I'm Not Dead Yet...Yeah, Right...

I am only writing this entry because I have a fierce sense of competition. I have been spurred on to get at least a few words down for posterity because my Smooty daughter has also posted. And, since she's sick and so am I, I figured that I can somehow muster up the energy to slap some words down here if she can. We'll see how that works out.

For the past few days, I've been dealing with conjunctivitis in my right eye, aka. the dreaded pink-eye. It starts out miserable when I first wake up, of course, and I head straight for the nice warm washcloth of awesomeness so I can actually get said eye open. Then, on and off again throughout the day it goes from nothing noticeable to watering eye to scratchy eye to just plain annoyance because it's doing something it shouldn't be doing. Argh. I have taken the new moniker of Pirate Wombat when I have the washcloth over one eye and muttering "T-yarr" (Heather, fix the spelling on that for me, please? And you may chastise me if Connor copyrighted his word.)

For this most part, this is a cold. A stupid, annoying-as-hell cold. It has not gone into my lungs but I have an equally stupid cough that, in turn, makes my lower back hurt whenever it decides to provoke me. I have worked my way through a couple of boxes of tissues and all the chicken noodle soup in the house. Last night, Ded brought me more soup and methinks my Dad, aka the Food Fairy, will be stopping by this afternoon with lots of reinforcements (tissues, Nyquil, soups, and hopefully the magic alchemy of cold-zapping awesomeness...and if that didn't make sense, it's the foggy brain...sorry)

Today I wanted to go to the handspinners' guild meeting that a friend told me about. Scratch that. Next week there is a sewing expo that my dad told me about which, for the sake of my fledgling quilt business, I really need to attend. If this is just a normal, pain in the ass cold I should be better by then.

On Saturdays, I was hoping for a Grab Bag of sorts category so I guess this post fits. As a quickie wrap-up, I finished the pink Ribbons of Hope scarf and really want to get one of the girls to pose with it so I can then send it on to its rightful home. As soon as I'm not contagious, I can do that but if I don't get well soon, I'll just have to take pics of it sans model.

I haven't finished any of the books I started last week but hope to at least finish The Road today.

I'm working again on Heather's blanket whilst watching Season 5 of Stargate SG1 and/or various and sundry other sci fi offerings. I'm also making a Tribble and some fingerless gloves for Giuli since her birthday is next week.

And I think today I shall vacuum...

and take several naps...

and ingest mass quantities of Vitamin C.

"What do you read, my lord?" "Words, words, words."

If it's Tuesday, this must be This Week in Bookland.

The observant reader will note I have minimized the size of my Shelfari bookshelf. This is not because I am reading any less or that the Big Damn Stack o'Books has shrunk. Fear not! I just decided to do a little blog revamping and this is one of my experiments. I am allowing myself only six books to post per week on the shelf: two fiction, three non-fiction, and one read-aloud. Restricting my choices is actually quite difficult but I'm hoping the streamlined look will help the page load more quickly.

Read Aloud
Giuli and I are still working on Inkheart. It is hard to make the time for this book, not because we aren't interested, but because she and I seem to both want to knit whilst someone reads to us. Perhaps we should enlist Mary as a Designated Reader so we can get moving along at a quicker pace. Giuli can't wait until we finally meet Capricorn as she already visualizes him as Andy Sirkis although we have yet to see the movie.

Fiction
I am still trudging through The Lies of Locke Lamora. I say "trudging" only due to my reserving this book for my bedtime reading. Some nights I actually crash after a page or two, so I feel as though I will never finish this 719-page tome. In all fairness, I should probably set aside a better time for more conscious reading.

I'm "fixin' to" read The Road by Cormac McCarthy this week. Weighing in at 287 pages with an awful lot of white space per page, I'm predicting it will move quickly. This book was reviewed on one of the dozen or so book blogs that I read - bad blogger that I am, however, I forgot to note which one. But, now that I have a more organized method to my blogging madness, I hope to be much better about this in the future.

