No, I haven't vanished from the face of the earth

But I've sure considered it. Or at least moving to New Zealand and raising sheep. And to all those people who say to me, "Oh there'd be problems any where else, too" I say "Pfffffffft." Not the point. The point is that the problems we are facing are almost unbearable. And the really irritating part is that people care more about playing the blame game and pointing a finger at everyone else, i.e. the other political party. There was even an editorial about all these financial problems are Clinton's fault. Please, please stop blaming each other, stop crowing about how much better your idea is to fix it, stop yelling about how wrong other people are. Here's an idea. Why don't our politicians, whom we elected, try thinking about what's best for American citizens first and actually doing something that would benefit us for a change. It's time for all these people who think they are examples of American success stories to step up and support the people in the country who propped them up.

Enough of that. I'm just going back to my knitting. Yes, the knitting obsession continues and grows, even. I listen to a knitting podcast while I walk Cosette and it fires me up to work on something. I'm busily trying to finish an afghan for my grandmother's 90th birthday present and a scarf for a friend before I go back home in October for the birthday festivities. And while I'm working on them, my mind is spinning with all the projects I want to work on next. Then, when I'm not knitting or listening to the knitting podcasts, I'm on knitting community websites, such as Ravelry. I can waste a lot of time looking at projects other knitters are doing, and one of these days, I'll stop looking around enough to figure out how to participate. I did start a knitting blog with a friend, but both of us got sick right after I set it up and I haven't done anything with it. Hell, I hardly ever update this blog, what made me think I'd keep a new one updated. But still, I might switch to that blog for awhile, just to be able to talk more indepth about what I'm doing. A kind of hobby journal, if you will.

I have gotten some reading in, too. I read The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library by Alice Kimberly. I got this from my mom, who decided she wasn't going to keep reading the series because it's just not her favorite thing. Me, seemingly always disagreeing with my mother, liked it and am looking forward to getting some more from the library. The premise is bookstore owner Penelope McClure who somehow (I haven't read the first one yet) is in possession of a coin that belonged to a private detective who was killed in the bookshop in the 40s and now the ghost of Jack Shepherd is with her, talking to her and helping her solve mysteries. The story has a modern day mystery that parallels a case that Jack had in the 40s, so it goes back and forth a little bit. Jack is a little bit of a stereotype and says "baby" a lot, but I enjoyed it and I think Kimberly is a good writer. So, I'll be reading more. But first, I'm enjoying Murder Runs in the Family by Anne George, part of her Southern Sisters Mysteries. It's funny, clever, and very Souther, and I like that. I have several books sitting on the waiting shelf, one of them is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've wanted to read it for awhile, and when I found it at Half-Price Books, I snapped it up. Oh, but first I'll have to read Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn, which I borrowed from my best friend, Angie. I have to finish that and the Anne George, which I borrowed from Mom, so I can return them when I go back in October. That means I better get to reading. *Tsk* Oh the sacrifices I have to make, but I gave my word that I would return them and I can't go back on that, now can I?

So, how about some pictures?

A pause in licking Uncle Jay. The lull before the storm.


Baking pumpkin bread for a bake sale


Cosette hoping for a bite of said pumpkin bread


Yarn to finish the afghan


Cosette napping after her morning walk

Idling

Here I am again and thanks for stopping by.

First things first, I was tagged by Janet (who has a wonderful blog and you should go there, by the way) to come up with 6 things I'm proud of. I will do this Janet, but it's gonna take some thinkin'. My therapist would love this. At our first session she assigned me homework--3 of my weaknesses and 3 of my strengths. Guess which one was easier for me. But I will post it soon.

Now onto the catching up. We've been pretty busy around here. Whew! Yep, busy, busy, busy. For example, it takes so much time out of my day to have to flip channels on a TV without a guide. I've never been much of a flipper; I just go to the channel I want or I pull up the guide on the TV and look through it rather than flipping. But flip I do, and I can never remember which channels are where. Oh sure, I could write them down somewhere, but it's such a nice little procrastination tool that I think I'll keep flipping around.

