Yes, that’s me with Rachel’s new book.

You DID know that our very own knit-blogging friend had her new novel published, didn’t you? It came out yesterday. How to Knit a Love Song.

Romance isn’t my usual genre, but I’m nothing if not supportive of a fellow knitter-writer, so naturally I bought a copy. It came today, and I read the whole thing. (What? Like you didn’t already know that I’m a fast reader?)

The book begins with Abigail driving up to a rusty gate, ready and eager to claim her inheritance. Her dearest friend and mentor has died and left her a cottage … the problem? It’s uninhabitable, and her nearest neighbor (the dreamy cowboy Cade) is hostile, to say the least. His house, her cottage, and the ranch he runs all belonged to his aunt–a woman who seems to have a remarkable similarity to Elizabeth Zimmermann. She, Eliza, is described as being one of the great knitters of the last century, famous for her ingenuity and fearlessness.

Against his will, and hating every minute, Cade lets Abigail sleep in his spare room while she gets her cottage set up, and it doesn’t take long for sparks to fly. Cade is furious about his aunt having broken up his property. Abigail is just relieved to finally have a place to call her own, and a chance to get away from her ex. (Well, more of a stalker, really.) She is determined to turn the cottage into a yarn shop, and Cade is just as determined to prevent it.

Of course, things don’t go as the two of them planned, either of them. There are a series of events that throw them together–a torrential rain, a bat, a stray alpaca, a fire … and they both recognize their attraction.

Are the basic plot points kind of predictable? Well, yes. Except for some minor details like Betty being a natural spinner, and Abigail’s perfect charm for the farmers at Tillie’s, I wasn’t really surprised by any of the things that happened … but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an enjoyable book. You did a great job, Rachel!

But, what I really want to know? What happened to Clara after the scene in the alley? And, did Betty ever come back to spinning?

If you didn’t already know, the book is available from Amazon.com both in paper and in a Kindle edition.

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:How to Knit a Love Song // 4 Comments »

Here’s what I read in February:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

8. Writing to Learn by William Zinsser

9. Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

10. Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
11. Scout’s Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
12. Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
13. Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
14. Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

15. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
16. Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott

17. Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip

18. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

19. Sock Club by Charlene Schurch & Bet Parrott

20. Nature’s Wrapture by Sheryl Thies

21. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from February // 2 Comments »

Here’s what I read in January–a remarkably short list for me, but I blame that on the “fiction diet” I put myself on, to encourage me to work on my OWN book…

1. Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure by Matthew Algeo (226 p.) Such an adorable book, really. After Harry Truman’s presidency was over, he and Bess took a road trip, driving cross-country. No Secret Service. No security. No entourage or motorcade. Just he and Bess and a bunch of road maps. How cool is that? Imagine how surprised the police officer who pulled him over for speeding was?

2. Abigail Adams by Woody Holton (412 p.) A new biography of Abigail Adams, and quite enjoyable, too.

3. Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont (135 p.) Great book on spinning.

4. Essential Guide to Color Knitting by Margaret Radcliffe (313 p.) Really great book on different ways to use color in your knitting. Seriously, one of the best references I think I’ve seen.

5. Reversible Knitting by Lynne Barr (192 p.) How can you beat a knitting book that not only has creative patterns, but 50 brand-new knitting stitches, all reversible?

6. Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert Bly (375 p.) Tips and rules on how to be a great copywriter

7. Script and Scribble by Kitty Burns Florey (186 p.) A book on handwriting, old styles, methods of writing, and how to improve your handwriting in general. Fun little book.

8. Dreadnaught by Robert Massie (908 p.) This monster of a history book has been on my shelf for years, and I finally got around to reading it, and am glad I did. A look at the events that led up to WWI (with an emphasis on the navy), focusing on each of the people involved. Love that.

9. Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (313 p.) Based on her blog, Orangette, a book of stories and recipes about her life.

10. Under Enemy Colors by S. Thomas Russell (491 p.) One of my favorite fantasy authors (Sean Russell) writing under a different name, this is a story about events on a British navy ship during the Napoleonic wars. It was enjoyable, but a little too heavy on sailing details for my taste. Good, but … I wish he’d go back to writing books about Farrland.

11. The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg (464 p.) A new book by a fantasy author I usually enjoy, but, I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the right mood, or what, but this one didn’t quite do it for me.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Reading List from January 2010 // Add Comment »

(And, no, I’m sorry, I really could not think of a better title.)

My Redhook is almost done–I’m working on the button band and collar–one, long piece of knitting. Right now, it looks rather bag-like, all gathered up around the front edge, as I go back and forth on the short rows that shape the collar. Incidentally, I used the flash when I took this picture, so you can see all the different shades of color in the yarn–really such pretty colors.

Going forward, I still haven’t picked a pattern for my Aran cardigan. I’ve got the yarn ready, though. See?

I finally got a drying rack so that I could hang my yarn to dry. Not only did I wash the yarn I reclaimed from my Celtic Dreams, but I finally got around to washing the rest of the cormo from Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm. (It was my share or Cormo from MVFF which doesn’t really exist anymore, of course, even though Susan now has her Juniper Moon Fiber Farm.)

The rack is interesting, actually. It’s designed to balance over a bathtub, but since the tub in my shower has one of those fiberglass, sculptured walls, it doesn’t have a ledge on the inside wall. So, I’m drying in my parents’ bathroom–particularly handy, in fact, since they don’t use their bathtub–they both use the shower stall instead. And, actually, I balanced it on the edge of the counter instead of the tub because it was easier to reach that way (grin).

The bad part, of course, is that the light in there is entirely artificial since there’s no window, so the light was pretty bad for pictures.

It was otherwise a pretty standard Sunday. Laundry. Baking. Cleaning. Writing. Reading. And about the reading? You want a shock? Including three knitting books that I’ve read for reviews, and the book I’m just finishing now? I’ve read six books this month. SIX! How is that possible?

Well, it’s possible because I’ve put myself on a fiction diet. I have a fiction addiction, you see, and NEED stories and characters and plots to keep my head happy. It’s one of the reasons I read so much. The problem right now, though, is that I’m trying to work on MY book, and if I scratch that fiction-itch by reading other people’s books, it’s too easy to avoid my own. So, for now, I’m only letting myself read non-fiction. And my book, of course, which is coming along.

Chappy’s been quiet today. He’s been reluctant to run up the stairs, and a little more clingy than usual. I’m not worried about him, exactly, but I hate when he’s not himself.

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Random Stuff // 3 Comments »

Here’s my December reading list:

1. Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones (341 p.) YA book … Howard comes home from school one day to find a goon in his kitchen, demanding his father write 2000 words for Archer, or he’s not leaving. But, who’s Archer? 2000 words of what?

2. Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia McKillip (291 p.) A beautiful little fantasy book. You have orphans adopted by the kingdom’s library, a new, very young, queen who seems to be able to do magic, a magic student sent to study to help his uncle’s ambitions but who starts to love Nepenthe, one of the library’s orphans, and a mysterious book, written in an alphabet that looks like thorns, that seems to tell the story of the most successful conquerer the world has ever known … but what does that have to do with Nepenthe, who only wants to see how the story ends.

3. Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (293 p.) An odd little YA book. It’s not told sequentially at all (on purpose) and is a big confusing, though ultimately that’s because the characters are confused themselves. It all centers around Hexwood Farm, where strange things seem to be happening … but they’re stranger than you think, and connected to an intergalactic dynasty. Throw in a splash of King Arthur-type heroics, all of which seem completely unnecessary except for getting out of the wood … or are they?

4. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (237 p.) One of the best inspirational writing books, this basically takes one of Lamott’s writing seminars and puts it in one volume for everyone else–what can you expect from your first drafts? What do you do when you get stuck? Light and readable and chock-full of good advice for writers.

5. String in the Harp by Nancy Bond (365 p.) I’ve loved this YA book for as long as I can remember. It tells two stories–a displaced American family trying to settle into a new, strange life in Wales after losing their mother in a tragic accident, and that of the ancient bard Taliesin. One one of his lonely walks, Peter found what appears to be Taliesin’s harp key, and from then on, it “sings” to him, telling him the story of its owner. It’s a wonderful book, and I always enjoyed reading about the family’s domestic struggles just as much as the parts about Peter figuring out what the key wants him to do. This one is an old, old friend.

6. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (177 p.) Speaking of old friends, imagine being a boy and running off to the Catskills woods to live inside a hollow tree with your specially-trained falcon named Frightful. Seems unlikely? Well, sure, but it’s also the idea behind this great back-to-nature adventure story. The author, years later, wrote a couple sequels to this, but they can’t compare to the original … which is particularly handy to read if you ever plan on trying to boil water in a leaf one day.

7. Island of the White Cow by Deborah Tall (234 p.) I’ve had this book since college and love pulling it off the shelf every few years. It’s a memoir of the author who, right after college, spends 5 years on an isolated Irish island with one of her professors. They embrace the traditional lifestyle in their house with no electricity or running water, but all the time witness the hardship and grief of the islanders, stuck with no apparent future. It’s a wonderful picture of both the islanders but also of the way we view the world.

8. Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett (498 p.) A fantasy book with a large dose of Jane Austen. There are so many features of Austen (and the Brontes) in here … the manners, the poor daughters trying to find husbands, the entailed estate … all that, but there is also something mysterious going on among those people who can do magic. I enjoyed this one, but didn’t love it. It was a good read, but it felt like something was lacking–though I can’t say exactly what. No regrets about reading it, though.

9. Matters at Mansfield by Carrie Bebris (286 p.) Speaking of Jane Austen .. imagine a series of mysteries where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are the sleuths who solve the murders. Yes, a bit of a long-shot, especially when you pull in the characters from other Austen novels–in this case, Henry Crawford, who elopes with Darcy’s cousin, Anne de Bourgh, just as her mother is arranging a marriage for her. Um, well, I would have enjoyed it more if one of the characters hadn’t apparently died TWICE, after having created an entirely false identity for himself years before and getting amnesia … a few too many narrative stretches all at once there, for me!

10. Foundation by Mercedes Lackey (418 p.) Well, I like Mercedes Lackey, and Valdemar is an appealing place, but this book felt like it was written on auto-pilot. Mags is a little too quick at picking up the Herald-trainee lifestyle after living his entire life in a mine, and that’s just a little too unbelievable that he would be asked by some of the most powerful people in the city to help them, when he’s only been a trainee for a couple months. And then, there is a big deal made out of the bodyguards to a foreign embassy, and were they trustworthy, did they have some ulterior motive? Yet, they disappear from the story with no conclusion, and there’s an abduction of one of Mags’ friends thrown in that seems completely out of place. I know that this is meant to be the first of another trilogy, but usually the plots are more tightly constructed than this. It wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t as good as some of the others.

11. Storm Warning by Mercedes Lackey (438 p.)
12. Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey
13. Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey (435 p.) One of the better Valdemar trilogies, with the effects of the millenia-ago mage storms reflecting back onto Valdemar, leaving them trying to figure out how to save the world–even if that means dealing with age-old enemies at the same time.

14. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky (352 p.) Not technically out until next week, I got this as a review copy. It’s the first Delinsky book I’ve read, but I enjoyed it. Susan is the high-school principal in a small New England town who learns that, not only is her 17-year old daughter pregnant, so are two of her best friends–all “good” girls but making Susan’s accomplishments as principal pale beside her supposed “bad-mother” skills. In some ways this was predictable, but it was a good story–and, the best part? (And apparently the reason I got the review copy?) Susan and her three best friends run a hand-dyed wool company and yarn and knitting run through the entire book. ALL the main characters knit to ease their stress, so, what’s not to like?

15. Morning Glory Farm by Tom Dunlap. Mostly a cookbook, but also partly a paean to a way of life. This book tells the story of the family who run Morning Glory Farm on Martha’s Vineyard. Filled with gorgeous photos and some tasty-sounding recipes (I haven’t had time to test any of them yet), it captures what a family farm really should be.

16. Keeping Days by Norma Johnston (238 p.)
17. Glory in the Flower by Norma Johnston The first two “Tish Sterling” books, which are sadly out of print, these are also books that I’ve loved since I was about 13. Tish is a sensitive teenager growing up in 1900 in the Bronx. She’s got an older sister who is a beauty and being courted by their father’s best friend, a down-to-earth grandfather, a high-tempered mother who tends to speak in half-sentences, and … well, she’s got a bunch of characters making her life interesting. I love these books and dearly wish they were in print again–if only so I could get copies of books 3 and 4, too!

18. Titanic’s Last Secrets by Brad Matsen (308 p.)  A really interesting analysis of what really caused the Titanic to sink. (You know, other than the iceberg.) This tells the divers that found something new, but also the people who built the ship in the first place. Really enjoyable read.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books I Read in December // Add Comment »

My favorite books from 2009. Remarkably light on the fiction side, I know, but rather than buying new books, most of the fiction I read this year were books I’d read already.

Fiction:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Anne Barrows

Once Upon a Day: A Novel by Lisa Tucker

The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash

Non-Fiction

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman

The Match by Mark Frost

The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan

Notes from the Underwire by Quinn Cummings

13 Ways at Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer

The Candy Bombers by Andrei Cherny

Titanic’s Last Secrets by Brad Matsen

I read fewer books this year than usual. In fact, except for 2000, this is the year with the smallest tally since I started keeping count in 1996. I blame the packing/moving.

How many? 226 books, of which 62 were new–the rest were re-reads.

And a recap of my readng lists:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:2009 Favorites // Add Comment »

Let’s pause for a brief moment of silence, for today, on the darkest day of the year, a light in Chappy’s world was snuffed out.

Well, not a light, exactly, so much as one of his cherished possessions.

His food dish.

Chappy has had his “Life is Good” food dish for four and a half years now. It was a birthday gift for his fourth birthday, which means he’s been polishing it clean for more than half his life now. They’ve had so many happy meals together. Over three thousand breakfasts and suppers, cooked specially for him by his Mom. Every now and again, he’d have lunch, or would find a treat hiding in the dish, waiting to be discovered.

They had good times together, Chappy and his food dish.

Sadly, a suicidal jar of applesauce leaping from the pantry this morning, took Chappy’s beloved dish with it. The tragedy was witnessed by his grandma who was shocked at the event. “It just jumped from the pantry. There was nothing I could do,” she said, the horror plain in her voice.

Chappy is mourning.

Chappy’s food dish is survived by its mate of four years, the water dish, whose eyes haven’t been dry since the accident. I suspect her faithfulness, though, as I hear she’s already shopping around for a new mate.

In lieu of flowers, Chappy asks that you put extra food in YOUR dog’s (or other pet’s) food dish tonight, in memorial of a food dish that made him so very, very happy. (Or, well, he says you could send him biscuits, but that’s what he ALWAYS says.)

Even the sunset made an extra effort to be glorious tonight.

Actually, that brings up an interesting question–someone on Ravelry pointed out that while, yes, today is the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, the actual earliest sunset of the year happened two weeks ago, but that when her physicist father started to explain why, her eyes glazed over. So now I’m curious–doesn’t anybody know why this is? I had actually noticed that the daylight was lasting longer these last few days, but hadn’t pieced that together.

On a happier note, look what I got in the mail today:

A copy of the new Abigail Adams biography by Woody Holton. I’m really very excited about this. I saw it at the bookstore last week, but since I AM trying to save money and not buy as many books, I put it back with a wistful, “Maybe when it’s in paperback.”

Imagine my surprise when a couple days later, I won a copy at the Wonders & Marvels blog. (Note the blog post by the book’s author, about Abigails foray into “junk bonds.”) Talk about great timing! Abigail Adams has always been a hero of mine, and it’s been a while since I read a biography about her, so I’m really looking forward to this. Thanks, Wonders & Marvels!

• Tags: Chappy, General, Reading • Permalink:Moment of Silence // 10 Comments »

Here’s what I read in November–a somewhat smaller list than usual but, you know, there was all packing, furniture moving, unpacking, rearranging, and all that other stuff.

1. The Alleluia Files by Sharon Shinn

2. Quatrain by Sharon Shinn–New book by one of my favorite authors, comprised of four stories, each set into one of four of her worlds from other books. Enjoyable enough, even if I prefer full-length fiction. (Like that’s a surprise, right?)

3. Beauty by Robin McKinley

4. Belgarath the Sorcerer by David Eddings

5. Polgara the Sorceress by David Eddings

6. Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner–Great book filled with wonderful advice, guidance, and wisdom for writers.

7. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

8. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

9. Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings

10. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings

11. Enchanters End Game by David Eddings

12. The Enchanted Sole by Janel Laidman–review here at Knitting Scholar.

13. Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger–review here at Knitting Scholar.

14. Sword and the Satchel by Elizabeth Boyer (Old and out-of-print, but still fun)

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:November 2009 Reads // 3 Comments »

Here are the books I read in October. (You’ll have to forgive the short descriptions because, well, we’re moving TOMORROW.):

1. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (405 p.) An Amish girl murders her newb0rn baby … or does she?

2. An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan (218 p.)
3. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan (238 p.)
4. These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan (335 p.)– Pride & Prejudice told from Mr. Darcy’s point of view.

5. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath (252 p.) Why do some ideas or marketing ploys stick, and some don’t? Fascinating look at why.

6. Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (375 p.) A couple years ago, the authors wrote this book live, without a net, publishing one chapter a week of the draft on the internet

7. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (324 p.) What if you needed a boy to fight a war to save the world? You turn it into a game, of course!

8. Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card (469 p.)– The Ender’s Game told from Bean’s point of view

9. Gateway by Sharon Shinn (280 p.) New YA book from one of my favorite authors. Except … I think this is the first book of hers I didn’t love. It wasn’t dreadful, but I thought it was predictable.

10. Knitter’s Book of Wool by Clara Parkes (207 p.) Clara’s excellent new book about wool, wool, wool. Review here at Knitting Scholar.

11. How I Learned to Cook edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Mehan (306 p.) It took me a while to get around to reading this, but it was fun–first-person accounts by a whole slew of professional chefs about how they got into the cooking business.

12. Joust by Mercedes Lackey (442 p.)
13. Alta by Mercedes Lackey
14. Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey
15. Aerie by Mercedes Lackey–a series of fantasy books in an Egypt-like world with dragons, this tells Kiron’s story, from becoming a “dragon boy” to when he escapes serfdom back to his own country. The first one is my favorite, the next two are good and round out the story nicely. The fourth? Kind of a waste of time.

16. Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (468 p.) Naturally, Anne McCaffrey’s dragon-rider stories are my favorites, this is the last of the “real” ones, written mostly by her, with her familiar characters. Even if it’s not the best, it’s good to see Lessa, F’lar, Jaxom, F’lessan and the rest again.

17. Jovah’s Angel by Sharon Shinn (389 p.) The second of the “core” Samaria trilogy, telling Alleluia’s story, when suddenly, Jovah no longer hears the angels and calamitous weather threatens everyone.

18. Swing, Swagger & Drape by Jane Slicer-Smith. Review here at Knitting Scholar.

19. Getting Things Done by David Allen (259 p.) Well! I wish I’d found this one about three months ago. (Or six … or even a couple years ago.) What a great system for organizing your time … it’s just … right now, with the current house-moving chaos, it’s impossible to put any of this into effect! It’s great though–definitely recommended.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books Read in October 2009 // 2 Comments »

I promised you pictures of the yarn I bought yesterday.

Three skeins of “Calypso” yarn in the “Saturn” color by Creatively Dyed Yarns. (I blame Kim for this because she showed me the skeins in her bag and made me want some of my own. I bought more than one skein because I wanted to do something other than socks … so, this will either grow into a lace shawl of some kind, or (if I can find a suitable pattern) a lightweight sweater, which I think I would simply adore.

Also three skeins of this yarn from the Spinning Mill in Melville, New York (who does not appear to have a website I could find). I had tried to buy some of their yarn last year, but she didn’t take credit cards. (No website, no credit cards, how quaint!) I made a point of looking for her yesterday and got this beautiful stuff. (To give you an idea how nice? Everyone who saw it asked if it was Briar Rose yarn.) Unfortunately, it’s  not the color I wanted last year–another woman beat me to it by about 15 seconds, darn it. That shade was close to this, but with more green … but, still, this is lovely.

Now, I told you the other day about the man from the used bookstore, who took away 6 boxes of the books I laboriously weeded out from my library? But that there were still a lot more left?

Since Dad, Mike, and Tyler moved the desk out of Mom’s office yesterday–it’s now standing on its side in the living room, trying to trick us into walking into it face first as we round the corner from the stairs–that opened up that floorspace. So, to get a better idea of what books I would still HAVE, I moved all the ‘get rid of’ books to the floor.

What? Doesn’t look like that big a pile? How about some different perspective?

That entire pile is books. There are (I think) 9 paper boxes full of them (that’s the smaller-size paper boxes, that hold 5 reams of paper), and then each of those boxes is piled with books up to the window sills.

No, I didn’t count them, but there are a LOT of them! And now I need to figure out what to do with them … preferably something that does not involve my having to pack and carry them somewhere (since the point of weeding them out in the first place was to avoid moving with them so we wouldn’t have to go to the effort of carrying them ourselves).

How many books did I weed out?

I’m not actually sure, but you can see that these cases–which had been overflowing on every shelf–now have huge swaths of empty space AND that includes books that I took out of my bedroom closet.

The two shelves on the other side of the table are even more dramatic–the case on the right which is currently sporting some horizontally-stacked books–is now my entire general fiction (trade and paperback size) collection. I emptied out the shelves from the left case so that, when the movers come to pack up the books a few days before we move, I’ll know that all the books on the right are fiction. (The books on the left are mostly writing books and essays, and will go upstairs.)

That’s actually the other thing I have to figure out now … what goes WHERE. Not just furniture and such, but which/how many bookcases will I have upstairs in my room, and which (the rest of them) will be downstairs? I know that, upstairs, bare minimum, I want writing references, knitting/craft books, and my photo albums. Cookbooks will be in the living room, right next to the kitchen. Everything else will be downstairs. But … if possible, I want a bookcase next to my bed, like I have now, with some of my favorites on it–I’m just not sure how that space will work.

But, also, we need to figure out the arrangement for the bookcases downstairs–we’ve got a long wall we can put them on, but between Mom and me, we’ve got something like nine short bookcases and four tall ones (plus two wooden shelving units) … and some melamine cubbies, too. Since we’re consolidating and we don’t have to worry about not blocking windows, it would be easier to get rid of some of the short ones and substitute more of the tall ones … except, then we’d have to BUY more tall ones, and that’s not really an option. So, I’m mentally running floorplans in my head to figure out how things could look or will look or should look, while still finding room for all those short bookcases which are (mentally) eating up wall space at a frightening rate. (It helps, though, that they’re all white; it does not help that they’re different heights.)

Anyway, this has been my day–moving books from here to there, trying to arrange things so that, when packed, I can find stuff later.

The joy of trying to bring my database of books up to date at the end of this–of somehow eliminating all the books I’ve gotten rid of while keeping the ones I still have in an excel sheet that’s over 3000 lines long is going to be … fun. Well, no, actually, I’m shaking in my boots at the thought of the amount of work that’s going to be! But, well, that’s not something I need to worry about for months, right?

Want another look at the discard pile? I told Mom that I’m trying to build her a new desk to replace the one they moved out of the room yesterday.

And, honestly, I don’t know what we’re going to do with all of these …

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Wait, How Many? // 10 Comments »

Here’s what I read in September:

1. Mystic & Rider by Sharon Shinn (440 p)
2. Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn (423 p.)
3. Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn (435 p.)
4. Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn (420 p.)
5. Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn (403 p.)

6. Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (227 p.)
7. Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (248 p.)

8. Fair Isle Knitting by Alice Starmore (199 p.)

9. Seven Towers by Patricia Wrede (264 p.)

10. Daughter of Witches by Patricia Wrede (215 p.)

11. Word Play by Peter Farb (367 p.)

12. Passage by Connie Willis (780 p.)

13. Safe-Keeper’s Secret by Sharon Shinn (222 p.)
14. Truth-Teller’s Tale by Sharon Shinn (276 p.)
15. Dream-Maker’s Magic by Sharon Shinn (261 p.)

16. How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher (200 p.)

17. Princess of Flames by Ru Emerson (327 p.)

18. Gemini by Dorothy Dunnett (672 p.)

19. Fifty Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas (272 p.)

20. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

21. Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books Read in September 2009 // 1 Comment »

Here’s what I read in August:

1. MERLIN by Stephen Lawhead (447 p.) Second in his King Arthur trilogy, telling the story of Taliesin’s son and how he came to be Arthur’s mentor

2. PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Justin (256 p.) A childhood classic, and such a fun, creative one–lots of wordplay and imaginative, outside-the-box thinking. (Subtraction stew!) Always enjoyable, and a long time since I visited.

