Knit-Cycle-Read

Books Read in June, July, August, September, October & November

2009-12-12T15:49:00.002+01:00

Um, I've been busy?

June
Charlaine Harris: Shakespeare's Landlord
Sally Gardner: I, Coriander
John Le Carre: Single & Single
Libba Bray: The Sweet Far Thing
John Sedden: Mudlark
David Almond: Skellig
Eva Ibbotson: The Secret of Platform 13

July
Barbara Nadel: Belshazzar's Daughter
Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Tracey Chevalier: The Virgin Blue
Charlaine Harris: Living Dead in Dallas
Paulo Coelho: The Devil and Miss Prym
Sam Savage: Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife
Graham Joyce: Do the Creepy Thing

August
Manuel Puig: Kiss of the Spider Woman
Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs
Georgette Heyer: Charity Girl
Isabel Allende: The House of Spirits
Kate Atkinson: Emotionally Weird
Charlaine Harris: Club Dead

September
Joseph O'Neill: Netherland
James Patterson: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
Wangari Maathai: Unbowed
Paulo Coelho: The Zahir
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
Sara Gruen: Water for Elephants
Ian Rankin: Knots & Crosses
Sharyn McCrumb: If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him . . .

October
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World
Dorothy L. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise
Philip Pullman: The Tin Princess
Sebastian Faulks: Engleby
Daniel & Dina Nayeri: Another Faust
Margery Allingham: Police at the Funeral
Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow

November
Georgette Heyer: These Old Shades
Charlaine Harris: Dead as a Doornail
David Clement-Davies: The Telling Pool
Stieg Larsson: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Terry Pratchett: Truckers: The First Books of the Nomes
Herbie Brennan: Faerie Wars
Jodi Picoult: The Tenth Circle
Stephenie Meyer: New Moon*
Eoin Cofler: The Wish List

*I will NOT be reading any other books in this series. Blech!

Books Read in May

2009-06-13T19:28:00.002+02:00

A short list of mostly long books:

Joyce Carol Oates: The Gravedigger's Daughter

Excellent, of course. The protagonist, Rebecca Schwart, is a tough, ruthless version of Faulkner's Lena Grove.

Eva Ibbotson: The Dragonfly Pool

Set mostly at an English boarding school during WWII, this is a wonderful YA novel that -- without having a bit of magic, sorcery, or wizardry in it -- seems magical.

Libba Bray: Rebel Angels

The second novel in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. I'm looking forward to the film version of A Great and Terrible Beauty in 2010, and am reading the third novel, The Sweet Far Thing, right now.

Karen Maitland: Company of Liars

An easy-to-read thriller set in 1348 England during the Black Plague.

Matthew Skelton: Endymion Spring

A YA fantasy novel that alternates between present-day Oxford and 15th-century Germany. With the Gutenberg Press and dragons!

A Few Snaps from the Trip to Prague

2009-06-11T10:22:00.002+02:00

A view of the River Vltava and the Stare Mesto, or Old Town

A street near Prague Castle

Stained glass window by Alphonse Mucha in St. Vitus' Cathedral

A tram bearing evidence of my family's coffee empire

Holy Cow!

2009-06-03T19:08:00.002+02:00

Kim arrives this Friday! Woo hoo!

Reading List for March & April with Bonus Snaps from the Keukenhof

2009-05-11T13:41:00.005+02:00

March
Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife -- Excellent! Not at all what I expected.

Kate Atkinson: Behind the Scenes at the Museum -- My love affair with Kate Atkinson's books continues.

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird -- I reread this because it had been assigned to one of my students. I had forgotten why this book is a classic. I worry, though, that it's wasted on 9th graders.

Tana French: In the Woods -- A compelling mystery with a disappointing ending.

Gregory Maguire: What the Dickens: the Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy -- Disappointing -- a great premise, but the book read like a rough draft.

Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark -- Southern-fried, raunchy vampire fun!

Sonya Hartnett: Thursday's Child -- An excellent YA novel that is probably better appreciated by adults.

April
Steig Larrson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- The first in a series of Swedish mysteries. I'm definitely reading the second and third books.

Norma Fox Mazer: When She Was Good -- Another excellent YA novel.

Tobias Hill: The Cryptographer -- Boringly oblique? Obliquely boring?

MT Anderson: The Game of Sunken Places -- Really disappointing -- another work from a prominent YA author that reads like an early draft.

Sarah Addison Allen: Garden Spells -- Fun chick-lit set in the NC mountains!

Joanne Harris: Gentlemen and Players -- A creepy and well-written thriller.

John Le Carre: Call for the Dead -- An early mystery from one of my faves.

Robin McKinley: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast -- A sweet YA novel that I somehow missed when I was a YA.

Jaclyn Moriarty: Feeling Sorry for Celia -- A great epistolary YA novel from Australia!

Ducklings!

2009-04-26T19:26:00.002+02:00

Friday, Brownie Duck and her Beau brought by their ducklings. Brownie and Beau are regulars at Amity's Buffet for Birds (originally Amity's Aviary Buffet, but I had to change the name to discourage the neighborhood cats).

Back on the Quattro!

2009-04-05T18:05:00.003+02:00

With pretty good weather today, Simon and I got back on the good tandem, affectionately known as the Quattro after DCI Gene Hunt's car in Ashes to Ashes.

Anyhoo, our stats were okay given that it was our the first time back on the bike in months:

Distance: 19.75 miles
Time: 65 minutes
Average speed: 18.2 mph
Top speed: 23.3 mph

Happy Birthday, Elaine!

2009-04-02T10:06:00.006+02:00

My niece, Elaine, is 13 today, old enough to be subjected to embarrassing stories of her childhood.

(Elaine, you should know that Simon and I plan to fly to Utah for your first date. We'll embarrass you by asking your date awkward questions, telling him dorky stories about you, and insisting on taking photos.)

Top Ten Quotations from Elaine

To a table of boring grown-ups at Christmas dinner: “No adults talking!”
On having to resist opening a bag of treats I put together to entertain her on the flight back to Utah: “Things can get pretty desperate.”
In response to “Elaine, you’re being a little devil”: “I’m not little!”
In the car whenever the driver dared brake for, say, a stop sign or red light: “Why are we slooowwwing?”
One morning at Elaine’s house when Simon and I woke up to find Jane and Paul had gone to the lab: “Let’s have chocolate cake for breakfast!”
The same morning, in a conspiratorial whisper, “I know where Daddy keeps his scissors!”
On accompanying me to the bathroom: “Your bum-bum is bigger than my bum-bum.” (Well, duh.)
Upon having the door opened on her after she had run around her grandparents' house naked 15 minutes: "Don't look. I'm changing clothes!"
After licking an ice cream bowl clean: “Mommy, you don’t have to wash this one!”
Not a quotation, but a priceless expression: the look of utter horror when Uncle Simon – in an attempt to prove that his underwear was light gray, not white – accidentally mooned Elaine. The adults present could not stop laughing, not at Simon, but at Elaine. (As promised, Jane, we’ll chip in on Elaine’s therapy.)

February's Reading List

2009-03-02T17:16:00.004+01:00

With only 28 days, how was February so read-y?

Bray, Libba: A Great and Terrible Beauty

This is an engaging Gothic novel set in a girls' boarding school in Victorian England. I just discovered that A Great and Terrible Beauty is the first novel in a trilogy -- I'll definitely read the next two -- and that there seems to be a film version in the works.

Chevalier, Tracy: Falling Angels

Wow. Tracy Chevalier's first novel is the story of two girls growing up in early 20th-century London. I'm a reluctant reader of first person narrators, but I found Chevalier's use of the first-person -- she gives every character a chance to speak in his or her own chapters -- very effective.

Stevenson, Robert Louis: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Umm. I thought that I had read this before, but now that I've "re-read" it, I'm thinking that I had only read the Great Illustrated Classic version. Anyway, I re-re-read it because one of my students was assigned it. I'm pretty such I enjoyed Jekyll and Hyde more than my student did.

Le Carré, John: Our Game

Well, I liked this one by Le Carré, but I wouldn't recommend it for a first-time Le Carré reader. I think that the author was struggling to write about the early-post Cold War.

