Troll Toll

Harrowing the Dragon, Patricia McKillip (308pp) A collection of short stories some of which have been printed in other anthologies. For the most part I enjoyed these shorts and had a pleasant revist with a variant on the Snow Queen. There is a short based on Romeo and Juliet told from the point of view of an investigating soldier after the suicides have been disovered; there is a Baba Yaga tale which was cute and a few stories such as The Stranger which I found forced but then there was The Witches of Junkett and a Troll and Two Roses (Troll Toll!) which made up for the weak spots. I could see Troll (with a little editing at the end) being performed as a monologue so easily.
**
Mortal Love, Elizabeth Hand (364pp) If you can imagine Algernon Swineburne as a hero, well, then you are halfway there with this book. Absinthe, crazed artists with a seriously surreal streak, more absinthe, Bloewdd, The Owl Service, lots of green, and why it might be better not to go home with someone you just met 'cause they might, you know, be an immortal primary source or an escapee from he local mad house down the moor are all present. The narrative style reminded me of Possession but more disjointed and less landscape oriented.
***
Snow-Walker, Catherine Fisher (505pp) I don't know why but I do seem to be reading an awful lot of Snow Queen stories lately. Snow-Walker which for some reason I had thought was set in Russia is in fact set in Norway. The America edition is actually the collected three volume series originally published in England and this explains why there seemed to be an inordinate amount of recapitualtion and a slight disjointedness in the narrative. However that minor hiccup aside each of the tales is a good read and reflects a different source: volume one The Snow Queen, volume two Beowolf, volume three East of the Sun and West of the Moon. They are based lightly on these tales and are definitely evolving quest stories. Snow-walker is the "youngest" feeling tale I have read so far of Ms. Fisher's work and I am curious how The Oracle Betrayed will be. I did like that Raven Wraiths. I wonder what would happen if they and the Crow Girls met?
****
One of the children learned today why rolling a skein of yarn into a ball is best done after carefully placing the skein around something before winding first. After an hour and a half he still had a tangle to sort out. At least it smelled pleasantly of oranges, as it had been dyed with Koolaid the previous week for our school auction :)
****
Oh and Angel Sanctuary, GodChild and Cain Saga (all the latest volumes are at the Powell's watrehouse! So I'm going to order them to have something to read on my way to Prom! If you're on the plane I'll be the one reading the book about angels being mean to each other and Gothic Lolitas loose in Victorian England poisoning people***CV

one out of three

After practice this morning I went to Peet's and spent about two hours reading Snow-Walker and working on my amber spider shawl. I almost treated myself to a container of their jasmine fancy tea (how could I forget their jasmine tea?!) before treating myself instead to a new book at Powell's. Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand (pre-raphelite muse madness)

All in all it was a very pleasant birthday, the sun even came out and stayed out. One of the teachers at practice this morning improvised a candle to wish on which was very sweet.

I am now half way through both books :)***CV

a riddle

A riddle a riddle as I suppose,

what do these three share

(no, it's not clothes!):

William Shakespeare

Vladimir Nabokov

Me

***CV

Rag shop

I said I had my dress for the Prom already. And I do. However, a certain shop around the corner and down the street from me happens to have a rack of prom and bridesmaid outfits. I decided to browse through them. Just to look see.

One was a lovely sleeveless one piece, green velvet top and chiffon skirt, that looked good on from the side but not the front. Oh well. I'm just looking.

Another was a deep purple two piece halter top with long gauze ribbons that tie into a draping bow in the back, and fitted full length skirt. I'm talking almost Tyhrrian purple. A third was a dark chocolate brown, composed of a satin so fitted it gave the appearence that Marylin M. had forgotten one of her formals at the cleaners and so it had arrived at the shop. A fourth was a silver grey silk that looks pearl blue in some lights.

All of the dresses were floorlength to the point of having small trains.

I really liked the purple but it was not in my budget. *sigh* As I changed back I noticed that there was a zipper open, one I hadn't remembered using at all. "That's odd" I thought. So I looked closer. It seems the ribbon ties had hidden the side zipper feature. It was open and had no Pull to close it with.

I brought it up to the counter as the price tag had not been marked "as is", and showed it to the sales person so they could change the tag and the next person would know to check for the damage.

"I wanted to show you something I noticed," I said to her.

"Did you want this dress?", she asked as she checked to see if the tag had been marked as damaged goods.

I said I liked it but having to get it repaired didn't make sense to me. Besides there was another dress I was going to try on.

"Well I could discount it." she replied.

"Oh?", I was curious but even with a discount I didn't think it would be reasonable with my budget.

"Yes. Two dollars."

*blink* "Two dollars off of what it is now?"

"No. Two dollars total."

Funny. I now have another dress for the prom. I'm off to search for some hooks and eyes***CV

adjustments

Talked with the children today about the changes that are coming. Most of them were very together about it. Apparently yesterday (I was out on a professional day) there was a bit of agitation and a group meeting was held.

Today one child asked if I would be staying when the school moved and I said no. Why not? Because things are changing and one of those things that I will be most likely moving.

"Are you happy where you might move?" asked another child.

I said, "Yes"

"Then that's what's important."

"But I'll miss you", said the first one.

"Yes, but she's happy where she's going", the second child told her.
**
I guess even when you think what you're saying is not being heard, it is :)

handsome has been....

Frogged. It just wasn't working out. And I kept thinking, "It's going to get longer each successive row. Do I really want to invest the time....." So I spent most of the afternoon trying the Spider shawl instead.

Who knew frogs and spiders got along so well.

Bleh.
**
Today it started out warm. Poured. Cleared to brightness. Hailed. Stayed overcast. Warmed. Hailed, and then cooled.

Oh Mr. Weatherforecaster: What 'up?!
***CV

Gabe and the Sibyl

Prom Nights From Hell, Meg Cabot et al (304pp) I finished this last night before going to sleep. I kept wondering if maybe the title should have been Buffy at Prom but I guess not. It's an Ok collection of stories. By which I mean it wasn't bad enough to be offensive but my goodness could it have been fluffier? Yes, I read the Monkey's Paw when I was nine and so the terror supposed to be induced by the Corsage was not going to happen. I suppose what bothered me was that the girls were so unheroine-ish. I did kind of like the Sibyl tale but the Wonder Woman part, egads. And honestly how could Gabe's middle name not be Michael? So if you're looking for a fluff book that is okay to drop in the tub, or leave on a plane, you could do worse than this one. I'd class it with Gothic.
**
Still trying to assess the interview. The first was "Oh I guess that didn't go so good". Then I got a second call tonight and we're trying to arrange an in person. Still.... I think I'm too honest. Must work on that answering without answering technique.....
***
56/246 complete****CV

Just Silver

Dangerous Angels, Francesca Lia Block (478pp) I picked this book based on the prose style alone. Having never read On the Road this book still struck me as a tangerine bubblegum dream of what On the Road could have been, if I had bothered to read it. FLB writes in a fairy tale but modern style and this particular collection has a be-bop fey flavor all its own. I really can't say much about the plot itself without givng it away. If Valley Girl was seen through rose tinted hipster surfer boy silent era lenses, well, it might be like this.
**
Darkhenge, Catherine Fisher (240pp) This tale combined so many of my interests: celtic mythology, neuroscience, artists discovering themselves, the English-Welsh border, faith both pagan and christian, the unknowable boundaries between dream, reality, self delusion, and awareness. All wrapped up in a somber atmosphere that struck just the right tone of dark for the older reader without tipping into the overly creepy.
***
I started to read Strange Candy last night. It was all right. Not right enough to keep reading it so I returned it today and checked out Grand Avenues about the architect L'Enfant who was the original designer of Washinton, DC; and Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia McKillip.
****
50/246 rows completed so far*****CV

slinkster cool

I am currently reading Dangerous Angels by Lia Block. It is a story told in wonderfully sweet poetical prose. As a girl behind me in line today said, "That is a seriously cool book." I think I will be finished by tomorrow, or not.
**
After returning the first of what will be several large bags of library books today I checked out two books to bring back:

Snow-walker, Catherine Fisher

Strange Candy, Laurell K. Hamilton

***
I fell behind on the Handsome Triangle which meant that I needed to do 45 rows today if I was going to be caught up. I've done 17 of them so far. I think I see why Ina said for her it wasn't a challenge. But that doesn't mean it is not challenging for me. I had to cut one of my markers out because I had somehow manged to knit it into the shawl.

