Nov/Dec book list

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Highly recommended murder mystery tale, set in Sweden and sure to be followed by two sequels.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley. Graphic novel about a 22-year-old's stay in Paris with her mother. Beautifully done. Reminds you what it was like to be 22 again.

Dreams from my father by Barack Obama. A bit slow, but really interesting... good to know more about our next president.

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Although I don't buy into this as a life-changing theory, Gladwell empowers you to use your common sense to think critically about problems and consider new solutions. Good for the workplace.

Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things...Stories by Nick Hornby et al. Classic book of stories, would be fantastic for kids, not bad for adults, either.

Also read:
To Siberia - Pers Patterson

Handmade holidays

Gave:
- The best homemade gifts I gave (with my brother) were hardbound books of photos from our spring trips to my parents. We used the Mac program iPhoto and they turned out amazing--really good quality, attractive and clean template options, and bright color. My parents were thrilled, especially as they, like many people, don't order prints anymore and have all their photos on the computer.

- Candied orange peel (amazing! Like super flavorful gummy worms. I used KC's recipe from last year with a few modifications (boil a lot longer).

- Stuffed birds to crafty co-workers. A friend had sent me the free sewing pattern.


















I infusing some of the stuffing with a few drops of lavender oil (from a farm in Sequim, WA, purchased on our trip). In others I swapped the lavender for some dried catnip to give as a cat toy.


















I made biscotti (again), only because KC asked if I was going to make "my biscotti," as if it were my thing, which tickled me and made me want to make it. I tried to grow enough herbs and peppers to give as gifts but our week or two of neglect while on vacation did them in.

I also ran out of gift tags, but made some using paper samples and a rounded corner punch, and was pleased with the result.


















Received:
The best homemade gift by far was this tasty bottle of limoncello, luckily caught on photo before the contents had disappeared. (Lest you think we're greedy lushes, we have been sharing the Christmas cheer with in-laws and other guests).
























Merry Christmas!


Christmas eve at my parents.

Google stalking my husband

So Husband's been getting a bit of publicity lately, and I was having a hard time tracking it all down... searching for news clips, checking city magazines, etc. and I realized that there was a much better way to do this: set up a Google alert for his name. We use these at work all the time to track buzz (news, blogs, videos, etc.) about our institution... Google wraps up all the new hits and sends it to you in a nice tidy daily email.

And it's been effective--no more searching. But damn, does it feel creepy to get these alerts in your email. That's probably because it is creepy.

Growing up

My secondary New Year's resolution last year (after "do less") was "let myself be a grown up." This one is a little hard to explain quickly, but in short: there was something about being the youngest in both my immediate and extended family (at least in my generation) that I was letting carry too much weight in how I presented myself; and I wanted to remind myself that that role was self-imposed.

Anyway, I was reminded of that resolution recently at work, when I started scrutinizing my emails and not liking what I found. These may have more to do with female social patterns than feeling inferior, but nevertheless, I am working on:

Eliminating or at least reducing qualifiers, such as "just" in "I just wanted to check..."
Not feeling the need to use !s

Omitting the omnipresent "Thanks," when it's really not needed.

To compensate and extend a bit of warmth, I've added what I hope is the neutral "Hi," i.e., instead of "George," "Hi George."

Sew

After a bit of exploration, I've decided sewing and embroidery are for me. Sayonara, knitting. Crocheting, you can stuff it.

After getting a sewing machine in June 07 and completing classes early this year, I'm starting to try my hand at a few things.

I made the most basic, most beginner of all quilts, a simple lap quilt.
























Emboldened, I then made a tree skirt, which turned out to be a bit small for those duties but which filled in nicely as a "table topper." (My great-grandma made the ceramic tree; she was crafty, but my grandma, let me tell you, made a living off of her craftiness. She still reigns supreme over her town's annual fair.)
























Husband finally let us get a real tree. Tree do not photograph well, but I made series of bird and button garlands to help cover for our lack of ornaments.


















Lastly, here's a bit of the embroidery--I'm too enamored with these veggies not to include them.


















I also did a camping series. Not sure when I'll need camping-themed napkins; but if the occasion arises, I'm ready.