The Weekly Loaf

I've made white sandwich bread, cinnamon bread and honey-oat bread. This week it was cinnamon raisin bread, and it turned out to be almost perfect (even if I do say so myself). 

A little bit of the cinnamon-sugar-raisin filling leaked out at the end, but that was just a preview of the deliciousness within.

 

I was happy to see the lovely tight swirl of cinnamon, sugar, and raisins with very few gaps. I think I had three pieces of this loaf and someone else who lives here gobbled up the rest. He has asked several times when I'm making more, but I feel like moving on to something else, like banana bread, blueberry bread, or maybe banana blueberry bread. 

I hope your weekend includes several things that taste delicious!

Some Average Books Plus a Couple of Good Ones

I wasn't trying to read more than usual, but somehow I managed to finish four five books this week. I figured I would tell you about them in a post devoted solely to books instead of making my Unraveled Wednesday post too long. First is an ARC that I thought might have been written with people like me in mind, but it turned out to be just average for me.

Annie B. Jones' Ordinary Time offers a heartfelt exploration of the beauty and challenges found in the mundane rhythms of life. Her writing is lyrical, reflective, and deeply personal, capturing the ordinary moments that often go unnoticed but can carry profound meaning. The book reads like a collection of journal entries, full of introspection and spiritual undertones, making it a comforting companion for those navigating their own periods of stillness and routine.

While the book succeeds in creating a contemplative mood, it occasionally feels repetitive, with themes and reflections circling back in ways that can lose their impact. The slower pace, while fitting for the subject matter, might test the patience of readers looking for a more dynamic narrative arc.

Still, Jones’ ability to find grace in the everyday is admirable, and her observations will likely resonate with readers who value subtlety and introspection. Ordinary Time isn’t a book that will dramatically change your life, but it gently encourages you to look closer at the life you already have. For those in the right season, it might be just what they need.

Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperOne for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on April 22, 2025. 

 

 

More or Less Maddy offers a deeply introspective journey into the complexities of identity, relationships, and the diagnosis of bipolar disorder . While the book carries the signature emotional depth and psychological insight that Genova is known for, it doesn't hit the mark of her other works like Still Alice.

The protagonist, Maddy, is relatable in her struggles, caught between the life she has and the one she yearns for. Genova does a good job exploring the depths of depression and the utter chaos of the manic phase, along with the issues and side effects of treatment with lithium. The way Maddy's relationships with her family and friends evolve is both heartwarming and bittersweet, and Genova's prose is as engaging as ever.

However, where the book falters is in its pacing and predictability. Certain plot points felt overly repetitive, and I found myself wishing for more depth in the latter half. While Maddy's personal growth and acceptance of her diagnosis is somewhat compelling, some of the supporting characters felt underdeveloped, leaving their arcs incomplete or unconvincing. Maddy herself was never portrayed as a very likable character, and the book turned into a cycle of Maddy exhibiting depressed or manic phases, her mother being concerned about her and reminding her to take her medications, and help offered by Maddy's older sister, Emily. I'm sure that bipolar disorder is both sad and tragic, but I had hoped that this book might be more than that. I really looked forward to this book because Still Alice is one of my all-time favorite books, but this one was just three stars for me. 

 

I thought I would love Knife Skills for Beginners; a cozy mystery with a culinary twist is my cup of tea. Unfortunately, while the premise was promising, the execution was off.

The idea of a murder mystery tied to a cooking class sounded like it might be fun. Chef Paul reluctantly agrees to stand in for his friend Christian to teach lessons at a cooking school. Paul and Christian have their own history but Paul needs an income. Things move along well with stereotypical characters until Christian is found beheaded with the cleaver that Paul was last seen with. There was a little too much gore for me in the description and that scene didn't fit well with the cozy mystery genre. Murrin was a finalist on Masterchef and has edited BBC Good Food, so he clearly knows his way around a kitchen. Those little touches add some flavor to the story but I found the inserted recipes lackluster and almost condescending to the reader. I don't read cozy mysteries looking for good recipes but I had hoped for more than funeral potatoes made with frozen hash browns, deviled eggs, and poached chicken.

