Viking Tea Party

{Words & Pictures}

I love playing with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone and was thrilled when they brought back a lens (Tejas) that I'd been waiting for. These are a trio of photos I took at my parents' house.

My sister in law recommended a great book the other day - Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I hadn't heard of it but I guess it's really popular with book clubs in the US and it's being made into a movie. It's killing me that I can't just sit down and read the whole thing. I miss being able to take Prego Days like I could when I was pregnant with Emmett. Read, knit and nap the whole day away. He''s napping right now and all I want to do is find out what happens next with Lavinia and Belle rather than tackle the dishes.

Bet the book wins.

Pretzels, Books and Christmas

I've been anxiously waiting for the right amount of me time to make soft pretzels from the cookbook Matt bought for me a week or so ago: Bake by Rachel Allen. Lorraine Pascal is my number one cooking crush but I like Rachel Allen quite a bit, too. Both of them create dishes that make you think, Yeah, I think I could really do that. I've made more out of the two Lorraine Pascal books I have than any other cookbook I own and, after making the soft pretzles, I think Bake might become just as popular.

 

That's about as fancy schmancy as I get with plating!

They were a bit labor intensive - lots of steps - but well worth it. They were delicious! According to the recipe, poaching them in simmering water and bicarbonate of soda before baking gives them the real soft pretzel taste.I made several with sesame seeds, a couple with salt and a few with a honey, butter, sugar and cinnamon coating. Next time I might pop the sweet ones under the grill to carmelize them a bit.

 

The sea salt I had on hand was much too fine. I had one about an hour ago and am going to have to brush my teeth to get the salty taste to go away. Not good.

I'm kind of enjoying reading books that I've "assigned" myself this month. I still have a couple that will be added to next months reading along - Night Circus and Insurgent and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter which I still haven't finished. I'm really struggling with it but am determined to finish. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was my favorite read of the month. Shadow of Night, the second in the Discovery of Witches trilogy was kind of a let down.

I broke my own rule (well, I broke it a lot if charity shop paperbacks count because I bought several of those but I don't think they count - you have to grab them when you find them) and bought the first Harry Potter book for my Kindle last night. I've been wanting to reread them for some time and it's even better than I remembered. I really wonder what Rowling's adult novel is going to be like.

We were thinking about a trip to the states in September but it looks like it might be more like December or January. Warmer weather would have been nice since my parents have a backyard that Emmett will love but I haven't spent Christmas with my Ohio family for three years now so the idea of maybe getting to be there even close to the holidays is pretty exciting. And, cheesy or not, if I get the  chance, I'm totally taking E to have his picture taken with Santa. I was pretty surprised to find out that they don't do that here. There are places to see Santa and sit his knee and all but not to have your picture taken - at least not that I could find.

Emmett is still asleep, Matt went into town - I should do a bit of housework but I think I'm going to catch up on and episide of "The Good Guys" instead....

Read What I Own Month

Every once in awhile I put an embargo on myself when it comes to buying things to read. Most months its the same: one magazine (Mollie Makes - I wouldn't want to miss it) and no books. Other months, when the embargo is lifted, I can tend to go a little nuts with the book buying for the Kindle. Right now I have at least forty unread books on my machine. Ridiculous. Imagine if those were real books on a shelf. Good grief. Granted, a lot of them are free or less the three pounds. There are a lot of really good books out there for nothing or almost next to nothing. I never miss checking out the 99p Kindle Daily Deal; although I rarely buy them. They aren't really part of the embargo but I also really research any book meticulously, checking Amazon and Goodreads reviews before purchasing. I went from someone who was pretty leary about the whole Kindle thing to a slightly obsessive junkie.

Anyway, this is an embargo month. This month, though, I'm allowed one magazine and one book. The sequel to A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, comes out next week and I don't think I could wait until August to start reading it!

Here's what I have on my Read What I Own Shelf for this month.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

I bought this one awhile ago after seeing it at Waterstones. I started it but put it down after only a few chapters. Something about the way it's written annoys me a bit. I'm determined to finished it this month, though.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth.

I liked the first book, Divergent, so much that I preordered this one so that it would download at 12:01 am the day it was released. I read two pages and realized I'd read so many similar dystopian YA fiction that I couldn't entirely remember the first book...and I haven't picked it up since. This is another 'determined to finish'. I know it's going to be good. I think I just need to read the end of the first book again to get back into it.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.

