And 51!!

49. Winter Study by Nevada Barr. I love the Anna Pigeon books although they are much darker than I usually read. This one had a good mystery that kept me guessing nearly to the end. I enjoyed the setting, Isle Royale in January, and enjoyed the wolf element.

50. Buried Bones and 51. Splintered Bones both by Carolyn Haines. I enjoyed the first two I read and these were also good. Buried Bones had an intriguing premise, a formerly prominent author now forgotten who was planning his tell-all memoirs is murdered; this sounds trite but this author makes it fresh.

I'm going to have to take a break now and get some knitting done. I have two socks and one new pair to do and two baby sweaters to finish.

Nearly to 50!

42. Waiting for Ms. Chips by Dorothy Cannell. This is one of her Ellie Haskell series. I loved the first, liked most of the rest, but this one was really dull. She hammered on one joke about schoolgirl books until it was just annoying.

43. The Thai Amulet and 44. The Moai Murders both by Lyn Hamilton. The protagonist in this series has an antique shop in Toronto. These books all involve her travels to find stock for her store, so readers get some interesting descriptions of unusual places.

45. Crossed Bones and 46. Bones to Pick by Carolyn Haines. I found a reference to this author on Ravelry, and I am glad. I enjoyed these mysteries set in the Mississippi delta with interesting characters. I especially enjoyed Crossed Bones which dealt with blues musicians.

47. Still Life by Louise Penny. This mystery series set in Quebec has one of the most engaging detectives I read in a long time. Quite a bit of philosophical musing and varied, entertaining characters. I'll be looking for the other two in the library soon.

48. The Serpent's Trail by Sue Henry. The protagonist in this series is Maxie, a retired widow who travels from Alaska in her Winnebago with her miniature dachshund, Stretch. The characters were well written, but I found myself skipping long pages of travel description. Unusual because I usually like description but these sounded more like travel guides to me. Interesting mystery though.

Now, if the library has the rest of the Carolyn Haines and Louise Penny books, I will pass the 50 book mark in a couple of days!

I Love Traveling!

I also love being a teacher with the summer free for travel - if the finances were just there.

This time we flew from Albuquerque to Portland, spent a few days there, took a train to Seattle, spent a few days there including one day where we took a ferry to Victoria, B.C., and then back home.

Loved Portland especially the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden. We found it to be an easy city to get around in with great public transportation. It also has amazing restaurants. We celebrated our 29th anniversary with dinner at Serrato - they were nice enough to bring us champagne!

We went whale watching in Victoria. Last year I couldn't get enough of watching the humpbacks off the Alaskan coast; this year we watched orcas in the Juan de Fuca Strait. They are certainly faster than humpbacks, so I have no good pictures. However, we did get to see something that the naturalist said only happens a few times each summer. We were watching random dorsal fins over a large area when they started turning and going in the same direction. She came out and said the captain had gotten a radio message that said apparently the three pods that stay in the Strait were going to meet. She said they think it might be an especially large concentration of salmon. Anyway, we took off quickly and got to a place where we could see dorsal fins starting to converge. The naturalist said the orcas got excited when they met up, and we began to see whales breaching, doing spy hops, etc. It was amazing to watch.

I also got to mark WWKIP by meeting the Capitol Hill Knitters in the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. They were so nice to a transient knitter! They made me feel so welcomed, included me in their raffle, and were just generally kind. I loved the looks on the faces of people passing by.

So, now that vacation is over, back to working on the house. We have to replace a faucet out in the yard, so I have holes to dig.

And Yet More Books

36. The Weaver and the Factory Maid, 37. The Famous Flower of Serving Men, 38. Matty Groves, 39. Cruel Sister, 40. New-Slain Knight by Deborah Grabien. This series all have Ringan Laine, a folklorist and musician and his significant other, Penny who runs a traveling thespian group in England. In the first book, Ringan acquires a life tenancy in an old cottage but he and Penny both experience odd sounds and visions, all associated with a song that Ringan's band performs. They research the history of the cottage and find that the song is a sort of twisted version of an actual event at the cottage. The rest of the books in the series are all along the same lines, with variations - they have an experience with ghosts associated with a folk song and must find a way for the ghost to rest. While that may sound repetitive, actually I found the writing and variations to be strong enough to hold my interest. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters also began to protest the repetitiveness! I especially enjoyed the British history and now have some notes on topics I want to research further.