The pacing was uneven, with a slow start and a middle that dragged. The story felt bogged down by unnecessary characters and meandering subplots, such as Johnny and Marcus, who added little to the narrative. The multiple characters, while likable, didn’t have the depth to make me invest in their fates. If you like mysteries with a culinary theme, you might still enjoy this one, but it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I’d hoped. Two and a half stars rounded up.

 

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is a tender, bittersweet story that will tug at your heartstrings, even as it gently reminds you of the beauty and fragility of life. It's a novel about an unlikely friendship between 17-year-old Lenni, who is terminally ill, and 83-year-old Margot, who is grappling with her own mortality. Together, they decide to paint 100 pictures, one for each year of their combined lives, using art to celebrate their stories, memories, and the moments that shaped them.

Cronin’s writing shines brightest in its ability to blend humor with poignancy. Lenni's wit and resilience are a delight, and Margot's rich, eventful past adds a depth to the story that kept me reading. Their friendship feels realistic, and their shared moments are the highlight of the novel. Cronin also weaves in themes of loss, grief, and love with care, creating an emotionally rich narrative.

While the book is moving, it does feel like it may be trying too hard at times. Some of the emotion feels a bit forced, as though the author was trying to wring tears from the reader. The pacing can also be uneven, with parts of the story feeling overly drawn out, especially as Margot recounts her past. Additionally, some secondary characters, like Father Arthur, while charming, feel underdeveloped compared to the main duo.

That said, this is a story that celebrates life and connection in a meaningful way. It’s not perfect, but its heart is in the right place, and it’s hard not to be moved by Lenni and Margot’s journey. If you enjoy life-affirming stories in the vein of The Fault in Our Stars or The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, this one is worth a read. Three and a half stars rounded up. 

 

 

Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel is a chilling and thought-provoking dive into a dystopian future where even our dreams are no longer private. Set in a world where citizens are "retained" and monitored under the guise of security and preventing future crimes, Lalami masterfully crafts a narrative that is equal parts haunting and insightful, forcing readers to confront uncomfortable truths about surveillance, control, and autonomy.

The titular Dream Hotel serves as both a sanctuary and a prison—a place where dreams are recorded, analyzed, and exploited. Through a mosaic of perspectives from both "retainees" and "retention officers", Lalami introduces us to characters grappling with the loss of freedom and the intrusion of the state into their most intimate thoughts. Each character's story adds depth to the central theme: how much of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice in the name of safety?

Lalami’s prose is sharp, blending evocative imagery with incisive social commentary. She excels at building tension, and the world she creates feels increasingly and disturbingly plausible. The novel’s pacing keeps you hooked, though at times the shifts between storylines and somewhat abrupt ending left me wishing for more closure with certain characters.

What elevates The Dream Hotel is its relevance—its exploration of surveillance culture, the commodification of personal data, and the erasure of privacy hits frighteningly close to home. It’s the kind of book that lingers in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page. The Dream Hotel is a powerful and unsettling tale that will resonate with fans of speculative fiction and anyone who’s ever wondered just how much freedom we’re willing to trade for possible comfort. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy dystopian novels with a philosophical edge! This four star book was a real surprise for me as I'm not big fan of dystopian science fiction novels, but I can't stop thinking about his one.

Thank you to Pantheon and Netgalley for providing me wit a copy of this book. It will be published on March 4, 2025. 

 

What are you reading? I hope it's something good!

 

Unraveled Wednesday: 1/29/25

I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with a completed cowl, a mostly completed mitt and a second mitt in progress. 

I finished the cowl a few days ago and blocked it. It's not completely dry so I can't do a modeled shot, but I can wait. I was anxious to finish it and all ready to cast on another one, but my desire to knit cables seems to have evaporated as soon as I cast off. This cowl might go in the gift pile until it lets me know who I knit it for.  

 

I worked on the Tunis fingerless mitts, finishing one (except for the thumb) and getting almost through the ribbing on the second. Once I finish this second one I'll have to make myself sit down and do both thumbs so the mitts don't sit around thumbless for the rest of the winter. This yarn is sheepy and substantial, so the mitts are warm and something I want to be able to wear while it's still cold.

