Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.: history
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

August Book Reviews: Love of the Sirens and Batgirl Vol 2 Family Business

Hi Friends,


Yet again it's been a while, but this summer has definitely been a long, hot, and sad one in the news.  So I hope you all can understand my absences, as they have honestly been for my own mentally health, not because of you all!  I'm doing ok, but sometimes being online too much when there's bad news almost everywhere is just hard for anyone.  So I took a rather impromptu break....maybe I shouldn't have because I really enjoy writing.  It makes me glad to be back.  But let's get on to what you came here for, the book reviews!

August Book Reviews




I've got two for you today, and I want to keep up with at least two interesting book reviews each month.  I know some of you readers love it, and I'm really glad to share anything interesting I've read with you all.


Love Of The Sirens




The Love of the Sirens by Edith Zack is a little bit off my typical path of fiction and comics, but I really loved the format of small historical biographies of women in music.  If you get to know me well enough you know I enjoy my history and women's studies.  So this book is a fantastic combination of both.  It allows many of the women who were well known in their time to be made known now to modern music and history lovers despite the fact that many history of music textbooks leave these ladies out.

There are twenty different women profiled in the book, all in historical order from 1098 CE to the last who was born in 1931.  There's also a nicely written prologue that gives a bit of an overview of women in the world of music and what has at times kept them from being as popularly known as their contemporaries.

I'll be honest, I haven't read all the stories yet, but none of them are terribly long.  It just right for a lunch break or before bed reading.  The women detailed are all what we might think of as more classical musicians or composers and lived in the western world.  There's nothing too crazy or exotic among them that I've discovered, but the fact that there aren't any women I could name meant I had to read this book to find out more!  I was given a copy of the book for free by the publisher to review, but as always this review is my own thoughts.  If you'd like to check it out you can find out more here through my affiliate link on Amazon.com.


Batgirl Volume 2 Family Business




Some of you may have read my somewhat frustrated review of the first Volume in this series The Batgirl of Burnside.  There was some rather sexist bits in what was otherwise a great story, and it left me conflicted.  It took me a while to get back to it, but I decided I'd add it to my birthday list, and then I did indeed get it for my birthday a couple weeks ago!

It's a much better volume, with a lot more emphasis on character development, and it includes some really fun storylines as well.  Barbara has to deal with family and friends who she wants to protect instinctively, while also learning to allow them to choose their own paths.  There's less drawing for the male gaze too, I really only noted it one or twice, whereas the other volume seemed to include it in every story!  If you're interested you can find this book on Amazon via this affiliate link or in your friendly local comic book store.

But Wait There's More....


I've got a lot of exciting things coming up, including another post about another amazing subscription food box.  It's not really the kind it's easy to just do a video about either, so I'm looking forward to sharing it here on the blog with you later this week.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I'm really excited to get back into the swing of things with you all as summer is finally winding down.  See you again soon!



Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Where am I? And "Sister, Spy" Book Review

Hi friends!


I know I haven't been around much lately, and I wanted to give you an update as to why.  For the first time in what feels like a long time many of the reasons are good.  And I'm happy to share some great things on the horizon too!



Where I've Been...

First of all May kept me busy, I've been in a great group coaching course called the Own It Academy, led by Jessica Rasdall (She's amazing!  Her story is unique and moving; definitely check her out if you want to learn how to convey your stories to folks!).  The class has been a fantastic experience that's had me writing away as I learn more about how to tell my story to you all.  The idea behind the course is boldly owning up to your story for the world to see and telling it effectively, so your audience can be encouraged, learn from what you have to say, and understand what it's like to be you.   We're about 2/3 of the way through the course now and along the way I realized the writing I've been doing there has honestly sapped away at my creative energy for posts.  So I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as I usually am, but I'm happy to be learning a lot, which I'm excited to start sharing with you all.

One of the biggest things I've discovered is how I've been looking for balance in my life and failing to find it.  Mostly because I push myself so hard to reach goals that are unrealistic.  I imagine you all can relate, you set great goals that when you look at each one individually seem quite attainable, but when you look at the big picture you realize you're trying too hard to be superwoman.  Honestly, my goals have been ambitious, and that's not taken into account how I deal with depression or other areas of my life I want to respect.

