Meandering Monday

 

You are a Knife

You are precise, determined, and detail oriented. You mean what you say, and you say what you mean. You enjoy taking risks and living on the edge. You are a controversial person. You opinions tend to be divisive.

What Utensil Are You?

Divisive? Precise? But generally I do say what I mean and mean what I say (unless it's really mean and then I'm more likely to mutter it under my breath. I hate hurting someone's feelings for no good reason.) Found at the incomparable KSD's site. 

 

From Lyssa's blog:

The Recipe For Carrie K

3 parts Playfulness 2 parts Sass 1 part Moxie Splash of Allure Sip slowly on the beach

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Speaking of the beach. That's a  parasailor (?), in case you can't tell. It looks like fun....but it also looks like the wind and the ocean take turns batting you about like a catspaw.

 

Books read in July:

1. The Halo Effect by MJ Rose (2005) Awful. AWFUL. So awful that I was compelled about halfway through the book to pick up a pen, argue with the characters across the page and throw the book away when I finished it. The ostensible protagonist of the book is a sex therapist that gets overly attached to one of her clients, an angelic high class call girl who has disappeared. In searching for her, she pretends to be her replacement to "question" the clientele.  If she hadn't lectured the reader incessantly about our closed minds and prudish ideas I might not have gotten so riled when she proceeded to confide when seeing one of the men that they were talking about something obscene. Really? How close minded and prudish. Gah. This might have made a decent porno novel but as a thriller? Yucko.
2. Bound by Sally Gunning (2008) A story of a girl who is indentured by her father to a widowed man with a daughter after surviving the voyage over from England in the 1770's. The girls grow up and troubles ensue.
3. The Cobra Event by Robert Preston (1999) I loved this book! A manufactured bio weapon loosed in the City. Good times.
4. This Rough Magic (1964)
5. and Thornyhold (1988)by Mary Stewart. I hadn't read Mary Stewart since my teens, possibly. This Rough Magic was more my liking than Thornyhold but both the books were fun reads.
6. Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis (2007) Best book of the month. When's the new one coming out? WHEN? January 2009. Not until then? Sheesh. Quincy Morris is my favorite go-to guy for the supernatural, after Harry Dresden, of course
7. Sovereign Ladies: Sex, Sacrifice & Power; The Six Reigning Queens of England by Maureen L Waller (2006). I knew about Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, not as much as I thought about Queen Victoria and more than I realized about Elizabeth II but I knew nothing about Mary and Anne, James II's daughters. Ungrateful Daughters also by Maureen Waller is in my TBR stack now.
8. The First Queen of England: The Myth of Bloody Mary by Linda Porter (2007). A nicely written well rounded account of Mary Tudor 's reign although I hadn't realized anyone still believed that myth.. Evidently because Linda Porter rails against it a great deal.
9.  Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno (2008). The apocalypse has happened (slightly in the future) and what's left of the United States is run by an Islamic President in one part of the country and an old world Colonel in another. There are those that would bring The One Faith to all the world - the Old One, the man behind the 9/11 attacks, unbelievably old now but kept young through science. A really fascinating apocalyptic adventure with an eye  look at religious schism with both sides represented by their best and worst in an action oriented adventure. The dust jacket said that the book was a sequel that could stand alone, but I'm sorry I didn't read Prayers of the Assassin first and get the backstory on Sarah Dougan and Rakkim Epps.  Bookmark Magazine says: Critics expressed different ideas about the plot, using words such as "preposterous," "credible," and even "ordinary" to describe it. There's no doubt, however, that Ferrigno raises important questions about religious freedom while handling the subject of Islamic faith with great insight and evenhandedness. If the plot sometimes overwhelms character development, he still allows his creations to air their own opinions without moralizing. In sum: a fast-paced thriller with timely appeal. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. Oh phooey on the critics. I liked it.
10.  The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman (2007) This was fun! Matt Fuller "discovers" a time machine - accidentally of course and has to keep traveling into the future to find his way back home. Where home turns out to be is another story.

Knitting in July:

I'm almost done with TDOT. Both borders for the sleeve knit, one sleeve almost ready to attach the border to it - with the borders attached and knitting it from the top down, once I do the other sleeve, it's done. All weaving was done earlier (in an effort to not think about the sleeves.)

Socks. I have three pairs of unfinished socks on the needles. Wait. I have one to the foot, one to the cuff, and one that's not quite on the needles. In fact, it's not quite to the cake but it's next. Maybe.

