Amber's (scaifea's) Thread #18

Hey, everybody!

I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor, turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure, turned part-time library assistant, turned once again Classics professor, and turned librarian again. I spend my free time sewing, writing, knitting, baking, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 47 going on 12 and live in Ohio with my husband, Tomm; our son, Charlie; Mario, the Golden Retriever; and the newest addition to the family: Agent Fitzsimmons, the Border Collie.

The haircut isn't all that new anymore, but, well, here I am:



Favorite Books from 2021
Spinning Silver
Far Away Across the Sea
The Book Thief
Return of the Thief
Mister Impossible
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Under the Whispering Door

What I'm Reading Now:
-Les Miserables (books by year - 1862)
-Cemetery Boys (an book from my Read Soon! shelves)
-The Secret Life of Bees (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob)
-When He Was Wicked (romance)
-One for the Books (mystery)
-The Linguist and the Emperor (wishlist book)
-A Court of Silver Flames (a Beauty & the Beast retelling)
-My Hero Academia vol 6 (manga)
-Crooked Letter Crooked Letter (audiobook)
-The Little Stranger (mystery)
-The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden (Schneider Award)
-Metamorphoses (family bedtime read-aloud)

Books on Deck:
-Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Buddhist reading list)
-One for the Books (mysteries)
-Richard III (Shakespeare re-read)
-The Land of the Free (100 Banned Books)
-Lest Darkness Fall (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books)
-Death's Master (BFS Award)
-The Thief of Time (Boyne bibliography)
-(an unread book from my shelves)

The five-ish or so books I have going at once and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. 13 years ago I started working my way through a handful of awards lists for children's books. I've finished a fair few of those, but I'm still working through the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die list, and I try to stay up to date with several of the YALSA awards each year.

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker (and other) lists (combined, in chronological order)

5. For this category, I cycle through 9 different stacks:
a. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
b. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. John Boyne bibliography (in chronological order, sort of)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Maggie Stiefvater's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

6. An unread book from my shelves.

7. A book from my Read Soon! shelves.

8. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

9. Book-a-year challenge: A few years ago, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

10. A cozy mystery.

11. A full-on re-read through Shakespeare's stuff.

12. A read-aloud-to-Charlie-at-bedtime book (or two).

13. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

14. A romance novel.

15. A book from my wishlist (it's *so* long).

16. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

Books Read

JANUARY
1. The Cave Children (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
2. Conan the Barbarian (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
3. Beauties, Beasts, and Enchantment (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
4. The Paradise War (audiobook/Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
5. What Fresh Hell Is This? (impulse read) - 8/10
6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I reread this one with Charlie, who's reading it for his ELA class) - 8/10
7. The Hidden Face of Eve (100 Banned Books) - 7/10
8. Guilty Pleasures (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
9. Cue for Treason (1001 Children's Books) - 9/10
10. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 9/10
11. Metropolis (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
12. Timescape (Nebula Award) - 6/10
13. A Fatal Grace (mysteries) - 9/10
14. A Loyal Character Dancer (mysteries) - 8/10

FEBRUARY
15. Beetle and the Hollowbones (Stonewall Honor Book) - 8/10
16. More Fool Me (Fry bibliography) - 8/10
17. The Ghost Writer (wishlist book) - 9/10
18. Chimera (National Book Award) - 8/10
19. Cat's Cradle (unread book from my shelves) - 9/10
20. Mockingjay (reread with Charlie) - 10/10
21. Solutions and Other Problems (Alex Award) - 10/10
22. Heartsong (audiobook) - 9/10
23. Beat the Reaper (an unread book from my shelves) - 10/10
24. One More Thing (a book from my Read Soon! shelves) - 8/10
25. Darius the Great Deserves Better (Stonewall Honor Book) - 9/10
26. In the Woods (mysteries) - 9/10
27. The Cloven Viscount (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
28. Hyperbole and a Half (just because) - 10/10

MARCH
29. This Book Is Gay (impulse read) - 9/10
30. Brothersong (audiobook) - 9/10
31. Into the Land of the Unicorns (audiobook) - 7/10
32. We Ride Upon Sticks (Alex Award) - 10/10
33. Hitting the Books (mystery) - 8/10
34. Beyond the Pawpaw Trees (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
35. A Court of Thorns and Roses (B&B retelling) - 9/10
36. The Black Gryphon (audiobook) - 9/10
37. Stradivari's Genius (wishlist) - 7/10
38. The Last Unicorn (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
39. The Prestige (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 10/10
40. The Portrait of a Lady (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 7/10

APRIL
41. The Last Cuentista (Newbery Medal) - 9/10
42. Grendel (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 6/10
43. First Test (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
44. Fahrenheit 451 (audiobook) - 10/10
45. Changing Planes (audiobook) - 7/10
46. Gifts (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 9/10
47. Escape from Warsaw (1001 Children's Books) - 9/10
48. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio (Alex Award) - 8/10
49. Peeps (audiobook) - 9/10
50. Red, White, and Whole (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
51. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (mysteries) - 9/10
52. Waiting for the Flood (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
53. Moon Called (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List/audiobook) - 9/10
54. The World of Tibetan Buddhism (Buddhist reading list) - 8/10

MAY
55. The Raven Boys (family bedtime read-aloud) - 10/10
56. Wicked Lovely (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books/audiobook) - 9/10
57. The Shape of Water (mystery) - 6/10
58. Ink Exchange (audiobook/series read) - 9/10
59. The Kids Are Gonna Ask (Alex Award) - 8/10
60. A Snake Falls to Earth (Newbery Honor Book) - 6/10
61. My Hero Academia Vol. 1 (manga) - 9/10
62. The Junior Officers' Reading Club (unread book from my shelves) - 7/10
63. Fragile Eternity (audiobook) - 7/10
64. The Book of the Dun Cow (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 4/10

JUNE
65. Murder Is Easy (Christie bibliography/audiobook) - 8/10
66. The Ogress and the Orphans (impulse library shelf grab) - 10/10
67. They Do It with Mirrors (Christie bibliography/audiobook) - 8/10
68. A Caribbean Mystery (Christie bibliography/audiobook) - 8/10
69. Friedrich (1001 Children's Books list) - 7/10
70. A Night to Remember (NEH list) - 8/10
71. My Hero Academia Volume 2 (manga) - 9/10
72. The Member of the Wedding (NEH list) - 8/10
73. Love in Focus (manga) - 9/10
74. Up from Slavery (NEH list/audiobook) - 8/10
75. Ethan Frome (NEH list/audiobook) - 8/10
76. A Court of Mist and Fury (B&B retelling series) - 9/10
77. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (mystery) - 9/10
78. The Awakening (NEH list/audiobook) - 8/10
79. Veil of Lies (mystery) - 8/10
80. Fathers and Sons (NEH list/audiobook) - 8/10

JULY
81. The Greek Coffin Mystery (mysteries) - 9/10
82. A Handful of Dust (NEH list/audiobook) - 9/10
83. An Offer from a Gentleman (romance) - 9/10
84. A Kind of Spark (Schneider Honor Book/audiobook) - 9/10
85. A Brief History of TIme (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 9/10
86. Kepler's Witch (wishlist) - 6/10
87. Titan (Locus SF Award) - 8/10
88. For Real (romance) - 9/10
89. Word to the Wise (mystery) - 9/10
90. A Court of Wings and Ruin (B&B retelling series) - 9/10
91. Too Bright to See (Newbery Honor Book) - 6/10
92. Dumb Witness (Christie Bibliography) - 8/10
93. Timaeus (a reread for a summer library challenge bingo category) - 7/10
94. Paco's Story (NBA list + audiobook) - 9/10
95. Atonement (audiobook) - 9/10
96. Deathnote 1 (manga) - 9/10

AUGUST
97. Sing, Unburied, Sing (NBA list + audiobook) - 9/10
98. My Hero Academia Vol. 3 (manga) - 9/10
99. Trust Exercise (NBA list + audiobook) - 9/10
100. Flambards (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10
101. Heathen vol 1 (impulse library checkout) - 9/10
102. The Keepers of the House (Pulitzer list + audiobook) - 9/10
103. Amal Unbound (audiobook) - 9/10
104. Clean Getaway (audiobook) - 8/10
105. Neuromancer (Nebula Award) - 6/10
106. Magician Apprentice (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books list) - 8/10
107. Three Bags Full (wishlist) - 6/10
108. Death Note vol 2 (manga) - 9/10
109. Mansfield Park (an unread book from my shelves) - 7/10
110. The Magic Mountain (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 7/10
111. A Good Kind of Trouble (audiobook) - 8/10
112. Women: The National Geographic Image Collection (impulse library checkout) - 9/10

SEPTEMBER
113. Lalani of the Distant Sea (audiobook) - 8/10
114. A Court of Frost and Starlight (B&B retelling) - 9/10
115. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10
116. Romancing Mister Bridgerton (romance) - 9/10
117. Dragon Hoops (Printz Honor Book) - 8/10
118. The Line Tender (audiobook) - 8/10
119. Heathen vol 2 (graphic novel) - 9/10
120. Heartstopper vol 1 (graphic novel) - 9/10
121. My Hero Academia vol 4 (manga) - 9/10
122. The Parker Inheritance (audiobook) - 8/10
123. Heartstoppers vol. 2 (graphic novel) - 9/10
124. Vanished Smile (audiobook) - 8/10
125. The First Books of Swords (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
126. Proxy (audiobook) - 8/10
127. The Edge of the Cloud (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
128. Life As We Knew It (audiobook) - 8/10
129. Killing Trail (mystery) - 8/10

OCTOBER
130. Death Note volume 3 (manga) - 9/10
131. Under the Never Sky (audiobook) - 8/10
132. Legend (audiobook) - 8/10
133. Heartstopper vol. 3 (graphic novel) - 9/10
134. Hollow (graphic novel) - 9/10
135. The Belles (audiobook) - 8/10
136. My Hero Academia vol 5 (manga) - 9/10
137. Assaulted Caramel (mystery) - 8/10
138. Hot British Boyfriend (romance) - 7/10
139. Gearbreakers (audiobook) - 8/10
140. The Tea Dragon Society (impulse library checkout) - 9/10
141. The Infinity Concerto (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
142. The Summer Prince (audiobook) - 8/10
143. V for Vendetta (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 9/10
144. Blasphemy (audiobook) - 8/10
145. The Serpent (audiobook) - 9/10
146. Assassination Classroom vol 1 (manga) - 8/10
147. Go Ask Alice (100 Banned Books/audiobook) - 4/10
148. Lost Horizon (NEH list/audiobook) - 7/10

NOVEMBER
149. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Read Soon! Shelves/audiobook) - 8/10
150. To Sir Phillip, with Love (romance) - 9/10
151. Graceling (audiobook) - 8/10
152. The Words in My Hands (Schneider Award) - 9/10
153. Alice I Have Been (audiobook) - 9/10
154. The Unspoken Name (audiobook) - 7/10
155. Four Ways to Forgiveness (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 6/10
156. To Love Jason Thorne (audiobook) - 8/10
157. Date Me, Bryson Keller (audiobook) - 9/10
158. A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, The Thanksgiving Visitor (holiday read) - 10/10

"She's on my bed." "No, she's on MY bed."

