Another Book....

My husband bought himself a "Nook" last year. We are both big readers and have hundreds of books. (I have just hundreds of teaching and children's books) Anyway, he has really enjoyed the Nook, but I have not used it...

Last night, I decided to read the book I had downloaded in January: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I stayed up until 2:30 finishing it. Once I started I couldn't stop. It was very compelling. It is told in two voices and was one of the best books I've read....

Part of it is set during the Holocaust. I've read alot of literature about the Holocaust. I have no family that was lost during that time, but it is just a part of history that fascinates me.

I'm fascinated as well as appalled, how could it happen? And knowing it happened how can we still be letting it happen? Darfur, Yugoslavia and others....It's just appalling....

I like reading stories about the "Righteous Among Nations" Those that did something, that saved people, even if it meant death for them....It gives me hope.

A "Meh" Day

It's just been one of those days....I'm doing a bullet...

- Woke up feeling horrible, took allergy meds and felt better, but was just a "little off" today...

- The Hubs and I went to see "Despicable Me" I loved it, I need a minion!!!

- Drove to another yarn shop, but alas it was closed today! It's a conspiracy!!!

- Same town, the Hubs lost his license plate a few years ago, stopped by the police to see if they still had it...secretary was RUDE!!!!! Nope DMV has it now...

- So we were 0 for 2

- I have to go get my license renewed....

- Found out assignment and room for next year, looks like I'm heading to 5th grade..
(Oh the hormones and the drama!!!! - theirs, not mine!)

- Also ran into someone who told me that 11 teachers and several administrators are at a workshop in San Diego. We live in Connecticut...there are people already trained in this workshop...we have lost 8 teachers from our building, and more than 60 in the district...how is that right????

- I made plans to meet an online friend, Lori, in NYC on Monday...It will be a great day!!!!

Strangling Yarn....

Yep, I started strangling yarn again last night. That is how knitting feels to me, as if I am strangling yarn....

I can cast on really well...but the actual knitting part is coming s-l-o-w-l-y and I like more instant gratification projects. One of the reasons I rarely make afghans....

A little over a year ago, some online friends decided to do the Learn To Knit Afghan book together...At the time, I had no desire to learn to knit, so I didn't join....

Well then I started seeing some really cool knitted sock patterns and decided to learn. So I bought the book. I've also taken the first part of a class, and will take the second part at some point....

I went yesterday and bought the needles used in the book and started to strangle yarn.

I think I am a tight knitter, my hands cramp and the needle is hard to get into the loop of the yarn....

Last night I got this far...

But then realized I had a really loose stitch I couldn't fix and ripped it all out...I restarted and worked on it a bit this morning and I am now here (sorry it's dark)

I stopped and crocheted a bit, as it is more comfortable for me...I am actually crocheting up the yarn the Hubs bought me for the knitting class, as I ripped it out so much, it was starting to look ratty.... So it looked like this before I ripped it out:

and now it looks like this:

QUESTION: When I cast on (I use long-tail) I have a stitch on the needle, then it said to cast-on 39 - does this mean then I should have 40 stitches altogether or just 39???

Maritime Aquarium

Yesterday I took my niece and a former student to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. We have two aquariums in CT. One in Mystic and one in Norwalk. Mystic seems to be a more known aquarium. I enjoy them both...

We went specifically because I had gotten a free pass for 4 people AND they have a new Meerkat exhibit. I adore meerkats. I have watched all of Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet, the original series. For some reason never caught the New Generation one..

They were the most adorable, cutest animals EVER!!!!!

We saw lots of fun things....my other favorites are otters. They only had one and he was swimming so fast, I couldn't get a picture.

My favorite marine animals are sharks. I'm fascinated by them. This aquarium only has sand tiger sharks, but they had a huge sea turtle. Alot of their exhibits focus on the life in Long Island Sound.

We ended our day with a great lunch and headed home. It was a good day, cuz even though I wasn't able to find yarn, I spent the day with two great little girls and I got to see meerkats and now have my own...

Tried to Purchase Yarn, but failed

Today I went to two different LYS's in my pursuit to visit all the shops in Connecticut...Sadly both stores are no longer there....Such a shame...
I did receive this in the mail the other day:


It is the Prentiss colorway from here

She has made colorways for each of the Criminal Minds characters. If you are a fan of the show, check out her site. I like all the characters, except Rossi, but I liked the colors in the Prentiss colorway, they were more me...The Unsub pin was such a nice touch and a super surprise! I'll probably get the Reid colorway too...

I did purchase this today though.... My very own meerkat...I have named him Shakespeare in honor of my favorite meerkat on Meerkat Manor...more about that tomorrow....

The Happy Recipient and Babies....

Natalie liked the sweater, when she got over her shyness with us....

Yesterday I spent the day with my two friends and their babies.....It was a great day! Their boys were due a day apart, but are almost a month apart. One went early and one went late.... William is on the left and is older than Kailen...
We walked to eat lunch...it was a long, hot walk....but pretty, as we walked along the street near the water... We were a "baby parade" as I was pushing Natalie in a stroller, too...
We had ice cream...Natalie wore ice cream....
Mommas with the babies...it was a good day.....