Pratchett, Terry: Wyrd Sisters

Terry Pratchett's books are so enjoyable that I have to keep myself from reading lots of them in succession. For me, it's better to read one every few months. Wyrd Sisters was especially fun because of all the allusions to Shakespeare, especially to Hamlet and Macbeth.

Atkinson, Kate: When Will There Be Good News?

Okay. So now I've read all three of the Jackson Brodie mysteries, and since it's now March, I can read one of the other Atkinson novels I have in my bookcase. Yippee!

Vickers, Salley: Instances of the Number 3

This is the third novel I've read by Salley Vickers, and I can't say which one I liked most. Instances of the Number 3 centers on two women, one a recent widow and the other the mistress of the deceased husband, and how they develop a friendship and move on with their lives after the death of their husband/lover. If that's not enough for you, what if I say there are also ghosts?

Davidson, Andrew: The Gargoyle

Though this is definitely a post-Da Vinci Code novel, it doesn't suck. It is, however, a challenging novel for the squeamish. I didn't really need to know so much about the treatment of burn victims. But I was thoroughly absorbed by this (supposedly) supernatural story. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that I chose it, in part, because of its spooky black-edged pages. By the way, this is NOT reading for young adults! (Mom, you're not old enough to read it either.)

Shaffer, Mary Ann & Annie Barrows: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

No, I don't like the title either, and -- though this novel threatens to turn cutesy -- somehow it doesn't. I read this short book in about two days, even putting off eating dinner to finish it. For me, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society also redeems the epistolary novel. (I hadn't quite recovered from reading -- well, being assigned --Richardson's Pamela in college.)

Heyer, Georgette: No Wind of Blame

I had read a couple of Heyer's historical novels, so when I saw one of her mysteries at a used book sale in Liverpool, I decided to give it a go. Though I giggled at Heyer's witty prose and mostly enjoyed the plot, I prefer the historical novels which have a bit more depth.

January's Reading List

2009-02-21T10:07:00.003+01:00

So far, 2009 is super readalicious. I got loads of books for Christmas and accidentally bought ten more when Simon and I went to Liverpool last weekend. The charity shops there, including those in Huyton, have a surprisingly good selection of fiction, and the prices make it almost impossible to avoid buying, um, 10 books.

Here's what I read in January.

Georgette Heyer: False Colours

Good Jane Austenesque fun!

Terry Goodkind: Wizard's First Rule

Ugh. (Sorry, Todd!) I wish that I hadn't Googled Terry Goodkind. Then I wouldn't have discovered that he is an Objectivist (or follower of Ayn Rand). That's the kind of thinking that people really should get over by, say, the sophomore year of college. Wizard's First Rule is a mostly engaging fantasy novel. It's the first of a bajillion-part series, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that ultimately good triumphs over evil -- even though evil is clad in white! Gasp.

Kate Atkinson: Case Histories

I am completely addicted to Kate Atkinson. Last week, I finished reading her third Jackson Brodie mystery, When Will There Be Good News? And I have on hand two of her other novels, Emotionally Weird and Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I'm going to have to ration myself to one a month.

Jeffrey Ford: The Girl in the Glass

A clever mystery set among con artists and carnival freaks in the 1930s.

Catherine O'Flynn: What Was Lost

I finished this book in two days. The parallel stories -- a little girl who disappears in the 1980s and a pair of underemployed people who, twenty years later, are affected by the girl's disappearance -- are not in themselves funny at all, but O'Flynn's darkly comic style is.

Kjell Eriksson: The Princess of Burundi

A compelling and slightly claustrophobic (all that snow!) mystery from Sweden.

On the knitting front -- about two months too late, I'm knitting myself a wimple as I'm sick of having hat-head from wearing a watch cap (or toboggan -- pron. TOE-boggin -- as we say in the South). I'll post the pattern and pictures soon.

Books Read This Past, Um, Quarter

2009-01-12T18:30:00.006+01:00

I hope this post is more enjoyable reading than your most recent quarterly statements!

But first, the Netherlands froze over! And the whole population converged on our little village.

December
John Le Carré: The

Russia

House
Dai Sijie: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Margaret Atwood: Cat’s Eye
Marilynne Robinson: Housekeeping
Maggie O’Farrell: After You’d Gone

November
Susanna Jones: The Earthquake Bird
Richard Powers: The Echo Maker
John Le Carré: The Mission Song
Haruki Murakami: Kafka on the Shore

October
Kate Atkinson: One Good Turn
Lois Duncan: Gallows Hill
Beryl Bainbridge: Watson’s Apology
Jacqueline Winspear: Birds of a Feather
Jostein Gaarder: The Solitaire Mystery
Nicole Krauss: The History of Love
Ruth Rendell: The Veiled One
James Meek: The People’s Act of Love
Ursula Hegi: Intrusions
Marjorie Reynolds: The Starlite Drive-in

Will She Need a Dowry?

2008-12-03T08:16:00.006+01:00

A certain Tenten, a 3 year-old, neutered Tom who lives in Turkey, has asked for Kate's paw in marriage. His proposal came about after his person saw a photo of Kate that I had given to one of Simon's colleagues (along with a very lovely and tasteful 'Barcelona' magnet purchased at the airport).

In the interests of full disclosure, I believe that Tenten deserves to know more about Kate (also known as Princess Horrible and Get Off the *&#$% Counter).

A few fun facts about Kate
In November 2004, Kate adopted us from the Wake County SPCA. She wouldn't tell us her exact age, only that she was approximately 2 years old. Little is known of Kate's first two years. Did she live on the street? Was she a kitty of loose morals? (Tenten, please note that Kate is an older woman.)

Kate's hobbies include napping, shredding paper (newspapers, bills, important documents -- she's not picky), demanding treats, taking over my pillow during the night, and looking out the window.

Kate has been known to scratch furniture.

Kate does not attempt to drink from the toilet (which anyway would be impossible here in "Toilet with a Shelf Land").

Kate flirts shamelessly with new people, often tapping them on the knees with her paw or simply standing in their laps until they pay attention to her.

Tenten, perhaps now you have a fuller picture. If you're still besotted, Kate will consider considering your proposal.

Kim, I hope this makes you happy

2008-11-30T15:40:00.004+01:00

As "requested" (note use of ironic quotation marks) by Kim, here are a few snaps from our trip to Barcelona.

These geese live at La Catedral.

A chocolate stand at Mercat de la Boqueria, Barcelona's best known market. However . . .

Simon and I prefer Mercat de Santa Caterina. In particular, we like having lunch at Bar Joan. Cava, patatas bravas, and bacalla amb samfaina (fried salt cod in a tomato sauce). Yum.

Books Read in September

2008-10-06T19:03:00.005+02:00

J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye
John Le Carré: The Honourable Schoolboy
Stephenie Meyer: Twilight
Sergei Lukyanenko: The Night Watch
Georgette Heyer: The Convenient Marriage
Salley Vickers: Mr. Golightly's Holiday

Yes, of course, I have read The Catcher in the Rye before -- probably when I was about 12. Having reread the novel to prepare for tutoring two students, I realize that, at 12, I did not understand it. And unlike most Americans born after 1950, I wasn't assigned Catcher in high school. I'm rather glad of that. My currents students could not empathize with Holden Caulfield, most likely because his attitude is an amplification of their own.

I LOOOOVED Heyer's The Convenient Marriage. It was sweet, hilarious, and just fun. I had read or heard somewhere that reading Georgette Heyer is one of Stephen Fry's guilty pleasures. Well, if it's good enough for Stephen Fry, it's good enough for me.

I also LOOOOVED Vickers' Mr. Golightly's Holiday. (I'm not a pushover. I simply choose my reading carefully.) I also enjoyed the three other novels. September proved to be a good reading month for me.

Just for giggles, here are a few snaps from our trip to Wales and England last month.

This is Del. She "works" at Byrdir,
the B&B where Simon and I stayed for two nights.
Del, who seems to have some compulsive behavior issues
when it comes to playing fetch,
brought these scraps of sticks to the door of our cottage.

Another "working" animal,
Kit lives in Cheshire with her peeps, Elaine & Simon.

Slightly less cuddly than Del or Kit,
La Princesse was featured in
Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008,
over the weekend of 5-7 September 08.

Rain Drops Keep Falling on North Wales

2008-09-15T08:34:00.006+02:00

Simon and I were in north Wales last week, intending to get in two days of hiking. How silly! Don't we know that it rains A LOT in north Wales? We did, though, manage to get in one lovely but soggy hike.

