Frankenstorm and Diana Wynne Jones

So, I'm sure you all have heard about this Frankenstorm that's been going on. I'm okay - we got hit with rain and winds, but my neighbourhood appears to only have a few garbage cans knocked over and some small branches on lawns. Other areas had trees uprooted, and a woman died in Toronto after she was hit by a store sign, which is terrible. My thoughts go out to those effected by Hurricane Sandy and/or the Frankenstorm.

Last night was the first night of the fall that I decided to break out my duvet. I might have been warm enough without it, but I figured it would best to be safe and put in on my bed. I was quite toasty under all those blankets, so much so that I kicked off my slipper socks and pushed the sleeves of my sweatshirt up on my upper arms. If the dogs hadn't needed letting out when they did, I probably could've slept longer.

It was a little windy this morning, but right now the trees outside seem to be fairly still. It's still quite damp and cold, of course, so I may spend the evening curled up under my duvet with a book. Actually, I may be in the living room, where it's warmer, crocheting another swatch while my parents and my brother watch Sons of Anarchy (I don't really watch the show - it's a bit gory for my taste, even though the storyline is interesting), or reading either The Hunger Games or my library book, Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones.

Speaking of library books - it's happened again. Too many books are coming in for me to pick up. I have The Fault in Our Stars by John Green waiting for me, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin in transit. I probably won't be able to renew The Fault in Our Stars, though, because it's too new of a book and a lot of people have placed holds on it (I think it's fifty-odd holds for twenty-odd copies), and I may not be able to renew A Wizard of Earthsea either, so I'll focus on Dogsbody. I'll probably read a chapter or two of TFIOS, to see if I like it, and maybe do the same with Earthsea.

I think I'm going to love Dogsbody, just from the synopsis and the fact that Neil Gaiman wrote an introduction for the edition I'm reading. Though I haven't read any of his works yet (I picked up Interworld, which he co-wrote, at a book sale at Indigo, so I'll probably read that soonish), I saw the movie adaptation of Coraline and the episode of Doctor Who that he wrote, and thought they were both fabulous. I definitely trust his opinion of literature.

Since picking up Dogsbody from the library, I've felt the itch to try reading Howl's Moving Castle again. I got about halfway through it, but then I got side-tracked, then I started it over again, and got side-tracked again... I start too many books, that's the problem. But when I finish a book or two, and I feel less guilty about my reading habits, I'll start it over again.

She meoweth quietly

Not sure if I've used proper Elizabethan verbs in the title, but hey - it makes sense in my head. That's all that matters, right?

Sometime around 5:20 or 5:30 this morning, I woke to the sound of a puking cat. Mouse decided to vomit on the carpet, so I grumpily got out of bed and cleaned it up.

Then, at six, the dogs wanted to be let out, and as I was putting them outside Mouse proceeded to meow quietly, yet still projecting her voice (who knew that seven-ish pounds of grey-and-cream fluff could meow that loudly?), as she demanded to be fed. I had to turn on the kitchen light because she kept shoving her face in the way as I was trying to feed her, and it was too dark in the kitchen to see what I was doing.

After the dogs were in their beds and the cat was fed, I tried to get back to sleep when the unexpected - and the unbelievable - happened: a silver fish fell off the ceiling and landed on me.

After some screaming and flailing, I got rid of the nasty thing, and decided to give up on sleep and make coffee instead.

I've gotten a lot of sorting done this week for the yard sale, but I don't know how much more sorting I can get done today as I'm so tired. I may just go through my trunk and then sit on my behind and play Katamari. I should watch my library DVD, though, and go to the library to take overdue and due stuff back, and pick up my holds.

Wow, a lot of my sentences are run-on. I must be tired.

The Adventures of Reading and Stitches

Hullo :)

I thought I'd post again, so that I'm keeping this blog somewhat up-to-date. Not much has happened since the last post, but I felt like writing one anyway, so...

