Just finished reading....

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill.

This is the second of Hill's Simon Serailler Crime Novels. (I reviewed the first, The Various Haunts of Men, back in May. I really, really enjoyed that book, and was very excited when I found the sequel at the library.

In the second book we spend much more time with Simon than we did in the first, and as a result, get to know him much better. A Detective Chief Inspector with the police force of small English town Lafferton, a place where he has deep family roots. His parents and most of his siblings are physicians. The exception is his youngest sister Martha, who was born developmentally handicapped and who has spent most of her life in a care home.

The story starts with Simon on vacation in Venice. He receives a phone call from his father to the effect that Martha is very ill, and he must return immediately if he wants to see her alive again. Simon rushes home, and though Martha recovers, there are many questions within his family about the quality (of lack thereof) of her life.

Simon becomes distracted from the family dramas by the kidnapping of a nine-year-boy who was kidnapped while waiting in front of his house for a ride to school. This event has a huge effect not just on the family and the police, but the entire community, as people begin to monitor their youngsters much more closely.

This is a complex story with many deep philosophical questions about life, not all of which are answered.

The third book in the series, The Risk of Darkness was released in the UK in paperback last June, and I'm eagerly waiting for it to make its way across the pond.

Just finished reading...

Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan

Published in 2001, this is one of the earlier members of the Jane Austen spin-off club. It's the story of Jasmin Field, a columnist for a women's weekly, who lands the part of Elizabeth Bennet in a charity production of Pride and Prejudice.
Almost immediately, there is friction between her and the director, Oscar-winning actor Harry Noble.

Yes, it's pretty obvious where this hostility will lead, but Nathan is not precious enough to have her characters pretend they don't see the parallels. And though the parallels with the plot of P & P are many, they are made different enough by the time and setting to avoid feeling like carbon copies.

Nathan has also written a novel called Persuading Annie, based on (you guessed it!) Persuasion, which I plan to find.

December 25th, 2007

11:00 a.m.


8:30 p.m.

The stockings were hung on the staircase with care....

Just finished reading....

Deadly Vintage by Elaine Flinn.

In this, Flynn's fourth Molly Doyle mystery, our heroine is settled happily in Carmel with her niece Emma. Haveing decided to branch out a little bit, Molly tries her hand at interior design. Hired by the Carla Jessop, the owner of a local winery to decorate its tasting room with antiques, she's astounded when Carla's husband vehemently disagrees with his wife's choice of designer.

A few days later, he is killed, in full view of a large group of people. Initially a suspect, Molly tries to distance herself from the investigation, but the Jessops keep asking her advice.

When a stranger appears claiming to be Emma's father, she becomes even more stressed.

It's fun to read about a place I've been, even though Molly's Carmel is not exactly the real one. And, as always in this series, there's some great information about antiques.

YIKES!!

I just realized it's been well over a week since I last posted. And it's only one week till Christmas.

I've been reading all my usual knitting blogs, and the authors are going on (and on and on) about how many gift projects they've completed.

I feel I've been knitting a lot, but I don't have much to show for it, except achy hands. I'm about halfway through the shawl I'm making for a female relative who shall remain nameless (because other relatives read this blog), and about 1/3 of the way through a Pidge scarf for another friend who shall also remain nameless (because I'm pretty sure she reads this blog herself).

I don't even have progress pictures. I'm making the Pidge in Galway Paint, colourway 805, though. And the shawl is a pretty basic prayer shawl pattern that I found online.

On the other hand, I'm finished with all the Christmas shopping, with just a few more presents to wrap. And I'm only scheduled to work today and tomorrow this week, so I can do some baking towards the end of the week if I really feel inspired. And if I don't, I'm not going to stress about it.

This is one of my favourite times of year, and I'm going to let myself enjoy it.

A Hot Cocoa Swap!!!

Like Scrabblequeen, on whose blog I found this swap, I'd vowed not to do any more swaps this year. Things are sooo crazy just trying to get appropriate presents for people I know. I had to make up a gift bag for a secret pal in my knitting group, and I'm planning on making a themed basket for one of my sisters-in-law (I can't say which one, because I think she reads this occasionally.)

Since this swap won't be happening until the New Year, and the swap period is from January 1 to February 28, not only is there no pressure now, there won't be much pressure then, either.

And what could be more fun than swapping CHOCOLATE?

My tea swap package arrived!!

I'm so excited. I was worried that it had been lost in the mail or something (because that's the sort of thing that happens to me), but it was waiting on the porch when I got home this afternoon.


There is so much good stuff!!
Several Lake Champlain brand chocolates, including a "peppy-r-mint" bar and a "pb ecstasy" bar,
a jar of Sundae's Best hot fudge sauce,
a box of small world chocolate truffles,
a bar of Oatmeal & Honey Cocoa Butter Soap,
a little tea bag holder with a duck on it,
a flowering green tea ball,
a tin of organic Christmas Tea,
a little baggie of Decaf Vanilla Green Tea,
a box of Stash English Breakfast Tea,


and a gorgeous hank of Schaefer Handpainted yarn in the Anne colourway.

It's gorgeous stuff. I love it. I'm eating chocolate right now.
Thanks, swap partner!!