to see his Mommy upset over anything, because that’s the kind of sweet, caring boy he is. So, last night, each time I’d stop and heave a sigh and start trying to get everything to behave, he would heave himself out of his crate, come over, and climb up onto my shoulders to give me a hug. Which, don’t get me wrong, I adore. I taught him to give me a good-morning hug when he was still a tiny puppy–two paws on either side of my neck, while I get to give him a nice, big hug. (Considering he’s really not a snuggly dog for the most part, I think it was sheer genius of me to teach him this while he was still tiny . . . now it’s Routine. He suffers the hug while I get a good whiff of that sleepy-puppy smell when he’s just woken up. But I digress.)

Anyway, so each time I’d stop the skeiner last night, Chappy would come over to console me–which is incredibly nice of him, but not exactly conducive to getting yarn to behave, you know? Like, things can get kind of tangly . . . but I think it’s sweet of him to be so concerned about my mental well-being. (Although, the flip-side of that, I suppose, could be that he’s just afraid of what I might do if I get too upset and is trying to stave off catastrophe . . . but really, I don’t get violently upset almost ever!)

Obviously, I got the skein finished eventually, but I’m a little unhappy with it right now. This isn’t the first time we’ve had this problem. Maybe the yarn’s coming too tightly off the bobbin, so that it’s winding too tightly on the skeiner? But it’s not like I had it tensioned on my lazy kate or anything–it was rotating freely . . . The pegs can’t be made any tighter than they are–they’re pegs in holes, it’s not like there’s a lot of engineering leeway.

Maybe I should revisit the skeiners I was looking at in August? I mean, I have been talking a lot lately about upgrading my cheap, plastic, umbrella swift . . . and a skeiner that doubles as a swift sure would be handy…. It’s hard not to love the Goko swift, but I’ve also heard good things about the Will Taylor ones, which are cheaper. I wonder if they fold down for storage? Of course Knitting Notions makes handmade ones, although they’re horizontal . . . finding horizontal, flat surfaces in my bedroom is not easy, unless you’re happy with the floor . . . theirs, though, DOES come apart for storage. Or is there some way I could manage to wind onto the skeiner with less tension?

In other news? How’s this for a weird technological problem? Remember the DVD recorder I bought in October? Well, starting about a month ago, it’s been doing weird things with the clock. As in, once a day, the clock entirely resets itself to an hour earlier. I’ll manually change it back, go about my day, and somewhere between 4:00 and 9:00 the next day . . . it changes back again. I’ve tried turning off the automatic clock-setting feature. I’ve tried changing the channel it looks to for the time. I’ve tried telling it I’m in a different time zone. Nothing helps. And not only is this awfully inconvenient because I keep glancing at the clock and thinking I’ve got 60 minutes more than I really do, but as you can imagine, it particularly makes setting the timer to record anything rather difficult! The people at Samsung’s support number say they’ve never heard anything like it. So, the next step is to either mail or bring it to the repair facility in Riverdale NJ, which happens to be about 20 minutes away. It should take about 14 days . . . I guess I won’t be watching any DVDs in my bedroom for a couple weeks, huh?

Well, I can catch up on some reading, I suppose, since this just arrived today…

And, before I forget….

So, in honor of Valentine’s Day . . .

Love stories? Yes or No? If yes, “romances” as a genre? Or just, well, stories that have
love stories? (Nobody’s going to call “Pride & Prejudice” a
“romance,” right?)

I can enjoy a good love story as much as the next person, but “romance,” per se? No. When you say “Romance novel” to me, I immediately think of Harlequins–any cheesy, bodice-ripper with Fabio on the cover. Those, no, I don’t read. I tried one once and felt myself losing IQ points as I went and never even finished it. There are borderline kinds of books, like Elizabeth Peters, that I enjoy. And authors like Sharon Shinn and Anne McCaffrey almost always have a love interest going on. (But, heck, so does Dick Francis, and nobody would say that he writes romances.) And, yeah, there are plenty of classics like Jane Austen’s that center around love stories. To me, though, that doesn’t make them a “romance.” It’s not the point of the story. Not to mention that they don’t include explicit scenes in them, which frankly, I don’t need in my reading any more than I need gratuitous violence or bad language. (But that’s just me!)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Skeining // 12 Comments »

Our weather today pretty much looked like this. Instead of the 4-8″ of snow they had been forecasting last night, we got about an inch or so, and then sleet, sleet, and more sleet, for pretty much the whole day. This is the view from our kitchen window, a little after lunch–you can just see the bumper of my car . . . I usually park her perpindicular to the garage doors, so she can pretend to herself that she’s going to be able to go inside the garage, but when we have snow storms, I park her parallel to the doors, as close as I can manage, so that the people who plow our driveway can get as much of it cleared as possible. They can’t quite make the curve inward toward the garage doors anyway, so my car is as much out of the way as possible and helps keep that part clear of snow (at least, until I come out and wipe all the snow off).

I have managed to keep myself busy, though. I whirled through the kitchen this morning, making cupcakes (my Grandmother’s recipe–yellow cake, chocolate frosting–the family classic) and scones (my favorite tea scone recipe, with a dash of lime zest and some dried blueberries for some extra flavor). All of which Mom, Dad, and I snacked on this afternoon, when Mom opened her present.

While I was in the kitchen, I also threw together a lasagna for supper. And made a fresh batch of Chappy food. And two chicken sandwiches for Dad and I for lunch….

The sleet and snow finally stopped falling around 3:00, and I went outside at 3:30 to clear off my car, to make getting to work tomorrow easier. When I came back inside, Chappy looked so eager, so excited . . . because, see, on snowy days, finding the car DOES get first outdoor priority, but Chappy pretty much always expects that he’ll get his chance to romp and play immediately afterward–before I’ve taken off my boots and such. (He really is a patient dog–the fact that I’m tired and cold after finding my car is really my own fault, right?) Anyway, I DID take him out for a romp in the backyard . . . see how happily-romped the snow looks? Pity it was such awful snow for snowballs, because really, all he wants is a chance to either chase after or to catch snowballs.

