Black and Blue Alpaca Scarf

SOOO soft and warm.  Lovely.

Purple, Blue and Black Cotton and Chenille Scarf

Yet another scarf for a friend to give as a gift.  It's really sparkly and soft.  I like it.

Blue and Purple Wool with Black Alpaca Scarf

This is a lovely purlple and blue vertical striped scarf with black alpaca weft.  The fringe is hemmed and left loose for a soft feel.  The weaving pattern is a large double diamond.  It is incredibly warm and sells for $40.

A couple more book reviews

Madame Mirabou's School of Love by Barbara Samuel follows the life of Nikki as she is navigating her life after her husband divorces her for another woman.  The journey she takes to finding herself is interesting, and Nikki's a likeable character; however, I did feel a little bogged down in the "whiney divorcee" syndrome by about the middle of the book.  I would also like to read a book where a woman finds the courage to do what she wants without worrying about the approval of a man.  Recommended.

The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander is about the Russian revolution and covers the time period from 1906-1918.  It is told from the perspectives of Pavel, a revolutionary, and Ella, the wife of the Grand Duke.  I liked the swapping perspectives because it helped to demonstrate that the any story, especially one as "grand" as this one, has many different sides and explanations for what happened during a major historical upheaval.  Highly recommended.

Silver Tencel with Black and Pink Velura Scarf

This is a gift that Alyssa is giving her friend.

Blue, Purple and Green Alpaca Scarf

Commissioned for a friend to give her daughter for Christmas.

Bagatelle in A Minor by Beethoven

There really is a video here even though it doesn't look like it.  Hit the play button and enjoy!

Ernie with his Scarf

Rust and Cream Scarf Redo

A Batch of Book Reviews

I've been so strapped for time that I haven't had much opportunity to write up my usual book reviews...nor have I really had much time to READ books to review.  Since September 4th (the last date of my last book review), I've only completed 4 books, 3 of them in the last week alone.  I've started one book that I haven't yet finished but plan to...it's just a little dense for me right now.  So, to the books that I have finished (and enjoyed thoroughly each and every one!)

The Forgotten Garden follows the lives of three women:  Elizan, Nell, and Cassandra.  Nell is abandoned on a boat heading to Australia as a four year old child.  She is adopted by the dockmaster and not told of her coming into their household until she is 21.  It isn't until Nell's death that Cassandra begins to search for Nell's past.  It is truly an enchanting story and one that I enjoyed thoroughoughly.  In fact, I wanted to read it slowly to prolong my enjoyment of it.  I've asked my entire family to read it so that we can discuss.  Highly recommended.

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith is a different series focusing on the character Isabel Dalhausie.  Isabel witnesses a man falling from the upper balconies after an orchestral performance and sets about to discover how something such as that could happen.  It is slightly reminiscent of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, but without Mma Romatswe's charm.  I thought the prose was dense and troublesome at times, but I'm willing to read a second book in the series to see if they'll grab me.  I usually enjoy Smith's books so much.  Recommended.

This book was recommended to me by a co-worker who also likes to read.  She thought that since I enjoyed the Forgotten Garden so much that I would also enjoy this book.  She was right.  The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane is loosely about the Salem Witch trials of 1692 but also about the struggles that a graduate student undergoes to complete her dissertation work.  Throw in some family dynamics, a love story, an interesting mystery, magic, historical flashbacks, and a friendship and you have a really enjoyable book.  I devoured this one.  Highly recommended! (especially to my Aunt Janice who I think will LOVE this one!)

Yummy!  Duchess by Night by Eloisa James is my favorite of her Desperate Duchesses series so far (3 more to go...so happy).  It was a wonderful romp through the awakening of a woman to power and freedom.  Harriet dresses as a man so that she can attend a risque house party at Lord Strange's house.  Little did she think that she would enjoy being a man so much and that she would find love and happiness while there.  Another wonderful romance by James.  Highly recommended for romance readers.

6 green, white and brown towels

Even shorter hair

Maybe I should have named her RheaLynn

Pearl Grew Ears this weekend!

The newest addition to my family

And her name is Pearl.  She's adorable and full of kitten energy.  Can't wait to go home and spend some time with that little ragamuffin!

Gold Bonsai Scarf

This is a really beautiful metallic gold scarf in a basket weave pattern.  It is very soft, has a great drape and would be the perfect accessory to a dressy evening, or even with jeans.

It measures 6.5" x 66" and sells for $70.   The fringe is twisted.

Red, White and Gold Double Weave Placemats

It was 6 weeks in the making, but finally this project is finished.  I like them, but don't ever want to take on this project again!

Grading Accomplished!

Hair Cut

Oliver Will be Missed

Oliver, our sweet orange kitty, passed away this morning.  He was with us for 14 years and was sweet and such a wonderful addition to our family.  He will be sorely missed.

