CommenTarri

Cruel Intent by J. A. Jance

2010-02-06T00:26:00.000-08:00

Cruel Intent is the fourth Ali Reynolds book by J.A. Jance. In this installment Ali is busy remodeling her mansion, choosing a recipient for the Askins Scholarship, dealing with identity theft, and trying to prove her contractor is not the one who murdered his philandering wife. She's also trying to plan Thanksgiving dinner and helping her son not have his grandmother take over his wedding.

For the most part, Cruel Intent is standard murder mystery/thriller fare, but the ending was so intense that I couldn't make myself put the book down when it was time for bed. I look forward to the next Ali Reynolds installment, just as I like the J.P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady books.

Books I've read in 2009

2010-02-06T00:18:00.000-08:00

The Sweethearts' Knitting Club by Lori Wilde
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods by Ann B. Ross
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
The Shortest Distance Between Two Women by Kris Radish
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
The Blood Ballad by Rett MacPherson
Twilight by Stephanie Meyers
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
The Divorce Party by Laura Dave
Shadow Dance by Julie Garwood
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Sisters by Canfield and Hansen
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson
Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
Blood Relations by Rett MacPherson
Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs
Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat A Hair by Laurie Perry
Murder Among Friends by Jonnie Jacobs
Murder Among Neighbors by Jonnie Jacobs
A Fortunate Age by Joanna Smith Rakoff (ARC)
The Good Wife Strikes Back by Elizabeth Buchan
T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

Eternal on the Water

2010-01-29T15:47:00.001-08:00

by Joseph Monninger

The Sweethearts' Knitting Club

2009-12-26T11:03:00.001-08:00

by Lori Wilde is the story of love and redemption in a small Texas town.

Jesse Calloway has spent the last ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He is sure that he was set up on a cocaine charge by the sheriff's son, Beau Trainer. When Jesse gets out early, he heads home to Twilight, Texas to clear his name, get revenge on Beau, and reclaim his lost love, Flynn MacGregor. Unfortunately for Jesse, Flynn has just accepted Beau's fourth marriage proposal.

Flynn has spent the last fifteen years taking care of her family while her mother was dying, but now the family is doing well and Flynn is struggling to let go and get on with her life. Her mother's dream was to own a yarn store, so Flynn sets about trying to fulfill her mother's last request.

I love the Gilmore Girl references, and the members of the Sweethearts' Knitting Club are delightfully funny. This novel starts slowly and ends too quickly.

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

2009-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

Truly, Madly is the first in a promised series of books about Lucy Valentine, by Heather Webber; hopefully, it will not be the last.

Lucy's family owns Valentine, Inc., a matchmaking business in Boston. The thing is, the family doesn't so much match make as use their love-related physic ability to find the perfect love matches. Unfortunately for Lucy, a lightening strike when she was 14 zapped the ability to make matches, but left her with the ability to find lost objects.

When Lucy's father suffers a minor heart attack, Lucy gets roped into working at Valentine, Inc. While meeting with her first client she gets a physic vision of a dead body and sets out to solve the mystery with her hunky upstairs neighbor.

Truly, Madly is a quick read. It is a cozy mystery with a physic theme and the characters are nice people who are a little bit flawed. So basically, they are like all the rest of us mortals.

The Postmistress

2009-10-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know who is responsible for choosing the First Look Book Club books at Barnes and Noble, but my suggestion is to steal their reading list and buy every book.

The Postmistress is an outstanding story that transports the reader back to 1940, the time before WWII started for the United States, but England is being bombed on an almost daily basis. It is the story of love, loss, and survival told through the eyes of a journalist, a doctor's wife, and the Postmistress of a small Cape Cod town.

Frankie Bard is a journalist on assignment in England with Edward R. Murrow during the Blitz. Frankie sees what is happening to the Jewish people and wants desperately to get the American people involved.

Emma is the doctor's wife. Newly married she moves to his home town and struggles to find her place.

Iris James is the postmaster. She is quite clear on the fact that she is the postmaster, because the post office does not have the position of postmistress. To me, this is the perfect description of Iris a by-the-rules, unbending, strict spinster who one day does not deliver a letter.

Sarah Blake has written an amazing war novel. From the beautiful cover, to the last word, I was enthralled.

Why I Think President Obama Won the Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

President Obama has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and all the pundits are up in arms. I mean (they say) he was only in office 18 days before the nominations were set and what has he done that makes him eligible for such an award. Well here's my take on the award.

During the campaign Senator Obama said many times that he would sit and talk with any leaders that would talk to him. Candidate Obama said that dialog was the key to turning enemies into friends. Candidate Obama was ridiculed, by him opponents in both the primaries and the race for president, for his naivete. I think the world was listening, and not only were they listening, but they believed.

Maybe it's enough to be visionary.

Representatives Michelle Bachman and Steve King

2009-09-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here watching C-Span and these two idiots are talking about how Acorn and Planned Parenthood are unethical and immoral. Michelle Bachman (Minnesota) is talking about how President Obama is setting up sex classes in the schools. Steve King (Iowa) has posters (painting-like) of President Obama holding a flag that looks like the posters that used to be shown of Hitler and saying that President Obama is the leader of Acorn.

I don't understand why anyone would vote for either of these idiots. They are ridiculous representatives of their states. The best thing is that the chamber is empty, so these two idiots are talking only to each other. The only thing missing is Sarah Palin.

I'm turning the channel now, I can feel the IQ points seeping from my brain just listening to them.

The Lost Symbol

2009-09-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

by Dan Brown

As usual, Dan Brown begin his latest thriller with a gruesomely bloody scene and, as usual, I am immediately wanting to know more.

Symbologist and teacher, Robert Langsdon is summoned to Washington DC by his friend and mentor, Peter Solomon, to give a speech. Upon arrival at the U.S. Capitol, Robert finds that there is no speech, but a severed and tattooed hand is discovered in the foyer wearing the Peter's Masonic ring.

Robert must find the hidden Freemason's treasure before midnight, in order to save Peter's life. Robert is soon joined by Peter's sister, Kathleen and together they try to outrun the CIA, Capitol security, and a really bad guy.

A lot of the symbols were lost on me, quite frankly, but I admit that it was kind of fun to unravel the clues and try to solve the easier hidden symbols. Plus it gave me a little break from the murder, mayhem, blood, drowning, bloodletting, torture, self-mutilation, and intensity Dan Brown's novels always bring.

The Shortest Distance between Two Women

2009-09-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

by Kris Radish is a kind of funny story of four sisters and the mother who raised them. It is mostly the story of Emma, a single forty something, whose midlife crisis arrives just when the family reunion planning is at its peak. Emma, the one who has always done the most work and never complains, reaches her limit after a voicemail from the one who got away. After telling off her three sisters and mother, she temporarily blows off the planning and disappears into her garden.

I have three sisters and my mother is the same age as Marty, the Gilford Girls' mother, but we are nothing like these women. Talk about a bunch of dysfunctional people. If my sisters talked to me the way these women talk to each other, I'd move half way across the US, maybe I'd go to Canada. If my niece and nephews talked the way these nieces and nephews talked in public, I'd wash their mouths out with soap. Seriously!

Kris' characters are not like people I know, but maybe that's why I read her books.

Under This Unbroken Sky

2009-08-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

is the first novel by Canadian film maker and screenwriter, Shandi Mitchell. It is set in Western Canada in 1937, is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I could not put it down.

Under This Unbroken Sky is the story of Theo and Maria Mykolayeko and their children. They are a hard-working family who immigrates to Canada in the 1930s in order to farm and be free from Stalin.

About three years after they arrive, Theo is arrested for stealing his own wheat and sent to prison for two years. Maria is left to bargain with the constable for the wheat, cart, and horse, the only thing the family has left after the farm has been foreclosed upon. She then moves her five young children to the farm of her sister-in-law, Anna, where Maria and the children (including Anna's two) work to survive until Theo is released.

From the Barnes and Noble website, this is page one.

There is a black-and-white photograph of a family: a man, woman, and five children. Scrawled on the back, in tight archaic script, are the words Willow Creek, Alberta, 1933. This will be their only photograph together.

They are posed in front of a hand-hewn log granary. The adults are seated on wooden chairs, centered to frame. They are dressed in their church best.

The man, his hair clipped short, wears a white, high-collared, pressed shirt, tightly knotted tie, a dark woolen suit, and broken-in work boots. He looks like a tall man. Large hands rest on his knees. His legs are crossed.

The woman wears a dark, modest knee-length dress and low-heeled shoes with sturdy ankle straps. No stockings. On her lap is a baby, a white blur squirming to escape the woman's strong hold. He is round and fat, in stark contrast to the other thin forms.

Three sisters ordered in ascending age are interspersed between their parents. On the far end stands the eldest boy. He is ramrod-straight. Chin up. Though they all wear summer clothes, they are standing in four inches of snow.

