Amber's (scaifea's) Thread #11

Hey, everybody!

I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor, turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure, turned part-time library assistant, turned once again Classics professor, and now soon to turn librarian again. I spend my free time sewing, writing, knitting, baking, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 46 going on 12 and live in Ohio with my husband, Tomm; our son, Charlie; Mario, the Golden Retriever; and the newest addition to the family: Agent Fitzsimmons, the Border Collie.

The haircut isn't all that new anymore, but, well, here I am:



Favorite Books from 2021
Spinning Silver
Far Away Across the Sea
The Book Thief
Return of the Thief
Mister Impossible
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Under the Whispering Door

What I'm Reading Now:
-Les Miserables (books by year - 1862)
-Mansfield Park (an unread book from my shelves)
-A Brief History of Time (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob)
-Bear, Otter, and the Kid (romance list)
-An Offer From a Gentleman (romance list)
-Kepler's Witch (wishlist book)
-A Court of Mist and Fury (a Beauty & the Beast retelling)
-Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (mystery)
-My Hero Academia 2 (manga)
-The Ogress and the Orphans (impulse library shelf grab)
-Murder Is Easy (audiobook)
-The Dream Thieves (family bedtime read-aloud)

Books on Deck:
-(a book from my Read Soon! shelves)
-Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Buddhist reading list)
-Word to the Wise (mysteries)
-Richard III (Shakespeare re-read)
-The Land of the Free (100 Banned Books)
-Lest Darkness Fall (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books)
-Titan (Locus SF Award)
-The Thief of Time (Boyne bibliography)

The five-ish or so books I have going at once and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. 13 years ago I started working my way through a handful of awards lists for children's books. I've finished a fair few of those, but I'm still working through the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die list, and I try to stay up to date with several of the YALSA awards each year.

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker (and other) lists (combined, in chronological order)

5. For this category, I cycle through 9 different stacks:
a. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
b. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. John Boyne bibliography (in chronological order, sort of)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Maggie Stiefvater's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

6. An unread book from my shelves.

7. A book from my Read Soon! shelves.

8. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

9. Book-a-year challenge: A few years ago, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

10. A cozy mystery.

11. A full-on re-read through Shakespeare's stuff.

12. A read-aloud-to-Charlie-at-bedtime book (or two).

13. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

14. A romance novel.

15. A book from my wishlist (it's *so* long).

16. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

Books Read

JANUARY
1. The Cave Children (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
2. Conan the Barbarian (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
3. Beauties, Beasts, and Enchantment (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
4. The Paradise War (audiobook/Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
5. What Fresh Hell Is This? (impulse read) - 8/10
6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I reread this one with Charlie, who's reading it for his ELA class) - 8/10
7. The Hidden Face of Eve (100 Banned Books) - 7/10
8. Guilty Pleasures (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
9. Cue for Treason (1001 Children's Books) - 9/10
10. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 9/10
11. Metropolis (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
12. Timescape (Nebula Award) - 6/10
13. A Fatal Grace (mysteries) - 9/10
14. A Loyal Character Dancer (mysteries) - 8/10

FEBRUARY
15. Beetle and the Hollowbones (Stonewall Honor Book) - 8/10
16. More Fool Me (Fry bibliography) - 8/10
17. The Ghost Writer (wishlist book) - 9/10
18. Chimera (National Book Award) - 8/10
19. Cat's Cradle (unread book from my shelves) - 9/10
20. Mockingjay (reread with Charlie) - 10/10
21. Solutions and Other Problems (Alex Award) - 10/10
22. Heartsong (audiobook) - 9/10
23. Beat the Reaper (an unread book from my shelves) - 10/10
24. One More Thing (a book from my Read Soon! shelves) - 8/10
25. Darius the Great Deserves Better (Stonewall Honor Book) - 9/10
26. In the Woods (mysteries) - 9/10
27. The Cloven Viscount (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10
28. Hyperbole and a Half (just because) - 10/10

MARCH
29. This Book Is Gay (impulse read) - 9/10
30. Brothersong (audiobook) - 9/10
31. Into the Land of the Unicorns (audiobook) - 7/10
32. We Ride Upon Sticks (Alex Award) - 10/10
33. Hitting the Books (mystery) - 8/10
34. Beyond the Pawpaw Trees (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10
35. A Court of Thorns and Roses (B&B retelling) - 9/10
36. The Black Gryphon (audiobook) - 9/10
37. Stradivari's Genius (wishlist) - 7/10
38. The Last Unicorn (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
39. The Prestige (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 10/10
40. The Portrait of a Lady (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 7/10

APRIL
41. The Last Cuentista (Newbery Medal) - 9/10
42. Grendel (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 6/10
43. First Test (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 8/10
44. Fahrenheit 451 (audiobook) - 10/10
45. Changing Planes (audiobook) - 7/10
46. Gifts (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 9/10
47. Escape from Warsaw (1001 Children's Books) - 9/10
48. Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio (Alex Award) - 8/10
49. Peeps (audiobook) - 9/10
50. Red, White, and Whole (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10
51. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (mysteries) - 9/10
52. Waiting for the Flood (Read Soon! shelves) - 9/10
53. Moon Called (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List/audiobook) - 9/10
54. The World of Tibetan Buddhism (Buddhist reading list) - 8/10

MAY
55. The Raven Boys (family bedtime read-aloud) - 10/10
56. Wicked Lovely (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books/audiobook) - 9/10
57. The Shape of Water (mystery) - 6/10
58. Ink Exchange (audiobook/series read) - 9/10
59. The Kids Are Gonna Ask (Alex Award) - 8/10
60. A Snake Falls to Earth (Newbery Honor Book) - 6/10
61. My Hero Academia Vol. 1 (manga) - 9/10
62. The Junior Officers' Reading Club (unread book from my shelves) - 7/10
63. Fragile Eternity (audiobook) - 7/10
64. The Book of the Dun Cow (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 4/10

This time around I thought I'd go with some artsy-fartsy B&Ws of The Gals:





Charlie in his concert duds:

Next one is yours!

*plops down*

I'm here!

Happy new thread! I like your artsy fartsy puppy photos :)

Happy new one!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Amber!

>5 scaifea: The gals look good in black and white, I think Mario needs a hug.

>7 katiekrug: Hi, Katie! Here, have a cookie:

>8 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! Black and white makes everything fartsy.

>9 drneutron: >10 foggidawn: >11 quondame: Thanks, all!

>12 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I've given her a hug and some scritches from you. She appreciates it.

Hi Amber my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

If I plop next to Katie, do I get cookies too? *puppy dog eyes*

>17 johnsimpson: Thanks, John!

>18 MickyFine: Of course! As long as Katie left you some...

>20 scaifea: - Ha! As if...

Happy new thread! Grabbing a cookie as I pass by!

>21 katiekrug: *snork!*

>22 thornton37814: Hi, Lori!

Happy new one!

Happy New Thread, Amber! I love the cookies up there. Yum!!

Those cookies look scrumptious. But then, all cookies look pretty good to me...got milk?

>24 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>25 msf59: Hi, Mark! Help yourself to the cookies!

>26 laytonwoman3rd: Astute observation about all cookies, Linda. I agree. Here you go:

On the agenda for today:
I breezed through my To Do list yesterday and feel like I got *so* much accomplished - woot! I didn't get any writing time because the list took longer than anticipated. Worth it, though, to have all of those little things crossed off. Right now I've got some laundry going and I'm going to try to get my menu planning and grocery list organizing done for tomorrow's shopping before I head out to work at 9. Leftovers for dinner tonight.