I've been taking Al into work so that I can have the car and taking Cosette to one of the city parks in the mornings. She loves running around in the grass and among the trees, hunting squirrels. She's going to pull my arm out of its socket one of these days.

I have a new phone. Yep, we caved and got iPhones. Wow is it cool! I mean, super-duper even I feel like a techie cool. Plus I downloaded a Mahjong game for free, which probably wasn't a great idea because it's a better procrastination tool than flipping channels. There is so much it can do that I had to take a class at the store to learn more about it. The best thing? The sound is so clear when I'm talking to others and my battery lasts long enough that I can have a conversation without saying "My battery is running low, so if I stop talking you'll know what happened." And that's just the phone part, which I don't use that often because you know how I hate talking on the phone. It's amazing to be in the car (as a passenger) and be able to pull up the internet to find an address then plot it on the Maps, choosing to show traffic (red line means there's a back up) because like I said before, traffic is a huge issue here.



My brain hasn't caught up with it all yet. It's also the first time I've had a camera on my phone, and that's pretty cool. Here are a couple of pictures of Cosette on the beach.

Cosette and a crab. This one she didn't eat.


I love this photo. It's dusk and there's a storm on the Eastern Islands. We didn't get anything, but we could see the storm across the bay.


I also caved and bought an iron skillet. I couldn't stand it any more. The "nonstick" stuff in the other pans was peeling off into our food. Ew. This little 10-inch pan does everything I need it to do. I'm making beans and cornbread for the weekend! Mmmmmm cornbread.

On the tourist front, we got the most amazing opportunity. We toured a submarine! How cool is that? Let me tell you, very cool. I wish I could show you pictures, but I don't think it's a good idea. We could only take photos in certain areas, so to play it safe, I'll just tell you about it. As you would imagine, it was very close quarters, with lots of narrow steps/ladder configurations. The crew members works 12 hours, then have 2 days off. Anyone can do any job, even the Commander can step in and do any job if there's a problem. Except one--the medic. There's only 1 (on a crew of around 140 for this sub) and he isn't a doctor. He has some medical training, and he handles all the medical issues that come up, from a cold to an appendectomy. If that was my job, I'd spend all my time in that little room praying "Please don't let anyone get sick. Please don't let anyone get sick." At one point the guy giving us the tour told us that we were so many feet under water on that level. I could have gone all day without hearing that. I had done pretty well with ignoring that little necessity in taking part in this tour. But it was really amazing and I have a renewed appreciation for what they do.

Let's see. Oh, I've continued reading the cozies. A friend of mine sent me Mary Kruger's knitting mysteries for good beach reading. I just finished Dyed in the Wool and will read the next one, but I think I'll stop there. The mysteries are pretty good and well plotted out, but her writing drives me crazy. It's very repetitive, stilted and her dialogue is horrible. I think she was trying to capture "real life" dialogue, but that never works because "real life" is repetitive and boring. But I do enjoy the whole knitting theme; it makes me want to put down the book and knit.

Lastly, who needs a Cosette update? I know, I so rarely talk about her. We had a horrible yet quick storm a few days ago. There was booming thunder, crackling lightening, and flash flooding, all while we were at the mall. I was concerned about Cosette because she gets really anxious during storms like that, so I was happy when we got back to the condo. We had to search for her; she had found a little hidey hole in the space between the couch and the wall.



Poor baby. But she was fine, so I was relieved that she at least found a place to go. I don't know why she didn't go into her kennel. She likes to sleep in there, but she walked right past it to sit between the wall and the couch. Hm.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures for ya.

Boy, that pizza sure does look good.


Just because the dishes are in the dishwasher doesn't mean they're off limits.


Sunrise



One last thing, just something to think about. I may post something serious about this some time, but right now I'm still just thinking about it. The NY Times ran an article, "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading" (you may have to register to read it). There's quite the hub bub about if reading forums, blogs, fan fiction, and other internet stuff is a good substitute for reading books for kids. I won't go into all of it right now, but I will quote the 16 year old who spends hours and hours on fan fiction:

Nadia said she wanted to major in English at college and someday hopes to be published. She does not see a problem with reading few books. “No one’s ever said you should read more books to get into college,” she said.

