Monday Miscellaney

Well, I have quite the slate of miscellaneous items for you today. Let's get right to it, shall we?

First, I just finished the most hilarious book. Its brand of humor is probably not for everyone, but I totally enjoyed it. It's a murder mystery, by Mark Schweizer, and the main character is the chief of police of a small NC mountain town. He is also the organist at the local Episcopal church, a millionaire, and a wannabe whodunnit author in the style of Raymond Chandler. The book I just finished, The Mezzo Work Mink, is the 6th in the series. So funny.

Today I posted the last of the seven day nature challenge pictures. Here's a collage, featuring (in no particular order): Pansies from my dad's yard, a stone garden ornament from his yard, moss from Dr. M's dad's yard, Pinky McPinkerson yearning for spring, a daylily shoot from our yard, and an actual crocus from our back yard!

The other day I went into the Rite Aid & did a double take. What the heck? I looked closer and these gentlemen are solar garden lights! I am so excited - totally going to go back & pick up a couple for our yard.

On Thursday I posted this Throwback Thursday picture on Facebook. I love how solemn we all look. And someone should have told me to stand up straight!

Yesterday I went to meet some fellow Ohio Temperature Blanket ladies, but for a variety of reasons I was the only one to show. I stayed for a bit working on another project (a special request braided cowl - she wanted pink & white). Then I went to buy more yarn. Ha!

Speaking of crochet, here is square #2 of pattern #5. Now that I have more yarn I'll get started on this pattern in my third blanket's colors. 

So, how was your week?

Monday Miscellany

Oops - just a bit late today. We're in NC checking up on the Dads, and once again it's a bittersweet trip. You might recall that Dr. M's aunt died while we were here at Christmas. This time, his uncle passed away. We're going to his funeral tomorrow. While we were here at Christmas we were so glad to have spent some time with him at the last funeral. Uncle Barry was a man who always had a quick smile & funny story. We'll miss him!

Dr. M's dad has surgery next week. We'll know more about his condition after that.

It wasn't until Lisa's comment last week that I realized I had never updated about my shingles. That antiviral medication was a miracle drug! I had very little pain after taking it, some itching & burning, but not much, the rash didn't spread, and it was pretty much a non-event after about a week. Amazing!

Dr. M decided that our room at the hotel was designed for basketball players. The dimensions are huge and the beds are SO TALL. I measured to the top of the bed is 31" off the floor. I feel like Edith Ann when I get in it.

Here are my latest crochet squares. I'm caught up with the new colors & on to square #5.

Finally, I was challenged on Facebook to post nature photographs for seven days. I just posted my first one today - some Henbit from my dad's yard. I was happy to see that bee!

I hope you all have a good week!

Book Review Tuesday, Part 2

As I said last week, I did this quarter's book list in two parts. I really wish I'd go back to doing it monthly! (Goes to put a reminder on my phone...).

9. Keeping with Killers (The Salinger Trilogy #1), by Adam Nicholls. Blake Salinger leads a normal life in London as a salesman. Every day is planned, organised... safe. But that all changes when the police arrive at his workplace. His wrists are shackled as he is arrested, accused of murdering his estranged father. That's when he is daringly freed by the silver-haired man, a shady ally with the goal of setting things straight... and an unquenchable thirst for violence. Blake comes to learn that he is merely a puppet in a mysterious organisation's plan. With the police hot on his trail, Blake - along with his new companion - must strive to uncover the secrets of his father's murder, before it's too late. Before The Agency catches up to them.

The Bug Says: Another book club  Kindle freebie. The mystery was pretty interesting, and I might read more books in the series, but it was obviously self-published & I found the typos & poor grammar distracting. I gave it 2 stars.

10. The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires #1), by Jim Butcher. Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors…

The Bug Says: I might not have read this because I’m not really into steampunk scifi, but since the next Harry Dresden book doesn’t come out until May I decided to give it a shot. I even made Dr. M listen to it when we drove to NC for Christmas. We both thoroughly enjoyed it. And I’ll read the next one too. It’s nice when an author you like starts writing another series that you also like. I gave it 4 stars.

11. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3), by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling). When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

The Bug Says: I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did the first two books in the series. The mystery itself was really good, and I was nicely surprised by the culprit, but I got a little tired of the Strike/Robin potential romance dynamic. I really am turning into a curmudgeon! I gave it 3 stars.