My stitches from my wisdom teeth surgery are dissolving. Yay! I think I took two loose stitches out of my mouth today. I'm semi-sure that I've lost more, because when I rinsed my mouth out a few days ago I saw something blue, kind of like dryer lint, in the sink when I spat (because you totally wanted to know that ;P). But the stitches that came loose today were white, so I'm wondering if they used two different colours of thread for stitching everything closed. All I know is that they're dissolving, and that's good. I'm also in a lot less pain, which is also good. The left side of my mouth is still a bit sore, but it was also the more swollen side, so it makes sense that it'll take longer to heal up. I've still got a bruise on my left cheek, but the swelling has gone down a lot.

I'm still in the first chapter of Tris's Book. I know, I read slow. But in my defense, the dogs kept bothering me when I was trying to read yesterday. Also, two of the manga books I reserved from the library are in - Fruits Basket vol. 11, and the first volume of Translucent, so I'm quite happy about that. I've also got a DVD (the British series Identity) and two non-fiction books (a grilled cheese cookbook, and a jewellery book) waiting for me to pick up. I have a book out that was due yesterday and two DVDs due today, so I'll have to try to get down to the library either today or tomorrow. I've also got another movie, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, in transit.

In other news, I woke up this morning to find Smiles, our Jack Russell Terrier, sleeping at the foot of my bed. That made me happy :)

The Grammys, a journal, and a lot of library materials.

I meant to post about music on Monday for a 'Music Monday' feature, but I never got around to it. Sorry :p

The Grammys were on Sunday, but I only watched the last hour because Big Love was on (I've turned into a shameless HBO junkie since HBO Canada came on the air). I managed to catch the Best New Artist category - I was a little bummed out that Mumford & Sons didn't win, but then I've never listened to Esperanza Spalding. Her CD is on my to-listen list, though. And yay for Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year! I've only heard a little bit of their music, but I like what I've heard, and it's cool to see a Canadian band win that category.

I've been meaning to finish up my old journal and start my new one, but I can't bring myself to finish the old one. It's silly, I know, but that journal was kind of my buddy through some tough times, so it has some sentimental value to it. But at the same time, I want to start fresh with my newer journal - I got the journal for Christmas from my sister and her boyfriend two or three years ago, and I still haven't used it! It's a lot nicer than the exercise book I've been writing in, that's for sure.

I checked my library account online today, and I have eight items in. Two of them are DVDs, three are CDs, and three are crafting books. I'm pretty happy that I have all these items waiting for me to pick up, but at the same time I'm frightened by the number of items. I always feel guilty when I have a lot of items checked out :p I'm not sure why, but I do. Maybe I worry that I won't get through all of them?

I should probably eat soon, because my stomach is growling, so I'll bring this post to a close. Until next time...

BIG update post :)

Clearly I need to post more :p

I've been a bit busy. I went Christmas shopping at the mall with my dad Friday night, which was a success - I won't say what we bought, just in case my mom accidentally stumbles on my blog. Besides the actual shopping, walking through the mall was fun: we stopped at Second Cup to get a cup of coffee for Dad and a white hot chocolate for me, I saw a guy who looked like The Situation or Pauly D from Jersey Shore as we walked up the big staircase in the mall (the guy was tanned, with a plaid shirt and super-gelled hair), and I found out that we now have a Bath & Body Works in our local mall :)

On Saturday I went to the library to pick up my stuff - Debbie Stoller's book Stitch N' Bitch Superstar Knitting, Phil Collins' newest CD Going Back, a huge book on human anatomy, a National Geographic book on birds, the DVD of The Girl Who Played With Fire and the new Karate Kid movie. Oddly enough, as soon as I picked up my stuff I checked my account online and saw that another item - a book on writing screenplays - is in transit for me. Huh.

My parents went to a Christmas party on Saturday, so I got to catch up on my reading a little - but for most of the evening I watched The Breakfast Club again :p It was on MoviePix, but it was halfway through when I put it on; and then I caught it from the beginning on A Channel. I absolutely adore that movie - it's just so awesome.

I didn't do much on Sunday or Monday - just an errand on Monday. Today I went to Shopper's Drug Mart with my mom to look for stuff for Dad for Christmas, and we were fairly successful :) All I have to do now is buy a present for my sister.

I can't think of a witty title.

