Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Lazy Summer

Knitting has been sporadic and not very productive. But, here is a picture of the "join" of the baby blanket.

You see that little hole? That's just before I figured out how to attach in a non-wonky fashion. I'm happy with the progress past that point--it might not be perfect, but I think it looks fine, and it's a heck of a lot easier than sewing the whole thing together later, which I don't think I would ever do. Something I thought of in posting the free pattern...I wonder if I need to direct people to buy the Orangina pattern for the lace pattern. I feel like my creation is completely different, but is the lace pattern proprietary? Perhaps I need to contact the designer. Most lace patterns seem to be just "out there", and while I'm using that one aspect of the pattern, it's a completely different piece. Hmmm.

Writing: Argh. Still at 25,000. Lots of stuff going on right now. Must get moving on this.

Reading: I read a delightful cozy mystery, Murder With Peacocks, by Donna Andrews. Meg Langslow and her family are hilarious, and Meg's coping with planning three weddings, keeping an eye on her father's wild experiments, and dodging the romantic advances of the most annoying man in the world, are very well written. Delightful dialogue, and wonderful characters (including a nephew with a beloved pet Duck), made me ready to read the rest of the series. This series takes place in small-town Virginia. I also read two Dennis Lehane novels, which are sort of the opposite of cozy. They're very gritty suspense novels about two P.I.s in Dorchester (a rough neighborhood in Boston). While I think Lehane is a very good writer, they're not books I would re-read. I should explain that I'm a big re-reader (though I will not admit how many times I've read the Harry Potter series). I have "good literature" that I re-read periodically (Kate Atkinson, Time Traveler's Wife, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, Gregory Maguire, Jane Austen--can you say eclectic?), and "comfort books" as well--Diane Mott Davidson, the Aunt Dimity series, Dorothy Cannell, Janet Evanovich. I can't even always explain how something makes it into my "re-reading" section. But while I enjoy the Lehane books, they go into the "sell on amazon" pile once I'm through. They're much more violent than the cozies I've settled into, and often horrifying, and I find that my interest in reading about deranged psychopaths has waned considerably. Perhaps it's that I read too many Faye/Jonathan Kellermans and I've reached my limit. Knitpastis, if you sort of like James Patterson (and I'm with you on the "didn't hold my attention" thing--I used to read him, but his books have gotten so formulaic. Or they already were, and I'm just weary of the formula), you might like Lehane quite a bit better. A Drink Before the War is the first in the Patrick Kenzie/Angie Gennaro series.

Remember my rant about the New York Times Book Review best novel thing? (Of course you do--you memorize my posts, right? :) ) Well, I missed my last book club meeting, and they've decided to read Beloved in response to the NYTBR. And I don't think they mean it in an ironic or subversive way. Didn't everyone read Beloved in high school? It's not that I didn't like the book, but geez. What's next? Lord of the Flies?

Cooking: We made pizza over the weekend. Yum. I made spinach and garlic, Matt made pepperoni. Matt always makes pepperoni, which I think is funny, because I always do something different with my pizza. Last night, I made Cinnamon Crepes with Peaches and Cream Cheese (from guess where? and they were delish. Mirando quite liked the filling, too.

Our view is pretty awesome. Even with the cows :) Thanks to everyone for your sympathy on the wee-hours cow installation. Marie, apparently, it's supposed to be as though they appeared magically overnight. Even though it was in the paper a year ago that they were coming. Ahem. It's fun to watch people stare at the cows and take each other's photographs next to them. I swear I saw one man checking the cow's teeth. Rain, I think they may have picked summer for the cow display for just that reason--the students are all gone! Holly, it takes two and a half hours to install cows. Isn't that good to know? I didn't count the number of beeps from trucks backing up, but I think it was around 11,000. Rachel, my husband and I love declaring things "moo", too :) It cracks us up every time, too. We're so well-matched in our nerdiness.

I leave you to contemplate Geronimo enjoying a two-handed tummy rub, and Mirando napping on my pillow on our un-made bed:

3 comments:

Knittypants said...

Your blanket is looking so pretty. I don't know about the copywrite, maybe someone else will have some knowledge.

KnitPastis said...

That is going to be a stunning piece of work when you are done knitting it!!! Haha, my husband always chooses pepperoni too, not me.

Marie said...

As usual, you leave me cursing the no-pet rule of my apartment. I want cats!
Ahem.
The blanket is looking beautiful! I think contacting the designer and asking would be the best way to go. If they say no, you can always just publish the construction instructions only and direct people to the Orangina pattern for the lace instructions.