Book Review: The Perfume Collector

I love to read.  You probably can't tell from any of my recent posts (I think the last time I mentioned a book was my review of Lean In last September), but its true.  This doesn't mean I haven't read anything since then.  But very few books survived the hundred page rule, especially because I've been pretty wiped out tired lately.

However, within the last month I took a sabbatical from my (two) book clubs and gave myself license to read any old thing I wanted! (Gasp!)

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro was the first thing that caught my eye at Target after announcing my sabbatical, and I gleefully breezed through it in under a week! (Although I bought it in paperback, at the time I hit publish on this review, the Kindle version of The Perfume Collector was only $1.99 on Amazon!)

Tessaro weaves the story of Grace, a London socialite in the 1950's who receives an unexpected inheritance and sets off to discover the identity of her mysterious benefactor.  Her search takes her to Paris, and vicariously to New York City in the 1920s, as she learns her benefactor, Eva's story and how it ties in with her own (albeit somewhat predictably in the end).

Throughout the novel, scent and sensory memory play a significant role.  Different cultural approaches to the role of perfume also feature without derailing the story with a heavy philosophical discussion.  For example, a Russian perfumer whose work Eve inspires scoffs at the growing Anglo-American idea of having a signature scent, preferring instead an arsenal of varied fragrances to suit different moods.

(Are you a signature-scent wearer, or do you go with your mood? I'm a signature-scent gal myself - I've worn Burberry Classic since 1999.)

This was the perfect summer read for a history- and culture-loving girly girl who wants an adventurous European vacation but won't get one anytime soon!  Tessaro's descriptions of stylish Paris and sparkling Cannes supplied plenty of daydream fodder.

Highly recommended classy chick lit!

Disclosure: this post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Book Review: Lean In (Or Run the Other Way?)

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I attended a women’s college in the late 1990s.  Equality was somewhat taken for granted, and where it wasn't, female superiority was assumed and advocated. That brand of feminism never appealed to me.

Which is why when Lean In was first published, my first inclination was to run the other way.  I expected a redux of my undergraduate experience.

It wasn't until a group of fellow female attorneys with whom I breakfast monthly decided to read it together that I caved.  I worked hard to suspend my preconceived notions.  I told myself that I was reading it for Mouse as much as for me.  I really, really tried.  Honest.

Let me be clear: I absolutely, unequivocally believe that women deserve an equal chance to pursue an education and rise to the pinnacle of any career she chooses.

And that is where the crux of my problem with Lean In lies: it's not about choice.  As one of my breakfast colleagues put it:  "It's reverse pigeon-holing; instead of telling us we have to be barefoot in the kitchen like the Mad Men generation, she's telling us we have to want to occupy the C-suite."

As much as Sandberg tries to placate her readers in later chapters of the book, sharing her own experiences as a new mom, and declaring that there's nothing wrong with staying at home to raise the next generation, she gives herself away in the first chapter.  For her, corporate and political leadership is not a choice, it is a moral imperative.

Instead, I think women need:

• To recognize rather than suppress the fact that we possess some uniquely feminine attributes; AND
• To figure out how to use those attributes to our advantage rather than trying to fill a man's shoes.
• To have access to women mentor figures early in life (as a teenager or college student) to help us learn to harness our strengths and discern how we want to apply those in our lives; AND
• To surround ourselves with a "boardroom" of women with whom to commiserate, bounce ideas, vent, brainstorm, and otherwise mutually encourage.

Which is why, if I ever write a book on the subject, it'll be called "True Choice: A pep rally for all women, whether they lead from the boardroom, the living room, the classroom, the courtroom, the operating room, or some combination thereof".

Have you read Lean In (or watched Sheryl Sandberg's TED Talk?  What are your thoughts?

Disclaimer: this post contains some Amazon affiliate links.

Best Books: 2012

Last year, I was invited to contribute to the Law School Transplant's Literary Year in Review. Erin challenged her readers and friends to pick their top five reads from last year (they didn't have to be newly-published, simply read by the contributor during 2011).

I've just send my 2012 submissions to Erin, except that I only have three good ones to share (because, in case you missed it, 2012 was not a great year for me finishing things).   

1) Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall - I don't usually "do" Civil War fiction, so when this came up on the book club list, I was nonplussed.  But the characters and themes of this book transcend the temporal setting - a wife committed to the asylum for disobeying her husband, a soldier suffering from PTSD, a young boy looking for love and affection anywhere he can get it - and drew me in.

2) The September Society by Charles Finch - The second book in the Charles Lenox series (which I discovered while vacationing last year), in which one finds the Victorian Era amateur sleuth trolling the streets of Oxford in search of the truth behind a student's death.  Really, I've loved the whole series so far (the first is A Beautiful Blue Death ; the third is The Fleet Street Murders , which particularly kept me on the edge of my seat!).

3) The Little Princesses by Marion Crawford - This book, written by Queen Elizabeth II's childhood nanny is a near and dear favorite of mine.  I re-read it in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and the glimpses into HM's upbringing (at the same time revealing and respectful) never fail to endear me to her further.  Sadly, the author was ostricized from the Royal Family for what was seen as a violation of their trust and invasion of their privacy.  I would venture to guess that HM views its publication much more kindly in light of all the more negative intrusions the family have sustained during her reign.  Also sadly, the book is out of print, but you can find some serialized snippits courtesy of the Daily Mail here, here, and here.

Check out the 2012 Literary Challenge round-up for more great reading ideas!

What were your favorite reads of 2012?

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Yarn Along: B is for . . .

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

I am taking a break from my (very late) holiday clean-up to join in the sharing at Small Things!

Within a few weeks of each other last year, Kim shared a knitted ball she completed for a friend's baby, and Wendy wrote about about sewing a tactile ball for her little one.  Taking inspiration from both, I have been working on this beach ball pattern using different natural fibers (wool and cotton) from my stash to make a colorful, textural experience ball for Mouse.  I'm at the assembly point now, and am thinking I'll add in some jingle bells when I stuff it for an extra surprise.  Thank you so much Kim & Wendy!

My January book club book, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa just arrived in yesterday's mail.  I only had time to scratch the surface last night, but the premise is intriguing (like "Beautiful Mind" meets "50 First Dates"). 

What are you knitting and reading?  

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yarn Along: Jury Duty Edition

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

Moose's birthday party was over the weekend and, with the whirlwind of preparations, I didn't expect to have much to show for myself today.  BUT, I had to report to jury duty on Monday and the end result was a landslide of knitting and reading!

To be clear (and avoid any perception that I am slacking on my civic duty), I was not knitting in the jury box.  The majority of Monday was spent in the jury assembly room (think airport waiting area and you've got a pretty accurate mental image), where I finished the Christmas hat I shared last week and got some good work done on an Oaklet Shawl (right) I'm working on for a friend (shh). Yesterday I cast on (and made great headway on) another Vintage Sweet (left) in the same super-soft Cotton Supreme as the purple Christmas hat.  It's wearer isn't due until the end of December but is being induced today to avoid a lurking potential complication.

I also enjoyed some reading time in between monotonous rows of the Oaklet's main part and got underway with The Billionaire's Vinegar .  I am reading it for my IRL foodie book club and it is a great read for anyone with even a vague interest in wine and an appreciation for a good mystery: it is the story of the sale at auction of a bottle of wine alleged to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Oh, and in case you couldn't guess, I ended up being "struck" as a juror.  Just in time for my normal Wednesday at-home day with Moose and Mouse!  I'm not even remotely surprised: while I practice elder law and estate planning now, once upon a time in law school I interned at the ATF, which means I don't expect any defense attorney will ever keep me on a criminal jury.

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things! 

Disclosure: this post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy (Review by a Never-Been-Pregnant Mom)

I am beyond delighted to be the seventh stop (and first Luminous Mystery) on Sarah Reinhard's Rosary Blog Tour!

*** 

To celebrate the launch of her new book, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism, Sarah Reinhard invites all of us to spend her blog book tour praying the rosary together. Today, she shares this reflection on the Baptism in the Jordan:

Jesus didn’t need to be baptized any more than he needed to be presented at the Temple when he was a baby, and yet he did. It was an act of humility, though I didn’t fully appreciate it until I broke my arm on my thirtieth birthday.