41. Antiques to Die For by Jane K. Cleland. A pretty typical mystery with some information about antiques thrown in. I am a huge fan of Antique Road Show, so I enjoyed that part, and I did like the characters, but this was a somewhat forgettable book overall. I did like it enough that I will look for the first by this author.

Now I am caught up with the reading list!

More Books

22. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, 23. Miss Julia Throws a Wedding, 24. Miss Julia Hits the Road, 25. Miss Julia Meets Her Match, 26. Miss Julia's School of Beauty, 27. Miss Julia Strikes Back all by Ann B. Ross. I'm not sure I got all of this series listed. These started out with an odd premise. A somewhat rigid, bitter and lonely older Southern lady is dealing with her husband's unexpected death, somewhat comforted by the discovery that, though he kept her short of money, he left a great deal for her. Then a woman appears on her doorstep with a ten year old boy; she tells Miss Julia that this is her husband's child and that she needs Miss Julia to keep him while she goes to beauty school and she leaves. Unexpectedly through a lot of twists and some mystery, Hazel and her son end up living with Miss Julia. These are light books, but I found myself laughing out loud and at times tearing up.

28. Death du Jour by Lou Jane Temple. I had read some of this author's Heaven Lee series, although they aren't my favorite kind of mysteries. This new series however combines mystery with history, and I found them to be very interesting. I read the first, The Spice Box, last year. This one is set in France just after the revolution. Both books have an unusual box filled with recipes and spices.

29. The Wizard Heir and 30. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. This is a fantasy series for young adults that has some unique touches. There are people born with special crystals behind their hearts that give them special powers. Each crystal offers specific powers, with wizards being the most powerful. The different branches of powers don't necessarily get along. I found these interesting and fun to read, and one of my students carried off my copy of The Warrior Heir the first day I brought it to class.

31. Taken by Edward Bloor. Interesting young adult science fiction novel, set in a future where children are trained in what to do when they are kidnapped, as very many are. There are some twists and some interesting characters.

32. Death of a MythMaker by Allana Martin. A Texas mystery set near Marfa with a protagonist who has a country store. This had some interesting descriptions, but the mystery was weak.

33. Constable's Run by Laurie Moore. Another Texas mystery although I have already forgotten most of the book even though I read it a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was bleak and somewhat dry, although there was a lot about a constable's job that was interesting.

34. The Body in the Gallery by Katherine Hall Page. I have read all of this series as soon as they come out. I love the protagonist, Faith, who is a caterer and a minister's wife in New England. This one had some interesting information about art and museums in the area, and descriptions of good food also.

35. Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke. I enjoy the Hannah Swenson mysteries and her recipes. This was a collection of short stories by 4 authors, and I enjoyed the Fluke one and the Meier one although I much prefer the complete novels by both these authors. And, of course, each story had a Christmas theme.

I'm still reading, but this is as far as I have gotten with writing a list. I need to go back and look at my book stacks again. I have also taken some time to go back to old favorites - my favorite stress relief - but I pledged to myself that I wouldn't count those in this 50 book challenge.

50 Books in a Year

I read about this challenge on another blog and thought, "I can do that." However, it turns out that reading seriously impacts the time I have for knitting and for blogging - and of course work has to fit in somehow. This should explain why I haven't blogged since February.

These are what I have read so far (not in the order I read them):

1. Dark Moon Defender, 2. The Thirteenth House, 3. Mystic and Rider, 4. Reader and the Raelynx all by Sharon Shinn. I read about this author on another blog and, since I love fantasy, decided to try them. I really enjoyed them all; she had some unique ideas which made them fun to read.
5. Aunt Dimity - Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton. I have loved this series from the beginning. Aunt Dimity was a sort of super woman now deceased who communicates with Lori, her best friend's daughter, through a journal. Lots of humor and interesting situations throughout the series and lots of description of England.

6. Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart. This is a great series if you like mysteries because the protagonist has a mystery bookstore. Besides the mystery in the book, there are also lots of references to other authors. I have always read these with paper and pen so I can make notes of others I want to read. I also really like Annie and Max Darling and the characters that surround them. The author always starts with a view into the murderer's mind without revealing exactly who they are.

7. The Gladstone Bag by Charlotte McLeod. This author also writes under the name of Alisa Craig. She has several series, all set in Northeastern US or in Canada. She is so funny, and I love her characters. This is one I evidently missed because I thought I had read them all.

8. The Wednesday Wars and 9. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. Two very different books by the same author. These are for young adults, but I loved them. The Wednesday Wars is about a boy who is the only student in his school who does not go for religious instruction on Wednesday afternoons, so he is assigned to a teacher who does not want him. However, through reading, theater and sports, they find some common ground. This is set during the Vietnam era. Lizzie Bright is a take on a true story of a group of black people on a small island off the Canadian coast who are forced out so the island can be made into a resort. I can't write a description that would do this book justice. I loved both of these so much though that I am trying to get funds to buy sets for my classroom.

10. She Came Back and 11. Run by Patricia Wentworth. I love classic mysteries and these are great. I especially like her Miss Silver character (she knits!) and I love the time period (roughly 40's). These are hard books for me to find because so many are out of print, but they are wonderful.
12. The Princeton Murders and 13. The Princeton Imposter by Ann Waldron. These are interesting mysteries about a journalist from Florida who comes to Princeton to teach one course. These have some interesting twists and characters. I am having trouble finding the rest, but I liked them enough that I am making the effort. Very interesting protagonist.

14. Turkey Flambe 15. Holy Guacamole, 16 Bon Bon Voyage, 17. Crime Brulee by Nancy Fairbanks. This mystery series includes food and recipes. The protagonist is a food writer who travels to get ideas for her books. So, you get recipes and descriptions of interesting places along with a pretty decent mystery. Her characters are interesting and funny. The opening chapter in Turkey Flambe was like a scene from Keystone Kops but I laughed out loud while reading it.

18. Sax and Violins by Mary Daheim. I have been reading this series for awhile. I enjoy the interactions between Judith and her cousin Renie and the descriptions of Judith's bed and breakfast in Northwest US.

19. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews. The titles drew me to this series, and the writing did not disappoint. The protagonist, Meg, is a blacksmith with a unique family. I think I like reading about the characters more than I enjoy the mystery. These should be read in order however, as some of the story builds from book to book.

20. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis. Curtis is known for great young adult books, and this one is my favorite so far. It is about a colony of free black people in Canada in the 1870's. It is somewhat painful to read at times; I find it hard to read about a child who is manipulated by an adult, but this was still a great read.

21. Eldest by Christopher Paolini. I wasn't a fan of Eragon because I thought it was very derivative. However, some of my students insisted that I read the second, and I wasn't sorry. It was a fun read, but not great. I do see why my students love it but personally I really don't remember much already.

I haven't finished the list, but I need to go knit. I am working on two baby sweaters for a young man who is supposed to arrive the end of June.

Tag

I've been tagged with:

Find the nearest book of 123 pages or more: Frommer's Oregon

Find the first 5 sentences.

Post the next 3 sentences.

Despite the many hardships, families were willing to walk 2,000 miles across the continent for a chance at starting a new life in the Willamette Valley. The valley very quickly became the breadbasket of the Oregon country, and today, it still produces an agricultural bounty unequaled in its diversity. Throughout the year you can sample the produce of this region at farms, produce stands, and wineries.

This tells you where we are planning to go for the next vacation. We're already booked on the Coastal Starlight train that runs from L.A. to Portland. We'll stay a couple of days there and then take another train to Seattle.

I can hardly wait to escape heat and wind and the ups and downs we have experienced this winter. Today is predicted to be a high of 70, but Friday is supposed to be a high of 30 with blowing snow.

Blogs I Read

I read Panhandle Jane's list of 10 blogs she reads and was surprised to see mine listed. I find it hard to believe that anyone would read this beyond family.

Anyway, here is the list of my favorites:

Panhandle Portals: This is written by a teacher and knitter in a small town close to mine. She does beautiful work for herself and her grandchildren. She also has great comments on books.