Still. Markers are a wonderful thing to have. They are keeping me sane.
****
After practice today the studio held a workshop on the Art of Communication *cue TZ music*****CV

contemplation

I had several interesting conversations with parents today. One of the central themes of these discussions was when does writing actually click and become a natural means of communication. Was there a certain age or are there signs of its emergence? Is there some way of teaching this skill so that unlike reading it is actually teachable rather than a realization that only the individual can come to?

I don't know when this moment occurred for me. At some point though I realized that writing is conversation without sound. Perhaps somewhere in my voracious reading this thought was presented to me by an author and I unconsciously accepted it as very sensible and the next time I was asked to write, I did. It must have happened sometime after that Presidential report I was required to do in the fourth grade though.

That was a struggle. I had never written any report until that moment and had no idea how to go about it. Maybe I had done a book report but nothing else I'm sure.

We keep journals and everyday the children record what work they are doing, the times they did it and a sentence or two about the work itself. At least that is the vision; but many, many times I hear:

"What should I write?"

To which I reply by asking:

"What did you do?"

Then they tell me what they have done, so I say:

"Then write that."

Which is followed by a confused look and the query, "Write what?"

"What you just told me."

"What I just told you?"

"Yes."

"What did I say?"

***
So maybe writing as communication comes only after you can hear yourself speak.***CV

arboreal masque

The big announcement was made today and one of the parents came in tears to the class. The next few months should be interesting.
**
If you have not read any of Catherine Fisher's work I suggest you do so now. Of the two I have read Corbenic is dark (but it is Parsifal so how could it not be) and Darkhenge is a combined retelling of Taleisin and the Battle of the Trees with some Persephone thrown into the mix.

I may have to suffer the trade edition of Snow Walker after all.
***
I have an interview scheduled for next Monday. ****CV

Ding Dong Dell

Darkhenge, Catherine Fisher
Dangerous Angels, Lia Block
Prom Nights From Hell, Meg Cabot and others

**
I think I may have found a new author to collect: Ms. Fisher. I only wish Snow Walker would come out in a better edition. It's too thick to read comfortably in paperback.

***
It would seem the intuition I tend to ignore was right again. Big changes are a'coming***CV

Tempestuous

Undine, Penni Russon (325pp) I read a review of this book in a forum I particpate in and was led to believe that this story dealt with birds and their worship. Instead it is a variant of the Tempest. This is not necessarily bad only I did keep waitng for what I thought would be there but clearly was not going to appear at all. it's a cute story if a bit too magical for my tastes. It is also very much set within the author's culture. I'll leave it at that. That bit was charming to me and will probably carry me into the sequal which is titled Breathe.
**
Thank you to my well wishers. Today was better. Yesterday was just an angry day, and I am not an angry person, so I was not at all prepared for such negative intensity. Ick.

We're doing stuff for National Poetry Month. Basic things like rhyming, creating couplets, figuring out rhyme schemes and measuring poems. Today we combined measuring and schemes through Haiku. I'm planning on some Triolet, Rondels and Villanelles as well.

And we started reading The Phantom Tollbooth today.
***
I am on row 23 of the HAndsome Triangle. My goal is three repeats a day which (if I can actaully do that) will have me finished in 21days.****CV

Dire-er and Dire-er

Troy: a Novel, Adele Geras (340pp) I purhased a copy of this book about four years ago but never got around to reading it. I think I eventually gave it away, though it may still be lurking in some as yet unlooked in spot. At the time I thought I would really like it but whenever I actually picked it up I couldn't become involved. Some books must wait for the right moment. I read Troy over the weekend and found that I enjoyed it, if enjoy is the correct word for a story about the last days of Troy when Hector is killed and dragged by his heels around the city walls, where Gods and Goddesses appear and warn people only to have those same people forget they've been warned as soon as the deity disappears. The narrative is told from multiple perspectives (servant, soldier, Greek, Trojan, Noble, including three old women who represent a chorus) and the chapters are brief which can be a bit unsettling if the reader is used to spending time in depth time with angsty characters. The author has also written another story called Ithika.
**
It's been one of those days where one is really glad to be home and say, "Well that's over!" For what ever reason I was not a happy camper and no matter what I did to try and snap out of it I couldn't.

Maybe reading some more of Undine will help.***CV

Desert Aslan

I have decided to make part of my prom outfit: the wrap portion. Last night Chris was kind enough to send me some links to look through in my quest for the perfect "oh my god it's 98 degrees at 6pm" shawl.

Did I mention the Prom is in AZ? Yeah, and me with that lovely could be whiter than snow white complexion. Plus the notorious habit of hot states overcompensating for the external temps by creating an indoor ice polar twin. A shawl is in order.

I have less than a month. I thought I should be realistic. I've decided on the Handsome Triangle from Victorian Lace Today in Helen's Lace colourway 'Aslan'.

I sense that reality and I may be drifting apart.***CV

modern times

Practice has been very challenging this week. Not so much the postures as the actual movement -I've felt off center, which in a balance is not such a happy situation. Probably pretty amusung if you're watching though ;)
**
Seutonius has been my commute reading. Goodness me. Julius was apparently quite the ladies' and gentlemen's man. Also, even though he liked power he had a bit of difficulty getting it. Everytime it seemed it was a ripe time to go in and take control he'd have to high tail it out of Rome. I have such the image of Rome at Night and this toga'd individual creeping in ala a Warner Bros. sneak and then, after peering around a corner, doing a Tex Avery bug eye and skeedaddle: over and over again.

Of course then he got to be Caesar (which is not to say he was King) so it worked out for him. So the difference between King and Caeser? Apparently dictator was more likely to win tpublic acceptance and approval where as calling oneself King was not OK: go figure.

A republican despot? A democratic dictator? Fine.*
A king ruling subjects? Face our mighty wrath!*

I'm now reading about Augustus.

Those wacky Romans and their disagreements. I bet if the air commision had been around back then there would have been far less stabbing of senators with stylus' and the odd dagger or two. Of course I really think that if you're concerned about someone recording your speech that there must be a better way to resolve the issue then having the recorder's throat slit. I really think the latter behaviour draws attention more to the issue then it avoids it.

Hey, but that's only my opinion. Put the stylus away please.
***
Being on a budget makes one so very appreciative of this institution known as the Public Library. Today I brought home from said lovely invention:

Undine, Penni Russon

I am Morgan le Fay, Nancy Springer

Troy, Adele Geras

****CV

*So this analogy of US with Rome gains more and more credence as time goes by. Does this mean Lost, American Idol and Survivor are our Circuses?

rhyme time, metric shmetric

Considering April is national Poetry month I thought I would find out what poetic form the quiz creators decided to assign me.

