I had every intention of doing a knitting update today, but then we went to Best Friend's house, and ended up spending the rest of the day there, and didn't leave until after midnight.
So I was feeling all guilty that I said I was going to get back into blogging more regularly again.
And then I realized today was Tuesday. I am aware it's after midnight, so it's technically Wednesday already, but I haven't been to bed yet, so it still feels like Tuesday. And Wednesdays are when I was doing the knitting posts. So I'm not late at all. There will be a knitting update tomorrow (aka, later today).
Good night.
January 10, 2010
The triumphant return of...
Booklove! Finally. And there is much to report.
So. Since my last post (before Christmas, seriously? It felt like it was just a couple of days ago), there has been a flurry of reading.
I finished Lost in a Good Book, which was great. Jasper Fforde has an incredible imagination, and what seems like a pretty deep working knowledge of great literature. I can't help but wonder if he is truly that knowledgeable on these things, or if he has to look them up as he goes along. To be honest, it results in fun, funny books, so I'm happy either way. Even if you haven't read any of his books, you should go check out his website, Fforde Grand Central. Most of it does tie into the Thursday Next series, so if you think you might be interested, take a look.
After I finished that, I re-read a book from my youth (she said, as if she were in fact much older and wiser than her actual age of twenty-three), Patricia Wrede's Talking to Dragons. It's the fourth and last of her Enchanted Forest series, and for reasons I couldn't explain even if I tried, it's my favorite of the four. I've always loved the way she plays with the fairy tale conceits and cliches in these books. Every time Boy-Creature tries to call me a princess, I get this urge to make him sit down and read them immediately, so he can see just what kind of princess I am. Cimorene is a fantastic female role-model, as are Morwen and Kazul, for that matter. One of these days I will make him read those.
The reason I read that, though, instead of finishing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is because it was usurped by my mother. She stole my book and started reading it, and then wouldn't give it back the whole time I was visiting her. Sadly, though, she didn't have time to finish it before we came back to Texas, and I wasn't about to leave it with her when I hadn't finished it either. And I was reading it first! So there!
So I've finished it since coming back. And it was incredible. Boy-Creature just kept asking me if it deserved the Pulitzer, and I think I can safely say it did. I mentioned before how the history and pop-culture were so skillfully twined together. It only got better and better. It's an absolutely stunning story. This is one of those books I'll still be telling people to read years from now, I can tell. Go read it, even if you're not particularly interested in comic books, or WWII history. I'm not, and I loved it. Go read it.
And now that that's done, I went back to the library. I got Four Letter Word: Invented Correspondence from the Edge of Modern Romance, which is a book I heard about awhile ago on Neil Gaiman's blog, and I had been meaning to track it down ever since. When I just happened upon it at the library, I grabbed it without a second's thought. I'm only a little ways into it, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's amazing how many things "love letter" can mean. So much more than just "How do I love thee?"
The other thing I got was a collection of short stories by Julie Orringer called How to Breathe Underwater. Boy-Creature immediately approved of my choice, because the cover photo shows three young girls swimming in a river in their underwear, and he says one of them looks like me. She kinda does (which I did not admit to him), but that's not really the point. The stories are the point, and the stories were very, very good. From the very first, very gripping story, I was enrapt. I finished them all within two days. My favorite was the story from which the book takes it's name, "The Isabel Fish."
So that's where I stand now, reading Four Letter Word while Happy Alchemy and Reading the OED are still trailing behind as well. Maybe by next week I'll be onto something entirely new. What a lovely thought. I wonder what I'll read next?
So. Since my last post (before Christmas, seriously? It felt like it was just a couple of days ago), there has been a flurry of reading.
I finished Lost in a Good Book, which was great. Jasper Fforde has an incredible imagination, and what seems like a pretty deep working knowledge of great literature. I can't help but wonder if he is truly that knowledgeable on these things, or if he has to look them up as he goes along. To be honest, it results in fun, funny books, so I'm happy either way. Even if you haven't read any of his books, you should go check out his website, Fforde Grand Central. Most of it does tie into the Thursday Next series, so if you think you might be interested, take a look.
After I finished that, I re-read a book from my youth (she said, as if she were in fact much older and wiser than her actual age of twenty-three), Patricia Wrede's Talking to Dragons. It's the fourth and last of her Enchanted Forest series, and for reasons I couldn't explain even if I tried, it's my favorite of the four. I've always loved the way she plays with the fairy tale conceits and cliches in these books. Every time Boy-Creature tries to call me a princess, I get this urge to make him sit down and read them immediately, so he can see just what kind of princess I am. Cimorene is a fantastic female role-model, as are Morwen and Kazul, for that matter. One of these days I will make him read those.