There I was, with a two-year-old and a great deal of pain, with work still to do and no idea how I was going to get it done. At one point, I swallowed the hard lump in my throat that must have been my pride and sent an email to a few close friends asking for help. I wasn’t even sure how I needed help, but they were only waiting for the okay to come over: within hours, I had a hot meal for my family, the leaning tower of dishes was being addressed, and a cheerful friend was insisting I lay down while she let her girls play with mine.

There’s a lesson for moms of all stripes in this mystery. There’s a great generosity in offering help, but it requires humility to accept help. There’s a beauty in sharing our gifts with others, in offering and giving. There’s an equal beauty, too, in letting others serve and in smiling and saying, “Thank you.”

There’s no need for long explanations, for defenses, for excuses. Look to Jesus in this mystery, and see the joy of the Father’s approval. Look to John, and see the glory of the recognition of the Savior. 

As we pray this decade of the rosary, let's hold all those brave women who have said yes to difficult and challenging motherhood in our intentions in a special way. Don't forget, too, that we are praying for an increase in all respect life intentions as part of our rosary together this month. (If you’re not familiar with how to pray the rosary, you can find great resources at Rosary Army.)

Our Father . . . 

10 - Hail Mary . . .

Glory Be . . . 

O My Jesus . . .

***

If you're a regular reader here, you know that we were blessed with an addition to our family in late August. 

Um, wait a minute, Vik, I thought you adopted?  What are you doing reviewing a book about pregnancy?

Despite the fact that I did not become a mom through my own pregnancy and physical labor, Sarah graciously asked me to be a part of her blog tour (even though I suggested I might not be the "right" voice to contribute).

Sarah's inclusion of an adoptive mom on her Rosary Blog Tour exemplifies what is wonderful about her new book: it is balm for a Catholic mother's soul, regardless of where she finds herself on the winding road of motherhood.

A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy is a treasure trove of both practical and spiritual tips.  I initially grabbed my autumn rosary (yes, I have seasonal rosaries . . . ) and Mouse and dove into the latter sections of the book dealing with birth (and post-birth).  There, I found Sarah's voice encouraging me, as she does in today's reflection, to accept the earthly help of my friends, and also reminding me to turn to God even (especially!) when the days are long and the nights longer - and suggesting real ways to do so meaningfully despite the fast-moving world around me.

As with her previous writing, Sarah encourages her readers to reach higher while remaining completely grounded, honest and real - there are no guilt-provoking expectations here. 

As the days passed and the newborn fog lifted, I found myself sneaking peeks at Sarah's earlier chapters on conception and pregnancy - a world I have never experienced and no longer expect to find myself in, personally.  I was stunned and touched to the core to realize that many of the emotions and spiritual trials I experienced during the adoption process are mirrored by women going through the physical process of becoming a mother - the uncertainty, the expectation.  I wish I would have had this encouragement during some of the darker days before Moose came home with us, and I can see myself turning to Sarah's words to draw me closer to Mary and her Son should we ever decide that Family M needs a third baby.

Without, I think, intending to, Sarah captured something I've said all along about becoming a mom: regardless of how you do it, it is a labor of love.  Sarah's new book is an incomparable resource for Catholic moms, no matter how you labor. 

You can find a complete listing of the tour stops over at Snoring Scholar.. Be sure to enter to win a Nook (and any number of other goodies) each day of the tour over at Ave Maria Press.

 

Yarn Along: Happy Birthday to Me!

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

I turned 33 over the weekend.  I will admit that I've always been kind of a birthday princess.  So while we were too busy with our dear baby girl to put together any kind of celebration, I did indulge in a bit of self-celebration after the fact.

I treated myself to some gorgeous new yarn from my favorite LYS.  The photo doesn't do it justice, but it definitely lives up to its name: "autumn flame".  And even though I still have the baby blanket on the needles, plus some Christmas gifts to do, I couldn't resist casting on the Aestlight Shawl.

