Roof Gardening Part 2

My gardening success/failure rate seems about on par with my homemade yogurt rate. I've made four batches of the latter and two were great and two were broken, slimy, and quick to spoil. I'm taking a break from that for a while and now trying to improve my garden.

Last week, I moved all the seedlings outside which seems to be my big mistake. The lettuce is thriving and I've had to thin it a bit. One tomato pot has some seedlings left, with several drooping or dead. The herbs are also kind of iffy. So, we reseeded the tomatoes in one pot, and I restarted some herbs and marigolds separately in yogurt containers. Just noticed the irony--I'm using up my yogurt containers for the garden instead of making new yogurt.

Lettuce in front and invisible herb sprouts behind. The thing on the side of the picture is the edge of the fire escape stairs from the apartment above us.

Tomato pot with a few sprouty looking things.

Unsuspecting mom leaves lettuce seeds in child's room during naptime. With the above result: a well-seeded chair.

Roof Gardening Part 1

We live on the second floor and our building continues out past our apartment on the first floor only. This gives us a bit of roof access through E's bedroom window. So, I decided to try a bit more gardening this year. Last year we grew tomatoes in a pot from a plant purchased at the green grocers.

Anyway, we bought some basil, thyme, rosemary, marigold, lettuce, and grape tomato seeds. We planted all of them on April 8th and put the lettuce directly outside. Everything else went on our kitchen shelves (see below). E. of course enjoyed all of this immensely, especially the scooping up and dumping in of dirt. At one point, she was digging in pots I had already seeded, which led to this often repeated (by her) comment, "Enough enough of dirt!"

She didn't actually like the feeling of dirt on her hands, so our after photo is relatively neat.

Here our seeds are all "sleeping."

Less Thrilling Mysteries

For whatever reason, my latest two mysteries were much less thrilling and interesting than past ones. I guess I shouldn't compare everyone to Chandler but these two at least didn't seem to stand alone as good writing but merely fit the bill as a "good read" in the mystery category.

The Case of the Gilded Fly was almost a three star but it was enjoyable and a quick read so I won't go that low. Too many literary allusions--like Lord Peter Wimsey on a really bad day. Especially since the book ends on a quote that's only alluded to and not spelled out at all. I tried hunting for the reference in the novel and also online but to no avail. Oh well, not that interested to know anyway, unfortunately. Other than that, I enjoyed the story. Kind of a locked room mystery. Not told from the perspective of the "detective", an Oxford literary scholar, but mostly from that of one of his former students who was one of the few with a solid alibi. I kind of liked it that detective was rather annoying to most people and had some personality flaws. It made him more amusing and took away from the excessive allusions.

The Cape Cod Mystery, however, I did call a three star. This is the first in the Asey Mayo series that I think all take place in Cape Cod. Asey Mayo is a handyman and is billed as a typical Cape Cod local, complete with odd speech patterns and incredible insight into human beings. That being said, I found it kind of boring. Too much conversation and not enough character development to help me keep track of who the various characters were. You know it's a bad sign when you have to remind yourself to take special note of who is speaking and stretch to remember if she's the young, pretty one or the older, overweight one. Mayo employed Miss Marple's technique of people reminding her of people she knew and their actions not straying from their type. This did make me wonder whether Agatha Christie stole this idea from Taylor but the characterization issues made this a little hard to buy. One point of interest was the historical details--the vacation house had electricity which was novel and a major point of the plot hinged on the bathing house and its key.

1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15. The Lady in the Lake by Chandler
16. The Little Sister by Chandler
17. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

A little mid-afternoon silliness

Her only comment was, "This is not your hat. It's Daddy's hat."

Unlikely pairing

I probably shouldn't have read a Charlie Chan mystery so shortly after having finished all my Raymond Chandler novels. It just didn't hold up nearly as well as it might have without Marlowe breathing down my neck. Plus, I'd read the essays and letters that were in my Chandler collection and he definitely was a snob about mysteries. I don't think he's ruined the genre for me but he did make me realize that some of the "greats" were really about puzzles and not true to life in the least.

Anyway, I never saw any of the Charlie Chan movies so now I might have to so that I fully understand them. Nevertheless, The Chinese Parrot was amusing. It was very funny and, though predictable, I enjoyed watching all the pieces fall into place. My 21st century self at first thought it was a bit racist but then I realized how often Charlie Chan was able to use his race to an advantage to find out more about the crime so I decided it wasn't. Also, Biggers clearly points out how racist some of the other characters are and does not praise them for it, so I suppose it was pretty advanced for the 1920s. At times I wondered if these novels were written with the hopes that they would become movies since there was almost too much dialogue.