The Pioneer Woman: Another blogger sent me to this one. She is a rancher, photographer and cook who is very entertaining.

Addicted to Knitting: This is written by a knitter in Oklahoma City. I get to vicariously visit yarn stores through this blog.

Backstage Stitches: I found this blog through Knitters Review. The blogger works in theater in California, is a knitter, and takes classes in martial arts. Very interesting!

ChappysMom: This blogger knits and reads. She periodically posts lists of books she has read with reviews. I find several I want to read each time.

Knitting Fisher: My husband found this blog when searching for a picture of Sitka, Alaska after we returned from a cruise. She is a teacher, knitter, and lives in a beautiful part of Alaska.

Looking Glass Knits: This blogger has such beautiful patterns that she has created. She designed a baby sweater with a field of lambs for the yoke that I really want to try.

I Can Has Cheezburger?: This is not a blog, but people post pictures of animals, primarily cats, with appropriate captions. These make me laugh out loud every time I look! This is also the home of the walrus with the bucket pictures. If you haven't seen this, you should google walrus with bucket and take a look.

I know I haven't listed 10, but these are the ones I read every time they post. I also appreciate Kay of Addicted to Knitting who let me in on Bloglines, so I can subscribe to blogs and then they let me know when there is a new post.

The Baby Sweaters Keep Coming

I thought I was through with baby sweaters for awhile, but they just keep coming - babies that is. This one is for a friend and colleague's new granddaughter. I have another one OTN for my M-I-L's caregiver, and, as soon as Amanda knows the gender, I will start some for her newest.

This one was fun to do, although weaving in the ends from the stripes was not great. I like the feel of Cotton Ease, but I find it to be hard on my hands. I found perfect pale pink ladybug buttons which made the sweater.

On the list to do: Socks for MIL, brother, and finally, two pair for me! I had all my socks out drying the other day, and I realized they are all muted dark colors. So, I looked at the Loopy Ewe and found some in a bright pink, lime green colorway - those won't be dark socks!

It Has Been a Long Time

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted on this blog. I have been knitting, but I have also been busy with school and traveling. My daughter is now working in retail which means that she has no time off around the holidays, so we made the 500 mile trip to Missouri for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I finished two pair of socks, am working down the foot of the second sock of another pair, and am working down the sleeves of yet another baby sweater. I have no pictures right now, but will try to get some later.

We came back from Thanksgiving to a pond in the back yard as we had a pipe break. As we dug giant holes trying to find the break, this came out of the woodpile, squeaking and purring.

We are the biggest suckers ever for kittens, so Kate has joined the household. We lost a cat we had had for 13 years in November, so it is nice to be back up to four cats! Kate keeps the other, older cats running.

I wonder if other parts of the country are having the weird weather we are. We have had snow and ice, but lately we have been having 60's and today this is what I saw from my back window. I sure don't remember having thunderstorms in January - however these rainbows were absolutely amazing.

My Other First Swap

I have been participating in the Hogwarts Sock Swap as well as the football a long, and my package arrived from my pal all the way from Wales.

She sent me a teapot, cup and saucer with a tea cozy and tea, sherbet lemon drops, mint humbugs, dragon souvenirs of Wales, bamboo needles, 4 knitted beanies for my former student in Iraq, a whole box of stitch markers, and some great socks.

I had to laugh when I saw the socks. You can see in the picture, I had started the same pattern! And, what great luck, the symbol for Wales is a dragon, and I collect dragons.

My quality control supervisor checked out the box and all the contents; he gave it all his approval.

Thank you Rowena Acromantula (Sandra).

From My Morning Commute

This was the view from my school last Thursday morning.

I really love some parts of teaching in a semi-rural school. The sunrises are definitely a major perk!

My First Swap

How much fun is this??

OU crimson and cream wool, so I can make a felted bag or some slippers. Crimson and cream stitch markers, a Cowboys lanyard, great coffee, and an ESPN paperweight. My pal outdid herself! And a dip recipe - it calls for Rotel and cream cheese - it has to be good!

Thanks Robin; you made my first swap great!