I'm really at a loss as to what to call this post. So... yeah :p

My cat was being a little devil yesterday. She kept sneaking up onto the stove to drink meat juices - I had to chase her away five or six times - and she later puked them up on my carpet. The stain looks like a red wine stain, so it proved troublesome to clean up. It doesn't look as bad as it was when I discovered it - it looked like a crime scene when I started cleaning it up. I half-expected David Caruso from CSI: Miami to be standing there, taking his sunglasses off and putting them back on and commenting on the stain. I got some of the colour up, though, which is good. I may have to ask my parents to buy carpet stain remover, though.

I went to the library yesterday, and picked up some CDs (Cyndi Lauper's Memphis Blues, Sting's Symphonicities and The Who's Tommy) and two DVDs (Jonah Hex and Driving Lessons). I'm kind of excited about both movies, but a bit skeptical about Jonah Hex. I hope it's good.

I got more Christmas shopping done last week. I got some cooling racks for baking for Steph, because she likes baking. I still have to shop for both of my siblings and my mom, though.

Well, that's what's happening lately. I should probably go eat now.

December

So, NaNoWriMo is over, which means I now have time to post regularly. Sorry for the long gap between posts, I was really busy :p

NaNoWriMo actually went pretty well. I'm happy with my novel, unlike last year's novel, which sounded silly to me. Next year, I want to try something completely different - either science fiction or an adventure-type novel (think National Treasure). I started a synopsis for each novel idea, and I have a protagonist for each one as well. I need a break from urban fantasy writing... :p

Now that NaNoWriMo is done, I'm itching to read a lot of books. I started Un Lun Dun by China Miéville, but I'm still in the prologue because I couldn't focus on it when I started it. I read a bit more today, but got distracted because the dogs wanted inside. I'll probably read more later.

But there's so many books I want to read. I really want to start Terrier by Tamora Pierce again, but I promised myself I'd try to read all of Un Lun Dun. Plus, I have the books I just bought a month or so ago with my Chapters Indigo gift card from my grandparents, which is just too tempting. But Un Lun Dun is a library book, so I kinda have to read that first.

I'm kind of in a panic about what to buy people for Christmas. I have no idea what to get my sister. I have some ideas for my brother and his girlfriend, though, which is comforting. I like to get my shopping done early so that I can relax. I hope to only go into the mall once, to shop for my mom, because the mall gets a little crazy during Christmas shopping season - and sometimes it gets crazy outside of that season. For instance, one year I was in the mall with my dad (I think we were shopping for either Mother's Day or Mom's birthday), and out of nowhere this woman almost walks into us on a diagonal and gave us a pissed-off look.

I'm happy that it's December, though. It means that I can put on the Galaxie Traditional Holiday channel on my TV and sweep the living room, or listen to my holiday playlist on YouTube while on the internet. Speaking of sweeping, I have to vacuum my room...

Anyways, that's my post-NaNo update of sorts. I'll try to post more often :)

Late-night post

I figured that, since I'm already on the computer, I'd blog before I got distracted.

I had a good morning. I listened to the garbage truck roll down the street - trust me, it's a lot more peaceful than it sounds. It was kinda cool to listen to it come down the street from a room other than the living room. I started my library book, too: Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly. I think I'm gonna like it. Not sure if I can finish it in time for when it's due back to the library, but I'll try reading a bit of it every day.

After I got up and ate breakfast, I finished the essay chapter in my GED book (I start the social studies unit next) and re-read a chapter of my Japanese book. I should be back to where I was in no time (I took a break from the book and I'm out of practice).

The rest of the day wasn't as nice, as some family drama decided to invade. Lovely. I re-read a bit of The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology, though, which took my mind off the drama, but now I'm back to being stressed. I'll probably have to practice my martial arts later so that I can get my frustration out. I find that katas - patterns of stances, strikes, blocks, etc.; which are designed to be an 'imaginary battle' - are good for relieving stress. I can't remember my red-belt kata, which is annoying, but it doesn't bother me too much. I always hated that kata.

I do have something to look forward to, though. My grandparents gave me a $25 Chapters Indigo gift card for my birthday, so I'll probably be going to Indigo soon to buy a book :) I might buy Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce, but I'll browse the shelves at Indigo in case something else strikes my fancy.

