boogaj

39

So, yesterday I turned 39 and it was a good day. It started with coffee and a donut and ended with LOST, reading and chocolate cake. There were gifts, shopping, noodles and video games in between. Best of all, Pete took the day off from work, so I was with Pete & Maddie all day. And Friday will include margaritas, chips & salsa with my mom & sisters, so the celebrating continues.

I've come to terms with my birthday and I've learned to enjoy it. (This was not always so -- it used to make me depressed.) Do you like your birthday? Hate it? Celebrate it? Hide under the covers? Just curious.

Rabbit, Run by John Updike

I finished Rabbit, Run by John Updike yesterday. I still can't believe that it took me this long to read Updike.

Before I even get into character, plot, and all that good stuff, let me talk a bit about the style. The prose here is dense, almost overwhelming at first, yet he writes about the mundane, revealing everyday glimpses of suburbia in a profound way. And the book is written in the present tense, jumping from one point of view to another -- making us privy to the thoughts of each character we encounter. Really nice writing -- very engaging.

The story here is of a young, straying husband who was a big basketball star in high school, but those days are behind him. He leaves his pregnant wife -- who is a drunk and rather unsympathetic character -- and runs into the arms of a whore, to whom he is introduced by no other than his former basketball coach -- once a god, now a broken and pathetic man. I'm sure you are getting the idea here -- all these people are flawed. Surburbia is diseased. However, at the same time he shows you the worst of his characters, Updike leaves them vulnerable and you can't help but feel sorry for them at times.

I'll be reading more about Rabbit at the first chance I get. Thank goodness there are three more novels and a novella to keep me busy.

More woven Koigu squares

I have 21 squares completed now on the Koigu blanket project. I finished 3 during the Oscar's and they are probably 3 of my favorite squares:

They are all different, but here is a close up of one. I warped the loom in one color of Koigu and then wove it with scraps of a different color. I thought these square would turn out too colorful -- I mean, Koigu is already a riot of color in ever skein, so the combo of two could be insane. However, I love how they turned out.

Now that I have so many squares, I'm starting to look ahead to joining them. Time to try about a few different techniques to see what works best.

Recipes I've bookmarked

Right now I'm so sick I can't taste a thing, but as soon as I'm feeling better, I want to try out one of the many recipes I've bookmarked over the past few weeks. Take a look at the goodness!

• Spreads @ Pioneer Woman Cooks -- These look so easy and tasty -- like a wacky chocolate chip cookie of sorts.
• Simple Bagels -- I tried making bagels once years ago and it did not go well, but I'm willing to give it another try.
• Mug Brownies -- If these are good, this might be dangerous!
• Hot Fudge Sauce -- This looks *so* good!
• Fastest Cinnamon Buns -- These look similar to the I tried in December.

Oh, if only this cold would disappear so I could tast things again!

Orla Kiely & Target -- I am weak.

I could not resist -- well, actually I did resist a bit because I could have bought everything they had easily. I didn't see all the things at my Target that I've seen around the blogs, but I did find some goodies. I purchased a pear placemat for Maddie to use in the family room, some napkins, the cute flower tablecloth -- which is too long for our round table so I can cut it down and get some extra fabric -- and the towel hooks which are probably my favorite of all. You place the hooks over the top of a drawer or cabinet door, close it and instant towel hook! I loved the canisters, but couldn't justify they cost. And I didn't see the storage bins and such at my Target, but we have 2 other Target stores quite close, so if I'm feeling weak I may go check out their selection.

One Vonnegut Down, One Updike Started

Now that's more like it. I started and finished Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five -- an *excellent* book. I don't know how many times I've read it, but each time I do, I discover something new. If you haven't yet read this classic, you really should give it a try. While it is a book about war, there is so much more to it than that.

I've started Updike's Rabbit, Run -- what dense prose! A delight so far.

Papercutting Update

I am all caught up on my kirigami papercuts despite having fallen behind for almost 2 weeks. Today I did a big catch up session and now all is well. This batch includes some backfolds and pull ups -- fun additions.