Oh looky! I could be one of two, this:

I am the sonnet, never quickly thrilled; Not prone to overstated gushing praise Nor yet to seething rants and anger, filled With overstretched opinions to rephrase; But on the other hand, not fond of fools, And thus, not fond of people, on the whole; And holding to the sound and useful rules, Not those that seek unjustified control. I'm balanced, measured, sensible (at least, I think I am, and usually I'm right); And when more ostentatious types have ceased, I'm still around, and doing, still, alright. In short, I'm calm and rational and stable - Or, well, I am, as much as I am able. Or, this:

I am, of course, none other than blank verse. I don't know where I'm going, yes, quite right; And when I get there (if I ever do) I might not recognise it. So? Your point? Why should I have a destination set? I'm relatively happy as I am, And wouldn't want to be forever aimed Towards some future path or special goal. It's not to do with laziness, as such. It's just that one the whole I'd rather not Be bothered - so I drift contentedly; An underrated way of life, I find.

For some reason I think of the Caterpillar vs. the Cheshire Cat****CV

Frivolity

Well I am now all set: I have both sets of tix, I have most of the outfit, I have a place to sleep.

I realise that what I am doing is in a way frivolous. But then I think how often does one get to treat oneself to something so frivolous? When I went to Ottawa, using some inherited money, that might have been considered frivolity, but, it is one of my best memories. How could it not be when I got to see much of what deLint writes about in his novels and the place where he lives?

Funny, but it appears to be authors who inspire me to these types of trips. One day I will make my deQuincey pilgrimmage to the Lake Country.

Too it gives me a story to tell. And what is life if there is no story to be told of it?****CV

Going to the Prom

I have the dress, now all I need is a plane and and a place to sleep.

I wonder if any of my commenters have read the Stephenie Meyer books yet; Twilight and/or New Moon.
**
This week I have read:

Hexwood, Diana Wynne Jones (379pp)

Pagan's Vows, Catherine Jinks (381pp)

Corbenic, C. Fisher (281pp)

***
Today I purchased:

Seutonius, The Twelve Caesars

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnisian War

I almost picked up a copy of Mordred by Vivian Van Velde but I realized that I've seen it at the library. I will be adding Corbenic to my collection. One can always make room for another Parsifal story. ***CV

As promised...

Coming this fall (according to the publisher). The artwork is by Mike D. He also worked on some of the original Sandman series.
**
I finished Hexwood but 'll save my comments for later.Today i went to the library and checked out:
Pagan's Exile, Catherine Jinks
the Stolen Child, Keith Donohugh
King of the Middlemarch, Kevin Crossley-Holland
***CV

Mellow Yellow

One of those nice mellow days. One in which there is really no where important to be so one just goes or stays. Practice of course and then I finished the first contrast colour tier of the entrelac socks. That was nice.

A brief converstion about what movie my friend was seeing with her SO in the afternoon. The 300? No. Saw that last week. Further discussion on historical accuracy/inaccurracy. A bit about a particular blogger's review of said film. Yep. She said. She was expecting the porn music to start up too.

A gentleman on the bus wondered what I was making and I said socks. He also wondered if I had seen one of those sock machines and I had. He thought it was pretty amazing for someone to invent that kind of machine. I agreed, as I continued with my 4DPNs. He was curious how long it would take me. I said I wasn't sure as they were knee socks and this was my first of the pair, maybe a month. That long? I shrugged. I'm not that attentive. Some people might do it in 2 weeks.

Sat in a cafe and read some of Diana Wynne Jones' Hexwood. Not finihsed yet (le gasp) but that is all right.

'Tis a mellow day****CV

Once Upon a Time

I joined the Once Upon a Time Challenge over at Stainless Steel Droppings

**

(OUAT) The New Policeman, Kate Thompson (431pp) Time is getting away. There is no time to do anything except wonder where it is all going. Ah well the curse of the modern world we say and keep on doing our best to cram in all those things we must do hoping somehow to make time to do the things we truly want to do. But what if it isn't the curse of modern life? What if time really is getting away? JJ, the hero of our story, determines to give his mom what she wants for her birthday: time. But how do you find it and how do you carry it? The setting is Ireland and JJ is a talented musician, dancer and a teenager who just found out his grandfather may have killed a priest who took his flute.

I read this in less then two days.
**
Cain Saga vol.4, Kaori Yuki (201pp) Cain is going to be married!? Well maybe. But why is his childhood friend acting as if he's still ten years old? Who is this mysterious clarivoyant and what is her connection to Dr. Disraeli? Will Riff leave Cain as Cain's uncle demands?

***
Hikaru no Go vol.9, Yumi Hotta (207pp) Hikaru is playing team games in Go salons all over the city. He's meeting with some interesting players (old, young) and he's learning that playing a game to tie is not as easy as it sounds. Meanwhile Akira is discovering that being a professional player means having to not play to win all the time.
****
Pagan's Crusade, Catherine Jinks (246pp) Pagan is a 16year old native of Jerusalem. He's run into a bit of a situation and so applies to be a squire at the Templars. Problem is he won't be paid for six months and he's going to be squire to a St. George look and act alike. What's a boy with a sense of humour to do? Moreso what can he do when Saladin lays siege to Jerusalem? Is being held captive in a city really that much worse than esorting pilgrims to the river Jordan and playing Name that martyred saint? Might be more fun actually. I've already found out the library has books 2 and 3. I'm looking forward to meeting St. George's family in Book 2 ;)

**

Justinian: The Digest of Roman Law, trans. C.F. Kolbert
Henry II, W. L. Warren

a meddlesome monk

Well, there is nothing like being asked to be someone named Mary's friend then discover Mary is a 26 year old man. (Remind me of what city I'm living in again?) Unless of course you have prime viewing a King in love with his Arch Bishop: y'know, then that's a bit of all right.

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome monk?!" And Henry's hounds/barons look at each other before ominously walking off. The King left alone having, literally, kicked out his family looks up and whispers, "Thomas?"

I think Becket was Richard Burton's movie (he was the most colorfully dressed) but Peter certainly gave him a run for the money. I wonder if A Lion in Winter was a natural consequence of Becket? I kept looking at Henry's Queen last night and saying, "There is no way that woman is Eleanor. No. Way." And John, excuse me, Sir John Gielgud as Louis was priceless. I almost went again tonight but didn't.

The excommuniation scene was eerie. Full face shots of Richard Burton seperating Sir Gilford from the body of Mother Church and casting him out into the eternal darkness and pit of hell. Then, as the final gesture, he turned a lit two foot candle upside down (candles represent souls) slammed it into the cathedral floor and threw it aside as he said, "You are ex-communicated!" Then all the monks who were also carrying theses candles followed suit. Brrr!

While watching all the many sequences held in Cathedral settings with Monks chanting and walking around in anonymous robes an aspect of what made the church so popular (way back when) and what makes Jedis and Stormtroopers popular today occurred to me.

It's the magic of group power. I am a member of this special group. We have secret rules and rituals that only our group knows. We are obediant to a higher power, but not to anyone or anything else. Hmmm no self will, what? Freedom of thought much? Didn't think so.

(NB: A very serious question throughout the film: material or spiritual? Thomas always called Henry his Prince never his King.)

