So, were you curious which new needlework project I decided to stitch? Here they are! The first few stitches in two new Halloween projects. They are even small enough that I have a chance of finishing them before the end of the month. We'll see if I can squeeze in some good stitching time between now and the 31st. Both are Prairie Schooler designs. The top one will be quite tiny--I liked the blackbird (maybe a crow?). It will measure less than 2" square. I am going to look for some fun Halloween fabric (or just nice neon-ish colors--maybe lime green and purple) and make it into a tiny pillow. The bottom project might end up as a 'mattress pincushion' with the back side being the haunted house on the same chart. Mattress pincushions have edging that could have some fun design, though I don't know what yet. Or maybe I can find some orange and black pins and tack on some ribbon. I'll be contemplating that as I go. Hopefully there will be an update soon.
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The spring 2015 course catalog has been posted at the university where I work. Unfortunately (once again) the class I had hoped to take (a Contemporary Israeli Literature class) is being offered off campus. The only time I regret not owning a car is in this sort of a situation--it is nearly impossible (as Omaha has such a hugely deficient public transportation system) to get to the location by bus. The same professor as I have now is teaching the class, but he will also be teaching a writing course on campus. I am contemplating taking that. It will depend on whether it is pure creative writing or if there is some reading component to the class. I am not a writer and I think I would do horribly in a writing course. Of course it is always good to expand your mind and try something new and surely working my writing skills might not be such a bad thing. So, well see. I have lots of time to decide, but I can't help getting excited about the prospect of taking another literature class. I am also looking at a class that studies King Arthur tales through the ages. It is, however, an Honor's class and I am not sure they can be audited. If all else fails, there is always yoga . . .
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In my desire to be more frugal (not so much a choice as an absolute necessity considering the year I have had) I am going to cancel my Audible subscription. I had six tokens that had to be used first, though. Otherwise I lose them. I think I have settled on the following audio books:
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (loved the first Lady Georgie mystery--serious--no, wait not so serious at all- fun!)
Crooked House by Agatha Christie (a dramatization)
Moonfleet by J.Meade Falkner
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf (I read the book some years ago)
The Noel Coward Collection (six comedies performed--should be fun--will read the plays after the fact . . . or maybe before? What do you think?)
The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (BBC dramatizations-can you believe I have never read these?)
I might trade one in for something different--a novel by Erica Jong, but I can't decide. Lots of listening pleasure, eh?
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I have been looking for some sort of local bookgroup to join. As of yet I have not found one to suit my tastes, but my local art museum offers "Visualizing Literature" and they will be reading Maus I and II in November. There is a discussion and then the books are linked to artwork in the museum. It could be a really cool way to experience a novel, so I am going to try and read along and attend the discussion. Will I be brave enough to drop in?
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I'm hoping to finish a book this weekend. I have read my New Yorker story and am deciding between a couple of possibilities for my ghost story. I've got a stack of library books to pick up and this weekend will be the last for the local farmer's market. A little work in the yard (time to start raking leaves) might not be remiss. And then I am thinking of starting a new book . . .
So much to do and so little time (which will fly by in any case). However you spend your weekend, I hope it is a sunny one!