3. ARTHUR by Stephen Lawhead (443 p.) Third in the King Arthur trilogy and about, well, King Arthur. It’s as good as the first two, except the story is split between three narrators and that irks me and throws me off–just as you get attached to one narrator, they’re gone…

4. PILOT’S CHOICE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (598 p.) Two novels in one volume, from the team’s Liaden universe, telling the story of Er Thom and Anne Davis’s wooing (and their son Shan), and Da’av and Aelliana’s meeting (parents of Val Con). Love stories with a science-fiction backdrop, purely wonderful story telling.

5. KNITTED COMFORT FOR THE SOLE by Lena Maikon (127 p.) A collection of sock and slipper patterns, review here at Knitting Scholar.

6. LIADEN COMPANION VOLUME 1 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (303 p.) A collection of short stories in the Liaden universe–as much as I am not a fan of short stories compared to full-length novels, these, because they’re liaden, are wonderful.

7. LIADEN COMPANION VOLUME 2 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (303 p.) Second collection, not quite as strong as the first, but still good.

8. KNITTED GIFTS by Ann Budd (143 p.) A collection of knitting patterns for gift-giving, and they are wholly delightful! Review here at Knitting Scholar.

9. BALANCE OF TRADE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (451 p.) A stand-alone Liaden book, telling the story of Jethri as he becomes an apprentice trader to a Liaden master. I love reading his story, and so hope the authors give him a sequel one of these days.

10. DESIGN IT, KNIT IT by Debbie Bliss (146 p.) A look into the mind of a knitting designer, and why/how she makes some of the choices she does–along, of course, with some of the patterns. (Review here at Knitting Scholar.)

11. CRYSTAL SOLDIER by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (321 p.) A pre-Liaden history, of how Jela (with his tree) and Cantra meet, and the kind of danger they and the universe are facing … all of which…

12. CRYSTAL DRAGON by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (359 p.) … will ultimately lead to the story of the Great Migration to the Liaden universe.

13. 13 WAYS AT LOOKING AT THE NOVEL by Jane Smiley (570 p.) A thorough analysis of what novels try to do, and some of the factors that make them successful (or not). As well as a brief synopsis of the 100 Great Books she read to be able to make these comparisons. Excellent.

14. AGENT OF CHANGE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The story of Val Con and Miri’s first meeting–a Liaden book, of course, and since it’s the first one, it’s the shakiest in terms of tone, but not the least bit shaky in terms of the story being told.

15. CARPE DIEM by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Val Con and Miri get stranded in a backwater world but make the best of it, because, well, they needed a vacation anyway. Totally enjoyable, one of my favorites.

16. PLAN B by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (330 p.) As the Liaden Department of the Interior moves directly against clan Korval, the family puts Plan B into effect, and ends up on Lytaxin, under attack from the Yxstrang.

17. I DARE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (467 p.) The ultimate (so far) Liaden book, where Korval brings the fight back to Liad and back to the Department … it’s a grand conclusion of the story, and then, right at the end, this enticing tease that makes you want more (as if you didn’t already). “It’s kind of complicated.” Man, I love these books.

18. TWO CHEERS FOR DEMOCRACY by E.M. Forster (363 p.) A series of essays, mostly written around WWII, about politics, writing, art, and the things that make democracy worth while. Excellent. I haven’t read these in years, but they’re still great.

19. CAPRICE & RONDO by Dorothy Dunnett (539 p.) Book 7 in the House of Niccolo series that I’ve been slowly working through over the last few months (instead of galloping through like usual). The penultimate book, where Nicholas finally works through his troubles and is allowed back home.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from August 2009 // Add Comment »

Here are the books I read in July:

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (318 p) The first book of hers I ever read, about terrorists hijacking a dinner party and ending up trapped with their hostages for weeks, while little by little, they all start to mingle… Fabulous writing, abruptly sad ending.

2. Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley (472 p.) The bad part of this book? All the spinning references drive me nuts because I’m not sure the author really understood what a spindle WAS, so her descriptions of the spindle ends doesn’t really make sense. But, otherwise? Lovely retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story.

3. Chalice by Robin McKinley (263 p.) Unique little book, with Mirasol, a wood-keeper, trying to find her way as her country’s new “Chalice”–a position both ornamental and deeply-rooted–during a time of crisis. It’s a YA fantasy and in a totally new world.

4. Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (214 p.)
5. Court Duel by Sherwood Smith (245 p.) A duo of YA fantasy that is mildly diverting at best. I kept wanting to shake the main character for being so darn dense and stupid, not to making massive mistakes just because she insisted on being dense and stupid. Grr.

6. Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn (355 p.) Also a fantasy, about Corie, who spends each summer at the castle with her half-sister, and the rest of the year studying to be an herbwoman with her Grandmother. This wasn’t my favorite SS book the first time I read it, but I find it classically charming–it’s got all the classic elements of a good fantasy book–and it keeps pulling me back.

7. Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip (278 p.) Modern day fantasy with one of those alternate “faerie” worlds shouldering up to ours, when the main character returns for her grandfather’s funeral. McKillip is always good, but the whole “faerie” kind of thing leaves me bored–it’s a rare, rare book about that alternate world that can interest me. (And the little bit that the Castle Auburn book touches on it is about as far as I care to go.)

8. Sword of Orion by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (276 p.) Sci-fi book by one of my favorite writing teams that has promise, except that it has a cliff-hanger ending and it doesn’t look like they’ll ever write the second book, so …

9. Nimisha’s Ship by Anne McCaffrey (355 p.) One of the rare misses for McCaffrey. Nimisha–a society girl by upbringing–designs spaceships instead, until one day, on a test run, her ship gets caught in a wormhole. Um, interesting moments, but not really my favorite. One reading every 10-15 years is plenty.

10. Notes from the Underwire by Quinn Cummings (254 p.) I’ve already told you about this one, and I even interviewed Quinn over at my writing blog. What are you waiting for? Go read this funny book already!

11. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (336 p.) I read this just to get it off my TBR pile and (yawn), now I understand why it remained unread for so long. (See note above about not liking alternate-world Fairy Tales.)

12. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (316 p.) Ditto about the TBR pile, but a yawner for an entirely different reason. By page 100 I wanted to slap every single person in the book, including the narrator, and so I gave up on the rest of it.

13. Bucking the Sun by Ivan Doig (409 p.) One of those family epics, taking place in the 1930s on one of the New Deal’s dam-building projects. Doig is a great writer and this was a good book, but still, family-epics that stretch over years aren’t usually my favorites (Dorothy Dunnett notwithstanding), and the “frame” of the story, of most of it being told in a flashback after two naked bodies were found in a submerged truck, frustrated me. I don’t mind the flashback conceit, but hiding the identity of the two people seemed excessive–like he was trying to keep up the tension about “who was it?” through the entire book, but the flashback chapters were so long (like, 90% of the book), they kept pulling attention away from that, so why not just say who the people were up front?

14. Eventide by Kent Haruf (306 p.) The main reason this stayed unread for so long? The fact that he leaves out all the quotation marks around his dialogue drives me nuts. But, still, Plainsong was so charming … I didn’t much like the sequel, though. Too much abuse, too much violence, too much sadness. Not what I needed this month.

15. What If 2 by Robert Cowley (427 p.) One of my favorite kinds of history book–it tells what really happened, but then asks, but what if, and briefly explores why that one person, or that one telegram affected millions of lives… Each chapter is written by a different historian, and some were better or more entertaining than others, but the book as a whole was intriguing.

16. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones (375 p.) What if there were magicians in the world, trying to keep things moving in the right direction? And what if one were to die from old age, leaving his young protoge to pick a successor? And what if that happens just as the empire a couple worlds over fell apart and he had to find its missing heir at the same time? And what if it all got resolved at a fantasy-lover’s convention? Yep. Fun!

17. Chuck Comic by Peter Johnson et al. Graphic novel/comic book based on the TV show Chuck–of course!

18. Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones (468 p.) What if there were an alternate universe where there was magic and the king of England travelled all the time and was under attack by a false Merlin (a high governmental post)? And what if Nick Mallory from Deep Secret got involved?

19. Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (345 p.) Now, imagine another universe alongside ours where magic is real, as are griffins. Now imagine (it shouldn’t be hard) that some entrepreneur from our world took over that entire world and turned it into basically an entertainment park, complete with Tours (guided by real wizards)? Then suppose that that world is tired of being treated as if it weren’t real and wanted to figure out a way out of its contract. Fun and mayhem ensue. Delightful book.

20. Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (267 p) Sequel to Dark Lord, taking place 8 years later when Derk’s griffin daughter Elda heads off to University to become a wizard in her own right. Also fun and entertaining.

21. To Lie with Lions by Dorothy Dunnett (626 p.) Book 6 in the House of Niccolo Series, where Nicholas finally finds his son and escalates his competition with Gelis into a full-blown war. (And, can I tell you how much I hate how Gelis stomps on just about every good and wonderful moment in his life? No wonder he fights back so viciously.)

22. Silence & Shadows by James Long (407 p.) An ex-rock star, trying to forget his own past, gets named as director at an archaoeological dig, where they make a truly amazing find.

23. Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead (486 p.) First book in Lawhead’s King Arthur series, starting with the story of Charis, who lives in Atlantis before it disappears, and Taliesin, the greatest bard.

24. Socks from the Toe-Up by Wendy Johnson (Reviewed here.)

25. Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas (Reviewed here)

26. Classic Knits by Marianne Isager (Reviewed here)

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books Read in July 2009 // 4 Comments »

Remember the other day when I talked about Quinn Cumming’s new book, Notes from the Underwire?

Well, I’m here to tell you that (1) this book was wonderful. I enjoyed it more than any other new book in ages. I was laughing so hard, I had to cover my mouth to avoid waking up the family.

But, also, (2) She’s doing a blog tour and came  by my Punctuality Rules writing blog today.

Come over and see!

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Notes on Notes // 1 Comment »

I haven’t done a Booking Through Thursday post in ages, so …

An idea I got from The Toddled Dredge (via K for Kat). Here’s what she said:

“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’ “

This is particularly timely for me, since you know that I’m in the process of winnowing out at least a third, if not half, of my 3,053-volume library, and I can tell you that the long-term residents on this list of Unread Books will definitely be going bye-bye. It’s no reflection on them, I’m sure, just … I’ve obviously lost interest.

So, here they are, the poor 28:

1. Angels & Demons, Dan Brown (It’s an old copy, I’m not really sure how it got into my library in the first place)
2. Flesh and Spirit, Carol Berg (Definitely a keeper, her books are great. I’m just waiting for the rest of the series.)
3. Dark Mirror, Juliet Marillier (Ditto.)
4. Stardust, Neil Gaiman (Not sure about this one)
5. Windhaven, George RR Martin and L Tuttle (Lost what little interest I had)
6. Guinevere: Queen of the Summer Country, Rosalind Miles (Ditto)
7. Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope (Bought 2 of her books at one time and hated the other one)
8. Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (I tried but couldn’t get into it, which really disappointed me.)
9. Household Gods, Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove (Lost interest–it’s time travel, which I love, but seems pretty depressing.)
10. Fresco, Sherri S Tepper (Sadly, Tepper is one of those authors I admire and feel I should love, so I keep buying her books and then, um…)
11. Singer from the Sea, Sherri S Tepper (Ditto)
12. Beyond Bullet Points, Cliff Atkinson (One of these days I’ll read this and my nonexistant business presentations will sing.)
13. Western Canon, Harold Bloom (This was a Christmas gift, and I tried, but honestly, I was bored by the end of the prologue.)
14. John Adams: Party of One, James Grant (Really not sure why this one isn’t read yet. I love John Adams and it seems like a perfectly good bio … maybe it’s just that I’m still full from David McCullough’s excellent book?)
15. Bookseller’s War, Heywood and Anne Hill (Honestly, can’t even remember why I bought this one)
16. Postwar, Tony Judt (A good history book waiting for the correct time)
17. Dreadnaught, Robert K Massie (Ditto–though this one is a lot more “warlike” than I usually enjoy. I can only handle so many details about military strategy at a time.)
18. Asthma-free Naturally, Patrick McKeown (No idea why this one is still unread–what am I waiting for?)
19. Battle Cry of Freedom, James M McPherson (Same as the last history book–it’s excellent by all accounts, I just haven’t summoned up the moral courage to tackle it yet)
20. How I Learned to Cook, Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan (I think I’m still having trouble getting past the typo on the cover.)
21. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (No, it’s true, I’ve never read this, but feel I should–pity it sounds so depressing. I’m really not a dark-and-moody romance kind of girl.)
22. Red Moon and Black Mountain, Joy Chant (A fantasy book I’m not certain why I bought in the first place)
23. Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow (Purchased because I adore the musical, but I’m guessing they don’t burst into rousing choruses in the book, right?)
24. Bucking the Sun, Ivan Doig (I’ve only read one other book of his and adored it, so this one is waiting for just the right day)
25. Eventide, Kent Haruf (I don’t know why I’m waiting on this one, except the fact that there are no capital letters and quote marks for the dialogue keeps putting me off)
26. Infamous Army, Georgette Heyer (Um…)
27. Trivium, Sister Miriam Joseph (A little too school-textbook-y, but still sounds interesting.)
28. 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, Jane Smiley (Yes, I really do plan on reading this one day!)

Interesting variety, huh? And, honestly, every other book in my library is one I’ve read or at least read part of, for the ones that I hated and couldn’t finish. You know, not counting the dictionaries because I will NOT try to make you believe I’ve read every single word in the dictionaries. Or in every knitting pattern, either, but you know what I mean!

And, um, so what if it’s not Thursday yet. It’s my blog, I can post when I want to (grin). Besides, since I took Monday and Tuesday off from work and had a short week last week, I’m not really sure WHAT day it is. But I DO know that I worked hard today and am tired! So, take what you can get and be grateful… (bigger grin)

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Unread // 23 Comments »

It’s a serious thing, turning 8.

In sharp contrast to the frivolity of the weekend, Chappy spent the day in quiet contemplation of the responsibilities an eight year old must face….

Okay, maybe he wasn’t THAT serious, but he has been kind of quiet today. I had the day off from work, you’ll remember, but he’s spent most of it napping. Except for the walk, of course. And that period when the thunderstorm with the heavy rain went through, when he huddled in the corner of the dining room until it was over. I don’t know … maybe he’s not enjoying this “getting older” thing. Or maybe he’s just stiff from all that romping!

Check out the loving post his Grandma wrote today.

And, go wish Amy a happy birthday, too!

I got two things in the mail today, though, which is always a plus.

Three Rowan magazines (#25, 27, 29)–which count as one item–which I won from Claudia’s MS Ride contest extravaganza. Woohoo! I never expect to win anything, so this was a special treat, even if I AM in the middle of trying to get rid of books and magazines. (Irony, anyone?)

The other was my copy of “Notes from the Underwire” by Quinn Cummings, of the QC Report (a hilarious blog you really should be reading). I will further attest that–even though I’m only on page 55–this book is so darn funny, my parents were complaining that I was laughing too loudly. By all means, you must check this out! Wondering why? (If my opinion isn’t good enough?) Check out the first stop on her Blog Tour and note the witty, funny answers and then try to tell me you’re  not curious.

And, darn it, now I’m in the mood to watch Goodbye Girl again.

Speaking of old movies, Mom and I watched 1972’s What’s Up Doc the other night, with a very young and good looking Ryan O’Neal and a very young, good looking Barbara Streisand. With the exception of poor Madeline Kahn’s hair and wardrobe, it stood up remarkably well. SUCH a funny movie, with the obligatory car chase up and down the hills of San Francisco.

Did you hear the Knitting Song? Sweet and folksy.

Okay–have a good night, everyone!

• Tags: Chappy, General, Reading • Permalink:Eight. // 13 Comments »

I took the day off from work today but did NOT spend it lounging around on the couch with Chappy (as much as he wanted to). No, I spent a good portion of it sorting through books and trying to figure out which ones I’m willing to get rid of.

This is NOT an easy process. And I’ve only just begun. I sorted through the books in my bedroom closet, and through the cookbooks, but have yet to touch the rest … part of the problem? The sheer logistics of where on earth do I PUT all the books I’m willing to part with until they’re actually out of the house?? The table in the office is, as you can see, already pretty full, and I’ve only barely begun. We’re talking 1,000 or more books, you know?

