I spent Mother’s Day stitching.  I started and finished a small Shepherd’s Bush kit “Liberty” that recently found its way into my stash:

That makes 2 on the Project Challenge!

This week, thanks to the “Every Day in May” plan, I finished a sock:

This should fit Mom, but before I start the second one I’ll have her do a test fit.  Yeah, kinda blows the birthday surprise, but at least it will avoid a *bad* surprise on that day.  Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Flower Garden

I picked up two additional skeins of white Simply Soft for the baby afghan in progress.

See the problem?  My original skein is “No Dye Lot Yarn” and the new skeins are “Purchase enough to complete your project….”  So, time for a new plan.  I’m going to set the first section aside and once my SIL either chooses nursery colors or we learn if it’s a boy or girl, I’ll contine with two more large sections of appropriate colors.

Here are the raw materials for the new plan (and will count as 3 challenge finishes since they are both direct from the stash!)

The left is destined for hat/booties and the right will be at least one bib (Mason-Dixon pattern).

However, before I cast on for those, I must kill a few more Zombies…. with Plants!!

Not much time tonight…

Top 3:

Kris - First song - meh.  Second song - I like what he did with it because I *hate* the original.

Danny - First song - meh.  Second song - Not so much.

Adam - First song - good.  Second song - way better.

Vote:  Adam (duh) - lost count!

As long as Adam is in the final two, I’ll be happy.

I hope all my motherly friends have a wonderful day and those with mother’s think of them on this day.

It’s a quiet day here at The Acre.  K ventured out this morning and brought home Krispy Kreme donuts (YUM!) which I’ve been craving for a couple weeks.  I had cards, Twilight on Blu-Ray, a new schnauzer-themed key chain and a palm tree pin.  I’ve been poking around online this morning while the Braves game is on in the background and will spend the afternoon watching movies and “Whose Line is it Anyway?” (several episodes on the DVR).  A great day.

This week I received my bookmark exchange from Gwen:

The red item on the bottom is a lovely project bag, about 8 x 10 with a zipper on the back.  A *great* exchange

I learned last weekend that my sister-in-law (brother’s wife) is expecting!  It will be their first, so I immediately dug into the yarn stash for something to work up quickly to celebrate the news.  I found my favorite ripple afghan pattern and some soft white yarn (I like acrylic for this - stands up better to the repeated washings).  My challenge is that I have one skein only, so I will have to buy two more shortly:

Not sure how I’m going to handle this on my project challenge.  If I’d had *any* clue this particular event was imminent I’d have set an exception for myself LOL.  I have already pulled other yarn possibilities from the stash for booties and hat, but I have a little time (baby due in February).

Yesterday was fill/pedicure today.  I went with something different: 

I usually wear red.

Enjoy the day!

I must say, I have friends with excellent book tastes

1 - It was Felling Night and the usual crowd had gathered at the Waystone Inn.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus - excellent epic fantasy

2 - Lucivar Yaslana, the Eyrien half-breed, watched the guards drag the sobbing man to the boat.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop [Black Jewels Trilogy] - the beginning of a dark, luscious fantasy series

3 - It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I’m ready for the next installment coming this fall!

4 - On February 24, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - an amazing adventure story.

5 - Darius looked around the club, taking in the teeming, half-naked bodies on the dance floor.

Dark Lover by J R Ward [Black Dagger Brotherhood] - I think I’ve evangelized enough on this series lately LOL

6 - [She] was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the [–] twins were.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - the movie is a favorite, but the book is so much better.  My paperback edition is falling apart…

7 - You’d be surprised how many people call just to ask me if I’m serious.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher [Dresden Files] - a wizard named Harry for adults

8 - They stared down their noses at him as though they could smell him from there.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - another epic fantasy novel

9 - The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling - my favorite of the series

10 - “Unsolved mysteries.” Raymond West blew out a cloud of smoke and repeated the words with a kind of deliberate self-conscious pleasure.

The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie - when I first read this collection, it was called “The Tuesday Club Murders”

11 - “It is an interesting fact that the members of the National Industrial Association who were at that dinner last evening represent, in the aggregate, assets of something like thirty billion dollars.”