This is - gasp - a paperback! Recommended by trusted sources: NPR and my friend Chris.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Tiniest picture but probably the one I'm most looking forward to. I bought it with a gift card my parents gave me when they visited last month but haven't read it yet. I've been saving it for some reason. It's nice to have a good book to save* once in awhile even when you're not sure why or when you're saving it for.

I'm also reading Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter but I keep putting it down after a few pages. I like the story itself but the way it's written - regular text with interspersed bits of diary entries - is too distracting. I'm about halfway through and I still haven't gotten used to it. I like the idea of Lincoln as an ass-kicking vampire hunter, though.

So what are you reading? Have you ever imposed an embargo upon yourself (or am I totally a freak)?

*Useless bit of Emily History: when I was younger I wrote to John Updike. Twice. And he wrote back twice, too. Typewritten white postcards with his signature in blue. I don't remember why I started reading him but I loved his books and read almost all of them. I recently picked up a book of his short stories at my father-in-law's house, read the first story, and, sadly, kind of couldn't figure out why I liked him so much. Anyway, the second letter was about the book Brazil which I saved and read on vacation and he wrote back that he pleased I had chosen his book to save. Okay, kind of anticlimatic but it popped into my head when I said I was saving The Night Circus. And I always thought it was really nice that Mr. Updike took the time to write back to some teenager in Ohio.

Bears and Books

So much to catch up on!

Back in the fall, after I finished Emmett's enormous race track rug (another post for another day), I decided it was time to make something for myself and I wanted a bear. Although I think he kind of looks like a sad alien rather than a bear, I do love him. He crocheted up in no time since he's made from double crochets and I might eventually make another one for Emmett in shades of blue or purple. Right now the only stuffed animal he has any interest in is a hand me down otter that came from his cousins so there's no hurry. Ironic, considering Emmett the Otter is probably one of the more famous Emmetts (but <i>not</i> the reason we picked the name).

Thanks to my Kindle, I've been doing quite a bit of reading, too. Not much to shout about but I did read Stephen King's latest <i>11.23.63</i> and loved it. Like some of my other favorite King novels (specifically <i>Misery</i>), the scary isn't supernatural or anything else that goes bump in the night. I actually read a real, paper book recently, too - bought because it was only £2.99 if you bought the Times and we were doing that already. It's <i>The Sisters Brothers</i> by Patrick DeWitt - also excellent! It got a bit wacky toward the end but the rest of it so good it's easy to shrug that off. One of the reviews used the words "If Cormac McCarthy had a sense of humor" and I think that's about right.

What are you reading these days? Has anyone read <i>A Discovery of Witches</i> by Deborah Harkness? The reviews are good but the sample chapter I read didn't make me rush to read it. I preordered <i>Legend</i> by Marie Lu as it's already gotten good reviews from the states and is supposed to be a bit like <i>The Hunger Games</i>. Anyone heard or it or read it?

Ravelry link for bear pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/happyberry-bear-dotty-in-christmas-colours">Happybeary Bear</a>

New Book Addiction

Ginny gave me a great book recommendation last week.

I'd never heard of The Hunger Games and I'll admit I was a little leary - young adult fantasy/sci-fi isn't really my thing - but I trust her recommendations without question and went out with Little E to buy the first book. I promptly devoured it in two days, bought the rest of the trilogy and ate the second one up in three or four days. These days I really, really, really have to like a book to take the time to read it and forgo the million other things I need to be doing while Emmett's napping so that really says something about these books. And, surprise, surprise, they're making the first book into a movie. Not sure how I feel about that.

I was happy to see that Christopher Pike books are back. Alhtough I just checked his Wikipedia page and I guess he's never really stopped writing. I loved those first few books. Gimme a Kiss sticks out in my mind even though I can't really remember anything about it. I should check the charity shops when we're looking for Emmett books because I wouldn't mind reading one of his books again.

These are the books that aren't quite good enough to glue me to the couch or that I haven't even started. I've been reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand since just after Emmett was born and I'm closer to finished with it than not but just couldn't bring myself to pick it back up. I've also read bits of Guilty Pleasures, Any Human Heart, Burning Bright, and Behind the Scenes at the Museum.The last two I've not really read enough of to form any opinion but someday I'll give them another try.