It's made me re-think my plans and goals for the future.  I'm prioritizing being happier and not being down on myself because I've set a course that's impossible to follow and be healthy.  It means that instead of trying to post 3 times a week I'll try for 1-2 really great quality posts that will help you, my wonderful readers, much more.  I love spending the time to research topics, creating great images, and fully writing out my ideas to give you the best I can.  I'm looking forward to doing more of that.  Right now my biggest problem is that I have loads of great ideas to write about, and have learn to put some of those ideas on the back burner!

Other than that I've been doing a lot with family, like having my parents visit, attending my brother in law Davey's wedding, and spending time with my husband.  I've dealt with a nasty cold, and some other health issues, which are thankfully getting better, though I'll touch on them more in a future post.  And in the past month my husband, Bryan, had been waiting for and finally received notice that the job he'd been contracting for the past 6 months is hiring him as a permanent employee.  We're super thrilled about that and starting to think ahead for some new developments in our personal life related to the increased stability we'll be so lucky to have.


Sister, Spy - Book Review




I love finding new books in a variety of genres, and while normally spy stories aren't my thing the premise of this one captured my interest.  And luckily I was given a copy of it to review by the publisher.  "Sister, Spy" by Menahem Misgav is about a pair of siblings who survived WWII living in monasteries and were recruited by the Soviets to spy for them in the fledgling country of Israel.

The first third of the book starts with a situation where the brother is killed, then we learn more about his family and how they lived the war.  A good amount of the next third of the book is about how he and his sister came to be spies. (Including a chapter on the sister's sexual awakening and subsequent relationships, which was a little graphic for my tastes, with all the parts of the story before it being focused on the family it was a little jarring.)  Finally in the last third of the book we get to see why the brother was killed and what his sister and father will do now that he's gone.

Overall I enjoyed the author's writing style quite a bit and found a fast and engaging read.  Other than the sexual content the only other fault I might have would be with some light mistakes in editing, all homonyms that snuck through the editing process.  I feel like this happens with many recently published books I read, since publishing now relies so heavily on spellcheck as an editing tool.  Perhaps this means I should take up editing?  In any case such a common issue it's hardly worth mentioning if I weren't such a grammar nerd.  I think most people with an interest in Holocaust survivors, spies, or Cold War fiction will enjoy this novel.  Please check it out here on Amazon through this affiliate link.



Coming Soon

More book reviews!

A follow up article with more reviews of LuLaRoe clothing than the popular original post (found here).

About a dozen videos, including lots of unboxings of beauty, geek, craftsy, and food boxes, plus my first fashion review on film!

And last but not least here's a brand new giveaway if you scroll down, because it's been too long since I've had some fun with you all!  Thanks and I'll see you all again very soon.



This giveaway includes a pair of LuLaRoe leggings in size TC (Tall & Curvy, fits sizes 12-24) 3 pairs of owl socks, and 2 pairs of "invisible" or "floating" style cat socks.  The owl and cat socks can be found here (owls) and here (cats) through my Amazon affiliate links.  LuLaRoe clothing is sold through local or online consultants, you can buy leggings through my consultant, Nicole's Facebook group here.  None of the companies involved paid me in any way, I just wanted to share some fun clothing with you all in this month's giveaway, which runs until July 4th!






LuLaRoe Leggings and Cute Sock Giveaway

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Mac and Cheese + Good Reads

Hello again!

Today I've got a new recipe for you.  I decided I wanted to tackle something new for the guys this week for our tabletop RPG night.  I love recipes that make things easy and one of the easiest ways I know of doing that is crock pot recipes.  I looked at a couple different versions of crock pot mac and cheese before coming up with my own.  Here is my version:

Leveled Up Mac and Cheese


What you'll need:

3 3/4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (we tried Sargento's 4 State Cheddar because it sounded good/was on sale)
2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (we just used Kroger's version)
3 cups of milk
5 tablespoons butter
16 oz elbow macaroni
8 oz cream cheese

Optional:

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 cup bread crumbs (we went with garlic and herb seasoned)
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 package of bacon

Total time: about 3 hours

First boil the pasta until it's al dente, or if you're like me as soon as you look in the pot and see they've grown, then drain the noodles.

Then add all the items in your crock pot except the parmesan, bread crumbs, and bacon, stir them a bit and set the crock pot on low.  Come back and stir every half hour and in 2-3 hours it will be done.  You can tell it's done when everything is melted, smells good, and cheese starts browning on the sides of the pot.  When it's at that point just add a layer of the parmesan and bread crumbs on top, put the lid back on and set your crock pot to warm until you're ready to serve.

