Identity Crisis

A little bit ago, I saw that astrologists were completely wrong about horoscopes, and now we're all meant to be a different sign (though the CBS article advises that we hold our horses). 

This could be DISASTER for the cheesy pick-up line guy at your local bar. Future pick-up attempts could turn into a major identity crisis. 

For your consideration, a possible happy hour scenario:

Cheese-guy: "Hey, baby, what's your sign?"

Girl at bar: "My what? I don't know...everything's changing...I don't know who I am anymore!!!" [sobs]

Cheese-guy: [runs away]

On second thought, this could turn out to be quite the convenient way to get rid of any man who would use such a line and expect a positive result.

Though I don't really pay too much attention to my horoscope, I still really identify with the description of the Pisces. They're meant to be creative and dreamy people, so that's why I don't balk at saying I'm a Pisces. Also, my brother and dad were born under the Taurus sign, and they have always been quite stubborn.If you don't mind, I'm going to leave well enough alone and stay a Pisces.

A Love for Hard-to-Find Books

On Monday past I was pretty down (February is always a rough month for me; this one more than others). So in an effort to cheer myself up, I bought a lovely little used copy of My Life in France by Julia Child. It was important to me to get a copy with the original cover, so I went to the old standby Abebooks. 

I kind of came across this site in an odd way-through a recommendation by my dentist. We often talk about books since I was an English major and am now in library school, and he was an English minor back in the 70s (card catalog conversations are also the norm). He mentioned to me once that his grandfather was a writer in Russia (I believe he wrote some novels), but all of his books were all out of print or hard to come by. So in his searches, he found this abebooks site and was able to locate all of his grandfather's books-and one was autographed! Some of them are in Russian whilst others have been translated into English, but for someone who never really got to know their grandfather, seeing this side of the man would be invaluable.

Yet Another Book Recommendation

About the time that the movie Julie & Julia came out (the "Julie" being one of the most unsympathetic characters ever...but that is a topic for another day), I decided to go to the library not for Mastering the Art of French Cooking (aspic doesn't sound like anything I'd like to eat) but instead for the memoir My Life in France by Julia Child. I didn't really know much about Julia-save for the fact that she was quite tall, and my mom did a Dan Ackroyd-esque impression of her cooking after having too much sherry.

What I found when I read this book was one of the loveliest, funniest, and most determined women. And I think the thing I like the most about her was her enthusiasm for life. She had the normal but frustrating problems that we all do (apartment is too small, people are mean, I'm not good at this but I want to be), but she enjoyed her life. And I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her life. I hope to do so again soon.

Also, I think that we might've gotten along...this is reinforced by the fact that I didn't like the "Julie" character (even Amy Adams couldn't redeem her for me), and according to the J&J book and the movie, Mrs. Child herself wasn't a fan either.

Book Recommendation

I heard a rumor that the third book in the Flavia De Luce Series is meant to be published today, and I have been waiting with veiled excitement for this day to come (Bonus: I was under the impression that the book was originally meant to be published in March, but it came out today instead!). I think this is the first post-Harry Potter series that I've been super excited about...well, there was the Hunger Games trilogy, but I didn't have to wait for any of those to come out. 

The new book is called A Red Herring without Mustard. And I am so completely in love with the titles that Alan Bradley chooses for these books. They are so fun. And since this is a series about a young girl who fancies herself to be a top-notch detective (and, let's face it, she really is), the titles sound like something she would come up with herself.

Other titles: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (#2 in the series)

and the first which I have mentioned before: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Baby Blanket

A dear friend of mine shared her baby blanket pattern with me, and ever since then I've been making them for family and friends who have new babies (as opposed to old babies, naturally).

This blanket was my impetus for taking a trip to N. Ireland last year. It was for my cousin's baby, Lucas. I guess I thought, "Why should the blanket have all the fun of travelling to Ireland?"

I also made one for my goddaughter using yellow, pink, and a multicoloured yarn (white background with pink, yellow, and purple speckles), but I neglected to take a photo (mainly because I was finishing it in the car on the way to her christening).

This next one is for my friend Robin and her daughter Taylor. Here is a bit of the process:

These blankets take a long time to make (especially when you can't knit at work); so I'm considering making one boy blanket and one girl blanket and just keeping them on hand. That way I can eliminate the rush to knit like 10 squares per week because you're meeting the new baby sooner than you expected.

Cookie Selling Tips

Driving down the street the other day, I saw a very inventive Girl Scout Cookie sign:

That's how you sell cookies, Delco style.