 

We will not speak of the rest of the poor neglected WIPs. Alice Starmore uses way too much green. I wonder how odd Mary would look if I just abandoned all the ugly greens now? I'm only about a third of the way done with the body. You could probably barely tell. If you were BLIND. [sigh]

 

The beach! what I did Saturday instead of knitting or reading. I've got to say, when one feels grumpy there's nothing better than getting blown around on the beach and then scarfing down a fab dish of oysters for dinner. (Oysters from Washington, I'm sad to say. We were in Bodega Bay. But they sure were good oysters). There should have been more pictures but I stuck everything in the trunk and just wandered the beach. Too bad too because it looks like sand castles are out and driftwood forts are in.

 

Hez sez "Hey! That's not me! I never get to go anywhere fun." (Not that she'd like the car ride or the beach very much. It's the principle.)

Comments

[limedragon :-: Harriet]

Hmm... I'm a fork. Who knew? Your reading list looks interesting, thanks! : )

[Evil Stacey]

HAHAHA~ I'm a spork! A spork for Pete's sake! :D Looks like a lovely get away.

[Sonya]

I'm a spork too! Who knew? You have 3 pairs on the needles. I have one sock on the needles that I cannot force myself to finish. How will I knit the other sock?

I'm enjoying the plague book. I had a nutty patron tell me today that the town I work in is cursed. I thought to myself, "Not compared to the plague village." Luckily said patron also informed me that she has arrived to save our town from the curse. Hallelujah.

[Chris]

Oh! I'm a spork! Woot woot! :)

Dang, I haven't read any Mary Stewart since I was a teen, either. Hmmm... Glad you liked Black Magic Woman! And I'm off to put that Joe Haldeman on hold - sounds a wee bit lighter than The Forever War, eh?

(Have you read Bellwether by Connie Willis? You will laugh yourself silly!)

[Chris]

Oh! I liked that flamingo flag, of course. :)

[Marina]

3 parts Wisdom to go with my Fork! Guess that explains why I wrote what I wrote on Ravelry ;-)

Bodega Bay? That's - the pattern - is on my list.

[Bron]

I'm going to use Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" to teach about Arthurian legends this year. I think 6th grade gifted would certainly understand it, especially when I bring in the Star Wars movie to juxtapose against the more stolid tales.

Sheesh - I even SOUND like an English teacher....

[Angie]

I need to add most of those books to my reading list. Well, Mary Stewart has been read...just a very long time ago. :D Thanks for the reviews!

[Brigitte]

I wonder if Marina recovered from reading you mention Mary Tudor (the WIP...). And Bodega Bay is on my list to knit too (and see...one day).

Thanks for more reading ideas...'specially the Maureen Wallace one.

And stop being so mean to TDOT! It's beautiful! And I love the colour!!! And you're doing a fab job.

[Miss T]

I'm a fork. I recently read Thornyhold, too, and I wanted it to be a bit more than what it was.

[Lorraine]

Carrie- Every time I see Bodega Bay I think of Hitchcock's "The Birds"-

watch out for those gulls.

[Jocelyn]

Bodega bay is wonderful. I miss going there! Thanks for all the book reviews - now I have more to add to my list. How do you read all of that?!

[deb]

Driftwood forts are nothing compared to good sand castles!!

[Kim]

I have this strange desire to parasail, even though I cannot swim, and am acrophobic. What's up with that?

[Geraldine]

You find such interesting quizzes Carrie! I like the last photo....Have you ever been to see Billy, comes to mind. LOL

Hugs to you and Hez!

[kasturi]

hey carrie, thanks for stopping by the site.

I'm a spoon.

And I'm the color Cameo (of the 'what color Orange are you?' test)

I'm behind in my reading. Am just now reading Barack Obama's 'Dreams from my Father,' and the usual daoist philosophy. glad you guessed the dao de jing.

thanks for your reviews.

[mrspao]

I'm a fork :)

[Stefanie]

I am chopsticks. I am also 3 parts Moxie, 2 parts Glamour, 1 part Power, Splash of Aspiration, Serve over ice. And those books read in July! And a picture of TDOT. It looks quite nice!

[Holly of HollYarns]

Ooohm, yum oysters! My fave is happy hour at EOS in San Francisco where they're a dollar a piece! For that price I'll take Bodega Bay or Washington!