And, really, how can I resist? He looks so darn cute in his red bandana today, and he did give me such a sweet Valentine’s Day card. (My dog is really very in tune with these holiday things, you know.) I was happy to take him out . . .even if I got cold a lot faster than he did. And even if I DID have to pop him into the bathtub to melt all the ice out from between his paw pads. He’s well worth it.

Of course, with all this baking and such, I haven’t had a chance to sit and knit at all today, despite my plans of yesterday. I’m still determined to finish those socks, though. I gave Mom an IOU for a pair of handmade socks in the color of her choice, and she immediately requested another pair in Cherry Tree Hill’s Martha’s Vineyard colorway. (Anyone surprised by that? Anyone at all??) Luckily, I DO have another skein of it. I’d made her a pair of these a couple years ago, which she promptly wore holes into . . . but, really, this is the last time I’m making her socks in the same color! Only this time, I’ll try adding some reinforcing thread…

Now, just a couple other links for you:

Franklin certainly knows what to say to win a knitter’s heart.

And those Liaden books I keep raving about? They’ve bundled five of them into one collection called “Korval’s Legacy” and it’s available here as an e-book, if you’re into that kind of thing.

For that matter, don’t forget about the ongoing, weekly publication of Fledgling . . . kind of a side story to the Korval books. They’re up to chapter four, and they publish a new chapter (well, really, a draft of a chapter) every Monday.

Another new blog for you, though this one is not about knitting. It’s for NASCAR fans, and was just started by a friend of my mother’s (though she’s closer to my age) that she met through a Carly Simon fan club, who does, in fact knit on occasion, and designs cross-stitch patterns . . . among other things. If you’re a NASCAR fan, head over and say hello, would you?

Okay . . . got to go take the foil off the lasagna! Happy V-day, everyone, if you celebrate. If not, I hope you’re enjoying my Mom’s birthday!

• Tags: Baking, Family, General, Weather • Permalink:Gray Valentine // 17 Comments »

Well, for the moment, my plans for tomorrow are more or less summed up right here.

I want to finish my STR socks. I usually figure my socks are long enough when, folded in half, the cuff is about the same length as the foot, and these are only about an inch or so away. So, tomorrow, I’d really like to get them finished.

And, as luck would have it, I have a new DVD to watch while I knit. Season one of Beauty and the Beast, with Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. This show debuted in 1987 and I used to love it–a romance and crime-drama combined, with poetry and music mixed in. What’s not to love? (grin) I’ve had this DVD pre-ordered for months. I just hope it lives up to my memories of it.

So far, it hasn’t started to snow yet. (Or, as Dad keeps saying, it hasn’t reached the ground.) But still–plans for tomorrow are largely the stay-at-home kind. On the plus side, I think I’ve decided on a birthday dessert to make my Mom happy. I haven’t told her my idea yet because (1) I need to check to be sure I have the necessary ingredients and (2) isn’t it more fun, anyway, if it’s a surprise? All I know for sure is that I’m making a lasagna for supper.

Yesterday, I passed you along to a new blog of one of my physical neighbors, well, today, you must go over to Jersey Knitter and see Ina’s Rose of England shawl. So, so gorgeous!

For that matter, Risa (well, the house) is almost done with the construction saga. A little more paint and the work is complete. Woohoo! I’m so happy for her. And if you haven’t, DO go over and offer condolences for Liz’s cat, huh?

• Tags: General • Permalink:New Plans // 11 Comments »

You’ve been dying to know how my knitting’s been going, right?

I actually got quite a lot done this weekend with Liz. For example, here are the front of my Celtic Icon. Yes, I know, it’s almost impossible to see the cables, but you can see the size, huh? To know that I’ve been making progress?

I need to compare to the finished sweater back to make sure, but I THINK that I’m at the point where I can start shaping the armholes and all that fun stuff. So, yay, huh? Progress is good!

And then there’s the Tatami. I finally have the back finished and have cast on for the sleeves, making the whole thing about twice as wide. Which means that the sleeves are going to take comparatively forever . . . (grin).

The sleeves gave me some trouble, though. I cast on the correct number of stitches, but . . . the stitch pattern didn’t work out. I tried to figure out a way to fix it, but ultimately ended up tinking back across the cast on for one of the sleeves and laboriously counting out the pattern to make sure everything matched. It only took me an extra hour of thinking and an extra hour of thinking, plotting, counting . . . but now, we’re on track. I’ve got about an inch of the sleeves done. So . . . again, Progress.

Oh, and my socks? The ones that are downstairs in my purse and I’m too tired to go photograph? I have about two inches left and they’re done. I’ll be switching over to ribbing any time now….

Now, according to the weather forecast, winter is due to finally, really, arrive tomorrow. We’re supposed to get snow Tuesday night into Wednesday. Forecasts, of course, vary, but it’s literally the first winter storm of the season . . . for us anyway! The bad part, though, is that this means it’s going to be Valentine’s Day . . . which matters to me only because that’s my Mom’s birthday. We had plans to go with my sister to see her new niece (daughter of my brother-in-law’s brother and his wife–the baby I made sweaters for last Fall). But, with the weather on Wednesday? Yeah, well, that’s just going to derail things. Mom’s disappointed because she was looking forward to doing something fun with her birthday, and it certainly doesn’t look likely now. Poor thing. I’m trying to think of something we can do if we get snowed in. I already have the day off from work, so my day is hers, either way.

Either way, at the moment, we’re all pretty tired. Dad got home last night, after having played something like 7 rounds of golf in 4 days (including yesterday morning). Mom’s tired because she not only went grocery shopping and got her pictures developed today, but she also did several hundred loads of laundry along with all her home-from-vacation chaos. So really, right now, I’m the only one in the house who’s awake….