Any Human Heart was made into a miniseries here with JIm Broadbent and I really wanted to watch it but it was on during Emmett's first month and every time I'd play the first episode on the BBC iPlayer, I'd fall asleep. Granted, it was usually late at night while I was sleeping on the couch because this was before we could get Emmett to sleep in his cradle. I've read another of Boyd's books and like the way he writes so I'll actually read it some day.

Gulity Pleasures is the first in a trashy vampire hunter series I read about on Ravelry. I have the second book as well and while they're a little too trashy for me and I feel a bit like I've been dumped into the middle of the series rather than the beginning, I'll probably read them.

I just bought Room and Great House and have read a few chapters of Room. As a girl in my knit group said, it's a bit too real. It might get put away for along time. Until Emmett's a teenager or something. I listened to History of Love by Nicole Krauss a couple of years ago and loved it. It was rich and interesting - one of those books that makes your whole body feel full after reading it. I haven't really heard anything about Great House but they were buy one get one half price (but actually ended up being buy one get one for some reason) and I was feeling splurgy so I thought I'd give it a chance.

Oh and I'm one story away from finishing the short story book - I should take a Hunger Games break and finish that off....

So that's what I'm reading/not reading when I get the chance. How about you - what are you reading?

 

I Can't Believe I Haven't Mentioned This Book Before!

This is one of my very favorite books.  

And I've never even read it!  

I actually bought it on Audible about a year and a half ago when it won the 2009 Tournament of Books and was offered for some crazy low price.  Without that low price, sadly, I probably wouldn't have bought it because it clocks in at under five hours and my policy is to only purchase books that are going to take me several washing up sessions to get through.  Also, I had tried to read American Gods and never finished it, read Stardust and (gasp!) liked the movie better and thought Coraline was just okay so my track record with Gaiman's books was pretty miserable. 

The Graveyard Book is a great story. There's a reason that it has won a Hugo Award, the Newberry Medal, the Locust Award for best Young Adult novel and the Carnegie Medal in 2010.  It's fantastic. It's about a child who wanders into a cemetery after his family is murdered and is adopted by the ghosts that live there.  A bit gruesome but...it's so good and having the author read it makes it amazing .  Another policy of mine is to mostly stay away from author read audiobooks as they're usually, um, not so good but if you've ever heard Gaiman speak - even in an interview where the words aren't being read from a page but always sound as if they are - you know that he was meant to read his own writing.  If you haven't heard him here he is on NPR talking about audiobooks (and he talks to my other favorite author to listen to - David Sedaris). 

The reason I'm finally mentioning The Graveyard Book is that I've decided it's definitely going to be on my iPod when I go to the hospital.  Each chapter is a different story so it's easy to dip in and out of and I think we've already established that he's great to listen to. 

Matt bought me a paper copy of it for my birthday, too, so maybe, eventually, I'll actually read it!

You can see a tiny video of Neil's Carnegie Medal award speech here (it's the words that count anyway, right?).  I love how the story came about and what he has to say about potentially closing libraries here in the UK,  "Libraries are our future – to close them would be a terrible, terrible mistake – it would be stealing from the future to pay for today which is what got us into the mess we’re in now. In this austerity world it's incredibly easy if you are a local authority and you are looking for cuts, to say 'Let's cut libraries'. But that's borrowing from the future."

Happy 101 Awards

Kate of Lazy Kate Creates tagged me for the Happy 101 Awards (thanks again, Kate!) over, um, a month ago and I actually started this post exactly a month ago.  Yikes.  Since then I've managed to misplace my little Casio camera (argh! where are you?!) which has the photos I took to finish the post so I took a few more this afternoon and am determined to finish and post about the things that make me happy.  You know, like actually finishing this post.  :)

Matt - This one is pretty obvious.  I remember saying to my mom, maybe even before Matt and I got married, that he would be The Man to be married to while pregnant and he is.  I keep telling him he should save some of the 'doing everything for me' (although if it weren't for him I would forget my vitamin more often than not) for when I really can't do things for myself so easily but I don't think he will.  Pregnancy is a good time to be married to a squirrel!  

Our Little Acorn - Also obvious but high on the list never-the-less.  Sure, the way that little acorn makes me feel sometimes doesn't exactly make me happy but I've known since I was 17 that I was meant to be a mommy and am happy to finally get to have this experience.   I can't wait to see him or her again at our next scan here in a few (okay, four) weeks!

