Lists

I'm finally getting in gear with all of the taks I have to do before my sister's wedding in October. I just booked my flight - finally - and now I need to get down to business.

-book flight - check!
-find a tailor in order to get dress altered - check!
-drop off slides for digital scanning for slide show at reception - check!
-scan oodles of pics for same
-dig through digital images for same
-email Dan's relatives and beg for photos and lots of them for same
-buy black shoes for wedding
-lose 50 pounds in one month, okay 10, okay, just don't gain any weight!
-buy plane ticket
-find out if I need to make crazy ribbon wands
-find out what the heck she means by family tree

Babette is back!

I decided to take a break from working on Babette sometime in February or March in order to work on baby gifts for a few people, and then I started on some lace projects which have sort of stalled. Now I have a crazily complicated wedding gift underway, bu now that I realize there is no way to finish before the wedding date, I am working on some other projects at the same time. I did start on my very first laceweight project, which is also my vey first adult sweater. I've run into a weird problem where I'm increasing more in the front than in the back, or vice versa, and I'm not sure what I did. I haven't decided whether to rip it all out and start over, or if I should find the last foundation row and thread a lifeline through, and rip down to there. Which choice will be easier?

I would post pictures of things, but I can't seem to find my camera. Time to do some cleaning!

My Babette ravelry link. My sweater link.

With a little bit of luck...

I will relax and enjoy weekend. It's been a rough couple of weeks with moving my company's Cambridge office, verizon screwing up our services, and my back deciding that I didn't need it for a while and going into knots. This clover is embedded at the base of my bosses driveway. neat huh?

Time to put my finances on ice...

As I write this my credit card is in a container of water in the freezer, turning into a frozen block of debt. Yes, just like in the the movies. ENOUGH! I need to get a grip and sop using my credit cards. Period. It doesn't matter if I get airline miles, cash back, whatever. It is debt. Not only did I rip my credit card out of my wallet and fling it in the freezer, but I moved my savings over to my checking and used it to make payments on my two credit cards.

What set off this flurry of activity? When I arrived home tonight there was a letter from my USAir MasterCard that started "Important Notice of Changes to Your Credit Card Account Ending in XXXX". As of November 1, 2009, my APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is switching to a variable rate. According to this letter the current variable APR is 5% higher than my current APR. In two months my account will be at the mercy of the evil credit lords. Eeeep!

How can this be happening? How do I even have credit card debt? A few years ago I was in a lot of debt, declared bankruptcy, and started fresh. I was really careful. I planned, saved, and didn't use credit cards. I applied for a credit card to build my credit score back up, and use it responsibly. Well, the economy is in the toilet and so is my job. I've had major pay cuts this year and because of that, am now in debt again. It's not much compared to how much I was in debt before, and compared to the average amount Americans carry in credit card debt I wouldn't even be considered in debt. But it makes me nervous. Debt is a slippery slope and I don't want to be in fear of creditors or worried that I can't pay my rent by the end of the year.

I'm posting this here so that I will be serious about paying down the debt and keeping on track with my spending. Yes, it's worth it to not eat lunch out when I'm down so that I keep that $7 off of my credit card balance. When I want to hang out with my friends or splurge a little on a magazine or book, I need to really think about what I'm getting out of that versus the potential debt it will give me. Isn't it worth some saving to be able to pay the bills that matter and not have an anxiety attack over it? I think so. I know this is going to be hard, but I have to do this now and not when I'm too far in to fix it.

Any book that has any sentence resembling the following gem* will never be on my good list.
"I stood at a discreet distance near the far corner of the table, nearly panting as he cut a thick slice, lifted it onto a plate, and sank a plastic fork throughthe voluptuous layer of icing to the moist cake beneath."**

*In fact, it has a good chance of sailing across the room for a spine-splitting landing, if I did that sort or thing.

**From Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.

Tried out my new commute today, one week beforemy office move. Here's a shot of Harvard Yard woth swarms of new students touring campus. My office is moving from near Lechmere/Kendall Square to a short walk from Havard Square. It's strange to be making this adjustment.

When I firstplanned my move to Boston 9 years ago I thought I would get a job in Cambridge that would have me cutting through Harvard campus all the time. I would find and do spur of the moment activites line plays and readings. I was basing my planned life on what I had seen in the movies and my friend,who really did work in Harvard Sq and have a fabulous Cambridge life.