We drove home in a storm...we had to pull over...I couldn't see to drive....

We did not have damage, but our neighbors got this: Roofs were ripped off, lots of power lines down. It took me a long time to get back in town, as I kept getting detoured...They think a tornado hit...second time I've missed a tornado hitting near my house...darn!!!

Ladybug Sweater Done!

This is the Ladybug sweater I made for my friend's daughter Natalie. I hope it fits her in the fall! I started it awhile ago and since I am trying to finish my WIP's, here it is. Plus I was going to see them today!

The basic sweater pattern is from a Bernat free tear-off called "Sweet Baby Hoodie" I used Caron One Pounder in Scarlet (the color does not photograph well) and TLC Essentials in Black for the border. Not sure you can make out the little appliques. I would have liked to find one big one, but could only find the small one....

I am off to the beach today to visit with friends and babies!

Driving Through Rhode Island

It was another road trip day for the Hubs and I. I decided to call these our "Day Dates." We seem to go on them every month or so...He works retail, so sometimes schedule is really screwy...

He said last week he wanted whole belly clams from Rhode Island. Since he "usually" has Tuesdays off, we planned on going today..I, of course, looked up some yarn shops.

We headed to Warwick to Mrs. May's Yarns...It was not open. We called, they share a store with a photography business and we're doing a shoot...Okay well guess I'm not shopping there...Across the street was an old Ocean State Job Lot. That is where the Hubs is working now, so we checked it out...Then headed south to Narragansett.

We stopped in North Kingston, as there was a yarn shop there. The Mermaid's Purl. It was cute and, of course, I bought some yarn...The Hubs picked out a skein of "clown barf" named Mardi Gras from Jitterbug. I don't have any Jitterbug yarn. Then I bought some Manos blend silk, just because....


I was bored on the ride home (I drove down) so took pictures of my yarn.

The town was cute, a touristy town with lots of little shops. Lots of jewelry shops. We walked around for a bit, but decided to keep heading south for lunch...

Finally we got to Narragansett and found the cutest little diner/shop on the water. It was good. The Hubs got his whole belly clams, and I ate my regular fish and chips..



We walked around on the pebbly, rocky beach for a bit and then headed home...a nice "day date" The Hubs, yarn, food and the ocean....Oh and I found my first piece of sea glass ever!!!!!

Gillette's Castle

So on Saturday when I headed south to a few yarn shops, I also decided to stop at Gillette's Castle. I have been there a couple of times, but it's been more than 20 years.








It's really quite a place. William Gillette was an actor famous for his "Sherlock Holmes" role.

I toured the castle and then decided to walk down to the river. It's quite a walk...and it was HOT on Saturday. Luckily it is very wooded and shady...

Another Book Bites the Dust....

and another one gone.....

I just finished The Friday Night Knitting Club I didn't jump on the bandwagon when everyone was reading this...I bought the book when I saw it in a used book store in Corpus Christi. I read about 1/2 of it and then with the end of school, just didn't have time. I picked it up earlier this week and just finished it. I did not know the ending, although I vaguely remember reading a review or something that mentions the cancer. As soon as she was diagnosed, I knew....

It was good. It reminded me of The Jane Austen Book Club which I loved!

Not sure I'll read the sequel, maybe later in the summer. I still have a pile of half read books on my nightstand and in my bookcase....Next up, finish Stephen King's Under the Dome. The Hubs took it from me to read and then gave it to his sister.....

New Shops and Yarn

It's been a day or so since I last posted, not sure why, just laziness...

Yesterday I went out and about to check out a few new LYS' in Connecticut. I headed to Glastonbury first to check out Village Wool..However they had a flood and were packing everything up. Their ceiling fell in, it was a mess. She said they hope to reopen in about a month, so I'll venture back there in August.

So I headed south and went to Deep River to Yarns Down Under It was a cute shop, stuffed with lots of yarn in a small space. The owner, Sheila, was there. She was very friendly. She was designing bears for a tree at one of the museums during the Christmas season. They were adorable, so could have taken one home!



She informed me that Manos del Uruguay is discontinuing their stria cotton!!! So I bought 11 skeins! I love this cotton!

It was a great little shop and I recommend visiting, just keep driving down the dirt road....yeah it's at the end of a dirt road, underneath a small golf course club building - get it? "down under" Cute!


Since I was out that way, I also went to The Connecticut Yarn and Wool Company I liked this store because the majority of their yarn is produced locally. It's a brand called "Farmhouse Yarns" I also bought some buttons there, as they had some cool looking ones.



I really enjoyed my day out, which also consisted of a visit to Gillette's Castle - about that tomorrow....Here's the yarnz....














First the Farmhouse Yarns:










Then I got some Mountain Colors and Manos: Just a sampling of the Manos, as I bought 8 colors!