What I did on my summer vacation, part deux

Just in case you think I spent all that time foolishly reading books, I didn't. I spent it in Canaan Valley, WV. It just happened to rain a couple of the days I was there....


Despite the rain -- and a rather nasty hail storm -- we had a lovely visit to the town of Thomas where we went to the Mountain Made Artisans' Gallery and had a very good lunch at The Purple Fiddle. It may be worth it to note here that the actual town seems to be clinging for life with all it's might to the mountain side and while you may well pass through town without giving it a second glance, the people we met were all very welcoming, the food was good and I didn't really see any of the usual tacky souvenirs found in so many parts of the world.



The first it didn't rain, we visited Blackwater Falls:

The next day, my brother and I took our father up to Fairmont, where he had lived for most of his childhood. Our first stop was the former Fairmont Municipal Pool (aka the 12th St. Pool) which now belongs to the county and has been lovingly restored. My grandfather was the engineer on this project so it was nice to see that aside from some materials which needed replacing (i.e. rusty iron plumbing) it was still in very good shape.

If my dad can find it, I'll post a picture of what it looked like when it first opened in 1937.

Other places have not fared so well. The elementary school my dad went to, Butcher School, was closed many years ago and because of the usual zoning restrictions was never used for much more than storage. The brick walls are still fairly sturdy but the insides have rotted through and through and the parking lot is littered with broken beer bottles.

The high school, on the other hand, is looking very well:

The last day of our trip, we headed out of West Virginia early and had a great drive down Rt. 33 to Harrisonburg, VA where we stopped at The Virginia Quilt Museum. Now, I know Virginia should be called the "History State" and we are wont to go on about the good ol' days and you can't walk 10 paces without stumbling into a battlefield, but gosh darn it, I really enjoyed the quilt museum. Obviously I would have been in 7th heaven had they been featuring crazy quilts instead of Quaker quilts but I still enjoyed seeing what they did have. They do have Eliza Crim's crazy quilt on permanent display -- in fact, most of the quilts in the Civil War room are fascinating to look at. The most striking difference between quilts then and quilts now aside from the mechanization of their making, is the size of the blanket stitch used on appliqué. That's just something you have to see in person.

Back to work tomorrow... Not looking forward to it.

What I did on my summer vacation

OK.... so I read a few things that weren't on my "list". Big deal. I was on vacation. Plenty of time for the more serious stuff later.

Starting with Alice Kimberly's 'The Ghost and the Dead Deb' I quickly followed that with 'The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library' . Also in the line-up were Jasper Fforde's 'Well of Lost Plots' and 'Something Rotten'. Apparently not a moment too soon as the 5th book in this series is due out in July. Lastly, I read Boris Akunin's 'Special Assignments'.

All of these books were very satisfying and pretty much ran the gamut of detective fiction. Alice Kimberly's books feature film noire-like flashbacks to the 40's, Jasper Fforde sucessfully combines the genres of classic literature, science, comic and detective fiction and even manages to throw in a touch of romance. I enjoy Boris Akunin's writing as much for the setting (late 19th century Moscow) as I do for Fandorin's character - a bit like Holmes but definitely more worldly.

I wish I had a pencil thin moustache....

Finished 'The Laying on of Hands' by Alan Bennett and 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Muriel Sparks. It's only 6pm on Sunday evening and I've no Netflix for tonight. Do I start another book on my list or go for one of the mysteries I bought this afternoon from Creatures and Crooks? I've gotten hooked on Alice Kimberly's Haunted Bookshop series recently -- how can you go wrong with a small town bookshop and a ghostly gumshoe?

I'm thinking mystery. I'm in that sort of mood.

As for the books I finished reading, I quite enjoyed the story "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet". In some ways it was like my fave Alan Bennett story 'The Clothes They Stood Up In'. I notice that was not on the Big List of Books but it's definitely one of the best bits of storytelling I've read in a long time. I also liked the title story "The Laying on of Hands". It's rare these days that an author can so successfully satirize a religious person without satirizing their religion.

I'm glad I've now read 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. While I couldn't really bring myself to like any of the characters, I did like the way Muriel Spark developed their characters, revealing just a touch more in each subsequent chapter.

Stay cool -- stay inside and read.