This is why Charlie is an only child.



How Simmons plays ball:



(I'm not even kidding and this is in no way a staged photo. If she has a ball in her mouth and you kick another one toward her, she'll expertly - frighteningly so - catch it with her paw.)

And here's the coolest tenor sax player in town:

Grab yourself a glass of milk/cup o' joe/cuppa tea, a couple of cookies, and settle in!



(Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies, fresh from the oven)

>5 scaifea: Love your photos! Simmons is impressively skilled. My dogs can't even catch one ball 😂 and I think I'll help myself to a cookie!

*snaffles a cookie*

Nice new digs, Amber! Love all your photos up top.

Marching bands not being as big a thing on this side of the border, will Charlie still have performances with that band during the rest of the year now that football is done?

>7 curioussquared: Simmons is crazy skilled. It's scary. And adorable. And hilarious.

>8 MickyFine: In a couple of weeks they'll have their final marching show, and then I assume they'll keep practicing for the Florida trip coming up in December. But in normal years they switch over to concert band after the Varsity Show, which is this upcoming final performance.

144. Blasphemy by Douglas Preston (audiobook) - 8/10
The US government has poured several billions of dollars into building a supercollider out in the Arizona desert, and they're now running out of patience because the scientists trying to use it can't get it to work. Or so they say. Something fishy seems to be going on out there, so the feds send in Wyman Ford (a former FBI agent with a history with one of the scientists) to see if he can suss out what's really going on. As it turns out, what's really going on is that the scientists think they may have contacted God when they turned the machine on... Meanwhile, the Navajo people living nearby aren't happy with how their deal to let the government use the land to build this thing hasn't turned out in their favor (and why are they shocked, one has to wonder). Also, a nearby evangelical preacher teams up with a Washington televangelist (who has teamed up with a DC lobbyist, who in turn is using the televangelist to try to exploit the Navajo nation) in an attempt to destroy the newfangled machine that's trying to disprove God exists. It all ends up in a hot mess, as you may well imagine.

Kind of like the book itself. I mean, there's a *lot* going on here, and in general I like a book that gives me various sub plots that eventually all tie in together, but this one felt too disjointed and the eventual tying together seemed oversimplistic. Also, it felt like Preston couldn't decide which genre he wanting to be writing in: is this an FBI thriller? a social commentary on the corrupt nature of Christianity/religion itself (this, by the way, was the best part of the thing, in my opinion)? straight-up sci-fi? or a mystery? If you're gonna blend genres, fine, but find a way to hide the seams, or at least smooth them out enough that your readers aren't constantly tripping over them. Now, having groused about all that, I did kind of enjoy it. It's a good-enough story that at least kept me interested enough to want to know what happens, and honestly I was happily surprised at the end with how it all shook out.

145. The Serpent by Claire North (audiobook) - 9/10
An unhappy wife of a wealthy 17th century Venetian tradesman goes with him to the Gameshouse one night, is intrigued by the games and the players, and returns frequently until she is invited to play an entirely different kind of game. One with very high payoffs and even higher stakes. She learns that playing this sort of game means playing to win at all costs, and the consequences are far-reaching. She also learns that the Gameshouse has been around for a very long time - centuries and more - as have many of the players. But will she survive this first game to find out more?

I love the idea behind this one and in general I enjoyed the book, although I think I should have read this one in actual book form instead of listening to it. There are a lot of characters that have intricate roles in the story and the game within the story, and I think I needed to pay more attention to what was going on than I maybe did. I'm intrigued by the notion of the eternal Gameshouse and the world-changing and secret games it conducts, so I'm very likely to return to the series, but I'll do it in print form next time.

Excuse me, pardon me, coming through ... someone said there were cookies over here?

Happy new thread, Amber!

HAppy new thread!

Happy new thread, Amber!

>5 scaifea: Well, they do fit on the bed together ;-)
The picture of Simmons with three balls is fun, it looks like she is still looking for more.
You are absolutely right about the coolest tenor sax player in town!

Happy new thread Amber!

Happy new one! The Preston looks fun.

I'm partial to pumpkin cookies, yum yum.

Happy new Thread Amber; woot woot on reaching 18 threads and so many books!

Happy new thread Amber!

Happy new thread, Amber.
I have coffee, and a cookie would just go well with that, thank you.
Simmonds with his balls is fabulous, he does look like he is expecting you to roll another. Although part of me did tip my head to read the titles on the spines in the bookcases!

>15 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Ha! Well, they do frequently share the bed like that, but neither one ever seems to think it's fair that they have to. I'll just add that there are three other dog beds in the house...

>16 quondame: Thanks!

>17 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! I think you might enjoy it, although I have no idea how accurate the science is, of course. (I didn't consult the resident expert here.) Apparently this is the second in the series? But I didn't have any trouble jumping in at this point.

>18 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks, Angela! These cookies are one of Charlie's favorites; chocolate and pumpkin really go well together.

>19 WhiteRaven.17: Thanks, Kro!

>20 Helenliz: These are excellent coffee companion cookies, for sure. And I wouldn't expect anything else from this group as far as reading the spines in the photo goes - I do it to photos, too.

Happy Saturday, Amber. Happy New Thread! The Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies look scrumptious. Yes, please.

Happy new thread, Amber.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working today. It's always difficult to predict whether any given Saturday at the library will be completely dead or steadily busy. I'm guessing it'll be slow today, though, since there's probably a fair amount of festivals and Halloween events for kiddos going on. We'll see. Tomm's in charge of dinner tonight, which will likely be something on the grill.

On the Reading Front:
I started and finished Assassination Classroom vol. 1, started The Linguist and the Emperor, listened to some of Go Ask Alice, and read a bit of The Words in My Hands.

The Crafting Report:
Still nearly finished with the scarf. Maybe I'll take it to work today and try to polish it off.

What We're Watching:
We finished Hocus Pocus 2, and it was really good! A Solid and enjoyable sequel. Then we started Thor: Love and Thunder.

>25 msf59: Hi, Mark! Thanks!

>26 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>27 scaifea: Glad to hear a positive verdict on the Hocus Pocus sequel. Wishing you just enough patrons that the day doesn't drag.

Hi Amber my dear, Happy New Thread my dear friend.

>29 MickyFine: Oh, time never drags for me in the library. If there isn't anything work-related to do, I can read or knit or crochet!

>30 johnsimpson: Thanks, John!

(belated) Happy New Thread, Amber

>33 ArlieS: Thanks!

On the Agenda for Today:
Maybe a bit of cleaning, some baking, and I owe a couple of reviews. Not much else on the menu.

On the Reading Front:
I finished Go Ask Alice and started Lost Horizon on audio, but that's about it. I chose napping instead of reading yesterday afternoon.

The Crafting Report:
I am really, truly very nearly finished with the scarf. No, seriously.

What We're Watching:
We finished Thor: Love and Thunder, and watched the latest My Hero Academia episode.

146. Assassination Classroom vol 1 by Yusei Matsui (manga) - 8/10
A strange octopus-like thing has destroyed a big chunk of the moon and is now threatening to do the same thing to the Earth in a year's time. In the meantime it wants to teach a classroom full of the lowest-achieving students in the school, and the government agrees as long as they can at the same time train those high school students to assassinate their teacher. And so every day the kids go to school, are taught by a weirdly-kind monster while they try over and over to kill him/it.

A weird but cool story. I'll definitely keep going with this one.

147. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (audiobook) - 4/10
A novel that was originally proclaimed to be the actual diary of a teenager, but later debunked as fiction, in which said teen stumbles into the world of heavy drug use, runaways, and all the awful things that go along with that work.

Yeah, not my jam. Too grim. Also, the main character - the diarist - was, despite going through an incredibly rough journey, completely unsympathetic and genuinely annoying. And I find it ridiculous that the author could ever pass this off as not fictional; it seems clear from the beginning to me that the diary entries are not how or what a high school girl would write.

>37 scaifea: Oh, jeez, I detested that book when I read it. The way she supposedly became addicted to hardcore drugs after trying ecstasy (I think?) once at a party…
And like you said, not even remote written in the way a teenage girl would write. I feel like it was written by someone who had as much knowledge of drugs as my elderly next door neighbours had of heavy metal during the “Satanic panic”.

Happy new thread! Mmm, cookies!

>38 PawsforThought: Ha! Yep. It's pretty silly all around, to be honest. And ah, the Satanic Panic. Simpler times.

>39 foggidawn: Thanks!

Happy not-so-new thread!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin cookies. Sounds like just the thing.