I have to go to the library tomorrow, because I have an overdue DVD; and I have four things to pick up: the 2010 Griffin Prize Poetry Anthology, Canadian GED for Dummies, season two of Primeval, and a DVD called Monty Python: Almost the Truth. That makes me excited, too :)

I just sneezed on my arm.

So... yeah :p

Anyways, now that I'm not busy, I can reveal my diabolical knitting plan...

Merenwen's Knitting Plan!

Stuff to finish:

1. Calorimetry (I've only got two rows and the bind-off to do, but I'm procrastinating ;P)
2. Irish Hiking Scarf (only got a little bit left to do)
3. Ravenclaw scarf (about 45% done)
4. Fingerless gloves (need to be seamed)

Stuff to start:

1. Lacy Baktus (I'll have to finish the Calorimetry first, because I need the circular needle)
2. Lacy Waves Scarf (I can start this at any time, but I'd like to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf first)
3. Boneyard Shawl (again, I can start this at any time, but I want to finish other projects first)

I think I'll use my Patons Decor in 'Woodbine Ombre' fur the Lacy Baktus, Red Heart Super Saver in 'Light Sage' (the colour I used for my cat/mandrake blanket) for the scarf, and Decor in light blue (can't remember the colourway name) for the shawl. Fun! :D

I also have an itch to read a gazillion books. I think it's because the weather is cooling off, because I think I read more during fall and winter than in the summer - and any books I read over the summer are light, like manga or girly novels. I still have to finish Blood and Chocolate (I know, I'm lazy), but I really want to start my most recent library selection, Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly. It's about a girl names Drea who has symptoms of Asperger's and joins a band with two classmates who don't judge her. You can read the full synopsis on Goodreads here.

I also want to read Terrier by Tamora Pierce, but I also want to read her Tortallan quartets from the beginning - a 'book marathon', if you will - because I feel that if I read the last Immortals book, The Realms of the Gods, right away, I might have to go back and re-read parts of Emperor Mage. I also have $10 birthday money from my estranged grandmother, which I might spend on a paperback or hair stuff. I can't decide.

Eh, I should probably be doing GED work... or maybe I'll eat lunch first. I feel like making a tuna melt for lunch again.

Rain = awesome :D

Finally, we have rain! This summer's been so hot and muggy, I've been craving rain. And after those few excellent, balmy days, we started getting rain. It's been making my head ache, but otherwise it's very welcome. We've had the doors open and let the fresh air in, and it's just wonderful.

And yet I can't seem to read today because I'm all antsy. I realized today that I haven't finished Blood and Chocolate, which I started a while ago. Problem is I can't seem to focus on novels, but I really want to start a Tamora Pierce book. I don't know why I'm so worried about finishing that book, but I am. Maybe when I'm done reading my manga from the library, it'll become my nighttime read. Or I'll just abandon it and start Terrier! MUAHAHAHA!!!

...ahem.

Anyways, I watched the other two Doctor Who specials, The Next Doctor (the Christmas special), and The Waters of Mars. Both were pretty epic.

I haven't been able to write much for fiction, but I might write a rant. And I've thought about trying script-writing, so I got a book out of the library on film-making, but I've barely looked at it. It looks all right, but I think I'll reserve library books solely on writing scripts.

There are a bunch of knitting projects I want to finish, and now that it's not so humid, I think I'll try finishing my Calorimetry. I'll have to shrink it, but that's fine. At least I use the right weight of yarn this time, and it won't turn out to fit around my waist :p I also want to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf. I haven't been able to wear any of my handknit scarves, because last fall was so warm, so I'm hoping for a seasonable fall so that I can wear my scarves.

Finally, some comfortable weather!

I realized I haven't updated in a little while, so I thought I'd post.

Yesterday the weather was so nice, we didn't have to put the air conditioner on - which is great, because we'd had weeks of muggy weather. Last night I sat out on the front porch with my mom, and stayed out there long after she'd gone inside. I think I was outside for around 20 minutes, maybe longer. It was awesome. I just sat and listened to the trees rustling and the crows cawing, and watched cars and people go by. I even heard a loud chirp as a sparrow flew by. It was nice.