12. Tricky Twenty-Two (Stephanie Plum #22), by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum might not be the world's greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she's being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College. Gobbles has missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus, but no one will talk. Things just aren't adding up, and Stephanie can't shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college - and it's not just Zeta fraternity pranks.

The Bug Says: I have almost given up on this series so many times, but this time I had the best time. I don’t know why, but Lula was A+ hilarious to me, and Stephanie was pretty funny too. And there was even a new & fun way for her car to get destroyed! I gave it 4 stars.

13. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally. 

The Bug Says: This was a book club book. I feel really guilty that I didn’t enjoy this book. I sort of feel like I’m kicking a puppy, but it felt like I was reading someone’s not very interesting diary. Which, given all that he does & discovers & causes is not at all fair on my part. My fellow book clubbers seemed to enjoy it a lot more than I did, so if it interests you, then have at it. :) I gave it 2 stars.

14. Crimson Shore (Pendergast #15), by Douglas Preston. A secret chamber. A mysterious shipwreck. A murder in the desolate salt marshes. A seemingly straightforward private case turns out to be much more complicated-and sinister-than Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast ever could have anticipated. Pendergast, together with his ward Constance Greene, travels to the quaint seaside village of Exmouth, Massachusetts, to investigate the theft of a priceless wine collection. But inside the wine cellar, they find something considerably more disturbing: a bricked-up niche that once held a crumbling skeleton.

The Bug Says: Oh Pendergast you addicting devil you – you string me along & solve the mystery, and then leave me hanging: are you alive or are you dead? How is it possible that your brother is still alive? Or is he? Very annoying. I gave it 4 stars :)

15. The Beautiful Bureaucrat, by Helen Phillips. In a windowless building in a remote part of town, the newly employed Josephine inputs an endless string of numbers into something known only as "The Database." After a long period of joblessness, she's not inclined to question her fortune, but as the days inch by and the files stack up, Josephine feels increasingly anxious in her surroundings. The office's scarred pinkish walls take on a living quality. The drone of keyboards echoes eerily down the long halls. When one evening her husband Joseph disappears and then returns, offering no explanation as to his whereabouts, her creeping unease shifts decidedly to dread. As other strange events build to a crescendo, the haunting truth about Josephine's work begins to take shape in her mind, even as something powerful is gathering its own form within her. She realizes that in order to save those she holds most dear, she must penetrate an institution whose tentacles seem to extend to every corner of the city and beyond.

The Bug: This is another book club book. So very bizarre! I’m still not entirely sure what I think about it. The description made it sound like a corporate espionage sort of book, but it’s not like that at all. The main character seems to spend the whole book in a sort of fog & very strange things happen to her. It was well written, but weird. I gave it 3 stars.

16. The Song of the Jubilee (The Phantom of the Earth #1), by Raeden Zen. In the Great Commonwealth of Beimeni, a subterranean civilization in North America, expansion long ago gave way to peace and prosperity in the face of the history's most devastating plague. Immortality is the reward for service and loyalty in Beimeni, a place where the physical blends with the metaphysical and power consolidates in the hands of those with a genetic edge. The fissures first spread slowly, then swiftly, until now the Great Commonwealth finds itself on the brink of economic devastation, challenged by forces from within that know its secrets and its crimes. At the center of the conflict lie the Selendias of Piscator, founders of the resistance with an uncanny connection to the zeropoint field, and the Barão Strike Team, three researchers tasked with finding a cure to the Reassortment Strain, the plague that nearly wiped transhumankind from the Earth. Traveling from the uninhabitable but pristine surface to the habitable but inhospitable underground, this is a story about dedication to dreams, battle for survival, discovery and connection, song and celebration, undoing past misdeeds, and sacrifice for the greater good.

The Bug Says: The second book in this series is my book club Kindle freebie for February. Of course, I couldn’t just start in the middle, so I had to read the first one too. Again, I’m not really into this type of scifi, but I’m soldiering through very bravely. Basically, some sort of virus has wiped out almost everyone on earth, forcing the ones that remain to live underground. The goal is to figure out a cure so that people can move back to the surface. But there are plots! Intrigues! Political machinations! I’m still trying to decide if I care. I’ll let you know after I finish the next book. I gave this one 2 stars.

