I Love My Kindle (Yes, There's Knitting, Too)

First, a health update. Jr. Jr. is back at school, sounding a little congested, but overall much better. Sr. Jr. reports that kids are dropping like flies over at the middle school. I ran into a friend at the supermarket this morning who confirmed that by saying that her 6th grader was just back at school after a bad case of strep. Mr. T's father is back in the hospital, unfortunately. He had a fall in the bathroom last night that opened some of the areas in his lungs that had been healing. The tests so far show that the fall was not caused by a stroke or anything serious, which is good news. He did get to ride in a helicopter, but I don't think he was conscious. Also on the slip-and-fall injury list is BIL Robert, who, woozy on the Nyquil, fell and hit his head last night as well. My poor SIL is beside herself right now, with both her father and her husband in the hospital, while she's got the flu as well. So lots of late-night excitement, but luckily we think everyone will be ok.

Back in the rest of our lives, my Kindle is my new best friend. I love this little gadget passionately already.


I've already got over 20 books and sample chapters loaded up on it. I love the sample chapter feature! Not only can I test out a book to see if I really want to buy/read it, but I can use it as a kind of reminder about books I want to get, but don't necessarily want to pay for or read right now. If I read a review of a book I might like, I can download the first chapter, read it at my leisure, and buy the book whenever I want. Now I don't need all those tiny slips of paper with "to be read" titles that I'm always losing.


Sr. Jr. and I are reading The Graveyard Book together on the Kindle. The screen really does look like ink on paper, so easy to read. Kindle 2 had 11 grey shades, so the illustrations look pretty decent, too. I like that you can change the text size, so I can knit and read at the same time. I love the dictionary feature, which allows you to hover the pointer near a word and the definition will show up at the bottom of the screen. You can highlight text and take notes, too. It's intuitive to use and all the buttons are designed nicely. I think the buttons on the K2 are an improvement over K1, from what I've read. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

[On a side note, I have to say that Sr. Jr. has been an absolute doll lately! This is very welcome after a rough patch back before Christmas that lasted for a month or two. He's been snuggly and helpful. He made us dinner the other night! I know it won't last, but I'm reveling in it for now.]

In knitting news, now that I've finished up the first Baba Jaga kneesock, I've started the second.


It will be a nailbiter waiting to see if my careful weighing gets me two matching knee socks.

I also sewed together the first little seams on my Tilted Duster in preparation for picking up the skirt stitches and knitting down. The pattern calls for knitting the sleeves first, but I haven't decided yet which I want to do next.


Yes, I know I still have the Alpine Frost scarf to work on.

Now that Jr. Jr.'s back in school, there's housework and shopping to catch up on, especially since my brother will be staying with us this weekend. I thought I'd have a nice quiet week to get some knitting done, but it hasn't really worked out that way. Next week is conference time, with two days off for the elementary students, plus appointments that got pushed to next week since I had sick kids home with me this week. Maybe in April I'll get some quality knitting time in, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I'll leave you with a pretty picture of my Wollmeise, all lined up in a row:


From left to right: Indisch Rot, Terra de Siena, Digitessa, Petit Poison, Brombeere, Poison No. 5, Der Letzte Versuch, Sundig und Verucht (2), and Versuchkaninchen 2.

And finally, sending good thoughts and heal quickly vibes to Sharon's Jacob, who broke his foot and is itching to get better in time to salvage Spring track season.