So What is a Book Meme???

What is a "Book Meme" anyway? Answer. Ohhhh. K.

I saw this on The Yarn Yard Blog and was intrigued...
I gotta wonder who chose the books and why CS Lewis' Narnia books are included twice (once as a set and once as the 1st book in the series)?
And why are the vast majority of these classics profoundly depressing?
I know - it's "Art".
As you've guessed, I may not always find "art" entertaining or desirable.
Reality is enough "art" on it's own most days.
But I do love books...

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline those you intend to read
3) Italicise the books you LOVE.
4) Post your list so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and force books upon them.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (not all of it)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (I steer clear of Orwell after reading "Animal Farm" #41 in school)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I've only read a few)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (I keep thinking about reading this one...hmmm.)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (see 36 as well)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (I loved the history/descriptions of Europe)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (Started it but quickly realized this was the stuff of nightmares for me)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (I've got this started, actually)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

The Obnoxious Furry Quilt

"Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was extremely responsible and reasonably bright.
But she was also profoundly naive and trusting. And she got married."

Yeah, that was me. I call it "The Training Marriage".
Whereby you learn that there realllllly are people like that in the world and you reallllllllly don't want to marry them.

I would say my taste in men has dramatically improved. The evidence being the "DH" (Dear Husband), referred to occasionally in this blog. Much mo'betta. Trust me.

I actually did get a few good things out of the Training Marriage/First Love.

• I learned how to drive a standard transmission. It is my transmission of choice. 
• I was introduced to the music of Styx. Probably still some of my favorite music. (No, I haven't kept up with them since their split with original member Dennis DeYoung. Tsk.)
• I got the hair stylist in the divorce. (Ok, this sounds much funnier when the stylist is introducing me to people chortling that I got him in the divorce.)
  No, it wasn't part of the divorce decree, but the Ex has a tough time facing people... We'll leave it at that.
• I got a couple of stellar recipes from my ex mother-in-law. Wicked-good tacos. Seriously - eat 'em until you've eaten too many "good".
• ....
• Um... ...well...that may be about it.
  I did learn not to be sooooo trusting. I may have learned it a little too well.
  Oddly enough, I'm still pretty gullible and trusting in some areas. Not so much in others. 

• Ah - I also got a queen-sized quilt made by my mother. 

That marriage didn't last, but the quilt has.
My mother was a pretty amazing seamstress. She made most of her clothes for most of her life.
She could look at a dress and make a pattern.
She was very, very stylishly dressed in her younger, modeling days.
She was adept in a variety of crafts - Knitting, Crochet, Quilting, needlework...she could do pretty much anything.
I miss her. A lot.

Mom went through phases of colors. Blues, Yellows, Burgundy, Plum...her wardrobe would be augmented based upon her current color phase.
Yes, in the 70's and part of the 80's there was a fair amount of polyester involved in her sewing.
And there was...a brief fake fur phase. As I recall, there were a variety of jackets made from fake fur for several members of our family. (My blue/white one didn't achieve completion...which happens with crafting and growing children.)

So, after I had married the guy of which my parents did not approve (smart, weren't they?), but that they had accepted for my sake...she decided to make us a quilt for a Christmas present.
A Nine-Patch quilt.
Out of the scraps of fake fur.

I loved that she made me something. I loved that it was useful and well-crafted and warm.
I was not crazy about the colors. And I thought it was a bit... obnoxious.

And I am still not crazy about the colors and I still think the furry aspect is a bit obnoxious.
But - it is unique and I still love that I have something she made for me. And the DH and I use it every year.
This inscription always goes on my side of the bed - tucked under my chin in the winter-time.

And the cats - all of my cats - have loved it on sight/feel. It is irresistible to any feline.
I love that they love it and that they snuggle and purr and play and kneed on it. 

"And they lived happily ever after..." certainly didn't apply to The Training Marriage.
And it doesn't always apply to the current marriage.
But there is laughter and purring on a pretty regular basis.
And there is also a well-loved, obnoxious, furry quilt that was a gift of love from my mother.

The Music Under his Feet

Savion Glover.
I was able to attend his "Bare Soundz" performance here in Tucson last night.