Hey, my neighbor Kim has started her own blog. We’ve never actually met, but we live about three miles apart from each other, so I’m thinking it’s more or less inevitable. Actually, my favorite “small world” part? She knows Risa from the Modern Yarn S&B. She and I live so close to each other and don’t know each other at all, but we both know Risa . . . funny, huh? In one of those coincidence kinds of ways?

• Tags: Friends, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Sweating the Sweater Details // 9 Comments »

Do you think this is too many spinning wheels for just two people?

Liz came prepared with her Majacraft Suzie Pro (front row center, with the green wheel), and her Ashford Joy (all the way on the left). And of course I have my Lendrum and Journey Wheel (back row), my Little Gem (front row on the right), and still, my Ashford Kiwi–which is still technically a wheel of mine, even if I am still trying to find it a new home.

The basket of fiber and bobbins and other spinnerly things is also Liz’s. The dog, of course, is mine. (You’ll notice that he’s staring at Liz, and not his mother . . . although that could just be because her camera is so much bigger than mine and he was frightened….

But really, Liz believes in being prepared. She not only brought two wheels (both of which she alternated between, so they did both get used), but she also bought a bag stuffed full of fiber to spin–all hand-dyed stuff from Wilton’s cake dyes. She spun lots of it into samples, and certainly kept those wheels humming!.

And, I wouldn’t want you to think that she spent the entire weekend tormenting Chappy.

In fact, in yesterday’s pictures, while it LOOKED like Liz was abusing my innocently unsuspecting dog, mere seconds before, they looked like this–having lots of fun together. The time stamp between this picture and yesterday’s where she’s leaning forward to poke him, is the exact same minute.

So, let’s see–we spun, obviously. We played–also obvious. And we ate really well. BLT sandwiches, for one.

We made a pot-full of Weisskohl Eintopf, which–just like every time I get to make it–I realized anew how much I love. We also tried the Roast Beef Soup that Carole blogged about last week, but were disappointed in that. We followed the recipe but with so much water in the pot, there was just nothing in there to turn it into broth . . . we ended up desperately rooting through cabinets looking for seasonings to boost the broth. Boullion cubes would have been great, but we didn’t have any. Nor gravy mix. Nor gravy booster. But we DID add red wine, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, steak seasoning . . . even onion skin, for color. We decided that, if we tried it again, we’d roast the potatoes with the meat, and then just pour about two cups of water into the roasting pan . . . no more than that. (Carole, if you had a secret step you didn’t include in the recipe, we’re dying to know–the picture of yours looked fabulous and absolutely nothing like the gray, watery stuff we ended up with!)

We also did some housework. (I tell you, Liz makes a wonderful guest.) We scrubbed the floors clean. Labored over them, really . . . see how hard Chappy’s working?

I treated us to a Scooba this week. (Mom can consider it an early birthday-present.) You may have heard of the Roomba, the little robot vacuum cleaner? Well, this one not only vacuums, it MOPS. You fill the tank up with water and either vinegar or their own cleaning solution, and turn it on . . . it vacuums up dust, lays down the clean water, scrubs with a rotating brush, and then squeegees up the water into the “dirty” water tank. I’d been email with Jess about this, since she just bought one, and since the reconditioned one was a decent-enough price . . . we gave it a try. Chappy didn’t quite know what to make of it at first, but after the first few seconds, left it alone when I asked him to, and then stood with us, outside the room, while we watched the diligent thing just . . . clean. I mean, seriously, we stood there for 45 minutes just watching. All three of us. And yes, we’re really impressed. (I don’t want to tell you how filthy the water I poured out of it was!)

And–let’s not forget–we went on a yarn crawl on Friday, too.

Let’s see, from left to right, that’s three skeins of fingering-weight Louet Gems from Stix-n-Stitches, and two skeins of Punta del Este Merino/Cashmere and a skein of Claudia Handpaint 100% silk lace yarn from Modern Yarns.  (You don’t need pictures of the shops, do you? Because I’ve mentioned them before….)

I haven’t done any lace yarn in months–not since finishing my Peacock Stole–but how could I resist this beautifull stuff? 1100 yards for only $42, and the color is just gorgeous . . . how could I resist?

Now, we would have liked to gone over to Yarnware which isn’t far from there, but to be honest, I’m not sure how to get there FROM Montclair. And apparently there’s another yarn shop in Upper Montclair which we TRIED to stop at, but seem to have driven past it entirely–except by then we were hungry, so we just kept on until we got to Rt 46 and just headed back westward toward tea. We made one more detour into a yarn shop in Boonton, which is an okay little shop, I guess, but . . . nothing tempting enough to buy–although I waffled over the Jitterbug for a moment there. That Copperbeach colorway was so lovely…. But, still . . . we were hungry!

So, we went to The Upper Crust . The funniest part? We placed our order, and Liz asked for Russian Caravan tea . . . it came and, well, smelled like dirt, or band-aids . . . something altogether unappetizing, but they were nice enough to give her a replacement pot. And then we discussed how much we loved clotted and/or Devonshire cream–especially with scones. All well and good, right. But then a table-full of ladies sat down right next to us–behind me, so I couldn’t see them, but one woman immediately started talking about how this restaurant does wonderful tea, except they serve that awful Devonshire cream with everything . . . but she loves it because they have her favorite tea, Russian Caravan, which isn’t too smoky-tasting, like it sometimes is . . . I think my jaw dropped right into my teacup…. Blech!

Anyway, we had a lovely time. We also watched the knitting videos I got for Christmas. They were great–lots of good tips–but the spinning video? Um, if that’s the “advanced” techniques, I’m really, really curious what the “beginner” version has . . . and, all due credit to Mabel Ross, whose books are excellent, but, um . . . well, she was old . . . I suppose she couldn’t help her wispy little voice, huh? But watching Meg and Elizabeth banter about knitting techniques? Highly entertaining, as was Lucy. (Why, yes, I DO feel like I’m on a first-name basis with them now.)