The Crafting Report:
I worked on my crochet pop tart, which is looking pretty wonky, but I'm okay with that. I'm practicing getting my tension sorted so my stitches look even and I think I'm making progress!

On the reading front:
I started An Offer from a Gentleman and the first volume of the My Hero Academia manga, plus I read a bit of The Kids Are Gonna Ask and listened to some Ink Exchange. So a healthy reading day all round.

What We're Watching:
We finished up the first Addams Family movie. Charlie loved it, as I knew he would.

Hi Amber!

I enjoyed the Bridgerton series last month and this month. Glad Charlie loved the first Addams Family movie. We loved it too.

I hope your work day goes well.

>31 karenmarie: Hi, Karen!

The Bridgertons are a hoot, aren't they? I'm glad you enjoyed them.

We'll probably watch the second Addams movie soon, which is my favorite one.

And thanks! Yesterday was a busy one at the library, but fun, as always.

On the agenda for today:
I bit of laundry, a bit of cleaning (the dining room today), grocery shopping, cookie baking (Butter Pecan Pudding Cookies), and then possibly some time in the sewing room. Baked Pork Chops and a side salad for dinner tonight.

The Crafting Report:
Nothing happened yesterday - too busy at work and too tired when I got home. I'm hoping to get into the sewing room this afternoon for a bit, though. Not to work on the million projects that are halfway done, of course, but to start another one: I've proposed to my boss a contest drawing as part of the summer reading program - we'll hide origami sea creatures throughout the children's section and kiddos who find one can bring it up to the circ desk to be entered in the drawing. We have some ideas for the prizes (we may give away some of the crochet/knit aquarium residents), but I also found patterns for a couple of pencil cases, one shaped like a shark and the other like a mermaid tail. So I want to try making a couple of those.

On the reading front:
I made some progress on A Court of Mist and Fury and The Kids Are Gonna Ask yesterday, plus I'm getting near to the end of Ink Exchange.

What We're Watching:
We watched a bunch of trailers for various anime shows on youtube last night to figure out which we'll watch next. I think we landed on Fullmetal Alchemist.

That sounds like a really fun idea for summer reading, Amber. I hope all goes well in the sewing room today! :)

>29 scaifea: Thank you!

Thanks, Micky! I think the kiddos may like it. We'll see.

>35 laytonwoman3rd: Any time, Linda. Where there are cookies, there must be milk, of course.

Okay, so I've been in the sewing room and poked through my fabric scraps stash, and here's what I've come up with as possible combinations for the pencil pouches:

Mermaid tail:

Lining on the bottom for each combo; also, the one on the right is pinker and sparklier than the photo shows:



I thought these could be fun for the tail pouches, too, with a solid color like what's on the top for the lining:



The shark pouch will be a patchwork on the outside, so here are a few groupings of fabrics that I think might work for those:







While digging through my fabric tubs I found this little gem of a scrap and thought it would be perfect for just a regular rectangle pencil pouch, since we're doing a Pirate School once a week as part of the ocean theme (red dots fabric for the lining):

Oooh, I love all those fabric combos!

>39 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Me, too. I'm kind of excited to see how they turn out.

That's a lot of choices!! They look like they will all work up beautifully, especially in your hands.

>41 RebaRelishesReading: Ha! Yeah, I got a little crazy with the possibilities at this stage of most projects. So many options! And thanks for the kind words! We'll see how it goes...

Happy new thread, Amber. In a quick skim, I see lovely arty furbabies, cookies, milk and lots of creative ideas. I feel invigorated, if slightly amazed at your energy!
There, caught up.

>43 Helenliz: Welp, I'm not really feeling the energy right now. In fact, I may go catch a cat nap before making cookies...

Happy new one, Amber!

>45 swynn: Thanks, Steve!

The cookies are done!

>47 scaifea: I'll be right there!

>48 foggidawn: Come on over!

58. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (audiobook/series read) - 9/10
This second book in the series shifts focus away from Aislinn, Seth, and Keenan and instead puts one of Aislinn's friends center stage as she unwittingly enters the business and awareness of the fairies when she chooses a special pattern for her first tattoo.

The problem with talking about books in a series is that you can't...talk about them without giving things away. So I'll just say that I enjoyed this one nearly as much as the first, and I particularly liked how abuse gets treated in both a read and a metaphorical way.

>38 scaifea: What fun fabric bins you have. Now what did I do with that fuchsia and turquoise snake scale fabric ......

>51 quondame: *grins*

On the agenda for today:
I work the 9:30-3 shift today, and then this evening is Charlie's concert band competition, which should be fun. My semi-annual bout of bronchitis decided to show up yesterday, so I'll be consuming a steady stream of Ricola drops and keeping myself dosed on Dayquil. *sigh*

The Crafting Report:
Nothing more to add to yesterday's fabric picking, except for a couple of crochet rows on the pop tart. I'm happy to report that my stitches are starting to even out, I think!

On the reading front:
I spent my reading time yesterday with Les Miserables and The Kids Are Gonna Ask, plus I started listening to Fragile Eternity.

What We're Watching:
The first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Pretty good so far.

>53 scaifea: Sorry about the bronchitis, Amber! Pity it couldn't have waited until after Charlie's competition.

Your mention of Ricola cough drops reminds me of an article I read recently in The New York Times Magazine about the difficulties of selling medicine meant to suppress symptoms of respiratory illness during a pandemic of a respiratory illness. It was fascinating. Here's a link in case you or anybody else is interested (the link should be accessible even for non-subscribers): It's Been an Interesting Few Years in Cough-Drop Advertising

>54 rosalita: Thanks, Julia. Hopefully it'll be a short-lived bout. We'll see.

That's fascinating about the cough drop industry! I makes total sense although I would never have thought about it on my own.

The cookies look tasty! I need to prepare a dessert to take to the Sunday School class' fish fry. I haven't decide yet what to take, but cookies is one of my options.

>56 thornton37814: Cookies are always a great option to take to pot lucks. Easy to transport and no extras (plates, forks) involved.

How I spent my day at work today:

>54 rosalita:, >55 scaifea: D and I listen to a podcast called Sawbones - she’s a doctor, he’s a podcaster/media guy. They did an episode about the origin of cough drops out of the patent medicine trade by the Smith Brothers and how they got outdone by competitors. Really interesting story! I’ll see if I can find a link.

>59 drneutron: Oooh, that sounds really interesting!

Here it is! https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/sawbones-cough-drops/

>53 scaifea: I hope that the Ricola and Dayquil do the trick, Amber!

Have a great weekend!

>61 drneutron: OH! I love Sawbones. I think my favorite episode was the one about Star Jelly.

I'm also a fan of I think their OG Podcast, The Adventure Zone. Definitely recomend if you have any interest in D&D. If not, My Brother, My Brother and Me is also pretty funny.

>53 scaifea: I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with bronchitis. I hope you recover soon.

>54 rosalita: Interesting article. Thank you.

>61 drneutron: Thanks so much for the link, Jim!

>62 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. I made it through the day and didn't get too tired, so that's good.

>63 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks for the podcast recs - I don't listen to them much, but my husband does, and Charlie is a DM for a group of his friends, so he might be interested in the D&D one.

>64 ArlieS: Thanks. I had a rough night, but sometimes that's a sign that it's on its way out the door. Here's hoping.

On the agenda for today:
Ooof. Probably not much, since I had a rough time of it last night. The bronchitis kept me up. I see cat naps in my immediate future, folks. I was planning on doing some baking today, but I think I'll put that off until tomorrow and mostly just take it easy today. If I find some energy somewhere I may try to get into the sewing room for a bit, but I won't push it. I am excited to get started on the pencil cases, though, and as I mentioned above, I spent a good deal of my time at work yesterday working on the origami sea animals that we'll be hiding.

