RIP John Updike

A few hours ago, I read about the passing of the author John Updike. If you haven't read him, you should. I recommend:

The Witches of Eastwick
The Widows of Eastwick (a 20 year later follow-up to The Witches of Eastwick)
The Rabbit novels

RIP

Free at last, free at last

Ok, so I am stealing a great Civil Rights phrase and using it for something silly: a [Finally] finished object:

The Crazy-making blanket (once known as the Learn To Knit Afghan) is complete. I even wove in the ends.





I think the blanket-making bug is out of my system. Unfortunately I am halfway through another blanket. (Good thing it is a cold winter!) I am halfway through with a blanket that is a combination of the Knitters squares from The Great American Afghan, The Great American Aran Afghan, The Great North American Afghan, and Vogue Stitchionary: Cables. I'm too far along to rip it out, but I don't really want to finish it either. Way to start a new year.

Happy New Year!

2008 had some high points and some (really) low points, but I'm conflicted about kicking it to the curb. I realize that I don't have any choice - 2009 didn't ask my opinion about arriving and arrived it has.

We are still early enough in the year to hope that the lowest points 2009 brings us will be on par or better than the highest points of last year. May 2009 and bring us all health and happiness.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!

Rejoice! Not only because it is my birthday (although that should be reason enough) but because a Cardiff based psychologist as declared that June 20th is the happiest day of the year. (No, really - he has an equation and everything. It is very scientific.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2158104/Today-is-the-happiest-day-of-the-year-according-to-Cliff-Arnall's-maths-formula.html

still here

and still in a life funk. But, at least it has been sunny, mostly. This morning on NPR they did a story on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I was so tickled by the idea of these two entities: NPR and BTVS overlapping I just wanted to post the story link. It actually was pretty interesting.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90584068

funk

While I may be too late to help make Stephen Colbert google's Greatest Living American, I wanted to share a little laugh (who couldn't use a laugh?) courtesy of S'n'B last night:

Eddie Izzard as Darth Vader in LEGO!



About the funk of the title, I am in a knitting funk. I just can't seem to find something that appeals to me and that I can actually use for myself. I don't know, perhaps it is just the general life funk that has finally crept into my knitting which is well, really bad. I just looked over my 2007 charity knitting stats and I realized that I am not being as generous this year. Oh well. That is the sum total of emotion that I can generate over that.

I need (at the least) for the knitting funk to go away. Soon.

Silent Poetry Reading

Here is my poem for the blogger silent poetry reading on Groundhog Day.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

full text is here http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/530.html

My favorite part:

610 Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
611 To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
612 He prayeth well, who loveth well
613 Both man and bird and beast.

614 He prayeth best, who loveth best
615 All things both great and small;
616 For the dear God who loveth us,
617 He made and loveth all.

Happy Groundhog Day or Feast of St. Brigid if you celebrate