I was concerned about what I would knit next, and somewhat shockingly, I don't feel like starting another Hitchhiker. I spent a little bit of time on Ravelry and stumbled upon an interesting two-color shawl that I couldn't seem to stop thinking about. I checked my stash, found two yarns that I think will look good together, and will be winding them to give it a try. It may be a little soon to declare an end to my era of Hitchhikers, but that might be a possibility. But first, thumbs!

I read three books last week, so I'll write about them tomorrow instead of making this post too long and boring. 

What are you making and reading this week?

What Are You Thinking, Duolingo?

I'm still plodding along learning German with Duolingo. I've kept this up for 202 days. Some days are easy, and some days are more difficult, and then there are days when I wonder what Duolingo is thinking. 

 

I don't know what kind of dogs they have in Germany, but I'm not making plans to visit if they can be mistaken for cars. 

 

 

It seems like the order might be backwards; the fish has no job so of course he doesn't have money. 

 

 

 I have killed slugs in the garden with salt so I'm not surprised that this snail can't eat salt. 

 

 

German turtles must be diligent and hard-working since they don't need free time. 

 

 

 If only the answer to this question was a resounding "Ja!"

 

 

I don't know what ice cream coffee is but I think I would like to drink it, especially with my chocolate pretzel. 

 

 

And here is the answer! I may need to give this eiskaffee a try. 

 

 

The next time someone asks how I am, this is going to be my answer.

I know that many, if not all of these lessons are AI-generated, but when they don't make much logical sense, I do question my limited knowledge of German. But they still provide me with entertainment, if not a stellar learning experience. 

Ich habe viele Kartoffeln; ich bin zufrieden.  Ich hoffe Sie sind auch zufrieden.

 

The Weekly Loaf

I know I said I was going to bake cinnamon raisin bread for my next loaf, but I had made oatmeal for breakfast and since the container was still on the counter, I decided to make Honey-Oat Pain de Mie instead. 

This bread was wonderful, just slightly sweet and nutty. John had to bemoan the lack of cinnamon, but I have eaten this plain, toasted, spread with bit of jam, and used it for a turkey sandwich. I have yet to find a way that this bread is not absolutely delicious. If you happen to be making it for a 13" pullman pan, don't miss the note at the bottom of the recipe about doubling all the ingredients except the yeast. As it's written, this recipe would be ideal for baking in a regular 9x5 loaf pan. Baking bread and having fresh-baked bread to eat is making this winter more tolerable for me!

Unraveled Wednesday: 1/22/25

I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with a still uncompleted cowl and a new cast on. It's Tuesday afternoon as I'm writing this and 12 degrees, so I'm apologizing ahead of time for the dark indoor pictures that follow. 

I still want to knit another couple of inches on the cowl before I start the top ribbing, so I get to sit inside and enjoy knitting cables for a little while.

 

I did cast on my Tunis mitts so I would have something to work on that I have been eagerly anticipating. I had decided to make Hot Waffles (ravelry link) and I did the ribbing but I think the beginning of the pattern rows are far too tight. I think I'll rip back to the ribbing (it's just a few rows) and knit forward with a needle at least one size larger. 

This week I finished Here. I never thought I would be enjoying a graphic novel, but thanks to a recommendation from Kat, I did. Here centers around a single corner of a room in a house, but it spans billions of years, from prehistoric times to a distant future. McGuire’s innovative storytelling technique involves layering multiple moments in time on a single page. For example, a frame from 1907 might coexist with one from 1957 and another from 2317. This layering creates a rich tapestry that captures the cyclical nature of existence and the interconnectedness.

McGuire’s artwork is deceptively simple yet masterfully executed. He has used a muted color palette and clean lines to carefully construct pages with frames that overlap and interact in surprising ways. The minimalist style ensures that the focus remains on the passage of time and the layers of history embedded in a single location.

One of the most striking aspects of Here is its ability to elicit an emotional response through subtle visual storytelling. A recurring image of a woman laughing in 1957 juxtaposed with scenes of loss or destruction in other years creates poignant contrasts. The interplay between permanence and transience is underscored by McGuire’s meticulous attention to detail. I think Here would appeal to fans of graphic novels and readers intrigued by the intersection of art and storytelling. I certainly found it intriguing and worthy of four stars. 

