A Year In Reading 2010

I was surprised at the end of it that I managed to read 35 books this year. My crafts suffered for this, but that's for another post.

I also see that I spent most of my time in the land of unreality. Obviously an attempt to remove myself from my day to day hum-drums.

This is what I filled my brain with:

The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo, Stieg Larson

The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larson

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larson

Knit Two, Kate Jacobs

Last Night on Twisted River, John Irving

Faceless Killers, Henning Mankell

Fool, Christopher Moore

The 8th Confession, James Patterson

7th Heaven, James Patterson

Lifeguard, James Patterson

Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously, Adrienne Martini

Harvest Hunting, Yasmine Galenorn

Night World No. 1, L. J. Smith

The Return: Nightfall, L. J. Smith

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle. L. J. Smith

The Reunion: V. 3 & 4, L. J. Smith

The Fallen 1 & 2, Thomas E. Sniegoski

Wuthering Bites, Sarah Grey

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Jane Austen & Ben H. Winters

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith

Dawn of the Dreadfuls: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Steve Hockensmith

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, A. E. Moorat

Down and Dirty Viking, Sandra Hill

Viking Heat, Sandra Hill

204 Rosewood Lane, Debbie Macomber

A Hunger Like No Other, Kresley Cole

Pleasure of the Dark Prince, Kresley Cole

Dark Desires After Dark, Kresley Cole

Kiss of a Demon King, Kresley Cole

Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kresley Cole

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Kresley Cole

No Rest for the Wicked, Kresley Cole

Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean, Justin Somper

I probably enjoyed Steig Larson's books the most this year. It's a pity he passed away shortly after submitting them to the publisher. Staying with Swedish authors, Henning Mankell was also a pleasant surprise and now I need to get more of the Kurt Wallander mysteries.

John Irving. Author of World According to Garp. One the most troublesome books I've read and it still haunts me much like Metamorphosis by Kafka. I had high hopes that after 20 years, with age and maturity giving me a different view of life, that Irving would be a much better experience this time. Nope. I trudged through this as I did with Garp and thought at the very least I could say I read it.

James Patterson is becoming the Stephen King/Danielle Steele of the mystery genre. Dude, seriously, how many books do you have to publish a year to consider yourself successful? Allow us some down time between publication dates to at least savor an inkling of anticipation.

This was the year of Zombies and Vampires. I fell into the trap, managed to steer clear of pablum such as Little Women and Werewolves or Little Vampire Women. (Close call) The most enjoyable one was Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The movie rights have been secured, and that should be a fun romp. DH is reading it now, and he hardly ever picks up a hard back.

Kresley Cole and Yasemine Galenorn were most enjoyable. They have created worlds where Vampires, Werewolves, and the Fey walk amongst mortals. Junk food for the brain - and no calories! Kresley has a new book coming out next month and it's already on the Amazon Wish List! Yasemine's series is going to take a bit to acquire, but it will be worth in the end, I think.

I wanted to read more books in 2010 then I did in 2009, and I accomplished that goal by 4. We'll see what I can do in 2011.

A quick, and brief, apology

There are many of you that have received a very odd email from me from the email associated with this blog. My GMail account was hacked last week (thank you nameless ass wipe in China).

If you received one these annoyances, my apologies.

To Google - thanks for taking my blog offline for 4 days with not a peep or a note. Because the email address I use to post to this blog from my cell phone was also in my contact database, it got hit with spam. The spam-bots found it, and the site was gone.

I am happy to see it back. I will be happier when I get it moved somewhere else.

Both my GMail accounts got hacked this year - by the Chinese - and twice was enough. Oddly enough, though I am spammed to death, my Yahoo accounts have never been hacked. That is worth considering.

I will be back to posting on a regular basis shortly. I keep meaning to stop in and say hello, but there is always something else to take care of.

Take care!

We're off to the NFC Championship Playoffs!!