They stare straight ahead, their eyes lost in shadows. Expressionless. Arms rigidly pressed against their sides. Holding their breath as the photographer counts: one hundred and one, one hundred and two, one hundred and three . . .

Within three years, this farm will be foreclosed. Two years later, one will die. Two others, of whom there is no photograph, will be murdered.

But this day, in the moment right after the shutter clicks shut, this family takes a deep breath and smiles.

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this enthralling book through the Barnes and Noble First Look on-line book club. Unfortunately, I was so enthralled by the story that I couldn't put the book down until I read the last page. I say unfortunately, because the First Look discussions add so much to the reading of a novel.

In Under This Unbroken Sky Shandi Mitchell makes you root for the family and ache for them when things don't go their way. Because I was with the family through heart ache, hunger, hard work, and love the members of the Mykolayenko will stay with me for a long time. This is a novel that I will read again and recommend to others.

Twenty Wishes

2009-07-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

by Debbie Macomber

In the latest installment of the Blossom Street series, we meet the widows. They get together on Valentines day, walk on bubble wrap, then make a list of twenty things they want to do. Of course, all of the lists include find love (duh), therein lies the purpose of the series.

Ann Marie decides to volunteer as a lunch buddy to eight year old Ellen and when Ellen's grandmother has heart surgery, Ann Marie becomes Ellen's foster mother. Barbie goes to a movie and meets Mark. Elise gets a job at the yarn store. Lillie meets Hector when she buys a red BMW convertible.

There were no knitting patterns.

The Blood Ballad by Rett MacPherson

2009-07-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

You know what I like about Rett MacPherson's Torie O'Shea series? It's the fact that the people are so real. If you live in a small town, you are going to run into the same kind of off beat characters and everyone in town knows your business. I like that Torie's daughters are far from perfect, that they feel like they are not as loved as the other sister, and they fight like my sister and I did long ago.

The latest installment in the Torie O'Shea mystery series by Rett MacPherson involves Torie's long deceased great grandparents in murder, adultery, and copyright infringement.

Glen Morgan the grandson of the famed country group, The Morgan Family, approaches Torie about a book he is planning saying that his grandfather had an affair with Torie's great grandmother and fathered Torie's grandfather. While investigating the veracity of Glen's claim, a man is murdered, a CD about a long ago murder arrives in the mail, and Torie's teenage daughters fight.

All in all, what more can you expect from a cozy mystery.

Twilight

2009-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Teen angst, young love, vampire boyfriend, disapproving family members, you name it, it's all in this book.

The much heralded vampire series by Stephanie Meyers is supposed to be the new Harry Potter, the books that made the young people of the world want to read. I know everyone is gaga over this series and, while it is an easy read, I don't understand the hype. Am I too jaded? Am I spoiled by my love of Harry and his adventures? There just doesn't seem to be enough of what I want to read in Twilight.

Bella moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with Edward. Edward just happens to be part of a vampire coven that doesn't attack people. Edward and Bella fall in love and Edward's family has to rescue Bella from a bad vampire. That's about it, what am I missing?

Fearless Fourteen

2009-07-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged anything. First I found Facebook and then my computer was in the shop for three weeks. But here I am, back on track and the most recent book I've read is Fearless Fourteen.

The latest (paperback) chapter in the Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum series is Fearless Fourteen. In this installment Stephanie is followed around by a washed out 60's singing diva, who wants to shoot a reality series about a modern day bounty hunter. Of course, the way Stephanie approaches her job as a bond enforcement agent, is not fodder for a reality show. Trust me, I love reality.

When Stephanie's latest bonded client is kidnapped, Stephanie and Joe end up looking after a 14 year old Goth computer nerd who tags everything in sight (including the dog).

Last night I started Twilight. I'm hoping it lives up to the hype.

Of Bees and Mist

2009-06-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

The newest selection for the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club

In his first novel, Erick Setiawan casts a spell over the reader with words and descriptions that draw you into the story and won't allow you to forget the people you meet. Although it took me a couple of chapters to be drawn in, I soon became enthralled with the characters and their lives.

This magical novel tells the story of a young woman and follows her as she learns to deal with the negativity and deception that surround her. It is the story of two very different families who are joined through marriage and how they really aren't that different in the end.

This book is one that I would recommend to imaginative readers who likes to escape from the reality of daily life.

Happy Birthday Marie and June Sock

2009-06-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I finished my June socks, and I finished them in just nine days. They look great and I will post a picture and more details about my latest project as soon as I get my computer back from the computer fixing shop. They were the June selection for the Ravelry group, Thrifty Knitter's Sock Group.

Today I went to lunch with my very friends, Mary Jo and Marie. I miss not living in the same neighborhood and seeing them on a daily basis. I think we all miss the "old" neighborhood. Of course, the old neighborhood doesn't exist any longer, so they will all have to move here.

My computer is broken

2009-05-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

and boy do I miss it. I'm sitting here at my sister's using her computer while she is on vacation. I took my computer into a new shop to get it fixed ten days ago and it's not a major problem (hopefully, just needs a new back light for the screen). Unfortunately, the "technician" is too busy to get around to fixing it. Now if he had told me that ten days ago, I would have gone elsewhere and if I'd have known eleven days ago that my computer was going to break, I would not have bought a new washer.

I miss keeping up with my on-line friends, but I've read five books and knitted a whole sock since May 24. I think I need to spend a whole lot less time on the computer.

The Divorce Party

2009-05-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

by Laura Dave * * * *

Maggie and Nate are planning to marry and Nate's parents are planning to divorce. On the eve of Gwyn and Thomas' divorce party, Maggie finds that Nate has not been honest with her about his past and the fact that his family is part of the uber rich. As Maggie reconsiders her relationship with Nate, Gwyn tries to get Thomas to reconsider the end of their marriage.

The characters in The Divorce Party are real and the insight Ms. Dave shows into their often complicated feelings as they live their lives is truly a party for the reader.

Shadow Dance

2009-05-31T13:31:00.002-07:00

by Julie Garwood

* * *
Julie Garwood writes romance books, but she also has the knack for writing a good mystery. Her stories are not unlike the Phyllis Whitney mysteries that I liked to read 30 years ago, with a little romance and sex thrown into the mix.

In Shadow Dance, Ms. Garwood continues the stories of the Buchanan, McKenna, and Clayboure families, that she has written about for years.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

2009-05-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

by J. K. Rowling

* * *

Fairy tales and fables told to young wizards and witches. Every Harry Potter fan(atic) will read this book and add it to their Harry Potter collection. Not only is it another clever telling of how good triumphs over evil, but all of the proceeds go to a Children's charity.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2009-05-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow

* * * *

Told in letters mainly from and to Juliet Ashton in 1946. The novel is the story of a group of people who lived in an area occupied by the Germans during WWII. It shares how they came together, both during the war and in the aftermath.

The island of Guernsey is full of characters you will want to meet and the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a book club you will want to join.

This book would be a great book club selection and I recommend it to everyone.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Sisters

2009-05-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen with pictures by Maria Bushkin Stave

* * Another chicken soup book with touching stories about sisters and relationships between sisters. I got this book from my sister, Nikki, for my birthday and passed it on to my sister, Staci, on her birthday.

Knit Two

2009-04-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs is the continuing story of the women of The Friday Night Knitting Club. This chapter in the lives of the women takes place five years after Georgia's death and lets the reader know how her daughter and friends are coping.

Dakota, Georgia's daughter, has just started college and is being pushed by her father on a career path she doesn't want to follow. She jumps at the chance, when one of the women, Lucie, gets a job making a music video in Italy, she takes Dakota along as a babysitter. Then Catherine (Georgia's best friend), James (Dakota's father), and Marty and Anita (surrogate parents) come along to work, play, and find a long lost family member.

Not one of my favorites this year, but a good continuation of the story of people of The Friday Night Knitting Club.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

2009-04-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Katherine Howe's first novel The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is definitely one of the best books I have read in a long time. Ms. Howe tells the story of Connie Goodwin, a doctoral candidate in American History, who spends the summer clearing out her grandmother's house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and ends up discovering Deliverance Dane, a woman condemned as a witch in 1692 Salem.

While looking through the old books in the study, Connie discovers a very old key in a bible. Inside the key is an equally old slip of paper with the name, Deliverance Dane. While looking for information on Deliverance, Connie meets Sam, a very well educated restorer of all things old, while he is restoring a church steeple.

http://www.physickbook.com/

Told through flashbacks, we learn the story of Deliverance Dane, her family, and the Receipt book which is handed down from one generation to the next.

As Connie attempts to get the house ready to sell, she also searches for source material for her Doctorate course of study and is encourage by the adviser to find Deliverance's physick (charms and spells) book.

This book will be on sale in June, so put it on your TBR list and pick up a copy. In my opinion, you won't be disappointed. I hope the binding on the finished copy is half as well done as it is on the ARC. With a flap covering the pages, beautiful artwork, and thick paper, this book will definitely stay in my library.