I did hear some not-so-lovely sounds, though: a siren, a motorcycle ripping down our street, and our neighbour's son's car stereo. But, oddly enough, one of my favourite sounds was that of a bus driving down the street that crosses ours. It's odd because buses are known for sounding ugly, and when I was little I used to freak out whenever I heard a bus coming - but the older buses didn't bother me as much. Nowadays buses don't bother me much, probably because the newer designs are quieter and more fuel-efficient.

I'm itching to read Terrier by Tamora Pierce, for some reason. I just picked it up and flipped through it - I knew some of the beginning already, because I had tried reading it from the library but couldn't finish it in time. I even took it out of the library a second time, but I must not have been in the right frame of mind because I didn't get very far in it. I have my own copy now, though, so I can read it at my leisure.

The weather seems to be behaving today, so maybe I'll read my manga from the library (Full Moon O Sagashite #3) or Terrier outside.

Ouch...

My teeth hurt.

So does my head. I think it's because of the weather changing, because we're supposed to be getting rain overnight. I sometimes get headaches from changes in weather (I think it has to do with air pressure), and sometimes I get eye pain, or a toothache. It's usually my molars that ache when the weather changes, but this time it's my bottom front teeth.

Actually, I think I can take another Tylenol now. I should probably do that.

Whoa, I just got a sharp pain in my left eye.

Okay, I'm taking that Tylenol now.

Still, I'm reasonably happy, because I was able to renew my library book today! Sometimes I can't renew something one day, but the day after I can. It's odd. So, I have another three weeks to read it.

I might actually try reading Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce again. Last time I started reading it, I got side-tracked. The same thing happened with Emperor Mage, but I was able to read back enough to finish the book. I might re-read the first three Immortals books before reading Realms of the Gods, though, because I might have forgotten some details. And I kinda want to read the first book, Wild Magic, again :) It's probably my favourite book of all time.

Mom's watching The Wolfman. I'm not, because I hear it's really gory and I don't know if I can deal with it. It and Nine are waaaay overdue from the library, because I was waiting for Dad to want to watch them, or I kept forgetting I had them out, or other people were watching things on TV. We have a DVD player upstairs, but it's hooked up to a smaller TV, and the upstairs DVD player is older and tends to not read discs as well as the newer player. Plus, it's been known to overheat if you're using it for over 2 hours straight - we found that out when we were watching my cousin's Robot Chicken Season One DVD a few years ago. Nathan (my brother) had to unplug the DVD player and plug it back in again to get it running. When I was watching season two of Buffy last December, I watched the last couple of discs upstairs, and sometimes it wouldn't read a disc properly and would start playing the first episode on the disc. So, I had to re-watch the last episode on the downstairs DVD player.

I should probably check my FishVille fish. See ya!

Early morning

The dogs decided to start complaining... just before 7, I think. So I got up to let them out, and they woke Mom up, too. And Teddy would not go outside.

It pissed me off immensely. Normally, she'll run outside and Lulu will be the one to jump over the baby gate (which is up to keep them from the cat litter) and bother Mom. But this time, Teddy stood with her paws on the gate (she doesn't jump over it, probably because she knows she's not allowed) and wailed because she knew Mom was awake.

I was feeling nervous because last night I got an e-mail from somebody I knew at my first karate school, whom I haven't spoken to in years. It went to my junk mail, so I didn't open it, but I told my mom about it and she said I should open it, but I wasn't so sure that I wanted to dig up the past (I left the karate school because of our opinions of the teaching, so I wasn't sure what kind of tales my old friends had been told by the instructors. My brother's old friend had said that, when a kid asked where me and my brother were, an instructor gave them a bullshit story). So today I thought, I'd better open it before I lose my nerve. So I did.

It was a spam link.

facepalm

All that worry for nothing! How ridiculous!

I found out today that I can't renew my library book, so I'm a bit annoyed about that. I couldn't focus enough to start it, though, so it's not that big a deal. Plus, I added it to my Goodreads to-read list, entered a giveaway for it on Goodreads, and the new library catalogue keeps track of recently returned items!

