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More Koigu Squares

I don't know what it is exactly about these little woven squares, but I cannot stop making them! These are all made with the Weavette 6 in. loom. I'd post a link to their website, but I have tried emailing them to find out if they are still making looms and have never received a reply. My advice, if you want to get addicted to these little squares, is to find a Weave-It loom on eBay. I've had some luck purchasing several in different sizes on eBay over the past year.

Probiotics?

I have a sick child napping on the couch right now. She was up half the night with tummy troubles. This morning we went to the doctor and she recommended probiotics, so off we went to Target to grab some. The pharmacist was very helpful and recommended Florastor for kids, which is a yeast probiotic. After further chatting with the pharmacist, she recommended probiotics for me too --specifically Lactobacillus acidophilus, a bacteria as opposed to a yeast (the yeast probiotic was really expensive!). She says that she takes it herself and feels it improves her immune system -- quite important since she deals with sick people all the time. It also is supposed to aid in digestion and such.

So, Maddie and I have each taken our first dose and I'm really hoping it will help her out since she's been dealing with this off and on for a few weeks now.

Anyone out there have any experience with probiotics? I'm very curious to hear about your experiences, and to get your advice on the subject.

Great start to the Garage Sale Season!

Each year as the garage/yard sale season starts, I try to decide what I will hunt for that season. Last year was the year of Pyrex & Shiny Brite ornaments. I'm starting out this year looking for Jadeite and weaving items.

Last Friday I stumbled upon a garage sale being thrown by a couple of collectors -- and it was awesome. Never before have I been to a yard sale like this one, I tell ya! I found some gorgeous Fire King Jadeite -- a big-ish spouted mixing bowl as well as a bunch of bowls that will be perfect for cereal, ice cream or snacks.

And while I normally collect Frankoma with the green glaze, I couldn't pass up these mugs and plates with the yellow glaze (at only $2 for the lot!) We've already used the plates and Pete has been drinking his Americanos using the mugs. Pretty and useful -- my favorite type of collectible.

And how could I resist this nice piece of Pyrex with a lid and in perfect condition. I'm always looking for lidded Pyrex because I can't stand keeping leftovers in plastic containers. Another functional piece.

If this is what one of the first weekends of thrifting for this year holds, I can't wait for the rest of the season!

Booking Through Thursday -- Graphic Novels

This week's Booking Through Thursday discussion topic pertains to graphic novels -- of which I am a fan. In fact, that's one of the library sections I almost always check out (pardon the pun). My all time favorite is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi which I completely recommend to everyone. (And the movie is pretty darn good too.)

My daughter is an even bigger fan of graphic novels and literally devours them. She always goes straight to them in any bookstore or library and has read so many, that I can't list them all here. I will say that she loves all Pokémon graphic novels as well as the graphic novel versions of the Warriors books, but we have also found some real gems like Robot Dreams and To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel. While I don't have any trouble getting Maddie to read (she takes after her mother and father in this respect), I would imagine that this would be a way to engage a reluctant reader. Check some of these great books out with your child -- I bet you'll enjoy them too!

Quicksilver & Octavian Nothing

A Couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was reading Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver which is the first book in the Baroque Cycle. I actually flew threw it (considering it's length!) and I'm looking forward to reading the next book -- The Confusion.

I won't lie to you, this book took some time to get into, but not all that much time -- maybe a couple of hundred pages (the book is something like 1000 pages long) but once he focused more on the make believe characters, I was hooked. And that seems to be true for a lot of this book for me. I liked the characters he invented, but grew a bit distracted when he focused too much on historical figures. The scientists and mathematicians weren't too bad (Newton, Leibniz, et. al) but the courtiers -- oy!

The book story is told in an unusual manor -- much of the book is written as correspondence, there is a portion that is written as a play and a large portion at the end is a cipher -- actually the decoded cipher that had been sewn into a piece of embroidery. (crazy!)

It's a massive work, and an ambitious undertaking to re-tell history from this age of political upheaval and scientific discovery. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in this time period.

Strangely enough -- the next book I read was from nearly the same time period (a bit later, but a similar theme here) -- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson. This book won the National Book Award (2006) and was Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book (2007). It's a strange tale of a slave who doesn't know he is a slave and is set in the (US) colonies, pre-revolutionary war. The owners of this unusual slave boy bring him up as if he were a prince -- giving him a classical education and measuring every aspect of his life for "scientific" purposes. He eventually finds out that he is not free and as the benefactor of this scientific group dies, he finds out how harsh life can be. It is a gripping tale and I literally sped through it.

This book is recommended for teens and I agree -- some aspects are too difficult for younger children. However, I would definitely recommend this book to adults. And I'm looking forward to reading the second book -- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves.

Right now I'm reading (re-reading, actually) Pride and Prejudice because it was on my Kindle and I needed something to read last night after I finished Octavian Nothing.

Weekend Project -- Gardening

This year my big outdoor project is the new vegetable (and fruit!) garden. We have a 12' X 8' raised bed which is too big, I know. Two smaller beds would have been perfect, but this is what my contractor put in when I wasn't paying attention. I decided to put a path down the middle so that I can reach everything I grow.

This past Sunday I planted carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas, cucumbers and basil from seeds. I also transplanted some basil I had started indoors and transplanted the strawberry plants we purchased from the local nursery. I'm waiting a week or two to transplant the other seedlings I started indoors -- 2 varieties of tomatoes, green peppers, more basil and some flowers.

While I was planting, Pete was putting in the fence around the garden (and even making a gate!) We have rabbits and I've already seen them in the yard this spring, looking for goodies to nibble. They ate the leaves of the crocus plants down to stubs and I saw them eating the few weeds that were in the raised bed last week. We are hoping this fence will be enough to keep them away. Fingers crossed!