Fox News (and I use the term loosely)

2009-04-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Can anybody tell me why the talking heads at Fox are so obsessed with lowering the pay of the autoworkers? Seriously, the CEO is making 1.5 million dollars a year after taking a 30 percent pay cut and all Chris Wallace wants to know from David Axelrod is if the labor agreement is up for renegotiation.

I used to be in a union and I made pretty good money and benefits. So what? I made nowhere near what the executives made and, quite frankly, I worked just as hard every day as my boss. Many days, I worked harder and accomplished a heck of a lot more.

In my opinion, the $35 an hour plus benefits is not what has brought the auto industry to its collective knees, it's the million and millions of dollars in compensation that has been and is being paid to the executive.

Chris Wallace, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly; get your heads out of your asses, it's time to sing a new song.

So now you know, I watch Fox News Sunday. I watch them every Sunday, along with Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and This Week with George Stephanopolis. I find Fox to be the most interesting of the Sunday morning shows since the election. It amuses me to watch them try to spin.

Yes, JoJo, it is I. I am so happy to see you again and read your blog.

The Silver Needle Murder

2009-04-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

The Silver Needle Murder is the ninth Tea Shop Mystery by Laura Childs. Set with the backdrop of the Charleston Film Festival, Theo Browning is again embroiled in a murder.

This time it is director, Jordan Cole, and as Theo and Drayton try to prove that Timothy's granddaughter should not be a suspect, the festival continues and the danger intensifies.

While it took 240 pages for Theodosia to figure out the killer, I had it figured out quite early. Really though, that's why a cozy mystery is written, to entertain and pass time.

A Veiled Antiquity

2009-03-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

While I sit here and wait for Barnes & Noble to send me the latest copy of the First Look Book Club book, I'll read A Veiled Antiquity the second in the Torie O'Shea cozy mysteries by Rett MacPherson.

Torie O'Shea is a genealogist and town historian in New Kassel, Missouri. She is also a wife, daughter of the woman who is dating the town sheriff, and the mother of two young daughters, and in her spare time she solves murders and centuries old mysteries.

Marie Dijon is found dead at the bottom of her basement stairs. The police rule the death an accident, but nosy Torie thinks there is more to the story, much more. Especially when she finds an envelope with some very old French documents and a key duct-taped to the underside of the kitchen table.

Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson

2009-03-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Family Skeletons is the first in the Torie O'Shea mystery series and I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of this book which was published ten years ago. In this book we meet the main characters who will carry on through all the rest of the books as Torie solves her first murder and starts to come to grips with her mother dating the local sheriff.

Torie (Victory) O'Shea is the local genealogist/historian/tour guide in New Kassel, Missouri. When she is approached by Norah Zumwalt to find out about Norah's father who didn't returned from WWII to marry her mother, Torie discovers that he did not die in the war and is still living in the area. Torie goes to Norah's house to give her the results of the search, and finds Norah has been brutally murdered.

With the help of the sheriff, Torie follows the clues and solves not one, but four vicious murders.

Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

2009-03-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

Last night I finished Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton, a quick and quirky read.

Chloe is the only non-magical inhabitant of Sugar Maple, Vermont, a small tourist town. Chloe's ancestor cast a spell that protects Sugar Maple and its inhabitants from, well everything; death, illness, accidents, crime, and even black ice. Then one day a beautiful stranger falls through the ice and drowns after visiting Chloe's yarn shop, Sticks & Strings. Because there is no crime, there is no police force, and because the beautiful stranger was having an affair with a married politician, an investigation is in order.

Enter Luke MacKennzie, a burned out Boston cop and friend of the dead woman, Suzanne. Luke leaves his job in Boston and is hired to find out what happened to Suzanne. Sparks fly (literally) when Chloe and Luke meet and continue to fly as he solves the mystery and falls in love with the beautiful Chloe.

Quirky characters, romance, magick, a power struggle, gorgeous people, and knitting. What more can an author provide?

Graduation Socks

2009-03-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

I finished Shayna's socks, now she must finish her book reports and graduate.

I sure hope she likes them, the Peapod pattern was great and I like the way the socks turned out. Jen Jensen designed the socks and she made the instructions so easy to follow Even for me!

I used Knit Picks' Imagination hand painted yarn in the Unicorn colorway. I usually love Knit Picks' products, but I'm not buying this yarn again as the color variations are noticeable from one hank to the next. Not good when you want the socks to match.

On another note, I found something I like even more than Fiber One bars, Kellogg's Fiber Plus Chewy Bars. OMG they taste like Girl Scout cookies, the good ones.

Fleece Navidad

2009-03-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Fleece Navidad is a Christmas, knitting, murder, mystery with knitting patterns and cookie recipes. Hmmmm, I can't think of anything Maggie Sefton left out that I like.

Set in Fort Collins, Colorado and centering around Kelly Flynn and her knitting friends, this book's takes place at Christmas and the hit-and-run murder of the town librarian. Fleece Navidad is the sixth book in the Lambspun Yarn Shop mysteries and, of course, Kelly starts snooping around and finds clues the police have missed.

Although I enjoy Maggie Sefton's Lambspun mysteries, there wasn't a whole lot of mystery in Fleece Navidad. I hope the next book in the series centers more on the main characters, with the mystery being a little more mysterious.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

2009-03-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Spend the summer with Benji, Reggie, NP, Bobby, Marcus, and the rest of the Sag Harbor friends. A self proclaimed autobiographical novel, Sag Harbor is well worth your time. Benji (oops, Ben) and his friends are your typical almost men teenagers, trying to fit in and move forward with all the hassles and tests that line the path to adulthood.

Sag Harbor is a very interesting look into the mid 1980s as seen through the eyes of an African American teenager who spends his summers away from his predominately white prep school and reconnects with his black friends.

Happy Birthday Mary

2009-03-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder what my friends really think about my hobbies, since they usually get birthday presents made by me signifying my latest obsession. Last week Mary, Marie and I got together for lunch to celebrate Mary's birthday. I gave her a pair of homemade socks.

The socks are called (Black)Hearted and I used Stariel's pattern. It was a fairly quick knit and I will probably do it again in a solid colored yarn with beads.

We had a great lunch and visit at La Hacienda. When I came home I took some pictures of the Trumpeter Swans in the field in back of my house. It is so fun to watch them, because as soon as I get anywhere near the field they start walking away from me and talking loudly to each other. I wonder what they are saying about me; wait that doesn't make me paranoid, does it?

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009-02-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Browse Inside this book

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Coraline Jones is a cleverly written children's book, which makes it plain that there is no place like home. One dreary summer day a bored Coraline finds a locked door in her home that opens onto a brick wall. That is, it opens onto a brick wall when her mother is the one who opens the door. Later, Coraline opens the door and steps into an alternate world, where her parents are strange, to say the least. When she steps back into her flat, her parents are gone and she must rescue them from the "other mother".

Blood Relations

2009-02-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Book six in Rett MacPherson's cozy mystery series about genealogist Torie O'Shea introduces Stephanie, the half-sister Torie did not know existed. Of course, finding out she is not her father's only child, causes Torie not just a little angst, even as she warms to not being an only child.

At the same time Torie is finding out about her sister, the Mississippi River goes down and the wreckage of the Phantom are revealed. As the river goes down, a cast of supporting characters arrive in town amid rumors of the uncut diamonds that went down with the ship in 1919. Along with Stephanie and Torie's best friend Collette, there is a group of researchers from a nearby community college and a full-of-himself television reporter and his cameraman.

Shortly after their arrival, one of the visitors is murdered. Because she is the local history and genealogy expert, and unnaturally curious, Torie starts digging for the truth of the wreckage, the survivors, and those who died when the Phantom sank.

Murder Among Us

2009-02-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

The latest (well it was published in 1998) installment in the Kate Austen Mystery series by Jonnie Jacobs, is my least favorite in the series, but it is still a good cozy mystery. In Murder Among Us, one of Kate's students is murdered, in what appears at first to be a serial killing, because another young blond (why are they always blond) woman was found in much the same circumstances.

As Halloween approaches, Kate deals with skeletons in the mail, an older, more experienced 18 year old dating her 15 year old "daughter" Libby, a visit from her disapproving, soon to be ex-Mother-In-Law, and an uncaring, unambitious soon to be ex. She is trying to figure out why Julie Harmon, a recent orphan who is living with her ultra-religious half aunt and uncle, was murdered and what it was that Julie was trying to figure out.

The novel takes us into the cyber world or on-line sex and dating sites. There are the usual twists and turns that are always present in Jonnie Jacobs' Kate Austen mysteries, but I had this one figured out pretty early.

And just a side rant from me to those people on PBS who don't follow the conditions rules. You should know better, and next time I'm not giving you my credit for a book that is falling apart.