OK, let me be the first to say, "You should read more books to get into college."

Later y'all.

While I Was Away

I thought I'd take a break from the Virginia stuff to let you in on what I was doing all those months I wasn't blogging.

I attended WhiskyFest in Chicago. I really came into my own regarding the water of life. We had a wonderful time with a group from the Dundee Dell.



This is George Grant from Glenfarclas. We love Glenfarclas.




Worked with other women in my quilt group to make a Nebraska quilt for the coordinator of the group who is moving. The center pinwheel blades are in the shape of the state of Nebraska. We made it with scraps from other quilts we made as a group, plus from our stash. I love this quilt and am thinking of making one of my own.




Bought a new car--a '93 Honda Element. It was in excellent condition and had less than 60,ooo miles. I love this car.






Had a birthday.




Worked with the women in the quilt group to make a quilt for Habitat for Humanity.




Cleaned a lot of mud off the dog




Knitted a bag holder--one of those that you pull bags from the bottom.




Knitted a Log Cabin baby blanket for my new cousin.




I'm knitting while here in Virginia, too, and will get some pictures up later. I've made a Christmas stocking and am making a scarf for Al (black, plain, simple black so he can wear it with his uniform) and a market bag. I'm trying to decide between the stockings or market bags for Christmas gifts.

I also read a lot during my break, mostly cozies. I'm still reading the Hamish MacBeth mysteries by MC Beaton and I read a few of the China Bayles mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert, but I kind of lost interest in those. While I'm here in the condo, I'm still reading the cozies. Funny that I used to tease my mother about reading those because they are all the same, but it's all I have patience for right now, and they are pretty enjoyable. But there are a lot of great used bookstores here, and I think I'll get some other books.

Anyone got any suggestions? What are you reading?

All's Fair--Part I

It's hard to believe the weekend was only 2 days because I did enough for at least 3 days. And that's a good thing. I'm bored with being bored.

In between putting more dirt around house, running errands, and going to the fair, I finished the latest installment in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series with Sookie Stackhouse. I love these books. Harris has created a world that is real while being spooky and supernatural. In Sookie's world, vampires have come out of the shadows since there is now a synthetic blood for them and they don't have to feed. Well, they may not have to but that doesn't mean they don't want to. And if there are vampires, why wouldn't there be werewolves, fairies, and shifters? Well, there are; Sookie herself is a telepath. In these stories, they are in northwest Louisiana, where I lived for about 4 years, which is also part of the appeal for me. They are funny and smart books. They do have supernatural characters, but they aren't gore-and-guts fantasy/horror, and they have romance, but they aren't graphic romance novels. Harris has created her on little niche here. The latest installment is All Together Dead. I can't wait for the next one.

The Nebraska State Fair was the big event this weekend. This is usually one of those things that Al would say we'll go then conveniently forget or not mention it again in hopes that we won't actually go. So, I was one happy camper that we actually went because I love things like the fair. The further out in the country the better, and the more hokey the better.

The fair is in Lincoln, which is only about 45 minutes away, but it was still like a mini-vacation, getting out of the big city. (Bwaaa hahahahah--I can't say that with a straight face.) We parked in the grassy lot, with hundreds of our closest friends. Crowds don't usually bother me very much; what's exhausting is watching for the signs when Al has had enough before he's so fed up with kids running in front of him that he just wants to leave. But we got there early enough that it wasn't too bad. And the weather was gorgeous for most of the day--mostly sunny with a cool breeze blowing.

The first stop was the Small Animals Tent. They should have just named this the Plenty o' Poultry tent. So many chickens and roosters and geese. And this is the best way to see a goose--restrained from pecking by the large cage. Just the same, I gave those cages a wide berth. I loved looking at the different chickens; some of them are so beautiful. One of them was a gorgeous dark reddish brown that is what I've been looking for in hair color, but I resisted the urge to pluck a feather. I did, however, look around the ground, just in case. No luck.

Leghorn--But Peggy says it's a Welsummer. Damn. That was the only one I thought I remembered the name of because I kept calling it a Foghorn. Thanks Peggy!




