Just finished reading...

Thanks to the rainy weather, I've read more books than usual in the past week.
I'm still hooked on the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King, and last week managed to get through A Letter of Mary and The Moor, in conjunction with a few other books that I've been anxious to read.

With one of the bookstore gift cards I received for Christmas, I picked up Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off, which is a great "dipping into" book. Stephanie is a great writer, she can be funny enough to make me laugh out loud, and then a few lines later make me misty-eyed. (Also, she's Canadian, and I recognize a lot of the stuff that she talks about.) It was a great book to keep beside the bed for the few minutes I can stay awake to read before I fall asleep at night.

Another book that I'd been waiting impatiently for, Cornelia Read's The Crazy School, finally came in to the library. It's the sequel to A Field of Darkness, and continues the story of Madeline Dare, a Long Island debutante married to Dean, a railroad worker. In this installment, Madeline takes a job at a private school for troubled teens, abnd soon discovers that it's not just the students who are troubled. While everyone does have secrets, the administrators of the school seem to have more and darker ones than most.
Yes, a flimsy review, but while I enjoyed the book immensely and read it in one day, it's very difficult to describe. But if you liked A Field of Darkness, you'll love this one.

Just finished reading...

Christietown: A novel about vintage clothing, romance, mystery and Agatha Christie by Susan Kandel. (Fourth in the Cece Caruso series)

Cece is getting married. Her daughter Annie is having a baby. Cece's publisher has requested a partial revision of her latest book, a biography of Agatha Christie.

On top of it all, Cece has been volunteered to plan a grand opening celebration for a housing development based on Christie's writings. Part of these celebrations is a Miss-Marple-themed play (written by Cece), with her friends and family acting the parts. But on the night of the play, the lead actress disappears, and is eventually found dead.

Of course, this throws all of Cece's projects into chaos, but rewriting the portion of her book about Christie's 11-day disappearance seems to keep her going.

A riveting book, with one of the best quotes about mystery literature that I've ever come across:

Of course, all mysteries are about forgetting. Clues, suspects, motives, opportunities: the author lays them out before you, then tricks you into forgetting what you know. By the end of the book, with the revelation of the guilty party, your memories suddenly come flooding back. How could I have missed that? How did I not notice her? The answer is simple: you knew there's be no pleasure in remembering too soon.
(Chapter 43)

Just finished reading...

Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, divorced and covered in cat hair by Laurie Perry.

Laurie Perry writes the popular blog Crazy Aunt Purl, which I read regularly. Not unreasonably (at least, I think not), I expected the book to be much like the blog, which is generally rather hilarious.

But the book, though it's not without humour, is a touching narrative of her adjustment to life after her marriage ended. Perry is a proficient writer, and her style is conversational and makes the reader feel like a valued friend in whom she's confiding the despair she felt after her husband left, and the gradual reviving of her spirit, with the aid of the craft of knitting.

This book is not just for knitters, though. I'd recommend it for anyone who's experienced a personal loss.

Oh, and thank you to my friend Susan for the thoughtful gift.

Two-Button Scarf - finished!

A few months ago, people in my knitting group were agog about a wool scarf (called the "Pidge") that was selling for an exorbitant amount of money.

It seemed an easy enough pattern to do, and I eventually found a version of it through Ravelry. It was around then that I learned my friend Virginia had been mobilized, and I decided to make her this scarf. It is a fairly easy pattern, and it wouldn't have taken me so long to make if it hadn't been for some arthritis in my hands, and the chaos that is the Christmas season.


I cropped my face out to emphasize the scarf (and because my face looked goofy).

Oh, my poor Leafs!

The Toronto Maple Leafs came to Southern California this week for the first time since 2003. I don't know what I was doing when they were here last, but I'd just started dating Tod around then, so that's no surprise.

Amyway, when I found out they were going to be here, I was very excited. My DH got tickets for the Ducks game, which was Wednesday night. Did I mention I was excited? We got to the Pond (oops, I mean, Honda Center) early enough to watch the warm-up, and managed to get pretty close to the glass. Tod had the new camera I gave him for Christmas, and he got some great shots.


However, the Leafs played as if they'd never seen a puck before. It was embarrassing. They even let the Ducks provoke them into a few fights. Wade Belak got a 5-for-fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.


By the middle of the third period, a lot of the people in Leafs' jerseys had left. I managed to stick it out till about the last five minutes, but by then couldn't stand it anymore and we left.


I had much higher hopes for the LA game last night. The Kings are, after all, at the bottom of the league. And if the predators could trounce them, surely .... By the middle of the second period, I was just hoping the Leafs would score.
Thankfully, they did. And (I know this sounds a bit Pollyanna-ish, but it's true) it was just soooo cool to see the Leafs play in real life!!

Just finished reading...

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

I first read this book when it was released in 1994, and just finished rereading it due to the possibility I might have to lead a book discussion on it. (It turned out that I won't.)

I seldom reread books anymore, except for occasions like this; not because I don't want to, but because there are too many new books to read. At present, I have 3 books checked out of the library, with two waiting on the hold shelf, as well as the 4 on the list. And my TBR pile at home fills two shelves.

I remembered Mary, and Holmes and the development of their relationship. I remembered Mary's lodgings in Oxford. But I remembered very little of the actual plot, neither the identity of the villain nor the conclusion of the book. It was almost like reading a new book, and I loved it just as much as I think I did the first time I read it.

King is an amazing writer, and her characters are almost alive and breathing. I remember feeling the same way about her last Kate Martinelli book, The Art of Detection. And I've become so involved in the tale of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes that I plan to reread the rest of the series.

The meaning of my name

What Marlyn Means




You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.

You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.

You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.

You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.

You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.

You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.

You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Happy New Year!!!

I'm a little exhausted today. Yesterday, mostly by myself, I undecorated the tree and put away all the Christmas decorations. When Tod got home from work, I helped him take the lights off the tree before he took it out. I'd really wanted to get it out of the house because it was so dry; in fact, when we were taking the lights off, there were so many pine needles falling on the floor it sounded like rain.

Tod and I went to Cafe Lafayette for dinner; they had a special NYE prix fixe menu that was very nice. Dessert was a berry tiramisu: ladyfingers, cream and several kinds of berries. It disappeared so fast, the only berries I actually identified were blueberries, but I think there were blackberries and raspberries, too.

We got home around 9:30, and watched movies with Katy and Josh until midnight, when we switched to Carson Daly in Times Square, and made a toast to the New Year. I know, not terribly exciting, huh?

Today, Tod and Sean went to the Rose Bowl. I got up waaaay to early to see them off, and didn't go back to bed because of the Penguins-Sabres outdoor hockey game. I was invited out to watch the Rose Bowl game this afternoon, but I think I'll just stay home.

The holiday week was very hectic, capped off by our party on Sunday, and I'm very tired. But happy!