I also treated myself to the third Charles Lenox Mystery, The Fleet Street Murders.  Although I'm usually die hard about buying "real" books, I made an exception and bought the e-version this time after I discovered a major perk to my Kindle Fire: I can read virtually hands-free (only one finger needed to swipe to the next page) while cuddling my Baby Mouse (so-called, at least for now, since Moose has repeatedly observed that his baby sister "squeaks"). 

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things! 

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yarn Along: Ready for Baby

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

Above is my artfully-arranged photograph du jour.

And here is the photo I really want to share:

It's done!!  The baby's sweater is done!  All it needs now is a wearer!

Actually, it needs to be washed and blocked a little.  And I need to find some really great buttons.   

Will you help me?

What I would really like to do is get two sets of buttons - a boyish set and a girlish set - to have in reserve and ready to sew on when we are matched.  I can't bank on having time to get buttons once we are matched - with Moose, he was born on a Monday, we matched on Tuesday, and picked him up on Wednesday!  Those of you who visit from Ginny's place are all creative and knowledgeable about sourcing beautiful, unique, hand-crafted or lovingly repurposed crafting items, so if you happen upon this Yarn Along post today (or tomorrow, or when life slows down at the weekend . . .) I would be so grateful if you would leave a comment and tell me where you like to source really great baby sweater buttons!

Oh, and yes, I've just started reading Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise , the August selection for the Kitchen Reader book club.  Sadly, Death Comes to Pemberley is beginning to slow its pace . . .

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things and have a beautiful Wednesday!

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yan Along: Junior Raveler

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

Progress on the baby blanket continues (aided greatly by a 90 minute wait at the doctor's office on Monday!).  Since it looks pretty much the same (except bigger), today I am sharing instead a photo of Moose making a "hat" for his "baby" (the Gloworm).  He snatched this fun rainbow yarn out of my squeaky yarn stash and set to work at unrolling it and wrapping it around her.  I have since secreted away the yarn to make a real hat for his baby. I'm hoping the preemie size of the Adventure Hat will work.

I am half-way through Death Comes to Pemberley and thoroughly enjoying it!  While not pure Austen or pure P.D. James, it has enough of both to make it satisfying to me as a fan, and is such a well-crafted mystery in itself that I learned the hard way I can't read it immediately before bed . . .

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things! 

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yarn Along: Already August!

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

Work continues on the baby blanket for our hopeful addition.  Yesterday evening I changed over to the fourth ball of yarn (of eleven total).  Having smaller-yardage balls certainly gives the impression of quick progress!

I had some time to kill (!) after an out-of-office meeting last week and made a stop at the library.  I am usually a major proponent of libraries, but our local branch has always had a dismal selection so I'll admit I haven't even bothered looking there in ages.  Imagine my surprise that they had Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James! I realize it has gotten poor reviews, but so far I am enjoying it immensely!  (And for the record, of the dozen or so books I looked up in my browsing, this was the only one they had - so I'm afraid that it was just a lucky break and not a tide change at the library).

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things! 

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Kitchen Reader: Blessed Are the Cheesemakers

I was delighted to have been asked to make our July Kitchen Reader selection.  For our second-ever fiction installment, I chose Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch.

Imagine a place were you can go when life screws you over - or you screw your life over - where the hills are rolling green (and would probably block your cell signal), and the only entertainment to speak of is the Sound of Music sing-a-long staged daily by the Pregnasaurs (pregnant, vegetarian milkmaids) for the benefit of the milking cows.

Welcome to Coolarney!

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers follows the story of the two aging cheesemakers of Coolarney (who are preparing to pass the torch), Abbey (Cheesemaker Corrie's granddaughter who is running away from a crumbling marriage), and Kit (a fallen-from grace stockbroker running away from a string of bad decisions). 

Themes of longing and belonging run through the story like the veins of a perfect blue cheese.  Like the well-balanced cheeses made at Coolarney, Lynch pairs strong emotions with just enough non-fictitious information about the cheesemaking process to make the story believable and keep it from becoming overly sweet. 

On a more personal level, I was pleasantly surprised with part of the storyline that brought in one character's desire for a baby, the Pregoasaurs' unwanted pregnancies, and the inevitable discussion of adoption.  The competing emotions were handled authentically and gently.