Non-fiction
Ah, non-fiction! I allow myself three books in this category because I usually don't have to follow a plotline or remember characters so I can spread my interests around a bit more liberally.

First, I'm about halfway through The Magician's Book. This is a collection of essays by critic Laura Miller, who appears to have a love/hate relationship with C. S. Lewis and his Chronicles of Narnia. While I don't always agree with her viewpoints, I am definitely learning a good deal more about Lewis' life, particularly his childhood. I have another similar volume lurking on my to-read list which I will divulge next week so stay tuned.

Alan Watts is not often easy for me to grasp, but I am still amazed that the tiny book, The Wisdom of Insecurity, is taking me so long to finish. I am, however, over halfway along and occasionally a little light bulb goes off in my head when something actually "clicks". One of those moments occured recently when I read this passage:

"Can you, at the same time, read this sentence and think about yourself reading it? You will find that, to think about yourself reading it, you must for a brief second stop reading. The first experience is reading. The second experience is the thought, 'I am reading.' Can you find any thinker, who is thinking the thought, 'I am reading?' In other words, when present experience is the thought, 'I am reading,' can you think about yourself thinking this thought?

Once again, you must stop thinking just, 'I am reading.' You pass to a third experience, which is the thought, 'I am thinking that I am reading.' Do not let the rapidity with which these thoughts can change deceive you into the feeling that you think them all at once."

The lightbulb turned on and I proceeded to tell Paul that I couldn't ever really say "I'm reading" because I wouldn't actually be reading as I said it so I would just be saying that I was reading but that would not be true because...well...nevermind.

The third book of non-fiction is Book by Book by Michael Dirda. In his Preface, Dirda explains his time as a book reviewer and columnist for the Washington Post Book World.

"During these past three decades the Post has kindly allowed me to write about nearly any sort of book that caught my fancy, and my fancy can be quite promiscuous -- ancient classics one week, science fiction and fantasy the next."

What bookworm wouldn't love a job like that? And, since I definitely fall into that category, this book struck my fancy when I read the back cover blurb, which states "...the wit, wisdom, and enchantment of the written word informs and enriches nearly every aspect of life, from education and work to love and death." With a Who's Who reaching from Charles Addams to Stefan Zweig, Dirda shares what he has learned about life from his reading. I recently began compiling a never-ending list of classic books I want to read, and I am sure I will find many titles to add whilst devouring this little gem.

One more thing, I nearly forgot that today I began listening to Pride and Prejudice on the Craftlit podcast. The A&E version from 1995 with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle is a favourite of mine but I have never read the book. So, I shall be knitting along to Jane Austen whenever I can.

That wraps up this week's reading. Please don't forget to leave your comments! And check back in on Wednesday for another topic in my revamped weekly lineup.

Under Construction Due to Overactive Organizational Tendencies

For the past few days, I've been listening to lots of podcasts, many of which have a set pattern of the topics they hit on each episode. I've found that I really like this because I know that at a certain point in the show Dr. Gemma will get to her Blather, Meghan will tell us one of her Favourite Things, or David will let us know what's at The Bottom of the Knitting Bag. (And these are just a sample of the podcasts I listen to.) Knitting podcasts will have the obligatory What's On My Needles, but I like the variety of the shows that veer off into something unique.

So, how does this relate to my blog? I've been considering a daily blog with a different topic for each day - since my interests are so scattered, smothered, chunked, diced, topped, capped (ask my kids for the correct order and I'm sure they'll get it - and let me know what I left out). I really think I can come up with at least five regular topics and a wild card so that's what I'll be working on for a couple of days. I'll be back to my regularly scheduled blogging as soon as I go all obsessive-compulsive and litter my desk with an obscene amount of notes, analyzing to my heart's content and, of course, using lots of geeky math skills. (okay, maybe not, but there's still hope)

Here's my obligatory crafting and reading update:

After finishing my slouch hat and Michael's fingerless gloves, I started a pair of fingerless gloves for Giuli in the same mint green as her slouch hat and a pair of baby socks. There's a small baby explosion amongst our friends and I'm experimenting with some toe-up socks as gifts. I'm taking part in the Knitting Purls Toe-Up Sock Knitalong that began on the 17th and hope to make all 3 pair of the baby socks plus a pair of socks for moi during the KAL.

