If You Can't Live By the Sea ...

One of joys of blogging is seeing other bloggers' photos of their trips to the ocean. I love the ocean, the waves crashing on the sand, the whitecaps racing to the shore, the shifting colors. But Wisconsin is a long way from anything that could be called a "sea."

I think that sometimes I am subconsciously drawn to things that have echos of the ocean, like the yarn I chose for this Shredded Cowl.

I LOVE this color, but as I near the end, I'm wondering what I think I'm going to wear it with. I tend more toward black/grays than blues. But I'm going to have to find something to wear this with. I want to keep it.

And this novel is all about the mysteries of the ocean.

I have laughed out loud many times at the wit of the narrator, a smart but snarky MBA type from California whose honeymoon in the Carribean takes a number of unexpected turns. Now, I need to say that I don't like magical realism, and despite the presence of mermaids, this novel stays largely out of that territory. The mer-plot is handled deftly and does not require too much suspension of disbelief.

Don't forget to see what everyone else is crafting and reading over at Small Things' Yarn Along.

Success in Knitting and Reading

I just zipped through the Shredded Cowl, which is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Knit-Purl magazine and I just love it. I will have to do an FO picture later. While this photo makes the yarn look purple, it's really a burgundy red.

This is a easy project that knits up fast. The downside? Each one of the 19 i-cords has two ends that must be woven in. I didn't mind. I am sure I'll be making more of these. Oh, and it looks great on, too.

Finally, after three months, I finished Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. I mostly listened to it on an Audible recording, but I got the book out of the library so I could go back and check things I had forgotten or was confused about. Yes, I listened to all 36 hours! It is a very good book, but also very depressing. I didn't think I could get more cynical about politics, but I was wrong. Nixon was a masterful politician, but he was a horrible man who refused to end the Vietnam War because he thought he couldn't be elected without it. At any rate, I'm actually considering listening to another one of his books. Really, it was that good -- if you love history and politics, that is.

I am about halfway through Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones. It's very interesting, but I hate the way it is structured. The narrative jumps from person to person and issue to issue and then comes back to those people and issues at later points. I've given up on keeping track of the people he uses to tell the story. Somehow, though, it's still quite readable.

You might remember the cupcakes I baked all day in the heat Saturday. Totally worth it! Here are the beautiful bride and groom:

I've known Ilana since she was in utero and I am so moved by the the strong, loving woman that fiesty little girl grew into. Her mom put together an amazing celebration that went from 1 to 10 p.m., starting in a park and ending with a buffet dinner.  I just hope my daughter doesn't think I'm ever throwing a 9-hour party! It was a moving event. These are the moments that make all those years of worry and carpooling and laughing arguing worthwhile.

Don't forget to join Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.

I Already Need A Break!

After just three days of school, I really need this three-day weekend. Nothing terrible happened, but spending 7 hours a day with middle-schoolers in 90-degree weather and no air conditioning is exhausting! It was an unusually busy first week. I got three new students on the first day alone -- and more will trickle in. We are getting lots of students from Chicago; I suspect that families are fleeing the increasing violence there.

So, I started this morning with a short bike ride to a cafe to have coffee and knitting with my friend Marsha. The rest of the day is devoted to cleaning and making these:

These are the yet-to-be-frosted Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes that I'm making for a wedding picnic tomorrow. Ilana, the bride, loves these cupcakes, so I'm making 80. (The recipe is from the book Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor. It's my favorite cupcake book.) I'm cleaning because at 8 p.m. I will be hosting Selichot, one of the services that precedes the Jewish High Holy Days.

Thank goodness we have a window AC unit in the kitchen as it's another hot day!

I have feet issues so I have to take regular sitting breaks, which almost always involve knitting. At some point today, I'm going to cast on for the cowl on the cover of the latest Knit-Purl magazine. I'm using Rios, but in a different colorway. It looks like a pretty fast knit.

I hope that no one else is suffering in this heat.