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I haven't gotten through the entire issue, what with using it as my procrastination tool (grade a paper, oogle a pattern), but so far, I think this is one swell issue.  I'm super excited for Everybody Knows.  I have a ton of Manos in my stash, just waiting for a pattern, and I think this is it.  And did you get a load of Romi's model?  I love the earrings, but that girl–too beautiful!  Did you totally recognize Norah Gaughan's work when you saw Surface?  I love it with the wrap over it.

What are you liking?

Here's a little teaser for my Back Tack 4 partner….

And here's a little meme I saw at Elise's blog.  I need a touch of holiday spirit, so here I go.  Consider yourself tagged and leave a comment if you play along!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. I like to use brown kraft paper and pretty bows or baker's string.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real trees are the most festive, but after an incident in the late 1990s or so when a ginormous tree nearly sent me to the hospital (I had to work a pr event with exchange students who were decorating said tree…and learned that I have a severe allergy that incites asthma in me.  Not. Fun.), I've had to turn to artificial.  We have a silver tinsel tree that rocks my world.
3. When do you put up the tree? This is always up for debate, but usually about ten days before.
4. When do you take the tree down? It depends.  If we have a New Year's eve party, I like to have it down before that.  Otherwise, New Year's day or shortly thereafter.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?  Shaun Cassidy album.  There is a great picture somewhere of me hugging the record with a priceless expression of joy.  My oldest brother was very good to me!
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.  He doesn't need anything, and he is the least materialistic person I know.  Baked goods and books are usually the way I go with him.
8. Easiest person to buy for? MB.  If I like it, I'm pretty certain she will, too.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have one made by my gram and given to me by my dad's mom, but I rarely set it out due to lack of space.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, without a doubt.  I usually have them written by now, but they'll have to wait until after I submit grades, I fear.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  My first boyfriend gave me a mug that said "there's no better friend than a father; there's no better father than you."  WTF?  He was fatherless, by the way.  He did also give me Of Human Bondage that year, which I love, so I guess they balance each other.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Hmmm…White Christmas is tied with How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th, baby.  I make a lot of gifts and try to start early.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Can't think of doing so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies, with abandon.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, please, and not the prissy white-only lights.  I want me some color!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I prefer to stay home, having spent most Christmases of my adult life traveling.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Of course.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
One Christmas eve, the rest in the a.m.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Radio stations saturate us with holiday music way too early.  Also, greed.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I've lost one of my favorite ornament between divorce and/ or moves, but it was a stuffed fabric yo-yo wreath my first grade teacher, Mrs. Wolf helped me make.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Rest, peace, and maybe a Kindle.
24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Used to use an angel, but years ago, when we couldn't afford a new topper and needed one, my ex-husband crafted a darling star from cardboard and tinfoil.  I love that thing beyond reason.
25. Favorite Christmas dinner?  Dinner doesn't matter…I'm usually relegated to sides as a vegetarian, and while they're yummy, they're nothing to get worked up about.

So, you in?

I did a stash photo shoot today using the trusty white dining room chair. Maddie milled about for most of it, but the Kidsilk Haze captured her attention.

As long as she only sniffs and resists a lick or nibble, we’ll be fine!

Huh?

I rarely remember my dreams, but I awoke from one at 12:50 (thanks to that Grande vanilla skinny latte), and those were the words of wisdom that I heard just before waking.  Man, I wish there were Tivo for dreams, don’t you?  I had another one about the condo and my ex-husband, but I know that’s just the stress of selling seeping through.  Anyone who understands my dream statement, please share, would ya?

I had a decent writing day today after a few crap days.  I got what happens next in the story, which means for at least a week I should be focussed when I do my Treadmill time.  Maybe all of the reading I’ve been doing is helpful.  Here’s a rundown, less brilliant, obviously, than the original, lost book review post.