Let's see if this works

I've read on Blogger that I can post to my blog via the iPhone. If
that's true, then I will have a new post on the blog!

Sent from my iPhone

Tales from The City

There is something about San Francisco. I'm taking a moment to just enjoy the sites and sounds. I'm leaning against a planter on California, and there are two cable cars in front of me. I never noticed that the rails make noise when they vibrate. There almost seems to be a rythem to them, almost musical.

Now that my business is done, time to explore.

Observations of the Day

I had to go into the City today, which meant taking BART. For those outside NoCal, that's San Francisco and the commuter train.

It's been awhile since I went to the City, the Financial District to be exact. Probably a year or more. So, as I'm listening to Queen on the iPhone and trying to read a technical manual, I start noticing things.

As we're passing through West Oakland, and a train passes going the other way, with the cranes and containers and rail yards, I could just as easily be in an East Coast city. There is probably someone back East looking out the window on their train and thinking something similar and that just seems weird.

There is a young woman across from me that is studying the ends of her hair and constantly fiddling with her earbuds.

The guy directly in front of me is on his iPhone and finds something on it hella funny. His fingers are moving much faster than mine.

The older gentleman is trying desperately to stay awake. No luck. Same goes for about 3 other people within my line of site.

My station is coming up. Better go.

United Spiral Pipe Dedication Ceremony

This is the place that I have been contracting this year. The plant went live yesterday. It was a wonderful ceremony and we got some great press. Here is the link from abc7news.com:

New factory creates Bay Area jobs
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7096837

And for a little background and clarification:

http://www.reliableplant.com/article.aspx?articleid=20969

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/03/BUTN1AE427.DTL&feed=rss.news

you don't see one of these everyday

Just when I start to think that my beast is getting old, I see something like this....



A 1973 Datsun 610 - parked across the street from my house. It looked pretty good, considering it's 36 years old! Seeing old Japanese imports warms the cockles of my heart.

It's a beautiful day.....

I feel like singing. I thought I would be up all night waiting for the outcome, but they called it as soon as the California polls closed, 'cause we're it. We took him over the top.

Now, Alex Ross is the bomb.....

...but the President Elect is fierce! I've been feeling a little funny today. Couldn't quite put my finger on it. Oh, wait, that's what hope feels like. I'd forgotten.

This was a San Diego Comic Con exclusive. Go check out the story and see another great print called Bush Sucking Democracy Dry.

I seem to have an earworm today. Anyone remember the theme from Mighty Mouse? Great, now I can't Andy Kaufman out of my head.

In the sky

As I have done many nights this summer, I went out to do some star gazing. This is the first summer in years that I haven't driven to Southern California to see my mother. It's usually on these drives that I get to do some star gazing. The one I always look for is Orion. Sadly, it has eluded me all summer, until tonight.

Orion, the Hunter, is the first constellation that my father taught me. Ever since my Dad passed away, oddly, it has been the first constellation that I usually noticed when I would be out at night and the sky was clear. For a while after he passed, it gave me the feeling that Dad was looking down on me and that everything would be ok.

This summer has been a time of change for me. I guess you could say that I've been hunting for answers, and many times the answers eluded me, much like Orion has this summer. Seeing it tonight was almost a relief. For me it was a sign that things are going to get back on track again.

I've also missed Dad quite a bit over the last few months. There are some things that have happened recently that I would have wanted to talk to him about. Questions that will have to go unanswered. Also, for the first time really, there is something that has happened that I really can't be open to talk about, because of the impact, good and bad, it will have on those I love. That bothers me quite a bit.

For those of you that have been stopping by for a while, you know that I am pretty open about my thoughts. I can't be this time. It's placed me in a position to understand how some things are better left unsaid. Overall, the situation has opened some doors for me to explore different aspects of my life, at the same time having to keep other doors closed. I'm not used to that.

I've gotten to know some different people, and I look forward to the prospect of deeper understanding and mutual growth. The unknown can be scary though.

