My Middle Name is Patience

Two and A Half Memes

Not exactly two and a half, but I liked the writers swap of Two and A Half Men and CSI (The Original) last week. It's not as if either were groundbreaking or fabulous, I just enjoyed the writers having fun. Hopefully they had fun. I loved the CSI quote Grissom had "Death is easy. Comedy is hard."

Marji tagged me.  The meme?

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and acknowledge who tagged you.

Oh, the nearest book? And not the one I'm reading? Okey doke.

In 1962 he purchased a large home in California. Thereafter he spent a considerable amount of time and developed substantial connections in California. Although he maintained important connections in Nevada throughout the years involved, the SBE held that he was a California resident in 1962 and in subsequent years. 2008 Guidebook to California Taxes.

Bookfool tagged me with the Six Random Things About Me. Random is my middle name. You think I make no sense blogging? You ought to talk to me. All over the map.

1. I hate endnotes in books. Footnotes, people! Footnotes.
2. Cable reruns. I live for them. Currently: CSI.
3. There are books and knitting projects in my Earthquake Preparedness kit
4. I overuse exclamation points, ellipses and the word/letter I. You should read this before I edit it.
5. I can't wait for all the pretty flowers to die this year. Yes, yes, all very beautiful but they're trying to kill me.
6. It generally takes me three or four or five tries to get those verify your comment codes right.

Tagging (by blog names): Knitting & Television, Bron's Blog, Jenny's Corner, CJ Knits On, Educating Petunia

I finally finished Queen Isabella! She really did lead a fascinating life, although she and her husband both let their lovers ransack their kingdom and their good sense. I was wildly amused to discover that Roger Mortimer, Isabella's lover, was also the first Earl of March - the Marches being the family of Lady Julia Gray in the Silent in the... series by Deanna Raybourn that I read during Queen Isabella.

Well, not read, was read to. I had Silent in the Grave on my iPhone and while I was flat on my back with that stupid vertiginous migraine, I listened to Ellen Archer reading it.  I have to admit, I was deeply prejudiced by Harlequin being attached to the book and almost didn't listen to it at all but I couldn't understand a word Christopher HItchens was saying. There were a few confusing passages in the book where I'm convinced she contradicted herself in a matter of paragraphs, but I'm not sure if it's because being read to is so vastly different than reading a book.

I enjoyed the book enough to run out and pick up the second in the series, Silent in the Sanctuary. England in the 1880's isn't my area of historical expertise (not that I have a historical area of expertise but there are some periods I know better than others) so I couldn't tell you how historically accurate the books are, but they certainly were a fun romp. I just hope the romance doesn't get dragged out ad nauseum.

Books read in March:

The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez. Deft but not groundbreaking.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Twisty. Dennis Lehane knows how to write a thriller.

Flashforward by Robert Sawyer. Interesting take on time travel.

End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenary Grimwood. Reminded me a bit of the best of William Gibson.

The Coma by Alex Garland. A little hallucinatory, is he in the coma imagining it all?

In Big Trouble by Laura Lippman. Not the first Tess Monaghan mystery but my first introduction to her. Now to read the rest of the series.

Next by Michael Crichton.

Science Friction by Michael Shermer. Science vs all sorts of things. Michael Shermer has a knack for explaining complex theories.

Babel 17 by Samuel R Delaney. The power of language was never better expressed in a novel.

Killing Time by Caleb Carr. I wasn't too impressed. The female character was so one dimensional that it took me completely out of the story which was a bit ludicrous anyway. The dangers of the internet, gene splicing and time travel.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I really enjoyed her essays on reading.

April:

• The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry. Kind of a combination James Bond/dystopian future book.
• Temptation by Jude Deveraux. One of the few romance writers I unabashedly enjoy.
• The Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson Tucker. 1970 dystopian novel. I could see the '60's influences on the book, the turn the future (2000) took wasn't one that I'd run across in other dystopian books.
• Black Order by James Rollins. A Sigma Force novel. I was forced to go out and buy more in the series. A thriller along the lines of Robert Ludlum without the exclamation points.
• The Know It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the Room by A J Jacobs. Not so humble but engaging.
• Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Gladstone
• Queen Isabella: Treachery Adultery and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir

Currently (re)reading: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W Tuchman. I'm reading these in chronological order! Completely by accident, I assure you. A Distant Mirror follows Enguerrand de Coucy VII, a French noble married to the daughter of Edward III (Isabella's son) also named Isabella. She was quite the pet of her father too, so it's hard to believe the historical tales that Isabella of France was the She-Wolf of legend. It's a nice change of pace to be in France this outing.