Readingwise, I'm about halfway finished with The Magician's Book, about one hundred pages into Inkheart with Giuli, and barely making a dent in The Lies of Locke Lamora. I have two books on loan, The Well and the Shallows and The Road, so I have to set aside time for them pretty soon.

So, I'll see y'all soon with a revamped schedule of things to come!

Brain Overload

Is it possible to be unable to blog because you have too many things to blog about? After this past week, I'm thinking the answer is an unequivocal "YES" and therein lies my problem. I have a little notebook in which I began jotting down various and sundry things that I wanted to blog about and so far it looks something like this: Follow the bouncing ball, puns, Ten Percent Won't Pay the Rent, bathroom shelves, visual reminder board. And that doesn't even include the book list or the WIP list.

So, this is my attempt to at least catch up with my reading list, which I think will be the shortest entry of those above.

In the reading aloud category, Giuli and I are enjoying Inkheart. I already read it but I felt I needed to review the first and second books in order to finally read Inkdeath, which has been on my "to read" list for a few months now. We finished Heidi a week or so ago, which has been an ongoing project for way too long.

For non-fiction, I have so many books scattered around the house that I could read something different in every single room, including the hallway in the bookcase across from the washer and dryer. I have two books in the master bathroom (because who among us does not stash books in the bathroom, I ask you?): The New Feminine Brain (because I want to know what was wrong with the old one, of course) and Mindful Knitting. In the guest bathroom (aka the kids' bathroom) are Pickpockets, Beggars, and Ratcatchers and The Wisdom of Insecurity. Amazingly, in the downstairs half-bath, I only have magazines...which shows you that I don't often use that bathroom. Non-fiction I am actually reading before I drop off at night - The Magician's Book, which Paul just finished reading last week. I am sure I will reread the Narnia series after finishing it, too, just as Paul is doing. I'm thinking of using that as my read-aloud series after we finish the Inkheart books.

Fiction - I finished the Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume One, which was actually two books in one volume. I read the first part a couple of months ago and decided I was in the mood for juvenile fiction so went back to it. I'd like to read more by Diana Wynne Jones - of course, the next book in this series was not in stock at Borders the other night. She also wrote Howl's Moving Castle which I'm sure is familiar to many of y'all. I also finished Coraline, which was delightful in a way that I think only Neil Gaiman can provide. Now I am reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, which was recommended by Heather. And my classic book that I put down for a while but will get back into shortly is Don Quixote.

Dare I mention that I have a small collection of books on my desk which I can grab at a moment's notice when the urge strikes? The obligatory Little Oxford English Dictionary and the Visual Quick Tips Microsoft Office 2003 are pretty standard fare on a computer desk, right? Others that might not seem so expected are: The Well and the Shallows, Instant English Literature, Green Clean, The Importance of Living, Once Upon a Galaxy, Shakespeare - The Invention of the Human, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, and last but not least, Mason*Dixon Knitting. I have not listed the authors here because all these books are on my Shelfari up at the top of my blog.

So, in typing all this up I have realized something that you may have picked up on, too. I think I have a greater attention span when it comes to non-fiction than fiction. I need the continuity of story, which is difficult to do if you are immersed in too many fantasy worlds. Also, when it comes to fiction, I absolutely feel the need to finish the damned thing if I get very far into it. I can't think of any books offhand that I have had to abandon completely, although there are several that I had to start 2 or 3 times before I was in the right mindset to be able to delve into them. Amazingly, Outlander was one of those books. I do have an excuse for the first attempt, though. A friend gave me a copy when I was in the hospital back in '95 when I had Guillain-Barre. I think my attention span was just not up to the task and even Jamie and Claire could not hold my attention. Granted, I didn't get that far into the book before I gave it up. I have no excuse for the second attempt but, as they say, third time's a charm and that time totally sucked me in. Even though I haven't read all the books in the series yet, I'm still excited to see yet another Outlander title coming out soon!

