Today's Pet Peeve

    It's been a  while since I voiced any pet peeves. Recently this one has been really bugging me. I have a nook, and my Hubs has a kindle. When I go shopping for new ebooks, I like to read through the whole description. I want to know if it's worth my money to purchase it.


    That's all fine and dandy, except when I go to open a new ebook to read it, and discover I paid good money for a stupid book that's only 100 pages long! And there, dear reader, is my pet peeve. Why can't Barnes and Noble, and Amazon too for that matter, put in the descriptions how many pages a book is?


    I have actually gone to the mother-site of Barnes and Noble, looking for a way to let them know that this would be appreciated by their readers, but could not find any way to get through to them. I haven't tried Amazon yet, I got pretty discouraged by my experience with bn. I'm hoping they will be easier to contact.


    There has been more than one time that I was upset about the page count of a book. This was brought sharply into contrast yesterday, when I opened a new book to read and discovered it was over 700 pages! I actually cheered!


    You should know that I rarely spend more than $10 for an ebook. I even page through all the free and less than $5 selections first. So it really upsets me when I don't feel I got my money's worth.


    Has this become an issue for any of you, readers? If so please feel free to comment and tell me your stories. I would love to hear them.


    OK, OK, I shouldn't have listened to the Hubs. It turns out that Amazon DOES  tell you the page count. He just never noticed... Sorry for the confusion.

Baby bootie, take II

    Today I had to take the Hubs' truck in to have the windshield replaced. He had to work unexpectedly, so I got to take it for him. It just so happens that the glass place is right across the road from Michaels craft store.


   So I left early, and went to Michaels first. I wanted to buy some new yarn for the crocodile stitch baby booties. I found some nice dark grey Patons Kroy Sock yarn. It will work. Of course, I was done waaaay before my scheduled appointment time. I drove over there, and figured I'd just have to wait.


    It turns out that they could so the windshield right away! In fact the guys were thrilled that I was so early. I guess the earlier they get their appointments done, the earlier they can go home.


   While I was waiting, I was reading on my nook. But that new yarn was calling to me. I had brought everything I would need in case I decided to crochet instead of reading. I had three hooks, sizes D, E and F, a scissor, four lockable stitch markers, a pencil, and the pattern. I even brought the first bootie sole I made to compare the new one to.


    I completed the first sole while I was waiting. The last thing to do on it was to single crochet all around the edge of the sole, using 50 stitches. I only managed 47. I still might rip that last round out and do it over. But I don't see any places to put three more stitches.

 

    That's the photo I took of both soles. The first one from yesterday, and the one I just did today. That is the same dime, by the way. Why oh why do babies have to be so freaking tiny?                                                                                                                

Stitch n Bitch Report

    Here we are, with school back in session. That means it's time for Stitch n Bitch to resume our weekly get-togethers. We were originally going to meet last Friday, but we got a message that one of our group member's kids didn't start school until this week. So we delayed a week. They are in a different district than we are. It makes no difference to me, all my kids are all grown up.


    So Kim and I met this morning for a breakfast and some crafting. Cheryl didn't make it, we don't yet know why. Our beloved member Jan has moved to Portland, Oregon, and she is very much missed. I did less than a row on the Super Secret crochet project. Kim was in the middle of TINKing the bind off of a test knit, and she didn't want to do it during breakfast.


    The really sad part for me was that I sat there considering frogging the whole Super Secret project and starting a different one, with the same yarn. I think I'm just not feeling it any more.


    As for my reading the whole Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series (by Laurell K. Hamilton), I'm almost half done with the very latest one. Reading them all in a row has brought a question to my mind. I'm not going to mention it here, because it's rather explicit, but I am trying to decide if I should contact Ms. Hamilton personally. Really,   I am sad that I'm almost done reading it, but excited to crochet or knit again. Maybe the self imposed crafting break is nearly over. I will keep you all posted.   


