She hung up on me this morning. I think she's finally twigged that I will insist on singing happy birthday and no, I can't carry a tune. Or more likely, I woke her up out of a dead sleep after she worked late last night and she assumed I was calling my brother.
Anyway, Happy Birthday to my favorite SIL!
And since she's the best writer I know, I thought it would be appropriate to list my 
15 Books/15 Decades 3M is hosting.
- 1848 Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
- 1857 Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
- 1862 Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- 1870 The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
- 1886 Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett (or:
- 1887 She by H Rider Haggard
- 1892 The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, James McNeill Whistler (non fic)
- 1907 The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford
- 1911 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- 1920 The Outline of History by H G Wells (non fiction)
- 1934 Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara or:
- 1938 House of All Nations by Christine Stead
- 1948 The Plague by Albert Camus
- 1957 The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
- 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- 1974 The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar (non fic)
- 1988 A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (non fic)
And for The Non Fiction Five Books Joy is hosting:
- The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by James McNeill Whistler
- A Perfect Prince by Ann Wroe
- The Madwoman in the Attic by Satndra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
- The Queens Conjuror by Benjamin Woolley
- Mathesemantics by Edward MacNeal
Talk about overlapping challenges.
UFO challenge- March:
Remember this? Its Jacket of the Twinset? Well, Its no more. Now Its been frogged and renamed Golden Gate (originally called Lace Edged Elegance by the designer Lois Young in the Summer 1999 Knitters magazine.) Golden Gate, so far:
Not the greatest shot (yes, that is the passenger seat of my car) but at least you can see the orange Golden Gate Bridge color in the sun. Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.
Oh, and I finally got the chance to use Scout's Messenger bag yesterday. It holds everything and more. 
Ohhh love that bag.......project is lookin good!
Posted by: Keanalee | March 21, 2007 at 05:14 PM
Love the Golden Gate. Good choice to frog and reassign the yarn. I'm loving the nonfiction book challenge. I select nonfic for the library and always feel like "my" books get ignored while fiction flies off the shelves.
Posted by: Sonya | March 21, 2007 at 05:36 PM
Maybe it was telling you all that time that it wanted to be Golden Gate, which looks very pretty!
Ooo, nice bag!
Posted by: Marina | March 21, 2007 at 05:53 PM
Dear SIL,
Thank you for the call. Yep, I worked late Tuesday and stayed up early Wednesday. I was in a dead sleep. Still life with cat on pillow. When I heard my beloved (MB) say, "Hi," I figured it was for him. Plus, until I actually woke an hour later and MB told me you sang for him, I'd forgotten it was my birthday. Thanks also for the compliment on my writing.
SIL
Posted by: Tim Rooch | March 21, 2007 at 06:48 PM
She hung up on you? LOL!
Posted by: Jennifer | March 21, 2007 at 07:00 PM
What time did you call?!!
I must be confused about how the 15 books thing works, because don't you have multiple books in a single decade there?!??
Posted by: Chris | March 21, 2007 at 07:49 PM
International Orange!
Posted by: sfk | March 21, 2007 at 07:56 PM
So not only do you wake the poor woman up, you torture her too? *laugh*
Posted by: twig | March 21, 2007 at 08:13 PM
Oooo, GG is looking good! I think it's a much better use of the Silky Wool than the previous design. Believe me. I speak from frogging experience!
Posted by: Brigitte | March 22, 2007 at 02:36 AM
twig,
I wasn't tortured this year. MB has informed me that since I married into the family 20 years ago, I have to endure the singing. Yeah, well, whatever. At least spankings aren't involved.
I am a reporter and work nasty shifts. When the phone rings while I'm asleep and MB picks up, I naturally assume it's for him. SIL's singing voice isn't so bad, but as I commented upthread, I completely forgot it was my birthday and so missed out on the ritual. Interestingly enough, my Mom called the newsroom late last night to wish me a happy birthday. I didn't recognize her at first. She had her dentures out and the connection was bad. When I finally recognized her voice and her sentiment, I started to cry. She's been in a nursing home for three years because neither she nor I can take care of her, and this was the first time she called on my birthday since she's been there. MB and I took her out to Taco Bell on Sunday and she loved it. He didn't realize how much she likes their food, but I remembered. That tiny gesture was unrelated to my upcoming birthday, BTW. It is related to the fact that I don't spend enough time with her. I plan to change that.
SIL
P.S. re my writing: I have thought about your complement again. While I appreciate it, how mamy writers do you know besides me? I'm a hack. I do not write outside of work.
Posted by: Tim Rooch | March 22, 2007 at 02:51 AM
Chris,
SIL called about 12 p.m. our time, I think. Positively moderate for most folks, but I keep vampire hours. I do appreciate her thoughtfulness, in hindsight.
SIL
Posted by: Tim Rooch | March 22, 2007 at 03:16 AM
oh dear, now I really have to read Madwoman in the Attic, don't I?
melanie
Posted by: melanie | March 22, 2007 at 08:56 AM
Wow! There is alot of stuff in that bag!
Posted by: Jeanne | March 22, 2007 at 09:10 AM
Carrie- I really like the color of Golden Gate.
I'm a Trollope maniac and have read all the Barchester Chronicles and the other one, which I can't remember the name of.
Must be having a brain fart.
Posted by: Lorraine | March 22, 2007 at 09:36 AM
How come great books are always depressing ones? It's like comedies never winning the Academy Award for best picture - "art" has to make you want to open a vein before it's considered great. Huh. Love the sweater - it feels so good to repurpose something that wasn't working!
Posted by: Julia | March 22, 2007 at 11:28 AM
You do the same thing my mom does for me on my bday! that is so funny! :o) anyway, i really really like the new project you cast on with the silky wool yarn! it looks fab! is it a sweater/pullover or cardigan or short sleeved sweater? and the bag is being put to good use, i see! it really does fit EVERYTHING! :o)
Posted by: kelpkim | March 22, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Love the bag and the newly discovered project hiding in the old one :)! Great list - I've got to get going on that.
Posted by: pixie girl | March 22, 2007 at 04:23 PM
Your Lace Edged Elegance is beautiful and the messenger bag look great too.
Posted by: crzjane | March 22, 2007 at 05:14 PM
Happy bday to your SIL!
Posted by: amanda cathleen | March 23, 2007 at 09:02 PM
Welcome to the Non-Fiction Five Challenge! I'm so happy to have you join us. I don't recognize any of your choices, so I'll have to find out about them through your reviews. Happy Reading! :)
Posted by: Joy | March 24, 2007 at 06:56 AM
Your knitting project is looking so pretty, especially there in the sun!
Posted by: rhelynn | March 26, 2007 at 03:11 PM
Oh my I loves me that bag, yes I do. Mmmmmmm.
And the silky wool is great in that lacy edged number. Good choice!
Books? Reading? Lalalalalalalalalala.
Posted by: Frarochvia | March 29, 2007 at 06:36 AM
I've been debating joining both of these challenges...but that may be too much. I think you've inspired me to go on and read the Non Fiction five challenge ;) good luck!
Posted by: Chris | April 19, 2007 at 03:11 PM
The Madwoman in the Attic sounds like a book I need to find out about. The title intrigues me. I'm off to amazon.com to learn who it's about.
Posted by: booklogged | April 24, 2007 at 07:44 PM