But–what do you think? Six spinning wheels, a dozens of colors of fiber (not counting what I have here), Three scrubbed floors. Three yarn shops. Multiple bowls of soup. Countless cups of tea. Many, many play-with-the-puppy breaks. Lots of knitting. (Go ask Liz to show pictures of her Celtic Dreams, huh?) Mostly lots of laughs. (There was some sad news, but that’s Liz’s to tell.) Hours of high-quality knitting instruction . . .

What do you think? Too much fun for one weekend??

P.S. Oh, and I just saw this hilarious “Introducing the Book” video….. Well, *I* thought it was funny, anyway!

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Too Many? // 19 Comments »

Not only are Liz and I having a great time, but she and Chappy are having a wonderful time . . . mostly . . . when she’s not poking him….

Okay . . . he doesn’t really mind her poking him . . . it’s all in good fun, right?

Hey–the people over at Creating Passionate Users are looking for success stories, pictures, videos from people for whom the internet has made a positive impact in their lives . . . There are various topics they suggest, but one of them? “People who’ve found an online community that has been extremely
important in their life — like an online support group for a medical
condition, or even just a rare hobby where few people share your
passion but you’ve found them online.” Now, who does that make you think of? Knit-bloggers? Anyone? Anyone?

• Tags: Chappy, Friends • Permalink:Poke // 3 Comments »

Years and years ago, my best friend was studying in Italy, and when she came home, she brought me this beautiful little espresso set from Florence–two cups, and a plate just the right size for a few biscotti. I adore them. The only problem is that I never actually drink espresso, and so, they mostly just sit in the dining room. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to pull them out to photograph them for you!

Brought to you by:

(Oh, and please tell me that I’m not the only person that that one picture reminds of a monkey face?)

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Florentine // 9 Comments »

So, after I got up this morning, and had breakfast, and all that, I ran a couple errands.

I took my socks to the bank where, naturally, I got on the wrong drive-up lane . . . but we kept each other entertained.

We went to the car wash, because the amount of road salt on my car was just ridiculous. I picked the one that you can ride through (I thought the socks would like that) but that may have been a tactical error. It cost just about the same as the ones where you get OUT of the car, and didn’t include an internal cleaning . . . and the inside of my windows could really use that. It was even further out of my way, but . . . at least I didn’t have to get out of the car. It’s cold out there.

I stopped at the grocery store. I bought stuff for some soup. I’m making my Weisskohl Eintopf soup tonight–it’s a German cabbage soup recipe with bits of bacon and little meatballs . . . really yummy, but I almost never get to make it. (The recipe is in the Extendted post, if you want it.) And on Saturday, when Mom gets home, the plan is to have a pot of Carole’s Roast Beef Soup ready and waiting. Mom thought it sounded really good, so I’m looking forward to trying it.

Then I came home and had lunch. A BLT sandwich–another rarity in our household. See, Mom’s deathly allergic to all kinds of pork products, including bacon. So it’s a rare, rare thing for us to have it in the house. (The bacon is the main reason I can’t make Weisskohl Eintopf more often–that, and the fact that my father never, ever, eats soup.) But since Mom’s not here and there’s plenty of time for me to scour everything that could possibly have come into contact with the bacon . . . well, it would just be wrong of me not to take advantage, right? The tomatoes were darn good for this time of year, too….

And now? We’re just waiting for Liz to get here…. She called from just outside Philadelphia about half an hour ago, so . . . another hour, tops, unless she hits really bad traffic (knock on wood).

[Read more →]

• Tags: Baking, Friends • Permalink:My Day So Far…. // 13 Comments »

Third time’s the charm, so they say, so . . . here’s my third try at plying the same bobbin’s worth of yarn.

Much better to look at, for sure, but I think I’m going to let it sit on its bobbin for a little while before winding it off and giving it a bath to set its twist.

Yes, so I’m a little cowardly….

Today was a rough day for Chappy. See, yesterday my Dad left for his annual golf trip to Florida. Okay, well, Chappy’s not thrilled when any family members pack up a suitcase and leave, but his Grandpa does take trips from time to time, so . . . okay. He was dealing with that.

But then,this morning, my Mom left. She and one of the other wives of the golf-buddies decided that they would take a trip, too, and so they left this morning for Martha’s Vineyard. (Yes, in February; yes, it’ll be cold; but it’s Martha’s Vineyard, so Mom’s happy.) I brought her suitcase down last night, and they left a little after 7:00 this morning, and well, after that, Chappy didn’t leave my side. He followed me very closely as I was getting ready for work . . . I think he was worried that I was going to disappear next.

All of which means that he’s really quite tired. All this worrying about disappearing family members can wear a boy out, you know? Dogs like to keep their packs in one place, you know?

On the plus side, he’ll be much happier tomorrow because I took the next two days off from work. I have to run out to the grocery store in the morning, but otherwise will be home pretty much all day. AND there’s some extra fun later in the day. We’re having a guest for the weekend! I predict lots of fun, lots of laughs . . . and, oh yeah, I’m sure some spinning and knitting will be in there as well. It’s just a shame that absent friends won’t be able to join us.

• Tags: Family, Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:The Charm // 12 Comments »

Okay–see? The yarn on the right is the skein I made a few weeks ago and is happy and beautiful and balanced and just lovely.

The yarn on the left is the yarn I just finished. That was over-twisted and then I ran it through the wheel a second time, and now it’s under-twisted . . .

Even though it had a nice, relaxing, warm bath, and hung to dry, and is a lot MORE balanced than it was, but still . . . I’m not happy with it. It just doesn’t look RIGHT.

Right?

Hey–go over and wish Carole a happy blog-anniversary, huh?

• Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Twisted // 18 Comments »

Well, I got some knitting done today. At least an inch added to my socks. Which, you know, is a good thing . . .

Except that I did all of that while at the dentist. Fun, fun! I was there for two hours, but at least half an hour of that was me just sitting there, knitting, while he took care of another patient, since my tooth-repair was taking longer than he expected.

Like I said, fun, fun.