I witnessed Grace.
Humor. Joy.
Rhythm (of course).
Stamina - amazing stamina. 
Clever. Charming.
Flow. Energy - Tap Jazz.
Shared Joy.
Experience and innovation.

Honor and Gratitude - shared by Mr. Glover with the generous sponsors, the two gentlemen with whom he shared the stage: Marshall Davis Jr. and Keitaro Hosokawa, the stage crew, the sound-man (!), Mr. Gregory Hines, the ushers, the pre-show Tap Performers in the Centennial Hall courtyard, and shared with the audience (which happened to include Mr. Ben Vereen(!) {who inspired a special song from Mr. Glover!}).
Here's a small sampling of what I was gifted with last night: Savion Glover on the Colbert Report.

(Yes, some of my knitting was imbued with last night's rhythm: The Einstein Coat, The Birds Nest Shawl, and a stray green hat I pulled from the UFO pile.)

I told my husband I'm kinda in love with another man...

He was pretty good about it...and he understands.
He didn't even laugh at me!

We just finished watching the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on Comedy Central.
I told the DH that I was kind of in love with Jon Stewart for what he'd just done/said.

Yes, I expect it was an excellent advertising gimmick.
And tomorrow or even tonight, I expect we'll hear a great deal about how many people were watching (or are belatedly watching it online or as a rebroadcast).

But it was grand and funny and a kind reminder to folks to pause in the rampant "The Sky is Falling" antics/panic.

I first heard about this event via a Cafe Press e-mail offering "Restore Sanity"/"Keep Fear Alive" t-shirts (Yep - marketing and souvenir sales...).
My initial response to the Cafe Press ad was a confused look/ "What the ???" - but I tracked it down and was not too surprised to see Stewart/Colbert were up to something interesting.

I do enjoy watching both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" - although I don't get to watch as often as I'd like.
When I do get to watch, I find them intelligent, charming, ironic, fun, clever, silly, sane/insane, respectful-or-not, but always thought-provoking.

And...their shows can be an educational opportunity.
As was today's pundit/comedic Rally.

I say "Well Done" to Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert!!
"Well Done" to all the people who performed, wrote, created, supported, and pulled off this larger-scale reminder that:

• It's not all bad news
• It's not all news-worthy
• Generalizations/Stereotypes work best in humor or fiction and not necessarily in real life
• Humor can help people pause in learned-loathing habits to possibly reconsider/grow
• We do need to vote/be aware/be responsible
• Irony can be sweet or sour
• "Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves - for we shall never cease to be amused". 

 Please have a lovely weekend and revel in humor, irony, intelligence, and the gift that it is to be a free citizen of the world.

Tuesday is election day.

You may think that a single vote doesn't count... 

but they're All single votes - and they add up.  

Barber Shop Intern?

Cheap entertainment for the day: The DH got a home hair cut set and asked me to cut his hair.
(Possibly not considering that I am extra sleep deprived just now. {wry grin})

We setup on the back porch and I cut his hair - shorter on the sides, longer on top using the attachments that came with this have-yer-wife-do-it-herself kit. Trimmed the hairs on his neck and around his ears.

My first time cutting anyone's hair - ever. And it wasn't bad!
He went inside to check and came out correctly noting the curve of his head on the side that was away from me was a little teeny bit "bushy". (He'd setup up his chair against a table and the cord and my short arms didn't reach as well on that side.)
I'm game for a re-trim so we moved the chair, reapplied the longer cutting tool and I trimmed.

And it seemed like a lot came off.
E'yep, I'd put on the shorter attachment - he now has the equivalent of a military "bowl" cut.

He took it VERY well and we both laughed. I told him it was Karma - he could tell his younger brother it's payback for the time when DH shaved his brother's head bald when they were little boys.

He wants me to try cutting it again in a few weeks. He's a brave, sweet man.

Hmmm - maybe a little too short on top...

Love 'dem Kitties, 'deed I do..."HEY - stop that!!..."

I think it is safe to say that Los Gatos are a prime source of entertainment 'round here:

Sink-Bed.

