Fir Bud
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Hot
Well, who knew that I was so darn stylish? One of the “hot” items of the summer (according to Vineyard Style Magazine) just happens to be in my closet! A MV Fiber Farm t-shirt. Susan really IS taking over the world. That’s two magazines this week.
Good thing I put my hair in a braid today, then, huh?
Though, really, it wasn’t hot today. It was about 85-88 and, for a wonder, no humidity. Summer’s still not my favorite season, but this weather I can handle.
I’ve gotten distracted by watching old episodes of Fame over on Hulu. That site, I tell you, is addictive! So many good (and some not so good) tv shows that I haven’t seen in ages. Fame stands up pretty well, too–I remember loving it when I was in high school–but I gave the pilot of “One Day at a Time” a shot the other day and all of Julie’s yelling about “poor, misunderstood, teenage me” got on my nerves. “Mary Tyler Moore” is always good, though. And “Firefly.” And…
Speaking of television, did you know, Burn Notice is back for its second season tonight?
Well, That’s Been a While
Well, it’s been a while since I got to show a picture like this–new yarn!
I liked my finished string bag so much that I decided to make more, and then I saw a thread on Ravelry mentioning how Birds-n-Yarn was having a (now-finished) sale on Hempathy, so I ordered some. The service was great, too, and the yarn came with some Werther’s butterscotch to sweeten the deal. (Sorry, couldn’t resist. I think the new-yarn fumes are making me giddy.)
As to current knitting, I finished step one of my current, unnamed project. I ended just in time, too, with just that little bit of yarn left over. Next comes Step Two.
Hey, have you heard about the Dr. Horrible musical? It sounds absolutely hilarious. And, well Josh Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris…
Contest Announcement
Remember yesterday when I told you Chappy had picked a winner for his contest?
Well, he really did. And, while I was concentrating on trying to get a photo of him and the winning number …
He pulled it out of my hand and ATE it!
Seriously, that’s him, chomping away on the little piece of index card that used to read “19.”
Which means that the winner of his Party Invitation contest is Julie, who told a sweet story about how her sister’s Beagle puppy proposed marriage. Well, he proposed it for her now-brother-in-law, but considering how much dogs like having their packs together, Chappy and I both feel it was probably the puppy’s idea. He just needed the money to buy the diamond ring he had on his collar, because puppies are notoriously short on cash.
What did she win? This skein of really lovely yarn spun by yours truly. Seriously, it’s beautiful, and that has nothing to do with the spinning skills (grin). I need to check my archives, though, to figure out what the colorway was called, and what the fiber is, but I don’t think she’ll be disappointed. It’s wool, it’s soft, it’s a beautiful, warm, rosy purple, and it’s just nice. (Okay, I looked it up. I spun it in January–Spunky Eclectic BFL in the color, “Vineyard,” Which you KNOW is hard for me to give up! But, it’s for Chappy’s contest, so, what’s a Mom to do?)
PLUS she gets three of the Indian/Vegetarian cookbooks that I won last April. Because they’re perfectly nice cookbooks but none of us remotely like Indian food (no offense to those of you who do), and they’re just going to waste sitting here. So, Julie, if you don’t like Indian food, tell me, but otherwise they are part of your prize, and I hope you’ll give them the attention they deserve. (I hope you realize how hard it is for me to give up ANY books, whether I use them or not.)
Congratulations! We hope you’ll be very happy (even if, Chappy says, you are a cat-person.) (I’ll need your snail-mail address please.)
This was pretty neat–Women’s World magazine had a two-page spread about Martha’s Vineyard including a nice article about the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm. I’m telling you, Susan is going to take over the world at this rate. Or, at least, the women’s part. (ba-dum-bum. Get it? Women’s World? Okay, never mind. I’m tired.)
Hey–did you know that Interweave’s annual Hurt Book Sale is going on right now?? They’ve always got good stuff, but it goes fast!