Charlie's concert band contest went really well - they were awarded a 1 rating, which is the best rating you can get. And, more importantly, he says he had a blast, both at the contest and on the bus ride there and back. I convinced Tomm to go early so that we could visit the nearby outlet mall - I needed shoes for work that have more support and there's a Clark's shop in the outlet place. I found two really cute pairs for a pretty good price! Jackpot! Mary Jane style, which I love.

The Crafting Report:
I didn't have time for any knitting or crocheting or sewing yesterday, but I'm counting my origami adventures as my crafting time for yesterday. I mastered the fish one, I think (see above), but I've failed miserably at every crab pattern I've tried. I'm proud of the clam, though, and there are a couple of whale patterns that turned out pretty well, too. Oh, and you can see the tiny pirate hat in the photo, too. I'm really please with that one.

On the Reading Front:
I started The Junior Officers' Reading Club yesterday. I'm not too far into it, but I'm not convinced that this one is for me. The narrator's tone irritates me. We'll see how it goes. I also listened to more of Fragile Eternity.

What We're Watching:
Friday nights have been our Marvel Movie/Shows nights for a long while now, but we've recently finished a full movie rewatch, Moon Knight is over, and Ms Marvel isn't out yet. So we decided to take a Marvel break and start a LotR rewatch.

Morning, Amber. Happy Saturday. Sorry to hear about your rough night sleep. I hope you are feeling better today.

Sorry to hear about the crummy night's sleep, Amber. Hopefully you get plenty of rest today.

Also yay for cute and comfy work shoes!

Super impressed with all your origami. The fish are super cute.

>70 msf59: Thanks, Mark. I'm hoping that a nap later on will help.

>71 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky.

I am really excited about my new work shoes. They're adorable and so comfy!

And thanks for the origami love!

>63 Ravenwoodwitch: Big fan of earlier arcs in The Adventure Zone. The stories after the one set in West Virginia just didn’t connect with me. But I *love* their live shows, all of them, and really want to get tix someday.

>67 scaifea: I think Charlie would really enjoy The Adventure Zone! It’s about three brothers playing D&D with their dad whose never played before - so not just fun adventures, but funny moments with their interactions too.

>74 drneutron: That really sounds amazing!

>69 scaifea: Sorry to hear about the terrible night's sleep, Amber. I can relate and do not even have bronchitis to blame.

Yay for Charlie and his band contest!

Feel better today, Amber! Take it easy.

Happy new thread, Amber, and so sorry to hear about the bronchitis :(

I love the black and white photos of The Gals. The one-ear raise is particularly adorable.

>77 bell7: Thanks, Mary! And for the bronchitis sympathy, too.

That ear business is how she always looks. So adorable.

On the agenda for today:

Well, I had a little bit better night's sleep last night, so I'm hoping that means the bronchitis is on its way out the door. Fingers crossed. I'm going to give myself a leisurely start to the morning and then if I feel like I have the proper amount of energy, I'll bake a cake (Mint Cookies and Cream). I want to get into the sewing room again this afternoon and work more on the pencil cases, and I'll probably also allow myself a nap again today - yesterday's nap was very helpful for getting through the day. BBQ Chicken and Sausage with cooked carrots on the side for dinner tonight.

The Crafting Report:
I completed one of the mermaid pouches yesterday and I'm really pleased with how it turned out! I'm hoping to get at least a shark one done today.







On the reading front:
I read a bit of Mansfield Park, finished up The Kids Are Gonna Ask (review to come), and listened to some Fragile Eternity.

What We're Watching:
Tomm's pick, so a couple of episodes of Psych.

>79 scaifea: Take it easy on yourself today. A nap sounds like just the thing. I love your pencil pouch!

Karen O

More orders to take it easy, Amber! Cakes and pouches can wait :)

59. The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony (Alex Award) - 8/10
Thomas and Savannah are high school seniors, twins, living with their grandmother since their mom died a few years ago. And they've decided that now is the time to find their father, whom they've never known and whom their mom never talked about. At all. Like, they don't even know his name. They have the brilliant idea to conduct their search via podcast, thinking that the more people who know about their search, the better the odds of someone knowing who their father might be. Things don't go as smoothly and happily as they'd planned, though, as they learn a bit about the world, their parents, and themselves.
It's a neat idea for a novel and I wanted to know how everything turned out, but in the end I was fairly disappointed. Anthony drops several big foreshadows that then don't pan out to a reveal that matches the hype. So, an interesting idea but with a fizzled ending.

>80 klobrien2: Thanks for that, Karen. Sometimes I need a stern talking to when it comes to making myself rest. And thanks for the pencil pouch love!

>81 katiekrug: Well, it's too late for the cake, which is cooling on the kitchen counter...

I echo the calls for rest, Amber (although the cake sounds delicious). Hopefully the rest of the day is more relaxed.

Hi Amber! Hope you feel better soon!
Are you back working in the library again? #dreamjob :)
Hope Mr Charlie is doing well!

>79 scaifea: Wow...I love that pouch! I know you've gone against the medical advice of the entire LT health care team, but I do hope you took it easy for at least part of the day, and that you get to sleep well tonight.

>86 ChelleBearss: Chelle! It's so good to see you!! And yes, I'm back at the library, and Mr. Charlie is great!

>87 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda! I did indeed get a lovely nap yesterday, so I didn't completely ignore the advice...

On the agenda for today:
In the immortal words of Ms. Parton, I'm working 9 to 5 today, which means making origami sea animals in between shelving books and helping patrons. Sounds like a pretty great day to me. Leftovers for dinner tonight.

The Crafting Report:
I didn't get a full shark pencil case finished, but I did make progress on it. It's a bit more work-intensive than the mermaid one, since there's piecing involved. So first I cut 2.5-inch strips from each of the blue fabrics and then sewed them together:



And then I cut the pieces for the outside of the pouch at a 45-degree angle (because I thought that would look more interesting):



I also cut the fins from the pieced fabrics and the lining from the darkest of the solid blues - I chose that one because it's slightly heavier than the others and so will give the pouch a bit more substance, I think. I'm hoping to sew it all together tomorrow.

I also finished up my crochet pop tart yesterday, and although it looks very wonky, I'm really pleased because you can see how my tension evened out as I went along. That was the point of this particular project, so I'm calling it a success, even if I probably wouldn't eat a pop tart that looked like this one:



On the Reading Front:
I read a bit of A Brief History of Time yesterday, listened to more Fragile Eternity, and started A Snake Falls to Earth.

What We're Watching:
Addams Family Values. The Thanksgiving play scene gets me every time. So good.

Excellent crafting update, Amber! I love the pencil case. Very impressive. And hurray for finishing the pop tart! A couple days ago I finished my first granny square which was really like my third one because I scrapped a couple of bad starts. Anyway, it turned out okay but I know I will improve with practice.

Have a great day, Dolly! 😂

>91 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! I debated not showing my pop tart (wow, that didn't sound so dirty in my head), but in the end I went with full disclosure. It's awful-looking, but I'm happy because it shows I'm getting better. The pencil cases are fun - I love trying out new ideas and I love making things to give away to kiddos like this.

"even if I probably wouldn't eat a pop tart that looked like this one:"

I wouldn't eat a pop tart that looked like this:



Yours is more appealing!

The sharks are looking great and well done on your tension exercise. I'm usually good at maintaining tension within a project but for things like my dishcloths they can end up being slightly different sizes as my tension varies between them. One of the reasons I'm tentative to ever attempt a granny square blanket.

Those pencil cases are looking excellent.
The stick & yarn arts are a closed book to me, I think your crochet looks amazing!