     

Running out of steam

    Well, it looks like I'm running out of steam for daily posts. It only took two years and a little bit. I guess that's not bad. I sure don't want to repeat any of my stories.


    I promise I will post when I have something to say or share, or have exciting news. So keep checking in.


    I am at this time, still reading. I am up to book #20 now, so I'm almost done. I have decided that out of all the books in this series, my favorite was Narcissus in Chains, and the one I liked the least was Skin Trade.


    Kudos to Laurell K. Hamilton, she is by far my favorite author. Go read, dammit!

Three days? Really?

    It's really been three days since I last posted? It doesn't feel like that long. I'm still reading, I believe I'm on book 16 now, of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton.


    I've been stressing about a medical exam, complete with pulmonary test. I don't do well with those. The day after, I'm usually confined to bed. At the very least, I usually need to nap after these kinds of tests. They totally exhaust me.


    I had my exam and test today. It wasn't the worst kind of pulmonary test, where they put a clamp on your nose and expect you to breathe only through a tube in your mouth. As tests go, it was one of the easier ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm still exhausted. It takes a lot out of you, or rather me. I'm not sure yet how I'll feel tomorrow. But at least it's over with.


    I am still not knitting or crocheting, and my arthritis is still not too painful. Knock on wood....

Time got away

    Time got away from me yesterday, and I never got a chance to write to you! Today almost got away from me too. I babysat my beautiful grandbabies today. We had fun, but now I'm really tired.


     There's a little progress on the Super Secret Project, as the grandkids let me knit sometimes when I'm there. I've really been slacking, I'm still mostly reading. I believe I've worked my way up to book 9 of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. It's called Obsidian Butterfly. It's like all of them in the series, extremely good. I don't think I need to state again that Laurell K. Hamilton is my very favorite author.


   For a while there, I was reading a whole book a day. I really didn't mean to rush through them that fast. I'd like to take my time, but I've read them more than once, and they're very familiar to me.


    Well, I know it's not that late but I'm that tired. So good night to all of you!


   

Knitting and reading

    That's me, knitting and reading. I am working on the super secret project, getting close to 25% along.  And when I'm not doing that, I'm reading. I read through all the books I got for my nook, and I don't want to buy any more at this time, so I'm rereading the whole Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series, from the beginning. All twenty two books. I started book 1 yesterday.


    Tomorrow I get to hang with my granddaughter for a while, while her mom takes her little brother to the dentist. I'm looking forward to that. Can't wait to see what she'll want to do.


    When my son and his girlfriend went on their cruise, they brought mama back a bottle of Vaanilla Rum from St. Maarten. I broke into it last evening, and it's really good! I just poured a shot over ice and filled the glass up with Seagrams Ginger Ale. My usual treatment for alcohol, usually vanilla vodka.


    I've been buying those little cans of my soda, because they are just the right size for my drinks. I was highly disappointed to discover that they are part of that whole "controlled serving size" thing that is so popular these days. But I'll buy them anyway, because they are the perfect size for my drinks without wasting the rest of the bigger can.


    So that's what's keeping me busy, knitting and reading, and a little drink or two in the evening...

Hoisted!

    OK, I'm still reading Lasher by Anne Rice. At least I'm more than half done now. BUT in the meantime, the newest Iron Druid book is downloaded to my nook. And driving me even more insane, the newest Anita Blake book is also!! They are both there, taunting me to hurry and finish.


    I just want this book to be done already!! Since I've made the commitment to read it, I'm going to finish it, but I'm finding myself skipping paragraphs, even skimming and sometimes skipping whole pages in an effort to be done with it quicker.


    And I still can't find that stupid ribbon yarn. Dag nabbit. Just so you know, the title refers to "hoisted by own petard".

What I'm Doing Instead, and Why

    Since I have confessed that I haven't been crafting, I must state that I haven't just been sitting around watching TV like a zombie. I've been reading. Now, it's been my habit for many, many years to keep a book in the bathroom. When I will be in there for an extended period of time, I pass the time by reading.