Television - is continuing to annoy me. WARNING! PROBABLY SPOILERS!! Booth's life is hanging in the balance on Bones, done in by a mere stalker? They'd better not kill him off. I hate that kind of cliffhanger. Cheap tricks. I still love Dr Sweets though.

Brothers and Sisters is back on Sunday nights but I was too annoyed at having whatshername turn out not to be the bastard child of the patriarch to watch.

House spends an entire episode entertained by strippers only to realize at the end that it's Amber whose life he's trying to save? What's with all the strippers anyway?

On NCIS, Ziva thrown by killing a serial killer that very nearly killed her. Really? She made some statement about how the Mossad were not all assassins but considering how pragmatic her character has always been about death and dying, it didn't track.

Ed Green gone on Law & Order. [sob]. I love Linus Roache and Jeremy Sisto though. I'm getting used to the new guy.

Lost. Geez, Lost leaves me lost most of the time. As long as Locke, Sayid and Sawyer are on it, I'll probably watch but I have no idea what the heck is going on anymore and really? I don't care. The plan all along was to kill off Rousseau? Huh. The real question is why won't they kill off Jack? Why? That would be pushing the envelope.

Starbuck is the Angel of Death? Tyrol's haircut. Hate it. WHO IS THE LAST CYLON? I want to know.

Knitting? What knitting?

Walnut Creek

Bonana St Books, Out of Business. Walnut Creek officially has no more independent bookstores, to my knowledge.

Other, more random Walnut Creek pictures,

driving up Main St crossing Ygnacio.

The Motor Lodge has been there forever but there used to be little restaurants across the street where the multi story office buildings are now.  Farther up Main by California St

Recognize the French Restaurant? Le Virage, home of countless anniversaries, prom dates and celebrations.

Random vehicle I couldn't resist taking a picture of on.....Broadway, maybe? As if it matters.

TV News: (What? I couldn't stay mad at TV for long.) Bones has moved to Monday at 8pm followed by House which is a much better time slot for me, so expect it to change.

I tried to watch Cranford last night but found it a little slow going (I'm still slogging through Queen Isabella, thankyouverymuch) and there's some glitch in the show.  A man's voice appears to be narrating the story in an undertone. It's maddening because you can't quite hear him distinctly.

This is what I'm currently knitting. It's the Lacy Prairie Shawl from Folk Shawls turned into a stole. Hopefully to be finished by Mother's Day.

This is what I'm knitting in my head. The skein from La's surprise package.  100 % silk and 1000 yards (or meters or whatever, I think) and wouldn't it be cute as the Bridesmaid Wrap from Suss Cousins Wedding Knits?

Sad news last Saturday. My brother & sil's beloved cat, Charity passed away.  She'd been rescued by them a few years back, abandoned at a ski resort and just a big sweetie. This was only two months after they lost their kitty cat of 16 years.

Boxies and pictures of boxies

Boxies? Anything like doxies? Probably not. Hmmm. Promising, a box full of newspaper and tissue wrap.......containing.....

I'd edit that picture down but then you couldn't see the Minneapolis favorite Chocolate Passion Mousse mix or my coffee cup or the chocolate chip cookies I'd baked or half the vital paperwork parking on the kitchen island and there where would you be?

Knit rad, baby. Knit rad.

And from La, look at all those goodies: handpainted yarn by Claudia, tea, some yummy soap (well, not edibly yummy), notepad, circular needle (ASIDE: Do you know that if you have 80 kabillion unfinished projects, ten to one, that's where one hundred and fifty kabillion needles have disappeared to? It's true. I thought I had a million dpn's. I do. They're stuck in a million projects. But I'm planning on finishing them. Eventually).

So spoiled! It's good to be me.

I'd show a Hezekiah pic but as I spent yesterday stuck in bed having the worst combination of vertigo and migraine and was completely ABANDONED by her, phhhhffffffft on her.

