sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

March 10, 2017


signs of spring, laundered, and feeling better
posted by soe 1:50 am

Peach Blossoms

Tulip

Flowering Tree

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Peach blossoms against the blue sky. The first tulips. Flowering trees

2. Clean sheets, somewhat overdue.

3. I feel better this evening and take myself up to the park to enjoy the last bit of warmth and sunshine before the impending cold snap. The dogs are running wild, and several stop to see if my knitting bag or tea cup contain anything they might like, before heading back to tennis balls and games of chase.

Thursday Night Sky

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?

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March 9, 2017


yarning along through sickness & sock madness
posted by soe 12:35 am

Last week I thought I’d cut a stomach bug off at the pass, staying home from work one day to sleep through it and mostly feeling better for it. But yesterday, when the smell of my boss’ lunch made me nauseous, I realized it had sneaked out, brought in reinforcements, and was back to lay siege.

I’m glad to say that with yet more sleep, mostly liquid food for 24 hours, and the generous number of sick days my company offers, I think I’m feeling better. I suppose we’ll know for certain tomorrow.

But in the meantime, since Rudi left town today for his end-of-season coaching road trip, I had time to watch only the tv shows I like and to finish a couple books. Which means what I have to show you are two of the three new books I started tonight:

Sock Madness Yarn Along

Phoebe Robinson is a comedian and her memoir got a lot of buzz last year, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

The Rose and the Dagger is Renée Ahdieh’s follow-up to The Wrath and the Dawn, which I read last year and loved, and together they form a retelling of the Scheherazade story. I’ve been looking forward to reading this for months and am eager to dive in.

On my phone, after flipping through audio book possibilities from my downloads and from the library’s Overdrive account, I settled on I’ll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson, which was a big hit two years ago. I tried to read it in paper at the time, but couldn’t concentrate on it; however, I’m already past that point, so hopefully it was just a blip in the time-space continuum, rather than a huge divide, like the one I’ve encountered with My Name Is Lucy Barton and Big Magic, books everyone but me seemed to love. (Not really confidentially to raidergirl3: Did you see AudiobookSYNC has announced this year’s books already?)

On the needles is this year’s entry round for Sock Madness, the annual sock-knitting competition I compete in. This is Twisted Madness by Gina Meyer and the yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. I’m not loving knitting the pattern (there’s a lot of twists and knitting through the back loop), but I am loving how the pattern and the yarn look together. The pattern reminds me of socks I would have worn in the 80s, all twisted and scrunched, so the yarn seems a fitting choice.


Yarning along with Ginny at Small Things.

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March 7, 2017


early-march weekending
posted by soe 2:03 am

Mural at the MLK branch of the D.C. Public Library

This weekend included a final trip to the main branch of our library, which has now closed for a three-year renovation, to pick up a bunch of dvds to watch during Sock Madness, which began on Friday.

There was a meandering walk home, including a stop at for chaider (a combination of apple cider and chai), potato-Parmesan focaccia, and a clover-shaped spritz cookie. I admired lots of spring flowers and flowering trees, even through the temperatures dropped back to February lows. (It’s good I admired the magnolias while I could. Their flowers literally died on the branch Saturday night.)

Saturday's Lunch

I listened to an audiobook and watched Paper Towns, did chores, and knit.

I bought broccoli at the farmers market and books at my local bookshop’s member sale. I planted arugula, Bibb lettuce, and four types of peas in the garden.

Early March Gardening

I welcomed Rudi home from his penultimate ski coaching trip of the season.

How was your weekend?

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March 3, 2017


live chat, really quite warm, and fat tuesday
posted by soe 3:34 am

Three beautiful things from my past week:

Magnolias in front of the Phillips Collection

1. A visit to the main branch of my library during my mid-week #brownbagdc Twitter book club nets me the opportunity to conduct my chatting in person with the three librarians (Jo, Myra, and Esti) who run it. Because the main branch (sadly, the closest branch to my office) is closing on Saturday for three years in order to do extensive renovations, our chat hosts were offering walk-ins as many free books off their Advance Reader cart as we wanted. I restrain myself to two, and we discuss the possibility of an in-person book club meeting later in the year to do a book swap.

2. The unseasonably warm temperatures has had me wearing my early fall clothing (essentially, also my summer clothing, but with short socks and closed-toe shoes, rather than flip flops, and sometimes a shawl if I anticipate getting home after dark) and spending lots of time outside.

3. The most delicious King Cake I’ve ever had (raspberry cream cheese) and sparkly Mardi Gras-themed nails to match.

King Cake and Mardi Gras Nails

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world recently?

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