Look at all the feathers! Even on the feet.


Pretty chicken


Running duck--Don't know why, but we love these


This was also the loudest exhibit at the fair. I love hearing all the cock-a-doodle-doos, but I can see where it would be a little annoying. The geese were relentless in their need to be noticed and feared. You may think I'm kidding about geese, but they have an attitude. They will chase and peck you, especially if there are goslings involved.

Heaviest goose


We finally moved on to a very different kind of animal--llamas and alpacas. I really love these animals and I've mentioned that I have a nice little pastoral dream of having my own little ranch with fiber to spin and sell at exorbitant prices on the web. So, I enjoyed talking to the alpaca owners and the alpacas themselves. Seems they were a little more interested in sitting in front of the fans than conversing.

Alpaca


Llama


We also watched the border collies herding cows, but we didn't get any good pictures of that, unfortunately. Those are amazing dogs. The cows, like sheep, remember where they came out and try to head back that way instead of going through the obstacles to a different pen. But the cows kick a helluva lot harder than the sheep and those dogs have to be fast. I thought for sure one dog was going to be trampled, but he just tucked and rolled out of danger.

But of course, it wouldn't be the fair without the food! We actually did pretty good--only chicken fingers and some honey ice cream. I really thought about trying the fried Twinkies or Oreos, but I decided to pass. If I had been there by myself, I probably would have tried something, but Al has such great will power, so I bowed to peer pressure and turned them down, too. Actually, Al wouldn't even think of eating a fried Twinkie, but I'm intrigued and would in a heartbeat. That's why he's so skinny and I have to take the croutons off my salad because I've had my limit of carbs for the day.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the food shacks.









Sensing a theme? Well, it's just easier to walk around and eat if your food is on a stick.

More fair stuff coming!

No Harry Potter Book Spoilers

Mostly it was a Harry Potter weekend. Our friend’s retirement ceremony and party went well and we had a great time at the dog show, but basically, it was all about Harry.

I did read the book as soon as I got it because, like everyone else, I wanted to know what happens and I wanted to read it before someone let something slip and ruined all the fun and anticipation. I love anticipation.

So, what do you say when you don’t want to really talk about the book so you won’t give anything away, but you want to say something to express your views? How about: I wasn’t disappointed. And just ask Al, I’m hard to please. I also didn’t think the book was too surprising, but then, we have had something like 15 years of theories and thinking on this. I feel satisfied and won’t be craving another Harry book and wishing she hadn’t ended the series (although I didn't need an epilogue to reinforce that feeling). I did hit a point a little more than half-way through that I thought Oh just get on with it! These books are written for a younger audience and maybe they have a better attention span than I do, but I think that Ms. Rowling lingers a little too long sometimes and drags out scenes that could be wrapped up a little quicker. But that’s just me. I couldn’t get through the Lord of the Rings trilogy because I got bored with 3 pages of scenery description.

I think one of the reasons it took so long was that there were a lot of characters to bring back and events/relationships/secrets to close. It’s the 7th book! We don’t want to leave without knowing what happened to . . .well . . . interject your favorite character here.

Yes, I cried. I couldn’t help it. I’ve been a little weepy anyway—I cried through my friend’s retirement ceremony, I cried watching a slide photo presentation of the retreat that the kids at our church went on this summer, and I cried during some lame commercial on TV. I expected deaths in this book (they are at war after all), but I didn’t realize I would take it so hard. But worth it! I did get a little confused near the end, but I think that’s because I was so anxious to know what was going on that I started to skim a head a little. But you can’t skim these books—you’ll miss some little thing that will end up important later.

I loved this series and I got caught up in all the excitement early on and spent a lot of time discussing what might happen. However, by the last couple of books, I turned off that part of my brain and just read for the pleasure of it. It made them much more enjoyable for me that way.

But, if anyone wants to discuss Snape, let me know! (heh heh)

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I took time out of the reading to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this weekend also. I can’t believe I wasted 2 ½ hours there when I could have been reading.