Hats

2009-02-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

I finished my hat for February on January 31. Shhhh, don't tell anyone that I started early. The pattern is Edna Rose by Jacki Kelly, and it turned out great. I used Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel, which is the softest yarn I have used. It works wonderfully for hats made for people going through chemo, because the yarn feels like an old, often washed, cotton t-shirt. You know the one I mean, it's the one that is so worn it should not be seen in public, but is so comfortable you just can't throw it away. I gave it to Staci to pass on to her friend, Nell.

Speaking of Nell, her chemo is finished and it looks good that the cancer is gone. Now she just needs to gain some weight and keep healthy.

Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair

2009-02-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Who knew? Divorce can be funny. Well at least divorce can be funny when it's not your own and looked at through the perspective of time. Laurie Perry aka Crazy Aunt Purl started a blog when her husband suddenly left her and she also started knitting. She turned her blog into a book and she turned her new found talent into a new obsession. I know that it was an obsession, because I took up knitting about 15 months ago.

Of course, the book is not always funny. There are many parts of the book where Laurie is just barely getting through the work day without falling apart. Literally. There's the first date who walks out in the middle (okay, that was kind of funny). And there are the loyal friends who drag Laurie kicking and screaming back out into the world.

This book was well worth the price.

Murder Among Friends

2009-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

was my latest book on the way to my 52 book goal for 2009. Written by Jonnie Jacobs it follows Kate Austen as she tries to solve the mystery surrounding the murder of her friend, Mona. The suspects include a bitter ex-husband, his bimboish fiance Bambi, an angry husband of a student, the daughter's boyfriend, a stranger who is hanging around the school, and the secretly married boyfriend or possibly his wife. That's a heck of a lot of suspects, isn't it?

In this second installment of the Kate Austen cozy mystery series, the author doesn't give away the killer until the last pages. The characters are interesting and a little quirky, the kind of people that are hanging around just about every neighborhood.

I'd definitely give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars on the enjoyable meter.

Hat for January

2009-01-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my nephew, Quinn's girlfriend Shayna, I have a picture of my latest hat on a real live (not stuffed) person. Of course, you cannot really tell what the hat looks like, but it will be warm and it will be given to charity.

I used the Ground Flower pattern again, by PhoeKnits and Knit Picks Palette yarn in Iris Heather. Not my favorite color, which is why I didn't use it for socks. Too bland.

Here it is January 25 and I've already made all my goals for the month. I've read four books, and knit a hat and a pair of socks. Well, I've made most of my goals, I didn't lose ten pounds. I did lose about seven pounds, so I'm not going to be too disappointed.

I also won a hat from Aurora at http://foxyartstudio.blogspot.com/ . I am very excited, I rarely win anything. Get well soon Aurora.

Murder Among Neighbors

2009-01-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

Kate Austen has a five year old daughter and a husband who left her to go find himself in Europe. One morning she goes for a jog and comes home to murder, a career, and a new love.

The first Kate Austen mystery by Jonnie Jacobs introduced some interesting new characters. The characters in the series are well described, but not all of them are very likable. Set in Walnut Hills, California, the background characters are a little snooty, have money, and belong to the country club. Kate, on the other hand, is clever, gutsy, a little bit funny, and appealingly normal. She sets out to find the person who murdered her friend next door.

Jonnie Jacobs writes a mystery, that stays a mystery almost to the end of the book. I suspected each character and was not able to solve this one before the author completed the last chapter.

Updates

2009-01-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

Goals for January:

I finished my first socks for January, well before the end of the month.
I'm working on my first hat of the year now and should finish it today or tomorrow.
I've read three books and have two more to read before the end of the month.

Brrrr, it is so cold here. It's after 1:00 p.m. and the frost from last night has turned the trees white. It's like all the trees are flocked for Christmas. Plus the evil weather people are talking about snow again. What's up with that?

President Barack H. Obama

2009-01-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day!

The Inauguration is complete, the luncheon has begun, and George W. Bush ceases to have any authority over the United States of America. I'm not sure which is more important for this country, but for me, it is the change that I know will be coming regarding our place in the world.

January 20, 2009, it is now true that "all men are created equal".

Peace

A Fortunate Age

2009-01-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

A Fortunate Age by Joanna Smith Rakoff is the story of six highly educated 20 somethings, starting out in New York. It is set in the late 90s and early part of 21st century and follows five Oberlin graduates as they start their lives, families, and careers.

All of the characters come from comfortable families, and seem to not care about monetary success. The book starts with Lil's wedding and we are introduced to her best friends; Beth, Sadie, Emily, Tal, and Dave.

Tal and Emily are actors and Dave is a musician. Although Tal has found some success, Emily is working in a bank and Dave is a waiter. Sadie is an assistant in a publishing house and Lil is a teacher. Beth is also a teacher, although she is off to a slow career start because of a problem with some credits and her Doctoral Dissertation.

Lil's new husband, Tuck, works for a progressive magazine, but loses his job shortly after the marriage, and can't seem to find a new job that lives up to his high opinion of his standards, so Lil becomes the only one in the family who actually earns a paycheck.

The Good Wife Strikes Back

2009-01-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

Another true to life book about the pitfalls of letting a marriage stagnate. Elizabeth Buchan writes about Fannie and Will, a couple who just celebrated their 19th anniversary. Will is a British politician and Fannie is his loyal political wife and partner. Their life is complicated by his alcoholic sister, who lives with them, and a daughter who is leaving the nest and setting out on her own.

As Fannie struggles with the day-to-day sameness of a political wife, she also finds she is not sure that the struggle is worth the effort. She longs to find herself and her happiness, by getting more involved in her father's wine business. A trip to Italy is planned and while there, Fannie finds what she misses most . . . herself and ultimately Will.

Dear Sarah

2009-01-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am so very sorry that the mean old mainstream media was disrespectful of you during your run for Vice President. I apologize for the audacity of Katie Couric asking you what newspapers and magazines you read. How dare she think the American people have the right to know if their elected officials have IQs high enough to actually run the country. Shame on her and the voters. I can certainly understand how you think that anyone who said anything negative about you was just using your celebrity to further their careers. After all, Sarah, you are the center of the universe.

Seriously, keep talking, keep giving interviews, because every time you open your mouth and speak, you put another rock in your boat. How's Russia doing? Still keeping as eye on it from your front porch?

By the way, if you had run as a Democrat in the Democratic party, John McCain would now be the President. Democrats aren't as stupid as you seem to think.

T is for Trespass

2009-01-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

To reach my goal of reading 52 books in the next 52 weeks, I chose T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton as my first book of 2009. I really like the alphabetical series that follows Kinsey Millhone, Private Investigator for Santa Teresa, California; however, this was not one of my favorites. I'm not sure if it is because it has been three years since the S was published or if it is because the plot line of this story (elder abuse) could so easily happen to any of us.

This story is told from the viewpoint of Kinsey, the private investigator, who suspects her elderly neighbor is being abused and Solana, the nurse's aide who stole the identity of a coworker, in order to steal the possessions of Kinsey's elderly neighbor, Gus. After Kinsey is hired by Gus' niece to do a background check on Solana, Kinsey starts to suspect that Solana is not she says she is. By then it's too late and Kinsey can't get anyone with authority to believe her suspicions.

The best thing about Kinsey and the alphabet series, is that Kinsey is just like the rest of us. She has a craving for fast and greasy foods, men who aren't good for her, and she is fiercely loyal to her friends.

P.S. It snowed again today, but I had a wonderful lunch with Mary, Marie, and Lee. I sure miss my old neighbors.

Last Post of the Year

2008-12-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all who read. I hope that your year was great, but that 2009 is your best year yet.

I buried my dollar this afternoon, so I'm sure the stock market will start rebounding on Monday. You can thank me later.

I finished my last knitting project of 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Actually, I finished this morning about 1:00 a.m., but I had to tuck in the ends this morning. It's the Ground Flower Hat, by Phoeknits http://phoeknits.wordpress.com/patterns/ and I made it to match Kelli's coat. I used Knit Picks Essential sock yarn in Peacock.

As for resolutions, I don't make them. I do set goals (okay, it's not the same). Some of my goals are:

Knit 10 - 12 pairs of socks
Knit 10 - 12 hats (some for charity)
Read 52 books (one a week)
Be healthy by eating better foods and exercising more

Again, Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho Today is the day, I'm going to be so brave! I'm going to drive my car to dinner, all 3 1/2 miles.

I grab my keys and open the garage door. I back out, trying to get the exact right amount of pressure on the gas pedal. I make it out of the garage and past the place I got stuck yesterday. I back all the way to the shop and turn toward the highway. I'm doing great, but this is just the practice run.

I go back into the garage and then let everyone know that I can drive to dinner. I'm sure they are all thrilled beyond words.

Now it's time to leave. I get my purse, put on my boots, and I'm off. Watch out world, I'm back on the road. I get to the very end of the driveway, about three feet from the main highway and get totally stuck. Walk back to the house and call my most wonderful BIL who says he will come and dig me out, says it won't take but a minute.

