The Zen Leaf

Sunday Coffee – August Miscellanous

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Thistle

Because I was pretty much absent this past month, I thought I’d use my first Sunday Coffee in awhile to bullet up a miscellaneous post of books and life. Here’s how my month went:

Moving: This consumed most of the month. First the decision to move, then beginning the process, then having to move the date up drastically…it meant a month of construction and packing. There was a sudden flurry of activity in our house, which meant me spending a week in a hotel because I just don’t deal with chaos very well, and then a week of packing/loading/etc while the boys were in school. We had a weekend off for wedding stuff, and left on Monday the 29th. Our trip went really well, including two extremely well-behaved kitties, and we arrived mid-afternoon on Tuesday. Things have not been easy since our arrival, so we’re just trying to take things one day at a time.

Family: My sister got married last weekend! It was our family’s last evening in Texas before the move and it was wonderful to see everyone and be able to have that happy moment to share with all the family before we left.

Olympics: I mostly missed the 2012 Olympics because I was on vacation without a lot of TV access at the time. I wasn’t going to miss them this time, even if I was packing and working on the house at the same time! I took breaks from work to watch swim heats and gymnastic routines, and I had the TV on for hours at a time while I listened for events that I was interested in. I set up my packing station right in the middle of the living room so that it would be easy to multi-task. Ha!

Crochet: Most of my yarn art this month revolved around winter accessories and a few other larger projects which will be saved for later individual posts. I did, however, want to feature a project that was technically finished at the very end of July. I made this bookmark for Allie for a book swap, using embroidery thread and the tiniest hook ever. (Well, no, not the tiniest. There are smaller hooks. But still. After using larger hooks for so long, the 1.5-mm hook was just so small!) It was my first thread project and it came out really lovely. I plan to make a similar bookmark for myself when I find the time. [slightly-modified pattern from Crochet Nirvana]

Additionally, I was able to make a gift of homemade place-mats and coasters for my sister and new brother-in-law, done in their favorite colors. [Pattern via Moogly; Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream cotton]

Books: I expected books to fall to the side this month, but I ended up stress-reading quite a bit, and listening to audiobooks while I worked. I read six books total, including the phenomenal Bellweather Rhapsody, and at some point I might get to reviewing all the books I didn’t review because moving. I also participated in the above-mentioned book swap (not realizing I’d be moving partway through!). I got this lovely package from Erica before we left Texas:

She chose all my most-wanted books, and got my a mystery Harry Potter figure that turned out to be Hermione! I’ve been carrying her with me as a talisman as I deal with all this moving-related stress.

I think that’s about all for now. I’m not sure I’ll be back to blogging full-time for awhile. Things will be different while I’m living with my in-laws and with minimal stuff, plus worrying about selling a house and buying/renting a new house. My brain will likely be consumed with Other Things for a time. Hopefully I’ll be here enough to keep up with y’all a little, though!

Posted in Book Talk, Crochet, Personal | Tagged house, I made a thing., Yarn Art | 6 Comments

R.I.P. XI

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Thistle

I say it every year, and I’ll say it again: autumn is my favorite time of year, and Readers Imbibing Peril is my favorite reading event of the year. My family just barely arrived in Wisconsin two days ago, and our next few months are uncertain in terms of time (When will our house sell? When will we find a place of our own to live in? etc). I have no idea how much I’ll be able to read for RIP. However, I do know that autumn is going to be lovely around here. Midwestern autumns are my favorite, and I’ll indulge in a few spooky books whenever I can! Possibilities:

—The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud – releases mid-September and one of my highest priorities for this fall

—Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – releases late September

—The Trespasser by Tana French – releases in October, another super high priority

—The Swan Riders by Erin Bow – I’m not sure if this’ll count as a RIP read, might not be spooky enough, but we’ll see. Releases late September

—The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donahue – This might be releasing during the upcoming RIP season? It would be a perfect RIP read though, sounds like!