OK, it wasn’t that bad, but this definitely was not one of the best of the films. It was so slow and plodding. This book is an emotional turning point for Harry so it’s not going to be constantly full of action like the others, but a little energy would have been nice. It was as if the director said, “Ok everyone, we’re going to have long pauses after each character speaks and sometimes even in the middle of your own lines.” The movie shines when there’s stuff going on, such as Harry teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and the dueling in the end, but it crawls the rest of the time.

I thought it was pretty obvious that this one was written by someone different than the last 4. Thank goodness Steve Kloves will return to write 6 and hopefully 7. I always thought Kloves did a great job pulling out what really seemed important in the books, while keeping to the spirit of them. There are always things that can’t be filmed from the books (I know, I know. They’d be over 4 hours long if they didn’t cut some things out), but I thought this movie left out some really cool stuff and changed some things around that I don’t think made the story better. Shorter, obviously, but not better. It didn’t seem quite as cohesive as the other films. And the ending was horrible. And there was a lot panting and heavy breathing in this movie, and it had nothing to do with the kissing scene. It was like Harry had asthma or something.

But this was definitely one of the best cast movies. Imelda Staunton as Umbridge and Evanna Lynch as Luna are wonderful and brilliant.

Anyway, I’m a little biased because I still consider the 3rd movie (Prisoner of Azkaban) the best. I even liked the 3rd book best, too. And, who knows. People who haven’t read the books might of thought this movie was brilliant. It’s easier to be harsh when you know where the plot and action comes from.

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I’ll post some pics from the dog show later. I need to recover from magical overload.

Catching Up on My Reading

I've read a couple of books in the last few week that I haven't talked about. I bought both of them at a used bookstore in Inverness. Some women want to look for jewelry or clothes while on vacation, I like to find the used bookstores. This was a small one that we just stumbled on. I found out later that there was a large used bookstore just a couple of streets over! Oh well, next time.


Anyway. I read Hidden Depths by Joyce Holmes on the plane ride home. I've tried one of Holmes's books in this series before and had a hard time getting into it, but I really enjoyed this one.

Tom Buchanan is a barrister in Edinburgh. Throughout the series, he is drawn into mysteries by Fizz Fitzpatrick, a free spirit who is trying to settle down into a law career. She started as a clerk, but now she has taken over Buchanan's job in the firm he has left. They go to great extremes to ignore the attraction between them. And what was annoying in Fizz earlier in the series (her stubbornness, her lack of compassion) have softened a little and become almost endearing in this book.

Fizz gets a call from her old friend Kerr, telling her that Irene, another old friend and Kerr's wife, has disappeared. They are living on a Scottish estate, and Irene was restoring art work in the home. Unfortunately, the Rubens she was working on has also disappeared, and everyone assumes Irene must have taken it and run off. Everyone except Fizz and Kerr believes that.

The mystery unfolds, and Buchanan and Fizz are once again working together. What I really liked about this book is the way Holmes alternated her point-of-view in chapters featuring each of the two main characters. So, chapter 1 is from Buchanan's point-of-view, chapter 2 is from Fizz's point-of-view, and so on. It works for me because it keeps me interested and I feel like I really understand these characters. And I think a whole book from just one point-of-view would be boring (in the case Buchanan) or annoying (in the case of Fizz).


The second book I read was Tell No One by Harlan Coben. I haven't read any of his books before, but a friend recommended them. I picked out one that is not part of his mystery series featuring Myron Bolitar.

In this book, David Beck has tried to rebuild his life after his wife, Elizabeth, was killed by a serial killer and he was left for dead. But he's loved Elizabeth since the second grade, and he can't let her go. Then one day he gets an email that only Elizabeth could have sent, and an image of her caught on a street camera mouths the words, "I'm sorry."

The case reopens when bodies are unearthed as well as a bat with Beck's blood on it. Now, he's suspected of killing his wife. But the more he investigates, the more horrible facts come to the surface, and Beck doesn't know who he can trust any more.

The story was gripping and exciting, with enough twists to keep me reading. For the most part, it is in first person, narrated by Beck. Other characters have their own chapters and sections of chapters, but they are not in first person. So, there is no confusing who this story is about.