Smaller World
Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you about the high school friend I found on Ravelry, after about 20 years? Well, the world is getting even smaller. When I posted the other day about the Bunch of Grapes fire, Sarah saw it and, having just come back from MV herself, posted about it on her blog … where Joan read it and told her she couldn’t believe Sarah read my blog and that she and I were good friends in high school. Because it turns out that Joan and Sarah are good friends, AND that she and Jessica went to library school together. What are the odds?
But wait … there’s more! At just about the same time, I saw a post on Copyblogger about good articles for freelance writers to read, and one was a link to Julie over at Writing Roads–a blog I hadn’t heard of before. In her post, she mentioned living on Martha’s Vineyard. Naturally, I had to leave her a comment. I mentioned Mom’s blog, and she replied with two links–one for the MV Fiber Farm, which I naturally know all about–but it turns out that she and Susan are good friends, and that Susan is all excited that she and I found each other.
I tell you, this world is getting smaller and smaller all the time. But, how COOL!
You’ll all be glad to hear, I’m sure, that Chappy had a good birthday.
He had his family home, got out for a walk, played with his toys, got lots of extra attention. Not to mention popcorn. And half a cheeseburger with his supper.
He even got another present–a new blanket for his favorite chair.
Not to mention a little more cake. (Yes, I think he’s had enough sugar for the day!)
We picked a winner for his RSVP contest, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow. AFTER I figure out what the prize should be…
And, jeez, I have to go back to work tomorrow….
7 on 07-07
Excerpts from my Journal from 2001:
7/8/2001
Sunday. I got an email from Randy in PA today–the puppies were born! Eight, but one was stillborn. He hasn’t had a chance to tally the sexes yet, but he sent me a photo of the happy mom and family. They’re so little. Of course they are, only hours old in the picture, but … tiny. They even still have their full tails and everything … so, let’s see, eight weeks from today is Sept 2nd….
7/9/2001
Some bad news today about Tawney’s puppies. Only one is a girl, and she’s already spoken for. I’m so disappointed. But still, surprisingly quickly, we’ve sort of considered a boy puppy and decided that maybe a boy would be nice anyway. Bigger, yes, but maybe different isn’t such a bad thing? Certainly we’ve come up with more boy-names than girl-names (Edgar and Chappy head the list). What surprises me most is that Mom seems to have no trouble considering a 35-40 lb dog when 2 months ago the thought of a 30-lb female was big. But we believe in the fate thing–maybe someone’s trying to tell us something.
7/13/2001
Randy sent me a photo of the puppies and a ruler to give me an idea how big they are. Looks like about 6″ from tail to shoulder, give or take. Either way, tiny.
7/28/2001
I got an email from Randy … we’ll be getting one of Tawney’s boys. Chappy, it is! Mom and I will still go out on 8/11 to pick him out, but no more mystery aboug gender or name. I can stop referring to NewPuppy.
7/29/2001
Randy emailed me two pictures of the puppies at 3 weeks old. What a difference! They look twice the size they were as newborns and no longer all fit in a row to nurse. Their coats are starting to show wavy vs curly fur, too. Even the curly ones won’t be VERY curly any time soon, but they’ve got a lot more crimp to their coats than their smoother siblings. Randy also said that in certain lights you can see the different browns, too (liver or chocolate). They aren’t quite walking yet, he said, but crawling–doggy paddling as he put it–swimming along on their bellies, but they can stand and are practicing walking. Sweet.
8/1/2001
Okay, it’s the oddest thing. Randy sent me a picture of the puppies eating their first meal of solid food (puppy food, oatmeal, and water). It’s adorable–they’re standing, and everything! The first picture I’ve seen where they haven’t been a puppy pile heaped around Tawney. But–and this is the odd part–now that I’ve seen Chappy (whichever pup he is) looking like a Puppy and not just an infant … i almost miss him. I haven’t even met him yet, but some part of me almost expects him to be around somewhere.
8/11/2001
So, we saw Chappy! What a cutie. The drive was about 320 miles, 6 hours. We barely saw Buddy–he gave a friendly, enthusiastic hello, but that was about it. Tawney, on the other hand, was a sweetheart. mellow, very calm. Every time she went into the puppy pen, all the puppies practically attacked her–crowding under her to nurse at every opportunity. Then she’d move away and leave two to four puppies lying on his back or side, looking all surprised. “Drat! She’s gone again. Where’d she go?” She was really friendly, though, and we kept petting her while we oohed and aahed over the puppies.