What are you making and reading this week?

 

Read With Us: A Secret Announcement

Today is the day we announce a new Read With Us book for winter! You might already be aware of this if you were able to attend the last Zoom discussion for Intermezzo, but now everyone will know. Winter is when we read a contemporary classic, and this book fits the bill. It was first published in 1992, so some of you may have read it in the past three decades. This was the author's debut novel, and she has published only two other works of fiction since this one. (She has also written numerous short stories and some non-fiction.) I think this book sets the standard for dark academia, and it's especially interesting because it's an inverted mystery with the main action revealed in the first sentence. The events leading up to that action are slowly revealed throughout the novel.

Our new book is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. 

The hardcover, Kindle, and audio versions of the book are all available from my library without much of a wait. Hopefully, we'll all have plenty of time to place a hold, get the book, and read it.  The Kindle and paperback versions are priced reasonably from Amazon and I'm sure your local bookseller could order a copy for you if you're lucky enough to have a local bookseller. I read the book nine years ago and am thoroughly enjoying listening to the audio version narrated by the author.

Kym, Carole, and I will be talking about the book, giving additional information, and doing promotional posts throughout February. Discussion day for The Secret History is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 7:00 pm Eastern time, so mark your calendars. We'll ask questions on our blogs that day and then host the always fun, educational, and entertaining Zoom discussion. 

Something is revealed in the first sentence but I do hope you'll Read With Us to find out all the events, circumstances and effects of what has happened. There may be an unlikeable character or six, but all of these add up to a darn good story.

Something Good

I wanted to post something good today as there is an event happening today that may not be so good. Since I kitty cat sat for Nugget last week, a few photos of Nugget are the best things on my camera roll.

Justin had the heat turned down while they were gone so I would often find Nugget curled up in her fuzzy bed in the sun. I don't know if she was using one of the catnip things I made for her at Christmas as a pillow or maybe catnip gives her good dreams.

She does occasionally leave her bed to sit on the dining room table where the warm air from the mini-split blows on her. Nugget has a pretty good life!
 

Thank You!

I'd like to express a big thank you to all of you who were kind enough to think about Bill and our family. Because you sent good juju, thoughts, and prayers, the surgeons were able to accomplish all of the tasks they intended without a glitch. Bill has passed the first big surgical hurdle and is recovering as expected in the ICU. He's been extubated, had several of his chest tubes removed, is able to sit in a chair for short periods, and has had a few sips of water. These may not sound like big accomplishments on a normal day, but after you've been in the operating room for more than eight hours and had your chest cracked open, they're big enough.  

Hopefully, Bill will be back home in the nearish future and feeding the birds, deer, turkeys, and occasional bear.  

 

Thanks again and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. 

A Gathering of Poetry: January 2025

It's the third Thursday of the month so I'd like to welcome you to A Gathering of Poetry.

I finished reading this book once, but I've kept Ted Kooser's Winter Morning Walks nearby so I can choose a poem and read it whenever I feel like a bit of poetry. This one may be my favorite (and Kooser has dated it January 16th) so I'm sharing it with you today. 

 

The January Thaw

by Ted Kooser

A flock of several hundred small brown birds,

all of one mind, crazily chases its tail

across a muddy field and into a grove of trees.

They are full of joy, like a wheel that break loose

from a truck and bounds down the road

ahead of the driver, then eventually slows,

and falls behind, wobbling onto a spot

on the shoulder, rocking around on its rim,

then settling with a ringing cry.

====

Kooser, Ted. "The January Thaw." Winter Morning Walks. 2000: Carnegie Mellon Press, pg. 66.

You can read more about Ted Kooser here.  

====

Thank you for reading and joining us for our monthly Gathering of Poetry. You are more than welcome to add your link below if you would like to share one of your favorite poems. The more the merrier!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Unraveled Wednesday: 1/15/25

I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today, plugging away on the same cowl as before. 

I'll probably knit a couple more inches in pattern and then do some matching ribbing at the top. These cables have a kind of magical quality to them, making me slow down and feel a sense of calm. That's knitting I'll gladly do more of!

