kidding around

Today I finished my book club’s August selection and I realized that I have wanted to share photos from last month’s meeting at my house. I really enjoy hosting which only comes around once a year…makes me think how much fun it would be to have you readers show up and we could nosh on cheese, stuffed peppers and kalamata olive spread.

I’m leading July’s discussion on “The Painted Veil” which I highly recommend…the book, the movie, the audio version are all wonderful…although the book of course is much deeper in character development, the clothes and scenery in the movie are pretty spectacular as well as Edward Norton. Need a summer read? This one is great!

Okay, so back to August’s selection. I read “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy and I have to say I sobbed an embarrassing amount at the end. Don’t worry I didn’t ruin anything- the whole tale is pretty sad and tragic. Man, I love books that you obsess over and can not get out of your mind. Actually, I just really love to read. It’s a wonderful way to escape, you know. Reading and sewing are my escapes and I suppose reading has really taken over!

Anyway, I have been wanting to also share our club’s book list for the year. We all select books in November for the coming year and it’s all done pretty swiftly. Everyone brings a few ideas and we all decide on a few classics, light reads, historical fiction, etc. So here it is…I will put a + or - next to each book I read indicating whether I liked it or not…if a book receives both, it means I can’t decide. I love knowing what people are reading and hopefully a few of you will like to read the list. Here we go:

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (+/-)
Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler (+)
The Optimists Daughter/The Wide Net by Eudora Welty (+)
A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini (+)
What is the What by Dave Eggers (+)
The Tiara Club by Beverly Brandt (-)
The Painted Veil by Sommerset Maugham (+)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (+)
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (have not read yet)
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian (+)

Happy reading! Let me know if you have read any of these books!

I’ve become slightly obsessed with making all things miniature.

This doll quilt will be another gift for Penelope and I love it.

I totally just went with it and tried to NOT coordinate fabrics and do too much measuring- and you know what? It was totally challenging to just cut fabric and randomnly sew it altogether. I have always loved the vintage quilts I stumble upon in the thrift stores or in books and admire the spontaneity of all the pieces. But sheesh, I didn’t think I was so “matchy”.

This process reminds me of my college years as an art major. We were studying Jackson Pollock and our professor had us all out on the lawn painting using Pollock’s method of splattering. It was such a challenge. To just let go of what you think is “right” and just create by listening to music and becoming immersed with the paint. Oh and to ignore the snickers of the other majors passing by.

Okay, enough of that- it’s only a doll quilt. But you know what I mean, right?!

One of the other things I like to do with my time is read. If I sit down and read I know I am relaxing- usually this sort of activity is how I end my day (it’s my favorite part). I have 2 ACTUAL books I am reading (Plenty and Snowflower & the Secret Fan), but I have one book I am listening to and I love it.

Have you seen these cool contraptions at your library? They are called PLAYAWAYS and are digital books you listen to with your own set of headphones. I’ve been listening to my book while baking at work, sewing, and I attempted to listen in bed…that didn’t work out so well!

I love to listen to books on tape. Some people scoff at this way of reading, but honestly there are certain types of books I will stick with if I am listening…long lengthy descriptions, several characters to keep track of, content I am not familiar with…

Anyway, this technology is brilliant! By the way, the book Suite Francaise is a great read.

I’ve been a part of a book club for 3 years. The women in the group have met for 20 years and have obviously been pretty dedicated to reading and meeting on a monthly basis.

My sister invited me to join and it’s something I really enjoy. None of us socialize with one another (beside my sister and me!), but what brings us together is the love of reading. I think it’s pretty cool.

Anyway, last night we had our “voting night”. Everyone comes with book recommendations and we all very democratically decide on a list- I love this night! You would be amazed on how smoothly it goes…

The above books were my selections, although I was really pushing for Funny in Farsi and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. To my surprise, everyone wanted to read the latter book- I just had thought that most of them read ” A Tree” already. I am scheduled to lead the first discussion of the year and anticipate a great discussion…I LOVE THIS BOOK. How many of you read this novel by Betty Smith?

By the way, I plan to read Funny in Farsi during the month of December- I’ll check in with my review later (hopefully!). And I will post our reading list once I get it, I always love to know what people are reading and hopefully some of you will care too!

I never feel like my day has ended well if I have not read for a few minutes before bed. I always need a book to go to when I want to learn, escape, or relax. How do you like my popsicle bookmark?!

I just completed “Sky Burial” last night and was totally moved by it! It’s this month’s book club selection and I appreciated a shorter novel. Most of the books we have read this year have been between 350-500 pages. This book is a short 167 pages and is utterly one of the most beautiful stories. The reader learns more about China, a lot about Ttibet, culture, religon, family and of course undying love. I can not recommend this book more. It’s a super short read- you could literally finish it in a day and forget about everything else.

So- to celebrate my sort of blog anniversary (I have had a blog since 2004, but really began writing more consistently a year ago…not sure why my archives does not indicate this), I will give this book away. Just leave a comment and I will do a drawing on Friday. The only thing I ask is that you mail the book to my sister when you are finished- there is no timeline, just pop it in the mail.

Now, this book is occupying my attention. It was referenced in the series of NPR stories and so I checked it out from my library. I like this book so much I just may need to devote an entire post to it!

Okay, READ!

During the evening hours I have found myself reading much more than sewing or being crafty. That is fine with me since this activity is really my favorite. When I sit and enjoy a book, I know I am totally relaxing.

So- I have just started reading Cesars Way and have been utterly fascinated by it. It’s basically about humans and their relating to their dogs. I suppose it is sort of “dog psychology” and just being in tune to nature and it’s living creatures. I also find it very applicable to my own “human pack”…whether you have a dog or not, it really is pretty cool.

I also just finished Maos Last Dancer. It’s a memoir of Li Cunxin, a famous ballet dancer. As a young peasant, he was chosen to be a part of Mao’s few to be educated in the arts and of course communist doctrine. It was incredibly educational…unfortunately I was not all that aware of Chinese politics and was thoroughly enthralled with learning about it’s culture and people. It’s about a 450 page book, but you wouldn’t even know it.

So now with the crafty catch up…
I do have some projects I want to share. I planned on posting a lot in regards to my sister’s big 40th last week, but obviously with the events of Beatrice I had no motivation.

Below is a stitching I did for her. It was so exciting to give it to her. I love gifts that you put all your heart into it…I definitely was bursting … Especially since Nathan and the kids made some pretty fantastic gifts as well. I will share those later.

I love this smock I made for Penelope a few weeks back. It was SO hot the other day that she just wore it with no shirt underneath. I figured she is at the perfect age of not being marked with indecent exposure…how can you resist soft, squishy baby skin?!

She was being a typical, fickle 2 year old and had no interest in posing for me. So let’s pretend these are artistic action shots.