>42 EllaTim: Thanks!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working the Dolly shift, then picking Charlie up from after-school band practice, then getting him to eat a quick dinner, then dropping him off to trick-or-treat with some of his friends. This is the first time *ever* that he's actually wanted to go round on Halloween, so I'm happy for him! I'll stay home and hand out candy. I love seeing all the kiddos in their costumes. Charlie's dressed up for school, and then they're having a costume-themed band practice, so he should have a really good time today. And he looks great in the costume! I took a photo but it really doesn't do him justice; I'll try to take another one outside this afternoon.

On the Reading Front:
I made some progress with A Court of Silver Flames and The Words in My Hands, plus I listened to a chunk of Lost Horizon.

The Crafting Report:
Aaaaallllmost finished with that scarf. Seriously. And I started an amigurumi turkey yesterday, too. (I'll eventually get that mummy finished, too. Probably.)

What We're Watching:
We finished up Derry Girls this weekend - So. Good. - and then we watched some Glee and some Death Note.

Did you dress up for your shift today or does your library only do costumes for your Halloween event?

I hope Charlie has a great time trick or treating!

>44 scaifea: Happy Halloween Amber :)

Charlie was Edward Elric, right?? If he keeps the costumes you make him they do sell Alphonse plush toys on Amazon that he could carry in the future.
Hope you get to debut your costume again. I think the kids would love it :)

>45 MickyFine: No, I didn't dress up yesterday, just for the party last week. Instead, I wore my t-shirt with little ghosts on it that says "BOOOOOOOKS!"

>46 Ravenwoodwitch: Yep, he was Ed. He and his friends want to go to the next anime con that comes to town, so I suspect he'll wear it then. Great idea about the Alphonse!

I would have worn my costume yesterday, but with school in session we don't get kiddos in the library. I got lots of compliments on it on the party day, though!

Charlie had a great time last night with his friends! They went to a neighborhood where one of his friend's grandma lives and where the houses are pretty fancy but they don't get a ton of trick-or-treaters, so they made out like bandits! Full-size candy bars, bags of chips and Famous Amos cookies, the works! When I picked him up he was full of happy chatter about how much fun he had, which is so wonderful to witness; he's not a super-demonstrative kid, so when he does get animated, you know he's happy.

On the Agenda for Today:
Charlie has a doctor's appointment (nothing serious - no worries), so I'll pick him up from school midway through the day and head into the city for that. After that I think we'll head to our favorite shopping spot to hang out a bit and maybe get an early dinner. If not, we'll order Chinese when we get home.

On the Reading Front:
I managed a nice chunk of To Sir Phillip, with Love yesterday, and I also finished up Lost Horizon on audio.

The Crafting Report:
I worked a bit on the crochet turkey. Scarf still not finished. Gah.

What We're Watching:
A couple of Heartstopper eps once Charlie got home for ToT-ing. We both *adore* it.

Charlie as Ed Elric (he doesn't like smiling in photos; I promise he's not sad):

Glad Charlie had a fun Halloween!

>50 scaifea: One day you must catch him smiling in a "candid".

>37 scaifea: Eeew....I remember the awful movie made from that book. And for some reason it has remained in print. Also, apparently the purported author (a THERAPIST, if you please) wrote several other similar books. What list was it on, that caused you to read it?

>51 foggidawn: Me, too!

>52 laytonwoman3rd: Oh, I have my ways of making him laugh and then snapping a photo, and I succeeded this time, too, but he asked me very kindly and seriously not to post that one and in this house no always means no. I do love the one up top, taken by the semi-official band photographer. It's not a huge smile, but it's very genuine.

Yeah, I read that she had written other similar books. Ugh. Just...why. It's on the 100 Banned Books list that I've been reading through for YEARS. And, I'm happy to say that I only have one more to go! WOOT!!

148. Lost Horizon by James Hilton (NEH list/audiobook) - 7/10
The story of three British and one American in India during the British occupation, whose plane is hijacked and then crash-landed in the unknown parts of Tibet. They are met by an resident of the Shangri-La lamasary, rescued, and taken there, but are then indefinitely put off when some of them demand to be helped back to India.

I didn't realize that this was the origin, I guess?, of the myth of Shangri-La. I assumed it was much older and...authentic? Anyway. This was an okay story, but not fabulous. I wanted more suspense and more, um, fantasy, I suppose.

>37 scaifea: So, despite the fact that you didn't like this one (I remember finding it compelling enough reading when I was in my upper teens, but not enough that I feel a need to revisit it), you may enjoy Unmask Alice, a nonfiction account of Beatrice Sparks who also had a hand in the Satanic Panic with one of the other "diaries" she published/wrote.

Charlie's costume came out great, and I'm glad to see he's enjoying band so much too.

I enjoyed the first two seasons of Derry Girls and really should remember to check out the latest soon.

>56 bell7: Ooof, yeah, I think I'll pass on the Unmask Alice book, but it's interesting that it's out there - thanks!

Oh, season three is great!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working the Parton shift again, then picking Charlie up from band practice. We'll either have leftover Chinese for dinner, or I'm maybe make some mac & cheese. I also need to try to remember to do the menu planning and grocery list prep tonight, so that I can be ready to do the shopping tomorrow after my dentist appointment (for a filling. Ugh.)

On the Reading Front:
I started Gate of Ivrel yesterday, and so far I'm not terribly invested. This is my first Cherryh, and I'm not sure I enjoy her style. I'll keep at it for now and we'll see how it goes. I also started listening to Brain on Fire, which is, wow, good so far.

The Crafting Report:
Hold onto your butts everyone - I finished the scarf!!



What We're Watching:
Charlie and I watched an episode of Glee and then polished off Heartstopper last night.

Love the scarf! The colors are great.

I need to finish the first season of Hartstopper - thanks for the reminder. Apparently, some of its toxic fans forced Kit I-forget-his-last-name (the actor who plays Nick) to come out as bi. Why are people such turds?

Anyway, I also see you are reading To Sir Phillip With Love - hope you're enjoying it! It's one of my favorites in the series :)

>59 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! I made it with a cotton yarn, so it's nice and soft but still substantial, if that makes sense. I can't wait to wear it, but since it's hovering in the 60s today, I'll have to wait.

I saw that about the Nick actor. Turds for surds. And...did they even watch the show?! Their actions pretty much go completely against the spirit of the thing. Idiots.

I'm *loving* To Sir Phillip! Eloise is possibly my favorite character, so I was excited to get to her story and it's not disappointing!

It's weirdly warm here, too. 70 today. Whaaaat?

That was the point people were making on Twitter - that these "fans" missed the entire point of the show. Dumbasses.

And yay for Eloise and Sir Phillip. I can't wait to see their story on screen...

>58 scaifea: That scarf is lovely!

>61 katiekrug: So much dumbassery. *shakes head*

Yes to seeing them on screen!

>62 foggidawn: Thanks!

Scarf looks excellent. Weather strangely warm here too. Not yet put the heating on. It's miserable, just not cold and miserable.

Your scarf is beautiful! I love the colors.

It's chilly and raining here - supposed to warm up later in the week (to the 60s), though still raining a bit. Also the forecast is consistently underestimating the rain - it says showers, we get steady rain. Which is nice in many ways, though I'd rather it were in the mountains to refill the whole watershed.

>58 scaifea: Cherryh's style is unusual and has turned off a number of SF fans I know. It really works for Foreigner which is partially about language. She was a high school Latin teacher.

>65 Helenliz: Thanks!

I'm not happy with the warm weather here. It's November now. Time for rainy, chilly days.

>66 bell7: Thanks, Mary!

>67 jjmcgaffey: There's nothing like a good, steady rain. I love it.

>68 quondame: I don't know that I'd call her style unusual, really. In fact, so far at least, it seems to fit easily into the category of writers who think that if they're writing fantasy they need to may their language sound like ye olde languagee. I find that grating at best.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm off to the dentist this morning to get a cavity filled. It's forming under an existing, old filling, so I'm getting to that point where old fillings are needing to be replaced. Awesome. Straight after that I need to run to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions, then I'll do the grocery shopping before coming home. Once the groceries are all put away I'll make this week's After-School Snack (Triple Chocolate Bites) a day early since I work tomorrow. Then it'll probably be time to pick Charlie up from school and then collapse into a chair with a book, hopefully. Baked Potatoes for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I read a bit of Les Miserables yesterday, a bit of The Words in My Hands, and listened to more Brain on Fire.

The Crafting Report:
Nothing to report for yesterday. Work was actually steadily busy, plus I spent time switching the two book displays I'm responsible for over from October to November; I made the picture book display this month about Thanksgiving, peppering the traditional selections with some books on Native American history to try to get the real story out there. The display sign says, "Save a Turkey: Gobble Up a Good Book Instead!" The middle grade display is in honor of NaNoWriMo; I chose nonfiction books about how to write novels, how to keep a journal, how to write poetry, and also fiction books featuring kid writers in some way. And then I spent the rest of the workday between helping patrons and culling our video game section, since the system we're a part of has decided to discontinue offering Wii, WiiU, PS2, and PS3 games to check out. So it took a long while to pull those and put them all through the discard process. Mind, I'm not complaining, just saying that there was no time for crocheting or knitting yesterday.

What We're Watching:
More Glee and more Death Note!

Ew, Fillings are never a bundle of fun. Hope it goes OK.

Have you come across Bright Air Black by David Vann? Tells the Medea story, mainly from her pov. My main feeling is that he doesn't like Medea. Not a keeper, imo (which is a good thing, seeing I borrowed it from the library).

>75 Helenliz: It went quickly and painlessly, so that's good.

I've not heard of that book, and I think I'll skip it. No one puts Medea in a corner.

>69 scaifea: Totally agree with that. We were having low-80's until two weeks ago when all turned around within about two days. It's been raining most of the time since then and temps in 50's and low 60's. Right now it's 10:48 a.m. and 44 degrees outside.

