Reads and Knitting

While here at the kids house I've been working on a little needlework but mainly been knitting. That's because of the convince of being able to just grab my bag and off I go, whether it's just here in the house or in the car.. Have to say that is one of great thing I like about knitting.

Brought two projects with me and been making some progress.

The cat cocoon is moving along, especially now that I'm working on decreasing for the top portion.  

As you can see it's just a big ball, lot bigger now but once wash and shrunken down it should be perfect size..  

I would love to get this done before I leave so I can give it to my oldest daughter who also lives here.

Then I started a scarf that was one of the Loops Clubs projects. 

Each month I'll get a new small project and this is one from March.

Liking the pattern because it's a no brainier because its a repeat of just 2 rows. So no need for me to have to keep looking up what to do next or count rows..

Since it took 5 days to drive here this year I was able to listen to 3 books along the way.

The first was one I figure was very appropriate since I was coming to see the grandsons and it was.  I had learned that I was not alone when it came to a few things. First is how we become so in love with these new little additions to our family. I am so overwhelmed by my feelings for them and how much I want to be with them. Next is (and fell short on this) is just keep my mouth shut.  I had seen a change in my daughter and our relationship during and after the birth. I haven't figure why but I'm least know now that happens for some. Another is the fact that is don't worry about how much I spent. We'll spend what ever it takes to see them and many other grandparents do the same thing too. I would suggest this book for grandparents and their children. Could be great insight for them too.

 Erik Larson is my latest favorite author. This book was so good. It will make an interesting movie. I heard but can't remember who bought the rights to the book to do just that.

Here is the publisher summary

In a thrilling narrative showcasing his gifts as storyteller and researcher, Erik Larson recounts the spellbinding tale of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

The White City (as it became known) was a magical creation constructed upon Chicago's swampy Jackson Park by Daniel H. Burnham, the famed architect who coordinated the talents of Frederick Olmsted, Louis Sullivan, and others to build it. Dr. Henry H. Holmes combined the fair's appeal with his own fatal charms to lure scores of women to their deaths. Whereas the fair marked the birth of a new epoch in American history, Holmes marked the emergence of a new American archetype, the serial killer, who thrived on the very forces then transforming the country.

In deft prose, Larson conveys Burnham's herculean challenge to build the White City in less than 18 months. At the same time, he describes how, in a malign parody of the achievements of the fair's builders, Holmes built his own World's Fair Hotel - a torture palace complete with a gas chamber and crematorium. Throughout the book, tension mounts on two fronts: Will Burnham complete the White City before the millions of visitors arrive at its gates? Will anyone stop Holmes as he ensnares his victims?

  The last book was another great one.

Even thou I did not know one thing about rowing, let alone competition rowing, I found this book an enticing read.
Funny thing is I kept rooting for the boys even thou I knew how it turn out.

Here is the publishers summary
  

Daniel James Brown's robust book tells the story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together - a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Drawing on the boys' own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times - the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant. It will appeal to readers of Erik Larson, Timothy Egan, James Bradley, and David Halberstam's The Amateurs.

Linking up with Ginny at Small Things