This week I read an ARC from Edelweiss entitled The Bright Years, by Sarah Damoff. It's a poignant debut novel that delves into the complexities of family dynamics, addiction, resilience, and possible recovery. Set in Texas from 1958 to 2019, the narrative spans four generations of the Bright family, offering an intimate portrayal of their struggles and triumphs.

The story is told from three perspectives: Lillian, her husband Ryan, and their daughter Georgette (Jet). Lillian and Ryan's relationship is marked by love and the scars of past traumas, including Lillian's experience with adoption and Ryan's battle with alcoholism. Their daughter, Jet, navigates the challenges of growing up in a family overshadowed by secrets and addiction, striving to find her own path amid the chaos.

Damoff's writing is both tender and unflinchingly honest, capturing the raw emotions associated with generational trauma and the enduring hope for redemption. Her background in social work is evident, as she approaches sensitive topics with compassion and depth. I think the author writes about alcoholism and addiction honestly - the anxiety, secretive behavior, impaired judgement, hope, mercy, and the never-ending fight.   

This is a story that I was initially leary of requesting as the blurb makes it sound like it could be a non-stop soap opera. But the novel is well written with well developed characters so it doesn't often feel like an overwrought drama. The author does have a habit of over-writing similes; I found that these were most evident in the first third of the book. There is nothing wrong with descriptive writing but I had trouble when reading "I peel back my eyelids as his slam open, his eyebrows like deep-diving caterpillars plunging into a frown." I am not familiar with deep-diving caterpillars and this simile made no sense to me. The overuse of similes gave me a glacial pang of pain like the stab of a dagger of ice frozen from a poisoned well (sorry!), but the story and the messages are still good ones. Overall, The Bright Years is a compelling exploration of love, loss, and the possibility of healing. Damoff's nuanced portrayal of a family in turmoil through generations offers readers a heartfelt and authentic narrative. Three and a half stars rounded up.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on April 22, 2025. There is currently a goodreads giveaway for it if you are interested. 

What are you making and reading this week?

 

A Request

I have a small request this morning. My brother-in-law, Bill, is having some fairly extensive open heart surgery tomorrow at Cleveland Clinic. He's having his mitral valve replaced, his tricuspid valve repaired, and two cardiac arteries are being bypassed. He has been there since Monday and will hopefully be in the hospital for about a week. 

That's Bill on the far left next to John's sister with John and I when we hiked at Watkin's Glen last summer. Bill is a smart, funny, well-read, interesting guy, so if you've got a few moments tomorrow, maybe you could send some good juju, a prayer, good wishes, healing thoughts, or whatever fits into your belief system. 

I've been thinking about Bill for much of the fall. He had first visited several cardiologists closer to home in PA, and later on ended up at Cleveland Clinic for three days of testing. Thankfully the cardiologists there felt that this was something they could do, and after some fraught waiting and rescheduling (his surgery was originally scheduled for December 16th), tomorrow is finally the day. I wish Bill only the best and it may help me to relax just a bit knowing that there are others out there wishing him well also. 

 

It's my hope that Bill will feel well enough by the spring to return to one of his pet projects. He and John have been working on getting Bill's father's 1964 TR4 running again. We are all anxious to take a ride with Bill behind the wheel.

Thank you for your good wishes!

The Best Lunch Ever

Even though it's winter and the garden at Ryan's is dormant until spring, we still go up to visit him once every week or two. We used to go out to a diner for breakfast or lunch, but Ryan likes to cook, and he often says that he knows he could make something better at home. He was not wrong, and has perfected omelets, grilled cheese, tuna melts, sausage corn chowder, and supper on a bread slice. He has started watching American Masters: At Home With Jacques Pepin on youtube. This a series that PBS ran during the pandemic where the renowned chef cooked many of his favorite dishes at home in his kitchen. Despite being a famous French chef, Pepin makes some simple dishes and prepares omelets, scrambled eggs along with other variations, pancakes, and crepes. 