Yeah, I'd say it's worth it

5.5 hours worth of work

...and I hope that the 4 placemats that I'll get out of this warp are worth it!

The Pile...

I didn't make much progress on the grading pile yesterday, but maybe today.  So many things get in my way...maybe I let them...because I do detest grading!

One more Pile left

...and it's grading, so I hate it, but I'm almost at a clean desk!

The desk...

...is still a mess, but the piles are receding--except for the grading one which is getting bigger despite my best efforts to ignore it.  Perhaps I need to do something about that.

Taking "THE PILE" and Making piles

So, today begins the great cleaning of the desk.  I'm starting by taking "THE PILE" of accumulated papers, documents, and proof that I've been busy, and putting them into smaller pileS in order to then file, write reports, etc.  I have here about 3 weeks worth of work...and I think I'm about 1/2 way through reorganizing.  Thank goodness.

When I'm done with the PILE shifting, I'll be able to write up my monthly progress report (to date) and put much of this documentation in my "Activity Binder" to have as proof that the work I've been doing has documentation to back it up. 

Being on a grant can be exhausting to those of us who don't like to file.  But, I have to admit it feels good to clean things up a bit!

What Have I been Doing?

So much, and none of it interesting.  Work has really been crazy busy and rather stressful of late.  I've had zero time and energy for blogging, weaving, reading, or otherwise enjoying life.  Things have finally slowed down and will hopefully maintain a regular pace so that I can keep up, have a life, and enjoy my job.  And don't get my wrong, I enjoy my job...just in littler pieces!  So, this is what I've been doing:

• conferencing with students
• interviewing and hiring peer mentors for our peer mentor program
• designing the training for our peer mentors
• meeting with our external evaluator
• meeting with our external consultant
• designing and delivering the training for our faculty advisors in the legal and ethical issues of advising
• designing and delivering the training for our professional staff in best practices of advising, intrusive advising and the legal and ethical issues of advising
• creating evaluation tools for all the above training
• managing our advisors as they began advising the students in my classes
• planning, designing activities and teaching 2 sections of a college success class (these are the pilot students who we will track for retention purposes and who are going through our advising model)
• grading assignments for the 2 sections I'm teaching

For fun I:

• Went to College Station and attended the season opener for the Texas Aggie football season
• Got my hair cut
• Went to bookclub
• Hosted my crafting group: The Crafty Vixens

And that's about it.  I hope to be back to more regular blogging soon.

Fun Times in Aggieland this Weekend

Book Review: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich follows the characters Ralph Truitt, a very rich man in Wisconsin, and his "mail order" bride, Catherine Land.  Catherine arrives in the middle of the first snow storm of the year to begin her life as the wife of Mr. Truitt.  She misrepresents herself from the start yet Mr. Truitt marries her anyway.  Her plan was to slowly poison him with arsenic and then bring her lover to live in his mansion.  Things don't go as planned for either, and to tell too much of the rest of the plot would give away more than anyone interested in reading the book would want. 

It's a quick read, even though it feels "big."  And mostly good.  I didn't like any of the characters and thought Goolrich's writing was overdone in many instances, but it was a good book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes reading books with surprise endings.

Something to Smile At when I come into my Office

Rust and Cream Scarf

This is a rust and cream bamboo and cotton scarf woven in a "plaited twill" pattern.  This is a commission for my friend Cathy.

Book Review: A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James is a Cinderella story complete with "rats," a fairy godmother, and of course the evil step mother.  Orphaned Kate must pretend to be her sister, Victoria, and go to the Prince's castle in order to get his blessing on their marriage.  While there, of course she falls in love with the Prince and he with her, but there's the complication of his betrothal that will be announced the night of the ball.

This is another lively book with a strong heroine by James. 

I loved it.

Remembering You by Eugenie Rocherolle

Elizabeth said this song made her feel sad when she listened to it last night.  I just love it, and hope that I evoked emotion in my playing.  Sorry about the lighting.  Will work on that for the next piano videos--which hopefully won't be 4 months from now!

Stress Management

Anyone out there have some good stress management tips?  I'm dealing with my 3rd migraine in a week, so apparently I'm not dealing with my stress very well, and would like to do so in a way that does not involve alcohol or migraines!  Any advice is appreciated.

Book Review: The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant tells the story of the town Dogtown as it is "dying"...people moving on and out.  I almost didn't pick the book up because the description sounded so depressing, but I'm glad I did because it's a beautifully written book that details the death of a town with both humor and love. 

I thought Diamant wrote a compelling story about how people move to and then leave Dogtown, what it means to the remaining residents, and of course, the dogs for whom the town is named.

Recommended.

4 Cotolin Towels

4 towels made using cotolin.  I tried to use up the yarn I had but still have quite a bit left, so there'll be another set soon.  LOVE these towels in all their bright plaid-y-ness.