The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout - I would have been *very* surprised if anyone got this one

This was Rock week for the final four contestants.

In no particular order:

Allison - Her solo performance was ok (she looked great, though) and I totally agreed with the judges that there were better songs for her.  Her duet with Adam was great!!

Kris - He sang one of my very favorite Beatles tunes (Come Together) and I still felt kinda “meh” about the result.  He’s back on my forgettable list.  The duet with Danny looked uncomfortable for both of them.

Danny - Obviously not his genre and that note at the end?  Eek….he hit it in rehearsal, but not in the live performance.

Adam - If he ends up in the bottom two tonight, America is just daft.  Totally rocked this week both solo and duet

Danger - very close, but I think Kris and Allison will be bottom two

My vote - Adam.  Four times!!  (I blame myself for his dip last week - I didn’t vote!!)

You may have noticed I didn’t include the song titles this week.  That’s because I have to look them up… I am absolutely hopeless at matching songs I recognize to either title or artist for the most part.  I knew all the songs last night, but the only one I could recall was the Beatles tune.  Books and authors, though?  No sweat…. LOL

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I stumbled across this meme in my blog travels today and given the recent book focus, thought I would add it to tonight’s post First Lines Meme (found here - great blog!)

The rules:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite books
2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)
3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books! (I’ll take guesses in the comments.)

—— Limiting to 10 was the hardest part of this exercise!  I limited it to books that are physically on my shelves or on my Kindle.  I only modified one to remove character names - it would have been *way* too easy

1 - It was Felling Night and the usual crowd had gathered at the Waystone Inn.

2 - Lucivar Yaslana, the Eyrien half-breed, watched the guards drag the sobbing man to the boat.

3 - It wasn’t a very likely place for disappearances, at least at first glance.

4 - On February 24, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples.

5 - Darius looked around the club, taking in the teeming, half-naked bodies on the dance floor.

6 - [She] was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the [–] twins were.

7 - You’d be surprised how many people call just to ask me if I’m serious.

8 - They stared down their noses at him as though they could smell him from there.

9 - The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane.

10 - “Unsolved mysteries.” Raymond West blew out a cloud of smoke and repeated the words with a kind of deliberate self-conscious pleasure.

Bonus (it’s the second sentence):

11 - “It is an interesting fact that the members of the National Industrial Association who were at that dinner last evening represent, in the aggregate, assets of something like thirty billion dollars.”

I finished this on the way home from work today (thank heaven for the vanpool) and all I can say is…

“Wow.”

Totally absolutely LOVED it!  Not just because it had plenty of my favorite Brothers but Rehv won me over early and I was rooting for him and his happy ever after the rest of the way.   If you enjoy romance or urban fantasy, read the Black Dagger Brotherhood - you’ll love it

What to read next?  Well, wouldn’t you know what arrived in today’s mail….

The Book Challenge is clipping along nicely.

American Idol thoughts tomorrow….here’s a preview:  “Adam ROCKS!!!”

Time to show off a few pictures…

First, both of my recent exchanges were received, so I can show them off :)  They were both completed prior to the 25 Project Challenge start, so they won’t be counted as progress on that.

First, a Woodland Exchange - a needlebook based on a modified Blue Ribbon Designs Health & Happiness ornament.  It’s DMC with cream Glasgow linen.

Next, a  book mark from Stitch’nspirations using more cream Glasgow and Vikki Clayton’s Embers floss.

I also received my Woodland Exchange this week from Verona (I know better than to trust my memory.. my deepest apologies, V!)….

Love the squirrel!!

Last item *does* count toward my 25 Project Challenge.  I finished Petites Lettres Rouge from Blackbird Designs today (click to biggify this one):

It’s on 32-ct white jobelan using DMC 333, 340 & 3747.  As I did not finish in time to submit for the drawing, I didn’t add the bird motif.  I also only “corrected” two places in the chart.  The very upper left corner stitch and the 3-stitch motif in the top center on the top border.  It being off center would have drawn my eye every time!  All the other “personalizations” are still there :)   I’ve stitched all of our initials - I mulled over several name options, but none seemed right until I hit on this yesterday afternoon.