Scott (most marvelous of BILs) and Staci (most beautiful of sisters) come to dig me out. Scott dug as much as he could then Staci and I were going to push. Almost instantly two cars stop and four very nice, wonderful, kind, and beautiful men (and young men) jump out to help push (sorry to the one who Staci smacked in the head). I got out of the driveway and went to dinner (a little slippery in town). Kyle came home with me and I let him drive (hahaha "let") and he got stuck at the bottom of the driveway, he dug, then I dug (okay, I only dug a little bit) while he tried to drive. He made it to the top of my driveway, where he got stuck again.

I talked it over with the car, and it decided to stay where it is until the snow melts.

Snowed In

2008-12-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

I can't take it anymore. It's been a week since I left the house. Well, left my house in a gas powered vehicle, I can still get out and walk next door and go out to get the mail. The stores are closing early, if they are opening at all.

This snow is unbelievable. When I go outside, the snow is up to my knees, making walking just a little difficult. This morning I went outside to knock the snow off the trees in the dogs' yard (so the branches don't break off on their little heads) and when I came in my legs were tingling and they stayed red for at least an hour.

I'm afraid to open the gas bill, because I'm sure it is going to be astronomical and I don't want to be tempted to turn off the heat. I'm tired of leaving every faucet dripping at night and starting the washing machine right before I go to bed, so the pipes don't freeze.

The icicles outside the bathroom.

Secular Progressive

2008-12-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

Today, as I was channel surfing, I came across Bill o'Reilly. He was discussing the Washington Governor's decision to allow people with dissenting opinions access to the foyer of my state's Capitol Building. He calls Governor Gregiore a pinhead because she is trying to live up to the principles of the Founding Fathers. In my opinion, he is the pinhead.

When I hear Bill o'Reilly speak, the voice inside my head is Hermione Granger, and the words I hear are "what an idiot". I truly feel that the people that listen to Bill O'reilly or read his books, are idiots. I can't help it, but when that man speaks I feel sick to my stomach.

The only good thing that Bill o'Reilly has ever done, is give me a label. I think I am a secular progressive. I believe in the separation of church and state. I believe that if you allow one group to put up a display in a government building, you have to let everyone. I believe that nativity scenes belong in churches or on private property and nowhere else.

Sunday morning

2008-12-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here I sit, surrounded by snow, watching Meet The Press, and missing Tim Russert. I am not happy with the choice of David Gregory as the newest moderator of MTP. I wonder why NBC didn't ask me for my opinion before they cast the moderator, I certainly had some good suggestions.

And then there is the snow. I can only remember snow like this twice in my lifetime. It just keeps coming and getting deeper and deeper.

What it is about snow that makes me want to eat more? Why is it that when I can't go anywhere, I want to go anywhere? It's not like I need anything. The dogs have food (thank you Scott and Staci), I have 84,000 books to read, enough yarn to knit 20 pairs of socks, my house could certainly use a good clean, but all I want to do is the thing I hate, shopping.

Butterfly Hats

2008-12-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

I finished Elaine's Butterfly Hat, sure hope she gets it in time for Christmas. I mailed it on Wednesday (thank you Dawn for making it through this horrible ice and snow). The pattern turned out really nice and, once again, Knit Picks (knitpicks.com) has impressed me with the quality of their yarn.

Many thanks to Aliceindilbertland's blog for the pattern, which I found on Ravelry.com.

Speaking of Dawn, when the postal service says neither ice nor snow nor dark of night, they mean it. The garbage trucks can't make it to pick up the garbage, the paper is not delivered, but my bill is in the mailbox right on time. And she saved my butt by picking up my presents that need to go to the other side of the country.

Snow Snow and still more Snow

2008-12-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

The roads are impassable and everything is covered in a foot of white. It's even too cold for the dogs to go outside for more than five minutes and I have to turn on the washing machine before I go to bed, in order to run hot water through the pipes to keep them from freezing. Hmmm that reminds me, I have jeans in the dryer.

It snows and everything shuts down, including the medical clinic. It always amazes me that there are people in other parts of the county are unfazed by this type of weather and yet here in Western Washington if we get two inches the schools close and most everyone stays in the house. Of course, there are also those people that use the snowfall as an excuse to stay home from work and then drive somewhere to go sledding.

I wonder if the mail will come today? Then again, I wonder if I will be able to walk through the yard to get the mail if it does come. Yesterday the snow was almost up to my knees and since then it has dumped about six more inches.

I am grateful that I don't have to go out. The kids don't want Christmas presents, do they?

Books I've Read in 2008

2008-12-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Died in the Wool by Rett MacPherson
Dead Man Running by Rett MacPherson
Thicker Than Water by Rett MacPherson
Killing Cousins by Rett MacPherson
A Misty Mourning by Rett MacPherson
Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton
Comedy of Heirs by Rett MacPherson
Hand of Evil by J.A. Jance
Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs
Blood Orange Brewing by Laura Childs
Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs
The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs
The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson ARC
Shades of Earl Grey by Laura Childs
Gunpowder Green by Laura Childs
Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux
A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton
Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs
A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton
Died in the Wool by Mary Kruger
Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger
Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows b J. K. Rowling
Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan ARC
Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Searching for Paradise in Paker, PA by Kris Radish
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
The Sister by Poppy Adams ARC
Caroline's Journal by Katherine Stone
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
The House At Riverton by Kate Morton ARC
Miss Julia Stands Her Ground by Ann B. Ross

Last Hat

2008-12-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

I improvised on my last hat for Nell and while I really like how it turned out, I'm not sure Staci will. I used the left over yarn from Staci's scarf and made stripes in the off white hat.

I have been thinking a lot about my blog and think that starting in the new year I will try to type more often and on a wider variety of subjects. I'm also going to learn to organize my posts better.

Finally

2008-12-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Today my mail lady (to be known from this day on as Dawn) brought a package to my house and I was finally able to give her the socks I knit for her. I think she was a bit surprised and I also think she really likes them. It was fun to give someone something that they weren't expecting, but I'm not sure I can convince her to wear them, as she said something about hanging them on the wall.

Staci (my sister) has a friend who is going through chemo and losing her hair. Staci asked me to make her friend some hats. She also said her friend (we'll call her Nell because that is her name) used to knit but couldn't remember how and asked if I would teach her. Why not?

So we went to Wildfibers to get hat yarn. Now Staci is the least crafty person around and I'm positive she had never been in a yarn store, so there was a lot of discussion on why some things would just not work. Finally, we narrowed down the choices and Staci bought three skeins of yarn.

A couple of days later at Thanksgiving dinner, I jokingly told Staci that Knot Just Yarn had a 20 percent off the next day. She said oh do you want to go, I said no way am I going shopping the day after, are you nuts. So anyway the next day she called me and said I'm going to the sale, will you meet me?

I wade through the traffic (30 minutes/four miles) and meet her and she's picking out yarn to use to learn to make herself a scarf. She bought this amazing Jewel by Universal Yarn that is mohair and ribbony and you know a pain to knit, which she sends home with me for safe keeping. Of course, you know that while I was there I had to buy more yarn for myself.

Monday we go to Nell's for the lesson. I take all my stuff in my wonderful Mackinaw Moon rolly bag and they each get yarn and needles from the bag. Both know the basics, but neither can cast on. I show them and we sit and knit (although poor Nell was not feeling the best). Then Staci decides her yarn is too pretty for her to knit on so guess who made scarf.

You had to see that coming, right?

I hate shopping

2008-11-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

So, I went to Safeway yesterday, then Costco today, and spent $400. At least I got some good chewies for the puppies. Still, I hate shopping. I don't understand people who like to shop and I really don't understand window shopping. Who wants to shop for fun, that's nuts.

I love Margaret and Helen, but their blog today was on breastfeeding in public. I wonder if there is a more polarizing subject. If they had asked me, I could have told them that any discussion of breastfeeding was going down a slippery slope and anything could happen. No one asked me, but if they had I would tell them that I was going to be Switzerland.

I usually post a picture with my blog post, but I figured a picture of my empty wallet wouldn't attract many readers, and I'm sure not posting a picture of my breast. Tomorrow I'll put up Bette's Christmas village, now that's a picture I'll want to share.

Zig to the Zag

2008-11-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

First, this is the cutest name for a sock pattern I've seen. Second, I love the pattern.

I'm working on a pair of Zig to the Zag Socks with a pattern by Mandi Coughlin at http://mandiknits.com/ . They are turning out so cute and in only four days I'm already down to the foot on the first sock. I love the Knit Picks and the Felici yarn http://www.knitpicks.com I'm using is wonderful. It is so soft, it is a joy to use. The bad thing is that I'm looking at their website and there are no colors of this yarn that I like. Hmmmmm

9" circular knitting needles

2008-11-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

If you knit socks, you have to give the new 9" circular needles a try. They make sock knitting a snap and my stitches have never looked more uniform.