Since Sergio pointed out to me that I had the cut-off date for the Vintage Mystery Challenge wrong, I can now include The Long Goodbye. It could be subtitled, "Marlowe Makes a Friend and Gets Used." Or, "How to Make a Gimlet the Right Way." But I did really like it, don't get me wrong. Lots of turns and confusion and a real love-interest this time, though he doesn't seem to find her that attractive at first, at least not compared to the beautiful woman he has to fight off in one scene. Lots of hidden identities too.

1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15. The Lady in the Lake by Chandler
16. The Little Sister by Chandler
17. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
Half-way there!

Raymond Chandler obsession

Who knew that I would develop such a Raymond Chandler obsession through my reading for the Vintage Mystery Challenge? I tend to read British mysteries more often and I almost never read anything set in LA but here I am, still going. And I'll probably add extras on to my list, since I have the Library of America collection of his later novels checked out from the library right now.

Anyway, I enjoyed The Lady in the Lake because it took Marlowe out of the city a bit and had a more appealing member of law enforcement--Sheriff Jim Patton. He put up with Marlowe breaking into a suspect's house very well and didn't seem so bitter against private eyes. Maybe it had something to do with his age and his rural location. He even had a card on his car that said, "Voters, Attention! Keep Jim Patton Constable. He is too old to go to work." But he still proved to be a surprisingly good shot. Add to this the twisted plot that I thought I had an early insight into and then it seemed to be wrong but then turned out to be true but twisted way worse than I imagined--great stuff.

The Little Sister was a little tougher. Marlowe seems to have reached his low point in this novel--several times he says to himself, "You're not human tonight, Marlowe." He appears to be done with LA--he describes how he used to like it, before it became a "neon-lighted slum." Also, "Real cities have something else, some individual bony structure under the muck. Los Angeles has Hollywood--and hates it. It ought to consider itself damn lucky. Without Hollywood it would be a mail-order city. Everything in the catalogue you could get better somewhere else." I wonder what he would think of it today--is it just more of the same?

I found it interesting that the female character he seemed closest to in this novel wasn't the girl next door type this time but the hard, desperate, blonde movie star. One character even hinted that he was in love with her but it's so hard to tell with Marlowe--maybe that's why I keep reading more!

1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15. The Lady in the Lake by Chandler
16. The Little Sister by Chandler
17. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (won't count for challenge because written in 1953)

Big Girl Bed

This is the closest to napping E. has come recently. This bed is too fun for resting except at night time!


"I'm about to jump, Mommy! Take my picture quick!"
Doesn't Ariel look like she was caught in the act? I had just called her name, so here is proof that she does know her name, though she may deny it later.

A Room of Her Own

While she's had this room since we moved in in June, it's only recently that it's become fully hers. E. now loves to run in there, close the door and do her own thing. And I've finally organized things a bit more so she can do just that. So, here we go! When you enter, on your right is the kitchen, now with storage for all the food and accessories:

Above the kitchen are some cute framed posters from my mom's house that E. loves. Other artwork is visible in the big girl bed post.

In the center, is the glider/rocking chair, with the small closet and roof/fire escape/tomato growing space in view out the window. Oh, and yes, that is a mini-grocery cart in the corner near the growth chart. (Thanks Nonna & Pawpaw!)
In the left corner, is a skinny bookshelf with books for when she's older, art supplies, and our internet router!
Below that, and next to the chair, you can see the packed (both sides of the top are filled) bookshelf, my keyboard, the table and chairs from when I was little, the new animal bin (pink-spotted), and the foot of her new big girl bed. More of that in the next post! Please note that the bookshelf is usually half-empty with Curious George books especially spread all over the floor. My dad & step-mom get the credit for that obsession.

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of her dresser which is on the same wall as the door. Oh well, it's not that interesting. Hopefully, this gives those who haven't seen it in person an idea of what E's room looks like. While small, it is a great space for her and we're so grateful to have it!

Ridiculousness

The other day after naptime, E. announced that her name was Giraffe. When I asked her, "Is your name GIraffe?", she answered, "Yah." She also answered, "Giraffe" to the question of what her name was.

