Happy Autumn and New Year's Goals

Happy Autumn! She came in with a bang around here.

I always feel that September is the start of the new year in more significant ways than January. Labor Day is really my New Year's Eve in many ways. At the beginning of the month, I took stock of where I was. It had been a trying summer in many ways, and I wanted to do something to move in a more positive direction. I've been stressed out and tired, so decided I need to focus on my own well-being.

One of the things I've done is started tracking my food consumption over at The Daily Plate. Poppy mentioned that she had started using it and liked its tools better than Weight Watchers'. After a few days, I'm hooked, and I will probably upgrade from the free account because I'm a data geek. This week, I've really tried to have a normal eating week and not let the numbers sway me into changing my behaviors as I wanted to have an honest assessment of my baseline. Even in this short time, I've learned some interesting stuff.

The good news is that I actually drink a lot of water every day. I thought I wasn't getting enough, but I really am. I'm also at close to the right calorie level for where I want to go. That was a surprise. My big downfalls are sugar, sodium, and caffeine. (No, it doesn't track caffeine, but I know.) I really need to work on getting these down. I also need to work on increasing the fiber in my diet. Most of this I already knew, but having the numbers really helped bring it into focus.

On top of this, I've restarted Pilates. The other big thing I need to work on is getting more sleep. I think this last goal is crucial to making the rest of the plan sustainable.

Meme of Reading Questions - Part 4

Here's the final segment.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
None most of the time. When I do go, I usually end up with 6-10.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Once in a while.

38. Favorite fictional character?
Growing up, I wanted to be like Meg Murry or Vicky Austin.

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Not sure.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Romances

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
3-4 days - right after I had the girls.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Dandelion Wine.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
My daughters. My cats. My husband.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
The Lord of the Rings (see my last post)

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
The Golden Compass. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Both of these focused on one or two aspects of the books, leaving out much of the material that made the books interesting to read.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Not counting textbooks, probably $200.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
I'll skim a chapter or so if the back cover material isn't sufficient or I want to evaluate the writing style before I read it.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Annoyance. Displeasure. Grossness (e.g., foot binding in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan)

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes. I'm a librarian.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
If I think I might read them again, I keep them.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
The Stieg Larson books, because I'm afraid I'll find them disappointing after all the hype.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
1,000 Acres by Jane Smiley

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
A couple of the selections from my book club: Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance by Ian Buruma and Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner by Andrea Smith

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Kiss and Tango by Marina Palmer. (A book club selection)

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I don't think of anything I read as a guilty pleasure, so anything I read that I enjoy fits this category.

Meme of Reading Questions - Part 3

Here's the next part. I can't believe it's taken me nearly 2 weeks to get back to this. Sigh...

22. Favorite genre?
Fantasy

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Historical political/military fiction. You know, like the Sharpe series or the Marcus Falco series. My DH reads these, but I just can't get into them.

24. Favorite biography?
Hmmmm. I don't usually read biographies, so I'm having a hard time with this. Does "Frosty: A Raccoon to Remember" count?

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Yes.

26. Favorite cookbook?
My go-to cookbook is the standard Betty Crocker one. My favorite special cookbook is Sophie Grigson's Travel A La Carte (from Great Britain).

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
I don't really do inspirational.

28. Favorite reading snack?
Chocolate. Pretzels. Whatever.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I don't read a lot of books that are standard fare for book clubs. I find them ... overhyped and not really my style. I've been avoiding the Stieg Larson books for this reason.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don't usually read the critics.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I have no problem with it.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
The Lord of the Rings. Silly, I know, since I read a lot of fantasy, but I read The Hobbit in 7th grade and didn't enjoy it. For the longest time, I avoided LOTR, but finally dug into it shortly before the movies were released. I still didn't enjoy reading Tolkien, but I'm glad I slogged through LOTR before I saw the movies. I *love* the movies, because Peter Jackson masterfully eliminated most of the crap I disliked in the books.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Any of those long Russian novels.

35. Favorite Poet?
Robert Frost.

Quirks

I proposed this question!

Is there anything that you do while you are stitching that is kind of weird or unusual? A quirky habit maybe? Or anything that you do that makes you think, Hey...I wonder if anyone else does this?