Once I sort a little further, I WILL be offering some of these to you folks, because I’d like to see them go to friends.

One thing I must do, though, before parting with any knitting or spinning books? I absolutely MUST write reviews for them first for Knitting Scholar. Because, of course, anything else would be just … short-sighted.

I’m enjoying looking at all the books, though, and I find some of the categories to be interesting. Like, I have quite a few books about homes, architecture, and what makes a HOME. Not to mention the importance of having space of your own. I have books on decorating, even though I’ve never had a home to decorate. Books on manners. Books on etiquette. Books on hair styles and makeup. Books on fashion, even though I’m not remotely a “fashionista.”  Not to mention knitting, spinning, sewing, embroidery, quilting, weaving, beading, dyeing, and bobbin lace.

And that’s JUST from the closet in my bedroom.

(And, um, we won’t discuss how I knocked over my sewing basket and spilled all the thread and straight pins on the floor, right? But if we WERE discussing it, I’d be sure to tell you how very, very good Chappy was in not coming near the pile to check out the thread while I scooped up pins. Would you believe that I have spools of thread that date back to my grandmother? The one who died when I was 9?)

I actually got some spinning done yesterday, by the way. (One of the advantages to pot roast and baked potatoes is that all the hard part is done way before the guests arrive, so there’s plenty of time to sit and relax.) I finished the second bobbin of Jessica’s “Thinking about Fall” that I bought last autumn–the braid of roving that served Mom as a scarf on a chilly, NJ day.

I techically started to ply it last night but that pretty much means I dug out the next bobbin, threaded the leader, and spun a few yards to get it started, and then more or less stopped. Because, well, I’m a little tired!

One other thing I found in the closet? However many years ago, I had one of those 365-page calendars of New Yorker cartoons and I kept a stack of my favorites. Mom and I went through them today and chuckled and chortled, and well, here are four of my favorites (which, yes, belong to New Yorker magazine). I love the Mrs. Coffee one, and Mom almost fell over laughing at the one with the cow bell…

1. Top Left, 2. Top Right, 3. Bottom Left, 4. Bottom Right

Look! New baby lambs–Dakota and Delaware!

And, you know, of course, that tomorrow’s Chappy’s actual birthday, right??

• Tags: Reading • Permalink:Weeding // 7 Comments »

Here’s what I read in June:

1. The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde (374 p.)
2. Lost in a Good Book (A Thursday Next Novel) by Jasper Fforde (399 p.)
3. The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next Series) by Jasper Fforde (360 p.)
4. Something Rotten (Thursday Next Novels) by Jasper Fforde (393 p.)–Yes, well it’s FUN reading all of the Thursday Next books, one right after the other. Granted, I think the first one is still the funniest and best, but the second is nearly as good. The third is the weakest, in my opinion, but the fourth is a good comeback. And, regardless, they are ALL wacky, creative, and totally unlike anything else that’s out there.

5. The Unicorn Hunt: The Fifth Book of the House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett (656 p.) The 5th Nicholas book, and a heart-breaker, as Nicholas tries to track down Gelis and find out whether her child is really his …

6. Archangel (Samaria, Book 1) by Sharon Shinn (390 p.) One of my long-time favorite books, part sci-fi, part romance, and purely wonderful.

7. The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik (440 p.) I like so many of Landvik’s books, but this is the one I go back to most often. Something about the Hollywood fairytale of Fenny being discovered and making a movie, alongside a delightful cast of characters … and I still want to know what’s in that Cup O’Delight!

8. A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan (301 p.) A charming book about the author building his own “hut” to use as an office when his son is born. Bits and tidbits about architecture and construction, and wholly entertaining. I don’t know what it is about this little mini-niche-genre, but I just love reading books like this.

9. Highland Laddie Gone by Sharon McCrumb (209 p.)
10. Paying the Piper by Sharon McCrumb (179 p.)
11. Windsor Knot by Sharon McCrumb (217 p.)–Light weight little mysteries with Elizabth MacPherson getting mixed up with murder investigations. The Highland Laddie book is a hoot, with the murder taking place at a Scottish Games weekend. (Love when they try to replace the ducks used in the herding competition with wild ducks. And the scene where the sheriff–who happens to be a Civil War reenactor–rides over the hill in his 1860s uniform to confront a bunch of scots in kilts is delightful.) I love the Windsor Knot, too, which has Elizabeth throwing together a wedding at the last minute to make herself eligible to go to the Queen’s garden party … and this was my first introduction to a “travelling gnome.” I’ve still never forgiven the author for killing off Cameron in later books.

12. Patriot Games by Tom Clancy (540 p.)
13. The Cardinal of the Kremlin by Tom Clancy (547 p.)
14. Clear and Present Danger (Jack Ryan) by Tom Clancy (688 p.)
15. The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy (914 p.)
16. Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy (990 p.)
17. Executive Orders by Tom Clancy–Yes, well, everybody needs a Jack Ryan fix once in a while, right? And yes, these ARE huge books and I read a lot of them, though I’ll confess to you that I mostly skim over the military battles–all that techno-babble military jargon pretty much goes over my head anyway. I stick to the spy stuff and the actual ’story’ parts. Really, for such door-stoppers, these are pretty quick reads, you know!

18. Spin Control by Amy King (119 p.) Another excellent, intermidiate book about spinning. (Review here.)

19. Knit it Together by Suzyn Jackson (144 p.) A look at social knitting in America–past and present. (Review here.)

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from June // 5 Comments »

Some random links to keep you all happy while I finish up section B on my shawl–which should be tonight!

One of the most adorable mother/daughter pictures I think I’ve ever seen. (Taken by the photographer Dad, too, to make it a full-on family effort.) Honestly, this picture is pure perfection.

This explains a lot about why customers always show up in groups.

Did you know that Bon Jovi recorded a song to help support the Iranian election protestors? Stand By Me, sung with Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian … the point of this song is to show support and to spread the word, so download it, link to it, spread it as far as you can!

Aren’t these the niftiest collection of keyboards you’ve ever seen? I particularly like the one from old, round typewriter keys.

My good, shepherdess friend Susan was written up in Cape Cod Life magazine–a magazine that we just happen to have floating around the office, so I was able to see it in person.

And then. One other thing. It kind of breaks my heart, but I need to get rid of, well, a lot of my books. Like, I’m shooting for half (though I don’t know if that’s actually possible). I’m VERY attached to my library. I’ve shown you pictures, remember?

At most recent count, I have 3,052 books–although there are a handful I haven’t logged into my database yet. But still … three thousand books. There are books I can’t bear to part with, books I love, but … there are still some I really don’t need to have any more. And there are some I can live without (though I’m convinced I’m going to need every single one of them just days after they leave my possession).

Among these books are some knitting books (sniff), some cookbooks, some magazines … Have I told you that I have just about every Vogue Knitting going back to something like 1988? Not to mention that I’ve got a wide variety of books because I have a wide variety of interests. I was thinking about assembling some of these dearly loved books into lots and offering them for sale for something like $30-$50 a shot, here on the blog. Is this something you folks would be interested in? You’d promise to give them good homes, right? Or should I just call a local used bookstore and ask what he’d offer me for the lot? (sniffle)

(And, yes, this prospect makes me very, very sad. I absolutely hate giving up books…)

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Random // 9 Comments »

Here are the books I read in May. (And, yes, I DID go on a mystery kick. Dick Francis is like comfort-reading.)

1. The Shadow Matrix by Marion Zimmer Bradley (556 p.) Second book telling the story of Marguerida Alton. Enjoyable.

2. Traitor’s Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley (534 p.) Takes place something like 15 years later, when Marguerida and Mikhail have three children and uncover a plot to kill all the heads of the domains, as the terran empire crumbles. Not the best Darkover book, but not the worst.

3. The Alton Gift by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross (525 p.) This may possibly be the worst Darkover book I’ve ever read–and I’ve read all of them! I had read bad reviews of this book, talking about how it headed in directions that MZB probably never imagined, but shrugged and figured I’d read it anyway, since Deborah Ross had been doing such a good job … well, it was dreadful. I shouldn’t have wasted my time.

4. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (493 p.) Oh, such a favorite book–funny, clever, creative. Did I mention funny? And with time travel, too. Love.

5. Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz (287 p.) I won a copy of this book a month or so ago and found it interesting–now, sure, some of the advice is about how to find time to write when you’re raising children, and that doesn’t really apply for me, but the book itself was good and informative and seems really useful.

6. Feminine Knits: 22 Timeless Designs by Lene Holme Samsoe (126 p.) Knitting book of pretty, feminine knitwear.

7. Scales of Gold: The Fourth Book of The House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett (519 p.) Book four, and a heartwrenching ending. Nicholas, in an attempt to save his bank, heads an expedition into the heart of Africa, accompanied by his friend Loppe, his quasi-cousin Diniz, his mother’s companion Bel, and Gelis–the sister of poor dead Katelina, who despises Nicholas. It’s a book of growth, peace, and meaning, set amongst eternal struggle for wealth and survival, and it’s ending is a twisting gut-stab that simply just changes everything. Fantastic.

8. Rat Race by Dick Francis (216 p.) Mystery, with the main character a pilot flying for a struggling air-taxi service.

9. High Stakes by Dick Francis (223 p.) A race horse-owning inventor discovers he’s been being cheated by his trainer and sets out to find out why.

10. Bonecrack by Dick Francis (222 p.) A trainer is compelled to hire a jockey for his stable.

11. Banker by Dick Francis (303 p.) An investment banker funds the purchase of a stallion for a breeder and runs into problems not even a faith healer can fix.

12. In the Frame by Dick Francis (206 p.) An artist’s cousin’s wife is murdered and he heads to Australia to find out why

13. Knockdown by Dick Francis (205 p.) Bloodstock agent comes up against a ring of thieves cheating owners and who threaten him to get out of their way, or else.

14. Wild Horses by Dick Francis (319 p.) A film maker gets caught up in a decades-old mystery while making a movie.

15. Break In by Dick Francis (317 p.) A generations-old feud flares up when a newspaper makes an unprovoked attack against a jockey’s sister and her husband.

16. Bolt by Dick Francis (318 p.) An owner’s husband is threatened by a business associate, and the jockey must help figure out a way to stop him.

17. Knitting In the Sun: 32 Projects for Warm Weather by Kristi Porter (181 p.) A nice book of knitting patterns for warm weather. Review here.

18. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin (411 p.) Really interesting book about the US Supreme Court that (also interesting) I was reading when current Justice Souter announced his retirement–reading about recent confirmation hearings for the other Justices just made the current news that much more fascinating!

19. Mother-Daughter Knits by Sally Melville and Caddy Melville Ledbetter (160 p.) Knitting patterns written by a mother and daughter (not patterns for cute, matchy-matchy outfits). Love. (Full review here.)

20. Decider by Dick Francis (318 p.) Suppose you’d inherited 8 shares in a racecourse that’s being fought over by a family that hates you?

21. Hot Money by Dick Francis (324 p.) A tycoon is being threatened, so he asks his jockey son to help protect him.

22. To the Hilt by Dick Francis (322 p.) Alexander is an artist living on his own in the hills of Scotland until he’s attacked out of the blue by 4 thugs, just as his father-in-law suffers a heart attack.

23. The Edge by Dick Francis (324 p.) Suppose you were employed by the Jockey Club to keep an unobtrusive eye on trouble-makers, and were sent to Canada to protect a “Race Train” that also has a murder mystery?

24. Longshot by Dick Francis (320 p.) A writer signs up to write a trainer’s biography and ends up embroiled in a murder mystery.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from May 2009 // 4 Comments »

I just realized that it’s been over a week since I showed any Chappy pictures–that’s shameful, really. (Especially since those were even just a cameo appearance in my Katy-tribute.)

The problem, really, is that we haven’t been doing that many interesting things together–just the usual, hanging out kinds of things. A walk around the block each day (which is usually followed by a lot of sneezing because the allergens seem unusually bad this year). But otherwise, he naps or plays with a toy while I sit at the computer or knit or read or whatever it is I’m doing. We’re together, but not doing anything particularly exciting.

Of course, it doesn’t help that he does most of his napping with his face pointed away from me. You know, so I can’t sneak in any extra pictures that way.

He’s happy now, though, because his family is home where they belong. My niece graduated from community college tonight and that’s where the proud grandparents were (as they should have been). I didn’t go, but we’ll be seeing everyone on Sunday for the annual birthday celebration, and I’ll pass on my congratulations in person then. In the meantime, though, congratulations, Tiffany!

She’ll be heading off to Montclair State in the fall for her Junior year, and will be rooming with a friend she made in her art classes. (A girl who, coincidentally, is the granddaughter of my 6th grade teacher. What are the odds?)

Oh, and I have been working on my new shawl, but wow, it’s going slowly! First, it started with over 500 stitches, so the rows are huge, and second, it takes a little time to get the “flow” going, to get the pattern established. The first few rows of lace always feel like they’re going on blind faith. But, because this shawl is worked from the bottom up, it’s taking a loooong time to get those first rows done. As in, it’s taking me about 40 minutes to knit one row. Which means I’m getting one row done a night. I cast on for this on Saturday, and am still only on row 5. Yeah. This is going to take a while (grin).

I’ll take a picture for you sometime soon, I promise. Even if it DOES just look like a green ruffle at this point.

• Tags: Family, General, Martha's Vineyard, Reading • Permalink:Just a Quiet Evening at Home // 2 Comments »

Here’s what I read in April, 2009:

1. The Match by Mark Frost (250 p.) Entertaining true story about a 1956 golf match between two masters and two amateurs. Good story.

2. Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos (388 p.) Cornelia and her new husband move to the suburbs … I enjoyed this just as much as I did her first book, Love Walks In.

3. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (211 p.) A long-time childhood favorite which I like to revisit from time to time–in this case, it was the book Mom and I read together on a trip.

4. The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash (286 p.) What happens when your genius photographer father dies and leaves his work to your genius artist daughter? You acknowledge that maybe your talent is just as inspired as theirs, of course, but not without a certain amount of heartache.

5. Skating Shoes (aka White Boots) by Noel Streatfeild (282 p.) I always loved this YA book about poor, sick Harriet whose doctor send her to a skating rink to regain her strength, where she becomes friends with a skating prodigy.

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. Book #7 and the finale of the series–do I really need to say more?

7. Family Vault by Charlotte MacLeod (237 p.)
8. Withdrawing Room by Charlotte MacLeod (188 p.)
9. Palace Guard by Charlotte MacLeod (176 p.)–the first 3 Sarah Kelling mysteries, very “cozy” in flavor, light and frothy, except, you know, for people dying left and right…

10. Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd (346 p.)
11. Watcher of Time by Charles Todd (421 p.)–More serious in tone, these are also murder mysteries, taking place right after WWI. I don’t think I enjoyed the last one as much as the earlier books in this series, but they’re still darn good.

12. Cape Wind by William Whitcomb (305 p.) True story about the political machinations behind and against the proposed wind farm in the Nantucket Sound. Interesting!

13. The King and the Cowboy by David Frankin (224 p.) Disappointing, though entertaining enough. This was touted as being about the ’secret’ friendship between King Edward of England and Theodore Roosevelt in 1900, but it spent at least 3/4 of the book talking about how the men (not to mention Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany) came to power, and barely touched on the one scheme they worked on together … so it felt misrepresented, though as I say, it was interesting enough. Strongly skewed to the story of the British King, too, and only lightly touching on TR.

14. Japanese Inspired Knits by Marianne Isager (142 p.) Knitting patterns for, well, Japanese inspired sweaters.

15. Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett (534 p.) House of Niccolo book #3, Nicholas goes to Crete… Do I really need to keep telling you how much I love Dunnett’s books?

16. Exile’s Song by Marion Zimmer Bradley (493 p.) Fantasy. Book #1 of the story of Margaret Alton, trained as a musicologist, but returning to Darkover only to discover that she’s an heiress who can read minds–quite a shock to her logical brain!

17. Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson (264 p.) One of those quiet, smooth, atmospheric kinds of history books–one that covers in extreme detail the summer of 1911, which was filled with sunny skies and social occasions, and little awareness of how the world was about to change. Nicely put together, but perhaps a little too serene.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from April 2009 // 3 Comments »

You’re probably wondering if I do anything OTHER than watch the Lambcam and Chuck these days, right?

Well, yes.