Going Back to Ohio* - Even the slightest little thought of this one makes me smile!  We're going back to Ohio for my family reunion in June!  Not only will I get to see my family and my family get to see me showing. I hope, at least a little bit, I'll also have the chance to see Ginny showing quite a bit and I'll be there for her baby shower.  And the food - I'm so excited about the food!  I think we'll have to eat out every day considering the length of the list of places I miss.  My brother and his fiance will be up from New Orleans, too.  I haven't seen him since the wedding and have yet to even meet my future sister-in-law.  The one night we did a Skype with them while Mom and Dad were here, I was so prego-tired that by the time the call actually took place, I was in bed and fast asleep. 

And, as an added bonus, Matt and I will also be able to spend our first anniversary sitting in the shade under the tree where we were married last summer.

My iTouch - I had no idea what an iTouch was when Matt took me shopping for one.  Now I can't live without it.  It's a quick way to check email and surf the web and it's also a great way to play games.  I have an embarrassing number of apps...

This is a tower defense game called The Creeps! that Matt and play constantly.  By strategically placing weapons like ray guns and boomerangs you try to make sure the ghosties, vampires and other scary things (although there are other levels with space and underwater scary things) don't get to the scared kid hiding under the covers in the bed.  Sounds silly, I know,but it's fun.  For some reason it recently reset our games so we're starting all over again but neither of us really mind. 

I read an article a few weeks ago that made me realize that this little gadget it really going to come in handy come this fall.  It'll be perfect for those middle of the night feedings!  I can browse the internet, Facebook and, if I get a chance, tune in to the BBC iPlayer and catch up on a little television. 

My grey cotton yoga pants - I seriously wish I'd bought more than one pair of these last summer at Kohls.  I'll admit I kind of spent quite a lot of time in them before I was pregnant but now that even the jeans I have that still fit aren't really comfortable enough for all day wear...I live in them.  They're stretchy and comfy and will see me through many more months, I'm sure.  Heck, yesterday I had to walk into town to return a movie to Blockbuster and, after a few moments of deliberation and thoughts concerning the fashion police, I just threw on a jacket and left while still wearing my heavenly grey pants. 

Fresh flowers - Nothing cheers up a room more than fresh flowers.  These are my first Mother's Day flowers - pretty tulips that opened up nearly the minute I put them in front of a window full of sunshine. 

 

Lucy & Mina - My cats.  :)  One of the photos on my missing camera was of Mina in her usual spot - sprawled in my lap (with Lucy sometimes curled up on the couch beside us) - and, of course, for the first time today she's nowhere to be found so a replacement photo isn't going to happen any time soon.  I've read that animals can tell when you're pregnant and I think Mina is one of those who can.  She's always been cuddly but her cuddleness is in overdrive now.  She comes running from where ever she was lurking as soon as she hears me sit down and jumps into my lap.  Of course, this behavior could also be because I'm actually sitting down more often....

A good book - I've had a really good run recently when it comes to books.  I've actually been keeping a list since the beginning of the year and can't believe that I've yet to post a link to it here.  I just started reading A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler last night.  Tyler has written two of my very favorite books, The Accidental Tourist and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, and makes me wish her characters were real people because I would love to have a long talk with Macon or have dinner with Ezra at the Homesick Restaurant.  I've not had this feeling with any of her books since but this one has potential. 

Stationary sets - Paperchase makes the best stationary sets!  This is one I bought yesterday and I can't wait to break it out later tonight.  We finally printed off photos of the baby from our 12 week scan to send to my grannies and, of course, I have to include a letter.  :)

Paper, envelopes, address labels and stickers.  I love the paper because the reverse side is always printed with a super cute design.  This set is especially cute because the paper comes in two shades - white and brown - and the designs are completely different.  So cute!

So I know I'm supposed to pass on this fun award by tagging ten people but, honestly, I'm not a tagger.  It's not that there's no one out there who makes me happy - if you're reading this, trust me, you make me happy - but I'm just not good at knowing (beyond a handful of people) who actually reads this blog.  But, like I said, if you're reading this, you make me happy and I'd love to hear what makes you happy, too!

*My experience promises to be nothing like The Pretenders song.  :)

Books & Yarn: Two of My Favorite Things

I started the month secretly joining in on NaBloPoMo but, obviously, it didn't work out so well for me this year.  When it's eleven o'clock at night and you're thinking, "What the hell am I going to write about?" and you're wondering if you have a picture you can post...it's time to give up.  It's about quality, not quantity.  Strangely, though, today I had all sorts of blog-worthy things pop up so now I have a week full of things to go on and on about. 