>93 laytonwoman3rd: Ha! I adore pop tarts, especially the blueberry and cherry ones.

>94 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! It was mostly me learning the muscle memory for the movements here, but yeah, tension can be tricky and definitely changes with my mood!

>95 Helenliz: Aw, thanks, Helen!

On the agenda for today:
It's a comfy pants, stay-at-home-all-day day - woot! I'll do some laundry, clean the kitchen, then probably spend some time in the sewing room working on the pencil pouches. I'm also hoping for some reading time this afternoon since I feel like I've really fallen behind. Cream of Broccoli Soup for dinner tonight, I think.

The Crafting Report:
I forgot to take photos of my origami efforts yesterday, but I think I have enough now at least to start with. I settled on fish, whales, and seashells; I just couldn't get the seahorses to work for me. *sigh*

On the Reading Front:
I read a bit of An Offer from a Gentleman, a bit of A Snake Falls to Earth, and listened to more Fragile Eternity.

What We're Watching:
Charlie had a heavy homework night, so when he was finished we just watched one ep of Fullmetal Alchemist and then headed for bed.

It sounds like you are feeling better, Amber. Hope so, anyway!

>100 katiekrug: What Katie said! But also, I'm glad you can just loaf around today.

>100 katiekrug: >101 lauralkeet: I am definitely starting to get over the bronchitis. I'm still tired, so I will try to catch a nap this afternoon, but the coughing is much better!

Happy Tuesday, Amber, glad you're feeling better :)

That mermaid case is so stinkin' cute. And hey, I'd take your version of the pop-tart over the original ones (since I'm allergic to any red ones, *le sigh*).
As someone with next to no skills with a needle (beyond darning yarn), I am always impressed with what people can stitch together. And, speaking of the Addams Family, did you and the Fam. catch the two newer ones that came out (the ones that made Gomez look like a weird pug-goblin?) I have mixed feelings about them myself >_

>103 Ravenwoodwitch: Thanks! I'm glad, too, but I think I have to be careful today not to overdo it or I'll be right back where I started. Definitely taking a nap later.

That's for the mermaid pouch love! I hope the kiddos like 'em, too.

I don't really have any interest in the new movies because I love the others so much and the trailers didn't impress me. No one can Gomez like Raul Julia (he's better than the original, imo) and I'm so sad he's gone.

>99 scaifea: Hooray for comfy pants!

Glad you're enjoying all the summer reading prep at the library, Amber! We had second grade classes come in today for part of their field trip, and tomorrow will be the first grade classes. My niece's class will be here tomorrow, so it will be nice to see her.

>105 foggidawn: *grins*

>106 aktakukac: We had second graders in last week and will have more today and tomorrow! They're a hoot.

On the agenda for today:
Laundry and probably some reading this morning before I go in to work 10-6. Leftovers for dinner tonight. I think I'm most of the way recovered from the bronchitis, with just a touch of stuffiness and coughing left. Yesterday's nap and last night's solid sleep helped.

On the Reading Front:
I read bits of My Hero Academia, Vol 1 and A Snake Falls to Earth, plus I listened to more Fragile Eternity.

The Crafting Report:
I finished up the first shark pouch yesterday and folks, I'm really pleased with it:







What We're Watching:
Charlie's pick last night, so lots of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Love the shark pouch!

>109 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>108 scaifea: that is fabulous!
Hope you clear the tail end of the stuffies soonest.

>111 Helenliz: Thanks, Helen!

Funny story about my stuffiness: I let the gals out this morning while Tomm was upstairs taking a shower. We have a fenced back yard and not much that Simmons can get into trouble with back there (Mario is pretty much always trustworthy on her own), so went about my business for 10 minutes or so while they were out there. Then I let them back in and went about things without any notion that anything was wrong. Apparently Simmons *did* find some mischief to get involved with, though, unbeknownst to me, because when Tomm came downstairs the first thing he said was, "Does she smell?" I put my nose right into her fur and smelled nothing, but apparently she had rolled in something and was stinking up the place. Tomm gave her an emergency bath in which both parties were grumbly and generally displeased about the affair and now she's unstinkified. I guess. I never did smell anything. *shrug*

Hi Amber!

I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time with the bronchitis.

>99 scaifea: Yay for the 3rd Bridgerton.

>104 scaifea: No relapses allowed. Take care of yourself.

>108 scaifea: So cute. Your creativity and sewing talents are, as always, impressive. That third picture was definitely LOL.

>113 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I'm trying harder than usual to pace myself this time around because I really don't want to overdo it. So far so good!

I love that third photo, too. He's so happy!

Happy Wednesday, Amber! Hope works goes well today. Your shark pouch came out fabulous! And I guess the stuffiness is a blessing in disguise if you couldn't smell whatever-it-was? Hopefully you're continuing to feel better though!

>108 scaifea: What a happy-looking shark! No spooky music playing in the background when this one swims by ...

>108 scaifea: Praise the anime Gods, they picked Brotherhood. If I may go full nerd for a second, Brotherhood is the better choice of the FMA shows because it tells the story the Mangaka wanted; not the story the TV show had to improvise because they ran out of manga chapters *facepalm*

It's also one of my favorite shows, so, you're in for a treat :)

The shark pouch is also adorable. I would gladly use that on my desk.

>112 scaifea: There are some uses to a stuffy nose, clearly!
The husband has a much keener sense of smell than I do, even when I don't have a cold.

Loved your Simmons story. At least she didn't get skunked. That happened to young Woody one evening several years ago. There was no doubt he'd gotten into something, and little doubt what that something was. Fortunately I was able to run to the local pet supply store before it closed so we could deal with the situation. He was miserable, much grumbling was involved, and he had a sort of residual odor for some time, especially when he got wet.

>115 bell7: Thanks, Mary! Yes, the stuffiness worked in my favor this time, for certain. And I'm feeling pretty good right now - yay! Work's a bit slow right now, but that's okay. I've even gotten some writing done while manning the desk.

>116 rosalita: Ha! He looks like he needs the Benny Hill soundtrack more than the Jaws music.

>117 Ravenwoodwitch: I admit that I'm a little confused about the different versions, so if you want to give me a lesson I'll be all ears/eyes. Charlie heard from friends that Brotherhood was the way to go. I'm already adoring Ed. What a cutie he is.

And thanks for the shark love!

>118 Helenliz: Charlie's the one is our house with the super-sniffer.

>119 lauralkeet: Thank goodness we've never had a dog get skunked, at least not yet! Ooof. So you can get special shampoo at the pet store for it, then?

>124 scaifea: We used Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover, which is a liquid but not a shampoo. According to their website the company also makes skunk odor shampoos.

>122 scaifea: So, FMA had a series in 2003 while the source Manga wasnt done. They made a couple changes that still skeeves off fans of the Manga and, eventually, had to come up with their own villian and story end when they passed the manga's plotline. With the blessing of the author but, still, what came of it was subpar and rushed IMO.

Brotherhood is a remake they made when the manga finished, and follows the original story much better. Widely considered better in terms of plot and animation. People who saw the 2003 version will likely disagree since that was not only their first exposure to the story but, usually, the first anime.

Things get wild is all I can say without spoiling ;)

>125 lauralkeet: That's good to know, thanks, Laura! Here's hoping I never need to use the knowledge, though...

>126 Ravenwoodwitch: Oh, interesting! Okay, that makes sense. Charlie and I both have read the first couple of volumes of the manga and really like it, so we're excited about the show.

ETA: Thanks so much for the explanation!

>108 scaifea: That shark pouch is a real winner!

>108 scaifea: The shark pouch looks amazing. I would have even used it to hold my favourite pencils even while attending University- it's that cool!

