hail?!? srsly???

It hailed at work this afternoon. We all stood there, staring at it, wondering what in the hell was going to fall from the sky next. Kangaroos? Meatballs?

What a weird, wet winter.

book review - A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

A Thousand Acres was an interesting read for me. It started off as a benign small-town tale, but soon darker threads began to show in the fabric of the story, and by the end, I felt a little stunned. The story is told in such a low-key manner that you hardly realize how deep and dark it's become until it's all over.

The main character is a farm wife caught between the various stronger personalities of her husband, sister, father, and various other characters. Among other factors, revelations from her past have a profound effect on her, causing the entire house of cards that is her life to come tumbling down.

There is not a single man in the book who is portrayed in a positive manner, but since this is my first Smiley book, I can't say if that's a common theme with her. It didn't bother me, but it did make me look twice at the men in my life, wondering at their possible thoughts and motives.

Others reviewers have called this a depressing book, and I guess it is, but it made me think, and I like that in a book. And I like her writing style. There were many phrases and sentences that had me sitting there, staring out the window, thinking about the subtle ways she uses words. A good book, worth 4.5 out of 5 stars.

the winter of mittens

I joined NaKniMitMo (National Knit Mittens Month) on Ravely and managed to knit three pair of mittens. All three got some use after being knit, but these are my favorites. I loved the yarn (De Vi Autumno) when my friend Julie and I saw it at Atelier Yarns in San Francisco, so I bought 4 skeins and used one and a half on these mittens. They are so soft and warm. I'll probably make a scarf from the rest of the yarn, but want it to be something special and I haven't found a pattern that really grabs me.

The second pair were made from SWS Stripes and I love the colors in these. I didn't have enough of the green to do the second glove the same way, so I simply switched the color positions. They go with all my jackets and I definitely need a scarf to match. Can you tell the pink thumb is a bit longer than its mate? Well, it is. I have yet to make a pair of mittens that are exactly the same left to right, so I bought a book on how to knit two socks on two circs, only I'm gonna use it for mittens.

The third pair is a gigantic set of bright red mittens that I didn't take a pic of yet. I had delusions of knitting a red hat and mittens to walk the dog in, since she wears a red harness, but the mittens are huge. So much for paying attn to gauge lol. I'll donate them to my cousin's husband who works outside a lot and will love them.

enough already

I've had it with the rain. I know we're still below ideal snow levels in the mountains or whatever the heck, but it just seems never-ending this year. My early bulbs came up in January and are blooming but they're defeated by the pounding they take every day.

On the other hand, it makes for lovely photos. Water dripping off things is one of my favorite photo subjects.



I wish I had a few big spiders living in my yard so I could shoot their webs after a heavy dew. Web photos are often spectacular.

The field next to where I work is full of weeds and grasses that make for great pictures, and it's all growing like crazy this time of year.


Garden-wise, normally I'd have put out tomatoes by now, but the garden area is a disaster and is going to require a weekend's worth of work before I can do anything. This may be the year I build raised beds...