Sockitis has struck with a vengeance in my house! I raced through Miss Lime and will have happy, dancing, green feet on St. Paddy’s Day! I especially love the angled lace on each foot! These socks will be perfect with my Birks!
I have also made some headway on my son’s socks… I have a new deadline now, so the knitting will ramp up a bit. We **hope** to leave for Michigan soon, that is as long as the country is not on lock down… I am not a worrier, but boy… this all has me very worried.
But at least the reading this week was so good!
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A new series is always a tentative read for me, but Ann.Cleeves. people! In this book we meet Matthew Venn – and we get a glimpse into his life and work in North Devon. Matthew is not your average detective…by a long shot! I can’t wait for this series to expand and grow!
I am not sure how I managed to select this poetry book, but it flowed so perfectly following my reading of Apeirogon! This work of poems was written by a journalist and it is a fascinating (but at times harsh) look at life in war zones… in refugee camps…in places of danger.
Some of the poems that spoke to me: Epithalamion, Pure, Leisurama, Occupation, and Beyond the solace of a Devastated Landscape.
By itself, I am not sure how I would feel about these poems… but coupled with the reading of Apeirogon, they are timely and so perfect.
If you divide death by life, you will find a circle.
The story of Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, and the deaths of their daughters: Abir Aramin and Smadar Elhanan. This book was a challenge to read, the writing style was like nothing I have ever read before and I struggled through much of it. It was hard to keep track of story lines – and there are many within this story. Yet, despite my struggles, this is a book that I won’t soon forget. It has had a powerful impact on me.
Apeirogon: a shape with a countably infinite number of sides.
Exactly what this book is!
Smadar was born in Hadassah hospital. Where Abir died. One story becoming another.
The story of Bassam and Rami moved me deeply. Their friendship is incredible, and inspiring, and hopeful, and their example should be the goal of every human on earth. I highly recommend this book, but be ready for a challenging read!
That is all I have for this week! What about you? What moved you this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
Yes, this weekend will be one hour shorter when we turn our clocks ahead in the wee hours of Sunday morning. (or are you an entirely digital household and need to change no clocks manually?) My house is a mixture of digital and manual, so I will have a few things to change Saturday night before bed. However, there is no quick fix for changing the clock in Sherman… he operates on one time and one time only: the ‘is it time to eat yet’ time!
This week was really lovely – bouts of sunshine, punctuated with temps in the 50’s… and boy, do I suddenly have spring fever…bad!
I struggle with exercise and I beat myself up all the time because of those struggles, but then I listened to this Life Kit episode and I am not going to beat myself up any longer… it was wonderful (and so freeing!!) to hear that ALL MOVEMENT COUNTS!
I spent some time yesterday sorting through my stash of hand spun yarn to put some choices together to knit along with Vicki and friends as we all make Nightshift shawls! I think I have a pretty good start on where I want to go! But!! I curbed my enthusiasm to cast on because of those so.close.to.the.finishMiss Lime socks and this morning I only have the toe to go! (Rachel Maddow and Elizabeth Warren are fantastic knitting companions, just saying!) The absolute insanity of this all is that I knit these socks in eight days! Vera…I think you have created a monster!
And these “think spring” things caught my eye this week:
First, Jana Huck’s latest pattern, Three – simple texture, LOVE IT!
Finally, the winner of Ravelry this week (for me at least) is the Stockholm Slipover Mini (English translation is on its way…) but really, this picture was the thing that said knit me now:
February Making was surprising… I finished 2 pairs of socks (First pair here)! What? I know, I shocked myself as well! February was the month of Sarah Jordan Sock Knitting and I have happy feet as a result! I also spy a few more socks on her page that I think need in my sock drawer!
I also have a very good start on my March socks for St. Paddy’s day!
I also finished my final flannel Esme Tunic and it has been getting lots of wear! I have plans to do some more sewing this month as well!
But, let’s talk a bit about I’ve Got Sunshine Socks! I thought the cabling on the leg would be fussy to do with small yarn and small needles, but it was just the opposite – it felt like it made the sock knitting go faster (think self striping yarn fast!!) I did two repeats of the pattern on each leg before I started the heel. And, this sock also has a different heel technique and it makes for a very nice fitting heel. I think I might just need a second pair of these socks in a bright sunny yellow! (Especially since I have the cabling pattern memorized!)
February was a very good month for reading! I read 12 books, but the incredible part was that of those books I deemed 4 of them to be 5-star, must reads!
“I love Orion, his fiery body, his ten stars, his flaring points of reference, his shining dogs.”
I stood in my backyard tonight looking at Orion and these words sang in my head. I read this book through twice. It has so much depth in such simplicity. I had originally given this book 4-stars, but I just could not stop thinking about these poems and they deserve a 5-star rating. I highly recommend this book!
I have been on a bit of an Allende kick recently, and while I did not think this book was quite as good as A Long Petal, it is a beautiful story with incredible characters. This book had surprises, sorrows, and so much love…I highly recommend this book.
What about you? What was your favorite make or read last month?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
There is always in February some one day, at least, when one smells the yet distant, but surely coming, summer. — Gertrude Jekyll
That day came this week in western Pennsylvania, because on Tuesday I surely smelled a hint of summer. And as I came home from Ash Wednesday services, I saw that glorious faint green glow of the start of leaves in some protected areas! Those hints will help me get through the return of winter weather and I hope that this cold spell does not settle in for long. It is hard going back to wintry days after having a taste of spring!
It’s Lent and Steve had seriously asked me make a spread sheet for the area Friday Fish Fry locations…really, a spread sheet… Thank goodness that I found about a million sites for the Fish-Fry-Extravaganza (and even maps!!) that began on Wednesday here in the ‘Burgh! It seems Friday Cocktail Hour will be overtaken by 40-days-of-fried-fish ::sigh::
I stumbled across a moving piece in The New Yorker Magazine yesterday and I was reminded of something Bonny said yesterday: “Sometimes we just have to search a bit harder and pay special attention to the delight.” Look no further, this piece is full of delight and, yes, bread pudding.
And, speaking of delight…this tweet caught my attention this week:
50 years ago this week, Ernie’s Rubber Duckie made its Sesame Street debut ❤️
I have been having the “great inner debate” over Romi’s Mystery Shawl: Should I? One color versus two? What color? But in the midst of the great debate, Larissa Brown’s Lunar Fade MKAL appeared on the horizon. Stash busting, anyone? I can tell you that I simply love my Lunar Phase wrap (and I even bought some denim material to make a Uniform Dress to wear with it… ok, maybe not just that wrap…but yeah. I really love it!!)
Anyways, I am thinking I will wait to see how Romi’s Mystery unfolds and then answer my questions and in the mean time I might have given my stash a good toss and found some yarns that just might work for a Lunar Fade!
Finally, Vera is always inspiring and yesterday was no exception! (And just in time because my socks are finished…in 12 days!! What???) So I have an empty set of sock needles…St. Paddy’s Day Socks anyone? I bet Vera never imagined that she’d be the reason for a little sock knit along! But, the pattern she picked is so cute… AND SPRINGY…and FREE!! So, grab some green yarn and join me knitting some Miss Lime Socks with her! And these are moving right along, when I set my knitting aside last night I was finished with 3 pattern repeats!
Grinch-y Green is not quite an Irish color, but I like this start!
That’s all that I have today! Have a great Friday and an even better weekend!
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Wideawake Field: Poems by Eliza Griswold
Apeirogon by Colum McCann
