Homesprout

Yarn Along Wednesday

This week, I'm on to new reading and knitting.  I'm almost finished with a baby sweater I've been knitting for a friend of mine.  It's actually an overdue present, but I over estimated my ability to knit quickly.  I just have a sleeve to add, and some ends to weave in, and it will be finished!  I'd really like her to be able to wear it before she outgrows the darn thing.  

I'm also on to some new reading for the garden.  This week, I just started Teaming with Microbes.  I've always been interested in enriching the soil of my garden, and creating a healthier micro ecosystem in my yard.  This book provides the methods to create rich soil, and the science behind those methods.  It would be a great book to use with middle schoolers studying biology.  It even discusses how to count the microbe in a soil sample.  Over spring break next week, I plan to delve into the text more fully. 

I'm joining Ginny's yarn along this week.  I link in the morning, but I don't get a chance to comment until the afternoon .  Please, if you stop by, say hi!

Yarn Along Wednesday

I haven't been able to complete much knitting in the past week.  My left hand developed a bit of a strain from over use, and I tried to rest it over the weekend. Still, it was difficult to keep my fingers from the knitting needles.  

I finished my first mitten, and I've just barely started the second.  It's always so difficult to start that second sock, or in this case, the second mitten.  My right hand was feeling neglected and cold on the drive to work today, so I'll attempt to focus on it over the weekend.  I also decided to cast on an adorable hat pattern.  I've already made a few mistakes, so I fear I'll be starting over, but I just love the way the colors are knitting up.  I took this picture late in the evening, so the colors aren't very accurate.  In real life, it's a combination of pretty purples, greens and blues.  I'm usually not drawn to multicolored yarn, but these colors are so muted, they blend together naturally.  

I was also finally able to get a hold of a copy of Nourishing Traditions.  This is probably the most cited cook book I see on the interwebs, so I'm really excited to delve in.  This book is on-loan from the library, but I can already tell that we'll be buying a copy in the near future.   

I've linked up with Ginny's yarn along.

Yarn Along Wednesday

I decided to start linking to small things' yarn-a-long on Wednesdays. I'm almost always knitting and reading, and this way I'll show you some of my projects in progress, instead of just showing them when they're finished.

I'm just about done with a raglan sweater for myself. Nothing fancy, I decided I just wanted a really warm sweater that I could throw on in the evenings and on weekends. We keep our house quite cool during the winter months, and a wool pullover sweater can be really handy. The pattern is a hack of a knitchick2's hack of a sweater on ravelry. I'll share more details when it's finished.

Lately I've been reading a bit of Coop. I haven't made my way into the book too much to encounter trials and tribulations, but thus far it's been good. The author has a writing style that reminds me of Jenna. I think linking with the yarn a long will help to keep me reading at a steadier pace.

What have you been reading and knitting? Please leave a comment below, and I'll check out your latest efforts...

Gifts Received

I found it a quite funny that I'm following up a post about homemade gifts with some gifts I received for Christmas that were definitively not homemade.  Two, the knome and the dibble, were handmade, just not by us.  

My husband is fabulous at gift giving, and I'm alway quite delighted to see what he has chosen for me.  I don't know if you can tell, but he knows me really well.  We've been trying to utilize the library more for our fiction, but I still am willing to purchase a good reference book.  Earlier this year, I purchased the River Cottage Bread book.  I found it to be an awesome source for bread recipes, so I now have the Veg book also.  The only issue I found with this book is that it's "Britishness," while quite charming, can also be confusing for a reference book.  

My new kntting book contains patterns for a bunch of pretty sweaters.  We'll see how many more I can knit before winter is through.  I picked this one in particular because many of the patterns are from Cecily MacDonald.  I've completed enough patterns of hers to know how our gage differs, and I really like her designs.  

I also received a couple of books about home preservation (of course).  Both Tart and Sweet, and Wild Fermentation look like they hold many possibilities for the new year.  

The dibble provides and easy and convenient way to plant seeds!  Each notch measures out an inch, and while measuring, it make an automatic hole.  As I've developed a bit of attachment to cute garden objects, my new knome will be making his home in the garden this spring.  

What was your favorite gift this year?  