**
I finished Pagan's Crusade, Cain Saga 4 and Hikaru No Go 9 yesterday. I started the New Policeman today ***CV

Ganymede

Pagan's Scribe, Catherine Jinks (359pp) The fourth in a series of four volumes following the life of Pagan a man who is found in Jerusalem as a young boy, becomes a squire and participates in the defense of Jerusalem with the Templer Knights and eventually becomes an Arch Deacon. Of course I haven't read any of the other volumes: yet. This fourth one is not told from Pagan's viewpoint as I am presuming the other three are. Rather, it is told from the point of Isidore a cleric whom Pagan hires as his Scribe. Isidore is a very bitter young man (with good reason) and much of the tale is told through inner dialogue with lots of heartfelt prayers to the Lord, as I would imagine any text ofthe times would include. Isidore loves to read and this volume makes many references to classical historical texts: Augustine, Livy, Sallust, Cicero, Boethius; and personages. The author is not shy about presenting the Medieval era as a smelly, dirty time but also one in which humanity can rise above its temporal self.

I also have Pagan's Cusade which is the first in the series. I may start it tonight.
**
Today I found out Becket is playing down the street from me. I love a Peter O'Toole movie!
***CV

transformations

The Transfigured Hart was published in 1975. I've seen this on the shelves in Powell's for a while and finally decided to pick it up.

I should be on a book budget but I couldn't resist Straw Into Gold by Jane Gould today. I am finding her interpretations of fairy tales as they relate to stages of female development a bit forced at times. But then I've read so many fairytales and their variations that I think I may be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, which is what convinced me to finally get it. I keep reaching for a pencil to make comments in the book as I read.
**
The Dark Light, Mette Newth (246pp) Set in the early 19th entury during the Napoleonic wars this is a story about a young girl in Norway who discovers that she has leprosy. She is taken from her mountainside village to the merchant town of Bergen and placed in the Lepers hospital. How she grows as a person, the people she meets: including a particularly angry young woman, make what might otherwise be a depressing story one of hope and affirmation. There is one scene I found particularly disturbing and would consciously censor in reading aloud. The author does explain it within the context of the story which I was very happy to see. ***CV

Sunday Sunny Sunday

Ambergate, Patricia Elliot (390pp) In which we discover why Gobchick was so startled when he found number 102 hiding behind the library's velvet draperies. This set of stories (beginning with Murkmere) continually had me thinking of Nazis and totalitarian states, as well as City of Lost Children. Perhaps it was the eagle. (Note the eagle as I recall was a symbol in Nazi Germany no? And it is our countries emblem as well. In the Amber gate both aspects -ruthless, loving, of the eagle are continually referenced to) And yet, towards the end of this book I recalled that bird symbolism, especially in such variety, is also in The Conference of the Birds, an old sufi tale. Whether or not this is intentional I cannot say. However the author has left the end in such a way that it can either stay as is or lead to another volume.
**
Bowery girl, Kim Taylor (223pp) Quite a change from the previous stories. The language alone would prevent me from including it in any of my current class libraries. There was a movie that came out about four or so years ago premised upon the Irish gangs of New York during the Tammany Hall years. I wondered, while reading this book, if the author had been inspired by that film. However at the end she provides a resource bibliography which seems to indicate not. I think I'll finally read my copy of Twelve Years at Hull House. Bowery girl is the type of book I would not have wanted to read as an adolescent: but all adolescents are different, some more hard core than others.
***
The Transfigured Hart, Jane Yolen (112pp) I picked this up while at Powell's this afternoon and finished it at a cafe. A nice change from the previous tale, this one about a reclusive boy who believes he finds a unicorn in the woods near his house. The same afternoon a classmate sees this same animal and recognises it as an albino deer. How these two people meet up and what happens as a result is a sweet, and thankfully bloodless, story.
****
I also picked up:

Cousin Bette, Honore Balzac

The Dark Light, Mette Newth

*****CV

Pieces and Bits

I saw the most amazing table today. It was a round table with a clear glass top about 3 feet in diameter and the support were these metal tubes that had been twisted together to represent a leafless tree. A friend and I sat at it this afternoon while working on Eunny's entrelac sock pattern. I figured out how to cast on for the toe, now I just need to work it for another 3 rounds or so and then I'll begin the tiering.

I want that table.
**
I intensely dislike Paypal. I attempted to pay for a purchase and it kept telling me to retype the spam code. Bleh. Not case sensitive my foot.
***
A trip to Powell's is in order. Hikaru no Go and Cain Saga are in the warehouse so I need to go and ask them to get it shipped to the store so I can buy them. I also want to see if they have the Pillowbook Man in stock.

I think I'll finish Ambergate tonight.****CV

There is Light.....

Murkmere, Patricia Elliot, (342pp) If Mervyn Peake met up with George Orwell and they hung out with Rupert Thompson and all three decided to write a children's story based upon the theme of the Swan Maiden this might have been it. I think they might all have to have been female though.
**
Two words and a bit of punctuation: Spring Break!
***
That is all***CV

greyness

I found my copy of Murkmere and started it last night. So far the closest thing I can compare it to is a Gormenghast Lite. I'm sure that I will have a better comparison after I finish it. I'm about half way through. In the meantime I picked up its sequal, Ambergate, and another book, Bowery Girl, while at the library today.
**
This week has been a bit off center. My co-guide had to leave Monday morning and was out on Tuesday. Then I thought that I would be doing something very early Tuesday morning but that fell through when the place wasn't open so I ended up really early to school that day.

Combine this with a general sense of lowness and no wonder I'm pulling out all my YA books to read.
***
The seeds we planted less then 2 weeks ago have germinated and grown sufficiently that we could do a light experiment with them. We'll be planting them (hopefully) in our planter boxes tomorrow.****CV

Glacial love

Snowfall, K.M. Peyton (342pp) I initially bought this book thinking it would be about a real life woman mountaineer and have lots of historical information. Instead it is a light romance about a young English woman who leaves her family home, with her brother, and ventrures out into the world. It is set during Victorian times and was inspired by the true story of a woman whose lover was caught in an avalanche, in the Swiss Alps; and whose body was discovered almost 50 years later in state of perfect preservation. Apparently this is not all that unusual. Bodies that are caught in avalanches can reappear due to the movement of glaciers which open and close crevasses. It is a sweet story but not what I had been hoping for. Perhaps it could be thought of as Upstairs Downstairs for the tween set; with a bit of Pygmalion thrown in.
***
If I can find it I'll be reading Murkmere next***CV

F. Jones

Trick of the Eye, Dennis Haseley (192pp) It may have been theVermeer cover that caught my attention (Girl Interrupted at Her Music). But it was the idea of a child, a young boy, who could walk into paintings without the paintings coming to life that captured my interest. I found this book while wandering the YA section at Powells. It's one of those books you can find only one copy of and its very moodiness and sense of introspection cause you to wonder if someone didn't make a mistake in ordering it. Perhaps it was included in a box to make an even number? This is not to say it is a toss: not at all. It is an inward story, one which either draws you in or makes you run. It is a mystery and a testament to a self awakening to a danger it did not know was there. *****CV

Lais

Arthur at the Crossing Places, Kevin Crosley-Holland (362pp) A crossing place can be as immediate as a bridge, a crossroads, a birthday; or it can be a bit more ephemeral as in the choice to do or not do something, to speak up or to hold silent. In this second of a proposed trilogy Arthur continues his quest to become a knight and what it means to be a person when often position and belief are at odds with self determination. Once again we are given tales of Arthur's namesake and Merlin makes an appearance or two, along with Morgan le Fay and Nimue. Mainly this is young Arthur's tale. I did enjoy the insight into types of vellum (goat anyone) as well as a guest appearance by Marie de France.