I asked Lee to use this question, because I have a quirk or two.

One of the things I do is push the needle backwards through the fabric, using the stubby end instead of the pointed end. I usually do this only when I'm near the end of a length of thread and need want to get one or two more stitches out of the piece I'm using. I know, it's terrible to use the last remaining inch or so of thread because it's been abused being pulled over and over again through the fabric, but I really hate changing out the thread for just a couple of stitches. I will go to great lengths to rethread the needle instead of just switching the thread out. Lame, eh?

Meme of Reading Questions - Part 2

Here's part 2.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often any more. What's the point?

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Mostly I read genre fiction (fantasy, mystery, romance), travel memoirs, and parenting books. I tend not to read Literature.

13. Can you read on the bus or train?
I can. I find it easier (as in, less likely to make me sick) if I am riding forwards. Reading on metro makes the time pass by so much more quickly. I can also stitch while riding public transportation.

14. Favorite place to read?
Outside on a pleasant day.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I will, but I'm very careful about to whom I lend books. My BIL doesn't return books, so I will only "lend" him books now if I don't care if I get them back. I will only lend books I plan to keep to my friends who will treat them with care.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Rarely with fiction. Yes with textbooks or self-help books, especially if there's something I want to reference again. Never with books that aren't mine.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Rarely with fiction. Yes with textbooks or self-help books, especially if there's something I want to reference again. Never with books that aren't mine.

18. Not even with text books?
See #17.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English. It's really the only language I can read in.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
I wish I had stuck with French or Portuguese long enough to read comfortable in one of them. Otherwise, maybe Greek, since I like to travel to Greece so much.

20. What makes you love a book?
Humor. Snappy writing. A strong plot.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
I usually recommend books when I think the person will enjoy it. I also have three very specific books I recommend to women when I find out that they are expecting twins, because these books have been so helpful to me. Two are twin-specific, and one's a general human development book.

Meme of Reading Questions - Part 1

I got this from , who got it from Lorette‘s blog. I'm going to break it into several posts, since I haven't been posting much lately.

1. Favorite childhood book?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle was the first one that popped into my head.

2. What are you reading right now?
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson series)

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None

4. Bad book habit?
I buy books instead of checking them out from the library, and when I do check them out, I'm inevitably late in returning them.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Nothing

6. Do you have an e-reader?
No

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
One at a time. If I have several going, it's either because I'm not liking what I'm reading in one of them (fiction) or that I'm slogging through some non-fiction/self-help type book.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
No idea. I've stopped wasting my time on fiction that I don't enjoy.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
I've been re-reading a lot of old favorites since we finally pulled all of our stuff out of storage. I just finished the Belgariad series by David Eddings. On the new-to-me front, the one that sticks out so far is I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. It was a very funny book.

Stitching Technique: Half-Crosses over One

Anna wrote a compliment about my use of half-cross stitches. One of the commenters asked about it. It's a technique I've used often, and it's very easy, so I thought I'd share. I first learned of it while stitching a Hillside Samplings design many years ago.

On linen or an evenweave fabric (I generally use 28-32 count), use 2 threads of floss to half-stitch over 1 fabric thread.

This works best on designs where you don't change colors often. Not only does it shrink your design in size, it more than halves the time it takes to stitch something. I really don't like doing full crosses with one over one, especially with overdyed threads where I need to do a full cross for each stitch rather than working in rows, so this technique is a real treat for me. Just make sure that all of your slants go the same way.

The framers at my LNS were very impressed when I took the piece Anna has seen in to be framed. They'd seen others try the technique, but there had been ridges between the rows. My rows stayed flat. I think the trick may be that I use the up/down method of stitching rather than the sewing method. That is, I put the needle down through one hole, pull the thread through, and then come up through the next hole and pull again. I don't put the needle down through one hole, up through the next, and then pull the thread through both.

The angel ornament that I'm stitching for the Bride's Tree SAL uses this technique. You can see if you look closely at the original pattern that the design takes on a slightly different look, but I don't think the change is drastic enough to matter. I'll post more pictures once I find them.