She did deign to join me last night and snuggle under the covers.

No Camera, No Topic, No Knitting

....no service. Non-sense? Something like that. I just finished twelvish days or so off of work and accomplished NOTHING. It was lovely. Of course now I wish I'd knit more - it's COLD today. Why didn't I finish up my cardigan? other than it's been in the high 70's and why didn't I finish reading Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery And Murder in Medieval England over the weekend? Because she's putting me to sleep at night. Treachery, adultery and murder has never been quite so dull. Maybe it's all the minutae.

Oooh, I did manage to knit TWO dishcloths. But then I managed to delete my ENTIRE photo album from Adobe Photoshop file. It must've been duplicated though because the pictures didn't disappear. I think. And I can't find my camera....but I think I left it in the trunk of my car. So you'll have to wait to see the pictures of the groovy yarn stuff that I won from Deb's contest and what La sent me out of the blue. W00t!

raidergirl3 is doing a clever fun little book meme It's Tuesday, Where Are You? (that I found via Book Mine Set.)

Marvelous Monday

Meaning I'm off work and finally blessedly alone. Except for a certain cat in my lap who was highly displeased with me earlier but has decided to forgive the flea medicine. I had good intentions.

Four days off and nothing to show for it. Read a little, knit a little, slept way too little - what's with insomnia when I can finally sleep? I've been a zombie. Still am, but a slightly more awake zombie today.

I don't even have any pictures to post. Oh! It turns out that although it's absolutely lovely outside [insert pictures of lilacs and roses] and they're gorgeous to look at, I'm still freaking allergic to them.

This Time Next Week I'll be......

Well, I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing, but I guarantee it will not involve adding machines, tax forms or for that matter, a desk. It should be involving all those right now but I'm losing my will to live. I mean, work.

And next time when I run into Craftylily at Peet's, I won't be running late to the office and desperate for caffeine. I've ran into her twice this last month! She has a very cool decal on her car but she'll have to post a pic of it because I........was running way late and needed caffeine to think of taking the pic.

If you look closely (or click on the pic) there are cows peacefully grazing on the left side of the hill. And look how GREEN! Wow. It's why I've always thought California cows are happy cows. At least the ones by my house seem to be. Chatty bunch though.

Julia of Knitting History and I were chatting (aka emailing) about the purpose of The Queue on Ravelry. My view is that The Queue should fulfill all the pattern needs/wants/desires that I, my next eight lives (well, hey. I am a Leo after all) and any reincarnations to follow me might have. (Although there might be a problem with the passwords.)

Other people should fill their queues with good ideas for my queue. No? Your thoughts?

Speaking of queue, a certain person who shall remain nameless athough she is X(Heather)at X (Lectio) and who made an ill-advised bet with me (ill advised on the grounds that I am never wrong and if I am.....well, see above) and she was wrong! Wrong! Jake did not join into an unholy alliance with Constantino. I was surprised Eric didn't though. And now she owes me mittens.

And, most importantly, I was right.

I thought I might knit her Mitts for a Dystopian Future if, by some sheer chance of random chaos in the Universe had I been wrong. (But mittens for a dytopian future. It's cold where she lives. There's this stuff called snow? I'm not sure if you've heard of it.) That or FrankenMitts. (Both of which are in my queue, but just in case you want to see and have never heard of Ravelry)

Clearly Heather has nothing to do (note the fluffy rip & read reading list she has there) and clearly I don't actually need mittens (see green hills above) but that has nothing to do with anything. Okay, I admit it. (Since it's fairly obvious.) I just wanted to gloat.

And not figure cost basis for a few brief moments.

Hez sez: "What? Who did you say you were? My mother told me not to talk to strangers."

Mostly Books But Also The Possibility of Me Walking In Front of a Bus

If it's April 1st then that means that April 15th is actually going to arrive, doesn't it?

Doesn't it? Because seriously, if it doesn't, that bus looks mighty inviting. Maybe I'll just board the bus, as opposed to stepping in front of it. Terrible thing to do to a bus driver. Way too much paperwork.

Look at all the lovely Tess Monaghan's that the lovely Knitted & Purled sent me eons ago. The end of February in fact. I'd never read Laura Lippman's mysteries before, I really enjoyed meeting Tess.