In short, I loved it!

If your appetite is whet, and you want a nibble, Lynch offers an excerpt on her website.  And if you've read Blessed are the Cheesemakers and want more, I also loved House of Daughters (which follows the intersecting paths of three flawed and warring sisters who inherit their father's Champagne vineyard).

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yarn Along: More Baby Hats

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~Ginny at Small Things

The baby blanket is still progressing (slowly).  I've taken time away from it this past week, however, to knit up some baby hats for some soon-to-be babies of friends.  On the left is a Vintage Sweet (for which I owe thanks to Kylie, a fellow Yarn Alonger for introducing me to the pattern in her post last week).  On the right is an Adventure Hat with the ribbing edge and beanie shaping options.  Both are knit in organic cotton (Knit Picks Simply Cotton Worsted - Haze Heather and Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted Cotton - Sky, respectively).

As always seems to be the case, when I have a stellar knitting week, I have a somewhat pitiful reading week.  I am trying to finish Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by next week for a new, local culinary book club.

What are you knitting and reading?  Come join the sharing at Small Things! 

Disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links.

Yarn Along: Back to the Baby Blanket

 

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! 

~ Ginny at Small Things

 

I haven't been able to muster the energy for the mental gymnastics involved in making another sleeve on the baby sweater, so I returned to the baby blanket I started ages ago (during Lent!).  It makes for great mindless knitting and is really looking beautiful!  The intended recipient was born in early June, so I think, when it is finished, I'll hang on to it to gift for Christmas.

My ulterior motive in finishing this baby blanket is my desire to start another (different pattern) for my own little-one-to-be.  I got some gorgeous Debbie Bliss eco cotton yarn on sale last week that I'm itching to turn into a blanket to match the new nursery (also to-be).  

In the wake of my ill-fated weekend with Moose, I've picked up Playful Parenting (purchased when Moose was about 18 months old but set aside early on when it didn't feel quite applicable to where he was at the time), which I keep hearing/reading such excellent things about.

Come share your knitting and reading adventures with Ginny and friends!

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Kitchen Reader - Season to Taste {Guest Post}

This month's Kitchen Reader selection, Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum, was chosen by Katherine Martinelli.

{Note from Victoria ~ When I decided to give up secular reading for Lent, my biggest misgiving was having to skip a Kitchen Reader book.  Enter my dear friend, Erin, who graciously agreed to read and report on this month's selection.  Erin is the blogger behind The Law School Transplant.  She is a recovering lawyer, a blossoming  yogi, my favorite healthy-food cooking companion, and all-around one of the most wonderful people I know.}

First, many thanks to Victoria for having me here to post a review for The Kitchen Reader. As someone who is loath to commit to anything longer than a month or two, the opportunity to drop in this month was a perfect one for me!

As I was reading Molly Birnbaum’s Season to Taste, the song “Ironic” by Alanis Morrisette kept popping into my head. If there were an additional line in one of the verses, it might very well be something along the lines of, “Losing your smell/When you want to be a chef.” After all, your sense of smell is part and parcel of your ability to taste. And how can someone become a chef when they can neither smell nor taste? The unfairness of it all was jarring and tragic.

The book is part narrative/memoir, part science lesson. In between sections of her story, Birnbaum weaves in loads of information about olfaction, neurology and the intersection of the two. These sections are interesting, but tend to get a bit long and pedagogical at times, particularly towards the last half of the book.

However, the most striking – and wonderful – feature of Birnbaum’s writing style is her use of language, and particularly adjectives, to create images for the reader. Because scent (or the lack thereof) is central to the book’s theme, she devotes a great deal of time describing smells – both good and bad. Smell is also the only sense that is tied strongly to memory, and so each time she describes a scent, she also paints a picture of a memory or experience. Indeed, I often found myself remembering experiences from my own life that are connected to the scents she was describing at certain points.

I also found myself relating to Birnbaum’s struggle to redefine herself. Like the author, at a certain point in my life I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to get there. But, life frequently throws us curveballs. For Birnbaum, it was the accident that robbed her of her sense of smell, forcing her to find a different path. Similarly, I’ve experienced an event – albeit much less traumatic – that forced me to reconsider my career trajectory. It’s a path often painful and rarely clear, but I identified with Birnbaum’s journey and admired her willingness to lay bare her insecurities for the world to read.