    For the past few years, the bathroom has been the home for my nook. It's like having an entire library in there. I read all the Game of Thrones books, and discovered a new series, The Iron Druid, by Kevin Hearne.


    While waiting impatiently for the latest Iron Druid book to come out, I decided to reread one of my favorite books. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. She used to be my very favorite author, but then she went and got all religious on me. But even though I liked her vampire books, I have always thought that the books about the Mayfair Witches were better. And The Witching Hour, I consider her master work.


    One day before the anxiously awaited new book came out, I finished The Witching Hour. Unfortunately I didn't know that. So I decided to reread the second Mayfair Witches book, Lasher. I was hoping I would like it better the second time around, since many years have passed since I first read it.


    So now I'm trying to rush through Lasher, so I can read the newest Iron Druid book. But I'm savoring the waiting too.


    It's like with my all time favorite series, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by my very favorite author, Laurell K. Hamilton. I have all of the series in hardcover as well as on my nook. The twenty second book is due out soon. I can't wait! So she's getting twice the money from me. In fact, when I first got my nook, my goal was to buy all the Anita Blake ebooks. And I did, a few at a time, and reread them all. It took all of that summer, but I got them all.


    Ms. Hamilton writes another series about Merry Gentry, a fairy princess. I have read most of them also, but the Anita Blake ones remain my favorite. I recommend these books to anyone who will listen.


    As to why I've been reading and not knitting or crocheting, it all has to do with this future grandbaby. I swore I wasn't going to make anything else until we knew for sure the sex of this child. And my daughter and son-in-law want to know before the actual birth. So I'm anxiously waiting, crochet hooks and knitting needles at the ready. I'm even planning on making something on one of those round knitting looms.

My Nook, The Yarn Harlot's New Book, And Me!

   I have always, always, been an avid reader. Both of my parents were teachers, and encouraged us to read. In grade school, the teacher would give out the Weekly Reader sheets, and I would order the most books of anyone in the class! Now, we didn't have very much money, but that's how much my parents valued reading.

   One of the bedrooms in our house has been turned into a little library. There are nearly wall to wall shelves, and a desk where our old computer sits. Unfortunately it's not big enough to add comfy chairs. But the book shelves are full, the books are doubled or even tripled up on each shelf.

   A little over a year ago, I bought myself a nook e-reader. My daughter has one, and so do some friends. In the first month, I bought, and read, every book in my favorite series that was published at that time. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. At that time I think there were 17 or 18 books. I re-read them all in just over one month.

   About a week ago, I read on the Yarn Harlots blog that she had signed some e-readers at Rhinebeck. A light bulb went on over my head! I had never thought to look for her books for my nook! So when I finally remembered, and had my nook with me, I shopped for her books. I purchased the newest one, and put the rest on my "wish list". Except for At Knit's End, which I bought and had signed at Rhinebeck.

   Now, these days, I am not reading as much. I am spending lots of time knitting, so my nook sits in the bathroom, waiting for me. For many years, I have kept a book in the bathroom, for those times when, let's say, it may take more than a few minutes to complete my business.

   Lately, that's where my nook spends most of it's time. I take it with me to other places, like the doctors office, where I may have to wait for a while. Especially if my current knitting project is too big or complicated to work on while I'm waiting.

   So the other day, I finally finished the book I had been reading, and was able to start Stephanie's new book. I have come to realize that the bathroom may not be the best place to read this book! It is so funny and entertaining, I can't put it down! My legs have fallen asleep as I read to the end of the current story.

   So what am I to do? I think I will just have to hang in there and try to force myself not to read too much, to put the nook down. I am just really glad that All Wound Up isn't over 800 pages, like a couple of books I have read recently. If they were that long, I bet I'd lose the use of my legs.