I was too preoccupied with Sookie Stackhouse books to post every day anyway.  What craziness that was.  I can't really explain why I tore through them with such speed - I think my brain needed a fun vacation.  For the first few books I made myself wait a day to start another but I soon gave up on that and just kept the next book beside me so I could dive right in.  What's really strange is that I don't think I even really like the main character.   It's the quick paced action and a few of the other characters that kept me going.  I've managed to keep my last one, Dead and Gone, unopened and am going to give myself a few weeks until I pick it up.  When I found myself thinking, as I was sorting something the other night, "If I were a vampire, I could do this really fast," I knew I need a little break.

I've also been listening to Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth.  I've been told by more than one person that this is a great book and someone even went so far as to say it was the best book they've ever read but the time period and, I have to admit, it's size put me off.  When Audible had it for less than five bucks, though, I bought it and I'm glad I did.  I mostly only listen to it while I'm cleaning the kitchen and it certainly makes me look forward to doing the dishes.  I'm also glad I'm having it read to me rather than reading it myself as I think I'm enjoying it more.  I'm not a fan at all of readers that try to act out the characters using different voices but this guy, John Lee, is subtle enough - even with his female characters - that it doesn't bother me at all.  

I also managed to finally finish my FLS.  Sadly, I’m not as happy with it as I thought I would be. Oh how I wish I'd only put in one button hole.  I’d even be happy with two but that third button makes it a little less flattering on my body type. I thought it would block better, too, and it still might. I’ve yet to unpack all of my needles and the yoga mat I use for blocking so this was done on towels with a limited amount of pins. A second blocking might make a difference. I'm happy with it, though, it was a fun knit and I'm sure it'll get lots of wear.

February Lady Sweater

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather

Size 8/5.00 mm needles

We also finally took a photo of the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf I knitted last February out of yarn from my mother-in-law's alpacas.  

Okay, I'll stop here before I start going into the mushrooms, chickpeas, flapjacks, more knitting and even a little crochet that I'm dying to write about!

Why I Cannot Write a Post Tonight

Duck Walk

It rained so hard this morning that my jeans were thoroughly soaked from the knee down by the time I got back from having tea with Sandy (my mother-in-law - it'll just be so much easier to call her by name from now on).  Within ten minutes of shedding my wet clothes and pulling on pajamas, the clouds parted and there was the blue sky I didn't think we'd see at all today. 

So I decided to go for a walk, feed some ducks and take a few pictures.  For this outing I packed the following:

 

- a shopping bag in case I decided to stop at the Oxam bookshop in my way home.  I did and picked up Vanity Fair and the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I'm already two-thirds through it and am already thinking about hunting down the second. 

- a teeny, tiny, bright green moleskine

- my Filofax wallet

- my everyday camera

- my mouse change purse

- my Canon camera.  When I turned it on I realized I'd left its SD card in my computer - thank goodness I had my little camera with me.

- bright pink Clarins lip gloss tossed in for some unknown reason

- camera lens

- duck food.  Unfortunately, this is really only for feeding ducks whilst they are on dry land (it sinks in water) and most ducks automatically start quacking like crazy and hop in the water when they think you have food.  Needless to say, a couple of pigeons were fed by me today but no ducks.

- my iPod.  Soundtrack to my walk: Strict Joy by The Swell Season.  If I were a little less sane, I might have thought I was really in a movie. 

Of course, by the time I got to the park, it started raining again but it was light enough that I stood under a giant willow and stayed dry.  

I took a lot of photos but only kept a couple.  It's hard to go wrong with the cathedral and blue sky.

Or a cookie cutter cathedral...

I also really like the texture of the wall surrounding the cathedral....

I'm listening to Pillars of the Earth right now and it was really interesting to hear the bits that took place in Salisbury as they were building the "new" cathedral (this one).  Even though a few people have recommended it, I've shied away from that book for a long time thinking it would be too slow and heavy like books about that time period sometimes tend to be.  I bought it for $5 on Audible a few months ago but I only started listening to it last week after I (finally) finished The Road.  I'm only a couple hours in (it's 41 hours long) but it's fantastic and not at all what I expected.  

Okay, some french fries (see?  I'm still an American!), a warm blanket and the rest of Dead Until Dark are waiting for me downstairs....