Tuesday, June 29, 2010

6.29 Ten on Tuesday (what, again already?)

This summer is scooting on by - one teenager is leaving for a month in 12 days and the other is leaving for 10 days in about three weeks. I'm trying to get everything in order for them to do this, which at the moment seems to involve spending a bunch of money on clothes.

I finished another skein of the malabrigo lace-and-silk. I bought a bunch more fiber I didn't need, but which is yummy.* I got a few more rounds on my newest shawl done. Do I have pictures of anything? I do not.

I got a few more weeds pulled in the flower beds. I'm fighting a losing battle with the asiatic lily beetles, and am seriously thinking of retrenching on the asiatic lilies for a few years. I can't afford to treat all the ones I have with the insecticide. If I reduce the number I have, I might have a fighting chance. Redoing the bed that was dug up for the sewer pipe took valuable weeding time away from the other beds which are all looking rather ragged at the moment, and the beds that have mostly asiatic or oriental lilies look as though they've been hit by the weed eater.

10 books on my reading list for the summer:

1. the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman. I got started reading those again and will undoubtedly go through them all before I'm done. I read them as they originally came out and they fit into their times well. They were written over a period of 20 (30?) years though, and the elapsed time in the character's life is perhaps 5-7? The political changes of 30 years shoved into 5 makes it a little dizzying and a willing suspension of disbelief goes a long way when reading the whole series in a row.
2. Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravich. A recent recommendation I've got on hold at the library.
3. Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler. Like I need something else to do.
4. The Know-it-all by A.J.Jacobs. I read My Year of Living Biblically a few years ago and have wanted to read some more of his books.
5. The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose. An unlikely book, but highly recommended to me.
6. Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh. The next in a series I've been reading this spring - romance genre with a mix of fantasy/SF. Read the series in order.
7. Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh. This book and the previous one are on order and I'll get them sometime.
8. Repect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. A belated birthday present, held up with the previous two awaiting publication of number 6.
9. Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara. Maybe this summer, maybe some time. Next in another series that I'm thoroughly enjoying.
10. The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey. Assuming the library gets it in when it first comes out...

*I've noticed recently (for the umpteenth time) that I seem to go through cycles of attraction to colors. A quick look through the last year's spinning would show almost all variations on red. It would appear the new color cycle will be brown. My current spinning is Fudge Brownie and I just bought a pound and a half pound of shades of brown. I have very little brown in my spinning UFOs or stash, so after that 1.5 pounds, then what will I do? Switch colors or buy more brown? Lay your bets now...


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