This is not a stream. It's the trail.

The trail crossed this bridge.
And that's not a dry, grassy field.
It was a swamp the day we were there.

We passed this ancient burial chamber.

And then we cautiously passed this horse,
who didn't seem to mind our being on its trail.

Books Read in August

2008-09-12T10:21:00.002+02:00

Pearl, Matthew: The Poe Shadow
Oats, Joyce Carol: American Appetites
Kessel, John: Good News from Outer Space
Atwood, Margaret: The Robber Bride
Taylor, G.P.: Shadowmancer

Shadowmancer stinks on ice! Taylor has been compared to J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis. Well, I hope Lewis' ghost is haunting this writer for churning out such a heavy-handed, didactic load of nonsense.

The novels by Oats, Kessel, and Atwood are all excellent. Pearl's The Poe Shadow, though, is a bit of a dud. If I wanted to read about obsessive characters in 19th century American, then I would read Poe -- not someone writing a la Poe.

Coming soon . . . snaps from our trip to north Wales and England!

The Yarn Fairy Visited AGAIN!

2008-08-10T18:00:00.003+02:00

It's been a good yarn week for me. Simon's Aunt Elaine sent a package containing these two balls of yarn. I'm thinking springy scarf (or a summer one -- since today's high temp is 66F).

Thanks, Elaine!

Kate was not able to pose with this yarn. She's in her penthouse (also known as the top shelf of the wardrobe) and is three hours into her Sunday afternoon nap.

I haven't posted any of my knitting in long time. For several months I was working on Christmas 2008 gifts, so obviously I can't post those. But here are some socks that I'm about to send off to Afghans for Afghans for their Youth Campaign in Time for Winter.

Thanks, Jim!!!

2008-08-05T16:13:00.003+02:00

Back in February, I not-so-subtly mentioned that Noro had come out with a sock yarn.

This afternoon when I returned home from running errands in Leiden, a package was waiting for me. It contained this sublime skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn (color S188, to be precise). My pal Jim sent it to me from Halcyon Yarn (what a nice online shop!). Kate and I are both extremely excited about the yarn. I'd like to do socks for myself, but Kate is lobbying me to knit her a catsuit.

Like me, Kate always looks disgruntled in photos.

Books Read in July

2008-08-05T08:49:00.003+02:00

Umm . . . I was a rather lazy reader in July. In about two weeks, I'll be back to my full tutoring schedule. That means lots of reading time on the bus and the train.

Joyce Holms: Hidden Depths
P.D. James: Death in Holy Orders
Carolyn Parkhust: The Dogs of Babel
Ruth Rendell: Simisola
Barbara Vine: Grasshopper

Books Read in May and June 2008

2008-07-06T20:54:00.002+02:00

I can offer two reasons for having such short reading lists in May and June: 1) the bus strike really cut into my reading time and 2) some of these books are quite long and/or dense*.

May
Jane Hamilton: The Short History of a Prince
Joe Hill: Heart-Shaped Box
Joyce Carol Oats: We Were the Mulvaneys*
Peter Ackroyd: Dan Leno & The Limehouse Golem
Sebastian Faulks: On Green Dolphin Street*

June
Sarah Dunant: In the Company of the Courtesan
Margaret Atwood: Bodily Harm
John Le Carré: The Perfect Spy*
Siri Hustvedt: What I Loved* -- This book is incredible -- great plot and character development and amazing diction. She has three other novels, and I intend to read them too. And she's married to Paul Auster, so that's just too much writing talent in one household.

Dutch is Sometimes a Blunt Instrument

2008-06-30T19:03:00.003+02:00

I speak very little Dutch -- enough to get by at the supermarket and on public transport -- but I am able to read a fair bit, thanks largely to Dutch television. On the Dutch channels, the foreign programs -- most of them American, British or Australian -- are subtitled rather than dubbed. So, when I watch Oprah for example, I listen to the English spoken while I read along with the Dutch subtitles.

(Compare to Germany, where everything is dubbed. I was NOT amused when I channel surfed by the opening of A Room with a View, only to realize that I was on a German station and not a Dutch one. By the way, the Dutch like to say that the Germans use dubbing because their literacy rate is too low for subtitling to work. The Dutch and the Germans just love each other to bits.)

Sometimes a new Dutch word will stick in my head because it's about a subtle as sledgehammer. Here's one I learned recently. I can't recall what I was watching, but I'd guess that it was an episode of Oprah with Dr. Oz. So here's the word:

tandvlees

What could it mean? I'll give you a couple of hints.

1. tand means tooth

Any guesses yet?

2. vlees mean meat or flesh or pulp

So tandvlees is gums, or toothmeat. Eeewwww.

I'm not judging the Dutch language -- well, maybe a little. I don't know the etymology of the word gums, so for me the term is nearly euphemism. Unlike tandvlees, gums is not disgustingly descriptive.

Now I'm trying to think of English words, not slang or vulgarity, that evoke yucky images. Any ideas?

This Post is Rated EC for Extreme Cuteness

2008-05-21T18:22:00.005+02:00

It had been at least a week since I'd seen Cheeky Duck, pictured below and being cheeky.

But then yesterday and again today, she dropped by to show off her Chickies and Chappies. Caution: Extreme Cuteness begins here.

It's possible that I accidentally stroked one or two of them -- so soft and chirpy.

Books Read in April -- just a smidge late posting

2008-05-19T17:17:00.003+02:00

April was just go-go-go, so my reading list for the month is pretty short.

Ruth Rendell (writing as Barbara Vine): King Solomon’s Carpet
Barry Unsworth: The Ruby in her Navel
John Le Carré: The Night Manager

I cannot recommend the Unsworth novel. Usually I love his books, but this one was a dud. The setting was promising: 12th-century Sicily, conflict between Christians and Muslims, east and west. But the narrator was sooooo dull and unappealing. I recommend reading Unsworth, just not this book. Instead I would suggest Sacred Hunger, Stone Virgin, or Losing Nelson.

Le Carré, as always, rocks.

Vacation Recap: Day 5

2008-05-02T10:31:00.005+02:00

Tuesday the 22^nd was an action-packed day that began with the Battle of Hastings and ended with the D-Day landings.

We first went to the town of Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry. Nearly 1000 years-old and over 200 feet long, the tapestry chronicles the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. I found the tapestry fascinating, especially as I had an audio-tour that described each panel of it.

After Bayeux, we headed to the coast, stopping in Arromanches-les-Bains for lunch (moules et frites -- yum!) and a look at the remains of Mulberry Harbour B, one of the artificial harbors constructed to bring in supplies for the D-Day landings.

Our next stop was the excellent and informative visitors’ center and memorial at Omaha Beach, where we spent about two hours, first going through the visitors' and then walking down to the beach.

Since it wasn't far away, we headed to the Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc, and then -- since our goal had apparently become 12 hours of sightseeing -- we made one more stop for the day: Sainte-Mère-Église. On D-Day, when paratroopers landed in this town, one soldier's parachute became entangled with church's spire. This incident became the basis for The Longest Day.

Church with slightly unconvincing model
of paratroop and parachute

Vacation Recap: Day 4

2008-05-01T09:33:00.008+02:00

On the morning of Monday the 21st, John and Patricia, the owners of Le Petit Corbon, stopped in to say hello and mentioned that there was a good market that day in the village of St. Pierre sur Dives. Since the village wasn't far off our route to the castle of William the Conquerer, we went first to the market.

It was huge!

Simon and I dropped Mom and Dad off and then found a parking space. At that point, we had no idea that it would take us more than an hour to cross paths with Mom and Dad. By then, both parties had purchased stinky cheese. And it's just possible that I bought a crepe from these fine ladies.

Leaving the market, we went to Falaise to visit le Château Guillaume le Conquérant. Most of the exterior was under scaffolding, but it was nonetheless a worthwhile stop with an excellent audio-tour.

In Falaise, Simon picked up some walking maps that covered the area around our rental house. That evening, we did part of one of the walks. As we didn't have proper hiking gear, the paths were much too muddy for us to continue. Still we had some excitement: we encountered a ferocious poodle and dozens of inquisitive cows.

If you click on this picture
and see what you think is a dead cow in the background,
do not be alarmed.
That cow is just rolling around in the grass.