Finally, this book really made me consider how crucial our sense of smell is to everyday life. It’s not just an accessory sense that is nice to have; indeed, it is central to our ability to experience life, create memories and build interpersonal relationships. It’s also still very much a mystery to doctors and scientists, but so important and simultaneously so frequently taken for granted.

I really enjoyed Season to Taste, both for the story itself, and for the author’s gifted use of language. Oh, and because I couldn’t resist, I read her blog and was delighted to discover that her happy ending is ongoing: Birnbaum has almost entirely regained her sense of smell, and is still with the soldier-cum-writer she met in graduate school. Sometimes, after all, being thrown off your path allows you to find a new, better one: The one you were meant to walk all along.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

Where In the World Is . . .

Where in the world have I been?

Nope, sadly, I've not traveling to any exotic locations.

The last month has left me a bit flummoxed.  I'm not quite sure why.  Nothing big happened.  Nothing is wrong.  I just haven't been feeling myself, so I've been keeping to myself (I've even missed the last two Yarn Alongs - gasp!), and focusing a little more on reflecting inward (which is not such a bad thing during Lent). 

I've been baking . . .

I made these wonderful chocolate chip scones with the Moose, using star and flower cookie cutters, thanks to some inspiration from Baking Unadorned.

I've been reading, reflecting, and journaling about my faith . . .

Actually, my reading was a bit scattered until I discovered this beautiful journal in my local Catholic bookstore.  I've been jotting some notes as I read and have found myself going much deeper into the content (despite having three books going at once).

I've been knitting (a little) . . .

I am teaching a friend to knit, and have been trying to come up with a simple scarf pattern for her that's more than boring garter stitch. This attempt was garter bands alternated with a drop stitch row.  I've also been working on finishing up the Mystery Birthday Project.

I've been exercising again (woo hoo!) . . .

Last summer I completed a full three-month rotation of P90X Lean.  I lost weight, felt great.  It was win-win.  Then I tweaked my shoulder, and then the Moose decided he wasn't so interested in sleeping anymore and I teetered off the wagon.

Well, the sleep is only marginally more consistent, but this warm weather we've been having and the looming necessity of shorts convinced me that I had to do something. 

I'm sharing some clips of my current favorites, in case you happen to be in need of some inspiration.

Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior



Physique 57 - I created a playlist of some FREE fitness sequences they recorded recently for The Daily.



I also (finally) discovered . . .

(Does this one really need any explanation?)

Hopefully I'll be back to some regularly scheduled cooking/reading/knitting/Tot School programming soon!

P.S. Can I tell you how much I LOVED that show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego when I was a kid?!  I can't be the only one!

Yarn Along: Mystery Birthday Project 2.0

After yarning alone last week, I am delighted to be back where I belong on a Wednesday, Yarning Along with Ginny and friends!

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

I promise I'm not being sketchy for the sake of being sketchy.  I restarted the Mystery Birthday Project that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  I am half-way done and wanted to share it, but also didn't want to give away the surprise.  Actually, the photo is doubly a tease, since the yarn doesn't look exactly like that - it is more of a heathered teal in real life.

So, why the restart?  I was being realistic with myself.  The original Mystery Birthday Project used fingering weight yarn and US Size 3 needles.  What work I finished looked lovely, but there is no denying that they were going to take forever!  In addition to that project, I have a baby bolero, baby blanket, and mommy-to-be shawl in the queue, so I found a pattern for a similar object that uses worsted weight yarn and US Size 9 needles.  The work so far is lovely and I'm half-done after only four days, so I'm viewing the decision as a win-win rather than a cop out.

After a few weeks of floundering with a Saint with whom I was not connecting, I gave myself permission to go out of order (gasp!) with A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms .  I am enjoying a very fulfilling week with Saint Monica.

Be sure to check out Small Things for more knitting and reading inspiration and tell me what's on your needles at the moment! Ginny is sharing a delightful children's book about knitting today!

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