>129 quondame: Thanks!

>130 figsfromthistle: Aw, thank you, Anita!

On the agenda for today:
Grocery shopping and a Target run this morning, then cookie baking this afternoon. I'll either spend some time in the sewing room or writing, too. Beef Vegetable Soup for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
Absolutely nothing to report here from yesterday. Gah.

The Crafting Report:
Not much here, either, other than some more origami at work.

What We're Watching:
A few episodes of Psych last night.

Favorite Patron of the Day:
I had a really fun chat with a guy who comes in mostly for dvds. He's as big a fan of bad horror movies as I am and it was really fun to compare notes with him. He also said that he had heard there was a National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation *2* (!!?!) and could I see if I could request a copy for him. First we talked about how exciting that particular possibility is (a SECOND movie?! YES!) and then when I looked it up, the system indicated that we had a copy in our branch. What?! So we both went over to the dvd section to verify this excellent news and then spent 5 minutes squeeing over the fact that yes indeed there it was, and reading the back blurb and just generally being really excited about it, and then he promised only to return it on a day I'm working so I can check it out next (his offer, not my request, which was super-adorable of him). I love it when you meet a guy who isn't afraid to be a big geek about a fandom. Too many men seem to think it's not acceptable to express unadulterated joy, and that's sad.

Morning, Amber. Sweet Thursday. We are back from our quick WI trip. I love Patron story. Keep up the good work.

>132 scaifea: If you want guys geeking out, you should come by my workplace. Ain't no geek like a space geek! 😀

>133 msf59: Morning, Mark! Where did you go in WI? We may try to get there this summer for a visit, too.

>134 drneutron: Woot! I love it!!

>134 drneutron: Just as an example, I have in my office:

- Darth Tater and Spud Trooper Mr Potato Heads in original packaging
- a Sheldon bobblehead with clock that says "There is no crying in Physics"
- Three small Star Trek: Next Generation star ships on little stands
- Various Lego models of real and imagined space things.
- A bumper sticker that says "My Other Vehicle Is On Its Way to Pluto"
- A dozen or so mission stickers and accompanying pins.
- Badges from my times doing pre-launch work at Kennedy Space Center and one of our solid rocket motor vendors
- A big framed picture of the Delta IV Heavy rocket launching Parker Solar Probe

And my office is pretty modest re: geekiness. 😀

>137 drneutron: That's excellent! I should take photos of Tomm's home office, which is filled with Lego sets (including the Big Bang Theory one) and other fan kinds of stuff.

Good afternoon, Amber!

I think adults in general get a little discouraged about displaying their "geek-ness" these days. I'm not sure if its because it gets associated with childish things or if there was some big backlash.
Hasn't impacted me either way. There's three D.C Funko Pops sitting on my desk (Batman, Robin, and Green Lantern; I'm collecting) and they ain't coming down >:)

>139 Ravenwoodwitch: Nice!

On the agenda for today:
Bill sorting and some laundry before heading out to the library for a 9:30-3 shift. Frozen Friday dinner tonight.

Tomm and I went to our favorite nursery yesterday afternoon for flowers for our front flowerbeds, so we'll be planting this weekend. I don't know flowers very well, so I can't really even tell you what we got beyond the colors (mostly purples and yellows). I *can* tell you that they're pretty, though...

On the reading front:
Again, not really anything to report. I seem to have fallen off the reading waggon. Must fix that.

The Crafting Report:
I took a break from the pencil pouches yesterday to do some knitting and start a new crochet project (an amigurumi apple). On the knitting needles is a scarf, mostly just to have something to do with this particular yarn I picked up out of a clearance bin. I love the colors but the variegation pattern is too short between colors to make stripes and most projects wouldn't look very good knitted up in it. So, scarf it is. Here's what's done so far:



The apple is, again, just a project to practice the new skill. I'm still not 100% pleased with my stitchwork. It's still pretty uneven. It'll get better with time, I suppose. The apple so far (apologies - this yarn just doesn't seem to be very photogenic):



What We're Watching:
A couple of West Wings and a Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

>141 scaifea: Ooh, I do like the colours in the scarf. Very autumnal. Hope the Friday shift flies by!

>142 MickyFine: I agree. I like the tweedy effect the short color runs creates.

>142 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! The colors are a little bit brighter than that, but I couldn't make the adjustments accurate.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: I do like that tweedy effect, too and I'm happy that it seems to be working in the scarf, but I think it would just be too much in a larger project, a sweater, for example.

On the agenda for today:
Vacuuming, possibly some baking (chocolate cake), maybe some time in the sewing room, hopefully some reading time. Sweet and Sour Pork for dinner tonight, I think.

On the Reading Front:
The busy times at work yesterday came in deep waves, so I had some down time to read off and on and managed to get a little farther in The Junior Officers' Reading Club, plus I listened to more of Fragile Eternity while unpacking cargo. Before bed I read a bit more of A Snake Falls to Earth, which I'm having trouble getting into, but I'm soldiering on for now.

The Crafting Report:
Nothing to record here for yesterday. I may decide to do some sewing today, but I may just sit and read. We'll see how it goes.

What We're Watching:
Friday Night Game Night, so we started a game of Root which we're leaving out to play more later (it's a long game), and then we continued with our LotR rewatch.

>145 scaifea: Mr. Fine and I attempted to play Root a few months ago on a date day at a board game cafe but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Is it playable with only two people, do you think?

Also yum for chocolate cake!

>146 MickyFine: Hmm, I think it would be tricky with just two people, to be honest. And yeah, it's a hard game to suss out at first.

The chocolate cake didn't happen today; I decided to leave it for tomorrow in favor of a nap today...

On the Agenda for Today:
I'll bake the cake that didn't get baked yesterday, do some laundry, possibly some crochet or knitting, and definitely some reading. Sweet and Sour Pork will be for dinner tonight, since Tomm decided to make dinner last night (Chicken Caesar Salad, and it was *amazing*).

On the Reading Front:
I made some more progress on The Junior Officers' Reading Club and listened to more Fragile Eternity, plus read a few pages of A Snake Falls to Earth.

The Crafting Report:
I didn't make it into the sewing room yesterday, but I did work on the crochet apple. I may finish it today...

What We're Watching:
Okay, so this needs a bit of an explanation. We're huge fans of Paul Rudd and Conan here at Scaife Manor, and if you know the interactions the two of them have, you'll probably already know this: whenever Rudd appears on Conan's shows, he leads up to showing a clip of whatever movie he's promoting, and then the clip is always the same - a scene from a very weird 80s movie called Mac and Me. He tricks Conan every time and it is hilarious. You can find a mash-up of every time this happens on Youtube and it's well worth a watch. Charlie thinks it's the height of sophisticated humor (and he's not exactly wrong), so I requested the actual movie from the library. It was my pick last night and I told Charlie that we were going to watch a Paul Rudd movie that we hadn't seen before. He totally fell for it! So, so funny. And the movie turned out to be one of the best bad movies I've ever seen! Fantastic!

>148 scaifea: - I love that Paul Rudd schtick and I really love that you borrowed the actual movie!

>149 katiekrug: Yes! Rudd even pull the stunt on Conan's podcast - hilarious!

On the Agenda for Today:
I have an appointment with my therapist this morning, and then I'll probably do some cleaning (the living room is up on rotation today) and maybe spend some time in the sewing room. Charlie has an appointment for a sports physical after school. Beef Vegetable Soup for dinner tonight.

The cake turned out lovely and is as delicious as it looks, if I do say so:



On the Reading Front:
I made good progress on The Junior Officers' Reading Club, finished up A Snake Falls to Earth, started The Ogress and the Orphans, and listened to more Fragile Eternity.