If you want to add bacon to the dish cook the bacon separately in the oven.  My favorite method is by putting the bacon on a foil lined pan, into the oven and then setting the temperature to 375F for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes if it's not done just check it every few minutes until it's done the way you like it best.  You can then chop the bacon and add it to your bowl of macaroni.

We found that as a main dish this recipe feeds 5 adults, as a side dish it would feed 10.  It is very cheesy and fill you up more than you'd assume because of this.


And now for the book reviews:

Cover image used under fair use guidelines

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson was a really interesting read.  I had picked it up at a thrift store a while back knowing Bryan had enjoyed some of the author's books and thinking a book about the trail so close to where I group up in Roanoke would be interesting.  And it was!  The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine, with an extension trail that goes on up into Canada for those who wish to keep going, and Bill and his friend are about to tackle walking it all.  I think I ended up enjoying some of the more thoughtful sections of the book on history, nature, and the influence of man on it all better than I did some of the parts about the experience of walking the trail and the humor involved (the humor actually put me off a little at times).  I could mentally picture what it might have been like to see the huge old chestnut forests.  All in all it makes me want to go out and walk some parts of the trail and photograph it.  This is the kind of book that many readers will enjoy, but there will be parts you can take or leave along the way.  However, it's all worth the trip.


Cover image used under Fair Use guidelines


Velvet Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, and Bettie Breitweiser is the quintessential spy story.  A spy is framed and has to revisit past memories to find out the secrets that will allow them to clear their name.  Only in this case it's a middle aged female spy who was just working as a secretary at the time she was framed.  Over the course of this first book we find out just how much she knows and doesn't know about those she has spent her life working with.  And all this while she's on the run from her own agency.  This was one of our reads for the Word Balloons discussion group at Fight or Flight Comics (my local comic book store in Raleigh, NC), which I probably would never have picked up otherwise.  It reads like most spy movies and has a fairly formulaic feel, but undeniably left me wanting more the moment I finished reading it.

That's all for today, but I'll see you again Friday!

Love,
Lydia

Friday, September 11, 2015

First Fall Outfits

Hi again friends!


This week I'm highlighting some of my first outfits from fall as I start getting used to my new capsule wardrobe.  Ready?  Let's go!

Shirt - Target, Shorts Levis/Amazon, Flip Flips - Old Navy
Day one of my fall wardrobe had me dealing with temperatures over 90F.  Most of the past two weeks have been like that with a couple days in the 80s.  I'm looking forward to next week when it'll be in the 70s and I can wear jeans a bit more.  I miss the cool weather here in North Carolina, I think the climate in Columbus, Ohio where I attended college was just right.  But I'm here and I'm learning to love summer clothes and light layers most of the year.  It's no Florida, but I'm pretty sure I'd be dead fast in Florida between the heat and all the sunburn I'd end up with after 15 minutes outside.

Oh look it's that Thred Up bag!  Stuffed full as I could get it, I'll soon know what they took and what they didn't.

Top - Forever 21, Shorts - Levis/Amazon, Boots - Trendsetter/Hushpuppies
I'm officially in love with these boots!  I'm pretty sure they can be worn with almost everything I own and dressed up or down accordingly.  Plus Bryan likes them too, so that makes me happy.

Top - Target, Necklace - Pick Your Plum, Skirt Target, Boots - Trendsetter/Hushpuppies

This is my outfit from this past Sunday when we went to hear Michael speak about his time in Jerusalem.
Top - T. La/Anthropologie, Necklace - Fossil/Macy's, Shorts - Levis/Amazon, Sandals - HG Bass/Modcloth


My hair had finally faded enough that it was time to give it some new color, so I did!  I bleached the roots and used Manic Panic After Midnight Blue (my favorite shade!), Arctic Fox Purple Dream, and some Manic Panic Purple Haze (not around the face, so it's less visible in these shots).  I was trying out the Arctic Fox for the first time and really liked the color, it's a nice grape shade of purple and the dye even smelled like grapes.  If it lasts well enough I may keep using it for purple, since I'm not as big a fan if the Manic Panic shades I've tried (Purple Haze, and Mystic Heather).