What are you reading lately?

Monday Miscellaney

Hello hello! First, some housekeeping. I have replied to all your comments on my last two posts. I was extra witty, so go check it out. (Note: I was not extra witty).

Also, Dr. M's dad has some serious health issues going on. We're not sure exactly what's going on, but I'll let you know when I know. Just please keep him & Dr. M & his brother in your prayers.

Now, on to the miscellany!

My hair must think I have a personality disorder of some kind. Here are the products that I routinely use:

I want volume! But it needs to be calmed down. And then curled! And, really? My hair is not curly, or straight, nor does it have volume. I think all these products are just canceling each other out. But I'm using them until they're gone because I hate to have a cabinet filled with half used things.

I made two squares with the new yarn I bought last week. You'll notice that the colors look different in the two pictures. Lighting really does make a difference - who knew? The second one is a little more true.

I wore a blazer that I haven't worn in a while & found this note in the pocket:

It was written on a full sheet of notebook paper, with nothing else on it. My Facebook folks had some interesting ideas, but none of them sounded right. What do you think?

On Saturday I made a cake! A yarn cake that is (that's what they call those little squat balls of yarn that aren't in a skein or in a ball). It's not a very good yarn cake, but at least that wad of yarn is usable. (Note the color difference in these photos too - taken in the same place, but three hours apart).

Finally, the moon!

Have a fabulous week!

Book Review Tuesday, Part 1

This is Part 1 of 2 because I've read 16 books since my last Book Review Tuesday post in November. There would have been more, but I'm rereading all the Harry Potter books again (I'm on the Order of the Phoenix - Book 5 - right now).

1. The Little Paris Bookshop, by Nina George, Simon Pare (translator). Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened. After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. 

The Bug Says: I read this one for book club and I really thought I would like it. It was nicely quirky, and the characters were somewhat interesting. But, since I’m the person who will wander through your house looking to see if you have anything in your decorative boxes, I had no patience for Monsieur Perdu and his 20 year old unopened letter. Sorry for your heartache dude, but it should have happened 20 years ago! I gave it 3 stars.

2. All Shall Be Well (Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James #2), by Deborah Crombie. Perhaps it is a blessing when Jasmine Dent dies in her sleep. At long last an end has come to the suffering of a body horribly ravaged by disease. It may well have been suicide; she had certainly expressed her willingness to speed the inevitable. But small inconsistencies lead her neighbor, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid of Scotland Yard, to a startling conclusion: Jasmine Dent was murdered. But if not for mercy, why would someone destroy a life already so fragile and doomed? As Kincaid and his capable and appealing assistant Sergeant Gemma James sift through the dead woman's strange history, a troubling puzzle begins to take shape -- a bizarre amalgam of good and evil, of charity and crime . . . and of the blinding passions that can drive the human animal to perform cruel and inhuman acts. 

The Bug Says: I enjoyed the first book in this series & decided to continue on. I’m glad I did. The ending was very surprising! I gave it 4 stars.

3. Breaking Braydon (Breaking and Taking #1), by M.K. Harkins. Playboy billionaire Braydon Decker changes women more often than designer ties. Scarred and humiliated as a teenager, he pledged long ago to never trust a beautiful woman again. But then he never imagined meeting one quite like Jain Parker. Jain, a dedicated medical research scientist, learned early in college that her good looks were a hindrance and she’d have to tone down her beauty to be taken seriously, thus, Plain Jain was born, and men were no longer an issue. Of course, she didn’t count on running into Braydon Decker. 

The Bug Says: This was my book club freebie, and if it looks like your typical Harlequin romance, then you are exactly right. As a brown eyed brunette, I was So Annoyed (ANNOYED) that Jain disguised herself as a brown eyed brunette to make herself unattractive. Urgh. I gave it 2 stars.

4. Devoted in Death (In Death #41), by J.D. Robb. Ella-Loo and her boyfriend, Darryl, had been separated while Darryl was a guest of the state of Oklahoma, and now that his sentence has been served they don’t ever intend to part again. Ella-Loo’s got dreams. And Darryl believes there are better ways to achieve your dreams than working for them. So they hit the road, and when their car breaks down in Arkansas, they make plans to take someone else’s. Then things get messy and they wind up killing someone—an experience that stokes a fierce, wild desire in Ella-Loo. A desire for Darryl. And a desire to kill again.