So, how about some feedback from the peanut gallery on this one? What type of reader are you? Scattered and smothered like Waffle House hashbrowns? Perhaps you have a favourite genre? Any books you wanted to throw across the room? (Anxiously awaiting Paul's input on that one) Or what tome do you constantly come back to, rather like a comfort book?

I didn't really pare down my blog topic list because, in looking at my notebook, I see that I have managed to completely avoid every item there. *facepalm*

Oh yes, I am 80 percent finished with my slouch hat! Hooray! I hope to post pictures tomorrow when I finish.

Happy Reading!

OMG I did say I thought this would be a short post. Colour me embarrassed.

My Latest Dilemma

I realized that I really haven't addressed the whole "dilemma" situation that this blog is supposed to deal with. Hmmm...Yes, I actually do have one that I would like to begin working on. This dilemma pertains to the use of natural ingredients in the attempt to stop putting so many toxic substances into our environment.

What prompted my interest in this subject? Well, let's just say I have a healthy curiosity in how someone could possibly develop a fatal lung disease while avoiding the things we normally associate with unhealthy habits, particularly smoking or even being around second-hand smoke. So, let's see where my quest is leading me.

First off, a couple of years ago, I began switching over to non-toxic everything I could get my hands on. I found a great company that carries items for cleaning, bathing, makeup, vitamins, medicines, etc. I love the products and I use them religiously. The only problem...it's getting expensive for me. I won't name the company here because I really like them and I don't want to give you the wrong impression. It's not that their items are expensive but that I simply can't afford them right now. If anyone wants to contact me directly, I will be glad to share the info with you. I actually signed up with them to be a distributor but, you know what? I'm just not a salesperson. I would love to see more people using this stuff but I just can't make a living doing it.

So, today while I was listening to a knitting podcast (Stitch-It) I was also developing an increasing interest in making my own cleaning products. Meghan, who is the podcaster, had recently made her own laundry soap. Sounded pretty easy and certainly cheaper than what I use. I began researching on the Net and found a lot of helpful sites with recipes which, of course, led to hunting down natural shampoo, drain cleaner, fabric softener, etc. You know how you start at website A and end up at website Z in about 30 minutes? Yep, that was me.

Well, here is what I'm going to do. My dilemma is that I am now in the information overload phase and I need to narrow things down. I also feel the calling to share this info with as many people as possible. So, as I discover really good sites and directions for useful products that are not expensive , I will post the info here. And please share your experiences with me so I can glean even more wisdom from this neverending thirst for knowledge.

Just to tie things back in with my original interest in this healthful environment quest, this is the question I often pose. If a person who doesn't smoke and isn't around second-hand smoke can develop a fatal lung disease, what factors may have contributed to the problem? I know that this is a person who didn't get out of the house much. So, let's think about the fact that fresh air is minimal. Okay. Then what is in the house? Toxic cleaners, for starters. Also, consider that she burned candles a lot. And I do mean a lot! And used those air fresheners in aerosol cans...a lot. Starting to get a possible bigger picture? All of this gunking up the air and no real chance to get away from it to clean out one's lungs. Did this do damage or not? We probably won't ever know, but I don't think it would hurt to see how I can do my part to avoid the situation.

So, probably tomorrow I shall begin adding to the usual topics of family, knitting, quilting, reading, and whatever catches my interest. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a rabid health nut or tree hugger. I'm just trying to learn more and, you know me, I'm all about education outside the confines of an institution. Develop an interest and delve deeply, then share the results with others. Don't proselytize. Don't try to convert people who are obviously unreceptive. And don't beat people over the head with information just because you think it's good for them. Unless you really get off on that and then, hey, knock yourself out. ;-)

Until next time, just to let you know: Knitting projects - more fingerless gloves and a blanket for Heather; Books - Finished the Carolyn Hart book and back to the Diana Wynne Jones (both books are noted above in my Shelfari book shelf). I also picked up Don Quixote again because I want to intersperse more classical lit in with my casual reading. And my latest culture experience: we attended a play yesterday at Gainesville College. Finding Hamlet was the Senior Thesis project of one of Heather's theatre cohorts (Will Bradley) at Gainesville College. (Oh yeah, Heather just happened to be the lighting designer. Her able-bodied assistant was Michael. Nepotism works.) I found it thought-provoking and now I want to go back and reread Harold Bloom's book, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. I guess I shall just add that to the neverending big damn stack o'books on the side of the bed...and in every other room of the house.