For these socks in the Horcrux pattern by Susan Lawrence from the Six Sox Knitting Group on Yahoo, I used the brand new Hiya Hiya 9" circular size 1 1/2. The yarn is by Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Color in the Strato colorway. The yarn, which I won from the Hooks Books & Needles group on Ravelry, is perfect for the pattern and I think the nice lady who delivers my mail will love her socks.

I haven't decided which pattern and yarn to use for my next socks, but I know I will be using my 9" circulars.

Anonymous sources

2008-11-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

Everyone is up in arms because members of the McCain campaign are making comments to the media about Sarah Palin. My question to those who think it is horrible to say negative things without going on the record is, why the heck shouldn't they?

Have you considered that maybe they think she is so unqualified to be President that they want to warn the Republican party without ruining their careers as political operatives?

I think we should thank the anonymous sources. After all, Deep Throat is the most famous anonymous source and he was the first chink out of the armour that was the Nixon administration. If DT had not made the difficult decision to be truthful, Nixon could have gotten away with his dirty politics.

So for me, I'm fine with anonymous sources. As long as the news media ensures the sources are reliable, I say go for it.

A couple of things

2008-11-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

First, the Horcrux Socks I am making for my mail deliverer are almost finished. I just wish I knew what size shoes she wore so I'd know when to stop knitting. I'm using the yarn I won from the Hooks, Books, & Needles group on Ravelry, and it goes great with the Horcrux pattern. I may have a hard time giving these away.

The second thing is really an admission. I never used to watch the Today Show, because Katie Couric was just a bit to perky for my mornings. Well that and the fact that I worked everyday so I wasn't home or if I was home I was racing around trying to get ready for work or if I was off I was sleeping in.

Anyway, then came the multi million dollar contract for her to do the CBS Evening News, which I thought was a ridiculous amount of money so I vowed not to watch her. So, after the Sarah Palin interview, I decided to give her a chance and I like her. I'll probably keep watch, sorry Charlie.

One more thing, which just made me smile. When you spell check Palin, the alternative is Pain. Hmmmmmmm

Yes We Can!

2008-11-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

As I sit here, with tears on my face, listening to President-Elect Obama making his speech, I am amazed and thrilled that he won. I did not think it possible, that the people of the United States of America would elect an African-American President. I guess I should have had more faith.

I never thought the election results would affect me so much that as they are announced I would cry in joy. It amazes me how much pride I feel in America right now. Listening to the African-American commentators and news people speak from their hearts about how they felt was so touching and heartfelt.

It is so wonderful to listen to our leader speak and be proud that what he is saying makes sense and brings respect back the the United States.

You better believe it. Yes We Can!

Undecided

2008-11-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

The race for the presidency of the United States has been going on for over two years and over a billion dollars has been spent. There is still a rather large percentage of people who say they are undecided. How is that possible? What the heck do they want to know and is it possible they will learn it in the next 48 hours?

Perhaps they should just stay home and start studying up for the next election in 2012.

It's almost over

2008-11-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

In less than 60 hours we will have a new President and the campaigning will be put on hold for another two years. I cannot wait, I'm so tired of all the negativity.

It's just crazy, in my opinion, to spend this amount of time and money to elect our leaders. Imagine what we could do for the uninsured and under insured with all that money. Imagine how much research we could pay for; cancer, heart disease, stroke, autism, downs syndrome, could become things of the past.

What If

2008-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

What if John McCain wins and Sarah Palin becomes President?

Can you imagine what would happen if the Palin family lived in the White House? Seriously, would the Easter Egg hunt become a turkey shoot? Would the rose garden be ripped out so they can drive their snow machines? Are these really the people we want representing us to foreign leaders?

Say what you will about Georges Bush, but Barbara and Laura have class and know how to act in public. I'm not so sure about Todd Palin.

Please don't call the ASPCA

2008-10-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Poor Rowser! Today she got kibble for the first time in over a week and she laid down in front of her bowl with her paws on each side and ate until all the food was gone. I put more in the bowl and she ate that too. I guess she hasn't been getting enough to eat, but who knew that $15 worth of roast every day and a half would not be enough.

Now, not only do I have to feel guilty about her having a badly broken tooth for over a year, but also I can feel guilty for her being hungry for a week. It's a good thing she had pain pills, because I have definitely been a pain.

What a week

2008-10-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

I eat Lean Cuisines, my dogs eat roast beef. I eat steamed vegetables, my dogs eat grilled chicken.

Rowser had her tooth pulled last Monday. The $770 it cost was, perhaps, the high point of the week, the $60 of roast beef, pork, and grilled chicken cut up into pieces the size of the tip of my little finger and fed to her one piece at a time with Bear trying to get his share, the low point. And that doesn't even count the joy of trying to get a 90 pound dog to take ten pills a day. I am completely in the debt of the person who invented peanut butter, which I've found is the pill taking magnet. My dogs will do anything for peanut butter.

Return To The Veterinary Clinic

2008-10-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

I took Bear back to the vet today to have his ear cleaned and checked out. I also took Rowser for a check up and shots. What a nightmare!!! My head hurts so bad now that I'm sick to my stomach and I'm going to start drinking soon. It's not drinking alone if the dogs are here, right?

Bear is afraid of everything and can't stand to be away from Rowser. Rowser gets wired when she sees young children and other animals, mainly because the unsupervised kids in my old neighborhood teased the dogs while I was at work. My dogs do not like toddlers.

I took Bear to the vet, left her with Chelsea, the vet tech, and came home to get Rowser. Bear was fine until Rowser got into the waiting room and then got so upset that he couldn't see her that the vet asked me to go outside (we waited in the car). There was a kid and a colt in the parking lot, so the wait was not much fun.

The vet finished working on Bear and then took Rowser in to start the examination. I took Bear home. Luckily Quinn was next door at mom's, so he came over to Bearsit. Bear has never been home alone and will not even go outside to pee without Rowser. I was not looking forward to what my house might look like and there was a good chance that the ear could start bleeding again so it was great to have Quinn to count on.

I went back to get Rowser and pay. Rowser has a broken tooth and is fat. Sorry Rowser, but it has to be said. She needs to lose about eight pounds. Today's visit was $327 and it will be about $717 for the tooth to be extracted. Did I mention I'm going to start drinking soon?

Ouch

2008-10-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure who is hurting more; me or Bear. Bear is hurting because on Sunday there were motorcycles going by constantly to the Oyster Bay Bike-In and several sirens (probably chasing the bikers) upset the dogs. When Bear came in, he had long and ugly gash in his left ear, where Rowser got him with her teeth.

Two prescriptions, two shots, an appointment for next week later where they are going to shave the ear and clean out the cut, and a bill for $247.11 and like I said, I'm not sure who is hurting more.

At least Bear has pain medication.

Moving On

2008-10-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

How early is too early for kids to move away from home? I don't know the answer to that question, but my nephew left this morning to live in San Diego and I don't think he's old enough to move 1123 miles away. Yes, I was 20 years old when I moved away, and yes, he is 22 and yes, he is a responsible, hard working, kind, and educated person, but still . . . to those of us he is leaving, he is still five years old.

Anyway, he sure is going to be missed.

Finally

2008-09-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that Dell would finally send a technician to fix the laptop. He was very nice and had it working properly in less that a half hour. He told me the reason I didn't get service on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday is that the company that services Dell in this area has lost three technicians recently and they won't let him work full time, so they didn't have a technician on those days. I am not surprised!

But at least this ordeal is over and I hope that no one buys a Dell product.

Countdown to Dell

2008-09-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Because the problem I am having with Dell Computers has not been resolved, I'm going to log their lack of action.

Tuesday - automated call saying part has been shipped.

Wednesday, 11(ish) a.m - automated call saying part is delayed because of inclement weather.

Thursday, 11:14 a.m. - automated call left voice mail saying technicians are too busy today and will call you Friday before noon to make an appointment.

Friday, 11:12 a.m. - automated call saying our technicians are too busy again today, we'll call back on Monday before noon with an estimated time we will be able to fix your problem.

I love my Toshiba laptop

2008-09-15T21:53:00.000-07:00

I was on the chat with Dell for 2 1/2 hours. I am exhausted. The first tech got the supervisor who argued with me for an hour, at least. They are now saying that the warranty entitles me to in-home service, but they can't send a technician until they know the problem. Because it could be the LCD, video card, or the motherboard, and the technician has to know what it is before he comes out. You know because the laptop parts are so heavy that they couldn't possibly bring all three.

So, in the next two days someone will come fix this laptop. I'm not holding my breath.

Still Dell

2008-09-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, three weeks and three days later and I am still waiting for Dell to send me a box to return a Dell laptop for service. Yes, I know the warranty said in-home service, but I guess they meant their home.

I'm number 33 in queue to get to talk to a Dell Chat agent. That's not so bad, because 13 minutes ago I was number 77 in queue, and it's sure a lot better than the 40 minute wait I had to talk to someone the first time I called.

How is this so difficult? For that matter, am I the only one who has to spend hours and hours on the phone waiting for them to tell me that the problem is in the CPU? How the heck do they stay in business, if this is the way they provide service to their customers?