Vacation Recap: Days 2 & 3

2008-04-30T08:31:00.007+02:00

On Saturday the 19th, we -- well, Simon -- had a longish day of driving. Just outside Ypres, we made a quick stop at the Hill 62 Museum. It's a private museum and a bit chaotic and pricey, but it's worth visiting if only for the trenches. (Plus, the stench of cat and the opportunity to pet the skinny perpetrators of said stench are included in the ticket price.)

A close-up of the remnants a tree amongst the trenches.
There were about three or four of these trees, all dead, full of bullet holes,
and held up with cement and metal poles.

After this stop, we drove on to our house, "Le Petit Corbon," located just outside the village of Putanges Pont-Ecrepin. The house was so nice and comfy and ended up being about half the cost of two hotel rooms for all of us.

Even after all the driving on Saturday, Simon was ready for another roadtrip. So on Sunday, we headed across Normandy to Monet's house and gardens in Giverny. Before going into the village, we stopped for lunch at a little outdoor pizza cafe. There Daddy, Simon, and I had pizza with andouillette sausage. In other words, we had chitlins pizza.

Monet's house with cute, well-dressed French child in the background.
I love the way French people dress their children as children,
not as (skanky) mini-adults (hello, people of the Netherlands!)

Tulip and little blue flowers whose name I do not know.

Monet's water garden with The Japanese Bridge.

Vacation Recap: Day One

2008-04-29T11:11:00.004+02:00

On Friday, 18 April, we headed out for Ypres, Belgium. Simon piloted the rental car (a snazzy Skoda), and I -- map in hand -- navigated. Mom and Dad engaged in the ever-popular "Crop Talk."

I grew up hearing "Crop Talk" from Mom and Dad whenever we drove anywhere: "That corn is gettin' right high" or "That tabacca needs toppin'." My parents don't generally talk like that -- only when they're playing car-window-farmer (sort of like armchair-quarterback, but not as interesting).

We arrived in Ypres around mid-afternoon, with enough time to tour a few sites and get back to town for the "Last Post" Ceremony at the Menin Gate.

Memorial to John McCrae, writer of "In Flanders Fields," at Essex Farm Cemetery.

A crowd gathers for the "Last Post" Ceremony.

At the Keukenhof with Bud 'n' Bren

2008-04-17T22:03:00.004+02:00

Just a few quick snaps from the Keukenhof. Tomorrow we're off on our road trip, one night in Ypres, Belgium, and then nearly a week in Normandy, France.

Daddy ("Buddy") in repose

We Fired Up the Quattro

2008-04-06T21:32:00.004+02:00

Woo hoo. Simon and I are back on the Quattro. We kept waiting for spring to arrive, but it ain't here yet. So we took advantage of the sun and tried to ignore the cold. Today we rode past the Keukenhof. Here our are stats:

Time: 66 minutes
Distance: 19.78 miles
Average speed: 18 m.p.h.

Because we were riding for speed today, we didn't stop for pictures. But here are a few from last week's trip to the Keukenhof with Elaine, Simon T., and the indomitable Jean.

Simon T., Elaine, Jean, me, and unidentified butt guy.

Photo by Simon K.

So, the ticket to the Keukenhof, including return bus fare to Leiden, costs €19,
yet -- once one is inside the Keukenhof, a tinkle costs €0.40! In American money, that's 63¢!
And don't even dream of a free refill on your coffee!

Books Read in March

2008-04-02T20:56:00.005+02:00

A shorter list this month

Ian Rankin (writing as Jack Harvey): Witch Hunt
Alan Hollinghurst: The Line of Beauty
George Orwell: 1984*
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
Nick Hornby: Slam
Anne Perry: Half Moon Street

The Line of Beauty was excellent but intensely sad. As it is, in essence, a contemporary Henry James novel, this book also took forever to read.

And I loved The Book Thief. Read it before the movie comes out!!!

*No, this wasn't my first reading of 1984. I read it back in 1984 when I was way to young to understand the novel. I reread it because one of my students was assigned it for senior English. Now I need to dig up all the other books I read in my tweens (just think, back then I didn't even know I was a tween) and didn't understand.

The Caprice!

2008-03-23T11:51:00.004+01:00

A few weekends ago, Simon and I made a very exciting purchase:

Now that we're a two-tandem couple, we've had to name our sweet rides. At first, we referred to this bike as the crappy tandem, but then realized that we may insult our friends Edo and Silvia as they own a similar tandem. (By the way, the four of us seem to be the only people in the Netherlands under the age of 70 with sit-up-and-beg tandems.)

Anyhooooo, we named this tandem the Caprice after a Chevrolet Caprice Classic that I occasionally had to drive when I worked for Mr. Zucker. Long story short, I began working for Mr. Zucker in August 1989, the start of my freshman year at Meredith. Mr. Zucker was 89 and nearly totally blind, and it was my job to go to his apartment a few times a week, tidy up, read the Wall Street Journal to him, and run errands. Usually Mr. Zucker wanted me to drive his car, the Caprice. It was a beast. Just to go around a curve, I would have to turn the steering wheel about 720 degrees. And, though I've never driven or ridden in a hover-craft, I'm pretty sure that the Caprice simulated the effect accurately.

Are you wondering what we've named the Santana Arriva SE? It's the Quattro -- as in "Let's fire up the Quattro!"

Books Read in February 2008

2008-02-29T19:03:00.004+01:00

Happy Leap Day!

The extra 24 hours played a crucial role in my getting all this reading done.

Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
Ali Smith: The Accidental
Jed Rubenfeld: The Interpretation of Murder
Ngaio Marsh: Last Ditch
Tim O'Brien: Going After Cacciato
Paulo Coelho: The Witch of Portobello
Michael Jecks: The Outlaws of Ennor
Ian McEwan: On Chesil Beach

O...M...G!

2008-02-27T20:43:00.004+01:00

Alert the media: Noro has come out with sock yarn!

Get a head start on your Christmas 2008 shopping for ME.

FYI: One 100-gram ball will make one pair of socks.

That purring you hear is ME! (Well, it is I, if I am to be perfectly grammatical.)

Woo hoo! I mean, purr-purr.

When Bad Cats Get, Umm, Worse

2008-02-09T10:32:00.000+01:00

As an artist, Kate embraces all media, but is especially fond of household items, particularly paper towels and toilet paper.

Creativity in action

The aftermath, I mean, masterpiece with the artist's tail.

Books Read in January

2008-02-01T11:14:00.000+01:00

The length of this list may cause you to wonder whether I spend all my time reading and eating bon-bons (why it is always bon-bons? why not pork rinds?). However, much of my reading occurs during the nearly two hours I spend every weekday enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of public transportation. No, I'm not on the bus for two hours. I spend most of that time waiting for the bus. It's fun.

Marisha Pessl: Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Mark Haddon: A Spot of Bother
Lois Lowry: The Giver
Laurie Perry: Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair
Sébastien Japrisot: The Sleeping-car Murders
Diane Setterfield: The Thirteenth Tale
Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love
M.T. Anderson: Feed
Philippe Claudel: By a Slow River
Susan Runholt: The Mystery of the Third Lucretia
Anthony Trollope: Rachel Ray

And finally a couple of snaps from our November trip to Boston:

The squirrels in Boston are fat and fearless.

I always travel to Boston for Belgian beer.

Books Read in December 2007

2008-01-10T20:09:00.000+01:00

This list is late and short, but it's here. And it's short because two of the books, Alias Grace and Bellefleur, are quite long -- and maybe also because I was home for three weeks and a bit distracted what with all the shopping; general racing around; hanging out with Mom & Dad; crashing monster trucks with my nephew, Michael; being crafty with my niece, Elaine; and driving a car and NOT riding in a bus.

Anyhoooo, here's what I read in December:

Margaret Atwood: Alias Grace
David Henry Hwang: M. Butterfly
John Le Carré: The Looking Glass War
Joyce Carol Oates: Bellefleur

January preview: I've just finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, lent to me by my super-awesome friend Kim (formerly known as Hut Girl). I didn't love every minute of this book. Sometimes the narrator got on my nerves, particularly with her excessive use of similes, and though her precocity at times swerved towards nauseating, it never actually turned my stomach. In all, this novel rocks.

