Sunshine

I am usually 99% not interested in vampire books, but I saw the top of a blurb about this one that made me pause. And then as I paused, I saw that Neil Gaiman liked it, and I read the rest of the blurb. I checked to see if it was in my library's digital collection, and it was. A few minutes later I was reading it, and then I could hardly put it down for the week when I could agonizingly only read it in half hour gulps at night.

I've read a few of Robin McKinley's other books, but haven't found one that really grabbed me until this one. I think one of the things that got me was the juxtaposition of an awesome baker and a vampire teaming up to defeat a great evil. I liked that the world felt believable, and was all the better for not being 100% fleshed out. And, I loved that the vampires were not what they so often are in popular literature, basically humans who now have a nasty blood habit, but they were very alien. They thought differently, acted differently, had different values, and processed reality differently. Though you totally fall in love with Constantine, you never once forget that he and Rae can not be together because of what he is, even though Constantine is a good vampire. I'm never going to be a vampire fic fan, but this book was one of the most gripping reads of my year so far, and I just wish there was a sequel!

Very few pictures to document not enough (for my sanity) knitting

So, since my life has been insane/frustrating for the last few weeks, a whole lot of interesting knitting has not been done. I’m going to be lazy and you’ll just have to take my word for it, but I am almost done with the first sleeve of the baby vertebra, and I started the cuff patterning on the second Tintern Abbey sock. I got through the second ‘swish’ on the second sock of another pair of Mystik Spirals, and I put down a few rows on my handspun cowl.

The big thing I’ve been working on is getting my long hibernating Bluebells past the lace detail at the waist, so I can take it and the yarn home with me (hopefully) in December. Miles and miles and MILES of stockinette in a plain yarn is not rivetingly exciting, but I am just about to decrease for the bust and at long last start that lace band. I haven’t decided if I’m going to make it wider; we’ll have to see what it looks like as written. I guess I aught to re-check my row gauge… I’m not thrilled with the yarn; Loops and Threads Wool-like. The problem with this second ball is the yarn is plied funny and a strand stretches and bunches as you go. I ended up ripping back quite a bit on Friday where it was actually affecting the garment, but now things seem to be at least knitting in well even if they are awkward in the hand. So, yes, it was super cheap, but I don’t think I’ll rush out to buy it again.

Oh—I was weak and snagged some yarn I’ve been wanting for over a year—Nomadic Fiber’s “Sirius.” Not all her dyed to order colors are available at all times, and I just happened to see this one was up again. I personally wish the name of this colorway was Lupin as he is my favorite character in Harry Potter, so maybe I’ll knit Lupin socks with the Sirius yarn. So pretty!

I just finished First Lord’s Fury, the last of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. I’m glad I finished the series; there were some interesting elements of world building, and I like the protagonist, Tavi. I almost abandoned the series after reading book 2, then book 1, but a friend said she had enjoyed it, so I decided to give it a proper go. I find it slightly hard to believe that no major characters died in the cataclysmic battle at the end, but I like this series well enough to finish purchasing them for my Kindle eventually. Now to indulge in a mystery!

The one piece of knitting I actually have a picture for, is this cat hat for Java (yes, she deserves it!). Yes, there will be a picture of my little punk rocker soon, but for right now here it is in all it’s improvised glory. Some short rows on the top of the head might be good for next time… That’s what you get for tearing up my things!

Parting shot: Trying my hand at some paper flowers for a sister--not half bad, but much harder when your floral tape is dead!

Small projects, socks, and Star Wars

This last week did not exactly lend itself to knitting, but where there’s a will there’s a way, so knitting happened! I reached the half-way point in the last chart on my Doctor Who scarf, I finished two gift coffee cozies,

and I finished this, Aviatrix for my cousin’s little boy, Anton. I just need to give it a bath, weave in the ends, and find a suitably cute button to go with it. *squee!*

While it’s not that exciting to look at yet, my knit-resistant sister asked for socks because she is likely going to be spending two years in a rather cold place, so I was able to with glee cast on the Squircle sock that I have been itching to try ever since I heard about it on the Knitmore girls podcast. I'm using yarn that I bought because a) it was on sale, b) it was a nice name brand and c) there were wool fumes a few years ago; while they are not my colors at all, I think my sister can rock them. So, double points! Loving the construction.

Something I have been slowly working through over these last few weeks is an audio book of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Verily A New Hope.

When I first came across this, I knew I had to give it a listen, and I was not disappointed. Dude, listening to C3-PO whine in Shakespearean English is pretty bearable, and they did a great job of incorporating sound effects and casting great actors. I will say that there were some points where I felt they overplayed the ‘stuff Shakespeare quotes into Star Wars’ card, and there were lots of inner dialogues that hinted at material from the other movies, but overall it was a lot of fun to listen to, and I might get some of the other ones one day. So, if you want enjoy mixing your nerd fandoms, this is an enjoyable listen.