Intrigued with Kindle

So, Amazon is coming out with a new version of the Kindle. I have to say, I was intrigued when they came out with the first one, but I'm always wary of the first generation of most any electronic device -- especially one in a  relatively unexplored (or unsuccessful) area such as electronic reading devices. Presumably people have reported on what they didn't like, or what they would like to see and Amazon has, hopefully, incorporated the best ideas into the new device.

So here are the pros and cons for me 

Pros:

• Thin and lightweight -- I tend to read some longer books and lugging around, or just holding a book that is over 700 pages can be a pain.
• Adjustable print size -- Love this!! I don't have the best eyesight and my eyes tend to tire easily. Being able to increase text size is HUGE for me.
• One charge lasts 14 days and you can recharge using USB.
• Tons of books available.

Cons:

• Price -- device is $360 and books are around $6-$10 each. Right now I use the library a lot to save $$. So this price tag is a bit hard to swallow.
• Fearful of eyestrain -- I would want to make sure this really was easy on the eyes.
• I'm a bit old fashioned and like the physical book as an object.

So, I'm not quite sold, but I'm getting there. Now I know there are some other electronic book readers out there besides the Kindle -- notably the Sony PRS-505. Do any of you have an eBook Reader? And if so, what do you think of it?

When to Stop Reading a Book

There are all kinds of theories as to when you should give up on a book. I like the Rule of 50 put forth by Nancy Pearl which says that you should give a book 50 pages if you are under the age of 50 and if you are over 50, subtract your age from 100 and use that number. I'm a pretty fast reader though and sometimes I allow myself to continue reading a book for far too long.

 

Case in point, The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (of Mystic River fame). I'm now on page 354 and I'm about to take it back to the library unfinished -- it is actually 704 pages long.

I guess I liked the characters well enough -- which kept me reading as long as I did -- but I don't really care if Luther ever gets back with Lila, or if Danny ever ends up with Nora, or gets his gold shield, or unionizes the police in Boston. And enough already with Babe Ruth! (There are these weird passages which are supposed to sort of link two stories here. They all include Babe Ruth and as far as I'm concerned, they have little value, break up the flow and make me wonder why an editor didn't convince Lehane to remove them.)

So there you have it. I've invested quite a bit of time in reading this book, but I just don't have it in me to finish. My mind keeps wandering to the other goodies sitting on my shelves and I find myself reading shorter bits of the book each night. It's time to say goodbye.

Up next: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut -- my all time favorite author. I've declared 2009 to be the year of Vonnegut and Updike. Can you believe I haven't read the Rabbit Novels yet?

Quilt Inspiration

I recently found this zag quilt tutorial and haven't been able to get it out of my head. Perhaps I'll have to start cutting out some squares this week.

Bathroom Remodel -- Before Photos

Well, we are remodeling the bathroom -- bringing it into the 21st century.  

As you can see -- the old color scheme is pure 50's.  Turquoise and a color I can't even name -- tan?  peach?  peachy, pinky, tan?  Ugh.  The sink and toilet (already removed) were both turquoise.

This was a wooden cabinet with an antique 50's style glass & metal medicine cabinet on top.  It's going to be completely ripped out and a linen closet will replace it..

And here's something interesting -- newspaper as building materials.  There is a double layer of newspaper between the tile and wall.  The only date I could see said 1956 -- so I guess that's the last time this bathroom was updated!

I have a vision for the finished room.  We'll see how close my vision comes to reality.  More photos as things progress!

More new rubber stamps!

It's been a crazy day -- the contractor is coming to tear up my bathroom tomorrow and Hero Arts released new stamps, which I had to put up on the website at Stamping Online.

There are all sorts of these cute little sets that I love -- they have 18 stamps each which is fun.

And I'm kind of digging this chocolate chip cookie background stamp too.

None of these are in stock yet -- I'm ordering them tomorrow, but if you want to see the cuteness, they are all here.

And there is still time to enter the chocolate giveaway!

Chocolate Giveaway!!

I'm having a chocolate giveaway at the Chocolate Blog. Please check it out!!

Home Screen Printing Dreams

I totally want a Yudu!!