Ah, the puppies! Tiny–about 5 lbs, maybe? Easily lifted in one hand, with all four legs outstretched. (“Whoa!”) Tiny little heads and noses about 1/2″ long, with a little, button, brown nose about the size of my fingertip. Short little legs with paw-pads about the size of a dime. Soft, puppy coats. Tiny ears, maybe the size of a quarter. Fuzzy blue baby puppy eyes. They nails are tiny little lace-crochet hooks, needlelike,s harp, and curved. The teeth are coming and in and pretty needle-sharp, too.
And then, how to pick one? I didn’t have a love at first sight moment, but they were all so cute! Finally, we picked out two and them around us on the floor–though by that time they were pretty tired and just wanted to snooze. Chappy’s the one I ended up holding and couldn’t put down. He kept snuggling his nose in and snoozing. Randy marked the inside of his ear with red marker….
8/26/2001
Well, we brought Chappy home yesterday. The biggest news is–we didn’t get the puppy we’d picked out. We went to Randy’s and went inside. The puppies were all piled together and just waking up when we walked in. All those bright little faces. But one of them didn’t want to wake up–he ran away into the corner as the others started to untangle themselves to be charming. And that’s the one we’d picked. I managed to catch him and lift him, but he squirmed to get away. When I put him back in the pen, he ran over to the wall and just lay there while one of his brothers lied down on top of him. There was no way we could bring that puppy home. …
I narrowed it down to two–one of the big, wavy-furred calmer boys, and a smaller curly-coat who was more active. It was so hard choosing between them. Really hard. Finally though, went for the calm wavy-coat. Gave Randy his check and headed for home. We let him sit in our laps for the whole drive. He slept almost the entire drive and the only thing that bothered him was the sun shining in his face.
We got him home and he immediately started exploring. No clinging like Katy did. He did NOT like his crate and does NOT like being alone yet. He has quite a voice. He cried during supper when he was in his pen and he definitely cried in his crate last night … but when I woke up and could actually see that adorable little face … it’s so cute. His paw pads are about the size of a quarter now, and his ears about the size of an egg. he’s stretched out asleep now, just fitting lengthwise inside the base of the kitchen chair. He tried getting up the step through the front door and got stuck, his hips were level with the doorsill. And every time he sits down on our floors, his hips slide out from under him until he’s on his stomach. And did I mention the puppy bumbling run he’s got, his paws flying in all directions and his middle swaying from side to side? Precious!
(Hey, you know … a Mom can’t help but feel a little indulgent on her boy’s birthday….)
Chappy’s Birthday
Yep. Today we celebrated Chappy’s turning 7. (Although his actual birthday is Monday–and his Party Invitation/contest is still open until then.)
Naturally, the birthday boy got a cake and was sung to. Though, no, he did NOT blow out his candle on his own.
He really enjoyed the cake, though.
Carrot cake, with buttercream icing–his choice.
And there were presents.
He thought this toy from his aunt, uncle, and cousins was particularly fun–it “crinkles” in the middle, like a soda bottle or a milk carton–and since he adores playing with empty milk cartons, this made him very happy.
Really, we all had a good time–though special thanks go to my brother-in-law, nephew, and sister for doing weeding and yardwork before the rain really started to come down.
His friend Cindy came for dessert, too, which made Chappy really happy.
The only real disappointment of the day? The weather didn’t cooperate, but who can control the weather?
About the fire in Vineyard Haven yesterday? There’s video of it on Plum TV, and it’s just so heart-breaking to watch. According to today’s update, the Bunch of Grapes bookstore looks to be a total loss–in terms of stock, if not the actual building. Susan said on Ravelry today that, “It was a bit of a down day on the Island. Pat and I just walked by BOG after getting coffee at Mocha Motts and it was so sad seeing all the smoke damaged books in the window and the postcards on racks.” Poor Martha’s Vineyard!
