Category Archives: Reading

Contests, Randonymity, Reading

Randomly random

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Ok, the needles? I have no idea what happened to them. Wouldn’t you think I’d remember slamming my purse in the car door or my purse getting run over by a truck?! As far as I know, I put the needles in my purse after a work meeting on Friday afternoon, proceeded home as usual, and opened my purse the next morning to find perfect right angles. Purse gremlins?! I bent them back and now they’re just a little wavy. Perhaps I should apologize to all the knitters traumatized by the sight of those needles, who now must worry if they will open their knitting bags to discover the same thing…

I finished watching the first season of 24 last night – whoa! I so did not see that ending coming. The next two seasons are already on their way to me… *twitch twitch*

Please drop by and wish Deb a belated happy birthday and Jeanne a happy birthday (Jeanne’s link features her cats modeling hats…)! I’ll wait… 😀

Jenn’s having a contest to guess how many balls of yarn are in her stash. Leave a comment by 10 pm CST, January 14. Very brave of you, Jenn! I definitely do not want to know this about my stash – too scary!

Janna’s having a blogiversary contest – simply leave her a comment before 10 pm CST, January 15, and you could win sock yarn or a copy of Knitting Without Tears.

Reading Update
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez -Reverte. I was several chapters in before I realized that this book was the basis for a movie I’d seen, The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp. I remember being a bit disappointed by the movie; I’ll have to revisit it now that I’ve read the book. I enjoyed the book and although I figured out little bits of it, I didn’t figure out the whole thing and was amused at the ending.This was the second book I completed for the From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge.
Immoral by Brian Freeman. This thriller is set in Duluth, MN. It was pretty good, although the middle segment contained too much techy court stuff for my taste.

So, I think May might be up to something – perhaps ultimate evil… What do you think??

“Bwah-ha-ha!” -M

Chaos could not be reached for comment.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -C
Randonymity, Reading

Not a USPS approved use of a Priority Mail box…

25 Comments

Susan used Patons Soy Wool to make some Kureyon-Chans – they turned out really cute!

Cursed bloglines – it’s not seeing my blog again. Not seeing a lot of blogs, as far as I can tell. Grrrrr…

Reading Update
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris. This is the second book in the series about Harper and her stepbrother Tollivar. Harper was struck by lightning and can now find dead people and knows how they died. This series is ok, but not as good (so far) as the Sookie Stackhouse or Lily Bard books.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I’d read this a while ago and enjoyed it, but after reading Anansi Boys recently, I knew I needed to reread this book. Wow. I got a lot more out of it this time! Anansi Boys was a good read, but this is a great read – it’s epic in a most unusual way.
Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180 by Mike Magnuson. Warning: the cover picture of this book is not for the faint of heart. It’s a “before” picture of the author – and it appeared in GQ, probably as a spoof of Liebowitz’s famous photograph of Lance Armstrong.)
This is the first From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge book I’ve completed. Hey, I have all of January to read the remaining four…
Anyway, I love reading cycling books, which is how this book ended up in my stacks in the first place. I read another of Magnuson’s books a long time ago (The Right Man for the Job), mostly because a friend of mine knew him and was pushing the book. I remember nothing of it, other than it took me a while to get into the book, due to Magnuson’s writing style. Same thing with this autobiographical tale of how Magnuson used cycling to turn his life around as he neared 40, but after I got into it, the book gave me a lot to think about, including some ways in which I need to consider changing my own life.

Not much else going on around here, so maybe it’s time to check the mail…

“All I know is I sure can’t fit in there. Your mileage may vary, May.” -C

“I wonder if I can fit…” -M

“It looks awfully snug…” -M

*muffled*
Knitting, Reading

Another completed project of which you were completely unaware

36 Comments

I thought of another good weird thing after I put together my list – I can’t bear to have those stupid little postcard subscription things in any magazine I receive, so I go through and rip them all out when a magazine arrives.

It’s so hard to get out of bed at this time of year! Not only is it dark dark dark, it’s chilly, so I don’t want to crawl out from under the flannel sheets and down comforter. Plus, when my alarm goes off, both cats come in (if they weren’t there already) and snuggle and purr. Flannel, down, warm purring cats… I think I need to go back to bed!