Hopefully the third volume will be out within a year. **CV

Finch feline

I do not have much of a stash as far as wool is concerned (we shall not mention thepetite and private Alexandrian library I possess) but it is a bit ungainly. I decided to try and neaten it up a bit today. Thank goodness for people who send stuff in boxes as I ended up using every last one including a spare shoe box to corral what I do possess.

What I discovered during this archaeological process was I do not random purchase. Each bit I put away is clearly sufficient for a project, mostly shawls and socks. But I do have enough Rowan worsted for an amber cardigan :)

I also set aside some partially used skeins for the class.

During the two hours I was working on this the door to the Finches' room was open. I had gone in earlier to give them a beakstone and then became engrossed in organizing. I didn't realise I had forgoten to close the door until I came back in. A few minutes later Chai came back out as if all was well: which indeed it was.***CV

trinittite

The Green Glass Sea, E. Klages (320pp) What could it have been like to be living with your family in New Mexico and have your parents working on the Manhattan Project? Only you don''t know what they're working on because they are sworn to secrecy. Still you go to school, make or don't make friends, and you wonder if the war will last forever. The author of this story had a rather amusng story to share, at the reading she did last Saturday, about having this book published. Apparently there were some librarians who were upset about the amount of cigarette smoking that occurs in the story. (Hello? 1940's people). But not so concerned that children were picking up souvenier nuclear waste by the end of the tale.

There is a sequal in the works.
**
Charles de Lint (Little Grrrl lost, A Handful of Promises); Neil Gaiman (M is for Magic); Robin McKinley (Dragonhaven); LA Meyer have books coming out this year! So, too, does Holly Black (Ironsides). Oh and the third volume of Twilight (Eclipse) should be out by August.
***
The knitting book I mentioned in the last post is Knit a Fantasy Story by Jan Messent****CV
***

Knitting Netsuke

I started the Green Glass Sea today. I hope to have a synopsis or review tomorrow.

Of course the leafing through pictures of cute knitted figures may hamper said goal. And yes a tiny sheep was sacrificed after being rescued first from a curious feline. Oooo look! I can make my own knitted Unicorn. I sense a Peter S. Beagle tribute in the making here. Let me see if there are any harpies or red bulls ... perhaps a chattering skull ...... Or the cast of Watership Down. Bunnies!

Thank you Chris: Your beryl will be on its way soon :)***CV

Speaking of Paris

Goddess of Yesterday, C. B. Cooney(212pp) A retelling of the story of Helen and Paris. Anaxandra is a princess from a very tiny island in the Aegean sea. At age 6 she is taken by Nicander as a hostage and is raised by him in his home as a companion to his daughter Callisto. Through a series of events Anaxandra takes on the identy of Callisto and is brought to Sparta by King Menelaeus thus encountering Helen. This story is full of famous personages from Greek history and the author is diligent about explaining names. Anaxandra's goddess is Medusa: when compared to the other gods she is a kindly one indeed. But then compared to Helen and Paris, the Reign of Terror was nought but a pinic by the Seine.***CV

Wallflower

Waiting is very hard. Usually it is something I am fairly good at. The model of patience. Whooops, out the door when it comes to call backs.

*tap*tap*tap*

I had to tell one person that I couldn't accept their offer to come see the school as I can't afford to, even with their offer of assistance. Had a different interview on Sunday which sounds very nice but she is, like I am, a processor. Which means that we like to think things over and not come to hasty decisions. *sigh*

Then there is the local place which, though challenging, could be wonderful only I don't quite know how to proceed. I've been in contact but saying, "Hey how's about an interview?" seems somewhat crass.

Or is that just me?
***
History of the Thirteen, Honore Balzac (321pp) Not his best that I've read. I think he may have been having issues with his Hungarian Countess at the time. Either that or he simply wanted to demonstrate what egotistial pigs men can be on the one hand and what pathetic self sacrificing creatures women can be on the other. The Girl with the Amber Eyes was strange to say the least. More Radcliffe than Radcliffe: More conspiritorial then Fouquet: I kept expecting the hero and heroine to turn out to be brother and sister intead of what they were, which was still rather sick and abrupt. Maybe Honore needed some quick money.
****
I've started Carlyle's, The French Revolution, but I may break into one of my YA purchases first. ***CV

With so much Balzac....

The French Revolution, Thomas Carlysle

The Reign of Terror (1792-1795)
the Directory (1795-1799)
the Consulate (1799 -1804)
the Empire (1804-1814)
Restoration of the Bourbons (1814-1830)
July Monarchy (1830-1848)
the Second Republic (1848-1852)
the Second Empire (1852-1871)

***CV

duchesse

the History of the Thirteen. Having read the first of three stories I now find mself in a gothic sequence. A French liberator of a Spainish island discovers his true love has secluded herself away within the island's Carmelite Convent. He is determined to retrieve her though she desires no such retrieval. Flashback to how they met in Paris....I would just like to say that I wish we could learn from these flirting techniques or perhaps the silent film masters did. My what melodrama:

"You may kiss my forehead mon cher but you must allow me to have many more male visitors during the mornings so that none suspect how devoted I am to you. Further we must see each other with less frequency but know that I am always at home until 10 0'clock to you. Do remember that I am a married woman and though I may do what I like with my heart I must remain true to my husband, no matter how cruelly he treats me."

So that is not a direct quote but I must say soap operas ain't got nothing on Msr. Balzac.
**
"I have a head ache" has become rather a classic excuse. It may all have started with a convenient migraine. (Which I know when it is real is anything but convenient). The type of migraine which disallows attendence at a ball but miraculously disappears when ones lover arrives in one's boudoir. Hmmmmmm.
***
I'm off to see how the Duchesse ended up in Spain.****CV

Casita de libros

The Green Glass Sea, Ellen Klages

Arthur at the Crossing Places, Kevin Crossley-Holland

Goddess of Yesterday, Caroline B. Cooney

While I quake at the thought of packing my library, I cannot resist my addiction***CV

And there are days.....

**
My apologies if I concerned anyone with the last post. This transition between stages is a prickly one and I felt the image expressed it well, with all its inherant potential for beauty as well as risk.
***
Browsing today in the science section of Powells I recieved a phone call offering to help defray my flight expenses. Imagine my surprise. Then I found a McKinley book, then I found the Moomintroll comic strip anthology, and I now have Hexwood, by Dianna Wynne Jones.
****
So there are days; and there are days***CV

There are days....

***CV

The Hunt Continues

Well I have an interview with another school scheduled for tomorrow; and I'm still awaiting word for whether or not I can take time off to do an in person interview with the lovely lady. Meanwhile I'm checking other options and plan to send out two more inquiries, one of which is the age group I'm currently most interested in but the environment ... I'm not too sure about.

When I first started this work I began in a room that had been led by the same guide for almost 20 years. For those two years she taught in a head start type program and then returned. While she said the two years were very challenging, mostly regarding the families, it gave her insights she might have otherwise missed and a deeper appreciation for her work and the particular environment Montessorians work hard at creating.

Perhaps this one with the age group I seek, but with a questionable set up, would be a similar experience (minus the head start aspect, I hope).

Right now I can see both the positives and the less positives of any of the places I've inquired at.
What concerns me most is that I might reach a point where any contract would be appealing. I do not want that to happen if I can help it so I am sending out more inquiries as well as resending others.***CV

Salt Water

I just wrote my farewell letter. I'm a mess.
(Think of something else .... ok.)
**
The lovely lady was fine with the change of plans. Now I need approval for those days before I book a flight. The other school has a site which I looked at. Wow. Just. wow. And not an ostentatious wow either. Just a sort of sweet wow. Think nature, think historical geographical experiences, think pedestrian friendly, think fog (I miss fog).
***
Yeah, but I ain't puttin' all my eggs in one basket no sirrree.