My socks look great, though. Basic socks in STR “Harlotty.” I love the colors, love the feel of the yarn, and really can’t wait until they’re done. Except, um, I’d rather not continue adding to them like I did today, you know? My dentist and his staff are wonderful people and I like them quite a bit, but . . . not at their office (grin).

Let’s see, so what else? I forgot to tell you yesterday, that I baked a cake. A pound cake, which is one of my favorites, even if no-one else in the family really likes it. So, whenever I DO make one, I make a berry sauce to go with it–to make it palatable for the others.

Well, yesterday, I got distracted. I put the frozen berries in a pot on the stove, walked away, and . . . kind of forgot to come back until Mom said, “Do I smell raspberries?” Um . . . oops! I hurried downstairs and took a look . . . Really, I should have grabbed my camera, but it was a little more important to reach for the paper towels. The berries–luckily I hadn’t added sugar yet–had not only overflowed, but they’d managed to spit all over the stove. There was berry-colored juice on the burner, on the backsplash, on the garbage pail next to the stove. And, naturally, when I started to wipe it off, it spilled down the front of the stove to the floor. And, you know, berries stain, right? Naturally, at that very precise moment, Mom walked in. You know, how parents do? When you’ve made a mess and just before you have a chance to clean up, when it’s at its very messiest?

I did get it all cleaned up, nothing was irreparably stained, and luckily the sauce wasn’t ruined, but . . . such a mess! And, well, you can see why I didn’t dawdle to snap pictures. Mom commented that it looked like the stove was bleeding, poor thing . . .

Oh, and yes, the yarn my half-done socks are sitting on IS the peach-colored yarn that was in yesterday’s picture. So pretty, and softer than I expected it to be.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:No Good Title is Coming to Me…. // 8 Comments »

It seems like forever since I showed any knitting or spinning progress, but I wouldn’t want you to think I’ve been slacking.

Here (along with a pair of polka-dot socks) are three skeins of yarn that I’ve just finished spinning.

The two peachy-colored ones are from the roving I was given as a RAOK in December. The gray is the really twisty yarn I mentioned the other day. I ran it through the wheel a second time, and it’s still off-balance. I decided that I’d soak it and let it dry first, though, before worrying any more about it. I THINK it’s under-plied, but still am not sure. I’ve got it doubled-over the towel-bar and have one of Chappy’s old collars clipped over the bottom, providing just a modicum of weight . . . we’ll see how it looks when it dries.

I did not participate in International Pajama Day today. First, because I pretty much NEVER hang out in my PJs. I get dressed as soon as I’m out of bed in the morning; the only time I wear my pajamas around the house is after my shower at night. And also, because my friend Cindy came over today. She took advantage of my ball winder and swift to wind lots and lots of merino/mohair that she brought back from her trip to New Zealand last year. We also had a lesson in knitting two socks at the same time. AND I gave her cake and a present for her birthday last week.

Otherwise, no, I am not watching the Super Bowl tonight (not even the commercials), but I have watched a ridiculous amount of the Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl–all those puppies romping around, with those cute little faces, and that fluffy, fuzzy fur . . . who can resist? It’s surprisingly captivating . . . and, don’t forget, they have a kitten half-time show . . .

One last thing–do go and check out Debby’s page for the Get Your Guts In Gear drive–a good cause for her husband AND her cat, since both of them suffer from Chrohn’s Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. A healthy digestive system is priceless, people, so please, head over and support Chris’s 210 mile in 3 days bike ride.

• Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Yarny Sunday // 9 Comments »

I finished reading Team of Rivals last night. This book was excellent. And huge. 740 pages of “book” and another 170 or so of notes, bibliography, index, and so on. But, really, such a good story. Highly recommended.

Now, is it wrong of me to be so proud of the fact that I read 740 pages of this over the course of a couple of weeks and managed to completely avoid cracking the binding? No crease in the spine at all.

Because, really, it’s one of my pet peeves–people who open a book and immediately crack it wide open. Obviously, wear and tear is going to happen, and paperbacks are more fragile than hardcovers, and yes, some creases, lines, and breaks in the spine are inevitable–especially on thicker, wider books–but you have to at least TRY to treat them kindly. Give the backs some support while you’re reading them, just like you would for an infant. It’s just the decent thing to do. I’m proud of the fact that the books in my library are in as good shape as is possible.

Anyway. So, today. We woke up this morning to about a 1/2″ of crusty snow–which is the most snow we’ve had all season. Mom and I were planning on going out for coffee and errands when . . . just as I put my pot of oatmeal on the stove to come to a boil . . . we had a funky kind of brown-out. The stove stopped working. And the kitchen lights–which are on a separate circuit breaker–but the coffee maker, refrigerator, and television had power. My parents’ room, lost power, as did the plug Dad’s computer was attached to–but not the one his phone was plugged into. My bedroom and the bathrooms were fine (for a change), but the guest room was out. . . . you get the idea. We called our next-door neighbors, and they were having the same problem–spotty power.

Well, the power came back just as I was about to leave, but Mom wasn’t willing to leave the house before the power company actually CAME–so I went on my own. I went to the pet store to buy some aquarium tubing to try on my Journey Wheel. Bought a new pillow for my bed at Linens & Things. By which time I was really hungry, since I hadn’t been able to cook my oatmeal, and sorry, Cheerios just doesn’t cut it. So I went over to Borders, had a snack, and then bought some new books (which should not be a surprise.). And a new Harry Connick Jr cd called “Oh, my NOLA,” filled with classic New Orleans jazz. I haven’t heard the whole thing yet, but the tracks I have, I love. (Note that if you buy this at Borders, there’s an extra track–just sayin’.)

Anyway, when I came home, I tried the aquarium tubing on my Journey wheel, but . . . no good. Too thick to fit in the grooves. Which is unfortunate, because, after I’d wound off the bobbin of (badly-plied) yarn I had on the wheel and folded it shut, the existing drive band . . . which I’ve mentioned has been more and more difficult to get to work? Clearly it was stretching and weakening, because . . . it snapped. Oops! These things happen, right? So I went in the kitchen and pulled out some twine and measured out a new one, but . . . it works fine, but I’m having trouble getting it tied tightly enough. Any suggestions?