Reading Update
Back Story by Robert B. Parker. This is one of the Spenser novels and I just read it for the tiny bit of Jesse Stone crossover in it.
Blue Screen by Robert B. Parker. I just read this Sunny Randall novel a few months ago, but it was fun to reread it after reading the Jesse Stone novels, since Sunny and Jesse get together in this one.
Shakespeare’s Champion by Charlaine Harris. This was (I think) the second Lily Bard novel and I read it totally out of order, since I finished the others weeks and weeks ago. You should definitely read these in order if you can – and it should be easier since this one was reprinted at the beginning of this month.

Knitting Update
The gifting season can be difficult for the knitblogger – you’re working on these great things, but you can’t blog more than evasive hints in case the gift recipient happens across your blog entry and the surprise is ruined. But on Saturday afternoon, I finished another 13-stitch wide Arrowhead Lace scarf and since it was a birthday gift presented Saturday evening, I can actually blog about it!

This particular scarf was made from SWTC Bamboo in Fiery Red. I was so excited to have finished it that I promptly wrapped it and forgot to take any pictures with the usual suspects! 😮 They’re probably pleased that they missed out, actually.

Why yes, that might actually be genuine Naugahyde in the background! (As opposed to artificial Naugahyde?!)

The usual suspects kept busy at home.

*glug glug glug* -M

“Licking the empty bowl isn’t going to bring Mom home any sooner to feed us our late supper, big kitty.” -C
Contests, Reading, Those Cats

Cat-in-a-box: The perfect holiday present!

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Stephania is extending the deadline for her Lizard Ridge blanket for Afghans for Afghans until January 21.

Reading Update
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. This mystery is the sequel to Case Histories and is written in the same style, beginning with numerous disparate threads that slowly draw together into a cohesive whole by the end.
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Ok, I read American Gods a while ago and obviously need to read it again, because I’m sure it’s related somehow.. Anyway – this is another enjoyable read by local author Gaiman, featuring the sons of Anansi, a Caribbean/West African spider god.
Night Passage, Trouble in Paradise, Death in Paradise, Stone Cold, and Sea Change by Robert B. Parker. I got interested in reading Parker’s Jesse Stone series after I read Blue Screen, which tied Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone together. Loves me a good Sunny Randall book I does. 🙂
Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton. Strangely, these short stories are mostly sword and sorcery, with only two Anita Blake stories. Definitely a different side of Hamilton.

“Do-de-do-de-doody-do-de-do.” -C
“Move along, nothing to see here.” -C
“Hmm, I’m not feeling very comfortable in the kitchen tonight. I wonder why?” -M
“It’s as if someone is watching me! How creepy.” -M
“This is terrible! What the heck is going on in this kitchen?! I can’t shake the sense of looming evil!” -M
*sounds of scuffling and a faint “meep!”*
“You will do as I say. You will send me $1,000,000 in small unmarked bills, packed in catnip…” -M
Knitting, Reading

Monday again?!

27 Comments

Thank you all so much for the kind words about Kureyon-Chan!! And many thanks to Frarochvia for convincing me to submit the pattern and for being my test knitter – check out her lovely buttonless version! I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone does with this pattern. Chaos and Mayhem definitely liked modeling these bags better than modeling bibs! 🙂

Reading Update
Edge of Evil by J.A. Jance. This is the first book in a new mystery series by Jance (who’s better known for her J.P. Beaumont and Sheriff JoAnna Brady mystery series). This book introduces former broadcast journalist Ali Reynolds, who starts a blog…
Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton. I know, I know, I just read this most recent Anita Blake book a few months ago. But after re-reading the rest of the series, I thought I should read it again, too. I’m conflicted – the series seems, to me, to spend way more time in the bedroom than really necessary for the storyline and the plot is creeping along (this book covered maybe 48 hours), but I keep reading the damn books, don’t I?!
Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich. The second in a series of NASCAR murder mysteries. I think I just need to admit to myself that I love the Stephanie Plum series and give up on Evanovich’s other stuff…

Knitting Update
I’ve been working on yet another pair of socks for myself. These are from the yarn Jeanne dyed for my birthday – I love how stripey they are! The yarn is far more purple and black than it appears in this photo…

“Stripes, schmipes – let me at those Addis!” -M

Knitting, Reading, Those Cats

Bibalicious!