—Nevernight by Jay Kristoff – Might end up being a bit too gory for me, but we’ll see.

Potential rereads include: The Night Circus, Gentlemen & Players, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, City of Dark Magic, The White Devil, Lady Audley’s Secret, Jane Eyre, The Monk, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Devilish, Rebecca, Phantom of the Opera.

I definitely won’t get all those books read, but that’s a nice spread to start with. Let the festivities begin!

Thanks so much to Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings for hosting the event, and to Abigail Larson for amazing artwork!

Posted in Book Talk | Tagged lists, RIP-worthy | 9 Comments

Sunday Coffee – Changes

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Thistle

So remember last week, when I said we’d decided to move across the country? We had a plan worked out. The boys would go up at the end of this month, and Jason and I would follow in October once we got all the house projects and such finished. We’d even booked the truck for the weekend we planned to move.

Earlier this week, we received some very bad news that is not my news to share, and so I won’t discuss the details publicly. This news changes our plans heavily, because we have a much greater need to get up to Wisconsin a lot sooner than October. And so for the next two weeks, we’ll be working our butts off to finish the house, pack everything, and coordinate our move. We will all be moving up to Wisconsin at the end of this month.

Because of the much-condensed schedule, I’m taking a break from blogging for the next little while. Unlike other breaks I’ve taken in the past, which were for my sanity or when I got sick and tired of blogstuff, this is a forced break. It’s too easy for me to sit here writing and writing when I’m stressed and worried, and instead I need to be working on the house every minute I can spare. Which means no sparing minutes for blogging. This is kinda like the equivalent of putting myself on a book-buying ban. I’m on a blog-ban!

Likely I’ll be back, at least partly, around when RIP starts. Until then, though, I hope y’all have a good rest of the summer, and I apologize for not being here for posts, comments, reading your posts, etc. See y’all in a few weeks! And please wish us luck and send all the positive vibes you can our way.

Posted in Personal | Tagged house, Sunday Coffee | 6 Comments

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by Jack Thorne

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Thistle

(based on a story by JK Rowling, and in collaboration with John Tiffany)

Many years after the end of the Harry Potter series, a new story starts centered on the children of several characters of the original series. In play form.

I have mixed feelings about this play. On the one hand, it was fun to hear more about What Comes Later. I didn’t mind the epilogue of Book 7, and I liked seeing what it was like for the future generation of the wizarding world. On the other hand, there was a lot of this story that felt off. For example:

There was too much revisiting the old series, down to full-on dialogue, with a few tweaks. I would have preferred fewer scenes simply regurgitated from the books, and I would have preferred those that were revisited to be revisited faithfully, without liberties taken in dialogue.
The characterization and writing felt very not-Rowling. I won’t go into details because it would involve spoilers, but there are definitely things I never would have expected certain characters (like Voldemort) to do. I have a hard time believing it.
This doesn’t read like a play. This reads like a play that has been semi-novelized for reading purposes. I know that most people probably appreciate that, but I’ve been reading scripts on their own since my mid-teens, and would have just preferred a straight-up script.
A lot of the story was very predictable. There were a few surprises – mostly because of the liberties taken with certain characters – but mostly it was easy to predict in advance.
There were also some serious consistency issues, especially regarding some of the time-travel stuff. Again, can’t say more without spoilers.
I didn’t feel like I got to know the new characters very well at all, and I really would have liked to, especially Scorpius.

Despite all that, I did enjoy the play somewhat, especially in the second half. I just felt like it could have been so much more, and it fell short of that mark. I’m unlikely to reread the book, but at least for awhile, I plan to keep it snuggled up to the rest of my Harry Potter series.

