I've scanned my stitching progress photo for this week
because there is no sunshine today so using the camera
would be a waste of time. I finished the Sparrows
yesterday and am quite pleased with this square. Lovely
layout, and the birdhouse is quite charming.

I made a small start on the next square which will be
Cardinals. It would have been a bigger start but an
entire flock (herd?? crowd?? pod??) of frogs descended
on me while I was innocently minding my own business
and they made me miscount in not one, not two, but in
three separate places. I'm nothing if not consistent.
Anyways, I had to rip out a section, gnashing my teeth
as I went, and so now I'm ready to proceed with more
caution.

As for the lack of sunshine today, well, it is almost
April so those infamous showers are bound to show
up sooner or later. It's bucketing down here right
now, and the grand poobahs at the weather network
were even mentioning thunderstorms yesterday,
although there are no signs of those as of yet.

Yesterday was the exact opposite of today. It was
clear skies and brilliant, wonderful, welcome
sunshine for most of the day. I went out for a
walk around 10:00 am and before I left the
house was dithering about which coat/jacket
to wear. Since it would be a brisk walk I
pulled out my spring jacket for the first time
this year and headed out. DH was already
outside raking the front yard (ground in the
backyard is still too soft to rake yet) and he
was wearing his spring jacket too. It turned
out that my jacket choice was spot on for the
day and the weather.

In the afternoon we took the old car out for a
run and were out for over an hour. It
was lovely sitting in the car with the warm
sunshine pouring in and gently toasting us.
DH was even kind enough to stop in Acton at
the Needle Gnome on our way home again
where I picked up some needles, another set
of Q-snaps and one of those small plastic project
boxes that I use to keep the threads for a single
project.

Last night DH and I observed Earth Hour by gathering
lanterns and candles in the dining room and settling
in for a game of Cribbage to wile away the time. It was
quite pleasant. Don't know what the cats thought of it
all, but they either napped (Rupert) or sat in the front
window and kept an eye on the neighbourhood (Phoebe)
until the time was up.


I have written here before about the House of Night series
by P.C. and Kristin Cast. This week I read the fifth book in
the series, Hunted, which came out this month. As with the
four previous books this one continues the story of Zoey
Redbird who continues to fight the darkness and evil which
threatens her school, friends and humanity. Specially
chosen and blessed by the goddess Nix, Zoey must use her
intuition, her goddess given gift to control the five elements,
and her sense of right and wrong to fight against the threat
of a world wide war, vampires against humans.

These Young Adult novels are compulsive reading. I am
always eager to find out what's going to happen next as
Zoey must lead her small group of fledgling Vampires
against the power and allure of a god long imprisoned
in the earth now free and seeking to subjugate the
Vampires and humans of the world. Zoey is a great
heroine because she's not perfect. She is a teenager,
unsure of herself and apt to make mistakes. But she
has a loyal heart and a strong will to do what's right.

I find Zoey to be much more multifaceted then Bella
Swan and more interesting to get to know. So, if
you've read the Twilight series and enjoyed it perhaps
you should try the House of Night series and see
what I mean.


I also read the latest (I think... it came out last year)
novel by Cathy Reichs, called Devil Bones. Again it
features Temp Brennan in her roll as Forensic anthro-
pologist for Charlotte, North Carolina. This time
Temp is called to the location of a house under
renovation in the city where a secret room has been
discovered with all the appearances of witchcraft,
or devil worship or voodoo, complete with human
remains. A day later the headless body of a teenage
boy is found by a nearby lake and a zealous preacher
turned politician begins a rabid campaign against
the perceived threats of witches, and of the liberal laws
of the country that allow the practicing of such
beliefs, as well as the laws that seem to allow violent
criminals to walk free.

The forensics is fascinating, and Reichs is good
with her explanations, the characters are rich and
vividly drawn, and the dry, often humorous obser-
vations of Temperance Brennan are a delight.
Brennan's personal life, ex-husband, self absorbed
daughter, possibly ex-lover, and a never ending
battle against her addiction to alcohol, adds to
the story and makes Temperance live on the page.
She is quite the feisty, smart, big hearted
character who doesn't suffer fools gladly and who
wants to see justice for the victims of crime but
still has compassion for those she meets during
the course of the investigations she participates in.
I love her, and admire her, flaws and all.



DH is at church, the cats are snoozing around me here
and it's almost time for lunch. The laundry is waiting
as well. Oh joy! I hope to go for another walk when
the rain lets up a bit, and perhaps putting needle
(carefully) to thread will also be an option this after-
noon. We shall see.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a wonderful
week with lots of time to stitch and hopefully some
nice Spring weather.

Cheers!