Then yesterday at church she addressed a young woman she knows as Bunny Rabbit. Chelsea thought maybe E. had forgotten her name but then E. said, "Chelsea is Bunny Rabbit."

Today's ridiculous moment came when she was dumping out buttons from the button box. She announced that they were catnip and started rolling in them. When I asked what she was doing, she said, "Rolling up the catnip." So silly.

More Vintage Mysteries

Again I seem to be reading these two types of mysteries back to back--noblemen as detectives and noir crime novels. For this post, it's Margery Allingham's Sweet Danger and The High Window, another Raymond Chandler.

I have to admit I found the former really close to the edge of too dry in terms of wit and too subtle in terms of overall writing style. I think I had to restart it at least three times before I got into it. Perhaps that was due to the beginning that seemed a bit too much like Agatha Christie's later novels about all the mysterious forces and political currents which are trying to be spy novels but aren't really succeeding all that well. But after that, I enjoyed it much more. Campion is an interesting twist on the nobleman detective since he deliberately walks around with idiotic looks on his face to throw everyone off. I also enjoyed the mysterious kingdom of Averna and the hunt for the lost heirs--very fun

The High Window was sadder and somehow more unresolved than Farewell, My Lovely. Only some of the killers were brought to justice and not all the really evil characters got what was coming to them which was a bit disappointing. He made me laugh in the "reveal" scene because one of the "villains" made fun of the typical detective story: "Now you're going to tell me how it all happened and include some detail you've been holding back that makes it all clear."

I always end up hoping for Marlowe to have a relationship with the sweet girl in each story because I can see he cares for each of them and wants to protect them but I know in the back of my head that it won't happen. I read in the biographical notes that Chandler rewrote Double Indemnity for the screen based on someone else's writing. I wonder if he wrote part of Chinatown too because it definitely has that same noir LA feel. I realize that this is more a review of the mood of the novels than the plot but I can't help it. That's what sticks with me.
1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15. The Lady in the Lake by Chandler
16. The Little Sister by Chandler

Vintage Mysteries #1 & 2

I've now read two out of my 16 for the Vintage Mystery Challenge.

Busman's Honeymoon I think I've read before when I was trying to read all the Dorothy Sayers I could find. It was a great read, humorous, entertaining and full of insight into married life as well as into murder. I especially liked how Sayers didn't end the novel with the solution of the crime but showed Lord Peter's full response to the trial and the execution of the criminal--he actually asked the murderer to forgive him and took responsibility for his family members. I enjoyed the quotations back and forth between Harriet Vane (now Wimsey) and Lord W. but I wondered if people really ever talked that way or if our society is too undereducated at this point. I could have done without all the French, however.

Farewell, My Lovely made the previous novel seem light and fluffy in comparison, though I think it did deal seriously with death, especially death in your own home. But Raymond Chandler's writing is the epitome of the noir murder mystery. Lots of gloom, alcohol, and dangerous dames. He's also very funny but very dry. I was left wondering with one of the women why Philip Marlowe does it--his private detection doesn't pay well, gets him knocked out several times, and usually doesn't seem to lead to actual justice for the crime, though it may change a few things for a short while.

1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14. The High Window by Raymond Chandler
15.
16.

Everything's Coming Up Ducks

Here E. is singing and jumping/dancing to a new favorite song from the library. The words are "5 little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away. Mama Duck said, 'Quack quack quack quack,' but only 4 little ducks came back." And so on.

A few days later, she made her first watercolor painting. Her comments, if you can't decipher them were:

"Don't fall off." She's telling herself to be careful on the chair.

"Wookit that big duck!" All the ducks had to be green, which is her new favorite.

Last Year's Blizzard

Check out the snowman--he was gone by the next day--destroyed, not melted.
Seems as if someone wasn't nearly as traumatized as I was by our recent blizzard experience of getting stuck overnight in our car. The very next day, she was happily exploring, testing out her new boots and sampling the freshly fallen flavor!

Medieval & Chunkster Challenge Wrap-Up

Way back in January and February, I signed up for the Tournament of Reading and the Chunkster challenge. I've since completed both but haven't posted until now--procrastination, I know. For the former, I signed up for the King level, or 9 books, including two from each category (history, historical fiction, literature from the Middle Ages). Along the way, I discovered/rediscovered Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse mysteries and Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries--tons more medieval fun!