On the plus side, she also said on Ravelry today that she’s raised $3000 for her uncle’s wheelchair. Don’t forget, you, too, can be eligible to win her entire stash of yarn (that didn’t come from her own sheep and goats).
In the Kitchen
First things first–go check out Susan’s raffle over at MV Fiber Farm. She is raffling off her entire yarn stash (that didn’t come from her own sheep and goats) to raise money for her uncle’s wheelchair. He and her aunt both sound like amazing people–a surgeon and a surgical nurse–who’ve done missionary work all over the world, and he recently broke his neck while trimming dead branches off a tree at the church (and remained conscious long enough to tell the EMTs which vertebrae were crushed!). If anybody deserves a good wheelchair, it sounds like this man does–since he so sadly needs one at all. And, um, did I mention that she’s raffling her entire stash of yarn?? Honestly–go check it out. It’s quite a pile of yarn, and well worth the $10 cost of the raffle ticket, and for a good cause, too. (Spread the word too, huh?)
Unlike many of my compatriots, I have not spent today at a picnic, or at the beach, or eating food off the grill. No, I’ve spent a large portion of my day in the kitchen….
- Got up, got dressed
- Went to the kitchen and made breakfast
- Back upstairs to brush my teeth, then
- Back to the kitchen, where I…
- Mixed up Chappy’s cake and got it in the oven
- Put potatoes on to boil to make salad for tomorrow
- Made chicken salad with some of the leftover chicken in the fridge, just because I needed something to do while waiting for the cake to come out of the oven
- Quick email check
- Back to the kitchen for lunch, including a nice, juicy peach that we bought yesterday
- Heard the awful news about the Bunch of Grapes, one of the nicest bookstores
- Head to the mixer to make the cake’s frosting, realize we don’t have any vanilla. Cry of help, followed by Mom running to the store
- Made the frosting and iced the cake (mmmmm)
- Sat down with Chappy for 5 minutes then remembered…
- Upstairs to give Mom a lesson on organizing her photos on the computer
- Lesson cut short by a call from Mom’s friend across the street. Organize the photos without her
- Back to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Also ate some of the fresh berries we bought yesterday
- Sat down with Chappy and read for a while (finished my book)
- Back to the kitchen to start the meat sauce for tonight’s supper
- Upstairs to do some more stuff on the computer (and to get a new book)
- Back to the kitchen to eat supper.
And, here we are. I still need to mix the potato salad for tomorrow, but mixing it is the easy part–it’s making sure the potatoes are cooked and ready (and pre-seasoned) that’s the hard part. Mom is cooking the chicken tomorrow, and we’re having corn on the cob, so the rest of the meal is certainly easy for me! My friend Cindy is going to join us for dessert (Chappy is thrilled), and it will be nice to have the family all together (Chappy is beyond thrilled). I mean, really, it’s been more than two weeks! (grin)
Honestly, all the family get-togethers since May have been wonderful, but it will be nice to have a break from all the birthday celebrations. There was my brother-in-law’s surprise party, the celebration for my niece and nephew, my sister’s birthday, and then the party for my best friend’s father last week…. It’s kind of nice to know that the next family birthday (mine) is waaaaay off in November. Any other family visits between now and then will just be visits, not parties, and that sounds so much more restful (grin).
Although, of course, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s–because this party is for CHAPPY!
Bunch of Grapes
Oh, no … fire has destroyed Cafe Moxie and severely damaged the Bunch of Grapes bookstore on Martha’s Vineyard. I’m so sorry to hear about the cafe, but am crushed for the poor bookstore–even if it didn’t completely burn, how could a business whose stock was paper survive the amounts of water the fire department had to use to put out the flames? For obvious reasons, it’s closed for the foreseeable future. I just hope it HAS a foreseeable future!
NOT happy news on a holiday. But then, you folks know how I feel about books … and Martha’s Vineyard. At least no one was hurt–that counts for a lot…. (sniffle)
Edited to add: Here’s another article. This is just so terrible. The owners of the cafe only bought it in May, and now it’s a total loss. And the bookstore? Pretty much a total loss, too. It’s one of the anchors of downtown Vineyard Haven, too–impossible to imagine it without it. I’m feeling terrible that we didn’t get a chance to go into the bookstore in April, because I’m going to miss it so much….