Knitpicks new Harmony needles

I have been following the thread on Knitters Review regarding these needles and was surprised at how many said they hated the colors. I didn't hesitate to order as soon as I saw them because I loved the colors.

Anyway, they arrived today and I had to cast on and try them. One of the concerns expressed was how they would be with varigated yarn. I am using Seacoast yarn in the Acorn colorway, which is a pretty bland varigation, but I see no problems.

I know the image is sort of dark, but it is clear that the colors are not blinding. One thing though is that these are US size 2. The colors certainly could be more obvious in larger sizes.

The needles are smooth and light, the joins are smooth, and the tips are sharp. I really like these needles! I will be ordering more soon.

I had a question about the pattern for one of these baby sweaters, so I thought I would repost them all. I made all of these over the last 6 months or so from the Knitting Pure and Simple Top Down Baby Cardigan pattern.

The brown in from Knitpicks washable merino, the blue is a mercerized cotton that I can't remember, the yellow is from Cotton Ease, the multi-color stripe is Plymouth Encore, and the pink-red stripe is Patons SWS.

I really love this pattern because it has been so easy to do and so easy to create different looks. Although I do hope I can take a break from baby sweaters for a couple of months at least.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Meme

What type of pet do you choose as your companion at Hogwarts?

Since I have four at home, of course I would choose a cat! Although I would really like an owl, but birds and my cats just do not mix well.

While shopping in Hogsmeade you stop by Honeydukes for some sweets. What treats do you purchase for yourself?

I love chocolate and usually have something chocolate every day. I also really like peppermint.

A potion you are preparing needs an ingredient available only at muggle shops. You don't want to stand out in your wizards robes, so you resort to traditional muggle clothing. Describe your outfit in detail.

If I'm coming from work, it's usually khakis and a solid colored shirt; if it's a weekend, I'm in jeans. Whatever time, I'm always in something casual and comfortable - usually browns or greens (my husband says I dress in swamp colors).

What is your favorite subject to study at Hogwarts and why?

Care of Magical Creatures because I really love most animals.

Likewise, what subject is your least favorite and why?

I would not like Defense Against the Dark Arts or Divination. It all sounds creepy to me; I really don't like horror stuff.

Back to the potion you were shopping for ingredients for, what type of potion are you making, what color is it, what are the ingredients, and precisely what does the potion do?

I would make a form of a love potion except that I would use great pieces of writing to infuse a love of reading into my students.

And, isn't this the classic cat expression? Such disdain for this thing I brought home!

Yet Another Knitalong

After watching from the sidelines and reading all the great stories, I decided to join the Hogwarts Sock Swap. While it's not finished, it has been great fun, and then someone on KR wrote about a football based knitalong.

What fun - a combination of two things I love!

So, I have joined footballalong. The first project was to knit a teddy bear outfit for the Cubs for Kids charity in your favorite team's colors. Of course, I went out immediately looking for crimson and cream - hard to find in Texas! I found something close, so here is the result.

I am still finishing the scarf, but I wanted to get this posted before school starts tomorrow.

And, the first OU game is next Saturday! Knitting may have to wait a bit.

I've Learned Something New!!

. . .but I'm not going to say what it is until the Hogwarts Sock Swap is over.

Look What's Cooking

I can't say exactly what's cooking since my sock swap pal knows my blog address - but it's not spaghetti! I have used pineapple, lemon, tamarind, and mango.

KPS Cardigan Number 5

This is the last for awhile, I hope, of the baby cardigans. I started this one for my niece's new son, but wasn't happy with how it was looking, so I made the blue one instead. I was cleaning out a drawer however and found the buttons, and I thought they would improve the sweater, so I finished it today. The buttons are wooden acorns and leaves. My husband says it looks like a druid's sweater.

Now I'm going back to UFO's. I have nearly finished the front of the Rowan Audrey that I started nearly two years ago. When I get that done, it's back to the Rogue Hoody.

Of course, I also joined my first swap, so I have socks to do for that. I have had a terrible time finding yarn that I liked since I need Hufflepuff colors and I want to avoid the bumblebee look. However, I think I have figured that out and just need to get started.

I go back to school August 17th though, so my free time will soon be limited.