The reason I read that, though, instead of finishing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is because it was usurped by my mother. She stole my book and started reading it, and then wouldn't give it back the whole time I was visiting her. Sadly, though, she didn't have time to finish it before we came back to Texas, and I wasn't about to leave it with her when I hadn't finished it either. And I was reading it first! So there!
So I've finished it since coming back. And it was incredible. Boy-Creature just kept asking me if it deserved the Pulitzer, and I think I can safely say it did. I mentioned before how the history and pop-culture were so skillfully twined together. It only got better and better. It's an absolutely stunning story. This is one of those books I'll still be telling people to read years from now, I can tell. Go read it, even if you're not particularly interested in comic books, or WWII history. I'm not, and I loved it. Go read it.
And now that that's done, I went back to the library. I got Four Letter Word: Invented Correspondence from the Edge of Modern Romance, which is a book I heard about awhile ago on Neil Gaiman's blog, and I had been meaning to track it down ever since. When I just happened upon it at the library, I grabbed it without a second's thought. I'm only a little ways into it, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's amazing how many things "love letter" can mean. So much more than just "How do I love thee?"
The other thing I got was a collection of short stories by Julie Orringer called How to Breathe Underwater. Boy-Creature immediately approved of my choice, because the cover photo shows three young girls swimming in a river in their underwear, and he says one of them looks like me. She kinda does (which I did not admit to him), but that's not really the point. The stories are the point, and the stories were very, very good. From the very first, very gripping story, I was enrapt. I finished them all within two days. My favorite was the story from which the book takes it's name, "The Isabel Fish."
So that's where I stand now, reading Four Letter Word while Happy Alchemy and Reading the OED are still trailing behind as well. Maybe by next week I'll be onto something entirely new. What a lovely thought. I wonder what I'll read next?
January 8, 2010
New Year's non-list
It's that time of year when everyone is making lists. I kind of like lists, but I'm still amazed when I think of how rampant they are right now, with all the best and worst of 2009 lists, the resolutions, the wishes for 2010, and so on. It's hard not to get pulled along with it.
I haven't really made any new year's resolutions for several years now. In part, I think, because the last few years have felt so busy that an actual list seemed superfluous, on top of all the goals I was already working on. This year is much the same. The things I want for this year are the same sorts of things I wanted last month, and last year. While my free-with-purchase Half Price Books calender (this month featuring polar bears) is nice, it doesn't change much.
In a lot of ways, 2009 felt like a kind of wasted year to me. While I was, in the most general sense, happy and healthy, I didn't accomplish much. I did read a lot of books, and finish a fair amount of knitting, but that doesn't feel like enough to me. I didn't create anything this year that was entirely my own. And I think that's the main thing I want to aim for in this next year.
This is something I've been musing on for some time now (although truthfully, it's always- ALWAYS- in the back of my mind). A big part of the inspiration has been coming from Miss Violet's blog (of Lime and Violet fame). She herself is really fascinating to me. I've been coveting her energy and creative drive since I started listening to the podcast. In the latest podcast alone, she discussed having dyed LOTS of yarn, designing knitwear, and making her own artisan bread and cheese from scratch. And she has a day job. She does not sleep.She drinks Starbucks intravenously.
Her blog lately has been all about finishing as many projects from 2009 as she could, bringing as little unfinished business into the new year as possible. Lately, she is a whirlwind of getting things done. And I envy that. Which is why I have a large to-do list directly to my right. There's so much to do, both business-y type things that need to get done, as well as things I want to get done. Which, in my opinion, is the best kind of to-do list. It can't be all work and no play.
Speaking of work, the applying for jobs has begun in earnest now that we have internet at the house again. Hopefully I'll find something before too long, as the expenses are starting to weigh on me a little. It helps that we finally have internet at the house again, so I can get back on the ball both with applying for jobs, and with grad school applications. That's been the best part of this week, is finally feeling like I'm getting actual things done again.
And I plan to continue to do so, in all areas of my life. Including this blog. As of coming home after New Years, my life is officially off holiday time and back to normal. So it's time to get back to posting. Which means more booklove (expect an update tomorrow!), more knitlove, and more of my little bits of nonsensical wonderfulness that I find out there in the world.
Here's hoping I find enough of it to fill this entire year. Welcome to 2010, my lovelies!
