Reading fun

Brought home a pile of books from the library today.  It should be most of the rest of the Phryne Fisher mystery series.  I just finished Death Before Wicket today (although I still know absolutely nothing about cricket, and I put the rest of the series on hold at the library a few days ago.  These books are fun, but a fairly fast read (about 2 days per book).

Next, I need to read the Tesla biography, and then re-check the Gertrude Bell book and see if I can finish it this time.

Crochet - Name Doily number 5 or 6 or something

Finished this one last week, just got the ends tucked in and blocked it this weekend.  Had to try three times to block it, couldn't get things to line up correctly. 

I really like the Crochet Dude blocking squares, but they might be handier if they were printed in half-inch grid instead of one-inch.  But overall, love them.

More decluttering

Outgoing:

- 5 boxes to the rummage sale yesterday
- 2 tubs and a box to the thrift store today
- 1.5 tubs of kid clothes to a friend for her grandkid

Decluttering progress

So, a group at the Kid's school is having a fundraiser rummage sale next weekend, and we took the chance to get rid of some stuff.

So far the totals are:

• 3 boxes to rummage sale
• 3 boxes and two dresses to upscale thrift store
• 5 (i think) tubs to the childrens resale store, who keeps about 40% of what I take. The rest is in the 3 boxes that went to rummage

Last night we went through 5 more mega tubs of clothes.  About 80% is going away, the rest is staying.  DH found clothes he can fit into again, so he's almost got a whole new wardrobe.

Two tubs of kiddie cclothes are going to a friend of mine, whose grandson just moved to town.  What he doesn't need goes to the resale store, and what they don't buy is going to Rummage.

We need to hit the "guest" room (aka storage) and the basement, but I don't think we'll get that done before the sale.  I should ask if the Kid's old preschool is doing a rummage sale this summer.  I wish we could do one here, but with the hill our driveway is on, and only having one folding table, it's not really feasible.  My in-laws have a family sale every summer, but I haven't been invited to participate for a few years now (ever since it moved from Sister-in-law A's house to Sister-in-law B's house.  B doesn't like me for some reason.  She feels free to discuss the sale while I'm in the room, but ignores me while doing so.  Bitch.)

Updates - wow

I just took a few minutes to check out the links in my blogroll on the sidebar.  90% of them are defunct, if not totally wiped from existence.  Has everyone moved to Facebook, or have most of my net-friends just gotten too busy to blog? 

2016 Reading List

Here we go for another year

What I've read, 2016.  I'm shooting for a book a week

1. Faith Ed (1-11-16)  Good and timely, about the issues with teaching religions in school without promoting one over another.
2.  
3. The Descendants, by Kaui Hart Hemmings (1-20-16)
4. Al Capone Does My Homework (1-23-16) Third in a series, one of the Mark Twain Award nominees for 2015, which my son is reading.
5. Yes, that is My Real Accent, by Kunal Nayar (2-1-16)
6. Sue Hubbell book (2-4-16)
7. Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain (2/17/16)
8.  
9.  
10. The Secret Lives of Hoarders (2/18/16)
11. Travels with Zenobia (3/8/16)  Pretty good.  I like vintage travel, and I just realized from a footnote that Troub is the author of the Sue Barton books.
12. All Joy and No Fun - interesting research into parenting
13. 45 Pounds (More or Less)  - (3/10/16)  Not bad; a YA novel, intersting parts.
14. All Four Stars (3/11/16)  Juvie novel, bought for my son.  Good story about a girl who loves food, and there's going to be a sequel.
15. Cocaine Blues, by Kerry Greenwood
16. Flying Too High (Phryne Fisher #2) (3/15/16)
17. Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce (#1 in a quartet)
18. Murder on the Ballarat Train, by Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher #3)
19. Death at Victoria Dock, by Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher #4) (3/20/16)
20. The Green Mill Murder, by Kerry Greenwood
21. Blood and Circuses, by Kerry Greenwood
22. Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce
23. Ruddy Gore, by Kerry Greenwood
24. Urn Burial, by Kerry Greenwood
25. Raisins and Almonds, by Kerry Greenwood (3/28/16)
26. Death Before Wicket, by Kerry Greenwood (3/31/16)
27. Away with the Fairies, by Kerry Greenwood
28. Murder in Montparnasse, by Kerry Greenwood
29. The Castlemaine Murders, by Kerry Greenwood
30. Queen of the Flowers, by Kerry Greenwood
31.  Death by Water, by Kerry Greenwood (4/12/16)
32. Murder in the Dark, by Kerry Greenwood
33. Murder on a Midsummer Night, by Kerry Greenwood
34. 
    
35. Smashed
36. some other YA novel
38.  Alaska - Not for a Woman, by Mary Carey (4/19/16)
39.  Dead Man's Chest, by Kerry Greenwood (4/23/16)
40. Unnatural Habits, by Kerry Greenwood (5/1/16)  
41. The Martian
42. Fear Babe
43.  
44. Church of Lies, by Flora Jessop (5/x/16)
45. The Road to Little Dribbling, by Bill Bryson (5/10/16)
46. The Real Lucinda (5/10/16)
47. The Three Investigators and the Blazing Cliff (5/11/16)
48.  The Three Investigators and the Talking Skull
49. Not My Father's Son, by Alan Cumming (5/20/16)
50. Maisie Dobbs
51. Murder and Mendellsohn, by Kerry Greenwood
52. A Wilder Rose, by SUsan Wittig Albert (6/3/16)
53. Maisie Dobbs: Birds of a Feather (6/5/16) 
54. The Selection, by Kiera Cass.  YA, not bad.  Dystopian but not fatally depressing. *8/16)
55. The Heir
56. The One
57. Happily Ever AFter 
58. The Prince and The Guard (8/16)
59. Decision at Doona, by Anne McCaffrey
60. Just One Day
61. Just One Year (9/13/16)
62. Messenger of Truth
63. An Incomplete Revenge (Maisie Dobbs)
64.  
65. Shopping, Seduction, and Mr. Selfridge, by LIndy Woodhead.  Interesting biography. Would have been nice to have  achapter about the store and family after Selfridge's death.   (9/27/16)
66.  Hidden Figures (10/27/`6)  Very good story, can't wait for the movie.  But why no pictures?  
67. Out of Control, by Norma Fox Mazer
68. Full Ride, Margaret Peterson Haddix (10/30/16)
69. 
    

An Experiment in Progress

The Amaryllis Experiment

Or, can you successfully salvage post-holiday clearance box-kit bulbs that may have tried to bloom in the box. 

I got one amaryllis before Christmas, never made it back to get more at the hardware store ($5 bulbs).  So, after Christmas, I ended up with 8 more, most of which tried to sprout or bloom in the box.  I'm testing to see if they're salvageable in spite of the problems, and if maybe I can get these to re-bloom.

So, for the record:

1 - Westlakes, either Susan or Minerva I think - red/white streaked
2 - Hyvee, supposedly white, based on the box picture
2 - Target, Red Lion
1 - from Mom, no clue where it was bought, Susan
3 - Walmart - I think 2 Red Lion and a Minerva

The Westlakes bulb bloomed before Christmas, but I don't think I got a picture.  It had one stalk, 2 blooms.  Not the best I ever had, but then the bar is set high by the Westlakes bulb that had one stalk with either 5 or 6 blooms on it, and I think that one had a second stalk.

Pictures to come.