Keep the faith! There's hope :)

>77 RebaRelishesReading: Eventually we'll get cold weather, right...?

>78 scaifea: right

>78 scaifea: Hoping so...

>76 scaifea: blurb says he's written a number of greek retellings. I remain unconvinced by this. The pass might be the right decision.

>74 scaifea: Oh the woes of the Dentist; I always leave feeling like my mouth got mugged and I paid for it :/
Hope the filling replacement goes smoothly at least.

Scarf looks gorgeous btw. Hope you get to use it soon!

>80 Helenliz: Those retellings are all the rage these days, it seems.

>81 Ravenwoodwitch: The dentist visit was short and fine. And I love my dentist. So it's not a big deal for me, although I know it is for others.

And thanks! I hope so too!

>72 scaifea: As I recall The Morgaine Cycle came out well before the great Eddings, lets make them quest-ers talk like regular folk revolution. It's been a while since I read that series. Heavy Time wouldn't going to have that quality.

>84 quondame: God bless Eddings!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 9:30-3, and then I'll hop over to the library in the next little town (not part of our system) to pick up a hold request that I couldn't get in our own system, then I'll pick Charlie up from band practice. Frozen Friday dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I managed some good reading time yesterday afternoon and spent it with The Linguist and the Emperor, which is really interesting so far. I also read a bit of The Words in My Hands and finished listening to Brain on Fire.

The Crafting Report:
Sorry, nothing to report here from yesterday. If I have time, I'll probably work on the crochet turkey at work today. We'll see.

What We're Watching:
We've started a rewatch of Ted Lasso so that Charlie can watch with us - he loves it so far. We also are finally circling back to Sandman and watched half an episode last night.

Funny. Book bullet for The Linguist and the Emperor - it's in Overdrive, but not available, even for recommendation, in any of the libraries I have access to (how does that work? confused). However, my local library has it in paper, and I've requested it.

>86 scaifea: Short Friday shifts are the best. I hope you have a great start to your weekend!

>87 jjmcgaffey: It's great so far, and yeah, the system I work for doesn't have it in any form; I had to request it from the Columbus system. I hope you enjoy it!

>88 MickyFine: All our Friday shifts are short, since we're only open 10-3!

>90 scaifea: I'm not jealous. At all. :P

>91 MickyFine: *grins*

On the Agenda for Today:
Laundry, a bit of baking (Pumpkin Spice Bars), taking down the Halloween decorations and putting up the Thanksgiving ones, maybe some crocheting, hopefully some reading. I also need to get my holiday crafting/gift-making plans sorted soon. Hamburgers on the grill for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I started Four Ways to Forgiveness yesterday, started listening to Graceling, and read a bit of The Words in My Hands.

The Crafting Report:
Nope, nothing. Today, probably, I'll get back to the turkey.

What We're Watching:
A bit of Ted Lasso, a bit of West Wing, and a bit of Sandman.

>93 scaifea: Ooh is this your first time with Graceling? Looking forward to your thoughts on it.

>93 scaifea: I read that trilogy a while ago. It'll be interesting to see what you make of it.

>94 MickyFine: >95 Helenliz: Yep, first time. So far it's pretty good.

149. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (Read Soon! Shelves/audiobook) - 8/10
Susannah Calahan, a 20-something reporter for the New York Post, suddenly lost a month of her life to what seemed like a psychotic breakdown but turned out to be a very rare and rarely diagnosed form of encephalitis. Not only was the experience harrowing for her and her family, but she couldn't even call up any memories from the time leading up to her hospital stay and through most of the time she was admitted. So, in true reporter style, she set out to conduct interviews, read through medical reports, and watch security footage to put together the events that her brain would not let her remember. It's a fascinating and scary account, and well worth a read.

>97 scaifea: This one sounds fascinating! It's going on the list.

I hope you enjoy Graceling! The books in that series just get better and better IMO. The 5th book just came out on Tuesday!

>98 curioussquared: Good to know that you think the series gets stronger as it goes. Not that I'm not enjoying the first one, but that will help me decide if I want to go on after I'm finished with it. I tend to be pretty strict about the series I keep up with, but if you enjoyed it, I'm seriously consider it.

Love the scarf! Looks nice and warm.

>97 scaifea: I read this one a long time ago and thought it was an interesting read.

Happy weekend!

>100 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! And I'm glad you enjoyed the Cahalan book too.

>99 scaifea: I haven't read book 5 yet, but I think the series is one where you watch Cashore's writing go from good to great to excellent. I loved Graceling from the get-go, but it feels a little more like a standard YA fantasy; by the time you get to Bitterblue, the story is much more complex and Cashore builds just a really cool fantasy world. Anyway, I highly recommend them all :)

I didn't know there were more than 3. I read them in quick succession.

>102 curioussquared: Oh, excellent! That makes me even more likely to continue, then!

>103 Helenliz: Sounds like you've got some catching up to do...

On the Agenda for Today:
Mostly the weekend stuff that didn't get done yesterday because I chose to nap instead. So, the baking and the Thanksgiving decorations (we did take down the Halloween ones yesterday, at least), and the holiday craft planning. Chicken Korma for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I started My Hero Academia vol. 6 yesterday, read a bit of The Words in My Hands, and listened to more Graceling.

The Crafting Report:
I finished the body of the crochet turkey and started on the head.

What We're Watching:
Tomm still wants to watch GBBO, so we watched an episode of that (although I wasn't really paying much attention), and then we watched the latest MHA episode and then another ep of Bee & Puppycat.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working the 12-8 shift, so Tomm's in charge of picking Charlie up after band practice. Before I go to work I'll do some more organizing for my holiday crafting stuff - I need to prep a list of supplies I'll need to get - and then maybe work a bit more on the crochet turkey.

On the Reading Front:
I started The Secret Life of Bees yesterday and it grabbed me right from the start, so I'm excited to see where it goes. I also listened to more Graceling and read a bit more of The Words in My Hands.

The Crafting Report:
I worked a bit on the turkey, but mostly I spent time trying to figure out what I'm going to make for whom this Christmas. As usual, I have overly-grand plans, so we'll see. Needless to say, I need to get cracking.

What We're Watching:
A bit of GBBO, an episode of Umbrella Academy, and then another Bee & Puppycat.

>107 scaifea: I think I saw a post somewhere on social media to the effect of "It's the holiday season; pray for your local crafter, they know not what they do" or something like that. I think all of us get lofty plans this time of year, lol.

>109 Ravenwoodwitch: *SNORK!* Yep, that's accurate. I'm already panicking.

>107 scaifea: Much luck with the plotting of holiday crafting. It's my first year doing anything of the sort but happily picked a small project for each of the niblings so it should be doable. *she said innocently*

I have knocked myself out with holiday crafting in the past, but so far, I have no plans. *crosses fingers*

>111 MickyFine: >112 foggidawn: I generally plan way too much, panic, possibly break down into tears at some point, readjust, and go from there. It's a process.

>113 scaifea: As long as you have a system. LOL. I'll make sure there's tissues on hand for the next month. :)

>114 MickyFine: I'm pretty sure Tomm has exact dates marked on the calendar for when he needs to have tissues and ice cream handy...

>115 scaifea: Such a good husband.

>116 MickyFine: Yeah, he's not bad. I'll keep him, I suppose.

This morning as I was hip deep in project planning lists, he sauntered into my office and asked what I was doing. When I told him, he took a beat, then said, "Oh. Great." and slowly backed out of the room.

>117 scaifea: Snort. That sounds familiar.

I was under the impression that Mr. Fine mostly looked on my crafting with bemused tolerance but the other week I found out he'd been showing off my temperature blanket to one of the guys at work. So that was a cute and sweet surprise.

>118 MickyFine: Adorable.

On the Agenda for Today:
More of the same. I work 12-8 again today and I'll work more on holiday craft stuff before heading out. Oh, and I'll leave early to vote, of course!

On the Reading Front:
Just a few pages in The Words in My Hands and some listening to Graceling yesterday.

The Crafting Report:
Well, I think I've got my project list all sorted, as well as my supplies list. I'll probably go Friday to the fabric shop. I also spend the bit of down time I had at work yesterday crocheting the turkey and he's almost finished - just two more feathers to go.

What We're Watching:
A Puppycat last night after I came home.

Morning, Amber. I am back and slowly catch up on LT. I really enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees & Graceling. I am sure you will feel the same.

>120 scaifea: I'm planning to go to my LNS this weekend. One of the ladies is bringing a used Bernina sewing machine she's offering to sell me. It's not a computerized model, but it should be adequate for cross stitch finishing and most of what I'm likely to do. She says it has all metal parts and will be better than most of what I would be likely to purchase otherwise.

>121 msf59: Welcome back, Mark!! I'm really enjoying those two so far, for certain.

>122 thornton37814: Bernina's are allegedly good machines (I've never had one but I've heard good things).

>118 MickyFine: That is super cute!

>120 scaifea: Excited to see your finished turkey :)

Like Natalie, I'm also looking forward to seeing your turkey. Does it have a name?

>122 thornton37814: >124 scaifea: Berninas are good machines. I purchased one in the early 80s because it was the only machine in the shop that could stitch evenly over all my samples without any tension adjustment, and I had China silk, cotton voile, corduroy, denim, wool gabardine and poly satin among other swatches. The button holes were a pain though and I eventually got a Pfaff because it has dual feed. My Bernina is a 930. The feet are hellishly expensive though, but that's probably the case for anything that doesn't take Singer clone attachments.

>122 thornton37814: Agree with >127 quondame: that Berninas are good. Great, in fact. I've grown up with an 1120 and I love it - trying to find one for myself (I don't think my mum will be too happy if I steal hers). It's the only brand I genuinely trust as I've had very up-and-down experiences with other brands.

>125 curioussquared: >126 MickyFine: His name is M. Lurkey, of course (he's French, apparently). Photo below.

