November???

In Houston, November is quite different from much of the US. We have absolutely gorgeous weather from November until April or May. I love my city for many reasons, but the next 6 or 7 months make it easy to understand why we put up with the miserable weather in the summer. Unlike many of my friends who have to deal with bundling up, I am so grateful to be able to wear hand-knit socks.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (69) was so much better than I expected. Our local mystery bookstore named it their book of the year, and I am always worried when books are highly promoted. Additionally, an 11-year-old protagonist can be poorly written. Luckily, she was a delightful character, and the book was well written. I highly recommend it.

Despite many bad experiences, I continually look for local book clubs, but I have to confess to my hypocrisy. Although I have complained repeatedly about book clubs where no one reads the book, I love my local Ravelry group and honestly don't mind that few of us read the monthly selection. I admit that it is probably more of a search for community. However, I really love talking about books, so I am looking forward to trying out a local group next week. Their November selection is Dracula, which I have meant to read for a long time.

Happy beginning of a new month!

Thursday Thoughts

I always have a special affection for Thursdays because the weekends have nearly arrived. Today the weather is dark and rainy, perfect for lying in bed with a cuddly kitty and a book, but someone has to pay the bills.

Running progress has been slow. I went AWOL for awhile; laziness and a stomach flu got the better of me, but I have promised myself to keep going.

My reading has been food-related. Although I preferred Brick Lane, In the Kitchen (66) is an engrossing tale about a chef who gets caught up in the underground world of immigrants in London. There were times when I loved the chef, but most often I wanted to throttle him. I suppose that's the sign of excellent character development. Next up was a tiny book that I bought after reading this review. Cook Food (67) is a practical application of how to eat whole ingredients and shop locally. I devoured the Indian beans and greens curry that I made on Sunday. Despite being a competent cook, I learned quite a bit from her cooking instructions.

At the same time, I read What We Eat When We Eat Alone (68). The gender stereotyping grew tiresome, but I love the illustrations and drooled over many of the recipes. As someone who enjoys eating alone, I don't always understand why so many people fear entering restaurants on their own or cobbling together a solo meal at home. Perhaps it's one of the virtues of being an only child, but I love being able to sneak off for lunch with my current read.

Although I am tempted by other patterns, I am strangely happy being monogamous with my current knit, a lace stole for my mother as shown in the prior post. There hasn't been much project because I made a few stupid mistakes and had to start over. It's a good thing that I love the yarn and pattern.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Catch Up

I've been a bad girl with my running; I only ran 1 time this week. My excuse is that we had a lovely, lazy weekend celebrating our anniversary and then the weather got nasty. It's far too hot and humid for running outside. I'm doing the rain dance today in hopes that running club is canceled, but I have promised myself that I am getting back to it by Friday.

On the other hand, reading continues. America America (62) was a fantastic story. It was wonderful to dig into an epic novel. It reminds me of All the King's Men, but was much easier to read. (I loved All the King's Men, but it is not an easy read.)

Next, I raced through Catching Fire (63), the sequel to The Hunger Games. It was an excellent follow-up; I spent all day Sunday devouring it. Hopefully, I won't have to wait long for the next book.

I was surprised by how much I loved American Gods (65). It's not the kind of book that I typically read, but I was completely caught up in it. It was a slow read for me, as I often re-read his fantastic prose.

I finished up a pink blankie that is exactly the same as the orange blankie in my prior post. I'll try to get a picture of it before it goes to a beautiful baby girl. And now, I hope you're sitting down. I am working on a Christmas gift. Yes, I started a Christmas gift in late September. My list of knit-worthy recipients is quite small, but I still rarely finish my gift knitting. I really want to finish this stole for my mother. Buddy approves.

Time Marches On

Once again, I cannot believe how quickly the year has zoomed by. I mean to post, I want to reply to everyone's comments, and then I realize that it's been a few weeks.

I have a new favorite pattern; it's the Pinky Blankie on Ravelry. It knit up extremely quickly in Berroco Comfort Chunky. This one was for my BFF who is having a lousy month and needed some love.



I loved Nothing Right (60) and cannot wait to read more of her books. Unfortunately, I did not get into Netherland (61) like I expected to. Maybe it's because I know nothing about cricket, but I struggled with finishing the book. I'm currently reading America, America, and it is fantastic. I'm also working on a second Pinky Blankie--this one is pink and is a gift for a dear friend's baby. After that, it's time to start Christmas knitting--yikes!

Tired and Sore, But Feeling Great

Last night I started a Couch to 5K program with my BFF. She wants to be a runner; I just want to get off the couch. It was the most intense workout that I have had in a long time, and I was in the beginner group! However, I feel so wonderful mentally.

My usual reading binge continues: A Short History of Women (57) travels between several generations of women in the same family, beginning with a suffragette who starves herself for her cause and then explores the lives of her daughter and the daughter's niece and great-niece. I highly recommend it. The Family Man (58) did not grab my attention at all; it's a light read, and I've been devouring meatier books. Soon enough, however, I began to like the characters and really appreciate the writing style. Although the Memory Collector (59) was a bit implausible (or at least I want to believe that biological weapons are not easily accessible), I really enjoy Meg Gardiner's writing.

Thanks so much for continuing to read my blog! It makes me so happy to get comments. I'll post soon with knitting pictures and more of my kitty.

September already?

I can't believe how quickly this summer has zoomed by. I'm thrilled that it is September 1 and only supposed to be 90 degrees today. I better get a jacket!

I finished The End of Overeating (54). It was a fantastic, but depressing read that explained how many of us are hard-wired to obsess about food. The book doesn't end by arguing that I'm doomed to be fat, but rather gave advice so I would understand why I obsess about food. Dr. Kessler recommends looking at struggling with healthy eating as a biological challenge rather than a lack of will power. I recommend the book, if you also struggle with food.

Next up was The Little Stranger (55), which takes place in post-WW II, rural England. A country doctor because involved with the county's decaying aristocracy. The novel is part social commentary and part ghost story. I really enjoyed it.

And then I read Trouble (56), which was completely amazing. I cried when the book ended. Josie, a New York psychotherapist, suddenly realizes that her marriage is over. Josie's best friend, Raquel, is an aging rock star caught up in a scandal. Josie jumps at the chance to hide out with Raquel in Mexico City. Christensen paints an amazing portrait of Mexico City. I could see, taste, and hear everything that they encountered. I am desperately craving a trip to Mexico City now. Christensen's writing is unbelievably beautiful.

Knitting and Snorgling

It's been so long since we've had a kitty, and as so many of you know, Buddy is the world's cutest kitty. So I spend lots of time loving him up, and he really helps us out.


I'm working on finishing up projects that have languished for a long time. I'm so lucky that Buddy wants to help me. This is a scarf that I'm working on for our 11-year-old goddaughter. I can always remember her age because she was the youngest guest at our wedding. She was born about 2 months before we were married.

Brooklyn (53) is an incredible novel. A young woman moves from Ireland to Brooklyn because the post-WWII economy in Ireland is horrible. At first, her life in Brooklyn is almost identical to her life in Ireland--she has a nosy Irish landlady and spends lots of time with the Irish priest who got her the job and visa to move to New York. But then her life changes as she attends night school and starts dating. I have a hard time writing reviews, because I don't want to give much away. The author does an amazing job with a female protagonist. I didn't want the book to end.

Currently I'm working through the depressing End of Overeating. I put it aside for a bit because I felt as if there were no hope. I'm hardwired to love bad food. How can I change. So I picked The Little Stranger, which is also fantastic. I love Sarah Waters, and this is her best book.

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by!