Ryan watched Onion Soup Gratinée and decided that since onion soup is one of his favorite things, this was something that he should make. He made it once for himself, decided it was delicious, and he would make it for us when we visited on Friday. His house smelled wonderful when we get there because he was caramelizing the onions. He added them to stock and toasted bread to add to the soup crocks. Following Jacques' recommendations, Ryan added toasted bread to the bottom of the crock, placed some grated cheese on top of the bread, ladled the soup in, added another piece of toasted bread and cheese to the top of the crock, and then baked it for 30 minutes or so. 

It was truly the best lunch I've had in a long, long time. Ryan has six crocks and said we could each have two. I couldn't imagine eating more than one, but the first one was so good that I was glad for a second serving. I've made run-of-the-mill onion soup with bread and grated cheese on top, but this versions has deeply caramelized and flavorful onions and the two slices of bread both rehydrate in the soup and mix with the melted cheese to become a delicious, thick soup that has bread, cheese, and onions in every spoonful. Ryan used cheddar, gouda, and gruyere cheeses but you could use almost any cheese you prefer. I love how Jacques Pepin makes cooking approachable and I love how Ryan used that to make us the best lunch ever!

The Weekly Loaf

Earlier this week I posted about the pullman pan I had redicovered in my kitchen cupboard, and wondered how cinnamon swirl bread would work. This is how:

Paul Hollywood might have some less than flattering things to say about this loaf, but I don't think he's stopping by. I rolled the dough tightly and got a good swirl, but there are still a few gaps between the cinnamon-sugar and the dough. But you know what might help fill those gaps nicely? Raisins! I didn't have any when I baked this bread, but I'll make sure there are some in the pantry before I bake next week. 

 

 

In the meantime I'm starting my morning wonderfully with a couple of pieces of toasted cinnamon swirl bread and a steaming mug of chai. Life is pretty good when you've baked bread!

Unraveled Wednesday: 1/8/25

I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today with an FO and a UFO. I did finish John's Westerly Hat and he wore it so I can probably call that a knitting success. I could have saved myself some knitting and done at least two fewer pattern repeats before the crown decreases, but I'm not taking it apart to unravel some of the extra length and reknit the crown. There were no complaints from the recipient, so it must be okay.

I cast on for a cowl with the same cable pattern as the hat, but it took me four times before I was happy with it. I wanted to start with 2x2 ribbing, so I mistakenly thought that just meant my number of stitches needed to be divisible by two. There are 13 stitches in the cable pattern, so I cast on 130 and started knitting, but discovered my mistake when I ended up with two extra stitches. I ripped it out and started again, but made several different mistakes and I wasn't happy with the transition between the ribbing and the beginning of the cable pattern. I did some simple math and finally cast on 144 stitches, doing 10 rows of ribbing, then an increase row to 156 stitches, followed by the start of the cable pattern. That's working and I have incentive to keep knitting. Our overnight lows are in the teens and it's cold. We had to take Justin and Jess to the airport this morning at 4:00 am and I was wishing I had a nice warm cowl around my neck. But I'm kitty-sitting Nugget for the week and picking Jess and Justin up after midnight next week, so there will be plenty of opportunities to work on and hopefully wear this cowl in the near future. 

We have a couple of inches of snow on the ground and I thought it might make a nice background for a picture of the cowl. But the temperature was 23 degrees and the winds were howling at 30-40 mph when I took the picture Tuesday afternoon, so the background is the fleece afghan I snuggled under while knitting some more on the cowl. Outdoor photos will resume when it's not so darn cold outdoors!

 

I finished Ted Kooser's Winter Morning Walks this week. It is is a near-perfect collection of poems that Ted Kooser wrote on postcards and sent to his friend and fellow poet, the late Jim Harrison. Because he was undergoing treatment for cancer in 1998 and needed to avoid sunlight due to skin sensitivity, Kooser took walks in the early morning and composed these observational, reflective, and meditative poems. They have made wonderfully calm reading during this winter season, and it's a book I'll keep nearby to reread. These are poems full of gratitude, humility and hope. This year I also hope to read Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry: Expanded Anniversary Edition, Kooser's and Harrison's conversations in haiku. 

What are you making and reading this week?

Read With Us: Intermezzo Discussion

Today is the discussion day for our Read With Us fall selection, Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney. Kym, Carole, and I are each posting a discussion question or two on our blogs today, and you are welcome to respond in the comments. I would also encourage you to reply to others' comments if you choose.  This is a book discussion, after all, so there are no correct answers or right opinions. I've been looking forward to discussing this book ever since I finished it, and I don't know of a better bunch of people for a book discussion than all of you.