Shirt - Switchfoot, Scarf - a Keffiyeh from Palestine, Jeans - Torrid, Flip flops - Old Navy
So Michael brought us back some fantastic gifts from his time abroad and I'm very excited to share this Palestinian Keffiyeh with you readers.  The Keffiyeh (pronounced kuh-fee-yuh, and spelled many other ways) is a symbol of the Palestinian Nationalism movement.  (You can go here to learn more about the keffiyeh or here if you want to buy one from Hirbawi, the only manufacturer left in Palestine!)  It's been associated with the long history of the Middle East in general as what farmers and everyday people would wear to cover their heads as they worked and went about their day.  It's also linked to the Palestinian Liberation Organizer Yasser Arafat, and more recently has been appropriated in western culture as something that just looks cool or is linked with terrorism.  It's kind of funny since the patterns on the scarf are thought to have come from fishing nets or heads of grain.  So I wear the Keffiyeh as a statement of solidarity for the many Palestinians who have lived peaceful lives in refugee camps for over 50 years, just hoping to have a place they can see their children grow up freely, and one day have a country of their own.  I also think the Israelis have it tough too, with terrorist bombers on their doorstep, but neither side is necessarily good or bad.  Peace and renewed hope are my prayer for them all.

Top - Old Navy, Bracelet - Cornerstone Festival 2004, Shorts - Levis/Amazon, Shoes - Toms
 And finally I'm playing around with the camera a bit for today's look.  I work from home most days, so I've been trying to change up where I take my photos if I can remember to/aren't too busy.



So those are my outfits, otherwise I've been busy this week adding to the features of my blog:

  1. New contact page
  2. More listings for Ethical Plus Size Retailers (Now the BIGGEST online!)
  3. A new banner
  4. Better right sidebar tools
  5. I'm now a member of The Rising Tide Society!
The Rising Tide Society is a great group of small business owners (bloggers, photographers, shop owners, and more) whose core principles are:
- Community Building over Self-Promotion
- Compassion for your fellow Creatives
- Purpose over Popularity, Quality over Quantity
- Camaraderie over Divisiveness


I'm loving getting to know them all and be a part of the community there.  They even have a monthly event called Tuesdays Together to meet and discuss different subjects.  Hopefully I'll make it out to next months!  That's all for this week, I'll see you all again soon.

Love,
Lydia

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

More Fiction Reviews

Hi folks,

Today I've got 5 book reviews in store for you all, here goes!

Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood is the first in a series of lighthearted adventures that I'm only halfway through.  I was really unsure if I would like this book, and at times I thought it tried too hard to get in as many geeky references as possible.  However, in all I really enjoyed the protagonist, Ree, and the rest of her world.  The premise that all things geeky can be used to power a type of magic and the stuff of most sci fi and fantasy stories has some kind of reality beneath it.  If you love all things geek this is fun, if not you may not like it as much, but it was enjoyable for me.

Celebromancy by Michael R. Underwood is the second in the series, and while I enjoyed hearing more about the world (or underworld depending on how you see it), I thought this book wasn't quite as good as the first.  This book looks at the magic of Hollywood and movie culture.  I found the characters a little less relatable, but still enjoyed the story.  I'll definitely be reading the next book in this series when I have the chance.

The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter follows up from The Long Earth.  The book looks at how within a generation those who've colonized the long earth are deemed less important by those in charge of the original earth.  They want to make sure they own the land across each world and can tax the citizens throughout since it costs more to send people and supplies to further worlds.  When war comes the way it's handled is unique and we see both familiar and new characters solving the problems of the long earth.

 The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter picks up not too long after the last book and explore space travel while also following Joshua and Lobsang on another of their adventures and watching what unfolds as original earth faces its own disaster.  I feel like this series is one you'll either love or hate from the reviews I've read, and personally I love it.  There's a storyline that should lead nicely into the next volume of this series and I can't wait to read it.

 The Reluctant Midwife by Patricia Harman is a novel I just picked up in the last week and have burned through quickly.  It's a great period book set during the Great Depression and manages to convey the gravity of the time very well.  We follow Nurse Becky's troubles and joys as she helps deliver babies and finally finds a community to be at home in.  If you like any of the things mentioned above with a dash of sound medical facts thrown in this is a great read for you.  It's the second book in a series, but I wasn't able to tell and found out after I finished reading it.