Books 5 and 6: The Dirty Life and the The Wilder Life

I read both of these books earlier this summer, but I've neglected to blog about them until now.  The Dirty Life was quickly devoured at the very end of this past school year on a bus ride to and from NYC with a bunch of eighth graders.  I was delighted to find out that the eighth graders are much more quiet (and sane) than their younger counterparts. 

The Dirty Life definitely contained a story that has been told before - woman trades city life for a hard life in the country.  However, it had enough variation in it's story line to keep me interested.  Kristin Kimball, the author, accurately describes the exhaustion involved with keeping up a farm.  We can barely keep up with our garden, and I she make me realize that we'll never, ever be buying a dairy cow.  I love homemade food, but I'm not going to devote hours every day to milking.  Besides, I love getting my glass bottled milk delivered on Wednesdays.  The author and her husband came up with an interesting concept for farming.  They provide almost all of the food a family would need for one year.  The grow the vegetables, and they provide the meat, dairy and grains.  It definitely seems like a possible solution for small farmers the future.  Because I read it so quickly, I would suggest getting it from the library.  I actually read it on our ipad.  It was an impulse purchase the night before the trip because I realized I had nothing to read.  It was definitely a necessity at that moment.

The other book I read recently is titled The Wilder Life, by Wendy McClure.  This book falls under the category of "why didn't I think of that!"  The author decides to revisit her love of Laura Ingalls Wilder, from her youth.  She makes pilgrimages to all of the "Laura" destinations, and she learns that Laura's real life was much different than the one depicted in the books.  She hints at much of the history that Laura and her daughter Rose lived, but I would have liked to have seen more detail.  Perhaps this is because I'm a history teacher; however, I love social history, the type of history that delves into the small details of peoples everyday lives. 

The funniest section of the book was when Wendy and her husband decided to visit a homesteading retreat because the farm life described reminds her of Laura's time.  Wendy and her husband quickly find out that many of the people at the retreat think the world is soon coming to an end.  They're learning homestead skills for the post-apocalyptic world.  This section made me giggle several times because I could definitely see my husband getting roped into a similar venture. This book I purchased, and I'm glad I did.  I'll be handiing it over to my future daughter when she's done reading all of the Little House books.  

What have you been reading lately?  Is there something I should put on my list?

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*If you've visited the blog in the past few days, you may have noticed that it's been looking a bit wonky.  I've been updating settings, and I had to call in some professional help.  It's now looking a lot better, but I may be changing it a bit more in the next few days.  I'll let you know when it's all set.  Also,  I've added some new links to my accounts on flickr, ravelry, pinterest, and twitter.  I'd love to have some new friends, so feel free to stop by and friend me. 

Also, if you're wondering where I was for the past few days, I was working on our business website, facebook page, and blog.  We've been busy this summer with new weddings, and I had to update all three.  We love new fans, so feel free to check us out there also. 

"Ye Olde Kitchen Garden" - from the New York Times

    I found this article in the New York Times yesterday.  It talks about several vegetables and herbs that were used by the Plimoth settlers that have since faded from use.  So interesting!  Of course, I had to add burnet and smallage to the list of plants I'd like to grow. I love finding out the history of each vegetable and herb I grow.  It's just another reason to grow heirloom plants. 

    I wish I could attend one of the workshops this summer, but we're going to be in Pittsburgh that week.  Plimoth is definitely a trip I need to take with my husband.  I've been there with students, but I really didn't have time to explore.  If you haven't been there, the people in the village pretend they're from the time period, and won't talk to you in a modern way.  It definitely would have been a dream job of mine if I had lived closer.  It's a pretty dorky dream job. 

What's your dorky dream job?  Do you have one?

Books 3 and 4: A Town Like Alice and Bossypants

 

   In between my spring history reading, I was able to sneak in a few books.  The first book I picked up was A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Schute.  The Borders was closing in our town, and I was able to get it for 40% off.  I really only picked the book because I liked the cover.  Then, later, I found that it was on one of those "the best books of the last century" lists.  Who knew?  Essentially, it tells the story of a woman who was a prisoner-of-war during World War II.  It was based on a true story of several women who were forced to march around Sumatra by Japanese soldiers.  Honestly, it read like two books that were slapped together.  The first book, which takes place during the war, was incredibly engaging, and I read it in about a week.  The second half of the story takes place after the war, and it dragged on for a good month.   The main character ends up moving to Australia, and for some reason, it reads like a grocery list.  Not even a good grocery list; it reads like a grocery list of processed foods.  Therefore, if you see this book hanging around the library, feel free to pick it up, and then return it after you complete the first half. 