The Bug Says: Another great Eve Dallas installment – Ella-Loo & Darryl made a big mistake when they brought their show to NYC! I gave it 4 stars.

5. Taking Tiffany (Breaking and Taking #2), by M.K. Harkins. Young socialite, Tiffany Thompson, seems to have it all, everything but love, that is. Guarded since her high school boyfriend’s betrayal, she wouldn’t recognize real love if it hit her over the head. Unless it’s a can of paint, and successful financier Todd Jameson is behind it. Todd fell hard and fast for Tiffany a year earlier, but, unwilling to risk his own heart after a college sweetheart shattered it, he avoids Tiffany and vows to keep his distance. Fate has other plans, however, and changes both their minds. 

The Bug Says: OK, I know I just read the first book in this series, and I know that I gave it 2 stars, and I know that I was really annoyed about what the main character did to make herself unattractive, but…book #2 was free too & I sort of liked the Tiffany character. But this one was meh too, so I gave it 2 stars.

6. The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2), by Danielle Paige. To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman’s heart, steal the Scarecrow’s brain, take the Lion’s courage, and then Dorothy must die... But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy’s only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she’s only just scratched the surface of Oz’s past—and that Kansas, the home she couldn't wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust—and who is really Wicked? 

The Bug Says: This series has so much potential! But I guess I’m past the age where I’m entertained by teenage heroines. I’ve got middle-aged hormones going on – I do not want to deal with teenage ones. Plus, I was really disappointed by who was killed in this book. I spent a lot of the book just annoyed. You know I’ll probably read the next one though. Sigh. I gave it 3 stars

7. Faceless Killers (Kurt Wallander #1), by Henning Mankell. One frozen January morning at 5am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call-out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. The woman supplies Wallander with his only clue: the perpetrators may have been foreign. When this is leaked to the press, it unleashes racial hatred. Kurt Wallander's life is a shambles: his wife has left him, his daughter refuses to speak to him, and even his ageing father barely tolerates him. He works tirelessly, eats badly, and drinks his nights away in a lonely, neglected flat. But now, with winter tightening and his activities being monitored by a tough-minded district attorney, Wallander must forget his troubles and throw himself into a battle against time and against mounting racial hatred.

The Bug Says: Here’s another one that I wanted to like, but Wallander also mostly annoyed me (I’m sensing a trend – maybe I’m the problem!). I realize that the book was written in 1991, but I had trouble with his attitude toward women. But the mystery itself was interesting, as was the role that refugee camps played – especially with today’s current refugee crisis. I gave it 3 stars.

8. The Scam (Fox and O'Hare #4), by Janet Evanovich. Nicolas Fox is a charming con man and master thief on the run. Kate O’Hare is the FBI agent who is hot on his trail. At least that’s what everyone thinks. In reality, Fox and O’Hare are secretly working together to bring down super-criminals the law can’t touch. Criminals like brutal casino magnate Evan Trace. Evan Trace is running a money-laundering operation through his casino in Macau. Some of his best customers are mobsters, dictators, and global terrorists. Nick and Kate will have to go deep undercover as high-stakes gamblers, wagering millions of dollars—and their lives—in an attempt to topple Trace’s empire.

The Bug Says: This was another fun romp through Janet Evanovich’s mind. As I’ve mentioned before, unlike her Stephanie Plum character, Kate O’Hare is actually a competent FBI agent. It’s nice to see a woman who can kick butt. I gave it 4 stars.

What are you reading these days?

Monday Miscellany

Well hello there! I trust you're doing well. I'm fine, although I could have done with a couple of extra Saturdays this weekend. I always have a list of things I'm going to do, but then I get to the end of the weekend & mostly I've just crocheted. Poor Dr. M.

We got new square patterns for the afghan crochet-along. Fun and VERY fast. I sat outside on Saturday & crocheted one of them start to finish in just a couple of hours. (The key phrase there is "I SAT OUTSIDE.") Here are the new squares, plus my progress so far:

The weekend was VERY windy and our snow people decided that they were just done. I'd like to think this means we might not have more snow, but I'm not sure how much we can trust the predictive power of lumber.