I decided to make some of my favorite molasses spice cookies this weekend, and while they turned out quite well, I sadly burned a whole pan of them into oblivion. *sigh* At least I have a tray and a half of edible ones!

Also this weekend, I finally took the plunge from head packing to real packing by starting to pack some breakables and make lists of my wardrobe for travel. I have a place to stay in Lusaka now, so there is just a detail or two of my exciting the country to work out. Just over three more weeks till I start on my journey home! And yes, I have my travel knitting planned!

A trip and some finished projects!

Term being now over, I am begging to become a human being again. I’m mostly over that nasty sinus infection that dominated my life the last week of term, and I survived a trip to Solwezi. I have also been getting some real knitting done since term ended. So, lets get to it, shall we?

First of all, I was tickled to find this cloche style hat at the new mall in Solwezi. Very Downton, and will be great fun to have when I’m home.

I may have also found some new jewelry, and a sleep shirt that has the wonderful and oh so true to my life saying,

I also bought a brazier upcycled from a drum that I can use as an outdoor fireplace on my porch. I love that it’s red, and that I didn’t have to pay a white person price for it. I'll post a picture of it when I use it for the first time. To tide you over though, here some tubs made from metal drums for sale—I love the ingenuity!

While driving back we got to go by some big bush fires, and of course, some patches of bad road. Good thing there are some good stretches of tarmac to book it down!

In knitting news, the Blink socks are finally done! Another item to check off the furlough wardrobe list!

I also finished the Grumpasaurus that I made for a former student of mine who is going on to RVA. She would squish mine every time she came up to my desk, so I decided she should have her own to take with her and love. Now I want to make one in fingering weight just for the fun of it…

The Petite Lisette has the knitting done and the ends woven in. Here it is after taking a bath—love it!

I started a cowl using the lovely Round House Farm Lopi that Beth send me on the container; I’m adapting the Burbury Inspired Neck Cowl because I don’t want mine to be quite that wide. Again, winter, here I come! As I've pulled it out twice now, I'll post a picture when I actually have something to show.

In reading and watching, I’m coming to the end of my Peter Whimsey spree, and have Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles to start reading through. Fitting, as I just got my copy of The Martian on the container, and could at last enjoy Matt Damon making up for being a space ship stealing jerk in Interstellar. The disco music totally rocked, and I loved the Bowie song! Now I want to read the book again…

So, it has been a good start to the holiday. Who knows what I’ll get done before the hoardsImean kids come back? I need to get going on my Names of the Doctor scarf again, and I have another few projects with an end of November/December deadline that I need to get working on. Huzzah for a month off teaching!

Thoughts on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

If you want to read or see this and haven’t you should probably wait till after you a) read the book and b) watch the miniseries (in that order!) before reading my take on it. I don’t intend to give away a lot of spoilers, but if you are one of those people who are vehemently against being spoiled, you have been warned!

First of all, this is one of my all time favorite books, and while I was super excited about the possibility of seeing on the screen, I was also unsure how they were going to condense the wonderful history, footnotes, and rich world into something people would actually watch. While I enjoyed this miniseries, as always,

That being said, there are many things I feel they got bang on. Norrell, Childermass, Stephen, Drawlight, Lady Pole, and Segundus were particularly well realized I felt. The visualization of Fairy was incredible, and the dialogue was mostly from the book. The feel of the novel was mostly there, and the sets and cinematography were quite well done. The blend of magic and Georgian England felt real and believable, and I totally want Norrell’s library even thought it isn’t as described in the book.

Despite all these great interpretations, there were things I think they went a bit wide on. The Gentleman with Thistledown Hair’s character (and to a lesser extent, his hair), Jonathan’s look (but not his voice)—I’m too attached to the illustrations from the novel!), and a lot of the last episode. I understand them wanting to give more closure than the book might have provided to certain story lines, and I understand the simplification of others, but I was disappointed with the final scene between Stephen and the Gentleman. It was more visually dramatic than in the book, but less dramatic story-wise I felt.

Overall, I would totally recommend watching this whether you are a fan of the book or not, but while I enjoyed seeing this beloved world realized (especially since I was sharing the experience with my family overseas via text and Facebook chat), I still would have to conclude:

Like so many other movie adaptations, there is no way that a book of that length, complexity, and subtlety could be translated 100% faithfully into the very different medium of film, and still be watchable by any then the most die-hard of fans. Like spoken and written English are closely related by their own separate entities, movies and books are two different ways to tell different kinds of stories. Both have their merits, and I'll return to them both many times over the years. Well done BBC--I'm so glad you waited until the technology and the right actors were in place to bring this beautiful world to life.