This is part of the reason that my posts have been so sporadic and not very deep. I retract, become introspective, and isolate myself when I'm feeling especially vulnerable. I'm sure many of you do the same. My self imposed hermitage is hopefully coming to an end.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to those who have been posting comments. The recognition is much appreciated.

A Wench meets a Harlot

I was pleased and surprised to find out that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was going to be withing driving range. She was doing a book signing at Copperfield Books in Santa Rosa. She is promoting her new book Free Range Knitter. Janet and Barbara, two of my knitting friends from my Wednesday night SNB were going, and I was able to tag along. We also had another knitter from Porterville join us, Jasmine. Janet offered to drive and we had a wonderful day.



This was the line outside the store waiting to get seated. I had not pre-purchased my book, so I didn't have a reserved seat, but Jasmin and Gigi from the Knitmore Girls Podcast were there, and we had attended the Cat Bordhi class together. They had an extra ticket and they gave it to me! Score! Awesome! They were recording some comments for their podcast, so I may hear myself in the podosphere.



Here is a shot of the crowd. It is hard to tell that there were close to 200 people there that day.



And here she is - the Yarn Harlot - actually reading from her book, which she says is something she hasn't done before.

She was funny and amazing and completely worth the trip to see her. She had a lot of great things to say, and many things to think about, especially how knitting is perceived in the bigger world. For all the work that we do, and the level of expertise we achieve, it's still viewed as a hobby and not an art form. One of the many reasons that knitting, and it my mind most of the other hand crafts, is not taken seriously.

She also said that the knitters she meets are some of the most amazing, smart and creative women that she has known. I would have to agree.

After waiting in line for what seemed forever to get my book signed, I also got this picture, thanks to Barbara:



Proof I met the Harlot. Her t-shirt says "I'm kind of a knitting Superhero. I want to be her when I grow up.

I can also be seen in a picture she took at Copperfield and it's on her blog for October 6th. Imagine, I'm on the Yarn Harlot's blog, along with several hundred others!

I hope I can see her again someday. If you have the chance to meet her - do it!

The Cat Bordhi Experience

The shop owner of my local yarn shop is Marianne of Yarn Boutique. She also attends the same weekly SNB I go to. She suggested, rather convincingly, that I should go to the sock class that she had arranged with Cat Bordhi. It's been years (5+) since I took a full day class, and I thought what could I learn about socks, having knit in excess of 60 pairs at this point.

Guess what? I learned something.

I have had Cat's book New Pathways for Sock Knitters since it was published. Have I tried to knit one of the patterns? No. It seemed overly involved, and I don't knit socks to think. I brought the book, some supplies and an open mind.

I learned 3 new things that will make my life easier: heel turns, a new cast on method and different ways to bind off for a looser edge.

Was it worth it? Oh, yes.

Am I thankful to Marianne for coaxing me? Definitely.

This is what I accomplished during the class:



A lovely pair of baby socks that someday will have some use!

I learned more from Cat in a few hours than I thought possible and her teaching style is warm and open and giving. She is a remarkable individual and I hope that I can spend some time with her again in the future.

Next weekend - the Yarnharlot!

A quick update

Hello everyone!

It's been busy around here. I've been trying to build my insurance business and it has become a slow, painful process. The economy makes it more difficult for some people justifying adding costs to their monthly budgets. And if you haven't paid for health insurance for awhile, it makes it more challenging. I keep plugging away, though.

My best friend and his daughter visited us last weekend, which was unexpected but still a wonderful experience all in all. There are too few occasions we have to just hang out and enjoy each others company. This is one of the few regrets I have in moving to Northern California - those that I consider to be my close friends are all in Southern California. Will we move back down there? Probably not. As much as I miss Orange County, I can't imagine living there again.