Books Read in November 2007

2007-12-03T00:22:00.000+01:00

Michelle Lovric: The Floating Book
John Le Carré: The Constant Gardener
Walter Mosley: Little Scarlet
Michael Dibdin: Dead Lagoon
Thomas Berger: Best Friends
Dorothy Allison: Bastard Out of Carolina
Suzanne Berne: A Crime in the Neighborhood

Boston photos coming soon. I promise!

Trying to Be a Little Post-ier

2007-11-11T10:01:00.000+01:00

No, we haven't been flooded out of our apartment -- apparently the Deltawerken did their magic and kept the North Sea from claiming its rightful territory, also known as the western third of the Netherlands.

The weather has been pretty wild since early Friday morning -- lots of wind, some heavy rain but mostly during the night, and hail. In fact, on Friday I was caught in FOUR, yes FOUR, hailstorms. That's either a record or a sign of the apocalypse. Or maybe it's both.

I had a good reason for being out in the bad weather Friday. I had to go to Den Haag to deliver two goodies-filled shoeboxes for Operation Shoebox for the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home in South Africa. It was supposed to be an easy trip. I had already mapped out the tram route only to arrive at Den Haag Centraal and discover that the trams were not running from the station because of some high-security UN event. So I walked and walked and experienced hailstorms 3 and 4 of the day. But I did discover a very good bakery and treated myself to a warm saucijzenbroodje, or sausage roll. Lekker!

Continuing with all things lekker, or yummy, here are some marzipan photos from yesterday.

Even marzipan naughtiness -- oh, those crazy Dutch!

Marzipan bacon with marzipan crepes and marzipan Heineken in the background

Marzipan critters

More marzipan critters

And nutritious marzipan fruit

Books Read in October 2007

2007-11-02T08:52:00.000+01:00

Yeah, yeah. I know I need to post more often.

Margaret Atwood: The Blind Assassin
E.L. Konigsburg: Up From Jericho Tel
Ian Rankin: Mortal Causes
John Irving: The Fourth Hand
Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who Wasn’t There
Harry Mulisch: The Assault
Iain Pears: The Portrait
David Liss: A Conspiracy of Paper

Books Read in September

2007-10-03T20:46:00.000+02:00

No, I didn't spend all of September reading, but I did put in a good bit of time waiting for and riding in buses. That's where most of the reading happened.

John Le Carré: The Tailor of Panama
Clive Barker:The Thief of Always
Tracy Chevalier: The Lady and the Unicorn
Agatha Christie: A Pocketful of Rye
Chaz Brenchley: Shelter
Michael Hoeye: Time Stops for No Mouse
Morag Joss: Fearful Symmetry
Sarah Waters: The Night Watch
Jonathan Franzen: The Corrections
Åsa Larsson: Sun Storm
Boris Akunin: Turkish Gambit

Books Read in August

2007-09-01T10:21:00.000+02:00

Sarah Waters: Fingersmith
Steve Martin: The Pleasure of My Company
John Le Carré: A Murder of Quality
Caleb Carr: The Angel of Darkness
Tom Perrotta: Little Children
Ruth Rendell: One Across, Two Down
Ben Sherwood: The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud
Alexander McCall Smith: The Sunday Philosophy Club
Salley Vickers: Miss Garnet’s Angel

L.B., 1996-2007

2007-08-19T21:21:00.001+02:00

L.B., or Little Brenda, was named after my mom.

Kate Loves Jim

2007-08-17T18:07:00.001+02:00

All the way from the US of A, Jim sent Kate a package of Spicy Micey catnip mice.

I think she likes them.

First a Soothing Picture . . .

2007-08-16T17:08:00.000+02:00

. . . because I've spent over an hour trying to send two text messages. Whew.

The butterfly was on the patio yesterday morning and hung around long enough for me to take a few pictures.

Books Read in July

2007-07-31T18:01:00.000+02:00

Dr. Michael F. Roizen & Dr. Mehmet C. Oz: You On a Diet*
Michel Faber: The Crimson Petal and the White
Terry Pratchett: The Color of Magic
Khaled Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Peter Abrahams: Down the Rabbit Hole
Dorothy L. Sayers: Clouds of Witness
Terry Pratchett: The Light Fantastic
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Nicci French: The Memory Game

*I won't apologize for having read this book. It's informative and amusing.

Clarissa Doggaway, 1993-2007

2007-07-30T09:44:00.000+02:00

Why "Clarissa Doggaway"? Clarissa was named after the eponymous character of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.

My Dæmon

2007-07-29T10:47:00.000+02:00

Well, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday. Loved it!

Now I'm living for film version of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass (release date: 7 December 07).

Here's my dæmon:

Little Quacker

2007-07-12T09:29:00.000+02:00

Yesterday around 6 pm, Piglet came by for a snack. Though I had often heard her quacking, I hadn't seen her for a few days. I now know who's been keeping Piglet busy.

It's July, and I'm Freezing

2007-07-06T11:33:00.000+02:00

Today's high is 62F (16.6C), but I don't think the temperature will get there. It's cold and windy and will be rainy any moment now.

But it's not too cold for Piglet the Duck. How can such a small duck eat so much bread? And I'm not giving her empty-calorie Wonderbread. She's getting lovely multi-grain stuff. Today's selection was a pumpernickel with pumpkin seeds. She seemed happy with it, and that's all that matters.

And for a little North Carolina wildlife, here's one of the very bold squirrels that hang out on my aunt's deck and help themselves to birdseed.

Books Read in June 2007

2007-07-02T12:40:00.000+02:00

Well, it's a short list this month. With less time on the bus and more time in NC, I didn't read as much as I usually do. And, The Little Drummer Girl took me a while. I'm glad, though, that I persevered.

Manil Suri: The Death of Vishnu
Ian Rankin: The Black Book
William Trevor: The Story of Lucy Gault
John Le Carré: The Little Drummer Girl

I'll Never Be a Hand Model

2007-06-19T10:15:00.001+02:00

I love these gauntlets! I'll probably make another pair or two for Christmas gifts, but this pair is MINE!

I used this pattern and Fabel Superwash, Color 677, by the fabulous Garnstudio and Drops Design.

Where the Wild Things Are: My Apartment

2007-06-18T19:21:00.000+02:00

One cat, three ducks, 19 slugs

First Kate conquers the Netherlands.

Then these three ducks take over the garden.

This one is particularly sassy.
And the slugs are everywhere -- I just looked out the window and counted 19. But no, I didn't take a picture.

Scotland Trip, Episode 4: Arthur's Seat

2007-06-11T17:20:00.000+02:00

On the last day of our trip, Simon and I went to Edinburgh to hike up Arthur's Seat. (As the actor said to the bishop. Har-dee-har-har.) Arthur's Seat is an extinct volcano pretty much smack in the middle of Edinburgh. Actually, it and the Salisbury Crags are part of Holyrood Park.

Simon at the beginning of the hike

View of Arthur's Seat

Another view of Arthur's Seat. Note the trail's switchbacks.

View of the Salisbury Crags

The Recycled-Bag Bag

2007-06-11T15:43:00.000+02:00

Simon and I watch BBC Breakfast (basically the British version of Good Morning, America) every morning, so we know lots more about what's going on in Britain than in the Netherlands. The BBC covers environmental issues pretty well and has lately run several pieces on excessive packaging, including the overuse of the plastic shopping bag. Here in the Netherlands, I haven't found any place that recycles plastic bags, and though I use my own bags for groceries, I still have a stockpile of plastic bags that I just can't throw in the garbage.

I had seen several patterns for knitting shopping bags into a reusable bag, so I decided to come up with a design of my own.

The bag with a kilo of apples in it

Supplies

“Yarn” made from loops of plastic shopping bags*
Circular needles, size 15 U.S.**
Long DPNs, size 13 U.S.** (I’m guessing here. I used 10s because that’s what I had on hand. The decreases were very tight and quite uncomfortable to knit. In future, I’ll use 13s.)
Large-eye needle

Gauge: Doesn’t really matter

Directions

With circulars, cast on 60 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist your stitches.

Rows 1-3: Knit

Row 4: *K1, Slip1 (yib)* around

Row 5: K11, BO8, K22, BO8, K11

Row 6: K11, CO8, K22, CO8, K11

Rows 7+: Knit until your bag measures 14 or so inches from cast on.

Prepare to decrease by dividing stitches evenly over DPNs.