I haven't really made any new year's resolutions for several years now. In part, I think, because the last few years have felt so busy that an actual list seemed superfluous, on top of all the goals I was already working on. This year is much the same. The things I want for this year are the same sorts of things I wanted last month, and last year. While my free-with-purchase Half Price Books calender (this month featuring polar bears) is nice, it doesn't change much.
In a lot of ways, 2009 felt like a kind of wasted year to me. While I was, in the most general sense, happy and healthy, I didn't accomplish much. I did read a lot of books, and finish a fair amount of knitting, but that doesn't feel like enough to me. I didn't create anything this year that was entirely my own. And I think that's the main thing I want to aim for in this next year.
This is something I've been musing on for some time now (although truthfully, it's always- ALWAYS- in the back of my mind). A big part of the inspiration has been coming from Miss Violet's blog (of Lime and Violet fame). She herself is really fascinating to me. I've been coveting her energy and creative drive since I started listening to the podcast. In the latest podcast alone, she discussed having dyed LOTS of yarn, designing knitwear, and making her own artisan bread and cheese from scratch. And she has a day job. She does not sleep.She drinks Starbucks intravenously.
Her blog lately has been all about finishing as many projects from 2009 as she could, bringing as little unfinished business into the new year as possible. Lately, she is a whirlwind of getting things done. And I envy that. Which is why I have a large to-do list directly to my right. There's so much to do, both business-y type things that need to get done, as well as things I want to get done. Which, in my opinion, is the best kind of to-do list. It can't be all work and no play.
Speaking of work, the applying for jobs has begun in earnest now that we have internet at the house again. Hopefully I'll find something before too long, as the expenses are starting to weigh on me a little. It helps that we finally have internet at the house again, so I can get back on the ball both with applying for jobs, and with grad school applications. That's been the best part of this week, is finally feeling like I'm getting actual things done again.
And I plan to continue to do so, in all areas of my life. Including this blog. As of coming home after New Years, my life is officially off holiday time and back to normal. So it's time to get back to posting. Which means more booklove (expect an update tomorrow!), more knitlove, and more of my little bits of nonsensical wonderfulness that I find out there in the world.
Here's hoping I find enough of it to fill this entire year. Welcome to 2010, my lovelies!
December 23, 2009
Booklove- back with a vengeance!
*Just a disclaimer: I wrote this post a few days ago, when it actually was booklove day. Unfortunately, we still don't have internet at the house, and first the Boy-Creature got a cold, and then he gave it to me, so we haven't been up for heading out to the library or coffeehouse much. So excuse the lateness.
Oh, booklove. How I've missed you. And there has been so much to report. It's been a busy few weeks, as I'm sure it is for everyone in this fine holiday season.
I think possibly I burned out just the teensiest bit after the NaBloPoMo madness. Like I said, I've learned that I prefer posting only when I really have something to say, and it did take some effort on my part to make myself sit down and blog everyday. So on some level, I was taking a break.
On another level, I actually did get pretty busy. Boy-Creature sort of did, too, so that took up some time as well, since we only have the one car, and we don't know our way around New Orleans that well, so there always had to be a driver (me) and a navigator (him). For the most part. I did have a few solo outings- most notably going to see Rear Window at the historic Prytania Theater in the Garden District. I love Jimmy Stewart, and he only gets better on the big screen. Plus, that's my favorite Hitchcock.
The other bit of busyness is that Mom and I were commissioned to do some paintings for the son of a client of hers. So I spent the better part of a week trolling art stores and stretching canvasses and sketching and painting. It was fun, but it took up a lot of reading (and knitting) time.
However, I've still managed to fly through a few books in the last three weeks. First of all, I finished Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, and it was so much fun. Switters is a fantastic character. I haven't read much Tom Robbins in the past, but there's always been a little voice in my mind telling me I should read more of his stuff. That little voice just got more ammunition.
In lesser news (because I'm saving the best for last), I'm still moseying my way through Happy Alchemy and Reading the OED. I'm enjoying them both, but because they're both non-fiction with shorter formats, I can read a little bit at a time and come back to them two weeks later without losing much. So I'll get through them, just probably not terribly soon, since I've got such fabulous reading going on in other areas.
The first is that I finally started reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. And it's incredible. I'm kicking myself for having put it off this long. Within twenty four hours of starting it, I was already 150 pages in. It's thrilling. The story is great, and the characters are exquisitely drawn, and the way Michael Chabon weaves in WWII history alongside escapist magic and comic book lore is so engaging. If you haven't read it, read it. You can't possibly be disappointed. If you have read it, make somebody else read it.
My last bit of book news is something that's probably not as exciting to anyone else as it is to me, but here it is anyway. Another part of all the busy the last few weeks is that we have finally come back to Texas. We'll be here through Christmas and then spend New Years in Louisiana again, and then we'll come back and really get settled. So most of my week has been spent in getting rid of old stuff and trying to make room for our current stuff. It's a challenge making room for an entire other person and all his things in my little room that was already crammed full of things.
We have moved back into my Mom's house, as she's in Louisiana pretty much full time now, so we're having to deal with all of her stuff as well. And Mom and I are the kind of people who hang onto a lot of stuff. Boy-Creature is not. So since we got here, he's been going around the house picking up stuff like the broken-but-cool-looking antique telephone, or the formerly non-stick pan that is now scratched being being non-stick, or the pile of duplicate books we've culled from our shelves, and saying, "Why don't you get rid of this?" He's a get-rid-of-it kind of guy. We're hang-on-to-it-just-in-case-because-you-never-know kind of people. It makes for an interesting relationship.
But that's all beside the point. The point is that one of the things I was actually looking forward to in coming home was renewing my library card. Because I'm a book dork that way. So yesterday, I dropped the Boy-Creature at the coffee house with my laptop so he could use their wi-fi, and I trotted across the street and got a new card! And two books. I would have gotten more, but there was a cup of chai for me getting cold at the coffeehouse. Also, they didn't have very many of the Betsy-Tacy books, and I've been thinking lately about finally finishing the rest of that series.
I got Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's (aka the Yarn Harlot!) Knitting Rules! (which, incidentally, I have already finished) and Jasper Fforde's Lost in a Good Book. It's been several years since I read the first Thursday Next book, The Eyre Affair, but I remembered liking it enough that I figured this would be good. I really did like the first one, too. Enough that parts of it have really stuck in my mind. I still remember the answer to "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" (read the book to find out! It's actually a pretty clever answer), and I remember loving like crazy the idea of them performing Shakespeare's Richard III like Rocky Horror. Now that is booklove. So I'm looking forward to reading this one, too.
So that's the first step in my getting back into Texas life, especially where the library is concerned. The other step will happen after New Years, when I know we'll be here to stay again. That's when I'll trot right back into the library and sign up as a volunteer! And I'll try and find a job, too, but whatever.
Oh, booklove. How I've missed you. And there has been so much to report. It's been a busy few weeks, as I'm sure it is for everyone in this fine holiday season.
I think possibly I burned out just the teensiest bit after the NaBloPoMo madness. Like I said, I've learned that I prefer posting only when I really have something to say, and it did take some effort on my part to make myself sit down and blog everyday. So on some level, I was taking a break.
On another level, I actually did get pretty busy. Boy-Creature sort of did, too, so that took up some time as well, since we only have the one car, and we don't know our way around New Orleans that well, so there always had to be a driver (me) and a navigator (him). For the most part. I did have a few solo outings- most notably going to see Rear Window at the historic Prytania Theater in the Garden District. I love Jimmy Stewart, and he only gets better on the big screen. Plus, that's my favorite Hitchcock.
The other bit of busyness is that Mom and I were commissioned to do some paintings for the son of a client of hers. So I spent the better part of a week trolling art stores and stretching canvasses and sketching and painting. It was fun, but it took up a lot of reading (and knitting) time.
However, I've still managed to fly through a few books in the last three weeks. First of all, I finished Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, and it was so much fun. Switters is a fantastic character. I haven't read much Tom Robbins in the past, but there's always been a little voice in my mind telling me I should read more of his stuff. That little voice just got more ammunition.
In lesser news (because I'm saving the best for last), I'm still moseying my way through Happy Alchemy and Reading the OED. I'm enjoying them both, but because they're both non-fiction with shorter formats, I can read a little bit at a time and come back to them two weeks later without losing much. So I'll get through them, just probably not terribly soon, since I've got such fabulous reading going on in other areas.
The first is that I finally started reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. And it's incredible. I'm kicking myself for having put it off this long. Within twenty four hours of starting it, I was already 150 pages in. It's thrilling. The story is great, and the characters are exquisitely drawn, and the way Michael Chabon weaves in WWII history alongside escapist magic and comic book lore is so engaging. If you haven't read it, read it. You can't possibly be disappointed. If you have read it, make somebody else read it.