Challenge Stats:

• Book Challenge:  3/25 Complete
• Project Challenge: 1/25 Complete

K & I saw XMen Origins: Wolverine last night.  I found it quite entertaining.  K quibbled about a few plot points, but then she has *far* more knowledge of the XMen universe than I do.  I loved Wade (of course, I admit to being a Ryan Reynolds fan) and Gambit (great character) and thought the story skirted the line on interaction with the rest of the XMen movies.  Any more would have been pushing it greatly, in my opinion.  It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes next.

Erin picked this up and it got me thinking.  My May is going to be crazy at work, so how can I assure myself even five minutes each day to focus on something relaxing?  Erin is planning to read, but as I do that pretty much everyday anyway, I thought that would be far too easy.  Same for stitching - maybe not every day, but at least 75% of the time.  It’s also not exactly a five-minute activity, unless I set aside a specific project that is very easy to pick up and put down.

For Every Day this May, I’ll knit.  I’ve been out of the habit of picking up needles for a few stitches here and there and I have more than enough projects that I can truly pick up for five minutes each day and make measurable progress over a few days.  I’m good so far this month and have added three rounds to a sock in progress :)  Granted, if work gets too crazy, I may drop a simple dishcloth in my laptop bag and sneak in a few stitches at lunchtime to keep me on track

First, here’s the AI Top 5 and their “Rat Pack” choices:

Kris - “The Way You Look Tonight” -  Nice job.  He’s get the good lucks and the pipes to stick around for another week.

Allison - “Someone To Watch Over Me” - Her look this week was classic and I liked it.  Her song choice - very good, though not sure there is a Rat Pack-era song that I’d have questioned.  Nice performance, but nothing spectacular.

Matt - “My Funny Valentine” - Meh.  Of course, I’ve never heard a version of that song that I like.

Danny - “Come Rain, Come Shine” - Great job!!  This is the Danny I’ve been waiting all these weeks to see

Adam - “Feeling Good” - Simply in a different class than all the others.  Loved it!!!

Danger: Matt & Allison

My Vote: No voting this week as I didn’t get home in time to watch and vote :(  But I would have sent votes for both Adam and Danny this week.

Challenge Update:

If I’d had a *normal* work week I’d have a stitching finish.   This weekend, maybe.

I’d also have a couple more books read.  As it is, I did manage to get Lover Avenged on Kindle this week so no more unplanned purchases.  I’m holding off to start it this weekend since I know I won’t stop once I start!

Other Craziness:

Work is nuts.  Huge new project is kicking off that will take over my life (potentially) for the next couple years.  Still balancing the 14 other projects I still have…..

Idol Thoughts

This week was devoted to disco.

Matt Giraud -Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” - After last week’s historic “save” I don’t think Matt has done himself any favors here.  It was just… messy.

Lil Rounds -  Chaka Khan “I’m Every Woman” - Again, another chance for Lil to do something unique and personal and she didn’t take advantage.  And what is this arguing with the judges?  If it looks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it’s karaoke.

Kris Allen - Donna Summer “She Works Hard for the Money” - Oh my.  For the first time I have to say I really liked Kris’ performance!  He’s established himself as the dark horse in the competition (in my opinion, at least).

Anoop Desai - Donna Summer “Dim All the Lights” - Meh.

Danny Gokey - Earth, Wind & Fire “September” - Again, he just sounds the same and gives the same performance as the last couple weeks.  I do think he’ll make it to the finals, but I just don’t see him winning it all.

Allison Iraheta - Donna Summer “Hot Stuff” -Whoever is giving this girl wardrobe and song advice should be smacked. Granted, Allison can pull of any song vocally, but why must she be in such a hurry to grow up in the subject area and wardrobe??

Adam Lambert -Bee Gees “If I Can’t Have You” - I thought it interesting that Simon expected Donna Summer.  I totally expected a Saturday Night Live tune ;)  Loved it….which I’m sure doesn’t surprise anyone that’s been reading my updates.

My vote this week: Adam (Duh)

In danger:  Lil, Anoop and Matt.   I’m kinda hoping Lil and Matt go, but any two of the three works for me.

Challenge Stats (Day 2):

• #1 - 25 Projects:  No purchases, No finishes
• #2 - 25 Books:  No purchases, No finishes

So far so good!!!