Saturday, February 22, 2014

Me Before You


This book was the pick for my Book Club this month.  I loved it!  It is the story of two people who are unlikely companions.  Will is a quadriplegic after a tragic freak accident, and Louisa is a local girl who has never done anything big with her life, frankly because it never occurred to her that she could.  Louisa is hired by Will's mother to be his daytime companion.  In the beginning she believes that he hates her and she wants to quit.  When she discovers the real reason for her employment, she begins on a journey that changes both her life and Will's. I thought that this was a beautiful story and I would highly recommend it.  I'm rating it 5 stars!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Ten on Tuesday

 10 Thoughts on the Winter Olympics  


I usually love the Winter Olympics and I really thought I would watch more of it than I have.  What I have seen though, I've really enjoyed.  Here are my thoughts so far.....

1. Men's Hockey vs Russia was a GREAT game!  That shoot out? Wow!  I hope the Gold Medal game is as exciting!
2. The people who compete in Skeleton must have nerves of steel.  Or a death wish.  Head first on your stomach at 80 mph?  Crazy.
3. I was completely captivated by the Ice Dancing this year.  It used to bore me to tears, but this year I really enjoyed it.  So many of the routines were really beautiful!  And I'm so happy for the US team that won!
4. Bode Miller.  What can I say. Competing in his 5th Olympic Games in a sport that is physically and mentally demanding.  The bad boy of skiing has finally matured and I was happy for him that he won a bronze medal. Plus he's a local NH boy so rooting for him is just fun.
5. I miss Shaun White's long hair.
6. I know I'm in the minority on this, but I kind of like the Opening Ceremony sweaters.  I wouldn't want to wear one, but I thought they really made the US Team stand out when they entered the arena. There was no mistaking that this was the US Team, and really, isn't that the point?
7. Thank goodness Bob Costas' eye is finally better!  I can't imagine getting an infection like that while traveling!
8. Bobsledding looks like fun.  I would love to try it!
9. Biathalon is another sport that I'd love to try.  I can't imagine the mental strength required to accurately shoot a target after cross-country skiing as fast as you can.
10. Curling.  I don't understand it at all, but when it comes on, I'm fascinated by it.  Go figure!

Bonus thought... I have more snow in my backyard than they have in Sochi!  You really have to wonder the wisdom of the committee that selected the site.

Thanks for the fun topic Carole!



Monday, February 17, 2014

Ravellenic Knitting Update

It's time for a quick update on my progress!  I finished the sweater for my niece.  I'll do a proper post for it once it's had a bath and I give it to her.  She can be a real ham for the camera too, if she's in the right mood, so hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to share later :-)
I'm making some nice progress on the Lazy Jacks Hat.  It's an easy pattern to follow and I need to order some more of this yarn that I'm using for it too.
Color Affection is going everywhere with me.  I've added the 2nd color, obviously, and have finished 7 of 12 stripes.  The rows are starting to get long now!  There's no way I'm finishing this by the end of the Olympics, but maybe I'll get to join the 3rd color before the Games end.
I hope you're enjoying the Olympics!  Did you see the USA vs Russia Men's Hockey game?  What a great finish!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Ambitions

The Olympics started yesterday, so you know what that means.... Knitting with some Olympic sized ambition!  I love joining in for all the fun and I know that my goals are very ambitious.  In fact even I recognize that they are a big bucket of crazy.  That's not stopping me from having some fun though.  I joined 3 teams this year.  See? Crazy!

The first team is TeamPlucky.  I am acquiring quite a collection of Plucky yarns, and most of them have a project in mind for them.  For the Ravellenic Games I'm going to attempt an Avery Cowl with the pink yarn on the left (it's MCN Aran in Bashful and sadly a discontinued base) and a Lazy Jacks Hat with the yarn on the right, which is Primo Aran in the November Plucky Fellas color Random Task.  I cast the hat on during the opening ceremony.
I'm also knitting for TeamSpinningYarns, although I'm not sure we got officially signed up in the Ravellenic 2014 group.  Anyway, I plan to finish the Make Mine Strawberry sweater for my niece. I just have the sleeves and button band to do! I'm also hoping to make Bird in Hand mittens with the red and white Ultra Alpaca.
The 3rd team is TeamHazelKnuts.  I have some WiP's I want to finish.  Left to right they are my TTL Mystery Socks, Spock Socks, and a Color Affection shawl.  The shawl will be my traveling around project as it's lots and lots of garter stitch!  It is perfect for watching hockey games and riding in the car.
So that's 7 projects in 16 days.  Yeah, that's a big bucket of crazy!  Who knows what I'll get accomplished.  But there is one thing I know for sure and that is that you fail at 100% of the things you don't try.  I'm going to tackle this with an Olympic sized attitude and go for GOLD!