Thanks to a kindhearted, tea-sipping, ink-feathered, avian friend I'm exploring other options. Maybe that job I thought people had to be born into, which is why I never thought to see if one could take courses in it, can be a possibility in three years. Oh, and after lots of loans of course.

Still.
****
I'm a mess****CV

unfair fare

So what is up with the cost of airfares?! I have a potential inerview and when I go on line to book a cheap fare the cheap fare leads me to the real fare which is 4x as great. Bah!

Seems like a really good school too. Now I have to go and let the lovely lady know that we have to reschedule to a time when I can afford the airfare.
**
Is it good to send out four inquiries and the next day have two respond positively? I was thinking it would be about a week before I heard from anyone. But then switching jobs seems to bring out the insecure part of me.
***
Collected Short Stories, Honore de Balzac (272pp) There are approximately ten stories in this colection and each one shows Balzac in a different light. One moment he is a mystery author, the next a gothic, then again he is an ironic critic of bourgoise artists and their admirers ( now why did Kincaide keep coming to mind during this story?), and then he is a religious skeptic.

I have now started, The Thirteen, by Balzac. Over the weekend I purchased a Moshe Feldenkreis book as well as one by John Holt***CV

sabado

Stranded knitting. Not so easy. Even more challenging when one is a left handed continental knitter being taught the two handed right dominant approach. But you know, life goes on.
**
I keep looking various teaching opportunities and there is one that really appeals to me but then I look at where it is and I think: I can't afford to live there. I suppose I can still send out an inquiry.

I am also makng an effort at the one day at a time approach and not thinking too much about packing, shipping, moving vans, house hunting. I remind myself that this is about the same time a few years ago when I was seeking a position and preparing for practical exams.
***
Meanwhile the Knitoff has begun.****CV

An artist

I love Balzac.

I love the way he paints each person with tiny strokes then sets them in a scene both historic and present. I love how each person tugs at the strings of other people he has painted so that one can hear their echoes much as one hears the hearts of friends not present when in conversation with friends who are.

I love how I can fall into one of his stories and emerge later with the deep sense that I have learned something about myself, about others, and about the world.

I love how each of the short stories I am reading is like a cameo. Not something to be hidden away and carefully preserved but worn proudly with all its age and chips showing.

I love the innocence of his melodramas and how he shows the deep consequences of our slightest actions. ***CV

Subtle Semaphore

Isn't it funny the things that turn up when you least expect them?

Yesterday a friend asked if I would be changing jobs completely and I said I couldn't imagine not teaching children and that I had been looking at different places out of state. She seemed awed that I would be willing to move if a new position reqired it. This is not to say that I haven't considered other fields of interest: Librarian, Rolfer, etc. and would be unwilling to move if they required it also.

I took today off as a personal day and, after a later then usual practice during which there was the adult equivalent of one of my students participating, took care of an errand before visiting my sanctuary. As I was leaving with my aquisitions (Short Stories of Balzac, and a Borges Biography) what should be outside but a group of Montessori upper els on a field trip.

Then I went to a cafe and enjoyed two of the stories from the Balzac collection before heading to the yarn shop to pick up class supplies. Last night I only registered. While I was there the teacher from the cabling class mentioned to the shop owner that I was a teacher too but for a Montessori school.

Turns out the shop owner was a Montessori child until she was five.

O Universe: are you trying to tell me something?***CV

A day....

I went to practice this morning, dark and early, and as I stepped outside I noticed it was snowing but that the ground was covered in water. It seems the ground is too warm for the snow to stick. Off I went to catch the bus in the snowy down pour. While waiting I saw two snow plows headed North.

The bus was late but I still got to practice on time. The teacher and I chatted until five minutes after class was supposed to start. Then I rushed out 45 minutes later into the pouring, wet snow and caught all my buses on time. Got my cup of tea from a cafe, negotiated the icy, slushy, stairs and, after greeting a fellow guide, was informed that school was on a 2 hour delay.

Huh?

I ould have finished practice? *sigh* At least I got to laminate some chemists.

We planted today which was wonderfully simple and cheering. I love planting seeds. Especially in compressed peat pot pellets.

So the day went.

Then off to sign up for the stranded class scheduled for Saturday. I left work at 5, did my banking, and got to the shop at 6:05. The shop closes at 6. Fortunately there were still people inside so I was going to wait until the owner was available, as she was helping customers, but this other lady offered to help me and it turns out she is the class instructor. So I explained why I was there after hours and she said Ok. She pulled out the class binder and all eight spots were taken. I was disappointed but I figured "Oh well, that can happen" So I thanked her and said maybe next time. Then she asked me if I was an experienced knitter.

Ummmm. Let me show you what I'm working on and then you can tell me. So I showed her the Cabled knee-highs I'm making from Favorite Socks.(I'm on the fifth repeat of six before beginning the heel).

She squeezed me in! Lucky number nine.***CV

triste

Feeling a little blue.

Hopefully, planting some nasturtiums tomorrow with the children will help.
**
I found a wonderful picture of Copernicus. He looks like he had a good sense of humour.***CV

floral triangles

A friend and I were planning to KAL Eunny's anemoni mittens but that was before my friend got a copy of the new IK. Now it seems entrelac socks are on the agenda.
**
While at the library yesterday I picked up Susannah Clarke's, the Ladies of Grace Adieu.Then I came home and put four John Connolly books on hold. One of them is an audio which will be nice for a change.

Of course I'm still reading Sacred Games, The Armless Maiden, Murkmere, and Astrae. Not to mention the school reading regarding the ancient Greeks, Trees and evolution in general. Speaking of which, has anyone read that article about the chimpanzees who were observed making and using spears to hunt small mammals? Seems it is the females of the group who are doing so. ***CV

Silvered daemon

The Black Angel, John Connolly (485pp) This story takes place after The White Road. Charlie Parker has a new baby daughter but his relationship with her mother, Rachel (whom he loves), is not going well. This might have something to do with the fact that his dead wife and child keep turning up in a very gruesome manner. However, Charlie is called to help his friend Louis and consequently more is revealed both about Charlie's nature and Louis' past. Cistercian abbies, Nazis, fallen angels who have no wish to be absolved, art collectors and a tattooed snow white all come together as the story reaches resolution in an ossuary in Prague.

Sone memorable lines:

"It looked like the launch of a new Cure album, or a reception after a Goth wedding." (Referring to an art auction not an ossuary.)

" Geiler's copy of the Malleus Maleficarum went to a tiny elderly lady in a pink suit, who looked grimly satisfied with her purchase."

***CV

Swan

Today I went to a workshop on Breath practices. It was very soothing. We spent two hours just practicing different breaths for meditaion and talking about the way different techniques can be interpreted. As a tool we were each gifted with a ten breath mala (a bracelet of beads that are divided into groups of ten with a larger bead as the marker).
**
Last night I went to various sites seeing what opportunities are available. I saw about five that appealed to me so I will be contacting them this week.
***
There is a class in stranded work next week and later this year there will be a workshop of Nordic Knitting, in Seattle. I'm going to take the stranded class in preparation for it.
****
Tomorrow is to be devoted to Plato and Archimedes. Must make sure the bathtub doesn't leak****CV

the Future

It snowed for a litle bit this morning which was nice to watch from the cottage windows.
**
Further meeting news. Apparently there will be only one guide next year. No decision has been made, or at least told to us, who that guide will be. One would think if such a decision had been made then they would know who by the time they actually spoke with us.