Another addition: Another article–the cafe has been razed to possibly prevent further smoke damage to the bookstore which, I don’t know, might be salvageable? They mention that this isn’t how they’d hoped to be spending the Fourth of July (no kidding!), and also how much this is hurting all the other businesses on Main Street because it’s such a big money-making day for them. Which, sure, is absolutely true but, um, at least they still HAVE businesses….
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Happy Fourth of July, everyone.
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Knitted Toe
We went to the movies today and, luckily, I had a sock in my purse. It was, oh, not out of the goldish color yet when we went into the theater, and all the rest, I did during the movie. I do love being able to knit in the dark! And I’m liking this color, too. It’s Meilenweit “Mega Boots Stretch” in color 702. I’ve had it in my stash for a few years now and figured it was time it got used.
Oh, and if you look really closely at the background of that picture, you’ll see my other knitting project–the one that doesn’t have a name, a pattern, or anything terribly specific. I’m kind of making it up as I go along, and so can’t really tell you what it’s going to be. Or if it’s going to come out as I hope, which is why I’m not being more specific. Why get anybody’s hopes up, mine included? (grin). It sure looks lovely, though. SUCH a pretty color.
The movie? “Wall-E” which I enjoyed quite a bit, Mom thought was okay but disappointing, and which kept putting Dad asleep. (No, I didn’t understand that, either.) The little Pixar short film (Presto) before the movie was adorable, too–I sometimes look forward to those more than to the actual movies!
Otherwise? Mom and I checked out the Aldi‘s grocery store that just opened this week, and then went to A&P to pick up stuff for Chappy’s birthday cake. Because, of course, my boy deserves a birthday cake! I’m making him carrot cake, which all of us like. Besides, he loves carrots, why wouldn’t he love carrot CAKE? (Hey, I used to make our mini-dachshund Jilly a cheesecake every year because I figured she loved cheese above all things, so it had to be her favorite. Sadly, I didn’t have time to figure out the perfect birthday cake for Katy–I had so been looking forward to coming up with “Katy-cakes,” since it was my favorite nickname for her.) Anyway, I’m using the recipe I tried last month and will be doing that tomorrow.
No fireworks or picnics for us tomorrow–we’re doing all our celebrating on Saturday when my sister comes down. Chappy’s just dreading tomorrow night–all those fireworks, you know. Those of you in the US, have a good holiday tomorrow!
Filing
Okay, first, how’s this for a beautiful sky this morning on the way to work?
Second, does anybody else use the Levenger “Circa” system for note-taking? I don’t want to sound like a commercial, or anything, but I just wanted to mention how much fun I’m having with them lately. I started with their “Simply Irresistable” kit, which it is because while it costs $40, it comes with a $40 gift card–which basically means that it pays for itself.
So, really, it makes it tempting to try. I’m now the proud owner of a full-size notebook I probably won’t use that often, a medium notebook which I will, and a couple compact ones that will fit in my purse (I hope). Not to mention a couple “PDAs” which use 3×5″ cards instead of paper. I love that ultra-organized feeling of being able to move pages from book to book, and being able to mix-and-match all sorts of page types, sizes, dividers, and all that. I got a great deal on my compact notebooks, too, because I actually bought the 2008 Agendas, which are going for a steal right now (since 2008 is more than half over). I tore out half the pages and am still left with diary pages I can use for the next six months AND I’ve got the cover and the rings that would have cost me double that just for the cover and rings. So now I feel thrifty AND well organized.