For a change of pace, no quiz. A book meme! via Teabird:

1. What book are you reading right now? Science Friction by Michael Shermer.

Wow, I drafted this awhile ago. I'm actually reading The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry as my carry-'round and Fraction of the Whole by Stephen Tolz.

2. What was the last book you read on a plane? Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. Finally, a period of time where I just sat down and dove into it. So much better than indulging in my normal "we're all going to die" airplane chatter.

3. What was the last book you read on a roadtrip? Most of the road trips I do the driving. But I've listened to audiobooks occasionally. The most memorable one was a trip up Hwy 1 with my ex best friend listening to a Jude Deveraux romance and the book ended at EXACTLY the moment we pulled into the motel parking lot. Hwy 1 gets really creepy at night when it cuts back inland and I swear, we saw a cemetary on the coast that evening (twilight, naturally) that has never been there since.

4. What was the most unusual place you found yourself reading? Unusual? I read anywhere, any place, any time. Once, trapped in an elevator, but IMO, that's a pretty normal way to occupy your time when you can't get out of a tiny stifling place suspended nine floors above ground.

5. What books would you take to keep you occupied on a two-week vacation to the beach? Whatever books I'd take to keep me occupied on a two week vacation in the mountains, or in Europe or on the way to work or......whatever I was reading at the time. The real question is, what knitting projects would I bring?

More books to indulge in my favorite knitting stitch obsession - Annie Maloney's books at Needlearts Book Shop. And the packaging was so darling too, brown paper package tied up in ribbon. I torn it off for the books inside in a hot second though. The cables are just amazing.

.

The progress on V - notice how there's only one buttonband?  (Well, maybe you can't notice, considering the quality of that picture, but there is only one. Now.)

Before? Cleverly, I'd knit one on each side.

In fact, not just knit it, I actually said "OMG, I don't have the buttonband on this!"

And dropped stitches to knit it in.

About fifteen rows later I noticed that I was knitting a buttonband on both sides. GAH. It took me most of the month to get that far too.

Hez sez: "Why are you knitting and reading when you're home when you've been neglecting me so horribly? by never being home? I refuse to even look at you, you neglectful thing."  She utterly refused to pose in the tulips outside too, even with cat treats as an incentive.

My Own Little Pitiful Party....

Oh well. Better that I'm gainfully employed. And SIL's birthday is Friday (Happy Birthday, SIL!), my parents 50th Anniversary is Saturday and Easter is on Sunday. I plan to work through all of them.

But look! Look what I did!

I have even cast on for the left side. And knit a row. Mind you, it's four stitches, but it's started. I'm just shocked I've gotten this far what with the insane hours I'm working.

There was a brief moment of panic when I held it up to me and realized how low cut it was going to be but.....there's that little thing called swatching (*cough*the sleeve*cough) that shrunk up a bit in length when I heaved it (gently) into the washing machine so I deliberately made the back longer. I'd just forgotten in the ensuing years....

From Purling Dervish:

You Are Peppermint Flavored Gum

You have a sharp mind that is always churning. You are mentally hyper. You're always thinking of something. And while your mind is always on, you're not the most physically active person around. Some people make mistake you for being lazy, but the truth is: you never relax. You tend to get so deeply into your projects that you ignore everything around you. You are creative and cutting edge. You love telling people about your newest ideas and discoveries.

What Flavor Gum Are You?

See? I never relax. Just because it looks like I'm lying on the couch staring vacantly into space, I am DEEPLY THINKING. And I do love telling people my newest ideas and discoveries! Sometimes I have to follow them down the road for several miles before it's all carefully explained to them.......

No, that's not blurry, why do you ask? I might have swatched for a ribbed pullover that I'm going to have to make up the pattern myself. Aren't the colors lovely and Spring-like? It's the tape yarn I was going to do the Joan Vass top out of before I realized how much I loathed the way I look in raglan sleeves.

And from Pick Up Sticks:

What Carrie Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Strive? I do not strive for perfection. I merely obtain it. Hahahahahahaha.

Hez, not so much playing with the giant mouse that has moved into her condo as bemusedly cleaning her shoulder. She occasionally runs by and whacks one of the crackly ears but that's about it.

So. Is it August yet?

Daylight Saving Time Is Evil

Firstly, DST is an evil, evil practice and must be abolished. Even my computer is ignoring it.