Hope this give you some great ideas for summer reads.  I'll be heading to the beach next week with a copy of Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson), and Trust Me I'm Lying (Ryan Holiday).  No promises on how much I'll actually read, because at the beach things are pretty unscheduled. But you all will hear from me as I continue posting about books, fashion, and life.

Beyond all that I've started editing my blog some and now have labels on all my posts.  At the bottom of each post you'll find some links with words related to the post so you can see any other posts on the same subject.  Hopefully this will allow you all to find whatever book, tutorial, or other story you need easily.  Let me know if you have any suggestion for words I should add to a post!  Thanks, I'll see you next time.

Love,
Lydia

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Pins 1, 2, and 3!

Hi everyone,

So the new year has started out a busy one for me.  I've been in talks about Starting a blog about art supplies with a new friend.  It could be pretty fantastic, and I'll be keeping you all in the loop about it if it works out.  I've also been taking care of Bryan as he's been sick with the flu, and then I came down with it myself.  As much as I'd started this new year with lots of hopes for fantastic projects and lofty goals of being productive they all got put on hold for about two weeks.  At the moment I'm getting caught up on life, things like the cleaning I'd put off over the holidays.  That was a huge mistake, don't put off cleaning like that.  It makes it so much worse to get back into things when the unexpected happens like this flu did!  And is just a horrible idea in general.  No Procrastination, please.

And when it comes down to it, maybe that's my true goal, to beat down procrastination and be more productive.  I'm just trying to be inspired by great ideas others have found work for them as I get there.  That's the beauty of trying all these great projects from Pinterest.  So here's a bit on my first few pins, with another post to come very soon.

Pin 1 - As briefly mentioned in my last post I'll be doing a January photo challenge!

I'm a little behind on it, but will be doubling up to make sure I get all the shots.  More on that to come at the end of the month.

Pin 2 - Trying a month of no shampoo.  This is a pin I've seen many times and have been curious about trying for the past 5 years.  So, with much trepidation I'm testing it out.  I've been using baking soda/water for shampoo and vinegar/water as conditioner.  You can find more on that here.  I wanted to do it for at least two weeks, and started January 3rd.  While I was sick I used regular shampoo once because I was feeling awful, wanted a fast shower, and hadn't got into the routine as well yet.

So, I've met my goal of two weeks, and feel like for my hair, which is very fine/prone to be oily it's just ok.  It's not better than shampoo so far, but I'll be going to the end of the month to see if my body is still adjusting to it.  I definitely am not able to go very long between washes, but I was never able to with shampoo either.  I pretty much have to wash my hair every day.  Overall the pros so far are that it's gentle on my body, got rid of frizz, even with blow drying, and it's seemed to make my hair color go farther (especially the purple!).  So that's all pretty good; and the cons are that it takes a little more time and thought in the shower, leaves my hair with less shine, and leaves my hair without much body (it has very little anyway, but I can get a little more with shampoo than with baking soda and vinegar).

I'll give another follow up on this at the end of the month to see if there's been more change as my body adjusts, or if it's stayed about the same.  However, so far I'm still in the shampoo camp, though ladies with thicker hair than me may want to try this out!  It's super cheap compared to shampoo/conditioner and not that hard to get used to.

Pin 3 - 52 book challenge!  I'm excited for this one, as I love to read.  It comes out to being a book a week for the entire year.  I'll be sharing each of the 52 with you and probably doing some theme challenges within the 52 using another interesting pin.  Thus far I've read:

Week 1 - Lock In by John Scalzi, which is fantastic!  The premise is in a speculative future where a disease has rendered about 1% of the population locked in paralyzed bodies.  Technology has helped these individuals reconnect with the world, but brought it's own fair share of problems to complicate things as a mystery is solved.  (before the new year I'd read one of his more famous books, Redshirts, a Star Trek parody/love letter.  While fun, it hadn't sold me on his writing skills because it was so light, Lock In proved to have a much richer world.)