I wish I'd gotten pictures of CooPurr jumping up to this sink. He stood up on his back legs to peer up at the sink (no, he's not quite tall enough to see over the lip, but his head is about on level with the bottom edge of the sink.)
(Click here for a CooPurr scale picture against my clunky PC monitor.)
Then he plotted his jump, rocking and stepping forward with several false starts, until he flew up to the sink and landed gracefully with two paws on the front edge and two paws on the left-side edge - having planned it perfectly.

(This is NOT a little sink - and CooPurr fills it easily.)

Window-Friend.

Gryphon has another "friend" he plays with besides myself and Nikoli...."Gecko":

Gryphon checks the back door every evening.
Usually Gecko is high up on the screen door.
This night Gryphon didn't have to jump or be held up to visit Gecko.

("Can we keep him?")

Altered-State.

Gryphon (inspired by Nikoli) recently discovered there's catnip in that sausage-roll of stripey fabric:

More-Merrier!

And there's ALWAYS a cat or three to help make the bed - and changing the sheets is a hysterical process!!

Yep - that lump Nikoli is attacking - it's Gryphon.

(Nikoli focuses on what is under his nose...oblivious to all else.)

Oh yeah - they help for the entire process!
(Did you notice Mikale peeking from the other side?)

Cruel-Fate. {SIGH}

This is what I found the other morning when I got up:

Down-Time.

Gryphon, also likes to hang out with us in the computer room...snoozing quietly...

all soft and cute-looking...

 with his paw dangerously close to the "ESC" key on my keyboard...?? 

"Gryphon! Watch it!...! Move your..."

"Click"..."Gah...Rasssn-Frassn"..."Did it save?"

The Return of the Carpet

Updates all 'round...

Charity Craftiness:
The Jayne Hats I made for the local Browncoat Group Charity event...The larger one was part of the raffle prizes. I understand the gent who won it was rather tickled. The medium sized-one was sold for $40.00. And they've asked me to make a couple more! {Yarn shopping!!}

The Entrelac Scarf I made has been donated to the Academy for Cancer Awareness' Confetti Gala to benefit the Under-insured Cancer Patient Fund. I believe it will be part of the Silent Auction offerings next week.






Also donated to benefit the Under-insured Cancer Patient Fund, these loverly, spiffy baby hats/socks.
(Please Note, I did NOT knit these. I asked for volunteers to knit to help this charity and I donated the cotton stripy yarn...and these were created by an extremely talented friend of mine.)

 I am entirely smitten with these.
The charity folks were tickled too!

(She completed the hat above with "leftover" cashmere yarn and bits of the cotton yarn pulled off so she could make the socks match!)

(I am agog at the perfect matching socks...sigh.)

So - although I did NOT knit these, I have to share the pictures because they're simply too wonderful and looking at them makes me smile!

Personal Craftiness:

I've completed one of the "Columbine Peak" Blue socks for my niece and started on the 2nd sock.
And I completed the Dublin Bay Socks for me-self:

(Pay no attention to the pink bits, I try not to...)

 I'm knitting away at the first portion of my Einstein Coat. I'm doing it in Reynolds Lopi Yarn. I love the white-on-black tweedy effect, but the yarn feels quite "woolly". (rough)
Since it's meant to be a coat...I'm ok with "woolly".

The Einstein Coat is so named because "you feel like a genius when it's done".












Beyond that, I'm swatching for Reba's socks (also in the Dublin Bay Pattern) and the lacy Sabine cardigan:

Home Improvement: 

As previously noted, the DH and I decided to replace our well-loved living room carpeting. After carpet shopping and selection was achieved, we packed.  A lot.   With Help:

Gryphon and CooPurr

Nikoli and Mikale

And the new carpet arrived and was installed!
It is very tactile and yummy to walk upon and we're quite pleased with it!
The cats like it too and displayed their approval in ways that best suit their purrsonalities:

This is a good place for a bath!

Relaxing - high and low.

WRESTLING!!

Here's the thing I belatedly noticed. 
Back when the cats were helping us carpet-shop...Mikale was elsewhere and did not voice his opinion regarding carpet samples:

 AND...I noticed the carpet shade we chose looks a tad familiar...

 E'yup - it appears we chose a shade of carpet that is very nearly great camouflage for Mikale.

However, I think Mikale's normal posture of "Sunny Side Up" will keep him pretty visible: