Yarn Along

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along today.

On the needles, a pair of simple socks.  Currently reading and completely engrossed by the graphic novel by Seth called It's a Good Life, If You Weaken.  Yes, I said graphic novel.  It was a Christmas present from my brother-in-law who has been attempting to bring me over to the dark side, the dark side being the world of graphic novels.  (Mike just smirks when I call such book graphic novels.  "You mean comic book.")  Well, he succeeded several years ago.  I even have a small collection of comic books on my book shelf.  But this book  is different.  It is actually a novel but it just happens to be in the form of a comic book.  The drawings are beautiful, simple but dotted with the details of everyday life.

 

On his quest to find information about a New Yorker cartoonist from the '40s, the main character, a cartoonist himself, returns to his childhood home.  "Often when you return to a place you knew only as a child, you discover how empty and unfamiliar that place has  become.  I don't know anything here.  What I knew was how the grass looked between the curb and the sidewalk . . . or which tree in the backyard had the hornet's nest . . . or where the big puddle always formed after a rain."

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along this week.  On the needles is a candy cane striped sock.  I'm hoping to knit a pair for each of the boys for Christmas.  My purpose is as an extra layer of warmth inside their boots.  I know that they will use them to skate around the house, possible colliding into furniture and walls.

I am currently reading Maragret Atwood's latest novel The Year of the Flood.  http://yearoftheflood.com/ca/  To those who may not know her work, Atwood is kind of the rock star of Canadian lit.  I was first introduced to her in university and she is brilliant.  Having said that, this book was on my nightstand for almost a year before I picked it up.  Having finally done so, I regret not reading it earlier.  I am really enjoying it.  Love her word play and biting humour.  I highly recommend her books if you were looking for an introduction to Canadian lit.  Now I'm off to see what others are knitting and reading this week.

Day 1 and Yarn Along

Over the weekend, Keegan realized how close December 1st was.  Since then, it's been a long four days for the boys as they waited for today to arrive.  Last night, our Advent calendar was hung.  This will be our second year using this Advent calendar.  Each stocking is made from upcycled denim, cotton or linen and embellished with wool felt and embroidery.  Many evenings last December were spent finishing the stocking for the following morning.  It's nice to just have to worry about filling the stockings this year.  As far as the filling is concerned, last year I put a small toy for each of the boys in each stocking, only to see most of the trinkets tossed aside shortly afterwards.  This year I've decided to put chocolate in each (yes, chocolate first thing in the morning) and a note describing a craft or activity for that day.

I thought we could all do the countdown together.  Each day I'll show our Advent stocking for that day since each is different.  As you can tell from the above picture, I didn't iron the stockings before hanging them.  Confession:  I don't iron.  I found out this weekend that my mother didn't even think we owned an iron and ironing board.  We do.  I just don't use either too much.  Oh, except to iron fabric when I sew.

Today when Keegan gets home from school we'll be making gumdrop trees.  Quinnie has already told me he'll probably be eating more gumdrops than making a tree.  I didn't pretend to be shocked.

I'm joining Ginny for Yarn Along this week.

I'm currently reading a book that I had started several months ago and then misplaced.  I found it under a pile yesterday.  The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel is about the role of libraries throughout civilization and it is a great book.  In addition to taking the reader into his own personal library, he walks us through libraries throughout the world and history.  On my needles is a pair of convertible mittens.

Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the season, maybe with little chocolate surprises too.

Yarn Along and Sour Candies

I'm joining Ginny for her Yarn Along this week.  On the needles, a pair of fingerless mittens.  I really enjoy knitting stripes lately.  I am still reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods which I am loving, just not finding enough reading time during a normal day.  After paying my sizable library finds, the boys and I are getting ready to start Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl.

My diet this week has largely been a fluid based diet -- tea, juice, broth.  See, I have an infected gland under my tongue (sublingual) and it's painful, especially when I eat.  It makes me grumpy, very grumpy, and I feel for those who have to live with me this week.  However, on the up side, my mom (who under different circumstances should have been a nurse and a wonderful one at that) was researching my condition which is often caused by a stone blocking the duct.  She called last night with the advice that eating sour candies sometimes kicks the salivary glands into overdrive, thus forcing the stone away.  Heck, I've just been given an excuse to eat my favourite candy.  The only problem is I don't have any candy and it's dark, very rainy and windy.  Ugh.  Standing ovation for Mike who agreed to change out of his pyjamas and go out into the rainy night to buy me candy.  I guess I made a good decision all those years ago.  I'm not feeling much better today but I do get to enjoy a sour candy every now and then -- guilt free.

Yarn Along

I am joining Ginny for another Yarn Along this week -- a picture of our current read with our current fibre-related project.

The boys and I have moved on to our second Roald Dahl book.  The first was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and they loved it.  I picked this book up at a used book store about a month ago.  It's the story of a boy and his father and  their big adventure together.  The big adventure is perhaps a little dated in that it is about poaching pheasants from a nearby wood but the story itself is wonderful.  So much of it is just about the daily life of this father and son and their beautiful relationship.  The boys are quickly becoming Roald Dahl fans, as am I.

Just off the needles and out of the washing machine are what I believe to be the cutest little slippers ever.  Okay, this might be a slight exaggeration since they don't have bunny ears or anything like that but they are still pretty cute.

See?  They fit in the palm of my hand .  That makes them pretty cute.  Oh, and the cuff seen in the above photo is from the lovely Amy.  She used vintage feedsack for this cuff and it has a wonderful feel to it.  Thanks, Amy!

Yarn Along

I am joining Ginny for her Yarn Along -- a single picture of your current read and current yarn-involved project.  Love the idea.  Please check out the link to see what others are knitting and reading.  So, on my needles, a pair of fingerless mittens and in my hands, Neil Gaiman's American Gods.  The gods of whatever kind of mythology you can think of are in America and they are just like us except, well, they are gods.  Which means they aren't like us because they have all those god-like powers.  The oh-so-likeable Shadow is a man caught in the storm brewing among the gods.  have I mentioned that Shadow's deceased wife makes the occasional  appearance?  Ah, I am loving this book.

Between preparing breakfast for the boys and getting them ready for school, this morning I was able to sneak outside and take a few pictures of our early morning frost.  It was a good one.