  The second book, Bossypants, by Tina Fey, I admittedly bought during an Amazon shopping blitz.  I like Tina Fey, and Liz Lemon makes me giggle (I loved it when she was the Princess Leia juror).  The book was an easy read, and I finished it within a few days.   It was lovely, however, definitely could have talked about a bit more of her life.  She spent too much of the book dicussing more recent events, when I would have liked to have read more about her life as Second City, or how she met her husband.  She jumps from talking about her lackluster love life, to instantly being married. 

  Now that I'm done with the endless history reading I had to complete, I hope to devote more time to the books I would like to read!  With 4 books down, and 46 to go, I have some catching up to do!

Book 2 - World Made by Hand

So I finally finished my second book for 2011.  I picked up a book that's been hanging around my house for a couple of years.  My Mom had lent this book to me merely because it take place in the town where I work.  She neglected to mention that it's an apocalyptic story.  The book is called World Made by Hand, by James Howard Kunstler.  It's quite amazing and odd to read about the apocalypse happening in your own town.  Kunstler imagines the world after a series of bombings in major US cities.  Those bombings cause the collapse of the US government.  Trade and communication between cities and town comes to a halt.  There is no more oil, electricity, or even sugar.  As the story built, and as he made reference to places and people, it was very easy to imagine the plot.  The story was ever more creepy because it was so easy to relate to.  It  was very easy to read, and I finished the book quickly. 

Unfortunately, I had some issues that confronted me as I made my way through the tale.  For one, I found it troubling how the protagonist described Union Grove (the fictional name for Greenwich) as so completely transformed after the collapse of a greater infrastructure.  He made it seem as though no one had seen a vegetable before they found it necessary to grow them.  Teaching in Greenwich, I can tell you that many of my students have vast gardens, and quite a few have animals also.  Further, the story itself ends rather quickly.  There's some supernatural stuff thrown in at the end, and it seems as though the plot just ends abruptly.  It was as though he had a great start of a story, and didn't really think about the end until he was there.  

If you're thinking about reading this book, I'd suggest picking it up at the library.  I definitely think differently about our energy use as a result of reading this book.  On the other hand, the fictional aspect of this book left much to be desired, especially if one was not from this area.   

Book 1: The Long Song

 
One of the goals I set for myself this year was to read 50 books.  About a week after I set this goal, I realized that I was expecting myself to read a book a week.  Ah!  The first book I picked to read was actually a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  She always picks a book from the New York Times Notable book list.  (Honesty, it's my suggestion that she pick from this list, and she is nice enough to oblige). 

The book she picked is titled The Long Song, and it was written by Andrea Levy.  It take place in Jamaica in the 1840s, during the time when Britain decided to end slavery throughout it's colonial empire.  I actually read about this topic in college, so I had some background knowledge before starting this story. The main character is a slave "Miss July," who is the daughter of a white overseer and a black slave.  The story moved along rather well, but it didn't grip me until more than midway through the book.  I found the story interesting, but it just didn't compell me to read it.  It portrays Jamaican slavery with all of its brutal honesty, and its graphic nature can be a bit overwhelming at times. Also, I've always found books with dialects a bit of an issue.  I've found that the dialect often distances me from the character. 

Overall, despite the issues I mentioned, I would recommend this book, especially if you wanted to learn more about slave life in the 1800s. 

On the Bookshelf

When I decided to read at least 50 books this year, I realized that I would be reading a book a week!  It's sad that I don't have too much time to read these days, however, it's true, I don't.  I really, really, do read, but it's generally for work.  I've read far too many history textbooks in my life.  Above are some of the books on my list.  I've read some already, others I'll be tackling soon.  I thought about whether I should consider nonfiction on my book list, but I decided to allow them in.  I was wondering if I might ask for some suggestions for all of you.  What is the last book that you've read that you could not put down?  To guide you, I generally read fiction, historical or otherwise.  I also read books like the above, and I love funny history.  I know, it's a wierd category - think Sarah Vowell.  I also love funny nonfiction, like A.J. Jacobs, or David Sedaris.

Really, if it's a book that you loved, suggest it.  I'll read stuff from just about any category.  Next week, I'll come back with my top ten list for you.