10% Solution

So there's this challenge going on called the "1% Challenge" which looks quite intriguing. I usually read at a pace greater than 10 books in 10 months but then that's generally a steady diet of whodunnits and humourous prose (yes sir, I did spell that correctly...). Anywho, I've read the list and come up with a selection from the master list of 1001 books as well as a couple of my own. I realize the master list is strictly limited to novels but I like to break up the monotony with a couple of short story collections. Here goes:

1) 'The Laying on of Hands' - Alan Bennett
2) 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' - Muriel Spark
3) 'Absalom, Absalom!' - William Faulkner
4) 'Queen of the South' - Arturo Pérez-Reverte
5) 'The Poisonwood Bible' - Barbara Kingsolver
6) 'A Town Like Alice' - Nevil Shute
7) 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' - Gabiel Garcia Márquez
8) 'The Golden Lads' - Daphne du Maurier
9) 'Crime and Punishment' - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
10) 'The Tale of Genji' - Murasaki Shikibu

However, I understand there is a new Paddington book coming out so I might have to squeeze that in over something on my list.

Keep your sandwiches safe and your cocoa hot... it's going to be a good summer for reading.

In a Jane Austen sort of mood....

Take the Quiz here!

Walk Out to Winter

Walk out to winter, swear I'll be there.

Chill will wake you, high and dry, you'll wonder why.

Walk out to winter, swear I'll be there.

Chance is buried just below the blinding snow.

- Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera)

Happy Easter from snowy Richmond! Whodda thunk it? Every flowering plant in town is in bloom, the trees are unfurling their leaves and the air is heavy with pollen.

I hightailed it over to Maymont yesterday morning before the crowds and had the place to myself. The Japanese Garden, having the most lush growth of trees, was like a tropical rain forest only what was coming out of the trees was snow. Here are just a few pictures of how the wonderland appeared before 10am.

What I'm thinking about

Sugar plums.... etc etc.....

All I can do right now is give you a hint of what I'm working on.

I'm thinking... I'm thinking....

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Exploring

You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name.You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs. An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles.You show people how to question their models of the world.

What's" Your Thinking Style?

Old list

A little something I found while going through my hard drive:

25 Things I Appreciate Just As They Are:

1) Cold beer
2) Flannel sheets
3) A kiss
4) The sound of the tea kettle whistling
5) Casmir
6) T-shirts
7) The Outer Banks of North Carolina
8) French toast
9) Penny loafers
10) A kitten
11) Tall ships
12) homemade tomato soup
13) Crayola crayons
14) Sunsets/starry nights/full moons
15) A bubble bath
16) Violent, paralizing snowstorms....midweek
17) Potato chips and onion dip
18) A new hardcover book
19) A fire in the fireplace
20) Thunderstorms
21) Popcorn at the movies
22) Red lipstick
23) An old Bordeaux wine
24) oatmeal cookies
25) A ripe, ready-to-burst peach

What I did on my fall vacation

I just got back from visiting my cousin and her family in Superior, CO which is a tidy little community just outside of Boulder. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to have relatives in high places....


On Sunday we went hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike we took was to Alberta Falls. It was a relatively easy hike but very enjoyable and of course the scenery was gorgeous.


On Monday my cousin and I went into Boulder and did a spot of shopping at the Pearl St. Mall, an open air shopping district in the heart of Boulder.

This is the window of a shop called "Paper Doll"
.

We then met my cousin's husband for lunch at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. It was one of the most amazing buildings I've ever been in and I would highly recommend it.

Oh and before I forget, this was the view from my window. Delish!

The latest book meme

1. One book that changed your life: On the Beach by Nevil Shute

2. One book that you've read more than once:Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: The Riverside Shakespeare

4. One book that made you laugh: The Death of David Debrizzi by Paul Micou

5. One book that made you cry: On the Beach by Nevil Shute

6. One book that you wish had been written: Daddy Fix It Please?

7. One book you wish had never been written: There are several on this list - mostly religious in nature.

8. One book you're currently reading: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

9. One book you've been meaning to read: The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

You say tomayto... I say tomahto....

Last week my friend Ben brought me a tomato from his garden (shameless plug - that's Ben from "Hilltop Herbs" in Alexandria - catch him at the Clarendon Farmer's Market on Wednesday afternoon or the Old Town Farmer's Market on Saturday morning).

I had already picked some rosemary from my garden...


And then this past Saturday I stopped in at Ellwood Thompson's and picked up this lovely eggplant , known to some as the "sacred vegetable".



Now, a number of years ago, I picked up a cookbook in London with an excellent stuffed eggplant recipe but I didn't have all the ingredients this evening. On the other hand, I tend to be a culinary pirate. I see recipes more as sort of...guidlines... So without further ado, I sliced the eggplant in half and hollowed the halves out. I sautéed some onions in olive oil and added the eggplant flesh along with some mushrooms and some chopped cashews. I let that cook for about 10 minutes and then added breadcrumbs mixed with oregano and rosemary as well as a cup of quinoa. I stuffed the eggplants, topped them with the loveliest of slices from the wonderful tomato which Ben brought me, covered it all with a nice little bit of cheese (Chimay fromage) and baked it at 350ºF for about 45 min. C'est magnifique!!!