Posted in 2016, Children's, Drama | Tagged Harry Potter, revisiting, speculative, WTF moments | 2 Comments

Sunday Coffee – Another Adventure Begins

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Thistle

The decision has been made. We are indeed moving to Wisconsin. And soon. That’s the new part. Original talks circled on prepping our house to go on the market next spring, and moving up next summer, after the boys were out of school. Jason really thought it would be easier on the boys if we moved sooner rather than later, however, and sooner it will be. (The boys agree with this decision.) As in, the boys will go up to live with their grandparents for a bit at the tail-end of August, after my sister’s wedding but before school begins on September 1st. They’ll go to school for one week here, giving them a chance to say goodbye, and then we’ll drive them up to start on time there. Jason and I will stay here to finish prepping the house to sell.

How do I feel right now? STRESSED. And RUSHED. And WORRIED. I know this is the right decision, but I’m a careful, cautious planner, and fast changes tend to ramp up my anxiety. This is the sort of place where Jason thrives, though – he’s so much better at handling on-the-moment coordination – so I’m just putting my faith in him and doing what I can to keep myself together. This involves a lot of list-making (“All the Things that Must be Done Before We Move” etc) and a lot of personal projects (mostly crochet – prepping a supply of winter clothing and using up yarn, but mostly so I have something under my control to focus on…). I’m not sure how much I’ll be reading, blogging, etc in the upcoming months, but hey, given my past habits, who knows? Maybe I’ll start posting six times a week again, just to deal with the stress!

In any case, wish us luck. We have a few weeks left before the first lot of us head northward, and a few months left until we’re full Wisconsinites. Deadline is mid-October, max, when Morrigan’s sixteenth birthday rolls around. We’re not going to miss that!

Posted in Personal | Tagged Sunday Coffee, travel | 10 Comments

Bellweather Rhapsody, by Kate Racculia

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Thistle

A dilapidated hotel. A November weekend. A pair of elfin-looking twins. A sociopath music director. A missing girl. A volatile conductor. An a cappella boy band. A legendary murder-suicide celebrating its fifteenth anniversary. A blizzard that traps everyone inside.

This book was awesome! I heard about Bellweather Rhapsody from Kristen, who had mixed feelings about the book. I put it on hold at my library, thinking I’d probably read a few pages and send it back. This was especially so after I saw on GoodReads so many mixed reviews, mostly positive, saying the book was interesting and/or weird but didn’t really come together at the end. But you know what? I have absolutely no idea what those GoodReads reviews were talking about! Everything most certainly came together, and in the best ways possible! Yeah, the book was strange, but in a good way. Everyone seems to have a different take on how to describe it, and here’s mine: this was like reading Edward Gorey, if Edward Gorey wrote novels instead of drawing graphic short stories. And personally, I adore Edward Gorey, and I loved the snot out of this book!

The writing was phenomenal. The point of view switched from person to person, section by section.** Every word felt deliberately atmospheric, without feeling like Racculia was trying too hard to get across a particular tone. I’ve read other books that read the same way: Lolita, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Notes on a Scandal, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, etc. Most of them, however, are told from first person POV, and this was third person. That made for an absolutely fascinating dynamic, where the narrator isn’t really a part of the story, but shapes the tone for the entire book.

I love tonal, atmospheric books with brilliant, unique voices. Once again, this book was AWESOME.

I kept waiting for the moment when nothing would come together and I’d be disappointed. And hey, maybe because I was waiting, because I was expecting the book to fall apart, I was pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed. Honestly, though, I don’t think it was just that. Even without the forewarning, I have a feeling I would have loved the snot out of this book no matter what. I want to hug it and read it six more times, and see it on my shelves and smile as I remember all the little details.

Now, I don’t think the book is for everyone, the same way I don’t think Edward Gorey is for everyone. Not everyone likes morbid comedy, and again I saw some reviewers talk about how the funny and the horrifying didn’t really mix. For me – a huge fan of morbid comedy and psychology and mysteries that aren’t really mysteries but are really more emotional puzzles – it all fit together seamlessly. And mixed with all the pop-culture references from the 90s, not to mention music and literature references all throughout (I grew up in a house of professional musicians), this really added up to the Perfect Book For Amanda. And as you can see, I kinda want to become a crusader for this book, shoving it into people’s hands, telling you all THAT IT WOULD BE A PERFECT SELECTION FOR WHEN RIP*** STARTS THIS SEPTEMBER, and…well, you see. It’s lovely. Please read.

