A Very Nice Saturday

We still haven't managed to decide on a new couch yet. Although, I think the biggest reason for that is that I just have not felt like furniture shopping. It can just be so tedious - sit down, stand up, sit down, attempt to ward off salesperson... It's a regular aerobics routine!

I spent the morning scrapbooking with a great group of gals that I just don't get to see enough. My friend, Kimberly, is a Creative Memories consultant, and she hosts a Memoranza scrapbooking event twice a year. All proceeds benefit the Alzheimer's Association. Anyway, it's a great deal of fun! It's a huge group of ladies sitting around scrapbooking, snacking, and sharing our lives. I think I spent more time talking to Kimberly than I actually did scrapbooking, but I did finish my little green scrapbook about the condo we sold this past June. Normally, I "scrap" travel, so it was a challenge to scrap a house! But I'm done, and that feels so good!

I left early because, not only was I finished with my scrapbook, but I wanted to be outside. It was in the seventies today! I sat out on the deck with a book and just enjoyed the fresh air and nice weather.

My friends, Katy and Ethan, stopped by this evening to bring me my new Aldo Leopold Bench for my front porch. Katy's woodshop students at Marshall Montessori International Baccalaureate High School built it for me. I love it! My front porch is the perfect lightning watching spot, so I hope it storms soon so I can watch from the comfort of my new bench.

We wandered around the yard looking for tulips that survived the recent snowstorm. While there aren't a tremendous amount of tulip buds, I think I will get a few nice flowers, which is certainly better than none!

Dinosaur in the Library

I finally found a dinosaur for my library. Although I'd scoured eBay, I could never find a good dinosaur statue. I happened upon one while looking at couches at Steinhafel's. We still haven't picked a couch for the library, but we do have a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I put it in front of a six-foot tall bookshelf for scale.

Of course the dinosaur isn't the only plan I've got for my library. I plan to add a couch and an additional chair (there's a purple one there now). I'm going to build a wall full of floor to ceiling bookshelves to house my ever-growing collection of books. At last count, we had over 600 books. The particleboard bookcases just aren't doing the job anymore. Most of the shelves are warped under the weight of the books. I'll probably sell them or give them away on Craig's List after I finish building my shelving system.

One of my cactii is blooming. It has such pretty fushia flowers!

More Books

I've been reading a lot lately, which should come as no surprise. And I just read two really good books:

• The Textbook Man by Paul Vincent
• Body Language, Tales of the Medical Training Experience edited by Neeta Jain, Dagan Coppock, and Stephanie Brown Clark

I posted both reviews to BookReview.com.

Second Knitting Project

This is my second project. It's another scarf, but this one is for my husband. I am making it wider than my first; I cast on 30 this time. I'm still using the #10 plastic needles, but I'm using two different colors of yarn this time. One is a green with speckles, and the other is black with speckles. The green bits are going to be the tips of the scarf, while the black will be the middle.

Learning to knit

One thing I'm learning to do this year is knit. I'm not sure that it's what you'd call a New Year's Resolution, but it is a step towards being more relaxed. Also, it's something I can do that does not require me to be sitting in front of the computer. I'm taking knitting lessons at a really knifty yarn house in Monona, WI called Off the Beaten Path Yarnhouse. I love sitting in their kitchen and knitting, surrounded by yarn and sample projects. It's a very relaxing atmosphere!

Here is my first real project. It's a scarf made with a self-striping yarn. I'm really proud of it. And it's nice and toasty-warm. I made it on size 10 plastic needles.

Strange title, good book

I just read a good book called, "Why You're Dumb, Sick & Broke... And How to Get Smart, Healthy & Rich!" by Randy Gage. I posted a review of it to BookReview.com.