Well, I would think so. In fact I would tell, so that the person who had to replan could start ASAP.

Therefore I'm considering my options. One interesting thought is this might be a really good time to change anyway (regardless of what "they" decide). Since no one is telling I might as well be doing.
***
I'm halfway through the Black Angel by John Connolly.****CV

Irked

Being called in for a meeting ("And we only have about 20 minutes because I really need to meet with so and so") then asked "How has the year been for you so far?"

Not one of my favorite things.

How about telling someone ahead of time: "I'd like to meet with you to talk about how the class is going and about your plans for next year. When would be good for you?"

Is that really too hard?

It seems so. ***CV

An elegant foot

Knitting on the bus I have the opportunity to see a lot of shoes. The other day as I was working away on my chocolate and strawberry knee highs I chanced to glance across the aisle and near dazzled myself with some lemon yellow footwear which a stylin' brother was wearin' over there.

Talk about cheerful feet.

So he and his friend are talkin' about this and about that, mostly about clothes and what the current budget will and will not allow, and suddenly I hear, "Now those black and white ones, they're all right."

What? I do a peripheral peer. I don't see any black and white shoes near by.

"But I dunno I don't think I got the clothes for 'em. Still..."

Come to realize he was talking about my near ten year old spat style Doc mary janes. I think I've been complimented :)****CV

hexahedral ice

Today one of the children was making geometric figures with paper so I thought I'd slip in a little information:

"Y'know, you're really doing some secret stuff there."

What? I'm just making geometric solids.

"Well some people would say that what you're making there should not be for just anyone to see," Then I look around, "Let me show you something." I bring out my special book. "Here see these?"

Yeah! That's my cube and there's my tetrahedron and there are the other geometric solids but, there are only five of them..."

"Uhhuh. Notice anything else?"

Well there's no prism and -hey, what's that one?

"Shhhhh. That is an icosohedron. Wanna make one?"

Sure!

Yeah he made three today. In fact, except for lunch and recess, that's pretty much all he did. Plato would be so proud. Just wait until I introduce the young one to Archimedes***CV

and yet more...

The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland (341pp) Okay any middle reader book that mentions the salmon leap has my approval. Imagine my immense pleasure at Merlin leaping 47 feet and then casually referring to Cucchalin. So yes I will be continuing this series (there are three volumes). One aspect that I enjoyed about this volume is how matter of factly medieval it is. It is simply the narrator's recounting of his life as it happens to him. Another aspect I liked is all the questions that were raised and not directly answered. Life questions. Questions that only the particular participant can respond to but which we all at some point or another come to on our own. I would really love to make this a small group book. Just myself and a couple of interested children to take turns reading aloud and discussing.
**
Lupin III, vol.7, Monkey Punch (180pp) Yep it's Lupin. The volumes seem to get raunchier and raunchier as they progress. I may stop collecting at volume 10.
***
Still reading: Sacred Games, The Black Angel, The Armless Maiden, Wild Life.

Review revue

Aaack. Book reviews due or I will be seriously behind.

xxxHolic, Clamp (185pp) I purchased this on impulse. It reminded me of a shop I used to patronise and which has since closed its doors. The premise is that a boy, named Watanuki Kimihiro, is mysteriously drawn into a shop in which wishes are granted for a fee. His wish being not to see the spirits which he has been able to see since always. His paymnet is service to the shop after which his wish will be granted. He becomes a lackey and so far this series has 14 volumes.
**
Vampire Knight, Matsuri Hino (192pp) Now don't get me wrong, I like a cute manga boy vampire as much as the next girl but this series has some issues to work out after which it could be just fine. My primary complaint is the continuous reccap at the beginning of every chapter. This is a collected work peoples. It is no longer in monthly format so there is no need to update the "just joined" every ten pages. Other than that it is a cute story. I wish the heroine wasn't quite so dippy. Adn taht school director? What is up with him? There is a vaguely Twilight feel to the interactions of the vampires and the female lead which is interesting. Volume 2 is due in April.
***
Saffron and Brimstone, Elizabeth Hand( 239pp) Oh look. A non manga book! A collection of stories in which muses are literally brought to life and what has been foretold regarding the west coast actually occurs. Tarot cards, butterfly girls, green men and Calypso; I'm looking forward to reading other works by this author.
****
Godchild vol.4, Kaori Yuki (190pp) Look it's a gothic Lolita who is a literal clone of Cain's dead cousin: And she wants Cain. OhNo! How will Riff rescue Cain if he has been bitten by one of her deadly pet spiders? Eeek! Will the organization Delilah take over London? And just what is Jizabel's secret that the Cardmaster now knows?
*****
Cain Saga vols. 1-3, Kaori Yuki (176-187pp) This is the background series explaining Cain's history. There is one more volume in this series yet to come out.
******
Angel Sanctuary vol.18, Kaori Yuki (196pp) Sara has changed and not for the better. She may really be with child. Lucifer (aka Kira) gets more handsome all the time though he is now in alliance with Rosiel who has become a living picture of Dorain Gray. The grand cross has been formed (at what price?) and the gates to heaven have been opened. Kato makes good on his promise. *Sniff* Only a few more volumes left til the end.
*******CV

no trump is least

Beause we will be having another Summer Reading Challenge, right?

The Man Who Was Thursday, G.K. Chesterton
The Old Stories, Kevin Crossley-Holland
Vampire Knight, Maturi Hino
xxxHolics, Clamp

**
I am really enjoying Elizabeth Hand's short stories. The last one I read dealt with a tattoo artist who was raised by a very independent author mother, and who inadvertantly brings a tarot card to life. OSaid trump is of course from the estate of the artist's favorite author and she finds the deck purely by chance at a rummage sale. Of course this tale could be interpreted like Woman on the Edge of Time; I'm choosing not to see it that way. I like happy endings.
***
I started a pair of cabled knee socks this morning. Siamese colours: brown and cream. ****CV

CV Bobs Her Hair

Frederick Allen wrote two books about the 1920's that I really enjoyed. Each volume was like reading a newspaper of the times. I currently own a dress that I found in a thrift shop that is dated 1918 and I have worn it to clubs, to graduations, to weddings.... I adore Erte and I have books about the choreographers Miss Ruth and Ted Shawn, as well as Clara Bow, Lillian Gish, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Martha Graham, Louise Brooks, the Keystone Cops,etc. When I finally got around to reading F. Scott Fitzgerald I devoured everything I could find and I believe my collection is now complete.

There are days when I really just want to Charleston. Today is one of them.

I wish my "sister" Louise was here.****CV

libros solomente

I have started Saffron and Brimstone and it is an odd collection of stories so far. In the first story we meet a genuine Butterfly girl who is ultimately collected by the Greenman. And in the second story there is the feeling of being in the presence of both spirits of the American south west and Odin.
**
Then I began The Seeing Stone because a couple of children said it was very confusing. So much so that the person whose family special ordered it for him ended up donating it to our class library. I, too, was a little befuddled in the first three (very short) chapters until I realized that the narrator is the hero who is recording the story as it happens to him. It didn't help that the back blurb mentioned two Arthurs (one modern and the other historic), two Merlins and two dragons; and that the modern Arthur is actually a medieval Arthur. Anyway it is becoming quite good now that that confusion has been cleared away.
***
While reading Angel Sanctuary I realized that Lucifer bears an uncanny resemblence to Dream in Sandman. And that Mad Hatter, for some reason, was dressed as Beetlejuice.
****
Meanwhile I am still reading the Black Angel, Sacred Games and Pagan's Scribe.