So, what else I have I been up to? I got my first kill in YarnSmackDown. I have a pair of socks that I need to finish, but I'm not as motivated as I have been in the past. I have been spending more time developing knitting patterns. I love the creative outlet, and I have been working on putting some of my hat patterns to paper. I should have a set of 4 ready for next week. Two of the patterns are those that I have used for charity knitting in the past and I'm using Rowan Felted Tweed, which makes a great warm, lightweight hat. When they're ready, I will post it on the website and provide a link.

Tonight I am heading back to the OC for a small scale 25 year high school reunion. I probably wouldn't be going if it were not for my friend Chris (the same one who was here last weekend). He wants to go, but doesn't want to go alone. The things to we for those we love. Of those that have RSVP'd, I remember 2. It should be interesting. I wonder if they will remember me?

That's it for now. I'm hoping to get back on track with regular blogging, because I am finding that I miss it. But there are only so many hours a day and the Olympics have been on, so there you have it.

Wasn't Michael Phelps amazing?!?! We've also been watching things like handball and table tennis. I usually like watching gymnastics, but have been disappointed by some of the judging and the rule bending done by China when it comes to the ages of a couple of their female gymnasts. It's been amazing to see a different side of China, and I do hope that I can visit there someday, as their culture and history are very interesting. Oh hell, I just want to travel. Anyone want to give me a couple tickets to anywhere?

See you soon!

I'm Back

Did you miss me? I missed you!

Fair warning, this is going to be a long ass post, so I would suggest getting your beverage of choice. Mine is a spiked Arnold Palmer (Smirnoff Citrus Twist, Lemonade and Tea – yum). I’ll wait while you get it.

(insert Final Jeopardy music here)

Ready?

It’s been a bit crazy over the last few weeks. I was also feeling some burnout trying to post to the blog everyday. I had a good run. Part of it was thinking of interesting things to write when my life has been less than interesting. Times are tough, and we’ve been feeling it.

Kevin had an out patient surgical procedure a couple of weeks ago. Prognosis good, and he’s fine and went back to work within a few days. I have also been working diligently building my insurance business with mixed results. This has been very frustrating, yet I persevere.

I am excited about something that I’ve been thinking about a while. Earlier this year, I secured the domain www.solslett.com. I lost Venka.com a few years ago to a toner company in England, which sucked. So what to do with a website? Go look. I’ll wait.

(insert orchestra piece, something along the lines of Disney)

Well? Yeah, it’s still rough and needs some work, but I’m going to publish knitting patterns. My sister-in-law and I are also going to add some of our more expressive photography for those that may be interested in purchasing them for their home or office. I’m still working out the legal aspects, but I remain positive that this will be a successful venture. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

I have been working on writing up patterns. I have a sock pattern called With A Twist, which is a ribbed sock, and fits quite nicely. I also completed a pattern for a wash cloth called Lattice & Columns. Then there are the sleeping masks I made for my life sensitive, desperate to sleep in on the weekends, husband. Last is the Summer Fling Bag.

I have also been working on a line of patterns called Eco Clever Crafting. One of the patterns ready to go has a Eco Clever Crafting tip! Since I’m severely cash strapped right now, I cannot justify spending any money on craft supplies. My solution – thrift stores and Charities such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

The Salvation Army has a half off sale the last day of the month. I found a number of good “fiber” sweaters that I am going to unravel, wash and create. A 100% wool sweater in a men’s large was had for only $1.50. Yes, there is work involved, but the sweater was new and a good, workable color. I picked up a few more sweaters with different fiber profiles. I also picked up some old handbags. Purse handles are sometimes quite expensive, and if I can get a bag with interesting handles for a $1 or $2, then why not. It’s a new twist on the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle philosophy. I’m thinking of creating patterns for a shawl, a shopping bag, a laptop case and a few other goodies. Stay tuned.