>127 quondame: >128 PawsforThought: I may have to get one to add to my collection someday. For me, you can't do better than a Husqvarna Viking, though (I have two). I also have a couple of Singers and a couple of other machines as well, and honestly, I've not had much trouble with any of them. I've had good luck, I think.

>130 scaifea: I've never tried a Husqvarna (traitorous of me, I know).

We had Pfaff machines at school, and they were usually okay but I found myself frustrated with them as they weren't as good as the Bernina I was used to.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 9-2 then picking Charlie up from school, then taking him back for 7-9 band practice after dinner. I may get started on some holiday projects this afternoon.

On the Reading Front:
The library was pretty slow for the last hour yesterday, so I got some good reading time in with A Court of Silver Flames. I'm also nearly finished with The Words in My Hands, and I'm still listening to Graceling and enjoying it.

The Crafting Report:
M. Lurkey is finished:



Now starts the holiday project panic. WOot.

What We're Watching:
A bit of that new LotR show? I can't remember what it's called.

>131 PawsforThought: Meh, not traitorous, just different.

I don't remember what kind of machines we had at school, mostly because I think I've tried to block my home economics trauma from memory. I already knew how to sew at that point, which, against all logic, worked not at all in my favor in that class. *sigh*

Morning, Amber! Your turkey looks great. I've recently been working on socks - I finished a pair for my nephew and last night I finished the first of the socks for my niece (I'd love to knit two at a time, but so far seem to have the best luck with double-pointed needles, so one at a time it is).

Best of luck on the holiday projects, and here's hoping for your sake they sort themselves out without too much stress for you. Have a great day!

>134 bell7: I need to get back to making more socks! I'm like you, though - I haven't worked out the two-at-a-time thing yet, and sometimes that second sock is a bear.

>133 scaifea: Well, Husqvarna is in southern Sweden anyway... may as well be a different country.

I really liked our crafts classes (which is separate from home economics (cooking, how to budget, how white goods work, etc.) here). Both textile crafts and wood/metal was fun. Helps that the teachers were some of my favourites.

>136 PawsforThought: I think they're different here now, too, but when I was in junior high school, Home Ec was cooking and sewing and taking care of an egg baby. Blech.

>132 scaifea: M. Lurkey is a dignified turkey indeed (which is to say he's really cute.)

You're gonna have a sizable collection of stuffed animals at this rate, aren't you? :)

>138 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks!

Ha! Yeah. For now, at least, I'm just leaving them at the library as part of our holiday decorations.

>137 scaifea: At some point while I was still in high school, Home Ec morphed into Consumer Education, which added life skills to the curriculum, like learning how to balance a checkbook. Quite useful, actually! I liked the sewing, but haven't done a lick of it since I graduated, sadly.

>140 rosalita: That's pretty much what Charlie's consumer ed class is now, too, and I love that there's at least a bit of real world stuff going on in there!

>129 scaifea: *snort*
>132 scaifea: that's Brilliant!!

I've got Mum's Singer, it was the brand she always had. This one does clever stitches and I fear that it is more clever than I am.

>140 rosalita: Consumer education makes so much sense. Learn to sew on a button, shorten a pair of pants, how to make a basic omelet and a few other things like that, but fer cryin' out loud, learn how to cope with money/credit, what insurance is for, how to report an accident, or make a call to a customer service rep.

>143 laytonwoman3rd: Absolutely agree, Linda!

When I was in junior high the course was called Career and Technology Studies and you spent half the year on the shop side of things (where I did everything from woodworking to stained glass to videography) and half the year on the home ec side with both cooking and sewing included in the curriculum. I'm still terrible at sewing a straight line although I must have done it tolerably well for a bit because I came out one year with a wearable pair of pajama pants.

Also LOVE M. Lurkey. Mr. Fine and I have a joke that all cats are French and so I'll often put on a terrible French accent when pretending to talk for the cats to Mr. Fine (other people do this with their pets, right?).

>132 scaifea: M. Lurkey est très beau !

>145 MickyFine: Tim and I definitely have ridiculous voices that we use for the dogs so you are not alone :)

I scandalized the local faculty when I joined the shop course between 8th and 9th grades. The project was a model airplane of wood, and my wings were not symmetrical at all. Previous summers I had taken sewing twice - the first time I was late being enrolled and had to wait for a machine, and the second I decided I had no need for another organdy apron and chose a troublesome close woven gingham. Neither endeared me to the instructor who had it in for me anyway due to interactions with my sister, though she liked my brothers just fine. Since she was the introductory Russian teacher I gave that a pass when I entered 9th grade, going for Latin instead.

>133 scaifea: When I was started Jr Hi girls all had to take "foods" (cooking), "clothing" (sewing) and "home economics" (how to make a bed, clean, do basic first aid, use a checking account, etc.). I had "foods" in 7th grade and, despite several attempts, never got above a "D" in biscuits. As a result, to this day I NEVER make biscuits.

But I digress, I was going to share that when I got to 8th grade things changed and we only had "home economics" which now included sewing an apron. Since I had been making my own clothes for a couple of years by that point the teacher let me make a dress instead of the apron. I wonder if they still offer a class like that.

Wish I could have taken wood shop.

I supposedly learned how to make slippers (with pom poms!) out of washcloths, sew a blouse from a pattern ("F"), clean and devein shrimp, and set a formal table. Imagine my chagrin when my husband insists on putting all his silverware on one side of his plate. He, on the other hand, made a large cutting board in the shape of a fish in shop class, and it's still in use.

I'm very thankful I never had any classes like these 🙂 I have no idea how to balance a checkbook, but since I'm not even sure where mine is at this point, I guess it doesn't matter... LOL.

I made a little half-round shelf in wood shop, that my mom is still using. And a woodcut-style horse (didn't actually use it for printing, though). I did quite badly at sewing - made a...dress? skirt? that was all skewed, despite being straight seams. And...I can't remember the cooking class at all, though I'm pretty sure I took one (or several). Can't remember what school(s) I was in for those classes, either.

At that point Mom had...a Singer, I think, that hated me. I could screw up the tension just by sitting down at the machine. Now she's got a Pfaff and I have a Husqvarna and an all-metal Singer, both of which behave much better - the Pfaff doesn't like me, but I can use it, unlike her old Singer. Don't remember what the school had for machines, though.

I'm loving all the school and sewing stories!!

>142 Helenliz: Thanks for the Lurkey Love! His feathers are a little wonky, but I like him anyway.

A couple of my machines do the fancy stitches, and sometimes I use them but not often. One of my Vikings is an embroidery machine, and I really need to learn to use that feature better. Mostly I just straight-up sew with it.

>143 laytonwoman3rd: I love that Charlie is excited about the real world aspects of his CE class. He even gave a speech in his English class last year about how schools should teach more life skills courses, and so he's all for it.

>144 rosalita: Yes!

>145 MickyFine: I didn't do shop, not because I didn't want to, but because I would have had to persuade the school to let me (at that point it was an automatic system of Girls Take Home Ec and Boys Take Shop), which I would have tackled if I really wanted to (hello, I the only girl in the drumline), but I also was intimidated by the kind of boys who ruled the shop class. Anyway, my uncle had taught me woodworking stuff all along, so I needed shop about as much as I needed home ec, really.

Oh, absolutely Mario and Simmons have their own voices. I suspect most pet owners do it.

>146 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie!

Yep, ridiculous voices all the way!

>147 quondame: My home ec teacher was not completely enamored of me, either. My mom had already taught me lots of shortcuts and "this is the way the patterns will tell you to do it, but here's a much better way" sorts of things, so when I didn't follow the directions, she didn't like it. Looking back, I don't much blame her; I likely didn't have a great attitude about the whole thing.

>148 RebaRelishesReading: I wish I'd had your sewing teacher!! Ha!

>149 laytonwoman3rd: Oooh, set a formal table. That's pretty fancy. I'm not so keen on the deveining shrimp, though.

>150 katiekrug: I kind of love balancing the checkbook. Tomm rolls his eyes at me that I still keep a paper one when I could just set up an excel file to do all that for me, but he doesn't understand that I *like* doing it myself. Sheesh.

>151 jjmcgaffey: Ha! Rule Number 1 in my mom's sewing room was DO NOT TOUCH THE TENSION. EVER. Which meant that she had it just where she wanted it and I was not to mess with it. Honestly, I don't mess with mine unless I absolutely, last-resort, have to. Some lessons stick.

On the Agenda for Today:
I need to do the menu planning and get my list ready for tomorrow's grocery shopping, and then I'm going to the fabric shop for project supplies. Should be fun. When I get back this afternoon I need to clean up my sewing room, which is still a manure storm from Halloween costume time, and then I'll organize my plan of attack for the holiday projects and hopefully get started. Fish cakes for dinner tonight, I think.

On the Reading Front:
I finished up To Sir Phillip, with Love, decided to ditch Gate of Ivrel, nearly finished The Words in My Hands, and listened to more Graceling. A good reading day, really.

The Crafting Report:
I don't have the things I need to get started on any of my holiday projects yet, so yesterday I spent all my free time reading, since I know once I get started on the projects, I won't have a lot of reading time.

What We're Watching:
A Ted Lasso (Charlie's loving it!)

>162 scaifea: Ooh have fun at the fabric shop! As mentioned, I'm terrible at sewing but I have enjoyed getting to look at all the pretty things in there on rare occasions I've gone.

>163 MickyFine: I had a great time browsing!

>157 scaifea: My sister and I were both gonzo sewers in that we'd tackle any project and just forge ahead. I can't recall at all why I wanted to take the summer school course - maybe just to have something to do, and I did learn a bit.
My mother detested sewing as much as she loved cooking, so any out-of-school knowledge I picked up was from two very savvy neighbors, but they were both perfectionists & I haven't suffered from that when I'm determined something will be made.

>161 scaifea: My brother destroyed the tension (took it apart to see how it worked) on the family Kenmore, which is what prompted me to acquire my first machine.

