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 :)

Recovery time...

Sorry for the long break between posts. I've been busy recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery.

You might remember me mentioning that I was having my wisdom teeth pulled. Well, on Monday, it happened. Fortunately I was knocked out for the procedure, so i have no memory of it. I remember the events beforehand, but not the actual procedure. I'm glad, because when I'm awake for these kinds of things, I get all panicky.

I'm feeling a lot better than I did Monday afternoon. The swelling in my face has gone down a lot, I can open my mouth enough to chew soft foods, and I can talk somewhat normally. I'm still sore, but not as sore. And I reserved a bunch of manga from the library to keep me occupied while I heal up, and I started a simple garter stitch scarf out of Bernat Boa to keep me from getting too bored. I have called the scarf 'Goldfish scarf' on Ravelry, because I'm knitting it on a larger gauge than what the yarn label calls for, and it looks lacy and fish-scale-like. I also found out that, when I was swatching for this scarf, my 5.5mm circular needle is actually a 7mm (?!). I was surprised and kind of bummed out. But the needle was on sale, so it might've been a mistake in the packaging.

In other news, I had to take Hereafter back without finishing it. I'm disappointed, but I can always get it out of the library another time. I started reading a Tamora Pierce book, though - Tris's Book, the second in the Circle of Magic quartet. I didn't feel much like reading any of my other books, because they were all either very big, or urban fantasy books, or dystopians. And I didn't feel like reading dystopia or urban fantasy. I'm only a page and a bit into the book, because I was quite tired yesterday - when I was watching Lorna Doone, I'd lost the energy to knit. Can you believe that?! But anyway, back to the book. I've been meaning to read a Tamora Pierce book for a while, so it's kind of refreshing to read one of her books after so long - I think the last one I read all the way through was Emperor Mage, and that was at least a year ago, if not two.

I should probably get off the computer and eat soon :p I'll post pictures of the scarf when it's finished, I hope!

How I spent my summer thus far

O hai :)

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with summer. I like that I don't have to do as much school-related stuff, and that I have more time to read. However, I don't like the climate: it's hot, it's humid, I don't have a lot of summery outfits, and I sunburn easily. And let's not forget the bugs...

Still, though, last week was awesome for me, because I got to visit my sister last Saturday - and I got a little bit of reading done, too, because she lives about an hour and a half's drive away (sometimes an hour and forty-five minutes, depending on traffic, but last Saturday the traffic was pretty good).

It was a bit tricky to read on the way there, though, because the van was jolting around a bit. Overall, I think I only got a couple of pages read, but my book isn't due for another couple of weeks so it's all good. We got a bit turned around when we were trying to find my sister's apartment, but we found the way eventually.

We said hello to her cats (I got to finally meet the younger kitty, who is adorable :D), had a look around her place, then went out for lunch to a nice Japanese restaurant. I tried some of the sushi that my sister and my mom picked out, except for the raw stuff. The only ones I didn't like were one of the maki and the tamago (sweet egg on rice with a strip of nori around it). The textures of both bothered me. But my sister ordered a two-piece serving of the cooked shrimp on rice (ebi, I think it's called), which I love, for me. I think my dad ate the other one though :p We got tempura as well, and some gyoza, edamame, and beef and green onion rolls.

For dessert, all of us except Dad ordered ice cream - red bean for me, green tea for Mom, and I think my sister got vanilla. Then we ordered two sweeter tempura - banana, with chocolate sauce drizzled on it, and one called something like 'milk dumpling tempura'. The milk dumpling one was like a cross between custard and a doughnut, like an elephant ear (or beaver tail, as they're sometimes called). Both were delicious.

After that, we walked through the local mall. We went to the Lush store, where my mom bought some stuff for herself, then we browsed a bit in Costa Blanca and H&M. Then we went back to my sister's place and hung out with the cats, then headed home.

So that was my weekend: pretty awesome.

The book I'm reading from the library is Hereafter by Tara Hudson. So far it's pretty good - but it's also big, so I'm worried I won't finish it in time for when it has to go back. Fingers crossed...

Oh, blah.

I'm way tired.

Yesterday morning the dogs woke me up at around 6:00, so I got up and let them out. I really should've gone back to bed, because I was a zombie for most of the day. I tried to sleep in the afternoon, but for some reason my brain wouldn't shut off completely. I decided to put off going to the library until the next day (today), because I didn't feel like going much.