Limbo

I'm sitting in the Rochester airport right now trying to distract myself until my flight comes up in a few hours. I was booked for the 11:30 am flight, and found out last night it was cancelled, and moved to the 3:11pm flight. I get to the airport, and they say they are oversold by one person, would I like to get on the list for giving up my seat. I wasn't sure but said yes. As soon as I got through security they called my name, bumped me, and now I basically have a free ticket for my sister's wedding in October. Yippee! But now I'm sitting here in the cold A/C on a yucky chair surfing online. Could be a lot worse, and I'm finally the one to get the ONE free ticket they offer. Take THAT USAir! I'll reach my apartment about 9pm instead of my planned 2pm, but I will save money later, which is really what I need.

Summer Reading Updated

Earlier this year I signed up for a reading challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Here's a mid-summer update on my progress. I've been a lot lately, and I'm taking a vacation next week and bringing lots of books. I'm almost to the halfway mark and at 24 books.

Books I have read cover to cover this year:

1. Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello, Dec 30, 2008
2. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Jan 08, 2009
3. Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Feb 02, 2009
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling, Feb 02, 2009 - (reread)
5. Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Feb 20, 2009
6. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, Feb 23, 2009
7. Big Boned (Heather Wells, Book 3) by Meg Cabot, Feb 25, 2009
8. Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes, Mar 09, 2009 - (reread)
9. In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke, Mar 18, 2009
10. The Friday Night Knitting Club (audio) by Kate Jacobs, Mar 25, 2009
11. Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman, Mar 30, 2009
12. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt, Mar 30, 2009
13. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, Mar 30, 2009
14. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle, Apr 7, 2009
15. Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn by Shannon Okey, April 27, 2009
16. Bucky Katt's Big Book Of Fun: A Get Fuzzy Treasury by Darby Conley, April 29, 2009
17. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron, May 4 2009
18. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, May 28, 2009
19. The Budget Gardener: Twice the Garden for Half the Price by Maureen Gilmer, Jun 11, 2009
20. The Color Of Magic (Discworld, Book 1) by Terry Pratchett, June 19, 2009
21. Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel by Paul Auster, June 25, 2009
22. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, July 2, 2009
23. A Deadly Yarn (Knitting Mystery, Book 3) by Maggie Sefton, July 8, 2009
24. KnitLit: Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting by Linda Roghaar, July 22, 2009

Books I have read but not finished this year:
1. Some Like It Haute (audio) by Julie K. L. Dam, February 20, 2009 - It was an audio download from Boston Public Library, but my hard drive died 3/4 through. I need to download it again and just finish the thing.
2. Smith & Hawken: Hands On Gardener: Seeds and Propagation by Susan McClure, May 2009
3. Wrap Style: Innovative to Traditional, 24 Inspirational Shawls, Ponchos, and Capelets to Knit and Crochet by Pam Allen, April 2009
4. Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne, June 11, 2009 - had to return to library - couldn't renew due to holds. I've put my name back on the list.

Reading right now:
1. The Corset Diaries
2. The Light Fantastic

Reading but on hold because they keep getting bumped:
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
4. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Here is my current list of books to read this summer*:
1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (audio download) - never read as a child. My sister Gretchen read and loved this series, and I think it's finally time for me to find out why she did.
2. 1984 by George Orwell (audio download)
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
4. Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
6. The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
7. The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable by Terry Pratchett
8. Yoga and Fear in New Jersey

*List may change at any time due to proximity of books to bed/current mood, whether or not I forget that I'm currently reading it.


If you want to know what I'm reading now, check out
my 'currently-reading' shelf:

Fashion stupidity

What is it with guys and wearing bright pale yellow? It's just so wrong. Seems to be an in color this season though as a guy on the escalator was wearing a yellow shirt and now on the train there are 3 more people wearing it. Now, I know I have an aversion to yellow already, but most of the time it's also accompanied by the full on pseudo1920's golfer look. Excuse me? We're in metro Boston. There IS no where to golf in the city.

A Review: A Deadly Yarn (Knitting Mystery, Book 3)

A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wasn't sure what to expect from this serial novelist, given that they are murder mysteries and knitting themed. I have read a few other knitting related serial novels, a cross-stitch mystery, and a bunch of other serial mystery novels. The majority of them are poorly written and do not have a plot or characters that hold my attention or keep me guessing.



While I did figure out "who did it" early on, I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are around my age and for once the writing about knitting made sense. Yes, there was excessive use of descriptive words, yes, some of them were romantic or schmaltzy, but it didn't bother me enough to stop or to throw the book across the room every time I picked it up. Usually I plow through books I hate because I dislike unfinished reads.



I think I'll now go back and read the two earlier books in this series.


View all my reviews.