Book list

A while back I put up a booklist I got from Lolly Knitting Around which has garnered a few interesting comments. Today I watched the movie version of one of my favourite books - "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute. If you've never read the book or seen the movie, I highly recommend both. The story is incredibly heart wrenching and the performances in the movie very compelling -- especially Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Anthony Perkins. Anywho, I think this book ought to be on the required reading list for all high school students around the world.

Well, I guess that about covers it....

A belated birthday present from my mother - the fabric to cover a chair I've come to call my throne. It's a late Victorian mock-Jacobean reproduction that I like to think might have been saved from the fire at Manderly. The fabric is a nice plain plum-coloured velvet which I'm hoping beyond all hope that Charlie thinks is too pretty to scratch. With the fabric I take off the chair, I'm going to make a nice, excessively textured wallhanging with some lovely felinesque shredwork.

Pictured here on top of the fabric is a scarf I knit using yarn from Three Waters Farm
and following the instructions for learning how to knit lace in the summer issue of Interweave Knits.

Baby did a good, good thing.....

The Chris Isaak concert at Wolf Trap was WONDERFUL last night despite the seemingly 300% humidty. If I have 1/2 the energy he has when I hit 50 I'll be on top of the world. Not only that, the man can sing like there's no tomorrow. I'm sure if they'd given him another couple of hours he'd have gone right on. As it was, he closed with a beautiful rendition of my fave - "Blue Spanish Sky" -- a song I had wanted to play for my dear grandmother but unfortunately never got the chance. It always makes me think of her and brings a tear to my eye when I hear it.
On another, much lighter note, we met a couple of very nice gentleman last night at dinner who made sure we got to the concert in one piece and got back on the highway headed in the right direction after the show. For that I am eternally grateful. As it happens, they were also great company. Thanks Ben and Blair! (to be continued.....)

Crazy jeans

Tonight I'm going to see Chris Isaak at Wolf Trap with friends. I was going to wear these jeans which I've been working on but decided that since it's so hot and humid, I'll wear something cool and linen instead.

In the meantime, here's the newest of spider webs. All it lacks is a crazy little spider!
So, instead of wearing these jeans and goodness only knows what else, I decided to wear some black linen pants, a glittery red top and this (Simplicity 4132).

I'm not at all thrilled with the way the neck turned out mostly because the fabric I used - a sort of satin-backed brushed twill - is a bit too thick. Perhaps when I have a bit more time I'll take it off and replace it. Otherwise, it fits very nicely and was very easy to put together so I'd definitely make it again.

Oh, and before I forget, since we're going to be in the area this afternoon, we're going to G Street!

Tired of being green....

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

Now that's more like it!

The Ultimate Crazy Spider

I don't think I've ever quite explained the reason I call this blog "The Crazy Spider". I'm sure most of you who enjoy crazy quilting know that the spider is considered a symbol of good luck and many times takes the center stage on an elegantly stitched patch. It also happens that I went to the University of Richmond which lays claim to the only arachnid mascot in North America. So it was only a matter of time before I stitched up a little patch in the school colours - red and blue - with a lovely little crazy spider in the middle. I have plans to make a large wall hanging which would encompass all the things I did while I was at school. My BA is in history, so this should be a fun project to work on. So without further ado, here is the UR patch:

Crazy Little Spider

Phew.... what a day... what a day.....

I finally got everything loaded into the computer, cropped and sorted so here we have a smattering of what I've been up to for the past few months.

I completed the patch for my mother just in time for Mother's Day. I was right pleased that she was impressed as her handiwork is quite fine. I have also decided since then that the size I made her patch -- roughly 8x10 -- is a very good size to work with. I finished it before Sharon started her "100 Details for 100 Days" or I'm sure I would have gotten a lot fancier stitch-wise. As it is, this piece has really served as a springboard.

Here it 'tis:

Where am I?

It's been a long, hot summer and it looks like we're going to get a break in the heat tomorrow! YEEEEEEEEEHAW! Perhaps this weekend I'll feel a bit more enthusiastic about updating this blog. If you scroll down a few posts, you'll see that back in March I hit my arm and suffered some damage. Unfortunately, it was the straw that busted up the camel's elbow(didn't know they had elbows, did ya...). I've got nerve damage in my left arm that has rendered it somewhat painful to spend any length of time typing. Since I have to do that all day at work, I've been taking a break from doing it here.

I have managed to finish a few things in the past month and hope to have some pictures up at some point over the weekend.

See ya soon!