48 Comments

Heh, it appears that there are others out there who have Vexing cats as well… And check out the comments from the Whiskers post for links to stranger uses of whiskers than putting them into a sake cup…

I have a whole bunch of wonderful mail to blog about – hopefully I will have my pictures organized by tomorrow. Really, I will. Most likely, at least! 😉

Reading Update
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Wow. This epic and intense book is, at one level, about searching for the reality of Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula. But it’s so much more – including a multi-generational love story and a glimpse into the history of a complicated region (Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey). I don’t want to say too much about the book, because I think part of enjoying such a book is having it unfold, without a lot of preconceptions.
Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris. The latest of these knitting/needlecraft mysteries is pretty much on par with the rest of the series. Not great, but not so bad that I didn’t finish the book. And these are set in the Twin Cities metro area…
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, Every Which Way But Dead, and A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. These are the other books about Cincinnati witch Rachel Morgan. There are pixies! Vampires! Demons! Werewolves! A troll! And more… I definitely enjoyed this series and will be keeping an eye out for more books.

Knitting Update
So, um, I’ve knitted a few bibs for some recent and impending babies… I’m not sure that May has the build to be a bib model.

“You’ll notice that, if I actually needed to wear a bib, this one wouldn’t cover the strategic areas.” -M

“And as a skirt?! I’d be arrested for indecent exposure!” -M

So I hauled out asked my usual bib model to do the honors. (Please ignore May’s tail as she sashays through the shot, gloating about her bibless state.)

“The shame, the shame… Oh, woe is me!” -C

“I wouldn’t suggest trying this again, missy. You’ve had your warning!” -C

So, back to the petite model…

“Are you done yet?! I want to play with my mouse!” -M

“Well, you may not be done, but I am. Remember what I said about this as a skirt!” -M
Contests, Reading, Those Cats

Tuesday, but it’s Wednesday, really…

28 Comments

…since I only work 3 days this week! So tomorrow is actually Friday…

Valerie is having a contest to celebrate her one year knitting anniversary. If you leave her a comment before midnight, Sunday, November 26, about how you came to be knitting or about the person who taught you to knit, you could win a skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn.

Don’t forget that you have until 7 pm CST, Wednesday, November 22, to leave some words of wisdom for me as I embark on a new decade of my life! (This would be a real-time deadline, not a Chris interpretive time deadline…)

Reading Update
Smoke and Shadows, Smoke and Mirrors, and Smoke and Ashes by Tanya Huff. These three books take up where the Blood series left off, sort of… Wizardry, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night, but in Vancouver instead of Toronto. In one of my favorite bits, the main character muses how peculiarly Canadian it was that he was taking public transportation on his way to save the world…
The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves. I think this is the first book from the Home Repair is Homicide mystery series… Having read the series utterly out of order, it was interesting to go back to this one and see how things began.
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. This is the first book in a mystery series featuring Cincinnati witch Rachel Morgan, her roommate (the “living” vampire Ivy), a family of pixies, and more… I already have the rest of the books on hold at the library!

Knitting Update
I’m in the midst of the gusset increases on my second black and hot pink stripey sock. The first sock is done to just above the heel and I’m knitting the second sock from the other end of the ball. Why, you might ask? Well, I apparently had some sort of mathematical meltdown when I was winding off yarn to dye and let’s just say that it’s going to be very exciting to see how tall these end up. I’m hoping for short ankle socks at this point!

Feline Update
Chaos has been, well, chaotic lately. More on that tomorrow. Here he was in an unguarded moment last night:

“If you’d named me Meditative Trance, you’d have a leg to stand on here, Mom.”

Mayhem could not be reached for comment, since she was hiding.

“I am an invisible jungle kitten, hiding in the foliage!”
Contests, Reading, Those Cats

Chaos Oblique

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Not an Artist is having a contest to name one of her knitting creations. Submit your idea by Saturday, November 18, midnight EST.