 

 

So here is my question: The relationships between Peter, Naomi, and Sylvia, and perhaps more notably due to their genders, Ivan and Margaret, feature a decade plus age gap. How do you think gender and the differences in age account for the Peter and Ivan's unacknowledged grief and how the characters relate to each other?

 

(Just as a reminder, socially awkward Ivan is 22 and involved with 36 year-old Margaret. Peter is 32 and involved with 22 year-old college student Naomi and former girlfriend Sylvia who is 32 and suffers from chronic pain.)

 

I'll be glad to share my thoughts about these questions tonight during our Zoom discussion. These questions on our blogs and the Zoom discussion are your chance to express your ideas. So what do you think? I can't wait to hear your thoughts! (And I'm counting on our discussion to give me fresh perspectives in my own thinking about this novel.)

The in-person Zoom discussion will be at 7:00 pm Eastern this evening. If you haven't RSVP'd to Kym already you can send me an email (the email address is in the upper right) and I will make sure you get an invitation with the Zoom link. I hope to see you there!

 

Look What I Found!

And look what I made with it!

I usually go to the grocery store once a week, but it's a chore I really dislike. With several freezers full of vegetables and venison, I honestly don't need much besides bread, milk, eggs, and a few other miscellaneous items. I had put off shopping for several days when it was raining, but when I had finally decided to go, all I really needed on my list was bread. I decided that I would much rather bake bread than shop for it, so I looked through all of my kitchen cupboards for something that I hoped was still there and that I hadn't gotten rid of in some ill-advised cleaning out.

And look what I found - my pullman pan! It's a lidded loaf pan that minimizes crust and makes it possible to bake nice square sandwich bread or pain de mie (if you're fancy but I'm not). I had lusted after this pan for several years and finally broke down and bought it probably 15 years ago or so. I baked with it quite a bit, but after the kids moved out, I barely used it at all. But I was glad to find it and bake a stellar loaf of sandwich bread. That was much more satisfying than going to the grocery store. 

 

 

 Justin and John's brother were here over the weekend to do "men things" with John so I used  up quite a bit of the loaf to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. It also makes great toast.  I think it would make delicious french toast and I'd like to make cinnamon raisin swirl bread with the it so I won't have that gap between the filling and the bread that you sometimes get in swirl breads. 

My pan came from King Arthur Flour and I originally purchased the 13" one. They also make a 9" one that might be better suited to our two-person household. I'm going to think about it for a while, but that 9" pan might be my Christmas/New Year/just because present to myself. 

Unraveled Wednesday: 1/1/25

I had hoped to join Kat and the Unravelers today with a completed Westerly hat for the first Unraveled post of 2025, but instead I've got a hat with just nine more rows of crown decreases before it's finished. That's okay with me; it should be ready for John to wear in a couple of days when our temperatures will barely reach freezing.  

I really love these cables and I had an idea to keep knitting them even after the hat is finished. I'll cast on more stitches than I did for the hat (130 or so?), knit a few rows of ribbing, commence with the cables again, then finish with a few more rows of ribbing. This should (hopefully) produce a nice warm cowl for me. I feel like I can do the cables in my sleep now and this might be a good way to practice cabling without a needle. I'll be tossing the stash for some yarn that says it wants to be a cowl and be casting on soon.

I also want to review what I've knit last year. I knew I didn't knit much, but thank goodness for Ravelry because I sure can't rely on my memory. 

 

I only knit eight things, but I did make things that I really like or were for other people. I think the one I'm most proud of is My Hydrophily (rav link). It's a wonderful pattern from Sarah and after looking at it here, I really need to wear it more often. It deserves to be seen!

 

I just wrote about books yesterday so I won't bore you with more, especially because I'm reading the same book. I am approaching the end of Ted Kooser's Winter Morning Walks but I don't want it to end. I'll be keeping this book nearby so I can reread it again throughout the winter. I'd love to hear about your making and reading. Here's to a happy and healthy 2025 for all of us!