Yarn Along - September 28, 2011

This post is linked to Ginny's "Yarn Along" at her lovely "Small Things" blog.  

I've begun the Great Hat Crochet that commences every fall.  My guys like a simple double-crochet skull-cap type of hat for winter.  Everyone from Jeff down to Ben asks for this hat.  Fortunately for me, these hats only take an hour or so to make.  I'm looking forward to picking up some more yarn this week to see what colors I can offer my seven men.  :)  The nice thing about making hats is that you can easily take them anywhere and add a row in a few minutes of time.  Yesterday, while I sat waiting for my son to grab an iced-tea at a gas station, I put a row on this hat.  When you are making something so small and easy, a minute here and a minute there really adds up. I think that Emily is planning to help me make some for us girls. Ours will be cuter, of course.  :)

I've also been reading lots of different books.

I have this really weird way of reading.
I'll have about twenty books that I'm half-way to two-thirds of the way thru but just can't seem to finish before I find another good book that simply must be read.  :)
I'm a sucker for books from the "newly acquired shelf" at the library, so if I happen to visit said library I most likely will come home with a stack of books that immediately jump to the top of the pile (because of dates due and fines, etc.)

Every once in awhile, though, I will take a month or so to catch up and go back and finish all of the books that I've started.  That's the kick I'm on right now.  I finish a book a day.
It makes me feel really smart.  :)
Paperback Swap is my new best friend.

From the library:
Last week I finished both of the Duggar books -
A Love that Multiplies and 20 and Counting.
I enjoyed 20 and Counting better than their new release, but still,
came away thinking that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are really, really incredible parents.
Their style and philosophies are a little too rigid for me, but on the other two hands, (Ha), I'd imagine they have to be very structured to make things work so well AND I realize that I still have a lot to learn about managing a large family.  Bottom line, ideological agreement or not, the Duggar books called me to be a better parent, to love my children more and to find better ways to make our home work well.

Upside:  This book deserves a special mention.  It's based on the long-view of life, backed up by long-range statistics.  You know, there's so much bad news out there, so much panic and gloom.  The truth is, a lot of it is based upon misinformation and fear.  Statistically, there really is a lot of good going on in our world, and Christians have had a good hand in it.  Dr. Bradley Wright, sociologist, has written this well-documented book.  I think everyone should read it and be encouraged and challenged to press on.

My highschool/college kids will read this;  Emily will use it to supplement her Sociology class this year.

Somewhat along the same lines, but on the flip side of things, I read Among the Truthers. It's about the burgeoning growth of conspiracy groups post 9/11.  Fascinating read.  

Also this week, all from PaperbackSwap,  I've finished up:

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles by Hala Jaber

Letters to Gabriel by Karen Santorum

The Audacity of Hope (Thought I should finally finish this one, before the next election.)

 

Yarn Along

I have not forgotten that I'm in the middle of a story.  (Parts one and two.)  I've almost finished the next installment, but need just a little bit more time to polish it up.  It is actually quite a bit of hard work to focus my mind and enter into that time frame, and believe it or not, "sitting and thinking" are rare commodities around here.

I've been very busy with wrapping up one school year and making plans for the next.  Still so much to do on that....

Also, I've been catching the children up with the doctor for various concerns.  My son Nick was tested yesterday for adrenal issues.  He's a hard worker but gets so tired.  My Dad has adrenal insufficiency, so the doctor thought it was worth checking into.

In the midst of life, though, I still find a few minutes to knit and to read.  I knit in the car or van whenever I can persuade Jake (our 18 year old) or Jeff to drive, and I read while I feed the baby.  The baby has come to that point where he is easily distracted, so I *get* to retire to my room to feed him in peace.  (Ha Ha.  I call it "me time, but who can complain when a baby needs to nurse?")  That's when I read.  It might only be a page or two, but at least it is a little snippet.

I love how Ginny at Small Things documents what she is knitting and reading at specific times in her life.  I thought I'd join her with this photo.  (Ginny is about to have her own little one any day now.  I love the sweater she is knitting!  Gorgeous!)

So, what am I reading and knitting?

I am reading Cleopatra.  It's fascinating to me.  I love how I can learn more, even, about the time that Christ came to our world through reading the histories of his contemporaries.  (Cleopatra was not a true contemporary, she lived from 69 BC to 12 BC, but fairly close.)  We can learn so much about culture, and customs, and the sociopolitical climate.  It enriches our understanding of the times into which he came and into which scripture was written.  It helps me to "get" some of the issues that were being addressed (by Paul, for example.)

And the knitting?  I'm making another little crew neck sweater for Gabe, size 18 months.  It won't be done 'til Fall, but that's okay.  He won't need it until then.  :)  I'm using a Red Heart Baby Yarn for this one.  It's so soft, a real pleasure to work with.