My work fun continues, but hopefully things will settle down later this week. My week isn’t starting off too well – my front door lock jammed as I was leaving this morning and I had to leave the key sticking out of the lock. No cats will be fed until the locksmith comes, since I can’t get into my condo!

Reading Update
Shakespeare’s Counselor and Shakespeare’s Christmas by Charlaine Harris. Two more Lily Bard mysteries, completely out of order.
Vanishing Point by Marcia Muller. The latest mystery about San Francisco PI Sharon McCone is a solid, enjoyable read that kept me guessing (wrong) for a long time.

Some of you have been wondering if Chaos is hiding from the blog. Whatever gave you that idea?! He’s fine, BTW – I think he’s just kind of stunned about how much energy May has. 🙂

Knitting, Reading, Those Cats

Woot woot – it stripes!

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For the readers among us, check out the From the Stacks Winter Challenge – read five books from your shelves by January 30. If you submit your book list by November 15, you’re entered in a drawing, and if you submit five reviews by January 30, you’ll be in another drawing for an amazon.com gift certificate. Here’s my list:

Lambs of God by Marele Day
The Chemistry of Joy: A Three-Step Program for Overcoming Depression through Western Science and Eastern Wisdom by Henry Emmons, MD, with Rachel Kranz
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez Reverte
Like the Red Panda by Andrea Seigel
Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180 by Mike Magnuson

I’m knitting self-striping sock yarn that I dyed myself and feeling very thrilled that… it actually stripes. Who woulda thunk it?? (Check it out – Frarochvia is knitting socks from some sportweight that I dyed at the same time!)

“Forget the yarn – it’s more fun to play with sharp pointy toys!”

“Really, Mom, you’re such a worrier. I’m sure it’ll be fun even after someone pokes an eye out – especially if it isn’t me.”

“Well, ok… Hey, with my tongue out, do I match the yarn?!”
Contests, Randonymity, Reading

The Bedjacket Edition

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Local knitblogger Christy is having a caption contest to celebrate her blogiversary! Caption the cute cat picture by November 11 and win some yarny goodness.

Gwen’s having a contest to welcome back her knitting mojo and celebrate being almost done with her holiday knitting. Leave a comment before Friday, November 17, about what you’re knitting for holiday gifts and whether you think you’ll finish in time and you could win some lovely Tess’ Super Sock Yarn.

Sue is having a comment contest – leave a comment before November 23 and you could win a copy of the book Toys To Sew or the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

Check out the new goodies Scout has for sale! Love the kitty shawl pin! And I’m curious as to how the Namaste Jetsetter knitting handbag compares to the Jordana Paige Knitter’s Satchel – anyone know?

Reading Update
Blood Debt and Blood Bank by Tanya Huff – the last two of the Blood Books. Blood Bank contains some very clever and enjoyable short stories, two of which should be read before Blood Debt.
Micah by Laurell K. Hamilton, book 13 of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. This one is odd, considering how the series has been going recently. It’s short (under 300 pages), compared to the 752 pages of Incubus Dreams (book 12). And it’s a lot more like the early books of the series, which is a good thing.
Shakespeare’s Trollop by Charlaine Harris – a Lily Bard mystery. I’m not managing to read these in order and I’m ok with it. Another solid mystery about Lily Bard, who lives in Shakespeare, Arkansas, trying to keep to herself but becoming part of the community anyway.

So, can anyone shed some light on what the heck the point of bedjackets was?! And if you were wearing a bedjacket, presumably in bed, would you need to be wearing slippers at the same time? Yes, another thriftstore find. Check out how well this booklet held its value. 😉

I like the lace pattern used for this one, but those slippers…

I actually kinda like this bedjacket, too, although I would call it a cardigan. I wouldn’t put the ruffles on the cuffs, but the construction is intriguing. However, once again, those slippers… *shudder*

This next one….. *blink blink*

And without the fringe, this isn’t a bad shawl. But, um…… are those slippers or small fuzzy dogs?!

Love her “you woke me up for what?! Well, hurry up then” expression….

And the back cover… priceless. I think this is a blurb for some early superwash yarn?? Whatever it is, “no sighs about size” gave me the giggles. Heh.

“I totally could model bedjackets. If I wanted to.”