**Except one bizarre section that switched twice in about a page, the only time in the book to do this, and which really annoyed me because I hate when things are out of place, though at the same time, it made my brain start traveling down other avenues of thought, questioning identities of certain characters, and while I wasn’t questioning the identities of the right characters, my thoughts had led me in the right direction for a later twist, which was very satisfying!

***Ooh, maybe I’ll see if there’s an audiobook version available to listen to for RIP! I’ll bet this could be awesome on audio, if it’s done right.

Posted in 2016, Adult, Prose | Tagged atmospheric, favorite, historical, LGBTQIA, place-character, portentous, psychology, RIP-worthy, WTF moments | 9 Comments

July Yarn Art

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Thistle

I admit: with so much construction going on this month, not to mention heat, medicine issues, the boys’ camps, Jason traveling, blah blah blah, there’s been a lot of stress, and with all the stress, I’ve coped with copious amounts of crochet. Considering the tons and tons of yarn I had sitting around, it was probably good to use some of it up. I’ve also been quite pleased with the results, and so yes, I will show them off here!

First up, I made a beanie for my good friend Natalie. I used the same pattern, from One Skein Wonders, as the beanie I made back in March. I loved that beanie so much, and Nat gets cold easily, and the colors in this particular color-changing skein reminded me of her. Ambrose is modeling the beanie above.

My mom’s birthday was in early July, so I decided to crochet some candle-holder covers for her. The boys and I went down to our local thrift store and bought jars – eight votive candle holders and two mason jars, as well as a basket to hold them all. Then I used a couple different tiny-sized yarns to make the covers. Each was unique, making up my own pattern. Some came out better than others.

This was another One Skein Wonders pattern, an asymmetrical-close bag. This was an extremely simple and quick pattern to follow. It only took a couple hours to put together, and it’s all one contiguous line, with no need to join or sew lines together. The mesh bottom of the bag is sturdy and stretchy, making the bag a perfect size for a trip to the library, a quick grocery run, an individual swim kit, or an overnight bag. On the other hand, I’m not a huge fan of the asymmetrical handle. It’s kinda cool that it slips through to close, but I’d rather have two long handles. The good news is that I had enough of this blue shiny yarn (thanks Karen!) to make another this size with two longer straps! (not pictured)

Love-bat. Story behind this one: When Ambrose turned 10, Jason and I found this bizarre stuffed pink thing that looked vaguely baseball bat shaped at the thrift store. Ambrose has always loved the feel of crocheted things, so we bought it for him. You can see, in the insert, his marvelous reaction, and he still owns and loves the item alternately known as the pink worm, pink maggot, and love-bat. I crocheted a purple love-bat to match it for his 14th birthday! At his party, he pulled out both bats and began a kind of pillow fight with them…

I have a lot of extra yarn lying around, mostly leftovers from older projects, and I wanted to start using it up. I also have a lot of yarn in general, and wanted a bag to hold a bunch of it. I’ve seen various pictures of granny-square bags around, and yarn-bags, so I decided to cobble together my own. The above is the end-result. The majority of the grannies used the pattern found on this blog, modified to add another layer for edging. Then, ironically, I joined the squares using methods not featured at that link. Ha! I learned a lot about joining and blocking on this project, and in the end, it holds probably a third of the yarn I own (yes, I own too much!). Plus, it used up 6-7 leftover skeins and a big chunk of several others. And granny squares always remind me of my maternal grandmother, so this bag makes me happy every time I see it!

The follow three pics are just further dragon-egg dice bags and tarot bags that I made throughout the month. I really like little projects like this! Very quick and satisfying.

Everything else I worked on in July is gift-related, and so I’ll save all that until after said gifts are received!