Happy Early Birthday, Heather!

Since we are going to celebrate Heather's birthday tonight with dinner at Provino's, I thought I would go ahead and dedicate today's post to her...especially since I have to go to the ophthalmologist later today and probably won't be able to see the monitor clearly to post anything this afternoon. However, I'm not going to talk about birthday stuff today because I still need to try to catch up with the Christmas season. So, here goes...

Heather moved into a new apartment recently so she wanted some practical things for Christmas. I was able to oblige with a Revereware tea kettle and my dad added to the practical side of things with a bread knife, cheese grater, and a couple of travel mugs. It's always fun to start accumulating the necessities of life when you have a new place and I find great enjoyment in knowing that some of the things I don't really use much anymore (especially since Heather got me a darling teapot for Christmas last year) can be recycled to other family members. It seems to be a trend with us and I'm sure Giuli is going to end up with way more things than she will ever need if we keep this up.

In one of her more cryptic text messages before Christmas, Heather asked each of the family members to choose one of the following: cow, pig, or duck. Ded chose duck and I chose pig, having no idea what this said about our personalities or what ramifications our answers might have. Well, I don't have a close-up of the results but if you look very closely in the next picture, you will see our take on the Llama, Llama, Duck song as Ded and Giuli show us their ducks...ducks that shoot out laser lights and quack loudly...and Heather and Mary model their llama hats.



I received a Christmas cd by the Rat Pack (which I promptly told Heather to rewrap and give to Grampa - noted earlier in this blog - because I knew he'd love it), so I am awaiting my replacement copy and Ded and I are anxiously looking forward to Burn After Reading, which Heather had to order for us. The nice thing about this is that my Christmas season lasts even longer since I still have presents on the way.

Ded gave Heather a copy of The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang, a book he and I each own, also. I had already knit some goodies for her (note she is wearing the fingerless gloves) which makes it a little bare under the tree, but she has been happily warmer at work pre-Christmas than she would have been if I had insisted she wait for her handmades. Actually, I ended up making hats for Caitlin, Mary, and Giuli and gifting them before the holiday, too, so we really had a sparse amount of wrapped gifts.


Now, lest you think that we are boring and practical (heaven forbid) I shall note that my dad also gave Heather a copy of Bioshock for her Xbox. The thought of him negotiating EB Games just really amused us as he has absolutely no experience with anything to do with gaming. But he ended up with the right game and the right platform - Go, Dad!

This last picture is of Heather and Caitlin choosing their favourite scarves from a great collection that Giuli fingerknit for them. Once I showed my youngest how easy fingerknitting was, she couldn't stop doing it. I don't know how many she ended up making but, suffice it to say, she had lots of fun and her sisters reaped the benefits of her creativity. And, believe me, this family is nothing if it's not creative.

On the reading front, I'm tearing through the lastest Artemis Fowl, The Time Paradox, which I didn't even realize had been released in 2008. Ded gave it to me a couple of days ago as an early Valentine's Day present - a complete surprise. I'm about a third of the way through and so far, so good. On the knitting front, I have been working on a design of my own for a cabled chemo slouch hat and am nearly finished. It just dawned on me that I may not be able to finish it today since my eyes will be dilated - drat. I also need to take pictures of the ginormous blanket I made for Caitlin so I have something to post tomorrow for the continuing saga of Christmas 2008.

