2012

• I'll do what needs to be done.
• I'll knit when I feel like it.
• I'll read.

I Did It!

2011 Reading Challenge

Sara has


completed her goal of reading 62 books in 2011!

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62 of 62 (100%)

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Thank heaven for kid's books or I never could have made it!

Think!

I've finished another book and it was worth it to link up with an image. If you are female, you need to read this:

I always sort of suspected that the media and big business thought women were sort of stupid, vapid and a bit narcissistic. The sad thing is, we prove them right every time we buy a tabloid or tune into or accept celebrity gossip as "news."

I admit I've bought my share of People magazine and Us Weekly and didn't give it a moment's thought. If I had decided to THINK, I would have realized that I wasn't just indulging in escapism, I was sending a message to publishers. "Why, yes, I'll take your drivel. I'm really not that smart anyway and why not give me a shitty body image while you're at it? Thank you!"

No more.

Happy Hanukkah/Chappy Chanukah!

I know...it started Tuesday. I had every intention of getting a Hanukkah/Chanukah post up by Tuesday evening and I never did. Offspring came into town and we had some family time. Not to mention every time I sit down to write a post, the words won't come. Which might be because there really isn't much going on. I'm thinking of resurrecting my vegan blog, but I've only gotten as far as mentally composing posts as I drift off to sleep.

If I don't post again, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Three More Books

I can report that I knit for two whole hours Friday night. Though I didn't knit Saturday, I did knit a little today. I'm not sure I will finish the Foreign Correspondent Scarf by the end of December (like I wanted), but I'm going to try.

Meanwhile, I am still reading.

• Better Off by Eric Brende: The idea of chucking all the gizmos and time stealing gadgetry out of my house and living "off the land" is very seductive to me. Granted, not seductive enough to actually do it. I think I have a different idea of  leaving technology than Mr Brende does. I tend to limit technology to cell phones, computers, kindles (on which, ironically, I read this book.) In short: entertaining gadgetry. Mr Brende writes of "technology" in the sense of the machinery and processes meant to save us time and effort. Machinery and processes that have exploded since the dawn of the Industrial revolution. In that time, Mr Brende posits, we have slavishly devoted ourselves to them and in the process lost something: namely time and each other.  He joins a "Minimite" group (a word he invented to describe the Amish/Mennonite hybrid community)  and lives with them for 18 months. He and his wife work to be self-sufficient with essentially 19th century technology. The book, for me, often read like philosophy. Even after the experiment he, his wife and growing family choose to live as minimally as possible. For me the book was quite inspiring and I would love to use less and less technology, but I'm not sure now possible it is. (Nor am I sure if I'm just making excuses or if it really is damn near impossible in my town to live with less.)
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Obviously, this choice was inspired by Better Off. I am ashamed to admit that I never read these books as a child (I think I've admitted that before.) Even as an adult I enjoy them. I am often struck by how content the family seems with so little. I wish we could get back to that (myself definitely included.)
• 21 Day Weightloss Kickstart by Neal Barnard: Recently I'd fallen into the vegan junk-food trap. Pretty much a steady diet of potato chips, Fritos, Dr Pepper and Tofurky frozen pizza. My pants have let me know that it wouldn't hurt if I cut out the junk and eat a little better so I read this for a little inspiration.

I'm also sort of working on The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (still) and Little House on the Prairie. 

Offspring suggested a mother/daughter read-along and chose The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am really enjoying it so far, but it is sure to be a sad tale. I read the Great Gatsby in high school, but I was young and foolish and didn't appreciate the author's beautiful way with words. It's a book I am savoring, though at first I struggled a bit because I was in a "this is a 'classic' every word must be fraught with meaning" mentality. Then I took a deep breath and changed my tactic to "this is a good book about Anthony and Gloria...nothing more." I liked it much better after that.

Aaaand I'm dipping into Goddesses in Everywoman ...another Offspring suggestion.

Friday Fill 12/16/11

1. Sleigh bells ring are you listenin'?.

2. It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees uh...what a grinch? 

3. You're a mean one Mr. Grinch.

4. Father Christmas Mother Goose. 

5. Silent night Holy Night.

6. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, maybe? tomorrow my plans include selling tickets at a stupid basketball game and Sunday, I want to watch football and read!