Row 1: *K4, K2tog* around

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: *K3, K2tog* around

Row 4: Knit

Row 5: *K2, K2tog* around

Row 6: Knit

Row 7: *K1, K2tog* around

Row 8: Knit

Row 9: *K2tog* around

Thread yarn onto needle and carefully cinch up remaining stitches. Weave in ends.

*Making your yarn (use about 30 bags of comparable weight)

Roll a shopping bag lengthwise. At the top, cut off the handles, and at the bottom, cut off the seam.
Cut the rolled bag into 1” inch segments.
Unroll each segment.
Carefully link your loops with slip knots. Pull firmly being careful not to stretch the strips or break the loops.
Roll your yarn into a ball.
If you run out of yarn while knitting, just make more and tie it to the end of the yarn in use.

**Some of your plastic bags may stain your needles, so I strongly recommend that you use needles that you can clean with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover.

Kate investi-"cats" the bag. Mmm, plastic is so delicious.

Scotland Trip, Episode 3: North Berwick

2007-06-05T11:25:00.001+02:00

Simon and I went to North Berwick to visit the Scottish Seabird Centre (recommended!). Inside -- where it's warm and not windy -- you can view seabirds by manipulating cameras on the large rocks/small islands just off the shore. The day we were there, Bass Rock appeared white because it was covered in gannets.

Simon outside the Scottish Seabird Centre

View of Bass Rock

Afterwards, we hiked up North Berwick Law, "a 613ft lump of volcanic rock" according to Undiscovered Scotland.

View from the base of North Berwick Law

View of Bass Rock from North Berwick Law

Books Read in May

2007-05-31T21:46:00.000+02:00

Howard Owen: Littlejohn
John Banville: Shroud
Boris Akunin: The Winter Queen
Ruth Rendell: Road Rage
Geraldine Brooks: Year of Wonders
Jane Gardam: Bilgewater
Ian Rankin: Set in Darkness
Jennifer Lauck: Blackbird
P.D. James: Shroud for a Nightingale
Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun

In one month, how did I manage to read two books with shroud in the title?

Scotland Trip, Episode 2: Craigmillar Castle

2007-05-28T10:57:00.000+02:00

On Simon's birthday, we flew from Amsterdam to Edinburgh (yea! EasyJet!) and picked up our rental car. Unfortunately, the rental agency was out of the car we had requested, so we were upgraded. This upgrade was unfortunate because Simon then had to drive on the wrong, err, other side of the road in way too much car. If this ever happens again, we will definitely request a downgrade.

We had a few hours to spare before we could check into our B&B in Musselburgh, the Honest Town, so we decided to visit Craigmillar Castle, which dates back to the 1400s.

Simon and I later learned from our pals at the Volunteer Arms in Musselburgh that we had been in a rather dicey part of Edinburgh. We didn't have any problems though and would recommend visiting Craigmillar Castle.

Miscellaneous (More Scotland Pictures Soon)

2007-05-23T11:18:00.000+02:00

So the Albert Heijn supermarket opened in our little town two weeks ago, and IT HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE WAY I DO BUSINESS!!! For example, this morning I walked over, got my groceries, and walked home. The errand took about 30 minutes -- including the time I spent browsing at the flower shop across the street. No more frantically buying groceries with just 10 minutes to spare before the bus leaves! Heaven!

Sunday was beautiful, so Simon and I headed out of the tandem. There was very little wind to battle, but there were some "clogged" bike paths toward the end of our ride. Nevertheless, we made great time.

Distance: 30 miles
Time: 93 minutes
Average speed: 19.3 mph

Scotland Trip, Episode 1: New Relative

2007-05-16T20:58:00.000+02:00

Usually when Simon and I go on holiday, I do, umm, most of the planning. But for this trip, Simon contributed to the research by consulting CAMRA’s website and compiling a seemingly exhaustive list of recommended pubs. One was the Volunteer Arms in Musselburgh, a friendly, lively pub with a great selection of real ales.

And, had Simon not pursued this scholarly endeavor, I would not have met my cousin Scott. Like me, Scott has freakishly double-jointed fingers. We must be related.

Scott was out with his pals Robert and Steve. Silliness ensued.

Stats from Yesterday's Ride

2007-05-07T12:08:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Simon and I rode a short loop through the dunes and back through Wassenaar.

Total distance: 20.4 miles
Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Average speed: 16.3 mph

Today's Stats

2007-04-30T11:24:00.000+02:00

Today is Koninginnedag, the Queen's official birthday (but not her actual birthday). It's a big holiday here, sort of like the Fourth of July in the U.S.

Knowing the bike paths would be busy, Simon and I headed out early, well by Dutch standards, and got in a short ride before things got crazy. We went NNE past the Keukenhof Gardens, turning back when we reached Hillegom. For most of the ride, we had either a headwind or a crosswind. Fun!

Most of the the tulip fields are done for the season, but there are still a few to see.

Today's stats:
Distance: 20 miles
Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Average speed: 16 mph
Top speed: 22 mph

Books Read in April

2007-04-30T08:19:00.000+02:00

Donna Leon: Death at La Fenice
Wayne Johnston: The Divine Ryans
Jean-Dominique Bauby: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Shannon Hale: Princess Academy*
Helene Tursten: Detective Inspector Huss
John Le Carré: Absolute Friends
Michael Cunningham: Specimen Days
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: Rashomon and Other Stories
Tobias Wolff: Old School
Elizabeth George: A Place of Hiding

*A children's novel, NOT chick-lit!

Weekend Round Up!

2007-04-29T21:24:00.000+02:00

Today's post is just a collection of this 'n that.

The little duckers are doing well and entertaining everyone in the neighborhood.

And I'm de-diddily-lighted that an Albert Heijn is opening in our village -- in just a 10 days! No more schlepping the groceries on and off the bus or balancing a loaded-down bicycle! Soon I'll have just an 8-minute walk to the supermarket.

I knitted, felted, stuffed and sewed up this toy for Princess Horrible. And yes, it is stuffed with catnip. Mmmmmm, catnip . . .

Simon and I have finally gotten back on the tandem. Simon replaced my seat post (I'm much happier -- no comments from you, Jim C), the bottom bracket, and the handlebar tape. Today we rode east along the Kagerplassen. Going out we averaged about 16 mph, but coming back we averaged around 24 mph. Here are the official stats:

Distance: 25.5 miles
Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Average speed: 19 mph
Top speed: 25 mph

Little Duckers

2007-04-25T19:43:00.000+02:00

If you look very closely, you'll see that this duck seems to be sitting on something -- her 15 ducklings! I saw the ducklings earlier this afternoon as they were swimming around their mom in a canal near our apartment. When I went back to take some pictures, they had already turned in for, um, the afternoon. Apparently ducks don't keep late hours. I should have known that since there's a pair that hangs out in our canal and starts quacking around 5 a.m.

I'll try to get better pictures in the next day or two.

And this is what I'm knitting right now: a simple cable scarf. I'm using a this pattern from Lionbrand and Tundra, Color 6704, by Katia. (To look at the pattern, you may need to register with Lionbrand.)

I'm happy with the scarf -- except for how much blocking I'll have to do to keep it from rolling up. To take this photo, I had to weight the scarf down with glasses (former mustard jars -- we have a full set!).

France with Bud 'n Bren -- Ooh La La!

2007-04-22T21:09:00.000+02:00

Last Thursday, Simon and I headed out with Mom and Dad to visit northeastern France, in particular the areas where my grandfather (Dad's dad) fought with the 42nd Rainbow Division in World War I.

As a child, I was dragged off to cemeteries, battlefields, and battle re-enactments and always vowed to myself that, as an adult, I would never go on another history-oriented vacation. Well, this trip to France was my and Simon's third WWI vacation.

Here are just a couple of snaps from our trip.

American War Memorial at Chateau-Thierry

The Buies Creek Expeditionary Force, as it advances on Belleau Wood

We weren't at war the whole trip. It just happens that we were in the Champagne region.

Bud 'n Bren at the grape press

A vineyard at Champagne Maison Mercier

More from the Bulb Fields

2007-04-08T15:10:00.000+02:00

kNitting News

2007-04-05T17:48:00.000+02:00

I have way too many knitting projects on the go right now, but I do have a few FOs (finished objects) to show off.