My last bit of book news is something that's probably not as exciting to anyone else as it is to me, but here it is anyway. Another part of all the busy the last few weeks is that we have finally come back to Texas. We'll be here through Christmas and then spend New Years in Louisiana again, and then we'll come back and really get settled. So most of my week has been spent in getting rid of old stuff and trying to make room for our current stuff. It's a challenge making room for an entire other person and all his things in my little room that was already crammed full of things.
We have moved back into my Mom's house, as she's in Louisiana pretty much full time now, so we're having to deal with all of her stuff as well. And Mom and I are the kind of people who hang onto a lot of stuff. Boy-Creature is not. So since we got here, he's been going around the house picking up stuff like the broken-but-cool-looking antique telephone, or the formerly non-stick pan that is now scratched being being non-stick, or the pile of duplicate books we've culled from our shelves, and saying, "Why don't you get rid of this?" He's a get-rid-of-it kind of guy. We're hang-on-to-it-just-in-case-because-you-never-know kind of people. It makes for an interesting relationship.
But that's all beside the point. The point is that one of the things I was actually looking forward to in coming home was renewing my library card. Because I'm a book dork that way. So yesterday, I dropped the Boy-Creature at the coffee house with my laptop so he could use their wi-fi, and I trotted across the street and got a new card! And two books. I would have gotten more, but there was a cup of chai for me getting cold at the coffeehouse. Also, they didn't have very many of the Betsy-Tacy books, and I've been thinking lately about finally finishing the rest of that series.
I got Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's (aka the Yarn Harlot!) Knitting Rules! (which, incidentally, I have already finished) and Jasper Fforde's Lost in a Good Book. It's been several years since I read the first Thursday Next book, The Eyre Affair, but I remembered liking it enough that I figured this would be good. I really did like the first one, too. Enough that parts of it have really stuck in my mind. I still remember the answer to "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" (read the book to find out! It's actually a pretty clever answer), and I remember loving like crazy the idea of them performing Shakespeare's Richard III like Rocky Horror. Now that is booklove. So I'm looking forward to reading this one, too.
So that's the first step in my getting back into Texas life, especially where the library is concerned. The other step will happen after New Years, when I know we'll be here to stay again. That's when I'll trot right back into the library and sign up as a volunteer! And I'll try and find a job, too, but whatever.
December 11, 2009
8.75 square inches of creative inspiration
My mom is a painter. She makes a living painting fancy things in people's houses. Right now, she's doing some work for a woman with a very young son, and she wanted some paintings to hang in his bedroom. I am helping with this, since I minored in art for a few semesters in college (before changing to dance), and I don't think my mom has ever stretched canvas before. I secretly love stretching canvas.
While I was at the art supply store yesterday, I saw these wee little canvasses for sale. The smallest ones weren't even as big as a matchbox. I immediately wanted some. But I didn't buy any.
Until today. I now have ten wee little canvasses waiting for me to paint wee little paintings on them. I have a few vague ideas, maybe painting little cartoony animals, or symbols, or crazy little messages, but no real plans for them yet. I can't wait to see how they'll turn out.
While I was at the art supply store yesterday, I saw these wee little canvasses for sale. The smallest ones weren't even as big as a matchbox. I immediately wanted some. But I didn't buy any.
Until today. I now have ten wee little canvasses waiting for me to paint wee little paintings on them. I have a few vague ideas, maybe painting little cartoony animals, or symbols, or crazy little messages, but no real plans for them yet. I can't wait to see how they'll turn out.
December 6, 2009
Girlcrush
I think this right here may be my favorite blog post of anywhere. Of EVER. I love her. Can I be her when I grow up? Not that she's grown up, either.
December 4, 2009
Belated birthday wishes
Two days ago, this blog turned one year old. I missed it, which is why I'm guiltily posting about it today. It hasn't been a bad year for the blog, but there are still other things I want done with it. Part of me suspects that me missing it's one-year anniversary is a telling sign. But maybe I'm being overly dramatic about a not-so-monumental day. It is a marvelously blustery day today, though, all gray and cold, and even a little bit rainy, just like I like it, and I am cozy inside our echo-y little house. There has been much reading and knitting, and I've enjoyed it. A lot.
But I'll still be glad to go back to Texas and get a job. I'm very much getting to the point that I've had just about enough of this sitting around waiting business.
But I'll still be glad to go back to Texas and get a job. I'm very much getting to the point that I've had just about enough of this sitting around waiting business.
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