books

I read a lot in 2008. For all those parenting books that say it will be many years before you finish a book again, I say ppppppptbtt. After Gus was a few months old, it was impossible to knit while nursing. There's a lot of nursing...so what was I supposed to do?

All the Fishes Come Home To Roost by Rachel Manjia Brown was by far my favorite book this year. I may have technically read it in 2007, but lordy, this book was good.

I Was Told There'd be Cake by Sloane Crosley was also a favorite. It's rare for me to read nonfiction, but this book was hilarious and fun to read.

Also this year, I read the Narnia books again, The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway), The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck), The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea (Mishimia), Pigs in Heaven (Kingsolver), and a few random things from the library that aren't immediately coming to mind. It was nice to check some big ones off the list, so I can no longer claim that despite the English degree I've never read Hemingway or Steinbeck. I still find that shocking how little you have to read to get a degree in literature, but honestly I think the University is so concerned with getting you out that they don't care how you do it. They're cranking out those liberal arts degrees, sending us all out into the world totally equipped to diagram a sentence and write a book report.

vegetables

This is more fun that babycenter. And has different vegetables. This week - the baby is the size of a beefsteak tomato! Who knew?

glamour shot

Mo, the bad cat.

knitting

There was lots of knitting in 2008, but unfortunately since I kept up neither my ravelry page or my blog, I can't name all of the things. I know that there were 6 pairs of picky pants, but I only know that because I see them in the morning when I get the baby dressed. There were untold hats and mittens, and no new scarves this year, though we very much need some new scarves. I finished this hat yesterday:
and let me tell you, I think it is hilarious. I have a box full of old acrylic yarn that I picked up at a garage sale last year or maybe the year before. Every now and again when I need something small, I pull that box of acrylic out, and I almost always love the results. This hat is ridiculous, and just what Gus needed (those are the newest picky pants in the photo too).

So my 2008 knitting round up isn't very impressive. I started a big quilt project too, but I clearly haven't photographed that yet either. Maybe 2009 will be a better year for documenting my projects -but from the looks of that little pregnancy counter on the sidebar, I wouldn't count on it.

things you maybe didn't know about me

1. I hate getting out of the shower. It sometimes takes me a few minutes to talk myself into turning off the water and stepping into the bathroom. Especially during the winter.

2. I learned to knit 8 years ago, and I have only owned 1 tape measure and 1 darning needle.

3. I have made many boxes of macaroni & cheese in my life, and I still read the instructions every time.

4. I think people who buy one-ply toilet paper are really missing out on the finer things in life.

5. Wearing sunglasses makes me feel like Joe Cool. My shirt usually has snot on it, my socks frequently don't match and it's been years since I've work earrings, but putting on sunglasses suddenly makes me feel like I'm totally put together.