The Crafting Report:
I finished the crochet apple. It's still on the wonky side, but I feel like I'm making progress, so I'm happy about it:



What We're Watching:
Charlie's pick, so we watched a few Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhoods.

OMG, that cake. It looks delicious! I seem to have lost my Bundt pan somewhere along the way. I might need to remedy that.

Your crochet is coming along quite nicely!

Morning, Amber. We went up to Horicon Marsh last week, for an over-night visit. My birding friends had not been there before. We had a good time. That cake sure looks scrumptious.

>152 lauralkeet: I *love* my Bundt pan, Laura. KAF has some that I covet, but mine is serviceable enough that I can't justify the expense. *sigh*

>153 msf59: Morning, Mark! You know, we never got that far NE when we lived in WI. I definitely regret that.

Oh, that cake! It's beautiful and I can just tell how good it tastes...

Have a good day, Amber!

>151 scaifea: That cake looks so. good. I'm drooling on my keyboard over here.

That cake! Super interested to hear your thoughts on A Snake Falls to Earth :)

>151 scaifea: That cake looks perfect as far as dying by chocolate. My kind of sweet ;)

And tbf, apples are kinda wonky in their natural state anyway. Yours just looks realistic! (and if you're doing amigurumi, don't worry, that method is tricky even if you crochet often.)

I don't wanna spoil Brotherhood by accident, so I'm guessing you're past the attempt to freeze Central and dealing with Lior right now? If so, hang tight; these two arcs were in the old show too and they tried to sorta zoom through it so returning watchers wouldn't get bored.

This is SUCH a dangerous thread!! With all of the beautiful baked goods that come out of your kitchen it's a darned good thing you live 2/3 of the way across the continent or I might come begging.

>156 katiekrug: >157 foggidawn: It's SO good. I may just have another piece for a snack...

>158 curioussquared: I'm gearing up to write my mini-review now...

>159 Ravenwoodwitch: It's really, really rich, and that's how I like it.

True about apples - thanks!

Brotherhood: we're just at the point where the boys decode the dude's notes and discover that Ol' Nick Flamel must have racked up a decent body count making that stone. And he seemed like such a nice old man...

>160 RebaRelishesReading: You'd be welcome any time, Reba!!

60. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger (Newbery Honor Book) - 6/10
Nina is of Lipan Apache descent and wants badly to understand her people's past by translating her great-grandmother's old stories. Oli is from the world of that mythology, striking out on his own. The two meet when their worlds clash.

Meh. By all rights I should have loved this book, but instead I found it an absolute slog. I think it's because NA mythology is my least favorite? And Nina's story just didn't grab me enough to look past the folktale element that I disliked. *shrug*

>163 scaifea: Right! Dr. Marcoh. One of many rugs this show yanks out from under you. Which means you also have seen Dr. Tucker and his poor, poor girl by now. That one still disturbs me on a level I didn't know existed.

>166 Ravenwoodwitch: Oh, right?! That was a gut punch out of nowhere! Yoicks. Anime just has so many amazing levels. I love it!

>165 scaifea: Oh that's sad. I loved A Snake Falls to Earth, liking the characters and having a fondness for NA myth based stories.

>165 scaifea: Sorry you didn't like this one more! I found the first half a little slow but really enjoyed it once Nina and Oli finally met up. For what it's worth, I preferred her first novel, Elatsoe, and it feels more inspired by NA myths rather than focused on them -- so I hope you don't write that one off!

>168 quondame: Nah, not sad. Not every book is for every reader, that's all.

>169 curioussquared: Meh, s'okay. We'll see about Elatsoe, but I admit that it's not very high on the list. I'm glad you liked them both, though!

On the Agenda for Today:
I need to do my menu planning and get my grocery list put together for tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get that done before I have to leave for work this morning (I'm working the Parton Shift again today). Leftovers for dinner - the soup was really good, and I suspect it'll get better after marinating in the fridge overnight.

Yesterday was pretty great: on my way home from my appointment I found a new-to-me Goodwill in the best kind of location, on the edge of a rich-people part of town. It's ginormous and I walked away with four new pairs of pants and twelve (!!) new tops, all for $40, which is probably about half the price of one of the pairs of pants would be. Several of the things I got still had the original tags on them! Jackpot!!

On the Reading Front:
Still working on The Junior Officers' Reading Club, which has taken a turn for the much better and I'm really enjoying it, so I'm glad I stuck with it. I'm also loving THe Ogress and the Orphans so far, and I'm still listening to Fragile Eternity.

The Crafting Report:
I started working on the amigurumi apple slice and it's going well so far:



This bit will get folded in half and the peel part (the next step to crochet) will be sewn to it.

What We're Watching:
A couple of Modern Family episodes.

>172 scaifea: the peel part ... will be sewn to it
I went to craft night at the library last night. One of the participants was making an amigurumi fox. The pattern was cute -- it was the pokémon character, Vulpix. But it had so many tiny pieces to make and sew together: face, ears, tail, the puffy hairdo on top of the head, and more. I was in awe.

Score on the thrift store finds!

I am in the middle of a clothing purge - mostly getting rid of a lot of business-y stuff - and realizing I don't have a lot of just casual warm weather things. So I think I'll have to go shopping soon. Gak.

>173 lauralkeet: Ooof, yeah, tiny pieces are impressive. One of my colleagues is working on a sea anemone and it has *so* many of those little fingery things. She's regretting the decision to undertake it, I think.

>174 katiekrug: I *love* a good day at the thrift store! I'm wearing a pair of the pants and one of the shirts today, and I was joking with Tomm this morning that my Out of Print socks (Matilda) were more expensive that all the rest of my outfit!

My closet is always skewed toward fall/winter clothing because those are the clothes I love. I hate shopping for summer clothes.

Hi Amber!

All caught up - I'm particularly happy to hear about your new-to-you Goodwill haul.

>177 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! I love a good find at a thrift store so much!

I love a good charity store. I get sidetracked by the books too often, (what a surprise). My absolute favourite find was a black, designer, beaded evening top for £25. Which is a huge sum for a charity shop find - but when I looked it up, the original retailed at nearly 20 times that and I was well content.

My work summer wardrobe is print dresses and cardigans. I have the same dress in 7 different colourways. Which some people think is rather odd, but made perfect sense to me.

>179 Helenliz: Oooh, nice find with the designer top!

I won't wear dresses just now because I'm not happy with how I look in them. But I do love 'em and hope to get back into them someday...

>180 scaifea: I store all my excess weight on my hips & bum, so I hide it better in a waisted, flared dress than a pair of trousers.
But I understand the "not quite now" thing entirely. One version of lockdown was not kind to my arse and I need to get off it and fix it.

>181 Helenliz: Ha! Same with the lockdown eating, but mine is all in my belly. Gah.

I hope the shift treats you well. Looks like your week is off to an excellent start.

I remain impressed at your amigurumi skills. I doubt mine would look half as good. :)

>151 scaifea: That looks cookbook picture worthy! I am sure it tasted great as well.

Congrats on your thrifty finds!

Hi, Amber. I need to get back on track with Metamorphoses (the grandkids threw our routines to the winds), but I’m reading two good YA books: See You Yesterday, with a girl caught in a Groundhog Day time loop on her first day of college, and The Hawthorne Legacy, the continuation of a puzzle mystery that reminds me of The Westing Game. The second is borrowed from your BFF who loved it(and is a big Westing Game fan).

>184 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I'll definitely make that cake recipe again - it was so good!

I'm still riding the thrift shop high, two days later! Ha!

>185 jnwelch: Hi, Joe! Those YAs sound great - I'll add them to my list!

On the Agenda for Today:
Grocery shopping this morning, then probably some sewing room time this afternoon, plus a bit of cleaning. Chicken patties for dinner tonight (a new recipe - we'll see how it goes).

On the Reading Front:
I finished two books yesterday (it was a slow day at the library): The Junior Officers' Reading Club and the first volume of My Hero Academia, plus I listened to more Fragile Eternity.

The Crafting Report:
Welp. I'm glad I took my crochet to work yesterday because Cheryl, the colleague who got me started on the craft, took one look at what I was doing and pointed out, as gently as she could, bless her, that I've been doing it ALL WRONG. So I spent some time relearning and now I'm off and running again. I feel like it's probably a common knitter-to crocheter mistake: I was making my stitches in between the 'V's and not underneath them.

What We're Watching:
My pick last night, so I decided to introduce Charlie to Clue: The Movie. He LOVED it, because of course he did, it's an excellent movie with a crazy-good cast.

>188 scaifea: I was making my stitches in between the 'V's and not underneath them.
By that do you mean under just one leg of the V instead of under both? I've experienced that mistake but if it's something else I'd love to know because I'm probably doing it.

>189 lauralkeet: I was putting the hook through the top and in between the legs of the V, so yes except top down not through the bottom.

61. My Hero Academia Vol. 1 by Kohei Horikoshi (manga) - 9/10
Deku lives in a whole full of people with special abilities (quirks) although he himself is quirkless. Nevertheless, he dreams of becoming a hero even though it seems impossible. But when he meets the Number One Hero, he discovers that his dreams may not be completely unattainable after all.
A fun start to the series. I'm really enjoying reading the manga after having watched the anime.

>190 scaifea: Thanks Amber!

YES! to Clue. One of my favorites!

>192 lauralkeet: Of course!

>193 katiekrug: YES! SO GOOD!

"Mrs. Peacock: Is there a little girl's room?

Yvette: Oui, oui, Madame.

Mrs. Peacock: No, I just want to powder my nose."

I still cackle at this.

Did you see Clue in the theater, where they showed different endings? I remember seeing it and then comparing my ending to the ones my friends saw. Such a great marketing gimmick.

>196 katiekrug: I didn't! But I love that the DVD has all three endings.

"To make a long story short"
"TOO LATE"

*snork!*

62. The Junior Officers' Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey (unread book from my shelves) - 7/10
A British soldier recounts his time in military academy through a stint in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hm. I have mixed feelings about this one. At first I really didn't like Hennessey - he seemed arrogant and filled with admiration for his own cleverness - but then I was briefly sucked into his account of soldiering (the details of how the British train their troops was interesting), but then again I became annoyed that the book doesn't do what it says on the tin; he occasionally and very briefly mentions a book he was reading at the time some event happened, but there's no talk of an actual book club at all or even what he thought of the books he read. I was in it for the dynamics of a bunch of soldiers holding a regular book club in a war zone and how that would play out, and I didn't get that at all. In the end it just felt like a dude bragging about how well read he was and also what a cool soldier he turned out to be and isn't that a paradox? I'm such a cool paradox! Blech. But points for the possibly inadvertently interesting bits. *shrug*

>198 scaifea: That sounds like a real lost opportunity, Amber. A book about a soldiers' book club in a war zone would be fabulous.

>197 scaifea: - Yeah, I use that one a lot, too.

>199 rosalita: Right?! So disappointing.

>200 katiekrug: I love that they repeat that gag several times.

63. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (audiobook) - 7/10
In this third book of the series, Seth becomes unhappy with his mortal status now that his girlfriend is a fairy queen (and being heavily courted by her king), so he seeks a solution to the problem. There is lots of upset and trouble within the triangle.

Yeah, I think I'm done with this series. There's too much love triangle angst and the same old fraught conversations are rehashed over and over and characters make frustratingly bad decisions.

>203 scaifea: You made it further than me -- I think I only got through books 1 and 2.

>204 curioussquared: Yeah. I loved the first book, but...yeah.

>188 scaifea: Ooh, Clue is one of my all-time favorites!

"Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests?"

"You don't need any help from me, sir."

"That's right!"

>206 foggidawn: *grin* yep.

>203 scaifea: Love triangles are so hard to make digestible, at least to my mind. Sorry this one didn't work out.
I love fairy stories, too, so that's an extra too bad.

>208 Ravenwoodwitch: It's really too bad because the first book was so good. I'd still recommend that one, but just pretend it's a stand-alone, maybe...

On the Agenda for Today:
It's Charlie's last day of 7th grade, and we've been invited to an awards ceremony this morning because apparently he's being honored in some way (they're keeping mum on the specifics). That kiddo. If only he'd occasionally give us a reason to be proud...

So that's this morning, and then I'm working 11-7, and then we'll celebrate Charlie's last day of school with a late dinner of his choice.

On the Reading Front:
I started The Book of the Dun Cow and so far I'm not at all impressed, but I'll keep plugging along for a bit at least, to give it time to improve. I also started listening to Murder Is Easy (I do love Christie) and read a bit more of The Ogress and the Orphans and A Court of Mist and Fury, both of which are great so far.

The Crafting Report:
I didn't get into the sewing room yesterday, but instead I knitted up a couple of tiny fish for the library:



What We're Watching:
Charlie's pick last night: a few episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Well, congratulations, Charlie, whatever you've done! Don't you love that long tradition of inviting parents to an awards ceremony without specifics? I have a letter the high school principal sent to my grandmother almost 75 years ago, saying there was to be a special presentation on such and such a date, and he was "sure you will want to be in attendance". I hope she went.

>211 laytonwoman3rd: Ha! It certainly gives it a real sense of occasion, I suppose.

Charlie was recognized for academic excellence in English Language Art, Science, Math, Social Studies, and Computer Science, and then again for averaging straight As all year. It was really nice, actually, because all the 7th grade teachers were on stage to give out fist bumps as each student walked past them.

Well done Charlie!

I got invited back to my old school to present the prizes after I'd finished my PhD. She used to go into the Tourist Information Centre my Mum worked in and my Mum dobbed me in. And I never could say no to Miss Greenaway (not many people could). I got a letter from the school inviting me, which included the line "As I'm sure you'll remember, prize giving ...". Well no, actually, Miss Greenaway, in my year only those who won a prize were invited and I got pipped at the post at everything, usually by my friends.
I did it, it was fun handing out prizes, it was less fun giving a speech.

>213 Helenliz: Yeah, I can't imagine that that particular audience is terribly captive, to be honest.

>212 scaifea: Well done Charlie!

Congrats to Charlie! I'm sure you and Tomm are thoroughly chuffed.

Oh wow. Congratulations to Charlie - and his amazing parents.

Congrats to the kiddo, that's some awesome work! Especially with how nuts things have been the past two years.

Thanks, everyone! We're pretty proud of that kid. He's been amazing through all the adjustments he's had to go through: moving to a new town and a new school, then just two years later going to school fully online and being completely isolated for a year, and then readjusting to yet another new school and the idea of middle school, and being full time back in a classroom. And through it all, he's not only adjusted, but thrived, and at a time when we would have been proud of him just to have survived with minimal emotional and mental exhaustion. He deserves all the kudos.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm working from 9:30-3 today and then I plan on having a lazy afternoon. Frozen Friday for dinner.

Work was an absolute hoot yesterday, as we spent a good deal of time setting up the library for the Summer Library Program. I got to decorate the aquarium (remember the creatures I knitted to add to the fishy menagerie?) and I'll finish it up this morning and take photos because if I do say so myself it looks pretty darn good! I can really only take credit for the arrangement, though because it's all the crocheted animals that are so fantastic. I promise you'll be amazing at my colleague's talents.