Posted in Crochet | Tagged I made a thing., lists, Yarn Art | 2 Comments

Sunday Coffee – July Belongs to Other Stuff*

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Thistle

July was not a bookish month. I read three books, which split out like this: One – listened on audio while crocheting and barely remember. Two – read quickly right after the audio and barely remember. Three – took three weeks to read despite it being simple and I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the middle of it, and then I didn’t really even like it. I’m not in a slump, not exactly, but I don’t see the non-book trend ending** before RIP season starts in a month. And honestly, this is normal for me at this time of year. Last year, when I hit an actual slump in mid-September, I wrote this:

Usually, I don’t read a whole lot in the late, super-hot summer months. I enter RIP-season full speed ahead, ripping my way (pun intended) through tons of books in September and October. I crash at the end of October, and read almost nothing in November and December.

Last year was odd for me, because I read tons and tons through July and August, crashing in mid-September. This year was more typical, with my heavy-reading months going from mid-April to mid-June. Generally, the huge reading months come after a giant influx of TBR, physical or virtual, and then I speed-read/cull my way through the pile until there’s only a tiny handful left. This leaves me without any desire to read for a few months. Coupled with extreme heat and the kids being home for the summer, this works out perfect for me. I return refreshed for RIP, which I didn’t do last year and hope to do this year!

In the meantime, I’ll keep crocheting (big yarn-art post coming tomorrow), binge-watching Downton Abbey with my boys, and counting down the days until school begins (three weeks to go!!).

*When I had Ambrose in 2002, the hospital had a display of “July is…” holidays. One of them was “July is National July Belongs to Blueberries Month” which was just bizarre but totally memorable and totally real.

**With the exception of two books: Sandlands by Rosy Thornton, her newest released that she sent to me for review. I adore Thornton’s writing, and look forward to checking out her short stories! And of course Cursed Child, which I will go pick up this morning. Sadly, I didn’t attend any release parties. I barely get enough sleep these days as it is without staying up super late… (she says at 6:30 am after being up for the last hour…)

Posted in Book Talk | Tagged Sunday Coffee | 4 Comments

Spark Joy, by Marie Kondo

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Thistle

Subtitled: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up

This is a follow-up to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which I read and loved last summer. I spent six months last year doing a giant tidy-festival, and learned a lot in the process. I was really excited about this companion book, because I knew it had a lot of extras and continuations.

In the end, though, I wish I’d gotten it from the library instead of buying it. There was very little in here that was new, and what was new contradicted my own already-established ways of following the KonMari method. Maybe if I’d read it right away, that could have helped me. As it is, I just passed over sections that taught me new ways of what I’d already learned differently through the first book, and in places where I differed, the end of the book approved anyway:

“As long as you acquire a firm grasp of the basics, then go ahead and make your own decisions, guided by what brings you joy.”

On the other hand, there was one part of the whole process last time that I kinda skipped over, and that was the whole “imagining your ideal lifestyle” bit. I did try to do that, but the thing is, my ideal lifestyle is somewhat fluid. I’ve long had in me two contrasting ideas of a perfect lifestyle, and they’ve been in conflict since I reached adulthood. I only recently realized the source of that conflict, and now have a clearer idea of which direction to go, and so I plan to revisit this section more firmly before I do my mini-tidy marathon this fall.

I wish I’d enjoyed this book more. It might have partly been my mood, but I suspect that it was the book itself. A lot of the information, and even stories, were repeats, and I didn’t find the illustrations to be particularly instructive. Ah well.

Posted in 2016, Adult, Prose | Tagged Asia, KonMari, nonfiction, POC, translation | 2 Comments

The Zen Leaf

Sunday Coffee – August Miscellanous

R.I.P. XI

Sunday Coffee – Changes

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by Jack Thorne

Top Ten Books I Read Before Blogging

Sunday Coffee – Another Adventure Begins

Bellweather Rhapsody, by Kate Racculia

July Yarn Art

Sunday Coffee – July Belongs to Other Stuff*

Spark Joy, by Marie Kondo

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