Anyway, I might pick up some light fiction from the shelves at the library I go to. There's a bunch of books on my library 'for later' list that are at that location. And I have the third Full Moon O Sagashite manga coming from the library, too, so that should be cool.

I should probably eat something. All I've had is some water :p

A brief-ish update

Hi. Sorry if my last post sounded weird; I was feeling very unusual when I wrote it.

I'm still stressing about my relatives and their behaviour, but I reserved a book on film-making from the library so that should keep me busy. I also have The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology out of the library, which is cool. I'm only a few pages in and haven't really gotten into the basics of the subject yet, but I think I'm gonna love it. It's making me want to dig out my anatomy book again - actually, when I flipped through the Manga Guide the other day, I saw an illustration of a cell and actually recognized some parts of it from my anatomy colouring book. I don't remember what they were exactly, but the names and shapes looked familiar. It was kinda cool.

I can't seem to get into a novel I have out of the library. It seems really interesting, but my brain just won't relax enough to let me read. I'm thinking of starting another Tamora Pierce book, because I used to zip right through most of her books. I have Terrier, which I tried starting twice but couldn't get into; and Realms of the Gods, which my parents bought for me at Indigo but I never got around to starting it. I might start Realms because it's a Daine book, and I just love Daine's personality.

I'm thinking of writing a blog post of books I recommend, because I've read some books that are really awesome. And I like writing reviews of books.

Oh yeah, and I sliced my fingernail - I was trying to snap a thread, and it sliced my left pinky fingernail. It was a clean break, though, so my mom was able to super-glue it back together and cover it with a band-aid.

I watched The Men Who Stare At Goats today. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually. I laughed quite a bit. And I got to hear one of my favourite songs - 'Itchycoo Park' by the Small Faces - in it.

Haven't posted in a while.

I know, I'm terrible.

I vacuumed up a spider today. It was quite liberating. The spider was huge, too - probably the size of a quarter, at least the size of a nickel, anyway.

Crap, now I have a sharp pain in the back of my head. We must be getting rain this week.

I watched The Breakfast Club today. It was AWESOME :) The DVD I have out of the library has a couple of featurettes, both of which were interesting.

But now I'm feeling melancholy again. It has a bit to do with an upcoming family reunion, and the fact that I can't even bring a book to said reunion (because Mom says it's 'rude'). It's gonna suck: outdoors, in the middle of frickin' July, with a bunch of people who aren't gonna take me seriously. At least my sister's gonna try to come up for this thing, and Justin will probably come with us, so I won't be completely alone. I'll still be bored to death, though.

If I didn't care about how Mom would react, I'd just stay home. But I hate to upset her, so I'll go and try to behave. I really don't want to go. I don't think Dad does, either, because he keeps joking about how he wants to go visit friends elsewhere. I can't say I blame him for wanting to ditch. Neither of us seem to be well received by relatives.

I still don't think it's fair that I can't bring a book. What else am I supposed to do?

Also, this video is awesome...

Awesome :)

So today I logged on to Q107's listener's club, because I got my bonus code in my e-mail. Remembering that one of the DJs did a phone interview with Meatloaf, I go on to her blog on the site and listen to the interview, and post it on my mom's Facebook because she loves him.

I'm a fan, too. He's performing in Oshawa tonight, but I didn't get tickets because: 1) Oshawa is a long drive from where I am, 2) there were no draws for tickets on the listener's club, and 3) as much as I wanted to try to call in to the radio station to win tickets, I knew I wouldn't get in, because the station is in Toronto and not only would it be a long-distance call, but I wouldn't have gotten through because there were probably loads of people in Toronto calling in.

So anyway, after I posted the interview link, I decided to try sending in a request for the All-Request Lunch Hour, and I asked them to play some Meatloaf - either 'You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth', or 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light'. They played 'All Revved Up With No Place to Go', which made me happy. I actually got up and danced around when the song was playing, and sang/lip-synced along ;) They didn't play either song that I requested, but that's fine - I imagine they'll play more Meatloaf later as they're gearing up for the concert, and after the concert as everybody's going home. They usually do that for concerts that they cover.

I really hope that Meatloaf comes here sometime. It'd be a real treat for Mom and me.

