Thursday, January 7, 2010

Merecedes Christmas Socks 2009


Merecedes Christmas Socks 2009, originally uploaded by EdwardRad.

A little late, but better than never. Here's the second sock about 1/2 done.

Still Alice, Now In Cheap Format!

I am super excited about this book! The Trade paperback version has been out for awhile now, but I just can't justify spending $15 on a paperback book when I know that it'll be destroyed by the time I'm done with it. Enter: the new Mass Market version available for $7.99 + employee discount!! That, I can handle parting with for a paperback.

Still Alice is about a lady (Alice) who gets Alzheimer's disease and how it affects her life. Unlike other books, though, the story is told from the perspective of the person who has Alzheimer's instead of the view of those around her. Here's a quote from the back cover:

"Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early onset Alzheimer's disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People."

This book has been used in lots of the local book groups and in the past I've had good luck trusting their picks. Lets hope that this one is just as good. ^_^

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Bugs and Fungi!! O.O


Bugs and Fungi!! O.O, originally uploaded by EdwardRad.

A few weeks ago, I bought this cute little mini-poinsettia for $0.50 at the grocery store along with a larger red one thinking that it would be a lot of fun to try my hand at taking care of plants. (I have never once had a plant live for very long after I got a hold of it.)

Things were going great until I noticed that the soil around the plant was molding. Not the plant itself, just the dirt. Also, we started to get all these little flying bugs in our apartment that seem to love my plants. The same thing had happened a few months ago (the mold, not the bugs) when I was going to grow an herb garden and once I put the plants on the deck, the mold went away. Unfortunately, right now the average temp is right around 0 degrees (F) so putting it outside isn't an option unless I want to kill the whole thing. So, today I hauled my little guy over to my local plant doctor (aka: Mom). She can fix any plant no matter how close it is to dying, so I left Petey (that's what I named my plant) in her care and tomorrow I'll be bringing Petunia (my large red poinsettia) over as well.

Hopefully, they'll get to come back home soon. I want to make sure that they're all better before I try to take them on by myself again, though. I have no faith at all in my own gardening abilities. -_-

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Dog On It


Dog On It, originally uploaded by EdwardRad.

This is a super awesome book!! I started reading it a couple days ago intending to read 3 chapters a day (I'm not ambitious, they're really short) but today I got sucked right in and am now about half-way done with it. Originally, I had recommended it to my aunt and cousin to read because some of my co-workers had recommended it to me. I kept putting off reading it until my aunt sent it home with me because she just adored it. Now I'm seeing why everyone liked it so much. The story is told from the dog's (Chet's) perspective so any tense bits get broken up by his either getting distracted or sleepy. You would think that key plot points would be skipped by relating the story this way, but they aren't, you just don't have to read all the technical details about what's going on. This is a great quick read if you're looking for something light and humorous. A nice little bonus is that it was just released in paperback so it's perfect for reading groups and tucking inside your knitting bag. ^_^

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Ooops, PomPom Socks

So, I meant to make these for my sister for Christmas. However, the yarn changed my gauge enough that instead of fitting her 9-year-old feet, they fit my 23-year-old feet... Don't worry, I'm almost done with the pair for her. ^_^