Hmm. Well, maybe not THAT thrifty. My new computer came yesterday. It is, you’ll remember, a HP Pavilion DV6871US and I’m typing on it right now. There are bunches of things to get used to, not least of which is the new operating system, the dreaded Windows Vista–which, so far, seems to be okay, but it’s still NEW and comes with a built-in adjustment period. And I’m not crazy about the keyboard, whose keys have a “deeper” touch than most laptop keyboards. It’s making my fingers tired, because I have to press each key further than I’m used to, but I’ll adapt, I guess. Although I really LIKE a nice, crisp feel to a keyboard, so I’m kind of disappointed about that. It has a built-in incline, though, which I think is kind of sweet. The computer seems quite nice, the 15.4″ screen is nice and bright, and we’re getting along pretty well, even if the touchpad gets kind of warm (and I really hate it when that happens). It even has a webcam, although I can’t imagine when I’d ever use THAT! (grin) But, still, I’ve been spending a lot of time since it came yesterday installing things, copying things, moving things, figuring out things…
…And not just on my new computer, but also on my old one which now belongs to Mom–which was the whole point of my getting a new computer now anyway. She, in turn, is having a hard time adjusting to HER new computer because not only is it different, but it also doesn’t run AOL software. Mom loves using the AOL software, but that computer has always hated it. I told her that Firefox is wonderful and figured out how to copy all her Favorite Places/Bookmarks over, but she’s still not happy about the change. Getting-to-be resigned, perhaps, because she doesn’t have a choice, but rather overwhelmed.
Chappy’s just glad that HE doesn’t have a computer. (And, so am I. He’s the only one in the family that doesn’t ask me computer questions.) He does, however, want to remind everyone that his birthday party invitation is still open. Come join us! All you have to do is leave a comment–well, a story–in the comments on that blog post. (Because, no, we’re not expecting any of you to trek to the house.) We’d love to have you!
So, now, I’d really like to get away from computer screens for a while–all day at work plus a ridiculous amount of my non-work time the last two days has been in front of one (or more) computers at a time. The nice thing? My office is closed tomorrow and Friday for Fourth of July–a holiday for which we always get 4-day weekends, unless the fourth is on a Wednesday. So I can rest my weary eyes by letting them sleep late tomorrow–something I’m very much looking forward to!
Books from June
Here’s my reading list from June:
1. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (335 p.)
2. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (372 p.)
3. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (339 p.)
4. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (291 p.)
5. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (335 p.)
6. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (308 p.)
7. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (289 p.) Well, the Little House books are classics. It was fun revisiting them, and they put a smile on my face, all while reminding me how HARD our ancestors worked and how grateful they were for whatever they had. No expectations of handouts, no sense of entitlement. Wonderful books.
8. Checkmate: Sixth in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett (581 p.) The last of the Lymond series, where all the loose-ends get tied together. Just fabulous.
9. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (562 p.) Well, it was its 125th birthday, so I figured now was the time to read this book that I’ve been planning to read for years. Obviously, I knew that they were going to be successful building it, but still, what a great story. And, of course, David McCullough is always fabulous.
10. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay (349 p.) I didn’t like this one very much, but it could have just been my frame of mind. Telling the story of an orphaned Tasmanian girl named Rosemary who comes to NY and gets a job in a used bookstore and gets involved with a long-lost rare manuscript … or, something like that. Honestly, I stopped reading around page 83 and wasn’t even interested enough to skim through to the end to see how the story ended.
11. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (465 p.) Also about an orphaned girl, this time a French-American named Aurelie who ends up in Japan, just as it’s being opened to foreigners in the late 1800s. Interesting, and the culture-shock was intriguing, but I did think the ending was weak–very abrupt–but still, decent.
12. General Winston’s Daughter by Sharon Shinn (342 p.) YA fantasy, telling the story of 18-year old Avery, going to visit her father in Chiarrin, where she immediately embraces as much of its culture as she reasonably can, but all is not well, because there are rebels fighting for their country’s freedom. Averie becomes friends with Jalessa, a young fabric seller. This was very good, with a big twist at the end.
13. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (187 p)
14. The Black Stallion Returns by Walter Farley (199 p)
15. Son of the Black Stallion by Walter Farley (282 p)
16. Black Stallion and Satan by Walter Farley (178 p)
17. The Black Stallion’s Filly by Walter Farley (242 p)
18. The Black Stallion Revolts by Walter Farley (263 p) Well, you’ve got to visit the old classics once in a while, huh? And still pretty entertaining in that wide-eyed, 1940s boy’s adventure story kind of way–the kind written with lots of action and lots of exclamation points, but which is still just fun. They’re mirrors of their time, but they’re entertaining, and I haven’t read them in years.
19. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (263 p.) A look at happiness, and how we as humans do and do not recognize it when we see it, how our brains can’t predict it, and how we misremember it later on. Entertaining AND informative, this was interesting.
20. Beneath the Vaulted Hills by Sean Russell (480 p.)
21. Compass of the Soul by Sean Russell (407 p.) Yet another reread of this duology by one of my favorite authors. In Farrland, a world much like ours at the end of the 18th century, science is gaining strength as men of reason reject the idea of magic and yet, there is still one mage living, the last of his kind, committed to seeing the magical Arts end. But there is a secret group, hidden for centuries, who are just waiting for the last mage to die, so that they can revive the Arts according to their strictures. Now, throw in a pair of inquisitive academics who are convinced there are answers to be found in a series of caves, a man who lived for several years in the mage’s house but has tried ever since to pretend that had never happened, a countess that all men find irresistable, an artist obsessed with her, a church deacon who cannot be trusted … I just love these books. Well written, great story, intriguing, appealing world … just excellent.
22. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse an Chris Garrett (211 p.) Exactly what it sounds like–ways to make blogging make money for you. I read the blog and had to read the book–good, clear, informative, reasonable. I can’t tell you one way or another how well the instructions WORK since I have yet to try “monetizing” any of my blogs, but it certainly sounds interesting–and possible!
23. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley (247 p.) Another reread of a delightful YA book–A sweet variation on Beauty and the Beast with all likable characters, no real villains, and just a good story. Refreshing and charming.
24. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones (404 p.) A YA/fantasy sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle, Charmain–a fairly selfish girl who just wants to sit and READ (no, no, I couldn’t relate to her at all) has to go look after her great-uncle’s house while he recovers from surgery. But, of course, it’s not that simple. Her great-uncle is a wizard, and the house is a labyrinth of magically-hidden passages. And the kobolds who do much of the maintenance are on strike, and an unexpected apprentice who can’t seem to work any spell at all shows up, and, really, all Charmain wants to do is spend time with the BOOKS. Charming, and it was nice to see Sophie and Howl again, and dog, Waif? Adorable….
25. Magic’s Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 1) by Mercedes Lackey (349 p.)
26. Magic’s Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2) by Mercedes Lackey (320 p.)
27. Magic’s Price (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey (336 p.) A fantasy trilogy which tells the rather tragic story of Vanyel, the last Herald-Mage. This is actually the set of books of hers I ever read, and I like to revisit them from time to time. Good story, but the ending always makes me sniffle.
28. The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left by David Crystal (222 p.) What a fascinating book. It takes the premise that the “take no prisoner” attitude of grammar pundits is detrimental to the language. The first half of the book is a fairly straight-forward look at the history of the various attempts to stablilize English usage over the last few centuries. But the second half is where it soars–so fascinating. It made me think, which is always good, and his reasoning is sound–that rules are helpful, but that it’s more important to understand why they’re there in the first place. That learning the POINT of grammar is more important than blindly following the rules. Great.
29. Balance of Trade (A Liaden Universe Novel) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (451 p.) A YA sci-fi book that tells the story of Jethri Gobelyn, a young Terran trader who gets apprenticed to a Liaden Master Trader. It’s just a darn good story. But then, you already know how much I enjoy the Liaden stories (grin).
30. Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey (353 p.) A stand-alone book in her Pern series, telling about Pern’s preparations for the Second Pass of the Red Star. Not one of the best in the series, but by no means the worst, either. Pleasant enough, and Iantine and Debera are appealing.
31. Little House Sampler by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane (243 p.) A collection of writings and reminiscences of these two authors. These days, most people just know about Laura’s writing, but her daughter Rose was actually much more famous until the “Little House” books swept through the school system (grin). Nice collection.
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