Lest I get bored a friend loaned me a book to read this holiday weekend by Molly Gloss.*****CV

Tea, Chocolate...

Kidnapped, Robert Loius Stevenson
Angel Sanctuary vol. 18, Kaori Yuki

aaah, the perfect Valentine***CV

Ashes ashes...

Oh my what a fun place to visit. I saw this at Got Medieval which doesn't update near often enough to suit me but I understand why he doesn't.

So, I wonder if his was pneumonic, bubonic, or septicemic?
**
As to "Pretty, pretty", it's a direct quote from a rather camp film. In fact, the band Duran, Duran credits this film for their name. What I most remember from it are the many pointy teethed dolls.
***
Edinburgh is celebrating R.L. Stevenson this month by giving away free copies of Kidnapped. It's part of an everyone reads event. Edinburgh looks like a great place to visit. Must add that to my To Do list****CV

pretty, pretty

Astrae: The Imperial Theme in the 16th c., F. Yates

The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, Frances Yates

Saffron and Brimstone, Elizabeth Hand

Angel Cage: The Art of Angel Sanctuary, Kaori Yuki
**
I wonder if anyone recognises the title quote?
***
The art book has an interview with Ms. Yuki. Golly you think I might like the writings of someone who has a gothic sense, is heavily into Lewis Carroll, Grimms fairytales, Victorian London, tarot and hierarchies of the occult? You think?

Oh, and who can draw quite the lovely boy btw.

I think Ms Yuki and Mr. Amano need to collaborate****CV

Volume 18, where are you?

Yes this is what I'm waitng for. I think it rather represents all aspects of valentines day, don't you?
We got the roses, or at least the remnants
We got the dark handsome guy, why yes he does look a trifle anemic; and
We got the look that says, I only have eyes for you; or perhaps,

"I remembered the flowers: there was something else?"***CV

strange happenings

Cain Saga, vols 2 and 3, Kaori Yuki

GodChild vol. 4, Kaori Yuki

And Angel Sanctuary should be in stock in a week, yay! I also just received a notice that a Francis Yates book I've had on my wish list has been reissued so yay again.
**
Other than that this week has just been strange. People falling asleep on the bus, people coming in late due to sleeping in late. No one able to concentrate and there has been the scent of natural gas permeating my neighborhood for the past week.

Are these normal preValentines day symptoms or what? Perhaps the last oddness before Lent?***CV

Blithe II

New reads:

Cain Saga, vol. 1, Kaori Yuki

GodChild, vol. 2, Kaori Yuki

Pagan's Crusade, 1 of the Pagan Chronicles, Catherine Jinks

Pagan's Scribe, 4 of the Pagan Chronicles, Catherine Jinks

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I started the Armless Maiden last night. This is going to be a slow read. All the retold stories are in some way related to childhood trauma. I had to stop reading after the third poem. Then I simply skimmed a few of the prologues ot some of the other stories. There is one that is similar to Donkeyskin.
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On another note my pink haired doll arrived and the fourth eye-colour is green****CV

Shalabasana

How to do a backbend on one's chin: do a full wheel only grab hold of your ankles and rest your chin between your feet is one way. Viparita shalabasana is another way. The latter is what we were working on in class. I posted a pic of it a while ago. I'll see if I can find it again.

Aha! Success.

If anyone is interested in asana postures - just to have a breakdown with photos, I highly recommend BKS Iyengar's, Light on Yoga. I bought my copy used in SF and if I had to have only one yoga book that would be it. Another good one is his daughter Geeta's book, Yoga, A Gem for Women, but her Dad is amazing. He still practices and is almost ninety.

This, btw, is not Mr. Iyengar.
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In knitting news I refuse to believe that Noro Silky and Rowan Felted Tweed are the same weight. They don't even look the same thickness. So how come they're both considered DK?
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Oh, and the cutest Nick looking boy rescued one of my DPN's for me on the bus today. Who says commuting can't be fun? ****CV

Blithe Alice

I am now the proud owner of a miniature Blythe Doll. She's so cute. It's an Alice in Wonderland, with turqouise hair and her own tiny white rabbit. I also won a Big Eyes doll with pink hair and four colour eyes (depending upon which way she's looking they are either pink, blue, amber or, I believe, green).
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More crazy backbends in class today. Somehow I will get all my weight on my chin - just not today thanks.
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I finished a pair of cabled glovelets in a red tweed. Go me! Now to try and make them in the yarn that was recommended. Oh and that latest Piecework has a sampler knitting collection of miniature sweaters, socks etc. Think it might be good to try with the class?****CV

nota bene

Lupin III, vol.6, Monkey Punch in which Lupin becomes a salary man, enters an asylum as a patient and meets his nemesis: greed. I think it was Lupin as a salary man that I found most perturbing. Oh and he also has a dog as a sidekick in this volume. I must go get 3,4, and 5 for (hopefully) some explanation of this strange set of events.
**
Has anyone else read the article about the Newsweek book critic who stopped reading a book because he felt he had better things to do with his time? Better things? Like looking for a different job perhaps?
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Sylvie and Bruno continue to sing up a storm, bright and early; and are entertaining the feline no end.****CV

berate or beret

I just took a class in cabling and I learned a few things. One, cabling can be fun. Two, that though I am a loose knitter, I am not such a loose knitter that I must go down three needle sizes in order to achieve a well fitted garment. Three, if I do choose to go down three needle sizes I will not have to change the pattern in order for it to fit a smaller individual, the needles did it for me.

I also learned that I can recognise obscure music but not the singer's name: " Oh, it's Eva Pilaf, no, wait, it's Edith Pilaf no, ummm, Oh, I got it: Edith Piaf."

I also picked up the new Interweave sock book***CV

twinkling hoar-frost

Yesterday was Imbolc or the Feast of St. Brigid. Today is Candlemas, but for the sake of Silent Poetry Reading we will pretend that it is Bride's Day. There is something truly wonderful about a goddess of poetry and smithcraft.

In honor of this day of weather forecasting and in hopes for Spring:

On Monday when the sun is hot
I wonder to myself a lot:
"Now is it true, or is it not,
"That what is which and which is what?"

On Tuesday, when it hails and snows,
The feeling on me grows and grows,
That hardly anybody knows
If those are these or these are those.

On Wednesday, when the sky is blue,
And I have nothing else to do,
I sometimes wonder if it's true
That who is what and what is who.

On Thursday when it starts to freeze
And hoar-frost twinkles on the trees,
How very readily one sees
That these are whose - but whose are these?

Lines Written By A Bear of Very Little Brain, AA Milne

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Three new books today:

The Armless Maiden, ed. Terri Windling

Young Buddhists, Loudon

Lupin III vol6, Monkey Punch****CV

Sylvie and Bruno

Sylvie and Bruno are doing well. They are in the coldest room of the house - it is the only room I can secure from a certain feline.

Tonight they were singing up a storm and when I last checked on them two heads, nestled together, peeked out of one nest.***CV

Not a Happy Camper

Aaaaaaaah! So I was forced to move and this is the first time I've actually been able to access my own blog. As any number of my childeren might say: Auuuuugh!

I wonder if I might be allowed to access it from home tonight? Hmmmm? Do I have to beg? If so I will move elsewhere. This new blogger is incrediby slow, slower than typepad slow. And yes it has taken up to five minutes to access typepad blogs. So those of you who are on it that I read I must really like you :)

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Oh and Sylvie and Bruno are fine so far.****CV