On my way out to Albuquerque, I finished up Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down.  Clever as always, Hornby gives the reader four first-person narrators, mixing up the narrations throughout.  While this offers four different points of view about the same events, it’s not as confusing as I feared when I started the book.  He manages to make each voice distinct.  I’ll admit to preferring his How to be Good.  I really enjoyed High Fidelity–movie and book, too.  I’ll read anything he puts out; I know I can trust him to give me solid writing and a good story.

Since I had packed light and only brought one book (I always pack way too many books and knitting projects.  If the plane goes down, and I have to survive in the Andes, I want some entertainment, dammit!), I stopped by my favorite bookseller in NM and browsed around.  Lisa Tucker’s newest book was out in paperback, so I grabbed that.  I studied with Lisa in Taos, and she had read from this novel last year.  I was pretty psyched to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Once Upon a Day follows a young woman as she leaves the creepily protective nest her father has created in order to find her brother.  She meets up with a doctor-turned-cabby, and the adventure begins.  Lisa does great things with narration, and the plot is surprising and unexpected.  There are a few different settings, but each feesl distinct from the others.  I was pretty sad when the book ended because I wanted to stay with the characters and see what would happen next in their lives.  That’s always a good sign to me!

Before I started that novel, though, Scout loaned me Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  I started it in the airport on the way home, and I finished it just as we landed in Chicago.  There were parts I had to read out loud to Neal (I’m sure the fellow in front of me with his seat reclined in my lap enjoyed them, too), and now he’s reading it, too.  Mind you, this is the third book I’ve known him to read since we got together.  He reported that he liked it when we spoke this morning (he started it on the bus into work).  I won’t bore you with plot details, but I will say that Gruen made me fall in love with an elephant.  The story was exciting, and Gruen’s research paid off–the details of the circus and the Depression are meticulous and kept me in the narrative dream.

There are a few more books for me to tell you about, but I don’t want to tempt the fates with too long of a post.  This question has been going around blogland, but I"ll ask it, too.  Whatchya reading?

Oh, and if you know anything about dragons and hats with earflaps, do tell! 

It’s been done for a while, but I finally snapped a picture of my Think Pink spiral scarf.  I used Cascade’s Bollicine Etoile in pink, of course.  This was a quick knit, although I used larger needles than the pattern called for, which meant I had to buy a second skein to finish up the almost never-ending bind off.  This yarn is so soft, and I"m sure I"ll use it again for another scarf.

Now I need your opinion.  I’ve (maybe) finished up my Funky Scarf for the Swap.  I crocheted a hair pin lace panel using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and then did some more crochet in a juicy (there’s a hint if you’re my swap pal!) alchemy yarn.  I like the length of the scarf, and I think it’s pretty cool (I’d wear it!), but I wonder about adding a final, more subdued edging.  I have more of the cashmerino, and I also have a beautiful beige with gold flecked yarn.  What do you all think?

I’m off to sew some goody bag treats for the Scissorina’s yarn swap!

Please take a moment today to do a small act of service and kindness in memory of our tragedy.

Contact an old friend.

Tell someone you often take for granted just how much they mean to you.

Hold a door for a person struggling with grocery bags.

Let someone share a memory with you.

Thanks.

Scout asked, so I complied.  Here it is, a picture of my current UFOs, only the Stripes are Stars sweater (think I"m going to frog it) and the Baby Bib o’Love (um, where did I put it?) are missing.  The bib, by the way, only needs for me to sew on a button.  Yeah, I know.

So.  The pink blob is my Clapotis.  Green felted bag needs handles, lonely Jaywalker waiting for a mate, Think Pink scarf, Summer of Sock / Cascade Fixation Army Green sock 1 waiting for a partner (love me that sock!), Shadow Shawl, looking a bit miffed, a crochet project for my KSKS pal, and my Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono.  I keep all these projects (‘cept the Clapotis) in a basket on the table next to the chair where I hang out in our living room.  While I waited for my camera batteries to charge I began to work on the second sleeve of the baby kimono, so yeah for showing off UFOs.  By the way, tag, you’re it. 