I don't usually like stories where the main character is on the run and having to prove his innocence to the dull-witted and arrogant police. I find them frustrating. But it is only one aspect of this story, and it didn't bother me.

Next, I think I'm going to re-read a couple of the Harry Potter books to get ready for the release of Book 7. I don't remember very much about 5 or 6. I remember not liking 5 very much, so I wonder if I'll feel differently now.

Reading, Ranting and Snowblowing

I have a reading dilemma. I got The Club Dumas from the library because Newt really liked it, and she hasn’t steered me wrong yet. Then the library called because the book Restless by William Boyd came in. I put that book on hold months and months ago. I don’t even remember where I heard about it, but I for some reason, at some point, I wanted to read it badly enough to put it on hold. And it does sound very interesting.

Then, while I was furiously trying to finish knitting a shawl I wanted to take to Scotland, I listened to Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Dance of Death, which picks up where Brimstone left off. I didn’t particularly like Brimstone, but I loved Dance of Death. I couldn’t put the disks in fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. So, now I really want to read Book of the Dead, which is the end of Diogenes trilogy. I’ve been reading this series of books (missing a few, but mostly all) since The Relic, so I’m vested in these characters.

That’s 3 books I want to read right now! How will I ever decide? This is a dilemma I can live with, however. Well, it’s easy to decide one because I don’t have Book of the Dead, so unless I get it before the trip, that’s not going to happen. I think I’ll start the other two and see which one pulls me in.

________________________________

My friend told me about a very disturbing conversation she had with a lady from her church. Seems this lady has something like 6 kids and homeschools because the evil public schools will turn her children into pagan homosexuals. Those are my words and interpretation, BTW, but you’ll see why in a second. So, the ladies are talking about the gossip rags and tabloids, and the homeschooler says, “Oh, I don’t even want to teach my children how to read because they’ll be able to read those newspaper and magazine headlines at the checkout stand.” And she’s serious.

*Staring in disbelief and unable to respond for a second*

*Recovering* Are you f*#$ing kidding me? Hell, why don’t you just lock ‘em in a dark basement and throw bagels and apples to them. That is the worst example of homeschooling I’ve ever heard, and I’m a supporter of homeschooling—when it’s done responsibly through certified and responsible organizations that make sure the kids are actually learning and not staying home because they’re afraid of the class bully (I know some mothers who homeschool because their little ones were afraid of a class bully). But, overall, I know there are some great homeschool programs out there and some great parents doing a great job homeschooling. But this woman is an example of the scary side.

Even my friend, who is the nicest and most gracious Southern Belle you’ll ever meet, told her she was crazy and that was a stupid idea. The woman was nonplussed and repeated her desire.

It’s just scary.

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I will not be making a commentary on the Oscars because I am not watching it. I’m so tired of award shows and the constant recognition these celebrities seem to need. Yes, the Oscars are a big deal, and it is one of the few award shows I would normally watch. But I haven’t seen many of the films nominated, and I’m just not as impressed by the glitz as I used to be.

Besides, there’s an episode of Midsomer Murders on tonight that I don't think I've seen. I know this is going to sound a little strange, but MM is my comfort show. Yeah, people die gruesome deaths and there’s a lot of general tom-foolery going on in these little Cotswold-like villages, but it’s on Sunday nights, and that’s when I take my shot. So, I get everything ready, then during the last 30 minutes of the show, I run upstairs during a commercial and take my shot. This way I do it quickly so I can get back to the show to see who did it, even if I already know because it’s a rerun. The nights when it’s not on are very upsetting to me. I should write to the Biography channel and ask them to please not take MM off of Sunday night’s schedule. I’m sure they’d listen to me. Don’t cha think?

Oh, I will, however, be searching the net to see what everyone was wearing to the Oscars ☺

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We’ve had glorious weather until Saturday night. Rain turned to sleet then to heavy, wet snow. So, we woke up to this:










It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Looks like a good day for a Pajama Day! That snow is so heavy that it stayed on the tree limbs despite 25 mph gusts of wind. Al fired up the snowblower, so our driveway is clear. And the sun came out today, so the driveway is also dry. Now if they’d just plow the street in front of the house . . .