And, as usual, I forgot that I had books due yesterday in addition to CDs. Guess who has fines to pay? :p

Anyway, last night I got really tired. I kept nodding off when Mom and I were watching Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, so after watching five minutes or so of Letterman, I went to bed.

And then this morning, I woke up twice. I heard the dogs and thought, "No way am I getting up this early again!" Fortunately, Mom got up with them, so I fell back to sleep. I woke up again at... I think it was nine-ish. I still feel like a zombie, but not as much as last night.

I think I'm making a cup of coffee today.

The temperature is too damn high!

Yup. It's bloody hot.

Fortunately, we had the AC on, and we turned the TV off because it was throwing too much heat, and instead we had the radio on. I read a little bit of I Capture the Castle, too. Boy, do I love AC...

I've not done much knitting, except for a headband for House Cup. I may post a picture sometime. It turned out nicely, and I still have a bit of cotton leftover. I've got itchy fingers, though, so I may start something else out of cotton to keep me busy - I need to destash anyway. I was going to start a hat, but the yarn I want to use is wool so I may leave that for autumn. I have bits and bobs of cotton to use up, though, so I might make a scrap-cloth.

I have something else to keep me busy: a book is waiting for me to pick up at the library. Trouble is, it's 407 pages long, so I'm worried I won't be able to read it. I have three weeks with the book, though, so we'll see. I may be stuck in the house if the heat keeps up, so it'll be nice to have a new book to read.

Luckily, it's cooler today than it was yesterday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for rain...

A Confusion of Sports Terminology

From watching soccer, I've noticed that I get a bit confused by what the commentators are saying sometimes. Part of it has to do with my having watched hockey as a kid, and part of it is because I'm still learning the rules of soccer. So, here is an example of how I confuse my sports terms...

#1: 'Extra Time'. In soccer, overtime periods are called 'extra time', but I still say 'overtime' because, being Canadian, I'm used to hockey terms at times. Also, the extra time periods (two fifteen-minute periods) are mandatory - I think hockey overtime is sudden-death (or maybe it's only sudden-death in playoff games?).

#2: 'Added/Stoppage Time'. This has more to do with how different commentators talk. From watching the FIFA World Cup, I was used to it being called 'stoppage time', but sometimes I hear commentators say 'added time'. Stoppage/added time, for anyone who isn't familiar with the term, is the amount of time accumulated from the stops in play for fouls or injuries, and it's played at the end of the half.

#3: 'Penalty box'. My hockey knowledge appears again here. In hockey, a penalty box is where players sit when they've committed a foul. While that player's in the box, everyone else plays a 'power play' - which means that for the time that the player's in the box, the other team has an advantage, and when the power play timer is up the player in the box comes back out on the ice and regular play is resumed. Now, in soccer, a penalty box is the big outer box at the goal nets. When a player is roughly challenged in that box, they are sometimes entitled to a penalty kick (a kick that's closer to the goal than a free kick, and there is no 'wall' of players to deflect it - players are allowed to stand behind the kicker but, if I remember correctly, they can't move until the kick is taken). I say 'sometimes' because I'm still not familiar with all the rules, and sometimes a referee can decide that no penalty will be given. This box is often called the penalty area instead, but I find that when commentators are covering Major League Soccer (a North American league), they tend to say 'box' instead of 'area'.

Because I'm still not familiar with all the rules, here's a Wiki link on the penalty box/area. It will explain it better than I can :)

Last, but definitely not least, I want to congratulate Japan on winning the Women's FIFA World Cup. You did awesome!!!! :D

Aaaaand finished!

So, I finally finished Blood and Chocolate :)

I like the book and the movie for different reasons. For instance, I didn't like Book Aiden as much as Movie Aiden - maybe it has something to do with the age difference between the movie characters and the book characters. I'd like to re-watch the movie, because I haven't seen it in a while and I can't remember much of the plot.

Now, to finish I Capture the Castle... the problem is, I saw the movie before finishing the book, so I know how it ends :( But the book is better than the movie, although I liked the movie quite a bit. I was annoyed that they made Cassandra's brother Thomas a lot younger for the movie, though - in the book he's about fifteen, but in the movie he's more like eleven of twelve.

I still have an itch to start a new book, even though I have others to finish. I'm trying to stop myself from starting another book until I finish I Capture the Castle - I only have ninety-ish pages to go, and the font is pretty easy to read.

So those are my latest book adventures. Hopefully by the time I post another book-related blog post, I'll be finished I Capture the Castle!