Traveling to other times

Science fiction - you've got to love it. SF stretches your mind with possibilities that are sometimes brain exploding. I find time travel to be that way especially. What are the ramifications of traveling backwards in time? What if you change something? What if you step on a butterfly or save a life or merely have your atoms share space with a world that didn't have your atoms in it before? When you mix questions like these with a rousing good plot, the result is a story that begs to keep you up late at night. "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis (my current favorite author) was a delight to read. Set during Medieval times, it had all the historical accuracy and engaging tidbits I love to learn about, coupled with interesting plot turns and complex characters. These were characters you became close to, laughed with and ached for. We are not solitary creatures wandering the earth - we're meant to live in community. Sometimes that isn't easy, but strengthing our understanding of other people is highly worthwhile.

Are you green? Do you carry around a reusable shopping bag? I find that the more bags I have, the more likely that I'll have one when I need it. To that end I knitted a simple bag out of soft cotton that I will feel very trendy carrying to the farmer's market, should I ever get there. Knit Picks Simply Cotton Organic Worsted yarn; Fantasy Naturale Market Bag.

Take me away from it all

Summer books I've read continue to filter through from my long term storage. "Taken" was an interesting change from more serious reading. Apparently based on a TV miniseries, but I haven't seen it. The author used a technique where a number of different people are brought in one by one and eventually you start to see the connections. (This book is not to be confused with the movie of the same name. That movie will convince you that your daughter should NEVER travel overseas without you.)

My knitting news is that I'm starting to slow down. I had a very unfortuate experience about a week ago. After knitting on a cabley piece of satisfaction for about 8 hours, I decided that it wasn't living up to my expectations. So...I pulled it off the needles. But my mojo was gone. I could not start this shawl again. In a moment of madness I yanked out my crochet hook and some gorgeous variegated yarn and went to work. A week later it was done. Today I'll show you the "unfortunate experience". When I can get a stunning model to put on the finished shawl, that picture will follow.

Science fiction anyone?

The movie "The City of Ember" was based on a book of the same name by Jeanne Duprau. My son and I loved this book and the sequels as well. So we were looking forward to the movie. And the movie is exciting. But if you've read the book be prepared that there are differences. Nevertheless, a great DVD to knit by - I'd forgotten how relaxing it is to knit dishcloths and watch TV.