I put a screen protector on my new iPad, and I had to laugh at the instructions. Exactly how does one hold something soft and floury firmly?

On Sunday before book club I ran into Michael's for more yarn. As I said on Facebook, it's not an addiction. I can quit at any time! Right after this next project...

Hope your Monday lands softly!

Throwback Thursday

Last night at choir practice we were learning a new piece with a pretty low alto part. I was singing along, when suddenly I heard my mother's voice come out of my mouth. She didn't sing often - she had no confidence in her singing ability - but when she did sing, her voice was low and mellow. Made me smile. Made me miss her all over again. 

Que sera sera Momcat, que sera sera...

Monday Miscellany

I'm writing this while in a Valentine's candy stupor, so who knows what I'll say... Let's see...

The iPad Story. I decided to get myself a tablet for my birthday, and after weighing the pros & cons of different ones, I decided to go with the newest iPad - the Air 2. It would use the same charging cables as my iPhone, & since it's basically a giant phone, I already know how to navigate it. Of course, I couldn't wait until my birthday to get it, and when it arrived I was really excited until I pulled out the charging cable. Not at all the same. Turns out that I ordered an iPad 2 instead of an iPad Air 2. I just treated myself to 5 year old technology! Woo hoo! I thought I'd gotten a really good deal. Ha! But so far I like it just fine. If I were watching a lot of videos or playing games I might wish I had something newer, but I wanted it to read books and blogs and Facebook, and it's perfect for that. 

Church Stuff. I agreed to run for Senior Warden at church again - another 2 year term. And those crazy people elected me again. Hopefully this next two years will be as uneventful as the past two years (although, come to think of it, a lot of stuff actually did happen... hmm...). 

Another (ANOTHER!) hat. I made a gray one this time. I love those buttons!

I'm currently working on a scarf, but since right now it looks like one of those crocheted beards, I'm not sharing a picture. Well, ok, since you asked, but this is not how it will look when it's finished.

Temperature Blanket. I saw this super cute idea on Facebook & decided right away that I needed to try it. And yes, I know what you dirty-minded people are thinking & you just keep those thoughts to yourselves! :)

OK, I know this is long on yarn, and short on substance, but it's what you're getting at the moment. Why don't you tell me a yarn in the comments?

P.S. I'm trying to be better about replying to comments on my posts, so check my last post to see what fascinating thing I said (note: not really fascinating).

Still here...

Somehow it's almost Friday & I never did a Monday post! This is what happens when you relax & decide to go with the flow... The flow has been busy crocheting and playing with my new iPad (now that's a story!).

But, no time for stories today. Here are some pictures to tide you over until I can do a proper post. Plus, check out Dr. M's hawk here!

Monday Miscellany

First of all, shingles update: No nerve pain to speak of, the ugly rash on my leg feels similar to a bad sunburn. So, really, no big deal. I'm so thankful & amazed! That antiviral medicine really really works! Thanks to L & J (a couple of nurse friends) for "making" me go to urgent care last Sunday!!

Next, here's my week, as told in Facebook posts...

Tuesday: Experimenting with coasters.

Saturday: Spent the afternoon at a baby shower & made a friend.

(From Dr. M's Facebook page): Red-bellied woodpecker, 1/30/16

Today:

Just had a serious conversation with Dr. M while wearing this (hat on the left). He didn't seem to notice. ‪#‎crochetspouse‬ (Finished hat on the right)

Temperature blanket update: the month of January is 8.5 inches long, had a little bit of snow, some really cold temps, and some really warm ones (I wasn't expecting to use green until March!). The blanket is 56" wide. I'm hoping the non-snow months won't be quite as long (adding the white yarn makes that row a little taller). After much soul searching I decided to use gray to mark the end of the month.

Did anything interesting happen in your life this past week?

January

I wrote this four years ago, but it keeps popping back into my mind these days, so I'm sharing it again :)

January

January is my mother
with her hand on my head
gently holding me in place.
I won’t be running out
into the road on her watch!
She is humming some
somnolent tune and
although I am awake
I feel my eyes slide shut,
feel them slide sideways 
looking for that aproned lap.
I’ll just rest a while
here in the womb
of the year.

The Bug 
1/12/12