Week 2 - Ms Marvel Volume 1 written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Adrian Alphona- A great start for what looks to be a fantastic series.  It's got many classic elements of the teenage superhero storyline as our heroine finds her powers and chooses how to use them much in the way of Peter Parker.  Some things that add interest are the heroine's background as a Muslim and woman of color.  It brings up the idea of being true to oneself as the most satisfying path, and follows Ms Kahn as she learns how to be herself, and not the superheroes she idolizes.

and a bonus since I was sick - Landscaping with Fruit by Lee Reich - This book is a pretty thorough look at a good collection of fruits for home gardens.  The author's a little biased towards what he enjoys, but it's given me a great start to my plans for the garden at our new house.  It's an easy read that's good enough to pick up as a reference book if you're interested in this kind of gardening.  I borrowed it from the library, and may buy it eventually myself.

Week 3 - The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough - I love history, and had been curious about just what made this flood so tragic, and when I saw the book as a Kindle Daily Deal I snapped it up.  Getting over the flu gave a good time to read it.  McCullough is a great researcher, and keeps fact and fiction separate while writing a book that's easy to read.  The events surrounding the flood were in some ways relatable to the current events of today with big companies allowing less than safe conditions for the public, while happily paying very little consequence for their actions later when people are hurt.  Additionally there are some great firsthand accounts of the experience that McCullough weaves together masterfully creating a seamless story from them.  I didn't realize until after the fact that the book was written in 1968, which is a bit amazing since it's quite sensitive to social issues of all kinds.  Though it does lack the voice of anyone besides white Americans, and I would have loved to hear accounts from the immigrants or African American people as well.   Overall it's a great read, and I'll be reading more of his work in the future (I've been meaning to for a while!)


I keep a record of the books I read on Goodreads.com, feel free to friend me there!

Speaking of following, please follow me on Pinterest if you'd like to keep up with the pins I'm working on over the course of this year, you can find me here.  I'll be seeing you all again soon as I share more pins and projects with you!

Love,
Lydia

Thursday, October 23, 2014

National Park Adventure Part 1

Over the past couple months I've managed to have two great encounters with park locations.  Here's a quick write up of the first adventure!

So back on Labor day weekend I was itching to do something as my husband and I visited my family in Richmond, Virginia.  No one was feeling like going too far, so I took Bryan and my dad out to the Maggie L. Walker historic site for a tour.  My mom and I had visited a couple years ago and were highly impressed.  My husband and dad agreed with this opinion once they saw the importance this site has.

Maggie L. Walker was the first female, African American bank founder, and the bank was the longest continuously running African American operated bank in the US, 1903-2009.  Plus she did amazing things in her community through the Order of St. Luke and her connections with other prominent individuals during her lifetime.  The site includes her home as well as several nearby buildings, and her house is a gem among them.  She presented a completely modern, elegant face to the world through her home, which had electricity, indoor plumbing, and eventually an elevator, all before 1930!  It's heartbreaking that Walker isn't better known to the world considering this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all she did during her lifetime.

This picture is from the NPS site

There's a fantastic virtual tour you can see here at the NPS website, but I recommend a visit in person if you're able!

Next up, I cover some some stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway I've never visited here in North Carolina.  Plus a blog about some interests that lie closer to home, and updates on art.  Til next time!

Love,
Lydia

Saturday, July 12, 2014

June/July Books!

Hi folks,

June was a good month for reading, however July might beat it.  After over a year and a half of living in Raleigh I finally got a library card July 3rd.  I strongly believe that the reason it took me this long is because my husband decided to use his library card as an ice scraper this winter completely destroying it, leading to him not really wanting to go and ask for a new one.  It was just too much bother.  I ultimately got Bryan to take me to a library by finding a great trivia night event to go to for our double date night with his younger brother Davey & Davey's girlfriend.  (Post trivia, which Bryan and I actually won, we headed to Mellow Mushroom for an awesome dinner.  Then we headed back to our house to introduce Davey's lady friend to some anime she would like in the form of Fruit's Basket, an all too adorable series that involves a cute overload and decent amounts of comedy to balance it out.)

Anyway, since then we've swung by the library twice and I've loaded up on books big time.  But I need to recap the June books before I get too absorbed with the news ones I've picked up.  So, as I mentioned before I was reading Pinterest Power, which I have not yet finished, and The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.  I was really enjoying The Long Earth with the aspects of possible earths, other species, and exploration with what is essentially a fully sentient android.  I was enjoying it a lot....and then it came to a fast cliffhanger ending, because it's the start of a series, which I did not realize until it was too late.  I don't really mind, but will now need to go find the next book.