I completed the "My So-Called Scarf" last night. I'm happy with how it turned out -- even if it is a bit short. I used Cortina by Austermann, which is 50% wool, 25% mohair, and 25% acrylic.

And I'm tickled with this felted bag. I used the "Bobbles the Sheep" dishcloth pattern for the front, knit a plain panel the same size for the back, and knit a strip of garter stitch for the handle, sides, and base.

Big Weekend!

2007-04-02T08:51:00.000+02:00

First off, Friday night Simon comes home with a huge bunch of yellow tulips for me. They're so bright and pretty. You'll have to take my word for it because I can't seem to take a decent picture of them. Here's a fuzzy one.

Then on Saturday, which was sunny and warmish, we went to Utrecht and had the best food we've had in this country -- calzone salami from Bakkerij Mario.

And I made a new friend.

And then on Sunday, Simon repaired the tandem, and we went out for a short ride to look at the bulb fields. Everyone else in the whole country was there too. Next weekend, we'll get an earlier start.

Here's a snap of the bulb field closest to our apartment.

Books Read in March

2007-03-30T16:27:00.000+02:00

Arnaldur Indriðason: Tainted Blood
Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go
James Lee Burke: A Morning for Flamingos
Rennie Airth: The Blood-dimmed Tide
Alison Lurie: Love and Friendship
Pat Barker: The Man Who Wasn't There
P.D. James: The Skull Beneath the Skin
Amanda Cross: The Players Come Again
Iain Pears: An Instance of the Fingerpost

A Cautionary Tale

2007-03-28T19:16:00.000+02:00

Kate indulged in a little catnip yesterday. She's an angry, wild-eyed drunk.

Afterwards, she slept it off.

Kate's Big Sunday

2007-03-25T11:00:00.000+02:00

Look who was hanging out this morning in the canal by our garden! And isn't the duckweed attractive?

What a fulfilling day it has been for Kate the Cat! You'll notice that I took this photo while also trying to prevent her escape.

Kate is now recovering from all the excitement by taking a big nap.

Snow!

2007-03-19T14:05:00.000+01:00

Well, a little. It was gone in less than an hour. I took Kate out to enjoy the soft, fluffy flakes, but she quickly became disgruntled, decided that I was a soft, fluffy flake, and demanded that I return her to her bed INSIDE the window.

Here's a hyacinth that I bought last year as a forced bulb and set out after it had finished blooming.

Knitting Happiness

2007-03-12T13:10:00.000+01:00

Saturday evening, I was just mindin' my own bidness and checking my e-mail. I saw that I had an e-mail from Afghans for Afghans, a charity that sends donated, hand-knit and crocheted clothing and afghans to Afghanistan. I recently sent in some hats for the Afghan Mini Mobile Circus for Children campaign. Well, whenever a knitter sends something to Afghans for Afghans, he or she is entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate for YarnMarket.com. I think you see where this story is going . . .

I won a $50 gift certificate to YarnMarket!!!!!

I was happy enough just to get to knit a couple of cute hats. Now I get to do some yarn shopping too! Hmm, I'm thinking that I have to try another project with Crystal Palace Taos.

The Kim Show, Episode 3: Den Haag & Delft

2007-03-09T15:21:00.000+01:00

On the Sunday of Kim's visit, we went to Den Haag (The Hague) and Delft.

First, we dropped by to see Queen Beatrix, but apparently she wasn't receiving guests. I know. We should have called to let her know we were on our way.

Then we stopped at the fish stand that makes the best gebakken lekkerbek (fried fish) EVER!

And then we stopped for frites!

On Monday, Kim was on her own. She went to Amsterdam while Simon and I did our usual stuff -- work. But then we met up that evening in Leiden, and Kim took us out for rijsttafel, a traditional, family-style Indonesian meal. (Thanks, Kim!)

And then the next day, Kim left. (Sniff.)

We Interrupt the Kim Show for Important Knitting Updates

2007-03-07T09:02:00.000+01:00

I'm finally cabling and have discovered -- as I've read and been told many times -- cabling is not as complicated as it looks. Not at all!

For this scarf, I'm using lovely, lovely Taos (color 11) by Crystal Palace Yarns, and a pattern for Taos from Straw.com, which seems to be the official Crystal Palace website.

And I've finally finished the socks in Dancing by Knit Picks. With these socks, I suffered from second-sock syndrome (SSS) for many months. According to socknitters.com, SSS is "an affliction that prevents the victim from knitting the second sock of a pair." (How do you like my froggy pjs? They're my faves.)

The Kim Show, Episode 2: Maastricht

2007-03-07T08:25:00.000+01:00

On the Saturday of Kim's visit, we got up early and headed for Maastricht, about a 3-hour train ride from Leiden. Located in Limburg, Maastricht is the southernmost city in the Netherlands. With its proximity to Belgium and its Catholic history, Maastricht seems much more continental (i.e. French?) than most cities in the Netherlands.

On the way to the center of town, we walk through an antiques market. Kim can't believe that I'm looking at baseball cards.

Kim poses by a sculpture in the Vrijthof.

We visit St. Servaaskerk, the church that houses the relics of St. Servaas, the first bishop of Maastricht.

We had hoped to tour the sandstone caves on the edge of town, but they had already closed for the day. Instead we took a walk in the "Dutch Alps" -- that's what the Dutch call Limburg because, as it's actually above sea level, there are a few hills.

The Kim Show, Episode 1

2007-03-05T08:37:00.000+01:00

Our pal Kim -- guidebook in hand, sightseeing plan in mind, and exit strategy in place -- visited last week.

Kim and I walked around Leiden, going to Pieterskerk, the church the Pilgrims attended while living in Leiden; the area where Jan Steen lived and worked for a while; and the area where Rembrandt grew up and went to school.
Note: it's sunny-ish!

Always the editor, Kim was delighted by the frequent use of "nowadays" in English translations.

That evening, Simon met up with us, and we went to La Bota, a very popular restaurant near the Pieterskerk.

Episode 2: Maastricht

Books Read in February

2007-03-01T08:17:00.000+01:00

Kate Mosse: Labyrinth
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Ian Rankin: The Flood
P.D. James: Unnatural Causes
William Trevor: The Old Boys
Mary Shelley: Frankenstein*
John Le Carré: Smiley's People**

*Why? Because one of my students had to read it for school -- I can't believe that I'd never read it before.

**I'm now hooked on Le Carré even though I've been reading his Smiley books out of order.

Kate the Cat just tried to help me by walking across the computer. Maybe she just wanted you to know what she's been reading (Of Mice and Men, etc.).

Whoo! It's Like a Sauna in Here.

2007-02-22T19:27:00.000+01:00

Apparently Kate thinks that I take showers just to create a relaxing, kitty cat sauna for her.

Here she is on the washing machine (and under the washing) in her peaceful sausage pose.

For Kim's Visit, We're Pulling Out All the Stops

2007-02-21T16:04:00.000+01:00

Our pal Kim arrives Friday for a short visit. I think everything is ready.

The crocuses are blooming.

The bathroom is, well, Dutch. But the constantly running toilet is now fixed. Kate has a brand-new litter box and has approved it. And I bought a new toilet brush from IKEA. It will remained wrapped until Kim's arrival. Why does it matter that there's a new toilet brush? I'll sum up my answer in one word: "shelf." That is, the Dutch toilet does not have bowl, but a shelf. Sigh.

Suggestion Box

2007-02-15T21:53:00.000+01:00

A certain someone who will visit next week, let's call her "Kim," has suggested that I don't post often enough. So here I am posting though I don't have much to say.

The highlight of my day was spending some quality time with the Posthof Chicken. This is the chicken who hangs out at the Posthof bus stop, a stop I occasionally use. The Posthof Chicken just clucks around under the shelter and in the flower bed right past the stop.

I'll take my camera the next time there's a chance I'll be at Posthof, and I'll try to get a snap of the Chicken.

Cat-Tired

2007-02-11T22:03:00.000+01:00

Unless you've been cat-tired, you've never been tired.

Visit to Liverpool, Part 2

2007-02-09T22:37:00.000+01:00

I'm not proud. Neither is Simon. But we were delighted to visit ASDA in Huyton. We know that Wal-Mart is an evil empire, but right now, we just can't care. Try shopping in the Netherlands, people. It's not easy. It's bad. It's post-Soviet satellite nation bad. I'm not exaggerating. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not much.