History: A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman*

History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer (also my last chunkster)

Wow, this took me a long time! It was definitely enjoyable, just a bit of a slog, partly due to my own distractions. Anyway, I learned a ton about a time period that I realize now I knew very little about. A repeated and global theme seemed to be how loose nomadic tribes grew into nations with a shared history, language, and religion. Also, how those nations used or misused their varied religions for political ends. I have to admit that the Asian and South Asian sections were less interesting to me, perhaps because I found the names hard to keep track of, even within the chapter, let alone across chapters. Maybe I should reread those sections. I'm also curious as to how the author arrived at her definition of medieval as spanning the years from 312-1129.

The Discarded Image by C. S. Lewis (history/literary criticism)

Historical Fiction: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset*

Morality Play by Barry Unsworth*

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Since I was reading this with a child I tutor, I wasn't quite in the full flow of the narrative. Nevertheless, it was an engaging book, with some predictability. I enjoyed the way the main character changed throughout the novel and I thought Avi did a good job conveying the medieval setting as well.

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

An intriguing read, confusing at times in terms of genre--not sure if she wanted to be historical fiction or some sort of fantasy/supernatural thing, maybe a bit of both. I ended up feeling like I mostly liked the characters. A bit like Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" because they started gradually dying off. In some ways I'd like to read it again and pick up some more clues and make connections between events but I'm not sure it's a book to reread in terms of holding my interest. Excellent as far as historical detail goes, however.

Medieval Literature: The Book of Margery Kempe*

Dream Visions and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer

I really enjoyed The Parliament of Fowls and The Legends of Good Women. The first was very humorous and the second was a nice defense of womanhood against courtly love and exploiting men. My edition also had critical essays and background sources. The sources were interesting and a few of the essays were but some of them really got on my nerves. Over all, I enjoyed reading the Middle English because it's pretty similar to modern English but different enough that it was like reading a foreign language at times--a fun challenge.

*already reviewed previously

100 Books in 2010

I've finished 100 books! It felt like it was going to be close in November when I had 20 more books to go in two months but I did it for a grand total of 34,777 pages, according to Goodreads! Some of my books were a bit of "filler" to get me to the end, probably because I read some big ones at the beginning of the year. The top genres (in order, though some books overlap) were: fiction, series, mystery, medieval, escapist, historical fiction, ya fiction, thriller, and audio.

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2. The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne

3. The Wreath by Sigrid Undset

4. The Wife by Sigrid Undset

5. The Book of Margery Kempe

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

7. Little Lady, Big Apple by Hester Browne

8. The Cross by Sigrid Undset

9. Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti

10. The Discarded Image by C. S. Lewis

11. Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn by Alice Mattison

12. Washington Square by Henry James

13. An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

14. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

15. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

16. Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

17. Hot Water by P. G. Wodehouse

18. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

19. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

20. East Wind: West Wind by Pearl S. Buck

21. Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

22. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman

23. The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

24. My Life in France by Julia Child

25. Lives 2 by Plutarch

26. The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer

27. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth

28. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

29. Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell

30. The Heretic's Apprentice by Ellis Peters

31. The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters

32. Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope

33. The Summer of the Danes by Ellis Peters

34. Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

35. The Associate by John Grisham

36. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

37. Scientific Progress Goes "Boink" by Bill Watterson

38. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

39. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

40. Aunt Dimity, Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton

41. Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark

42. The Apostate's Tale by Margaret Frazer

43. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

44. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffnegger

45. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowlin

46. Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope

47. Three by Flannery O'Connor

48. The Maiden's Tale by Margaret Frazer

49. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

50. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

51. Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark

52. The Brethren by John Grisham

53. The Clicking of Cuthbert by P. G. Wodehouse

54. The Girl on the Boat by P. G. Wodehouse

55. The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope

56. The Naming by Alison Croggon

57. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

58. So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

59. The Reeve's Tale by Margaret Frazer

60. The Riddle by Alison Croggon

61. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

62. The Valley of Vision by Arthur G. Bennett

63. Runaway by Alice Munro

64. The Squire's Tale by Margaret Frazer

65. A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George

66. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

67. The Unvarnished New Testament by Andy Gaus

68. The Crow by Alison Croggon

69. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

70. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

71. Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

72. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

73. The Clerk's Tale by Margaret Frazer

74. The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer

75. The Mating Season by P. G. Wodehouse

76. Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse

77. The Singing by Alison Croggon

78. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

79. How to Really Love Your Angry Child by D. Ross Campbell

80. Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life by Richard Meryman

81. Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George

82. Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters

83. River Teeth by David James Duncan

84. The Bastard's Tale by Margaret Frazer

85. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

86. No Talking by Andrew Clements

87. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

88. Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

89. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro

90. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

91. Dream Visions and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer

92. March by Geraldine Brooks

93. Miracles by C. S. Lewis

94. St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters

95. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

96. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

97. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

98. Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George

99. Country Wives by Rebecca Shaw

100. America for Sale by Jerome R. Corsi

Shakespeare for 2011

I guess I should officially sign up for the reading challenge I'm hosting for next year, huh? Anyway, I am going to read at the Henry V level which means one play a month for the whole year. I'll be reading a lot of history plays because I'm reading chronologically based on my Riverside Shakespeare. My plan is to read:

1. 1 Henry VI
2. 2 Henry VI
3. 3 Henry VI
4. Richard III
5. The Comedy of Errors
6. Titus Andronicus
7. The Taming of the Shrew
8. The Two Gentlemen of Verona
9. Love's Labor's Lost
10. King John
11. Richard II
12. Romeo and Juliet

That makes 6 histories, 4 comedies, and 2 tragedies. I've read Richard III and both tragedies but none of the comedies, though I've seen the Shrew as well as 10 Things I Hate About You. I hated Titus the first time I read it and didn't want to see the movie version so I'm a little wary of reading it again. I guess I'll either have a greater appreciation of the British royals or hate them all by the end of the year. We'll see.

New Reading Challenge for 2011

I realize that I haven't finished all of this year's challenges yet--I still have 10 books to go for the 100 books challenge, I'm on my last medieval book, and I have finished but haven't posted about the chunksters--but it's time to sign up for new ones for 2011.

So, the first one I'm signing up for is the Vintage Mystery Challenge. I've read a few of the authors listed but am interested in reading more. My particular challenge will be twofold--to read 16+ (Take 'Em to Trial level) and to find them all at the library! My list so far is:

1. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham
2. something by Dorothy Sayers
3. The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers
4. Detection Unlimited by Georgette Heyer
5. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
6. something by Ellery Queen
7. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
8. Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
9. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
10. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout
11. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
12. The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
13. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy
14.
15.
16.

Thanksgiving

This year I'm thankful for a new apartment (with all of its challenges) and silly songs. The silly singer is thankful for trains. Almost every night after I pray for her, she says, "Thank you God trains. Thank you God big train. Thank you God L train," and so forth.

Summer Project Roundup

The following two rugs have been worn-in for a while now but I finally got around to taking some pictures. I worked on them both this summer, doing the bathmat first. Since they are knit rag rugs, I also got to enjoy the cathartic exercise of ripping up old sheets!

This could have had some fringe but I ran out of sheet.
The cable on this was done with a chopstick for a cable needle. Pretty ridiculous but fun.
This one was made from two twin flannel sheets, so it's very soft for flopping on. E. has done a lot of lying on her stomach to look at things on this rug.
Close up view.

Last CSA Goodies: A Fall Still Life

Can it be over a week ago now that we collected our last bunch of vegetables? It was such a weekly ritual--going to the pickup site, seeing a three-year old friend, visiting the yarn store, and coming home with a heavy bag. This last time was probably the best because it was our turn to "babysit" the veggies and we brought home lots of extras. We still have almost as many sweet potatoes but we're down to only one pumpkin! My first project was to make the puree that was enjoyed below:
Notice how she's looking longingly at the bowl. My design had been to bake together and to have her do the dumping and some of the mixing. However, when I handed her the full cup of pumpkin, her gut instinct was to taste it so I did the dumping and she got her own bowl. Of course, had it been dinner time, the pumpkin would have been ignored. She did help mix after eating plenty of pumpkin and flour, though I had to keep removing little fingers from the bowl.

Those two little orange pumpkins in the first photo yielded this yogurt container's worth of puree which has become pumpkin muffins and pumpkin waffles and I still have two more cups in the fridge.

To continue the orange theme, I also made sweet potato gnocchi and a pumpkin and lentil salad with goat cheese and some of the CSA spinach which is not pictured. These items were rejected by my little baker at dinner, though she loves the pumpkin muffins.