Other things I've read recently are Changers: Drew Book One by T. Cooper and Allison Glock, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Reluctant Reaper by Gina X. Grant, and Relish by Lucy Knisley.
Changers: Book One Drew was an interesting read that revolves around the idea that a small part of the population will spend a part of their life living in different bodies to experience being both male and female, as well I would assume other races in future books.  So in part this book looks at sociological issues that accompany differences in appearance.  It's a pretty good read if the idea of being in someone else's shoes is something that intrigues you.

The Fault in Our Stars, which the recent movie of the same name was based on is a book I've been looking forward to reading for a while.  Bryan, however, had convinced me to wait until after watching the movie to read the book.  Usually I read before watching the movie, but I agreed to try out Bryan's idea this time.  I feel that the book isn't all the different from the movie, and enjoyed both pretty equally, for various reasons.  The additional characters in the books and more teenage feeling conversation between characters was an interesting contrast to the slightly older and more lonely feeling movie characters.  I like the individuals cast in the movie quite a bit though, and felt they did a great job translating the book in a way viewers could connect to.

The Reluctant Reaper was a fun little read that reminds me of the TV show Dead Like Me (a good series headed by one of my favorite writer/producers Bryan Fuller).  To summarize, a stolen soul gets sent to hell and starts to understand living for the first time.  It's a light book targeted to a YA audience, and the start of a series, which I'll probably get around to reading more of eventually.

Finally Relish by Lucy Knisley is a graphic novel I've been looking forward to reading for a while now.  The book is a bit of an autobiographical look at how Knisley grew up and the large part that food and cooking played in shaping her experiences.  There are recipes included at the end of the chapters that I look forward to trying out in the future, as this is a book I'll probably be buying soon (if it's not something I get for my birthday anyway).

I've also started reading Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup, Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel, The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean, and am about to pick up volumes 17 & 18 of the Fables series of graphic novels, plus many other things from the library!  All the library choices will be prioritized by what I feel like at the time, as I really like being spontaneous and having several book options available at a time so I can choose as my mood dictates.

Til next time....
Love, Lydia

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Days 39-42

Hello folks,

My weekend was filled with taking care of my poor sick husband...who had food poisoning or some other nasty illness.  I'm still not quite sure he's over it, but he's doing better at least.

Otherwise my Kickstarter is over, and as predicted in my last post didn't make its goal.  I'm ok with that, though it means a lot of hard work from me for the coming months.  I'll be keeping tabs on job openings, making art, and finding various ways to earn extra money on the side.  I've really already been doing these things, but will have a little more time to do them now.

On the side of good news I got my application for Penland School of Crafts in the mail today.  I'm so nervous about it, and hoping it will arrive in time even with all the snow and ice the weathermen are promising here.  I'm glad to have it off, and will be checking the tracking number at least twice a say until it makes it to their doorstep.

Bryan and I worked on our budget today, which is continuing to look good.  We have a long way to go before we can feel relaxed, but we're getting there, slowly but surely.  I look forward to having emergency money saved up and debts paid off, and we're closer to that each day.  In the next few weeks I'll do our taxes and hopefully we'll get a refund we can put towards our debt.  For some reason I really like doing my taxes.  I'm not sure if it's because I like the feeling of knowing they're completed or simply enjoy the process.  I think it might mean I'm a bit crazy either way.  haha

In book, news I read an article shared by a friend of mine via Facebook on Alternate History Novels.  I've loved this kind of book and idea for a while now, and have added many of the books from this list to my "To Read" section of www.Goodreads.com.  (If you're wondering, my "To Read" section is enormous...I'm always seeing great looking new books.  I can only hope to get around to them all.)  Right now I'm working on 1632 (Ring of Fire), which I got for free as a Kindle book.  I'm betting it's still free, and you can read it on most platforms with the free Kindle book app (computers, tablets, smartphones).  It's been interesting, and Bryan and I also decided to give Darwinia, The Aquiliad, and The Peshawar Lancers a try.  We got the physical books for those though.  While I like reading though Kindle it'll never be the same as having a book in hand.  I've also been working my way through the graphic novel series Y The Last Man, having finished number 6 out of 10 volumes.

Beyond all of that I've been continuing work on art pieces and should have at least one if not more completed pieces to show everyone in my next entry here.

Until next time.

Love, Lydia