And, one more thing (I am feeling very Columbo-ish), I want to thank my buddy, KnittingDragon, who Plurked yesterday about a really cool knitting podcast he was listening to. (He also has a podcast, Sweaters for Dragons, and I'll have to talk about it in a future post.) I wandered over to CogKNITive--A Knitting + Psychology Podcast and promptly listened to 18 episodes until the wee hours of this morning. I guess you could say I'm enjoying it. Indeed, I am thoroughly enjoying it. The podcasts are only about 20 minutes long and are divided into four parts: the obligatory "what's on the needles/hook"; a "strategy for life" (great advice for dealing with our everyday issues like making lists, how to apologize, sleep on it, etc.); "something I really like" (in which Dr. Gemma, the author of the podcast, shares knitting as well as non-knitting favourites); and "blather", in which she shares with us her work experiences as a psychologist at a prison. Gemma is funny, entertaining, informative, and touching. You really don't have to be a knitter to appreciate this podcast so check it out. Remember the Reading Rainbow catch-phrase? Don't take my word for it...

Ganked from a Tasmanian blog (among the many bazillion blogs I read)

From the blog, Loz and Dinny: Go to the closest book to you, not necessarily the book you have just read, or your favourite, but the closest. Turn to page 56 and copy out the 5th line, followed by the next 2 to 5 lines.

"At low volume, one can take enormous strides, a mile long and fifty feet high at the peak, or float gently through valleys and over the tops of trees without rush or noise. At high volume and dressed in a space suit, one can soar into outer space or travel easily at three hundred miles an hour at four thousand feet. Needless to say, every such outfit is equipped with a radar device that brings one to a hovering half the moment there is any danger of collision."

From the entry "The Future of Ecstasy" in Cloud-Hidden Whereabouts Unknown by Alan Watts. I just began reading it this afternoon and am about 1/3 of the way through. Amazingly, this book was assigned to us as sophomores in high school and I don't even think I made it past the introduction. I was so burned out on The Secular City by Harvey Cox that I think I just ran screaming into the night when the same teacher assigned another book for us to read for religion class. And, yes, dear reader, this is the only class I failed in high school. And, when one fails religion in a Catholic high school, one has to pay a visit to the principal. So I had to try to explain to Fr. Kelly why I had this big, fat "F" on my report card. I was honest - I told him I didn't have a clue what our teacher was talking about - he was talking to us as though we were college students and that was so far over my head that the air was probably thinner up there. So, a few (cough, cough) years later, and I can appreciate Watts and thank Ded for introducing me to him...even after my earlier traumatization. I would probably, however, run and hide in a dark closet if someone confronted me with a copy of The Secular City. (Note to kids - Don't even THINK about it)

Back to the passage from the book, though, it makes me wish I didn't have to get in the car to take Mary to Loganville this evening.

Currently reading: Alan Watts (noted above), Dante for Beginners, half-way finished with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

OMG Quantum of Solace was AWESOME!!

Okay, wow, we went to see the new James Bond movie tonight and it was fantastic. I am totally up for seeing it again...like tomorrow, maybe. The chase scenes were incredible, Judi Dench got more screen time (and I think she's probably one of the classiest actresses alive) and Daniel Craig...well...yeah. He is now my favourite Bond. I have to say he just seems to BE James Bond. (And it doesn't hurt that he has a cute butt...I'm just sayin') I won't post any spoilers here so I'll just give it a thumbs-up and say that I was exhausted after a couple of those chase scenes. Damn. Stunt coordinators outdid themselves. If you liked the chase scene at the beginning of Casino Royale, you will love this movie.

Let's see, on the knitting front, I'm at least halfway finished with the second slouch hat. I had to take out one row last night because I was off by one stitch and the cabling didn't quite line up. That's one row of 192 stitches. Yep, that's the perfectionist in me. Even though the hat is black and it might not have showed that much, I would have known the booboo was there.