>165 quondame: *grins*

>166 quondame: Oh, that made me cringe.

150. To Sir Phillip, with Love by Julia Quinn (romance) - 9/10
This entry in the series gives us the story of how Eloise changed her mind about having a husband. Eloise is my favorite Bridgerton, and I adored her story. Looking forward to the next book!

>168 scaifea: Eloise is my favorite, too! But first I need to read Book 4 ... must get on that soon.

>169 rosalita: Yay! I love the casting for her on the show. Fantastic.

On the Agenda for Today:
Menu planning et al. this morning, because I didn't do it yesterday, then grocery shopping. I need to do the weekling bill sorting, and then I'll likely spend the rest of the day on holiday projects. The Varsity Show performances (Charlie's band) start tonight and go through the weekend; we have tickets for tonight's opening performance! Should be a good time. Frozen Friday dinner.

On the Reading Front:
I didn't get much reading time yesterday, but I did manage a couple of pages in The Words in My Hands and I listened to more Graceling.

The Crafting Report:
I had a mostly-successful run to the fabric shop yesterday and then was able to order everything else I needed when I got home. I tidied up the sewing room a bit, organized my supplies, and got started. First up: I'm knitting mug cozies for my library colleagues.

What We're Watching:
A bit of Anchorman 2, and then a Bee & Puppycat episode.

>168 scaifea: - Happy sigh.

I love and can't wait to see on screen the visit of the brothers Bridgerton in pursuit of Eloise.

>172 katiekrug: YAS, omg that will be hilarious!!

>172 katiekrug: Heartily agree.

Have a great time at the concert tonight, Amber!

>174 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

151. Graceling by Kristin Cashore (audiobook) - 8/10
Katsa is one of the few people in her world who was born with a Grace. Most of the Graced are feared, and Katsa especially, since hers makes her nearly unbeatable in any sort of combat. It doesn't help that her king uses her as his bully. Katsa is also part of a hidden resistance, and when the king pushes her too far, she openly rebels against his cruelty and leaves his stronghold. She's accompanied by Po, a prince of a neighboring kingdom who is also Graced, and together they try to solve the mystery of why Po's grandfather was kidnapped and by whom. But there's more to the mystery than they suspect, and more to Po than Katsa can guess.

Interesting world building and a good start to the main characters. I'll very likely continue with the series; I hope the characters get a bit more fleshed out, though, and their interactions more complex.

>176 scaifea: I think you'll be pleased with how the Graceling series develops :)

I agree with Natalie. I remember devouring Fire in a day or two.

Whereas I didn't like Fire as much, but I loved Graceling and Bitterblue.

>168 scaifea: Belated congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Amber!

Spent the afternoon helping re-arrange D’s quilting room. You sewy people collect up a loooooot of fabric. 😂

Glad your fabric shopping was successful.

>177 curioussquared: >178 MickyFine: >179 foggidawn: I'm moving on for now, but the series is on my list to come back to, for sure.

>180 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!!

>181 drneutron: *snork!* We sure do! And thanks, Jim!

On the Agenda for Today:
Lots of crafting, hopefully. Panic is starting to settle in. Yeesh. Tomm's in charge of dinner: brats and fries.

The Varsity Show last night was amazing. It's clear that Charlie - and all the other kiddos, too - love what they're doing, and they put on an amazing performance. We had a great time!

On the Reading Front:
I managed a bit of reading yesterday in The Linguist and the Emperor, finished up Graceling, of course, and I started listening to Alice I have Been this morning.

The Crafting Report:
One mug cozy mostly finished (the knitting part is done; now I need to block it and add the buttons) and another one started. I'd love to get a couple more of them done today. We'll see.

What We're Watching:
The Varsity Show, of course!

Charlie doing his thing at the show:

152. The Words in My Hands by Asphyxia (Schneider Award) - 9/10
A YA novel set in a dystopian Australia in which Piper, a Deaf teen, struggles to find her place between the Deaf and hearing communities. This is made more complicated by the fact that her mother didn't allow her to learn sign language growing up, so she has a difficult time understanding both groups. That is, until she meets Marley, a handsome CODA (child of a Deaf adult) working in a bike shop, and he helps her learn to sign. He also introduces her to his mother, who grows all their own food, a rogue activity in a world dominated by food shortages and a corporation trying to regulate the food sources with their own manufactured nutrient-based 'food.' This, in turn, is a complication for Piper, whose mother was a key figure in the creation of the company's 'food' stuff. So, tensions all round as Piper learns to live in both worlds.

This one was excellent. Lots going on, but it's all fleshed out and tied together nicely. Piper is also a budding artist, and the book itself is shaped as her journal, so every page has some sort of collage-like artwork. Highly recommended.

>186 scaifea: That is one great Charlie photo!!

Hi Amber my dear, belated congrats on reaching 2 X 75 books read for the year so far and what a great photo of Charlie and the band. Sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

>188 RebaRelishesReading: >189 johnsimpson: Thanks, Reba and John!! We had great seats last night so I was able to get some really good photos of him.

>186 scaifea: Charlie looks awesome!! And I'm sure he sounded great too. So glad you had good seats. : )

>186 scaifea: Great shot of Charlie up there! How cool!

Happy Sunday, Amber!

>191 Berly: >192 msf59: Thanks, folks! They sounded amazing!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm mostly going to be working on holiday projects again today. Progress is being made. Charlie has his last performance of the season tonight.

On the Reading Front:
Just a few pages of Four Ways to Forgiveness yesterday, but a fair amount of listening while crafting, and I'm really enjoying Alice I Have Been so far.

The Crafting Report:
Three mug cozies down, three to go...

What We're Watching:
While Charlie was at his performance, Tomm and I finished Anchorman 2 and then watched a couple of West Wings.

On the Agenda for Today:
Hopefully lots of crafting. I have all the mug cozies knitted and now I need to block them and sew on the buttons. While those are blocking today I'll get started on the next project on the list.

On the Reading Front:
I started two new ones yesterday: One for the Books and The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden. I also listened to a big chunk of Alice I Have Been and may finish it today.

The Crafting Report:
(See Above)

What We're Watching:
More West Wing plus a couple of Psych episodes.

>186 scaifea: He looks like a rock star! And the entire band looks like they are having a blast.

>196 foggidawn: Yes!

>186 scaifea: That is a freakin' cool uniform (the old me who had to wear an awful cummerbund is jealous.)

Glad the crafting is also going well, too.

>198 Ravenwoodwitch: Isn't it, though? Those uniforms are brand new this season and totally cool. My band uniform was pretty nice (no awful colors or cuts), but not nearly this awesome.

And thanks! So far so good...

On the Agenda for Today:
I work 12-8, and before that I'll get as much crafting in as I can (plus some laundry). I'll take a project with me to work, too, but I may not get much done on it today since I need to spend my between-patron time on thinking about next month's book displays.

On the Reading Front:
I read a bit of Spycatcher yesterday, which I'm happily surprised by so far; it's generally not my cuppa to read about spy stuff, but this one is really fascinating. I also finished Alice I Have Been, which was excellent, and started listening to The Unspoken Name. Oh, and I read a bit more of The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden.

The Crafting Report:
So far so good on the next Christmas project, the details of which will remain undisclosed because it's for someone who may peek in here on occasion. I'll take supplies with me to work today to possibly start in on Tomm's present, though: an amigurumi Yoshi (his favorite Mario character).

What We're Wathing:
A couple of Death Note episodes (L is DEAD?! COME ON. My heart won't believe it.) and a Bee & Puppycat ep. If you're not watching Bee & Puppycat, you are missing out. So weird and so good.

>200 scaifea: My heart broke too :( Still worth it to finish, I promise, but I feel your pain. TBH Rem's death was also pretty sad in the same vein.

Oh! I would love to see the Yoshi when it's done :)
Makes me think of this video game, lol.

>201 Ravenwoodwitch: Oh, we're definitely gonna finish it. How could we not?! I love that at any given moment, I have no idea what direction this show will go next. So good.

And yes! Tomm loves that game! Here's hoping mine looks even half that good...

On the Agenda for Today:
Pretty much a repeat of yesterday: I work the 12-8 shift and I'll be crafting as much as possible before then. The last couple of hours yesterday at work were super slow, so I did get started on Tomm's Yoshi.

On the Reading Front:
I didn't get any print reading done yesterday at all, but I did listen to more of The Unspoken Name.

The Crafting Report:
Yoshi is well underway and the unnamed project is coming along pretty well, too. Woot!

What We're Watching:
A Ted Lasso episode. Charlie is loving it!

153. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin (audiobook) - 9/10
An historical fiction novel that tells the story of Alice Hargreaves (the Alice of Wonderland fame) from her point of view, how her relationship, such as it was, with Charles Dodgson shaped her life.
A fascinating and well-written story that seems to stay true to what facts we have about Dodgson and Alice while also weaving a great yarn and making the characters complex and interesting. I've long been a fan of both the books and the true story behind them (I *love* that Alice's father is the Liddell of Liddell and Scott fame), and so I really enjoyed getting this mostly-fictional look into their lives. Highly recommended.

>204 scaifea: Ooh, you got me.

>205 foggidawn: Enjoy!

On the Agenda for Today:
I need to do my menu planning and get my grocery list ready for tomorrow's shopping, then I'll work on getting my myth talk ready for the library. If I finished all that, then I'll do more holiday project work. Leftovers for dinner, I think.

On the Reading Front:
I read a bit of The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden, listened to more of The Unspoken Name, and finished Four Ways to Forgiveness.

The Crafting Report:
The Yoshi amigurumi is coming along pretty well! I forgot to take photos and of course I left it all at work so Tomm can't see it. I'll try to remember photos when I next work (Saturday).

What We're Watching:
More Death Note.

You're doing a myth talk for the library? Cool! For adults or kiddos or a combo?