Woo Hoo, I'm number 26, no number 24 and it's only been 17 minutes. I'll bet they'll be here before Keith Olbermann gets to #3 on the Countdown. Nope, I was wrong. I've made it to number 18 and Keith is up to Bushed. Then it's commercials and # 3 and I'm still waiting.

Twenty minutes down and I'm number 15 in queue. I love the word queue! I don't necessarily love being stuck in the queue-go-round, but I do like a word that has two u's so close to each other. Twenty two minutes and I'm number 12. Keith is still on commercial break, but I think he'll be back before I get helped. Maybe not, I'm number 10, 9, 8, . . . I better get ready to go talk to Dell, I'm sure they'll be here soon.

Keith is back and we're Playing Oddball. Numbers 7, 6, and 5. I'm feeling lucky, like I may really get helped. Chuck Todd is next, but first the World's Best Persons.

I wish NBC would tap Chuck Todd for Meet The Press. Number 4 and we're back to commercial. Number 3 and I'm going to go talk to Dell. It only took about 30 minutes for them to get around to me. I'll bet if I was placing an order they would have help a long time ago. Number 2 in queue. That means I'm next.

UPDATE:
I waited 30 minutes. I got to number 1 in queue and got the message thanks for chatting with Dell and they cut me off. I am now number 84 in queue and I am PISSED.

Applesauce or I'm really not cut out to be domestic

2008-09-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted. My feet hurt, my hands hurt, my fingers hurt, and I'm just basically tired of apples. Seriously, I think I have enough in my freezer to eat a bowl of applesauce every day for the next six months. Plus I'm getting so good at slicing apples that I may have to make more.

So should I go pick more apples and make more applesauce, or wait a week for the Italian Prunes or two weeks for the Asian Pears to ripen. It's a dilemma, and the answer will have to wait for tomorrow.

Traveling Wilbury Socks

2008-09-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Traveling Wilbury Socks from the pattern collection of the Knitting Curmudgeon are my latest project, and these socks are for my friend in Texas. I hope she will like them and thinks of me whenever she wears them.

This pattern is the first one I have knit using my nine inch circular needles from KA Bamboo. I love them, it was worth the hours and hours of searching through stores and on-line. Why no one carries nine inch circular needles, I will never know. I think people who are new to knitting socks will love them and I can't wait to get them in all sizes. I am very happy that Inox is now carrying them in the 1/2 sizes.

Yesterday I picked about 50 pounds of apples for mom to make into applesauce, but today she said she didn't think her arthritic hands would let her cut up the apples, so I'm making applesauce. It's strange how many apples it takes to make two bowls of applesauce, but once frozen I'll have enough for the whole family for the whole winter.

I plan to use my vacuum sealer so that I will be able to store a lot in a little space. I wonder if it will work, I hope it will work.

Dell's Customer Service continued

2008-09-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

It's now been over two weeks since I contacted Dell about a problem with one of their laptop computers. The first call, which was several hours long got me nothing, but the promise of an e-mail with a link to new drivers which never arrived.

The second day was an on-line chat which didn't get me anywhere but seemed promising. Too bad the solutions recommended by the on-line technician didn't amount to anything, well at least that technician sent me a copy of the chat for my records.

The third day (Sunday morning) I got a call from Dell Customer Service and after about a half hour this technician dialed into my computer and tried to fix the drivers. It didn't work and I missed Meet The Press, because I was on the phone with the technician. I never miss Meet The Press, so you know I wanted this computer fixed.

After working on the computer via on-line take-over for over an hour, the technician determined that the problem is with the laptop and he told me he would send me a prepaid box so I can mail the laptop in for service. I'm still waiting for the box and I'm still waiting for an explanation of why I have to send the computer anywhere when I paid for a three year in-home warranty.

What makes a hero?

2008-09-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

The political campaigns are in full swing and have been for over a year. I have to say that every time I hear someone refer to John McCain as a hero, I wonder, just what makes him a hero.

To me a hero is someone who runs into a burning building to save a life. To me a hero is a soldier who puts their own life on the line to save the life of a comrade or a civilian. To me a hero is the police officer who puts himself or herself in danger to get a criminal off the streets. To me a hero is someone selfless, someone who acts without a thought to their own safety or well-being.

A hero is not someone who was captured in war and held prisoner. If that were the case, then every "enemy combatant" being held in Guantánamo would be considered a hero.

John McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. I do not doubt that he endured pain, misery, and torture. But that doesn't make him a hero, it makes him a survivor.

Dell's Customer Service or lack thereof

2008-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

I just spent 40 minutes on hold waiting for Dell Customer Service, and I am not a satisfied customer.

February 2007, I recommended a Dell computer from QVC to a friend of my mom. Betty Lou paid for a three year in-home warranty, which cost over $300. She does not use the internet. Mostly, she uses the computer to play games, so she really doesn't need an ISP, so when she moved she didn't transfer her service.

Anyway, now there is a problem which they determined to be drivers and she told me to go on my computer, download the new drivers onto a CD, and transfer them to her computer. Plus, it took over 30 minutes to determine that it was a driver problem. Hello, why pay for an extended warranty when Dell doesn't honor it.

The kicker for me is that for the whole 40 minutes I was on hold, they kept advertising their enhanced warranty that guarantees a two minute hold time and a representative based in North America. Nice customer service Dell, way to get return customers. I will never buy a Dell product, ever.

I'm so happy with my Toshiba, when it broke they actually sent someone out to fix it.

Hedgerow socks in Crystal Palace Silk Yarn

2008-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

I love this pattern, I love this yarn, I'm not sure why I never finished these socks. Now that I've pulled the socks out of hibernation to finish them for the Ravelympics, I hate them. Maybe it's the magic loop method, maybe it's that they've been sitting around for too long, but this yarn is not working for these socks.

I think they need a stretchier yarn or DPNs or smaller ribbing at the top, whatever it is, they are not working for me. Frog? Finish? Change the yarn? Give up? DQ myself from the WIP Wrestlers?

If I finish, I'll never wear them and I hate to waste this yarn. Help!!!

Meet The Press

2008-08-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry Tom Brokaw, but I still miss Tim Russert. Of course, I still miss Cokie Roberts and Sam Donaldson on This Week, so the problem may be mine and not yours. I just hope that NBC will take the viewers into account before they hire a replacement. In fact, I'd like to see a variety of hosts before they make the final decision.

My suggestions of people I'd like to see try out:

Andrea Mitchell
Chuck Todd
Richard Engel
David Shuster
Mike Barnicle
Rachel Maddow
David Gregory
Maria Shriver
Aaron Brown
Matt Lauer

People I do not want to see in Tim Russert's chair are:

Joe Scarborough
Dan Abrams
Tucker Carlson
Keith Olbermann
Tom Brokaw
Brian Williams
Chris Matthews

NBC please don't screw up my Sunday mornings.

The Road to Socialism

2008-08-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

I started a pair of socks using this yarn this week, but the pattern just isn't working for me. Too many ladders and purls, so I'm starting over. In fact, I've already frogged.

I love the way the yarn knits up, even if I'm not an orange person. Plus I like the name and have to wonder about the person who thought of naming yarn "The Road to Socialism". Obviously someone with an excellent sense of humor.

Dear Cindy McCain

2008-07-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

I saw clips of you on the Today Show several months ago saying that your husband would not do negative campaigning and you hoped that the Obamas would do the same. You said that your husband was an honorable man who did not believe in negative campaigning and would never resort to the tactics that were employed against him by the Bush machine in 2000.

My question to you after watching several months of this campaign is, do you have another husband besides John? Because the republican candidate I have seen is the most negative campaigner I've seen since 2004, when George Bush ran against John Kerry.

Your husband scares me, doesn't he scare you? Maybe just a little?

Why do people blog?

2008-07-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

"This blog could be more exciting if you can create another topic that everyone can relate on."

First off, you never end a sentence with a preposition, it's just not proper English. Second, I'm really not that exciting of a person, and even if I was, I sure wouldn't put the details on a public blog.

The above quote was posted by lotto after I posted about attending my aunt's funeral. I'm not sure if lotto is a real person or a spammer and I can understand making a comment about being bored by the pictures of my new knitting project, but about some one's funeral? I just don't know.

However, the comment did make me think about why people blog. I started to keep track of what I was knitting and to learn something new. Most people blog to let others know how they are, what they are doing, and share their thoughts with like minded people. Political blogs are popular, but I don't care that much about stranger's political opinions.

So if you are reading this, why do you blog?

Mamma Mia

2008-07-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

What a funny movie! Even at 9:30 a.m., I laughed my ass off. Well, I didn't really laugh my ass off, it's unfortunately still there. Darn it! You know the movie is good when no one leaves their seat until the lights come up. Finally it's cool to like ABBA again.

