8.19.2007

It's going well...I think.

Well, first I have to tell you they totaled the truck. Fixing it would mean replacing the entire bed, and apparently it's just not worth that. We'll get the value on Tuesday, so we can start hunting around for another vehicle. Ugh. Totally not looking forward to shopping for a used car. I barely wanted to go shopping for my new car, and we had all the money for it.

My turning over a new leaf mantra has been going alright. I have read two books since last week. Debbie Macomber's Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn. The knitting fiction is sorely unrepresentative of good writers. Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs was like a bad Lifetime movie. Overly sad for no good reason, and really predictable. I've read the first three in the Maggie Sefton series, and tried to read the fourth,but my brain just wouldn't take it anymore. The characters are horribly two dimensional and the mysteries are completely out in left field. Not to mention the books are written so that they can be read independently, and I hate reading the same things over and over. It's one thing to catch a reader up on back story, but to be reminded that Kelly only just moved to CO, and she just decided to stay, and she used to be a corporate lackey...well, I can't take it every chapter. Anyway, the point I'm getting to is Debbie Macomber is actually a good writer. She's not going to win any literature awards, but she knows how to build characters and tell a story. A Good Yarn did suffer from the main character going on and on about her bouts with cancer a little much, but she got the majority of the catching up over with in the first chapter, and moved on. I actually finished the second one within 24 hours; it's been a while since I've done that.

I have been knitting more. I'm a good ways into my second River Rapids socks but no pictures of that. I do have a picture of some pretty yarn I picked up at the new yarn store. I know, I know. I said I was cutting down. The colors just spoke to me. I can't walk away from a green/pink (or green/purple) combination. Unless they're pastels. It's Nashua Hand Knits Wooly Stripes, and the color is Vine and Berry. 88 yds a ball, and I got 2 balls. Maybe something felted? Or a cute hat? We'll see.



The vegan eating isn't going so hot either. I ate cheesecake, ice cream, cheese (lots of cheese in various things) and various other baked goods. I've been vegetarian for over a year. I've stopped drinking milk, and eating eggs by themselves. The only thing left is cheese and baked goods. I just am having a really hard time with it. This makes me wonder if my heart is really in it. I don't know. I'll need to think about it some more, and maybe read up on the subject some more.

I spent some time outside this weekend. We went to the farmer's market and got some peaches, potatoes, sweet corn, october beans, and blackberry jam. Ohhh...blackberry jam. It doesn't get any better than a hot biscuit smothered in blackberry jam. Ok, sorry. Didn't mean to drool all over the keyboard there. Crystal (my bff4eva) brought her puppy over (we have a fenced in yard...she doesn't) to play for a bit. She's so adorable. I mean, look at this face. That's my flip flop she's trying to make off with. With such a cute puppy face I almost let her, but then Crystal yelled at me for teaching her puppy that it's ok to make off with shoes.



Here's hoping the insurance people will give us lots of money for the truck, I finish my socks, and maybe read another book or two this week. Oh yeah! This weekend is the Knitty meetup in Philly. Well, I should definitely get lots of knitting done... :-)

5 comments:

Trillian42 said...

Yeah... other than knitting in the car, I'm guessing there will be not that much actual KNITTING this weekend. I'm predicting lots of giggling and goofiness, personally. :D

See you Thursday!!!

Batty said...

Take it slow. Don't just go cold turkey. I know cheese, cheesecake and chocolate milk would be the most difficult things for me. There's just something about dairy that binds flavor really, really well. Soy milk just doesn't work as a substitute.

So wean yourself slowly, and don't be too harsh on yourself.

Anonymous said...

That face! Wow. I agree with batty about the cold turkey thing. I've realized that for me (which isn't for everyone), b/c I'm pretty hard on myself, I have to celebrate every single wise decision. So for each time that I look at cheesecake (which I too ate this weekend after eating pizza) and say "No, not for me right now" I applaud inwardly. And when I choose to go for it, I don't beat myself up. It just is what it is. I'm doing the best I can and I'm sure you are too.

As for the books - I am super glad that I am not the only one who feels that way about fiction that revolves around knitting stories. I thought I was just being a book snob. Apparently not. Whew!

Have a great time with the Knittyheads and good luck with your truck insurance situ.

Mag said...

What an adorable pup! Sorry about your truck. I don't care for car shopping either.
I was a veggie head for years, but never succeeded in going total vegan. Keep trying, it's good for you! I still do all vegetarian days, just for the health and wealth reasons.

Thanks so much for tipping me off about the Cloud Appreciation Society. I'd never heard of them and naturally I think it's pretty darn cool! Of course I joined!
:-)

I hope you all have a great knitty meet in Philly!

Bronwyn said...

I've been a vegetarian for 9 years now, and nothing is accomplished overnight. Your body still wants all the old things... try to phase them out slowly. A perfect replacement is rare; try to find instead a vegan treat that you enjoy a lot, and look forward to opportunities to eat that. (Lemon mini bundts with sour glaze for me... or a chocolatey soy pie.) I still eat cheese and drink skim milk ocasionally, and while I want to cut it out entirely someday, I try to focus on how well I already eat, instead of the 5% I still need to eliminate.

Anyway, good on you, and I'm here to say I have never regretted my decision to go veg and I enjoy my food every time I eat! :)