This is crazy.

I have this craving to knit mittens. And hats.

It's insane.

I've been trying to knit in the round on DPNs, without success - then again, I was using size 1 DPNs and Red Heart Super Saver. Hmm.

Now, don't get me wrong - I like Red Heart. But the partial skein I was using was being very splitty. And splitty yarn isn't good when you're trying a new knitting technique. But, in my defense, I have only sock needles. I'll have to try using fingering or my scraps of Rowan Lightweight DK. Either that, or I have to look for some DPNs in worsted weight sizes at Len's or Michaels.

For mittens, I might try either the 45-Minute Mittens pattern, or the Inner Child Mittens from Hip to Knit.

Oh, and I'm itching to start either a cardigan or a hoodie. I think I'll use my green Berella Muskoka to make a Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. I'm not sure what I'll make with my pale blue Patons Decor, though - maybe a long vest like the Talia pattern from Knitty.

So I've pretty much abandoned my February lesson plan, since I didn't really make it ahead of time. I'll still read up on black history, but I'm not sure how much I'll be doing this month, as I have a book on the history of Afghanistan and a book on the Spanish civil war to read. The latter is a very thick book. Plus, I'm reading 10 Things I Hate About Me, but that's a 'fun read'. I don't really have a book started for English, since I was sick for nearly a week and I had given up on Drop. I'll try reading it again over the summer, I think. For now, I think I'll read 10 Things, but for a more English-y book I'll probably pick up Howl's Moving Castle. Maybe I'll finally get it finished. It's not that I'm bored with it - I love it, but the font is so small, and it's the kind of book that, when you take a break from it, you have to read back a few pages so that you know where you are in the story.

I've also recently picked up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yeah, I know, I'm behind :p Hopefully I'll get it done for when the movie comes out in.... June? July? I can't remember which month.

For March, I'm going to finally pick up 1984 by George Orwell. I'll also read Macbeth. We have a book of Shakespeare's works, and I think Macbeth is included. I might look for Macbeth in a seperate volume at the library, though. They have some Shakespeare plays in single volumes - I'm not sure if there's Macbeth, but I think there's Hamlet. Ah, Hamlet - I watched the film when I was, like, nine. Hardly remember it, though.

I'm a big fan of The Reduced Shakespeare Company, though :)

I'm worried that my sore throat is coming back. Or it could just still be my dry throat. Oh joy.

This is getting to be a very long post indeed.

I have to get some more water.

MORE ANGER

So Mom is under the impression that I am not behind in schoolwork at all, that I'm doing the right work for my grade level. Never mind the fact that I only just started algebra this time last year, and I'm supposed to be in 'grade twelve' this year. By American standards, I think I'm doing algebra II. My mom and I had a fight about it. I'm telling her that I should have started algebra when I was 13, and she said that I didn't want to do algebra then. I told her that she had me doing fractions, and she told me that I had to go through the fractions to understand the algebra!!!

THEN HOW COME MY BROTHER UNDERSTOOD ALGEBRA WITHOUT GOING THROUGH ALL FOUR FRACTIONS BOOKS?!

...phew.

So Dad called me upstairs to tell me not to fight with Mom. I told him that she won't get it in her head that I'm behind, and he told me that I'm not behind.

I started biology-ish stuff not too long ago. I probably should have started biology at around grade ten, maybe grade nine. I have very little knowledge of geometry, because Mom had me doing fractions. I'm still lacking in general science knowledge. I have a chemistry book and a physics book, though, so science will be FUN this year.

I'm not worried about English. Even though everyone else has it in their heads that you MUST read Lord of the Flies in high school. Do our lives really depend on that book? I'd rather not read a book as harsh-sounding as Lord of the Flies. And Shakespeare? I like the Reduced Shakespeare Company for that. Reading the childrens' Shakespeare books by Lois Burdett help, too, if you want to skip most of the 'thys' and 'thous'. In fact, I think my sister borrowed the childrens' Macbeth when she was in high school.

The library will be my friend this year.

I'm honestly wondering who's in charge of my education here.