I think Batman must have opened today too, as the theater was very crowded for so early in the morning. Do people really go to movies early in the day? I cannot believe that a movie costs $9 and refreshments . . . OMG. There was a lady at the concession counter that paid $22 for two drinks and an order of nachos. I paid less than that for lunch for two of us.

Funerals and Family

2008-07-17T22:18:00.001-07:00

Why is it that the only time we see our family is at funerals? It didn't use to be that way, because we used to have family picnics every couple of years. Now we get together in funeral homes or high school gymnasiums.

My aunt Nancy died and her funeral was last week. She was a really nice woman and barely 60 years old. I didn't know her well, as her husband was my dad's half brother and closer to my age than my dad's age, but whenever we got together as a family I loved visiting with her. Her sister looked so devastated at the funeral, it just made me very sad.

I did get to give my aunt Helen her Fluted Bannister socks. I had to stay up until 1:30 a.m., in order to be able to finish, but I think she really liked them; of course, I had to make her promise to wear them. The pattern was great and the socks turned out very good, if I do say so myself.

I also finished a hat that will be used to make money to pay for someone's chemotherapy. It's the same hat I made for Umma, and it turned out pretty good. Plus it only took me two days, which is even better. I'm going to make another hat, since that one went so smoothly.

I have chosen grumperina's Odessa as the pattern, I just need to make sure I have the designers okay to use her pattern. Because it is going to be used as a chemo cap, I won't add the beads; however, I plan to make one with beads eventually.

Harry Potter on tape

2008-07-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Knitting has taken up a lot of my reading time, so I borrowed the first four Harry Potter books from Staci to listen to while I knit. There is nothing on television during June and I want to finish Helen's socks as quickly as possible, so I've been listening every evening. I must say that I like reading much more than listening, but that's just me.

After listening to the first two books, I went to Alibris.com and bought books five and six (on tape). Right now I am listening to book five, The Order of the Phoenix. I got book five for $4 (something) and book six for about $23.00 from bookarama through Alibris. The seventh and final book is over $40 so I can wait until the price goes down.

On the 4th of July, Apple Yarns in Bellingham has a 30% off sale on everything in the store. I didn't want to drive all the way to Bellingham, and since they allowed call-in orders, I got a needle holder and four skeins of yarn. Hmmmm, I wonder if they still call them skeins? They didn't have my first choice, but I did find some pretty (at least it looks pretty on the web) autumny colors. Now I just need to find a pattern I like.

Fluted Banister Socks for my Aunt Helen

2008-06-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Finally someone in my family wants a pair of hand knit socks, knit by ME. My wonderful Aunt Helen say the socks I knit for Jody and said when I asked her if she would like a pair she said she would.

I chose the Fluted Banister Socks by Laura Gallagher http://www.kelthaven.org/socks/flutedbanister/ in Knit Picks Essential Tweed color Marina because I was looking for a basic pattern that would look really good with a solid color yarn. This pattern is perfect and I have almost finished sock one.

Friends

2008-05-21T22:16:00.001-07:00

Who says you shouldn't make friends over the internet and meet them in real life. I have "met" people that I admire, like, love, respect, pray for, and just about any other descriptive word you can think of and I have never met them in person. Today, however, I met Elaine as she came through Washington on her way home after a cruise to Alaska.

Elaine and I have been pen pals for about five years and we have gotten to know each other through letters, cards, and a few phone calls. She is just as amazing in person as she is in her letters and on the internet. We went to lunch and then I drove her around town, past the eagle's nest, past my high school, YMCA, and kindergarten. We talked and talked and talked and then she had to leave to go back to her SIL's house.

I had the most wonderful day, meeting a friend and I lost three pounds at WW.

Umma's Hat

2008-05-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed knitting this cap for UmmaGumma. I hope that she finds it comfortable to wear. The yarn, a cotton/tencel blend, (Cascade Pima Tencel) is incredibly soft and feels like satin to touch. Another good thing is that it only took three or four days to knit. I may have to make more of these in a variety of color.

The pattern is the Lace Edged Cap designed by Julie Hentz, http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/kpatt18.htm and hers looks much better than mine.

Tomorrow Elaine will be here and I will meet her in real life for the first time. I am so excited, it's amazing how you can "meet" people on the internet and they become your real life friends. I wonder if she'll like me.

Another Rainy Tuesday here in the PNW

2008-05-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Got up early and went to Weight Watchers. I should have lost a boatload more weight than I did for my first week, especially since I stuck to the plan. Still, I won't get discouraged and I won't fall off the proverbial wagon.

I just gave the dogs nylabone base chewies, which they have never had before. One of the dogs has been walking around the whole house looking for a place to hide it, including trips up the stairs twice. It's a good thing the door is closed or she would move upstairs with all her stuff.

Now that I finished my Flutter-by socks, I'm working on a scarf in the Feather and Fan pattern. I think it will be very pretty.

Flutter-By

2008-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Another great sock pattern chosen by the Thrifty Knitters' Sock Club at Ravelry. Of course I screwed up the first sock and had to knit three, but I like the patten and it was pretty easy to do. In fact, the only reason I had to redo sock one is that the body of the sock was just too big.

Socks are getting easier every time and I love the free patterns on Ravelry and the sock knitter groups that make suggestions and/or help with problems.

These socks are for Bethany. Her birthday was in March, but I guess she can call them a Mother's Day present from her aunt.

Back to Weight Watchers

2008-05-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

I always like to think I have a handle on the weight thing and can lose it on my own. I know what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, when not to eat, what is not healthy, and what is healthy. I know being obese is not good for my health and eating better will improve my life. Why oh why does it have to be so hard.

Wednesday I went to Weight Watchers. I signed up for the monthly pass and with it I get to go to as many meetings as I want and I also get all the on-line web tools. SparkPeople.com is a wonderful on-line tool and the support and information is incredible, but I need to go to a meeting and get on the scale in front someone with a pen.

The difference between Sparkpeople and Weight Watchers on-line is that with Sparkpeople you get to see the nutritional values of all the foods you are eating, but WW tells you the points you've eaten. I wish WW would add nutrition to their site and I wish SparkPeople did the points thing. Right now I like Sparks site better, but maybe once I'm used to WW I will like it better. Either way, I'm going to use both sites, because I love the SparkPeople people.

Endings

2008-04-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

Since August 2002 I have had friends all over the world. Most of those friends I will most likely never meet. Still, if I needed advise, was feeling down, couldn't sleep, wanted to eat but knew I shouldn't, I could turn on the computer and there was always someone there or something to read.

Because of Gumbo Ya-Ya I have read books that I might never have read and learned so much more than could have learned on my own. I have been able to read the opinions and life stories of hundreds of women (and a few good men) and they have all taught me that no matter how different we are, we are the same in some way.

Yesterday Harper Collins publishing decided to pull the plug. They will no longer sponsor Gumbo Ya-Ya, which started back in 1998 based on the sisterhood shown in Rebecca Wells' book, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It's sad and, although there are many sites springing up to try and take the place of Gumbo, I don't think it will be the same. I'll miss the people who inhabited Gumbo, I hope they will miss me.

Tallgrass

2008-03-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

What an amazing read, Sandra Dallas does it again.

Up until yesterday I thought The Persian Pickle Club was my favorite book by one of my favorite authors, but Tallgrass is a five star read. Set in the mid 1940s, it is the story of an internment camp for Japanese Americans in Colorado seen through the eyes of 12 year old Bennnie. Bennie's family farm is on the border of Tallgrass, the internment camp and Bennie's father hire a few of the boys from the camp to work on the sugar beet farm.

Amazing, a must read. After reading this book, I want to learn more about the camps/prisons that citizens of the United States were made to endure because of rampant bigotry and fear.

On another note, I had to unknit about 10 rows of my Jaywalkers. I love the pattern, but it sure is difficult to fix my numerous mistakes.

Jaywalkers

2008-03-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm busy working on Jaywalker socks and really like the way they are turning out. I say they because I had to frog the first one so I am technically on my second sock. I know, I know, that doesn't count.

Today is Easter and we are going over to Nikki's for dinner. It's cold and rainy and I sure don't want to hunt for eggs. Now if the eggs were chocolate, I might have a different opinion.

Yesterday I mowed the pasture. It is so wet and muddy, that it's kind of scary to be out driving up and down all the hills. Mowing the path behind Bette's house made me sad.

Drop Stitch Scarf

2008-03-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting the Drop Stitch Scarf for my on-line friend, Beachy's birthday. I hope she like it. The pattern was pretty easy since the stitch was basically the same as the Bellatrix socks.

Now I am working on Elaine's Jaywalker socks in Regia Design Line.

Lacy Waves scarf

2008-02-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

Whew, I finished Jodi's birthday present and it's still two days until her birthday. She may not get the scarf in time to wear it on her birthday, but I can show pictures.

The pattern was fairly simple,but it took me until the second skein of yarn to actually get it set in my mind so I could knit without have to think about every stitch. I like the way it looks, and the yarn was fairly easy to work.

Now, back to my socks.