Tonight, we three went out for dinner for Mom’s birthday–a little early, since her b-day is Valentine’s day, but since she and Dad won’t be available next weekend, we went tonight. We went to my dad’s golf club, which is always nice. In fact, we went there for my birthday in November–and when we got there at 6:00, we were the only people in the dining room, and it never really DID fill up, what with it being post-golf-season and all. So you’d expect pretty much the same thing this time, right? Wrong! They were having a birthday party for one of the members whose 94 years old (and, really, wow, he looks fabulous for his age–I would have guessed mid-seventies).

But–here’s the funny part–they were having the cocktail hour for the party IN the dining room. So, while we were sitting there at our table, eating our salads and all, the party guests were mingling, eating appetizers the wait-staff was carrying around, RIGHT next to our table. At one point, they were practically surrounding our table–which was kind of . . . weird. A few of the people knew my Dad and stopped to say hello, but mostly, they were milling around, talking amongst themselves, and . . . there we were, like a little island in the middle of the party. It felt vaguely like we’d crashed the party, until they all finally sat down to their own dinner. But it was funny, too–we wondered how many of them were looking at us wondering, “Who ARE those people? Do we know them? How come they got their dinners already? I’m starving…” It made for an interesting night, anyway. And I DID get a chance to wear my Fabulous Shoes.

Oh, and I did take Chappy into the backyard to play in the “snow” this afternoon. Which was also silly. Because, see, he LOVES chasing snowballs. Except, there wasn’t enough snow to make any. There wasn’t even 1/4″ at that point. But, he just STOOD there, at the bottom of the stairs, staring at me. Waiting for me to throw snowballs for him to chase. So . . . I pretended. I patted together invisible snowballs between my hands, and reached my arm back and threw . . . and he went bounding off, chasing them. See, he doesn’t really care where the snowballs go–except for when I’m tossing them for him to catch, he just likes the excuse to RUN. But meantime, he was chasing imaginary snowballs–and thrilled about it.

Silly dog.

Oh, and before I forget–Do you have a couple minutes to help a college student with a knitting survey? (Seen at Major Knitter’s)

• Tags: Family, Reading • Permalink:Silly Saturday // 7 Comments »

Well, at least we got a glimpse of the sun on Friday….

• Tags: Sky • Permalink:Sky // 2 Comments »

I had so much fun posting that earlier poem for Blogger’s (Silent) Poetry Reading, I decided to do another: (Heck, I enjoyed this last year, too.)

INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to water-ski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

(Yep, folks–how many of you had English teachers more or less kill the beauty of poetry for you by forcing you to take them apart, syllable by syllable. Show of hands? Anyone?)

Anyway. Luckily I had this poetry thing to fall back on, because really, I have almost nothing to talk about tonight.

Okay, really, nothing to talk about.

CROSSING
by Deborah Tall

“Islands are great places,” he’d say,
“Till you want to get off.”
And he should know, driving a wedge of a boat
in and out of that channel, decades.

But who knew better
than the horses who were
lowered into the hold
on a pulley strung from the mast,
the horses who always gave up
their thrashing when,
hooves finally lifted free of the pier,
they swung full-bodied
in salt air, swallowing sure catastrophe.
They never walked the same on mainland.

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Poetry Two // 6 Comments »

Freely combining both Eye-Candy Friday with the Second Annual Blogger’s Silent Poetry Reading, I present the following:

School Prayer
by Diane Ackerman

In the name of the daybreak
and the eyelids of morning
and the wayfaring moon
and the night when it departs,

I swear I will not dishonor
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.

In the name of the sun and its mirrors
and the day that embraces it
and the cloud veils drawn over it
and the uttermost night
and the male and the female
and the plants bursting with seed
and the crowning seasons
of the firefly and the apple,

I will honor all life
–wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell–on Earth my home
and in the mansions of the stars.

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, Reading • Permalink:Brain Candy // 5 Comments »

I got this little handmade box in the mail today….

Such a surprise. A cute little set of stitch-markers from Laura. When I cleaned out the tea-cabinete a couple weeks ago and said there were bunches of tea I was getting rid of, she said that one of them (the Peet’s Holiday tea) was one of her favorites. So, I stuck it (and all the others) in a box and sent them to her–they were perfectly good teas, just not my, er, cup of tea, so why should they go in the garbage, right?

Well, she liked them so much, she bought me these adorable little stitch-markers from Miss Purl . . . note the teapot dangling from one of them. What’s not to love, huh?

Speaking of Laura, she’s started a Read-Along which won’t kick in until June. Because, if you haven’t heard, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming out JULY 21ST!! Woo-hoo!! I can’t wait. Only 169 days to go….

The idea behind the read-along is to read each of the already-existing six books in the six weeks before publication date. So, by my calculations, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone will be started on Saturday, June 9th, followed by Chamber of Secrets on June 16th, and so on. I had mentioned that this is what I’ve done for the last two books, and she thought it was such a great idea, she’s doing a whole, organized thing. Please do join–it should be fun.

Speaking of reading, I’m working my way through Doris Kearns Goodwin’s excellent Team of Rivals, about “the political genius of Abraham Lincoln.” As I passed by page 600, I saw this: “Fred Seward records a pleasant evening that January when Lincoln walked over to Seward’s with John Hay to share a humorous language guidebook, English as She is Spoke. ‘As John Hay read aloud its queer inverted sentences, Lincoln and Seward laughed heartily, their minds finding a brief but welcom relief from care’.” How FUNNY is it that Lincoln would have read this ridiculous, obscure, little book that I just happen to have also read? (I finished it on 12/12/04–book journals really are handy.)