>207 scaifea: "myth talk at the library". Make it widely available on the interwebs, pleasepleaseplease?

>208 MickyFine: I am! Word got round to the person who organizes our Empowered Minds talks (geared toward adults) about my life as a classics prof and he asked me if I'd do one.

>209 laytonwoman3rd: Alas, it won't be recorded, as far as I know. Hop a bus to Ohio for the 29th?

>133 scaifea: I was lucky - girls were finally allowed to take shop by the time I reached the appropriate age, and to skip home ec. I figured that my household already had all the tools we'd be exposed to in home ec, but didn't have the tools I'd get to use in shop class (aka "industrial arts"). Also, I already knew basic sewing and cooking, but not basic handyperson skills. So I missed the home ec experience entirely.

>211 scaifea: You clearly need to set up a Zoom presentation for out-of-towners.

>212 ArlieS: Lucky, indeed!

>213 laytonwoman3rd: *snork!*

On the Agenda for Today:
Grocery shopping, weekly bill sorting, cookie baking, and more holiday crafting. Frozen Friday dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I finished up Four Ways to Forgiveness, read a bit of The Secret Life of Bees and The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden, finished listening to The Unspoken Name, and started listening to To Love Jason Thorne.

The Crafting Report:
The unnamed project is coming along pretty nicely, I think. I'm hoping to get more work done on it today.

What We're Watching:
I agreed to watch another episode of GBBO with Tomm - the Halloween one (s'mores? really?), the we watched another Bee and Puppycat episode.

>216 scaifea: Yay for a Friday off! Sounds like a good one planned. :)

>216 scaifea: The s'mores were SO bad. So bad.

>217 MickyFine: Yes, but I work today, so...
(But it was a nice Friday, for sure.)

>218 curioussquared: *snork!* They really were bad.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 9:30-3, then as soon as I get home we're hopping in the car for Cincinnati to watch our niece play the lead role in her middle school play, Matilda! Should be a fun time.

On the Reading Front:
I read some of A Court of Silver Flames and some of The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden and listened to more To Love Jason Thorne. I still owe two reviews...

The Crafting Report:
Still working on the unnamed project. I expect I'll get some more done on the Yoshi at work today.

What We're Watching:
Some West Wing, some Ted Lasso, some Bee & Puppycat, and the first couple episodes of She-Hulk, which was great!

On the Agenda for Today:
Laundry, a bit of cleaning, and some crafting. Probably some napping. We didn't get home last until until around midnight, so I'm still zonked. But the play was a hoot and the niece did a fantastic job!

On the Reading Front:
I got a bit read in The Linguist and the Emperor and listened to more To Love Jason Thorne.

The Crafting Report:
I just have the shoes left to crochet for the Yoshi before sewing it all together.

What We're Watching:
Matilda!

>221 scaifea: I loved the comic(s) of She-Hulk. I'm probably not going to watch the show - I basically don't do video any more - but I'm hoping for a novelization...the descriptions (early reviews) sound like they actually caught the proper tone.

>223 jjmcgaffey: I'm in love with it after just two episodes.

On the Agenda for Today:
This morning Tomm and I are going to the nursery for some Christmas wreaths and then to the outlet mall for some shopping (and also possibly Costco for some of their holiday treats). This afternoon I'll work on holiday projects, plus I have an intimidatingly tall stack of To Do things on my desk that I should try to work through. Curried Carrot Soup for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
Not much to report here besides more listening to To Love Jason Thorne.

The Crafting Report:
Still plugging away at the holiday projects...

What We're Watching:
A West Wing, a Ted Lasso, the newest My Hero Academia, a Bee & Puppycat, and a Psych.

Morning, Amber. Just checking in. I hope you had a fine weekend at the Scaife Manor. Enjoy your shopping day with Tomm. Is he off all week?

>226 msf59: Thanks, Mark! No, he just took the morning off today; he's got time that he needs to use up before the end of the year, but he also has projects that need to get done at work, so it's a delicate balance: few hours here, a few hours there.

154. The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood (audiobook) - 7/10
A young acolyte, who was chosen at an even younger age to be a ritual 'bride' sacrifice to her god, gets saved by a wizard-like dude and becomes his servant/intern/apprentice. He tells her he wants to regain the right to return home after his enemy banished him, and he's also looking for a particular relic and thinks she can help with both goals, but he's not exactly who he says he is, and she finds herself making a choice between helping him and saving a girl she meets on her quest for the relic.

Meh. I had trouble paying attention to this one. It just wasn't...exciting enough? I didn't love the characters I was supposed to love, and I didn't love to hate the ones I was supposed to love to hate. I just got annoyed at them instead. So, *shrug.*

155. Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 6/10
*sigh* LeGuin is so hit-or-miss for me, and this one was a big miss.

>229 scaifea: Aw, that's a shame. I've mostly liked the Le Guins I've read but it's mostly been Earthsea. I did detest Tehanu, though.

Sounds like a great day ahead, Amber. I love that you do live wreaths. With cats in the house (one of whom is a big fan of chewing on things), we go with artificial wreaths and tree so no pine-y scents in our house.

>229 scaifea: On Four Ways to Forgiveness I felt the first story was almost totally disjoint from the others. On eBay the stories are repackaged into Five Ways to Forgiveness and include Old Music and the Slave Women, which I like rather more than the other 4, though only the 1st of those annoyed me.

>232 quondame: I'll take your word for it, I think...

>230 PawsforThought: Is Tehanu the last in the series? I detested that one, too, but liked the rest.

>231 MickyFine: The real wreaths are for outside; Simmons eats live greenery in the house, so that's not an option here. When we *did* have the real stuff in the house, it actually didn't smell very much. Sort of disappointing: no nice smell but still all the needles to clean up. Bah.

156. To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise (audiobook) - 8/10
Olive had her heart broken by her childhood crush, who was her big brother's best friend, and although it was years ago and Jason moved away when they were still kids, she still carries a torch for him. So much so, in fact, that she wrote a romance novel with a main couple that's a barely-disguised version of her and Jason. Things take a turn for the crazy when her novel gets optioned and the studio gets Jason himself (now a huge movie star) to play the male lead, and then there's an even crazier turn when he asks Olive to marry him in a PR ploy to get his rep back on trap (he's a bit of a bad boy, dontcha know). Will he actually fall in love with her so she can make her live-long love dreams a reality? Of course he will.

A pretty standard contemporary romance, I think, by which I mean it's an enjoyable, non-taxing read with some fun sexy bits thrown in. I read this one because Charlie came home with a story about one of his friends whisper-reading some parts of it to them at lunch because it was "so spicy!" and so I had to check out the spice myself. Those sweet little innocents thought it was the height of naughty scandal. Adorable.

>234 scaifea: After Tehanu is The Other Wind and some of the Tales from Earthsea come between The Farthest Shore and TOW, though I don't remember where they fall with regard to Tehanu which took some time to grow on me. TOW doesn't hold up to the first 3 Earthsea books, but has a charm of its own and is a much easier tale than Tehanu.

>237 quondame: I just looked up the summary of Tehanu and yep, that's the one I hated. I didn't read any more after that.

>236 scaifea: Ok this includes many of my favourite romance tropes so onto The List it goes. Thanks to Charlie and his friends for the rec, LOL. :)

>236 scaifea: Lol, love that this recommendation came by way of Charlie 😂

I've long thought that guys should definitely read romance novels - not so much for the spicy (though if that draws them in, sure, why not) but for the bits where actually _talking_ to each other fixes so many things...which shows up in about 90% of romances. Reduces the "women are mysterious creatures" notion that's so prevalent these days.

>239 MickyFine: *snork!* I think you'll enjoy it - it was a fun read!

>240 curioussquared: Ha! Yes!!

>241 jjmcgaffey: I don't mind them thinking we're mysterious, as long as they realize we're also not to be messed with! Ha!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 12-8. Charlie has organized an after-school study group at the library with his friends, so I'll get to see him and his buddies for a bit in there somewhere. Before work I'll keep chipping away at the To Do pile on my desk (I'm nearly to the bottom, finally), and then I'll do some holiday crafting.

Tomm and I had a good time running errands and found some nice wreaths and greenery pots at the nursery. We went to Costco, which was an absolute madhouse, but he found a lighted wreath for the new shed and I found lots of holiday chocolates, so in the end it was worth it.

On the Reading Front:
After finishing up To Love Jason Thorn, I started listening to Date Me, Bryson Keller. I also read bits of One for the Books and The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden.

The Crafting Report:
Still plugging along with the unnamed project. I'll probably get more work done on the Yoshi today at work.

What We're Watching:
Some West Wing and some Death Note.

>241 jjmcgaffey: Actually talk to a woman? As in, listening to what she says, and not merely instructing her/"solving" her problems to his own satisfaction? Seems like plenty of people, still, would regard that as prime evidence of effeminacy.

>245 scaifea: Stores really become nuthouses this time of year. I used to work at a department store and it turned me into a Grinch around the holiday season.

>246 ArlieS: Yeah. Which is the point I'm making - if guys who actually talk to women (and _listen_) end up in good, solid relationships...maybe a lot of the poisonous relationships that too many men try for and too many women accept as normal will fade away. One may always hope...

>246 ArlieS: *grin*

>247 Ravenwoodwitch: They really do. I admire people in the service industry all year long, but this season in particular. How they make it through any given day without resorting to murder is amazing to me.

>248 jjmcgaffey: Right?

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 10-1 then probably working on crafting stuff for the afternoon (although I wouldn't rule out a nap, to be honest).

On the Reading Front:
I started A Thanksgiving Visitor yesterday, read a bit of The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden, and listened to a nice chunk of Date Me, Bryson Keller.

The Crafting Report:
All of the bits and pieces of Yoshi have been crocheted and now I just need to sew him together. Photos soon, probably.

What We're Watching:
Some Ted Lasso.