While I was knitting yesterday, I listened to about 8 or 9 podcasts: 4 were LimeNViolet, the others were Diva Knitting, Irie Knits , It's a Purl, Man , Knit Picks Podcast, and Sticks and Strings. I know there were a couple more but my brain is a little fuzzy on which ones. I'll post when I remember. I have to say, LimeNViolet is still my favourite. I have listened to their 2008 episodes from summer through the current one posted yesterday and I've gone back to the beginning (summer of 2006) and listened all the way through January of 2007. I think I like them so much because they are my kind of people - crazy. And I say that in the most sincere and flattering way possible.

Sticks and Strings I could listen to just for the fantastic Australian accent David has. It's a Purl Man (Guido) went to Rhode Island to interview some folks and that was cool just because nobody usually goes to RI for much of anything that I know of. (waves to my RI relatives) Kelly at KnitPicks had some great ideas for gathering your pre-designing info which I just loved. I think I probably gleaned some tidbits from each of these and I'll let y'all know if there are others you might want to check out.

I am starting to get orders for the fingerless gloves, which is cool. Speaking of cool, I wore one of the scarflettes and a pair of the gloves today to go out to eat and then to the movie. Always advertising... ;-) Actually, that's how I got one of my orders so I'm glad the weather has finally turned chilly. I'll have to start getting out of the house more often so I can wear the samples.

I have a few pictures to post but haven't uploaded them yet so I'll do that tomorrow. Giuli has some knitting that I can show off, particularly since I spotlighted Mary's crocheting the other day. Michael has his YouTube stuff - I guess I'll link to it. Okay, that's enough nepotism.

On the reading front, I finished several more of Truman Capote's short stories and now I'm reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I enjoyed his City of Falling Angels (which Heather read today and loved) and I really don't want to put this one down. Having been to Savannah many times, it's always enjoyable to be able to really picture where things are taking place. And leave it to John Berendt to find the quirkiest residents. He must put out some sort of pheremones that attract...um...unique individuals.

Lastly for tonight (I mean this morning) I found Blade Runner The Final Cut at a good price at Target and decided I had waited long enough and need to own this. Running time is 117 minutes so perhaps I won't watch it right now (2am). And probably after watching it, I'll want to watch all the extras, and then read the book. Rather like "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want a glass of milk" etc. Definitely not a project to start in the wee hours of the morning.

Oh, speaking of DVD's, Hell Boy 2 has a lot of great special add-ons and behind the scenes footage. I haven't watched them yet but Ded has and says they are awesome.

So, we leave off where we began - awesome movies. Go watch some...now!

Just to update you on my projects for the week, here are pictures - look, I'm actually finishing things these days. What a difference from years past.


First up, a slouch hat for Mary. As Mary is sick, it is being modeled by Giuli. This is the Gretel pattern by Ysolda Teague. I made it from a wool blend and absolutely love this pattern. I had issues with the cast-on because it was something new and different and, yes, I frogged it several times before it finally sank in. The cable pattern was actually not as hard as I thought it would be, but it does take concentration so this is not a mindless pattern by a long shot. I'm pleased with the result and will be casting on today for another one, this time for Caitlin. Although it is a Christmas present, I am going to give it to her next week so she can wear it when she and The Lost Boys go to Louisiana for the Louisiana Renaissance Festival in Hammond, LA.


Next on the FO list, more shorty fingerless gloves (also being modeled by the lovely Giuli). My own pattern, incorporating a Barbara Walker Shetland Eyelet stitch from my new set of BW Tresuries (cue angel choir here ) and made from a wool blend. And may I add how much fun I am having designing these? Whee! (Also, I was neglectful when first posting about this wonderful book collection, aka the Holy Grail of Knitting, as I should have given a much-deserved plug to Schoolhouse Press. I have bought several things from them over the past few years and they are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.)

Lest you think that all I do is knit, I finally finished reading Trojan Gold by Elizabeth Peters, started Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, and am reading aloud Inkheart by Cornelia Funke to Giuli. In the past two weeks, I think I have listened to about two dozen LimeNViolet podcasts, also. I live to multitask. :-)

Where did Giuli go? (And, yes, that is a Jayne hat that Mr. Teddy Bear is wearing in the background.)