Amazon’s description? Here:
In 1855, when Jose da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino wrote an English phrasebook for Portuguese students, they faced just one problem: they didn’t know any English. Even worse, they didn’t own an English-to-Portuguese dictionary. What they did have, though, was a Portuguese-to-French dictionary, and a French-to-English dictionary. The linguistic train wreck that ensued is a classic of unintentional humor, now revived in the first newly selected edition in a century. Armed with Fonseca and Carolino’s guide, a Portuguese traveler can insult a barber (“What news tell me? All hairs dresser are newsmonger”), complain about the orchestra (“It is a noise which to cleve the head”), go hunting (“let aim it! let make fire him”), and consult a handy selection of truly mystifying “Idiotisms and Proverbs.”

Really, though, Team of Rivals is amazingly good, even it if is 900+ pages (including the indexes, notes, and such). And–a trivial little side-note–one of my co-workers is related to Seward. Lincoln’s Secretary of State and my co-worker’s great-something grandfather were cousins. It’s not exactly a direct line, or anything, but still kind of interesting–the sad part is that he would find this book interesting, too, but with an almost-4-year old and a set of almost-2-year old twins, it would take him about 10 years to read it….

Oh, and yes, I brushed Chappy’s teeth tonight. He’s remembered how much he really liked that toothpaste, though he’s still not crazy about ME deciding where the brush should go . . . one of these nights, I’ll try to get my Able Assistant (aka Mom) to take a picture of Chappy’s pearly whites . . .

Oh. And my broken one is going to the dentist on Monday. I’m pretty sure this is the crown that he tried to patch last June . . . We knew it was just a temporary fix, but I was hoping it would last a little longer. If it IS the same tooth, it’s actually a crown already . . . I just wish I could remember if it was one that had already had a root canal . . .  I THINK that’s a yes, which is good . . . in fact, if I’m remembering correctly, that’s one of the reasons he was willing to try patching it at the time, but I could be wrong.

Oh, well.

What are your reading habits? Do you tend to read at specific times
during the day, or does it vary from day to day, hour to hour, minute
to minute?

I think it should be reasonably clear by now that I read fairly often. All right, a lot. I pretty much always have a book with me, I usually have a pile of in-process books by my bed. I read during breakfast, during lunch. While brushing my teeth. In the bathroom. In bed before going to sleep. While watching television. Sitting on the couch with Chappy. . .

Okay, it might be easier to tell you when I’m NOT reading.

Pretty much if I’m not in a social situation, at work, actively doing something with my hands (i.e., cooking, washing, knitting–but especially something wet). I don’t read when I’m out on a walk with Chappy, or when I’m driving . . . rarely ever when I’m out of the house, actually, although I used to constantly keep a book in my purse. So . . . we’re talking in the leisure time that’s not work, not doing chores, not sleeping, knitting, or spinning. But mostly every, other, possible minute. I have absolutely no trouble picking up a book for 30 seconds, or just a couple minutes–while waiting for the kettle to boil, or waiting for a webpage to load. Reading time is precious!

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Marking Time // 6 Comments »

Here’s my reading list from January.

1. BEAUTY by Robin McKinley (247 p.) At this point, a classic YA book, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and one of my favorite versions. Beautifully, gently written. The author’s first book, too . . . just, charming.

2. READING LIKE A WRITER by Francine Prose (268 p.) Excellent book. I loved this analysis of the way literary masters accomplish so much in their writing while ignoring all the “rules” we learned in school. At least, some of the time. Great chunks of quotes, a pleasant voice from the author, who sounds so pleased to share this with us, and just altogether a good read. When’s the last time someone told you they loved a book of literary analysis? And, really, the author’s name is just perfect.

3. GOOD NIGHT, MR. HOLMES by Carole Nelson Douglas (402 p) Remember Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes story, “A Scandal in Bohemia?” The only woman ever to outwit him? Now imagine her as a detective in her own right, with a parson’s daughter acting as her “Watson.” I’ve always thought this was a wonderful look at that story from Irene’s point of view . . . well, I love stories that look at something familiar from a new angle, so….

4. IRENE AT LARGE by Carole Nelson Douglas (379 p.) (Recently re-published under the title “Soul of Steel”) The third book of the series, and the one which introduces Quentin Stanhope as a love interest, of sorts, for Penelope Huxleigh, Irene’s best friend. He literally falls at her feet–in a faint–when he sees her outside of Notre Dame, and turns out to be searching for a Dr. Watson who helped tend his wounds in a battle in Afghanistan years ago….

5. IRENE’S LAST WALTZ by Carole Nelson Douglas (479 p.) (Recently re-published under the title “Another Scandal in Bohemia”–admittedly a better title, but I really hate when publishers do this and confuse people who’ve already bought the books….) Fourth book in the series, this time taking Irene (and company) back to Bohemia, despite the risk of being recognized by the King who so desperately sought her in the first book. It was after this book that the author took a loooong break from Irene, and frankly, I haven’t enjoyed any of the more recent ones as much as these first four.

6. DEATH IN THE GARDEN by Elizabeth Ironside (274 p.) A unique and well-done mystery which tells two stories: that of a post-WWI birthday party at an English house party which ends in the death of the host . . . and then, skipping ahead to the present day, the story of the great-niece who becomes entranced in solving the years’ old mystery. It has a feel of Dorothy Sayer to it (which even the blurbs inside the front cover mention), and I enjoyed it a lot.

7. LOVING by Henry Green (204 p.) I picked this up–having never heard of Henry Green before–because the book above, “Reading Like a Writer” gave a lengthy quote from this book and piqued my interest. There’s an intro from John Updike, too, saying that he basically learned how to write from Henry Green. Well, this was a unique book–great story about the staff of an Irish manor house during WWII. Many of the usual, fiction devices were ignored–like distinct scene changes–so it’s not a book that can be skimmed. I’m not sure how I felt about this style, but enjoyed the book. The volume I got has two other short novels in it, and I’m saving those for later, after I’ve gotten my brain wrapped around this one….