So, what else is going on……

There was a family reunion in Norway weekend before last. I wasn’t there, obviously. Either was my mom – it was her family. We were both a little emotional about the whole thing. What came out of it was a surprise – cousins that I haven’t seen in years, and spouses I have never met – have been reaching out to me through email and of all things Facebook! I only signed up for that as a lark and never thought it would come to anything. It’s been amazing and wonderful and awesome! I have intermittent contact with two of my aunts, but that’s been it for years. My cousins have told me that Mom and I were spoken of often throughout the weekend and we were very much missed. Now that they know how to reach me, they will keep in contact. How cool is that?

Speaking of cool – we headed down to Los Angeles last weekend. Spent the weekend with our extended family – our wonderful friends. This past weekend at the Hollywood Bowl, Eric Idle of Monty Python fame presented his new project Not the Messiah (He’s a very naughty boy), “a comic oratorio inspired by Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. Billed as “5 soloists, choir, orchestra, 4 bagpipers and some sheep…”, it was a delightful musical romp through the movie. My friend Tammi and I thought it would be fun if we all dressed for the evening, similar to what we did last time we were at the Hollywood Bowl. That was for Rocky Horror, and a much different crowd. Many people thought we were part of the production, and we were the ONLY ones that dressed for the evening. I went as far as to make 3 caftans and a couple of vests which Kevin and our friends Chris and Damon wore for the evening. Tammi brought some costumes from a theater she works for. I have created a Webshots album with the pictures Tammi and I took. Go take a look at us crazy people.


Not the Messiah


We stood out. I typically avoid such situations. This was fun and the vodka didn’t hurt either. The one that looks like he’s drunk – he’s a goof. That’s Damon. My mother l-o-v-e-s him. Damon being Damon loves attention, is very charming and v-e-r-y friendly. But that’s how he endears himself to people and we love him the way he is. It’s never boring with Damon around. We also came up with (I should say Kevin came up with) a gesture to remind us of the evening. Most of you would be familiar with "jazz hands". This is also used as sign language for applause. Well, because we are a little twisted, we employed "crucifiction hands". I know, I know. Blame it on the alcohol.



This would be my hubby, who grew his beard out just for this weekend, and my BFF Chris. The guy cut off on the left is Damon. Chris got on a plane the next day with his daughter and is now in Hawaii playing beach bum. I send a raspberry in his general direction. He better take lots of cool pictures with that new Nikon of his.

What else…..

I think I will end with some brief comments…

Brett Favre is a drama queen – but I would love it if he played for the Vikings. I would like to be proud of them again. 20+ years of disappointment is hard to live with. Go Vikes! Kick Seattle’s ass this Friday. To the Hall of Fame selection committee - when the hell are you going to nominate Cris Carter? 8 Pro Bowl selections, 3 times All Pro, NFL's 1990 All-Decade Team, 1100 receptions, nearly 14000 receiving yards and 130 touchdowns isn't good enough? Shesh.

Paris Hilton – I don’t hate her anymore. Her “response” ad to McCain’s Obama Celebrity bash was hilarious!

McCain – I liked you in 2000. I could have voted for that McCain. Not so much anymore. Can we hear what you will do – a consistent message that doesn’t change for a week or so – instead of what Obama knows/doesn’t know/lies about/doesn’t have experience with? What happened to the Straight Talk Express?

Obama – specifics please. No more race baiting. Yes, the Republican smear campaign will do its worst. It’s what they do. I would hope that you would take the high road.

Clinton – I love you Bill and would vote for you again in a minute, but quit being such a whiny drama queen. “No one is ready to be President” my ass. Were you back when you took the oath? Way to go in supporting the party.

Democrats – what the hell? 7% approval rating isn’t enough to wake your asses up? You CAN’T blame it all on Bush and Republicans. Get a clue. We the People are fed up with your partisan crap and continuing to flush the country down the toilet. There have been so many incidents of corruption and illegal activity in this administration, it makes Nixon’s actions petty in retrospect. Also, I have a simple suggestion. Close the damn Enron loophole and take speculation out of the energy market. How many more hearings do you have to have, how many people have to tell you that this loophole can easily be closed and should be? Are you people deaf or just dumb?