You know, of course, that I finished my afghan the other day. I love it, and my only problem with it is with the ruffly border. It LOOKS great, but makes it almost impossible to fold neatly, so it doesn’t look as lovely draped over my red chair as it really deserves to look. But, well, I can deal with that. (And didn’t I tell you this color was going to be just smashing against my gold-yellow walls?)

My current project … well, there are two. One is to make Chappy some kind of smallish blanket out of the remaining 7 skeins of yarn leftover from the Sylvi afghan. He doesn’t really like having a big blanket in his crate, anyway. He’s had a towel to snuggle with in his crate since he was a puppy–one of this big, bath towels. (Ideal for puppies because they can chew on the ends without causing too much damage, and they’re easy to clean in case of accidents.) On the occasions when I’ve given him a second towel, though–if it’s a particularly cold night, or he’s still damp from a bath–it takes him longer to settle down and get comfy. I think it gets in his way.

This, of course, is one of my main arguments for him as to why he really can’t have my pretty, large afghan for his crate! But, a smaller one, made from the remaining seven skeins? That should be just about right. I’ll probably just cast on 50 stitches and knit in seed stitch until I run out of yarn … although, I wonder if he’d like a border?

My other project is the Fountain Pen Shawl which I just started. Actually, I started it just before Mom and I went dog-sitting at the beginning of the month because I needed a more portable project than the Sylvi Afghan. But then, we were so busy entertaining all the dogs, I never actually had time to sit and knit. (Besides, I only ever knit when I’m socializing or when I’m watching television, and since the only thing we watched while we were away was Friday Night Lights and I was busy petting Silas at the time, knitting wasn’t really an option.) So, basically, I’ve been technically working on this since March, but, really, have only just got going.

The yarn I’m using for it (and this was supposed to be particularly appropriate) is my MVFF Cormo that Jessica dyed for me in the MVFF colors. You know, because I was bringing it back to Martha’s Vineyard to knit. But, well, at least it visited the island, right? And, as always, it is a sheer pleasure knitting with yarn I’ve spun myself. I almost went for a solid lace yarn out of my stash because I think this pattern is gorgeous and variated yarns can draw away some attention, but, well … it’s my handspun. I couldn’t resist.

And the color is really washed out in that picture. I’ll try to do better next time. It looks more like this … because, well, it’s the same stuff:

Actually, it’s kind of interesting. Right now, I’m not only knitting some of that MVFF-colored MVFF Cormo into a shawl, but I have a new skein of the plied yarn, right off the wheel.

AND I have a bobbin being spun of some of the still unspun roving. Which means that at this moment, I still have some of the dyed-but-unspun wool, I have an active bobbin being spun, I have a bobbin of singles that I made on Saturday that’s waiting to be plied, I have a completed skein that just needs to be washed, and I have a ball of yarn being knitted into a shawl … all from the same batch of dyed Cormo.

How cool is that? It’s like the Lifecycle of Roving.

Did you know it’s Liz/Lizzy B’s birthday today? And, to celebrate, she actually wrote a blog post!

I showed you pictures of Baby N being born live on the Lambcam the other night, but did I tell you that Susan said that I get to pick the name? How cool is that, huh? All because I picked up my phone and called them to help them position the camera so all of us in internet-land could view the birth as it happened. The rule is that the name has to be a font, and it has to start with an N. So what did I pick? Nickelodeon.

And yes, of course, I DID watch Chuck last night and it was amazing. The hardest part right now is (1) seeing how great it is and how the writers are completely changing the basis of the entire show and (2) not knowing if it’s coming back to explore that. Not to mention that, much as I am encouraging all of you who haven’t watched to watch … well, is it fair to get you hooked when there’s only one episode left? (That we know of.) I’m drawing comfort from the fact that the sets haven’t been broken down and that there are so many really great articles from professional television watchers raving about the show. It’s not just crazy fans, you know? What I hope is that NBC really does plan to renew it but is riding the wave of incredibly good free publicity. I mean, if they told us now that they were renewing it, we’d all breathe a sigh of relief and shut up, and stop talking about it so much. I mean, you can’t buy this kind of free press, and if I have to pay for a third season by (1) shilling this show to every person I know and (2) living at the very end of my nerve endings until the Fall schedule is announced on May 5th, so be it. I am willing to suffer for two more weeks SO LONG AS THE SHOW COMES BACK!

Oh, and as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to go check out what music was played in last night’s episode, because it was fantastic. It’s really appalling how few of the artists I’ve heard of–especially since so many of them are from the 80s. But this is my main way of expanding my musical horizons these days–by following up on songs played in favorite tv shows. (Hey, it works.)

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:You’re Probably Wondering // 7 Comments »

Here’s my reading list from the month of March.

1. Simple Style by Ann Budd (135 p.) A knitting book of simple patterns, very nice. (Full review here.)

2. Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (470 p.) First book in the House of Niccolo series, where Nicholas gets his start.

3. Hood by Stephen Lawhead (479 p.) Story of Robin Hood, part one, except he’s now living centuries earlier and in Wales …

4. Avalon by Stephen Lawhead (484 p.) You know how the legend of King Arthur says that he’ll return when England needs him? Well … now’s the time. Or, at least, that’s the premise of this book which takes place in an England which is phasing out the monarchy and needs a hero… Remarkably good, and it nicely parallells his series of more traditional King Arthur stories.

5. Saint by Mark Bailey (406 p.) What if a scientist found a way to recreate someone’s memories and personality from a piece of their DNA? And what if he were given an opportunity to test one of Christianity’s oldest relics … the bones of Saint Peter? Hmmm…

6. Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett (469 p.) Second Niccolo book, where Nicholas leads a group of men to Trebizond to make a fortune.

7. FDR by Jean Edward Smith (636 p.) Bio of the president. Good, thorough.

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (309 p.) Harry Potter book 1. (Do I really need to be more specific?)

9. Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton (308 p.) A bit more “urban fantasy” than I usually read, but here we have Chloe, who runs a highly successful yarn shop in a tiny New Hampshire town which hasn’t had any crime in hundreds of years … until now.

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (341 p.) Harry Potter book 2.

11. Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff (164 p.) A look at fiber festivals–the fun, the socializing, the stuff to buy, the animals … (Full review here.)

12. Sock Innovation by Cookie A. (143 p.) Great book about sock knitting–thorough instructions on how to design your own as well as some really beautiful patterns.

13. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling (435 p.) Book 3.

14. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (734 p.) Book 4.

15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (870 p.) Book 5.

16. Japanese Inspired Knits by Marianne Isager (142 p.) Knitting patterns.

17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (652 p.)

18. Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer PhD (272 p.) I heard about this book via this review and thought it sounded fascinating. The author starts telling the storyof how her daughter’s harp was stolen and, out of desperation, she called a dowser, who promptly located it for her–from a thousand miles away. Which immediately made her, the professional psychiatrist and scientific skeptic curious, and launched an exploration into what she calls “Extraordinary Knowing.” Fascinating.

19. The Candy Bombers by Andrei Cherny (550 p.) Having heard about the Berlin Airlift, but coming along almost two decades afterward, it wasn’t something I really knew much about. Well, now I do, and it’s amazing. Flying in the supplies for an entire city that’s been blockaded? While the USSR tries to intimidate you into leaving? Who knew that giving away a little candy (to start with) would make such a huge difference. Great story, and even better because it’s TRUE.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from March // 4 Comments »

A neighbor won a bag of King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour the other day, and since she doesn’t bake, she gave it to me. If you’re not aware, the WWW flour is a whole grain flour but that acts like regular white flour–as in, you can bake with it without having that heavy, “whole-wheat” feel and flavor to your baked goods. It’s great for bread, of course, but I opted to start with cake. So I invented this one. I’m calling it Buttermilk-Spice Pound Cake.

And, yes, I brought some to our neighbor, much to Dad and Chappy’s chagrin. They are both really enjoying this cake!

Otherwise? I’ve spent more time in the kitchen than I probably should–definitely a trend for me on weekends lately–but I couldn’t resist this beautiful weather, either, so Chappy definitely got a walk. (Note the beginning of buds on the dogwood tree.) I also dusted my room and did some laundry. I did NOT, however, start cleaning out my closet like I should have done. Too depressing.

It occurs to me, too, that this is the last full week of the month, and I should really start typing in my reading list for March. That monthly-reading post always takes a while!

(And, if you’re interested in the cake recipe, it’s right here, after the bump.)

[Read more →]

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Buttermilk-Spice // 10 Comments »