I joined UFO August in an effort to get some of this stuff finished up.  I’m leaving on Saturday for a week at the beach with my sister and her two kids, all of whom I taught to knit.  Usually the four of us huddle under the beach umbrella with books and knitting projects and soak up the warmth.  I’m sure I can finish a few things next week. 

I had some lovely mail this week.  Mama-E, one of the most generous ladies in blogland, sent me these earrings as a part of her Pay it Forward project.  I’d like to PIF 13 times as that’s my lucky number( I even have it tattooed on the back of my neck).  I dyed some roving and made some beaded goodies of my own.  By the time I get back from my beach trip I hope to take a big bundle of love to the post office.  So be on the look out, and remember, if you send or recieve for PIF, map yourself, and take the button, too!      

And look what arrived from Simple Sparrow.  I had a hard time getting a good picture of this, but hit the link to her site, and you’ll see this lovely with its siblings.  It is one of the most cheerful, festive objects I’ve brought into my home in ages.  I adore this little spool of crochet thread!                                                  

I’ve had a few questions about subscribing to the new blog via bloglines. As far as I can tell, the best way is to search for the URL, which is: www.wbnm.typepad.com/pomogo.

Hope to see you over there!

1. I’m named after my aunt.
2. My middle name is the same as my mom’s.
3. My confirmation name is Monica.
4. My mom almost named me that.
5. I like Beverly better.
6. I own far too many bags.
7. I used to own too many shoes.
8. Ok, I probably still do.
9. I learned how to knit English a month ago in order to finally make gauge.
10. I’ve been knitting for almost 10 years. I should have tried to make gauge a little sooner.
11. I’m an ovo-lacto vegetarian.
12. One of my favorite things to do is to watch a Shakespeare play, especially outside.
13. I’m perfectly good at math. I just pretend I’m not.
14. I learned to read in church by following my mother’s finger as the lector read the Gospel.
15. I became an Episcopalian in 2003.
16. I stopped going to church when I moved.
17. I still like to read my Book of Common Prayer. I think it’s well written and comforting.
18. I like that William Shakespeare also read the Book of Common Prayer.
19. I don’t believe you have to go to church to connect with God.
20. I hate working out in a gym.
21. I love getting my work out by doing something: kayaking, boxing, hiking.
22. I spent a summer at St. John’s College, Oxford.
23. I’ve rarely felt as comfortable and at home as I did then.
24. I haven’t had tv since February 1992.
25. I watch a lot of tv when I’m at Neal’s house. I won’t even admit to how much.
26. The avid tv watching usually only lasts a couple of days. Then I get disgusted with myself.
27. I watched golf with my dad throughout my childhood.
28. Now my favorite sport to watch is UCONN Huskies basketball.
29. I lived in the same town Hilton Armstrong is from.
30. I don’t know him.
31. I saw Richard Gere, Joan Rivers, Harrison Ford, and Kevin Bacon in Manhattan, but not at the same time.
32. I wish I had Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe. And hair.
33. I have subscriptions to Real Simple, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Creative Non-Fiction, and River Teeth.
34. I was born in a blizzard. I used to say I was a “lizard baby.”
35. Jonathan Safran Foer, Italo Calvino, James Salter, and A.S. Byatt are some of my favorite writers.
36. I didn’t get my BA degree until I was 28.
37. I taught college-level English in a maximum-security women’s prison for two semesters.
38. I count a dog as one of my best friends. The other dog is more like a child to me.
39. I have 13 nieces and nephews, but five of them are from my ex’s side of the family. But I still consider them my nieces and nephews.
40. I’m friends with my ex-husband. I still think he’s an amazing person.
41. The beach is one of my favorite places to be.
42. When I’m angry I cry.
43. That makes me even angrier.
44. I learned how to spin in the fall and bought a wheel of my own.
45. I want to raise alpacas some day.
46. I write about the same things over and over, but in different stories.
47. I learned to ride horses as a means to meet Prince Philip.
48. The plan didn’t really make sense as I lived in CT and he in London.
49. I like to be prepared.