I was going to say Happy New Thread, Amber, but that's pretty absurd after 250 posts!

I'm glad Graceling worked reasonably well for you, and that you'll try the next. I loved all of them, and I think there's a new one out that I need to get my hands on.

I've thought of reading Brain on Fire, and your positive review has upped my interest.

Have you ever read the Buddhist magazine Tricycle? I finally got a subscription and I'm liking it. Through them I'm taking a rewarding virtual course on "Re-imagining the Eightfold Path".

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Amber and to Tomm and Charlie too.

>251 jnwelch: Ha! Thanks, Joe! I haven't heard of that magazine, but I'll absolutely check it out now - thanks for the rec!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We're having a small dinner here with just the three of us. We were originally going down to Cincinnati to spend the day with Tomm's family, but his parents are recovering from Covid, so that got scrapped. I'm glad they're starting to feel better, but I'm also happy not to have to travel today.

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Have a lovely day with the Scaife men, Amber!

Hi Amber!

I’m thankful for my LT friends, who I’ve been not good about keeping up with this year. I shall strive to do better. Today is a hard reset.
.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Amber my dear, Happy Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks, everyone! We had a nice, quiet day.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 9:30-3, and I can't imagine we'll get many patrons in on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I sort of suspect most people will assume we're closed, to be honest. That just means more crocheting time for me, so I'm good either way. I'll switch out my monthly book displays a little early today, since I don't think anyone will be wanting Thanksgiving books now and of course we're in the full swing of the holidays, so it'll be good to get those out.

On the Reading Front:
I finished Capote's trio of holiday stories (The Thanksgiving Visitor, A Christmas Memory, and One Christmas) yesterday, read a bit of Spy Catcher, a bit of The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden, and started listening to Crooked Letter Crooked Letter.

The Crafting Report:
The unnamed craft is nearly finished, and then I'll move on to making fleece hat,scarf, and glove sets for the nieces.

What We're Watching:
Some West Wing and a Death Note.

>260 scaifea: Ah yes, I'd imagine the library might be VERY quiet today.

On the display front, one of the staff members at one of our branches has been doing Dinovember in their children's display case. Every week a bunch of dinosaur toys have been engaged in all kinds of different activities. This week it was cooking/baking (she shares pictures on our internal staff website), which lead to a long conversation with my colleagues about the best way for a dinosaur to wear an apron. It was very entertaining. In case you're stashing away ideas somewhere... :)

>261 MickyFine: In fact, we were fairly busy yesterday. Weird.

The dinosaurs sound cute.

On the Agenda for Today:
Menu planning and list prepping, and then grocery shopping. On a Saturday. Wish me luck. This afternoon we'll put up the rest of the Christmas decorations (Tomm and Charlie did the tree yesterday while I was at work). Not sure what's for dinner yet...

On the Reading Front:
I started When He Was Wicked, read a few pages of The Little Stranger, and listened to some Crooked Letter Crooked Letter.

The Crafting Report:
Yoshi is finished!







What We're Watching:
Tomm went to bed early with a migraine last night, so Charlie and I had a mini Death Note marathon (Tomm's not a huge fan).

Yoshi is adorable!

I really liked Crooked LEtter Crooked LEtter when I read it early on in my LT days...

>264 katiekrug: Thanks!! I'm pretty proud of how he turned out.

It may have been you that enticed me to add it to my list, then, since it's been on there for awhile...

>263 scaifea: ERMYGAWD, I love him so much! He's so adorable, you did great!

>266 Ravenwoodwitch: Ha! Thanks so much!!

On the Agenda for Today:
Mostly crafting, I think, and probably a nap, since it's gloomy and rainy here and I never fully wake up on those kinds of days. Most thanksgiving leftovers for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I didn't do much reading yesterday, but I did manage a few pages in The Little Stranger and listened to some Crooked Letter Crooked Letter.

The Crafting Report:
Yeah, I didn't really do much of anything besides grocery shopping and Christmas decorations yesterday. *sigh*

What We're Watching:
Elf!!

157. Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye (audiobook) - 9/10
Bryson Keller is one of the cutest guys at Fairvale Academy and it's a mystery to all that he just...doesn't date. This leads to a bet at a party: Bryson must date a new person each week for three months and must say yes to the first person who asks him each Monday morning at school. Kai Sheridan is just trying to make it through the school day without being late to any classes and without getting demerits for his unkempt school uniform, so when a girl barrels into him trying to get to Bryson first thing on a Monday morning and spills soda all over Kai's blazer, he gets angry at the one person he thinks is ultimately to blame: Bryson Keller. His interesting, spur-of-the-moment revenge is to ask Bryson to date him. Nothing good can come of a gay kid fake-dating a straight kid, right?

Adorable and fun. Think Heartstopper, but with maybe just a few little flaws (example: there's a side plot that simply gets dropped about halfway through with no explanation or resolution).

158. A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote (holiday read) - 10/10
I suspect I have a very skewed view of Capote, since these three short stories are the only things of his I've ever read, but I absolutely adore them. Gorgeous prose with stories that will pull your heart right out of your chest and crush it to a pulp. But, you know, in a good way.

On the Agenda for Today:
Charlie has the day off school so we're going Christmas shopping for him to find gifts for his friends. We'll probably have lunch out, too. When we get home I have a pile of To Do stuff on my desk to get through, and if I manage all that, then I'll work on some Christmas projects. Chicken Curry Soup for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I'm nearly finished with The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden, and I listened to more Crooked Letter Crooked Letter yesterday, too.

The Crafting Report:
I started working on a cross stitch bookmark for my mom. It's pretty labor-intensive, so I'm not sure I'll get it done in time for this Christmas, but that's ok.

What We're Watching:
The Holiday, which has become one of Charlie's favorite movies. How adorable is that?

>271 scaifea: How fun! Some of those "full coverage" bookmarks take time. I've got a couple of "quickie" patterns I've used when I need one for a friend quickly.

>263 scaifea: Squeee! Yoshi is my favorite Mario character, too, and your little guy is adorable!

>269 scaifea: That sounds like a fun read.

I hope you and Charlie have a lovely day out!

Ooh, cross-stitch bookmark sounds fun.

Charlie has excellent taste. Mr. Fine and I had almost zero overlap in Christmas films when we married and merged our DVD/blu-ray collections. Except for The Holiday. *heart eyes*

Yoshi is adorable! Enjoy shopping and lunch out.

I love Yoshi - so very cute.
Even if I don;t know who he/she/it might be!

I'll be interested to see the bookmark, cross stitch is my crafty skill.

>272 thornton37814: Yeah, it's one of those bookmarks. I'll do my best to get it done in a timely manner, but we'll see. It's a LOT of stitches!

>273 foggidawn: Thanks! And yes, that one *is* a fun read.

>274 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! We had a good time and he got some fun stuff for his friends.

>275 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! Charlie picked BiBiBop for lunch, which is always delicious.

>276 Helenliz: Thanks!

And don't hold your breath over the bookmark. Ha!

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working 12-8 and giving my talk at 6:30. This morning I'll probably go over my notes quickly and then work on Christmas projects. And while I'm giving my talk this evening, Charlie will be at rehearsal for the 8th Grade Honor Band. The OMEA (Ohio Music Education Association? I think?) chooses band students from across the state based on nominations from their band directors to participate. It's pretty exciting! The concert will be this coming weekend.

On the Reading Front:
Still working on The Little Stranger and The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden and still listening to Crooked Letter Crooked Letter.

The Crafting Report:
No crafting was accomplished yesterday, but it was worth it for the fun outing with Charlie.

What We're Watching:
MST3K: Santa Claus vs. the Martians.

Morning, Amber. Your Yoshi is fantastic! Best of luck on the Christmas projects and your talk this evening.

>283 bell7: Thanks, Mary!

On the Agenda for Today:
Working 12-8 again today. I need to make a quick stop at the grocery store before heading in because I didn't have time to make cookies for my craft club tonight. I'll probably just putter around this morning; we had thunderstorms here last night and Simmons spent the entire time curled up between us on the bed shaking like a leave, poor thing. But that also means that Tomm and I didn't get much sleep. *sigh*

On the Reading Front:
I finished listening to Crooked Letter Crooked Letter yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I also spent some time with The Little Stranger.

The Crafting Report:
I started a crochet doll for one of our nieces yesterday, and tonight for craft night I'll probably start on the amigurumi Sandman for Charlie.

What We're Watching:
Nothing yesterday since I worked until 8 and Tomm and Charlie didn't get home from the honor band rehearsal until 9:30.

Hey everyone, sorry the thread's getting so long. Hopefully I'll find some time later today to make a new one!

On the Agenda for Today:
Menu planning and grocery shopping, and hopefully some crafting (it's December now! time to panic!!). I also need to pull out my 2023 planner and transfer my list of 2023 appointments over there and just generally get it ready to go. Spaghetti for dinner tonight!

On the Reading Front:
I finished up The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden and started listening to Stay Gold. (I now owe you all a new thread and two reviews...)

The Crafting Report:
I got started on Charlie's amigurumi gift (a little Sandman - he's so cute!), and frogged the niece's doll for the THIRD time. Whose brilliant idea was it to make "dc" mean single crochet across the pond?! *grumble grumble*

What We're Watching:
the antepenultimate Death Note ep.

How did your craft club go last night?

I feel your pain on UK crochet terms. The toque I'm making came from a UK pattern book I borrowed from the library. Thankfully the pattern is simple and short so I just created a translated version of it into US terms in a Google doc that I look at instead. I'd imagine with amigurumi that would be more work than it's worth though. I'm sure the end result will be worth all your frustration!

>287 MickyFine: Craft & Chat was great! It feels pretty pampered to get paid to sit around chatting and crocheting/knitting and eating cookies and drinking tea for two hours.

Now that I know that dc = sc, I'm good. No further translation needed. But I'd like that hour and a half of my life back, pls thx.

The new thread is up:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/346198