Book Chat - 7/30/2020

I'm doing well in my challenge of reading at least 50 books this year. I'm up to 34 with these two books:

Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie

Holly Banks and her family have just moved to a posh community where everything looks perfect. The Village of Primm is touted for its superior school, which is run by the dictatorial president of the PTA, Mary-Margaret St. James. The book is described as comical and hilarious, but I found most of the interactions between not-so-perfect Holly and the exacting Mary-Margaret silly and a bit over the top, especially early on. Otherwise, it's a cute summer read. I liked it.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

This book is set in my hometown. It was fun seeing familiar street names and landmarks mentioned. Even two of the main characters had a familiar last name. Samantha (Sam) Casey is an elementary school librarian who expresses the happiness she feels about her life by dressing in a colorful manner, but it wasn't always that way. When the principal of the school suddenly dies and his successor is announced, Sam is shocked. He happens to be a man from her past, one of the main reasons she left California and settled in Texas. It was a light-hearted read with a bit of a message. I loved it.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 7/27/2020

I haven't watched many movies in the last month, but here are a few:

Murder on the Orient Express, the 2017 iteration, is a very well done telling of the story:    A fancy train ride through Europe turns sinister when one of the passengers is murdered and the killer is still on the train. The ensemble cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp and Olivia Coleman, to name a few, is wonderful. It was good.

The Good Liar features Helen Mirren as a wealthy widow who meets a man through an online dating site. It turns out that the man is a con man (Ian McKellen) who cannot believe how lucky he is to have made this match. Jim Carter (yes, our Mr. Carson from Downton Abbey) plays his partner in crime. We follow the story as Roy, the con man, is welcomed into Betty's life and he plans the ultimate heist. It was very, very good.

MK out.

Book Chat - 7/24/2020

Since there are no finished objects to see, i thought I'd talk about books. We've been on a trip and I've read more books than usual; so, might as well talk about some of them.

The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis

To the rest of Salem Creek, the Moon women have always been different, at best and  dark, at worst. What was true was each Moon daughter was expected to cultivate her gifts and carry on the family legacy, but Lizzy Moon wanted nothing of the sort. Eight years ago, when two dead girls were dragged from the pond on the Moon property, the whispering of witchcraft and malfeasance grew loud enough to implicate her grandmother and to drive Lizzy away to school and to the normal life she craved. Now, her grandmother has died and she must return to take care of matters. It was very good.

What Remains True by Janis Thomas 

Five-year-old Jonah is killed in an accident. His father, mother, sister and aunt each feel responsible and cannot get over the guilt to help with their grief. This story is told through each person's perspective, even Jonah's and Shadow's, the family dog. It's very moving and heart rendering. It was good.

From Ash and Sand by Amy Harmon

Set in WWII Italy, two kids, a Jewish girl and a Catholic boy grow up together and fall in love. As war-related tensions in Italy increase, the boy works towards the priesthood. He is tasked with keeping the girl safe. She doesn't make it easy for him because she doesn't want to hide. She wants to fight. It was good.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 7/22/2020

I am liking how my latest project is coming along. Deets here.

The bathroom shot is not so flattering, but it's a thing in the knitting world.

MK out.

FO Friday - 7/17/2020

The Swoop Tee, she be done!

Pattern: Swoop Tee by Amy Gunderson
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in black
Comments: I think this top could use a little shaping. It also stretches with wear. I liked making this top and am considering making it again using a different yarn.

Sorry for the bad picture, but am away from the dress form, who needs a name badly. Suggestions?

MK out.

Book Chat 7/16/2020

This week's selections:

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

A set of twins grow up in a small Southern town in Louisiana. The residents are all Black, but pride themselves for being light-skinned. The girls escaped to New Orleans, but after a time, they separated and didn't speak to one another again. One girl married the darkest Black man she could find and the other girl lives a different life, passing for white. It was very good.

Alabama, Again by Susan Sands

Disgraced chef Cammie Laroux is called back home to Alabama to help her sisters with their mother's recovery from surgery. It might've been a good respite from her troubles, until she learns that the ex-boyfriend who stomped on her heart all those years ago is renovating her childhood home. For a beach read, it had a bit more complexity than expected. It was good.

The Room Where It Happened by John Bolton

This book is a memoir of Bolton's time as a member of the Trump Administration. It was short-lived, but his book felt like an eternity. It was as if every paragraph was a run-on sentence full of high opinions of himself and low opinions of just about everybody else. I just couldn't finish this book; so, I didn't.

What are you reading?

MK out. 

FO Friday -7/10/2020

I finished The Swoop Tee! I don't have any pictures right now because I am going to block it a little first.

I finished a shawl a couple of weeks ago and finally blocked it.

Pattern:  Azzu's Shawl by Emma Fassio
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in Cranberries
Comments:  This project was a fairly quick knit. It might have taken less time, but I've been a little Covid-fatigued and haven't felt much like knitting. That's why it took me forever to make Swoop Tee too. I won the yarn (and two other skeins) in a contest on my friend Lorette's blog a few years ago. Years. Y'all, I have yarn that's more than a few years old. I guess one good thing about #therona is life is a little slower these days, and I can stop and shop the stash.

Anyway, I'm happy with the way the shawl worked out.

MK out.

Book Chat - 7/9/2020

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Daphne is a plus-size Instagram Influencer who is asked to be the maid of honor in her former best friend Drue's wedding - never mind that they hadn't talked in the past six years since Drue had totally humiliated her. Lena, a new collaborator loves the idea because Daphne will be wearing her fashions in all the pictures that will be posted throughout the wedding weekend on social media. Everything is going well, considering, until Drue turns up dead the night before her wedding. Who killed Drue? I liked this book. It was a delightful beach read.

Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas

Set in present day Berlin, a stiff and reserved book publisher finds a diary whose pages are filled with inspirational quotes and activities for the coming year. At first, Jonathan tries to find its rightful owner, but having not luck, he starts to live the life the diary offers. It was good.

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch

Cleo McDougal is a US senator with a list of regrets - 233 of them to be exact. She's thinking about running for President, but her past is threatening to derail the campaign before it even begins. It was very good.

MK out.

Start Something Sunday - 7/5/2020

Even though I am still working on the Swoop Tee (I have five rows to go until bind-off) and I have a cowl on the go, I started something new just now:

...because I can.

It's a Simplicity Cardigan by Mary Annarella.

MK out.

Book Chat - 7/2/2020

There's been knitting, sewing, binge-watching and reading happening at Chez Merry Karma. I've been cooking more; therefore eating well. I need to work on my sleep and exercise. Those two things have been off lately. Despite those two lapses, The Rona will not defeat me. 

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

This novel is about Ana, the wife of Jesus. She's a rather strong, independent character for her time. The story focuses on Ana's spiritual journey. She was born into a wealthy family and she married a humble craftsman, whose calling was not yet apparent. Jesus saw her and loved her for who she was. It was a beautiful love story, but also a powerful tale of being true to one's self. It was good.

MK out.