50. I act really tough the first few weeks of the semester to try and get some students to drop.
51. After that I’m a soft touch.
52. I went to Australia when I was 19.
53. When I was in 4th grade my best friend, Denise, moved to MA. It seemed really far away.
54. I still miss her sometimes.
55. I’m tired of living alone.
56. Sometimes I really like living alone.
57. I was 14 before I had my own room.
58. I was a synchronized swimmer for three years as a pre-teen.
59. My first boyfriend gave me Of Human Bondage as a gift. It became one of my favorite books.
60. Even though D.H. Lawrence’s novels sometimes seem over the top, they are among my favorites.
61. I’m a better baker than I am a cook.
62. Bread is my favorite thing to bake.
63. I used to talk to a squirrel I would see as I walked between the train and work. He was missing his tail, so I knew it was the same one.
64. My cat Norman died when I was 12. It was my first experience with death.
65. New York City makes me happy.
66. I understood line after seeing a Sol LeWitt exhibit.
67. I like to mess around with watercolors.
68. My friend Linda Jean Fisher believes that we were once the same person. I believe her.
69. She taught me how to mix paint.
70. She also taught me to believe in myself as a writer.
71. I used to have a recurring dream in which these people, not merfolks, though, who lived underwater would urge me to join them. It was beautiful.
72. It makes me believe I will die by drowning.
73. That doesn’t stop me from swimming.
74. When in CT I walk the dogs by a beaver pond. It’s one my favorite places to be.
75. I have three tattoos.
76. One of them covers a Chinese symbol that was supposed to mean student.
77. I learned it meant Saturday.
78. I thought that was funny, but I covered it anyway.
79. Chewing ice makes me happy.
80. Sometimes I feel obsessive about it.
81. I don’t think I’ll ever have children.
82. I’m afraid everything bad that runs in my family would emerge in my children.
83. But then I think that everything good that runs in my family could exist in my non-existent kids.
84. That’s the most I’ve thought about children in months.
85. I made a lot of quilts between 1992 and 2000. Then I moved to a small apartment and didn’t have room to keep my sewing machine up.
86. The last quilt I made was for Julia, the daughter of a dear friend.
87. I’m learning to embroider.
88. Sometimes I like working with fiber and fabrics better than with words.
89. Mostly words make me happier than anything else, though.
90. Except my boyfriend, family, and friends.
91. My SnB group has kept me sane during the last two semesters.
92. I love to teach.
93. I cheated on my yarn fast.
94. But not as much as I thought I would.
95. I would like to have a little writing house, a room of my own as it were, some day soon.
96. I want to get married again.
97. If I could go anywhere in the world right now, I’d pick Iceland.
98. My parents always told me to do what would make me happy, and I love them for that.
99. The Artist’s Way changed my life.
100. I have a new blog: www.wbnm.typepad.com/pomogo. I’ll be posting there from now on, so change your blogrolls, my dear readers.

Sadly, though, my camera batteries died. I considered, for a brief moment, that I should let the batteries charge overnight and open the boxes in the morning when I would be able to photograph the big event moment by moment. But haven’t I been patient enough, waiting for hours after I arrived home to tear into the boxes? Of course I have.

So now Miss Lendrum is put together. I practiced treadling, and I’m about to find some roving to start spinning. That shouldn’t be a problem, as you know if you’ve looked inside my office closet.

My car’s name is Clarke Sable. My sewing machine’s name is Sally. My computer is Phineas (I know, no alliteration there, but I can’t ever give that name to a child or pet…the computer won’t complain, at least). What should I name Miss L.? Make your suggestions, and I’ll send a skein of a festive, fun yarn purchased at Flying Fingers in Irvington, New York, to the winner.

By the way, this is my 99th post. Next post WBNM turns 100. And that post will have a big announcement.

Don’t forget, bring out your Lenten projects tomorrow. I’ll be bringing my St. F’s Vest of Many Colors to share with my SnB. If you hear some crazy cackling around 7 p.m. Central time tomorrow, you’ll know what it is. ‘Cause there’s a good reason this vest is unfinished. Really.

I’m going to go charge those camera batteries now.