Also, I watched An Education the other day. It was pretty good. I kinda want to try knitting Jenny's school scarf: it's grey and dark red, striped just like a Hogwarts scarf. I like it. I have The Breakfast Club waiting for me at the library, so that makes me happy. I might reserve more manga, or perhaps a light novel, after I pick up my stuff.

YEAH!!!

The Netherlands beat Brazil in the World Cup!!!! :D

Also, here's a picture of the dishcloth:





Cute, right? :) I love how the corner striped. I'm quite proud of this little cloth.

The new HPKCHC assignments have been posted, and I'm trying to decide what to make. There are a bunch of assignments that I like, so it's tough to decide on what to attempt first. The month is still young, though.

Also, the new items got added to the library catalog yesterday, so right at 6:00 I raced upstairs to fire up my computer. I went through the new CDs first, and they had added a couple of Freddie Mercury albums and a Queen album that I had sent in purchase requests for, so that made me happy. They also added a live Sting album, which I reserved. After that I went through the DVDs and found lots to reserve: Cop Out, a Peanuts collection, the fourth season of Doc Martin, Skellig (which is based on a really good book by David Almond - I highly recommend it)... I think there was one or two other DVDs, but I can't remember the names. I didn't reserve a lot of books, just a couple of knitting books and a National Geographic book.

Some idiots were in the alley yesterday setting off fireworks in broad daylight. Yes, daylight. It started at around 11:30 in the morning, I think. One of them actually made me jump while I was on my computer.

That's all, I think.

Le sigh...

Japan lost to Paraguay today. Spain beat Portugal, so the quarter-finals should be interesting...

I watched The Blind Side the other day. I loved it - Sandra Bullock was amazing in it. Next library DVD for me to watch is An Education.

I'm trying to finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm about a quarter, maybe a third of the way through.

I've been drinking tea again. I stopped for a little while because it was tasting odd to me, but I think I realized why: I was brewing my tea in my mug instead of in a measuring cup. I heat up the water in a plastic measuring cup in the microwave, so sometimes I would just put the tea bag in the measuring cup. Now that I've started doing that again, my tea isn't tasting funny, and my mug isn't too hot to hold.

Also, I'm knitting a dishcloth with some white and pink variegated yarn. It looks so cute! :)

Clearly, I'm old-fashioned...

I've been listening to Tom Jones lately. I guess it's because I heard 'It's Not Unusual' on an episode of Will & Grace. Gosh, I love that show.

Of course, loads of people, myself included, think of this video when they hear 'It's Not Unusual'...





Oh, Carlton.

I've been struck with menstrual cramps, which isn't fun. Yesterday I had a pain in my side, but that might have been because my period was coming up. Nevertheless, not fun.

I went to the library on Saturday and picked up the tenth Fruits Basket and a couple of CDs. I haven't listened to the CDs yet, but the Fruits Basket is funny. I actually have no DVDs from the library, because I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and took it back, and I had no DVDs to pick up. I thought I'd be getting The Blind Side and An Education soon, but I haven't yet. And I don't want to reserve anything until after the new items get added, so that I can reserve things that are on order.

I've been working on characters for my crime novel, jotting down little facts. It's going okay.

Happy Friday!

Fridays are awesome whether you have plans or not. I don't think I have any plans for the weekend, except that Mom said we should go visit Grandma.

My appointment wasn't as stressful as I'd predicted. When Dr. G came in to talk about my options for an implant, he thought that me wearing the flipper for now would be fine. When my dad mentioned a dental bridge, Dr. G actually winced and said he'd hate to grind down the adjacent teeth for a bridge because they were well-shaped, and a bridge requires maintenance after ten or fifteen years. And I said I didn't want the surgery where they take a piece of bone from the chin and put it in my mouth, because I'm really sick of dental procedures :p So I'm going to keep wearing the flipper for the time being.

And then after Dad's appointment at the family dentist's, we went to the library to pick up me and Mom's stuff and pay our fines. Then Mom and Dad went to Costco, and I started Howl's Moving Castle over again, because I took a break from reading it and lost track of the story.

And today I ate a croissant (Mom and Dad bought a pack of them at Costco) and put towels in the washing machine. I'll try to get some GED work done today.