Hey, I'm on vacation this week. Maybe I'll manage more than a Friday Fill-In post.

Friday Fill-In 12/9/11

1. As I neared the end of the day, I was assaulted by a series of annoyances.

2. Little House in the Big Woods and Better Off is what I'm reading right now. It's making me want to go live off the land...but with AC...and heat...and without the farming. lol

3. I didn't start out this way, but it's how I am.

4. Sometimes it's hard to tell the truth. 

5. The best way to avoid disappointment, is to have low expectations :-) .

6. This is the reason I am who I am!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to La Fuerza del Destino, a little knitting and reading, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping a little cooking and the Heisman presentation and Sunday, I want to watch NFL football!

Books and Stuff

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I finished several books, and in true Lazy fashion I am just now telling you about them.

• After reading the Anna Godberson books, I pulled out my copy of Edith Wharton's Custom of the Country. Undine is just odious. I felt like this books was a bit of a plod, but I won't give up on Edith completely. I think I might go back and re-read Ethan Frome or give Age of Innocence or House of Mirth a try. 
• I finally finished the Percy Jackson series! The Last Olympian was pretty good. I still like the Sea of Monsters the best though. Overall it's an awesome series. Rick Riordan does a great job with all the characters.
• A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. I love this book so much. This is maybe the 5th time I've read it in my life. It really deserves a post of its own. My copy is one I picked up at a library sale somewhere. It's a hard back from maybe the late 50's early 60's. It has been with me since I was 17 and I will never let it go. Anyway, every time I read this book I am struck by something new. It never gets old and I find in impossible to put down, even though I know what's going to happen.

I'm having trouble committing to a book right now. I'm reading Better Off, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, The Lost Hero and today I started Little House in the Big Woods but I'm not 100% on board with any of them.

And shock of shocks I actually sat and knit for 30 minutes straight yesterday. I'm hoping I can show you a finished Foreign Correspondent's scarf before December is over.

Again with the Mish Mash

• I've been meaning to write a post since Deneen wrote this post. She seriously nailed it. When I started blogging in 2007 it felt much more personal to me. Then came Facebook, Ravelry , Twitter and Plurk. All of which (IMHO) make it easy to "friend" someone without really knowing them or simply click "like" and let that pass as interaction. I mean, the internet is sort of lacking in interaction anyway...social media has made the lack even more apparent.
• Sometimes I think people suck. Then it hits me: Maybe I'm the asshole.
• I really have to start eating better again. Junk food and inactivity really, really, mess up my head (well, messes it up more than it already is.)
• There are religious people in the world. And yes, some of them are assholes. That doesn't make God the bad guy. It makes the assholes the bad guys. As a religious person, please accept my apologies for these people. Honestly, they are giving God a bad name. 
• If you are an atheist, please don't treat me like an idiot because I believe God exists and please respect my faith. There is (IMHO) a big difference between religion (a man-made thing) and the existence of something higher (which is unfathomable, immutable and present.) Don't confuse the two. Your anger is against the man-made entity. You do not even believe the other exists, so why not be gracious to those who do? 
• I think I would be very happy living in the country. Unfortunately, I do not have a green thumb so I don't know if I would be living very long since I would have nothing to eat.
• I really miss the blogging and knitting. But I think the knitting mojo is just gone. So for now I'm trying to comment on blogs more.
• I have decided that for the most part, I need to choose to be non-participatory on ravelry.
• I hope everyone is having a great December so far. 

Friday Fill-In 12/2/11

1. One of my favorite things about December A Charlie Brown Christmas (I watch the special and have the CD in my car's player all month...one of my Chanukah traditions.)

2. I don't own any ornament(s)! (do art-quality dreidels count?)

3. This is what I'm hoping for today/tonight: RELAXING!

4. Why is the world so filled with  noise?

5. Ooh, a ???? (There's always one I can't answer.)

6. Bells are ringing!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing and watching La Fuerza del Destino, tomorrow my plans include vegging and date night with hubby and Sunday, I want to watch football!