Secondly, found at chitta'svrtti's:

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Odd, you'd think they'd be used to me always being right by now....... and I love theories and dreams! But yes, it's true. I am utterly brilliant. Just ask me.

That's how far I'm at on the front - almost done! With the rightside. Then the left side to do but with any luck, I'll have all the numbers and it'll be smooth kniting. [knocks violently on wood. Well, my desk. It looks like wood. CE].

I'm not super happy where the buttonband binding ended up on the  pattern but it does have a nice big floppy collar so it's not really going to matter. And could I have taken a worse picture? Oh yes. Do not underestimate my skilz.

TV. Jericho tonight! 10pm CBS. I cannot believe who they killed off last week. Just breaks my heart. It's not doing fabulously in the ratings and I'm way sad about that but I wish they'd concentrated a little less on The Bomb and Who Dropped It and more on What People Do When The Life as They've Known it Is Over. Only in Jericho? Not so much. Nice allegory on Iraq though.

Is There Still Life Outsde?

Since I'm  not around a whole lot. I miss you guys! Busy, busy! Which is actually a good thing but sometimes the late nights, early mornings, the inability to remember how to make a knit stitch or work the remote control for the TV...... it makes me wonder. What should I be when I grow up?

You Should Be in the Military

You are driven, focused, and an extremely hard worker. And while you can be ruthless in getting what you want, you also have a compassionate side. You are able to balance your own desires with the needs of others. You'll do almost anything to get the job done, but you're not willing to step on anyone's toes. You do best when you: - Are working with others - Are in a fast paced environment You would also be a good CEO or school principal.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

Huh. Didn't see that one coming. The military? The description is fairly accurate, as long as "extremely hard worker" is followed by "long period of such productive activity as knitting, reading, pestering the cat and staring at clouds."

Speaking of TV shows (weren't we?) watch Jericho. DB Sweeney is back as Goetz from Ravenwood which normally I would be quite jazzed about but since he was also in Strange Luck and Harsh Realm and I loved both of them before they were cancelled......It's getting really good. Even the twerpy Dean wasn't twerpy.

What's going on with Lost? It's actually been pretty awesome, possibly because I LOVE time travel/time paradox/parallel universe stories. Desmond and Penny's relationship is now a complete cypher. They haven't been together since they broke up before 1996? Seriously?  I'm starting to really like Daniel.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles are doing the same flash back/flash forward time traveling thing but I'm still trying to make sense of them. (I just watch Lost uncritically now. If it eventually makes sense, yay. If not? Oh well. As long as I don't have to watch Jack parade around in his righteous whatever, I'm happy.) I'm also getting a kick out of seeing David from 90210 as John's uncle-from-the-future.

Law & Order continues to be so good!

Alas, Lipstick Jungle is a bit of a mess. I unreasonably hate Kim Raver so much that I can't watch her for long and for some reason Andrew McCarthy is creeping me out, I have no idea why, I like him normally. Paul Blackthorne is hot which is allways a good reason to watch a show.

Dr. Carson Beckett is back on Stargate Atlantis! Well, at least they found him in a Wraith/Human hybrid holding cell. Is it really him? Is he a replicator? Is Dr. Kaylee getting replaced?

Stupid HGTV revamped their TV schedule today. I want to see Knitty Gritty! It's been on at 7am on Fridays only and Simply Quilts at 8am every day. (Pacific time) Not today. Boo. At least I noticed it before I ran out the door and stopped the tape. Simply Quilts looks like it'll be back on Tuesday. Wednesday's show will be featuring Kaffe Fassett. What can I say? I love coming home after working 8500 hours and watching the amazing things people do with fabric.

Speaking of amazing things with fabric, isn't that buttonhole band gorgeous? Here, look. Look sideways. For some reason, the iPhone doesn't like to take pictures the angle I want it to, no matter which way I hold it. It's similar to my copy machine constantly rotating the image when I don't want it rotated! Gah. Machines.

I'm three inches from the underarm shaping, still on the right front.  I was really hoping to have this done at the beginning of Feb and now I'm just hoping to have it done sometime this winter/spring.

Hez chortles at that. See how she sits with her paws over the edge? It's really cute when she hangs her whole arm over.