My new needle case

I had knitting needles floating around my knitting basket and I didn't like having to dig around for them. I've seen needle cases online that I liked, but they're pretty pricy. (See an example by clicking here.) I also have seen instructions for making your own needle case, like here. So I made my own, and I didn't follow any pattern, just looked at some pictures and thought about what I wanted. Even though my sewing skills are not great, I'm pleased. Here's the inside. (Sorry the picture is not good.)



You like my rockin' fabric choices? The outside green and white fabric was a remnant I got at a thrift store. It's a fairly heavy-weight fabric, like canvas, almost. The inside pink print is a light-wieght cotton that Matt's mom bought for me about a year ago. And the green ribbon that matches perfectly? I found that in my ribbon box and have no idea where it came from.

Fake Mother's Day

...is a new holiday we've invented. It's what you do when you're not going to see your mom on Mother's Day. This year, we celebrated Fake Mother's Day on Sunday with Matt's mom. (On the flowery greeting cards this holiday warrants, you can be fancy and call it "Faux Mother's Day".) She was here for the weekend, which was nice not just for her company, but it's also an excuse to enjoy $.99 all-you-can-eat pancakes! And she provided us with free labor for yard work and pants-heming (does that have two ms?).

The Fake Mother's Day part was mostly celebrated on Sunday with a snazzy, jazzy vocal and instrumental concert at Matt's school, which he directed (the vocal part) and Mom and I enjoyed while serving/supervising refreshments. Then there was a movie, and a small gift, and poker. Her game of choice this weekend - and she totally beat the pants off us during the first game.

Tonight we celebrated another new holiday called "Matt's Fake Birthday."

Weekend...Now...Please...

Okay, I only have a minute, but I finished a book this week. Avalon High by Meg Cabot. The other stuff I've read by Cabot was much more fluffy and not as clever and creative as this one. She takes the story of King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the Lady of Shalott and updates it to a romance/mystery in a high school in Virginia. It was fun and kept me guessing and what a great way to expose teens to some classic literature and old tales.

In other news, I'm very glad it's Friday and I get to go home soon. I think my desk chair is making my legs fall asleep.

P.S. Happy Birthday to Dado!

A finished knit - OR - Clapotis by the Sea

I haven't had a chance to post about it, but we went on vacation during spring break to see my Nana and Dado at the beach. It was very relaxing and Nana and Dado are a lot of fun.

I also finished a knitting project that I'm actually pleased with. It's based on this pattern, but I made it skinnier. I used a laceweight yarn - Knitpicks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor.

And here's the glamour shots:

April 28, 2006

Happy, happy birthday to my dearest dad.

The Penderwicks - my favorite book of the last few years

I managed to do a lot of reading while enjoying my vacation last week. I was so enamored with one - The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall- that I read it in less than 24 hours. It's a National Book Award winner, so you know it's good. The subtitle tells you enough of the plot, so I'll just say it's magical. And wholesome. And funny, funny, funny! Recommended for kids and grown-ups.

I finished another book too - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I liked it too, although sometimes the descriptions were clunky. Very intriguing storyline about a distopian future where everyone is surgically modified to be beautiful at the age of 16. Tally, our herione, is smart and strong and undergoes a convincing change from desiring to be pretty and pleasure-seeking to fighting against the evil forces running her city. This book has been wildly popular at a couple of my libraries and there's a sequel I'll have to read soon.

Happy Easter!

Springtime resurrection reminders in our yard -

A lousy excuse for a stereotypical librarian...

That's me.

There are some very obvious ways I am unlike the stereotypical librarian. First, my hair is too short to put in a bun. Second, I only say "shh!" during storytime and I'm trying to settle the little guys are the completely awesome carefully chosen book I'm reading. Third, I don't just read and shelve books all day. In fact, I don't know any librarians who just read and shelve books all day. There's too much to do to have any time to read (except for books I'm previewing to use in storytimre or a program/presentation - and those are usually picture books) and I only shelve books that I have taken off the shelves (we have library assistants who shelve regularly).

But you'd think I'd be able to make more time to read outside of work. I haven't been very good at it this year. This is something I'm trying to change. In about two hours yesterday, I finished An Order of Amelie, Hold the Fries by Nina Schindler. It's was a very light read about a 17 year old guy who strikes up a correspondence with a girl he's never met, a girl who is two years older, busy with a burgeoning career, and almost engaged to a long-time boyfriend. Will their love be strong enough to overcome their differences? In the end, the readers have to decide for themselves. But this is clever, told exclusively in e-mails, notes, text messages, etc. with great graphics.

Yes, Officer, I AM breaking into my own house...

The weather has been beautiful lately. We've been doing a lot of yardwork, even though our neighbors probably can't tell yet. We just planted several new plants and we're trying to plan out the beds that still need attention (which is, well, all of them), but new plants keep popping up. Who knew we had so much pretty phlox? Or tulips? Or those wacky purple flowers that are blooming by the a/c unit?

So I went outside this afternoon to take some pictures of the plant beds so we would know where everything is next time we want to plant something. On my way out the front door, I noticed (to my dismay) that it was unlocked and apparently had been since yesterday evening when Matt and I went outside. So I locked it.

That's right. I locked it.

Was I carrying my keys? No.

Was the garage door open? NO.

Was the back door unlocked? NO!

Uh-oh!

You'd be proud because I stayed calm. I could go ask my neighbors to use their phone, after explaining, that yes, I am pretty dumb. Matt's in Philadelphia for a conference so he really couldn't help me. My parents have an extra key, but they live three hours away. And we do have a hidden key, but it's hidden so well, I couldn't get to it. (We'll change it's location now - trust me!)

Then I noticed that the living room window was open - my saving grace! Thankfully I had opened it for Rainey when I got home because the weather was so nice. All I had to do was pop up the triangular pieces of metal that hold the screen in the window frame. So I wiggled and I jiggled and I scavenged for tools:



That's my headband, a big stick, and a little stick. In the end, my finger did the trick and I just had to climb in, and then replace the screen.

And yes, I actually did get the pictures of the yard.

Cookies to Recommend

I didn't have the most accomplished day at work on Tuesday, so I felt like I should accomplish something at home. Boy, did I.



Looks good, doesn't it? Yummy almond bars. I got the recipe from here.