On the Reading Front:
Not a lot to report here besides a few pages in The Ogress and the Orphans, some The Book of the Dun Cow, and a bit of listening to Murder Is Easy.

The Crafting Report:
I did manage a bit of knitting at work; I'm working on a teeny mermaid. Photos when she's finished.

What We're Watching:
A couple of West Wings and a Fullmetal Alchemist.

Morning, Amber. Happy Friday. I am getting in plenty of Jackson time. The last two days and Bree is dropping him off today and we are keeping him until tomorrow. Sue is off work today. Glad he is feeling better and back to his happy ways. Have a great weekend.

I can't wait to see the aquarium! Have a great day, Amber.

>221 msf59: Morning, Mark! Yay for Jackson Time! He just keeps getting more adorable every day. I LOVE the photos you share of him!

>222 lauralkeet: I can't wait to share some photos! The crocheting these ladies have done is so impressive.

Like Laura I'm excited to see the aquarium. When does your summer reading program officially start? I know that's always a crazy day in our branches as kids are picking up the booklets they use to track their reading. School here goes until the end of June though, so ours is still a month away.

>225 MickyFine: Ours starts Tuesday, and thankfully I have the day off!

Folks, I have been hip deep in and tripping over tule all day, but the aquarium is now finished! Once my break is over I'll take some photos to share either this evening or tomorrow morning.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing today, although I have a general idea for the whole three-day weekend: sewing, baking, reading, napping. Some laundry. Some cleaning.

I mistyped yesterday - I DO work on Tuesday! Ha! Welp, I'll get my first taste of summer reading program mania, I suppose...

On the Reading Front:
I read a nice chunk of A Court of Mist and Fury yesterday when I got home from work, and I listened to a bit of Murder Is Easy.

The Crafting Report:
So it's not so easy to take photos of something behind plexiglass, but I hope this gives you a general idea of the project:







And here's a video I took, which I think shows it better, if I can get it to load here:



What We're Watching:
A couple of West Wings and a bit more of The Fellowship of the Ring.

The aquarium looks great!

Hi Amber!

Congrats to Charlie for adapting so well to everything in the last several years and recognition for good grades at school.

>229 katiekrug: Wow, what a wonderful aquarium. The link to the video worked perfectly, too.

>229 katiekrug: My colleagues are so talented, aren't they? I particularly love the merman and the octopus. Amazing. I had so much fun putting the tank together, too.

>230 karenmarie: Thank kiddo is pretty great, I have to say.

And thanks! I'm fairly proud of how it turned out.

>228 scaifea: Coolest thing I've seen in a long time! What an amazing idea. Librarians are so creative.

>233 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda! I should make it very clear that the idea wasn't mine at all; I only contributed some of the creatures and then put the display together. I work with some amazing and creative people, and just the other day we were talking about how wonderful this job is - where else do you get to do such cool and fun things, plus work around books and book lovers (librarians and patrons) all day?!

As I was putting together the ocean waves yesterday, I had a long conversation with a wee patron who had serendipitously brought his favorite toy shark with him. He LOVES the aquarium and the whale is his favorite. He proceeded to tell me a great many facts about whales and sharks in a very knowledgeable-old-man voice (he's 4). It was delightful. And before he and his mom left, he told me that I was doing a very nice job. Made my day.

64. The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 4/10
Animal Farm, but make it high fantasy and take away the charm. Yeah, I didn't like it.

The aquarium is incredible!

>236 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura!

>228 scaifea: That is amazingly cool!!

>228 scaifea: Wonderful! I found myself picking new “most favorite”s as you panned around in the video—so they’re all so cute and lovely!

Karen O

I love the aquarium! And yay, Charlie!

>228 scaifea: What a fun display! The first picture had me thinking the mermaid/mermam was on a swing.

>228 scaifea: Wowzers! What a talented bunch you all are.

I love all your craft pictures, Amber. It makes me want to at least get back to my knitting, which has fallen off the schedule for quite a long time.

And thank you for your recommendation of the Lombardo translation of Ovid. We finally had our first reading session with it, and it's a hoot. We've gotten all the way through Book 1, and will start Book 2 at the end of June.

Congrats to Charlie! And the aquarium looks great.

Thanks, everyone! We've had a blast making the creatures, and I loved putting the display together. So much fun.

On the Agenda for Today:
Some laundry, hopefully some reading because I barely cracked a book at all yesterday, but mostly, I think, I'll spend the day in the sewing room. I made Goulash for dinner yesterday - my first time - and it was really tasty! Tonight Tomm is grilling hamburgers and I'm already looking forward to it.

On the reading front:
Not much to report here other than a few pages of The Ogress and the Orphans and a little bit of listening to Murder Is Easy.

The Crafting Report:
I spent some time working on the teeny mermaid and I may finish her up today.

What We're Watching:
A couple of Psychs and a couple of Modern Family eps.

On the Agenda for Today:
I'm going to treat today as a Do Nothing Day, I think, and mostly just putter around and read. African Peanut Soup for dinner tonight.

On the Reading Front:
I started Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, read a bit more of The Ogress and the Orphans, and listened to some Murder Is Easy.

The Crafting Report:
I finished the teeny mermaid and also made a pirate wallet for the library prize collection:







What We're Watching:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2. It was...terrible. With raisins.

Hi Amber! Yay for your Do Nothing Day. Putter away.

Love the mermaid and the wallet. I'm sorry the movie was terrible. With raisins.

Bill and I watched Love & Friendship last night, a wonderful interpretation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan. Fortunately, he is learning to like Georgian and Regency period dramas. I got him hooked with Bridgerton.

>248 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! I'm looking forward to my Do Nothing Day. I'll also have to put Love & Friendship on the list.

Wow! The pouches are soooo adorable! You accomplish so much and here I am just doddeling away. You're truly an inspiration!

Congrats to Charlie for his many accomplishments! What a stellar year!

>250 Carmenere: Thanks so much for those kind words, Lynda! You've made me feel a little less guilty for having a Do Nothing day today!

>251 scaifea: You earned it! Enjoy!!

Do nothing days are the best! I hope yours is full of the best kinds of nothing.

>252 Carmenere: >253 MickyFine: Thanks, ladies!

On the Agenda for Today:
Charlie has his first day of marching band practice and he's really excited! I'll drop him off before going to work 11-7 and then Tomm will pick him up, so I'll have to wait until I get home to hear how it went. Today's the first day kiddos can sign up for the summer library program, so we're expecting a busy one. Should be fun! Thank goodness for plenty of leftovers in the fridge.

On the Reading Front:
I managed a nice, big chunk of A Court of Mist and Fury yesterday, but I'm still only about halfway through (it's 600+ pages!). I also read a bit more of The Ogress and the Orphans and listened to some Murder Is Easy.

The Crafting Report:
I knitted a teeny sailboat yesterday:



What We're Watching:
Charlie's pick last night: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

>255 scaifea: Keep on trucking :)
Got a favorite FMA Character yet? Mine's a bit of a tie between Mustang and Winry.

The sailboat is super cute :)

And oh wow, that's a big ole' book. That's a bit how I felt reading The Stand (even abridged it crossed into a thousand pages.) Always hard when you ingest a huge chunk and realize you aren't even halfway done.

>256 Ravenwoodwitch: I do love Mustang, but right now I think it's Ed. I do love their former teacher, too.

Oooh, The Stand! I read that one back when I was in college, I think, over a summer break, so no obligations and I could just sit around reading all day. And frequently did. So that one went pretty fast for me. It may be my favorite King. His chunksters always felt like they flew by, but that's a rare quality for really long books!