8. VENETIA by Georgette Heyer (354 p.) I’ve heard so much about Georgette Heyer over the years, as the person who defined Regency-style romances. Now, I don’t read “romances” as a rule, but I’ve seen her referred to so many times over the years, I got curious . . . my opinion? Decent, if mostly predictable story, well-enough written. The heroine was just too, too perfect–always patient, always charming, always in a good mood–not to mention beautiful, innocent, and sought-after. But still, diverting and not a horrible way to spend the day (grin).

9. SOLSTICE WOOD by Patricia McKillip (278 p.) Picture the world of Faerie meeting the modern world. Sylvia is called home on the death of her Grandfather . . . only to find that her Grandmother has been keeping secrets all these years . . . as a rule, I don’t really go for Faerie-kind of books. The whole, hidden world of the “Other” who steal babies and snatch lovers from the mortal world usually leaves me pretty cold. Still, I do enjoy Patricia McKillip, so thought I’d give it a try. It’s as well-written as I expect from her, and I enjoyed the story, even if the main idea still makes me uncomfortable. (grin)

10. MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA by James McBride (306 p.) A story of negro soldiers and a lost Italian boy in WWII. Good, if heartbreaking story.

11. ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR by Lian Hearn (305 p.) Kind of a medieval Japan fantasy trilogy. (Well, now there’s actually a
fourth book which won’t be out in paperback until June, but since it
takes place 15 years after the action of the original trilogy, the wait
won’t be unbearable.) Anyway, the trilogy begins when Takeo is saved by
an anonymous warrior when his village is destroyed–a Lord who adopts
him and trains him in the ways of a warrior, but also in the ways of
the secret Tribe of assassins, of which Takeo’s father was one. It’s a
well-written, enjoyable series with an interesting premise and a nice
flow of action–whether that be in the form of fights or of events that
move the story along. Either way, it doesn’t drag and is a page-turner
in its own right.

12. BALANCE OF TRADE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (456 p.) A sci-fi coming-of-age story–Jethri Gobelyn signs on as an apprentice trader to a Liaden master of trade, but has a LOT of learning to do . . . I love all of these authors’ Liaden series, and this one is highly enjoyable. It takes place years (centuries? decades?) before the action of their main Korval books, but I hope that won’t stop them from writing another with these characters–I want to know what happens next.

13. I AM THE MESSENGER by Markus Zusak (357 p.) It’s by the same author as The Book Thief,
and I have to tell you, I liked it SO much more. I am, however, aware
that I’m in the minority in not liking the Book Thief, though. But the
Messenger book? It starts when 19-year old cab-driver Ed Kennedy helps
catch a bank robber. A few days later, he gets an Ace of Diamonds in
the mail, with three addresses . . . and when he visits them, realizes
that the people need help. But who is sending the cards? Why him?
Despite the bad language (more than I thought was necessary, but not
enough to be TRULY offensive, though it usually turns me off), the
story was engaging and intriguing, and it kept me turning pages to find
out where the cards were coming from.

14. GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW by Lian Hearn (315 p.) The second book in this Asian-inspired fantasy trilogy. Takeo has agreed to be trained by the Tribe of assassins, but is torn in his loyalty–he wants to avenge his foster-father, AND he wants to be with Kaede, the love of his life….

15. BRILLIANCE OF THE MOON by Lian Hearn (344 p.) Third book of the Otori trilogy, and, honestly, my least favorite of the bunch, but still . . . it was nice to see Takeo focus on his heritage at last.

16. GIRL IN THE TANGERINE SCARF by Mohja Kahf (446 p.) I saw this recommended on some blog or other (I forget which) but am glad I did, because it was excellent–a look at a modern, Muslim girl growing up in Indiana in the 1970s . . . a look into that culture which I’ve never had before, and really very good indeed.

17. PASSAGE by Connie Willis (780 p.) What if near-death-experiences could be simulated? And what if two researchers were trying to determine the scientific cause of NDEs? And what if, through lack of other volunteers, one of the researchers undertook the experiment herself? No, this isn’t “Flatliners.” It’s Connie Willis, who writes so well, and takes such a great approach to difficult subjects. I’ve had this on my shelf for a couple years now and hadn’t summoned up the courage to read it. (Not because I was afraid of the subject matter, or thought the book would be less-than-good because, well, it’s Connie Willis, but because some of her stories have unfortunate tendencies to tragic endings, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to face that. I won’t tell you whether or not this one had such an ending, but it WAS as good as I expected it to be.

18. WHITE HART by Nancy Springer (222 p.) This has been in my library since the early 1980s, but I haven’t read it in years. First, technically, in a trilogy, although it has a completely different feel than the other two. A fantasy book, taking place on “the Isle,” where suddenly, in the midst of war and strife, Bevan appears, the son of a long-departed god, struggling to find his place in an unfamiliar world. He learns to love Ellid and her cousin Cuin, but is torn between his need to help the land and his longing for whence he came. The whole book has the feel of a legend, a myth–something from the mists of time. I LOVED this book in high school.

19. HOW TO CHEAT AT CLEANING by Jeff Bredenberg (229 p.) Exactly what it sounds like–short cuts and tips to “cheat” at house-cleaning. Some good ones in here, even if it doesn’t tell you to really get a floor CLEAN…. (my cleaning Achilles heel).

20. LABYRINTHS by Jorge Luis Borges (249 p.) This book of short stories was a Christma gift and, well, the writing is very good (even allowing for it being a translation), but these are some pretty weird stories…. Classics, though!

21. HISTORY OF HAND-KNITTING by Richard Rutt (223 p.) Incredibly thorough, extremely well-researched, and with some spots of real interest, but . . . dry as dust. Kind of boring to read, this is going to be more of a reference book for me…

22. MY HOUSE IS KILLING ME by Jonathan M. Samet (310 p.) One of the scariest books I’ve ever read, all about the unseen little, microscopic germs, bugs, mites, particles, molds, mildews, and substances that can make you sick without your even knowing about them. Of course, it also tells you what to DO about them, which is a good thing, but really . . . it almost sounds like it’s easier to just knock the house down and start over . . . Excellent resource for allergy/asthma sufferers, but really . . . scary!

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books Read in January // 9 Comments »