China & the Olympics – The OCC made a huge mistake granting these summer games to China. Of course, since they own us we can’t protest too much. Bush has zero pull, and every request he has made has been denied. He wanted to go to an underground church on Sunday – nope. He wanted to give a speech a la Reagan at the Berlin wall – hell no. There were other examples, but these stood out to me. Bush thought he could give a speech in a public square – in China? Pushing for that positive legacy thing can be tough. We can’t get China’s support in Darfur. What on earth makes anyone think we can change how they treat their own people within their borders? Two words – Free Tibet!

Wow, didn’t realize I had that much of a rant in me tonight. I’ve typed almost 1500 words. That’s an essay. Good thing I’m not being graded. Am I?

I don’t know if I’ll get back to posting every day, but I won’t go almost a month without a reason. I missed this more than I thought.

I’m out of beverage and I need to load this.

Again – thanks to those that reached out to me and posted comments during my absence. As always, it was much appreciated and much welcomed. Looking forward to your comments in the future!

Take care and I’ll see you soon.

4th of July

Thank you to all of the firefighters from near and far that are helping with the crews in the Sierra Foothills, Big Sur and Redding fires. Many have given up their holidays with family to give their assistance. We are deeply grateful for your sacrifice.

And to all those serving in the armed forces, I thank you for your service. May you all be granted a safe return to your loved ones.

Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

Sunday Quotes

It's taken me a couple of days to digest the loss of Tim Russert. I had started watching Meet the Press again a few months ago. I thought he was a good journalist, someone who looked out for the rest of us. He was a lonely voice in the wilderness. He was one-of-a-kind.

Thank you for all that you did, and the gauntlet you put down for others to challenge. We'll miss you, Tim.

New Beginnings

I started training for my new job today. I'm a little nervous and slightly apprehensive, but it's something I need to do. My job search has been lackluster at best, and you can only send out so many resumes and not get a SINGLE response before you say quit.

I guess I'm just worried about the fact that I'm going into a pure sales job for now, and I haven't done that before. It's the fear of the unknown.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Also, worth noting, I received my 2500th hit today on the blog. I added the counter last November. It's kind of cool to see that people come to the blog, even if they don't leave any comments. And for those of you who do leave comments - thank you. Really. A most sincere, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

No Favorite's Today

So, I've mentioned this whole cramming thing, and that I would be taking a State licensing test today. I did - this morning - with all of 4 hours sleep and less than a week to study. There were 150 questions. After an hour and twenty minutes all of the questions were answered, and I never go back and check. Ever. If I change it, it will be wrong. At least now everything is computerized. No more scantrons. No more waiting 3-4 days to check to see if you screwed up. We are truly in a digital society. Immediate gratification. I passed.

No one is more surprised than me.

I will never put myself through that again. I say that now, of course. Not me, the Queen of Procrastination and Ms. "I work best under pressure". If I didn't have stress, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

I actually passed.

Ha!

Memorable Moments

There are few times that you get to see this view.



Taken from the Bank of the West building in San Francisco. Pity my reflection popped up. I thought I had adjusted sufficiently. I was waiting for a follow up session after having passed the first stage of interviews and testing with a financial planning company. Seriously, if you had a camera and saw this view, wouldn't you want to take a picture of it?

Saturday Night Movie

I regret that with all good intention, there is no Saturday Night Movie this week. We went to an REM concert tonight, and youtube.com will not cooperate and let my post my snippet. Poop. Sorry.

So, here are a couple of pictures. They had two opening acts, and we missed the first one. This picture is of Modest Mouse.



They were ok - must be that I'm getting old. The picture does show the stage at the venue, which was the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley, donated by William Randolph Hearst in 1903, I think. Very cool, except for the concrete seats.

Here is REM.



For the distance and the lighting, it's a little crappy, but at least I can say we were there.

The videos were ok, considering I took them with our Canon Powershot, which is a 6 megapixel camera. If only I could have snuck in the video camera. Oh well.