After staying with Jean, Simon's great aunt, we went to scenic, hilly, lovely Cheshire to stay the night with Elaine and Simon, my Simon's aunt and uncle. Mostly I took pictures of Minnie, a 22-year-old kitty cat, and Scaredy Cat (or Fluffy or something else . . .). I've now known Scaredy Cat for over 10 years. She's finally allowed me to pet her. I feel that this is a breakthrough in our relationship.

Elaine took us to see Antony Gormley's Another Place, an incredible installation of 100 sculptures of the artist set along the beach. In this picture, Elaine is insisting that she's not looking at the sculpture's bum but at his "barnacles." Ahem.

What My Parents Get Up To When I Leave the Country

2007-02-07T19:24:00.000+01:00

I can't leave the country for a minute without my parents coming up with some sort of busy-ness.

When Simon and I went home for Christmas, we found this new "barn" in the back yard. I've just learned that it's been dubbed Beach-Mountain (not to be confused with Beech Mountain) Cottage. Billy, my uncle, and Wayne, my cousin's husband, were co-conspirators.

Note: there's another barn in the background. How many barns, cabins, cottages, or chalets do my parents need?

And, as bonus, you get a glimpse of Clarissa Doggaway, a very sweet, very elderly doggie.

Last Weekend in Liverpool, Part 1

2007-02-04T10:55:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, Simon and I went to Liverpool to see Jean, Simon's great aunt, and Elaine and Simon, his aunt and uncle. We even got to meet some newly discovered relatives as well.

Here I am with Jean in Liverpool Lime Street Station. This is the Jean who once said to me, "Well, you're only little." Hmmm.

After going with us to the Walker Art Gallery to see The Cathedral That Never Was and Doves and Dreams, Jean sent us out on our own. We made all the usual stops -- first a snack from Marks & Spencer.

And then, surprisingly enough, we worked our way to Ye Cracke and The Philharmonic. The pink fairy in the background was a gentleman out on his stag night. Sadly, his fuzzy pink handcuffs aren't visible in this photo.

Books Read in January 2007

2007-02-02T16:41:00.000+01:00

Steve Martin: Shopgirl
Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist
Kate DiCamillo: The Tale of Despereaux
Richard Matheson: I Am Legend
James Wilcox: Plain and Normal
Martha Cooley: The Archivist
Muriel Spark: The Comforters
Ruth Rendell: Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter

Books Read in December

2007-01-04T20:42:00.000+01:00

Well, I managed to read only two books in December. What can I say? It's been a busy month what with getting ready for Christmas, going home for two weeks, and frantically doing all the "home" stuff I wanted to do. Anyhoooo, here's what I read:

Minnette Walters: The Shape of Snakes (good, but much too sad and disturbing really)
Elizabeth Gaskell: Wives and Daughters (Victorian and 622 pages and worth reading if you, like me, are into that sort of thing. And Mrs. Gaskell died before she finished writing the novel.)

Books Read in November 2006

2006-12-05T21:44:00.000+01:00

Lemony Snicket: The End (Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth)
Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian
Steven Millhauser: Little Kingdoms
Jane Gardam: Old Filth
Howard Norman: The Haunting of L.
Kit Pearson: A Handful of Time

Rainy Days Are Here Again

2006-11-21T15:28:00.000+01:00

It looks like winter is finally on its way. The weather has definitely taken a turn for the grey, windy, and rainy. HOWEVER, the damp and cold will not keep me for exercising this winter (unlike last, when I was apparently attempting to eat my weight in cookies).

About a month ago, I took pictures of my new walking route around a park in my village. The whole park is located on a polder. These photos, I hope, will help me remember that the sun will shine again -- in about six months.

Books Read in October

2006-11-06T10:27:00.000+01:00

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Anne Perry: Bedford Square
Michael Frayn: Spies
Marilynne Robinson: Gilead
Christopher Paolini: Eldest

Thanks, Hannah!

2006-10-07T12:28:00.000+02:00

My Project ColorSwap package from Hannah arrived, and it is awesome! I haven't decided how I'm going to use the wool (Colinette Prism in Fire), but it will be for something special. Any suggestions from you knitters out there? (Jim C., I'll have no suggestions from you!)

Kate likes the goodies too!

The funky elf-hat shaped item is an egg cosy from Melin Tregwynt, a traditional Welsh weaving company.

Check out the notebook, covered and decorated by Hannah, and the vintage buttons!

Seed Stitch Scarf

2006-10-03T09:09:00.000+02:00

My mom and dad sent a care package a couple of weeks ago. For me, they included a Meredith College t-shirt (woo hoo!) and 2 skeins of Patons Bohemian in Beatnik Blues. For Simon and me, they included the game Mancala because they know just how much Simon loves playing games, especially Chicken Foot.

Most knitters know seed stitch, so I haven’t exactly broken new ground with this pattern. But I’m sharing it because I’m so pleased with the subtle texture of this scarf (which I didn't quite manage to capture in this photo).

Yarn: Patons Bohemian (2 skeins) or comparable super bulky chenille (2.8 oz = 68 yds / 80 g = 62 m)

Needles: 10 ½

Finished size: 7" x 54" (or 18 cm x 137 cm)

Directions
Cast on 17 stitches.
Every row: K1, P1 across, ending with K1.
When only about two yards of yarn remain, bind off loosely.

Books Read in September

2006-10-01T20:42:00.000+02:00

Christina Schwarz: Drowning Ruth
Kingsley Amis: Lucky Jim
Barbara Vine: The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy
Colm Tóibin: The Blackwater Lightship
Toni Morrison: The Bluest Eye
Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carried
Mary Wesley: The Vacillations of Poppy Carew

That's 68 books so far this year. I've read almost as many as the president has. I know what you're thinking: the president can read?!?

Not Very Bloggy Lately

2006-09-26T14:25:00.000+02:00

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while. The truth is that there's not much going on right now.

I have been knitting -- lots. But I'm working on Christmas gifts, so I can't reveal anything about my projects.

Simon, Kate the Cat, and I are enjoying the spiders living in our garden. A few weeks ago, I counted 16 webs.

Books Read in August

2006-09-01T08:32:00.000+02:00

Walter Dean Myers: Monster
Stephen Fry: The Liar
Carol Goodman: The Drowning Tree
Neil Gaiman: Anansi Boys
Minette Walters: The Ice House
Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence
Sue Townsend: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾
Fay Weldon: Little Sisters

A Few More Photos from Bruges

2006-08-29T09:46:00.000+02:00

More Bruges

2006-08-27T10:11:00.000+02:00

Here are more snaps from last weekend's trip to Bruges.

First off, check out the Belgian IC train. Luxury!

This little horse was pulling an ice cream cart.

And these pictures should, I hope, give you an idea of just how lovely Bruges is. I'll post a few more tomorrow.

Thanks, Maria!

2006-08-25T19:26:00.000+02:00

Woo hoo! My Project ColorSwap package arrived today!

My swap partner, Maria from Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina, outdid herself.

She sent all sorts of things, including several she made:

A pair of knitted slipper socks

A handmade card

A bookcover

A backpack

When in Belgium, Eat as the Belgians Eat

2006-08-24T09:42:00.000+02:00

Being good little tourists, Simon and I make a point of trying the local delicacies, no matter how off-putting they are. Aren't we brave?

We sampled the local brews . . .

We exercised great restraint at the chocolate shops . . .

And we had frites only once (unless you count the enormous portion that came with our moules-frites, or steamed mussels and fries -- not pictured because Simon and I both looked dorkier than usual in those pictures) . . .

I Have Been Knitting . . . A Little

2006-08-23T10:22:00.000+02:00

I haven't done enough knitting lately. I recently finished this little bag (I modified this pattern a bit).

And I'm working on some socks in Knit Picks Dancing. I promise that the next pair I make will not be ribbed. Please ignore the cat hair embedded in the green blanket.

I had to include a couple of pictures from Leiden University's Hortus Botanicus. Simon and I have been going there for picnics lately. Because the entry fee is €6 per person, the botanical gardens are quiet and not at all crowded. (We live in one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. Sigh.) Simon and I get in free because we have year-long museum passes (€30 each). With the passes, we get unlimited entry to every public museum in the Netherlands.