Chris Video Clip and Books

This past weekend Chris went to Houston to visit his friend and fellow band member Alan and perform at a venue. Here's a video clip of their show--Chris is on the right. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWy8aG7qKYM

Here's a little bit about some books I'm reading or have recently finished:

Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Wow...I should have read this a long time ago. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis and eventually executed by hanging. His writing is poignant and inspirational.

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. Weiner looks at "Darwin's finches," which are actually 13 different species of finch that live on the Galapagos Islands, in order to trace the development of the theory of evolution and to look at the current evolution of these birds. Who would have thought that reading about finch beaks would be a page-turner!

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This book traces both the history of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago AND the story of a serial killer during the same time period. If you like architecture, history, and gruesome details about Jack the Ripper types, this one is for you.

A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols. The story of the first non-stop around the world solo sailing trip. It's fascinating to read about the personalities of the men who attempted this voyage.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This is an excellent story about a childhood in Afghanistan with a bit of an unbelievable turn at the end, and good writing, but not great writing.

That's all I've got for today!

Academic Matters

Here's a link to an interesting article about the changing emphasis in higher education. It also talks about the trend towards using more adjunct faculty over tenured professors. It seems that the academic world is finally addressing the "elephant in the room"! The comments are even better than the article.

http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/the-last-professor/?th&emc=th

Scarves

When I began knitting in earnest a few years ago, I must have made about a gazzilion scarves...OK, it wasn't that many, but it was a lot. I had a long commute on the bus to go to my teaching job, and I often knitted to pass the time. I gave away many of those scarves, and I unraveled some and turned them into other projects, but I still have several, and I really like to wear them. Now I don't knit (or crochet) scarves so often, but I did just finish one, and another is on the needles. The one below was a WIP (see Project Updates), and I decided to finally finish it (remember my new resolve to get my WIPS taken care of?). When I got it out and measured it, I discovered it was already long enough and only needed the fringe. That was a nice surprise!

The "clapotis" is going to be wide enough to be a scarf or a shawl. The yarn is variegated, and the colors tend to "pool" so I am alternating skeins as I knit. I switch between skeins every other row, and carry the yarn that's not being used up the side.

Chan Vest and Akiko's Sweater

It did not take long to finish the Doris Chan vest after I decided to apply myself to it, and here it is...it looks very cute on, but I didn't want to post yet another picture of me in a vest! Crochet is really a lot faster than knitting, but I had a lot of trouble with the beginning of this. Now I have the confidence to try a sweater with sleeves of Chan's.



Here's Akiko modeling her new sweater (she really makes it look good!):



In other project news, the past week has been very hectic as I had to prepare and submit two grant applications. This meant I had to revise and fine tune several pages of my latest translation project to turn in with the applications, and the actual process of applying is quite elaborate as well. It's highly unlikely that I will get either grant (I'm not being modest, just realistic!), but I'm so glad I did this because it was really a learning experience, and now I am ready to apply for grants in the future. I am amazed at how much I am learning in life at this late stage, but it's exciting because I appreciate it so much now.

Knitting Time

My favorite time to knit is early in the morning, while I'm drinking my coffee. This usually only lasts for 15-20 minutes, sometimes longer on the weekends, but it has come to be a prized time for me. No one else in the house is up, and the pets have been fed and are quiet. I sit in my study and knit a bit without any distractions. I don't even do much thinking during this time, which has made me realize that it is similar to meditating, something I haven't been very successful with otherwise. It certainly relaxes me and makes me feel like I am starting my day off right. It is no wonder that knitters often joke about knitting being cheaper than therapy!

My other favorite time to knit is in the evening around 8 or 9 when Greg and I usually sit together for a while, listening to music or watching a movie.

So here are a couple of current projects! I decided I really must do something about all my WIPS, so I am diligently working on the Doris Chan crochet top I started some time ago (see Dec. 3 posting). I forgot to describe the yarn for that project in my original posting: it is a DK weight (light worsted) blend of wool and cotton by Brown Sheep Company and is called "Serendipity Tweed."

OK, I did start something new...this is for a "clapotis" scarf/shawl that I found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html. It is a very popular item to knit right now, as I learned on the Ravelry website. It's not a difficult pattern, but you do have to pay attention as you knit. It requires you to drop rows and rows of stitches, something I've never done before. The yarn I'm using is a variegated, wool, alpaca, and silk blend from Chile by the Araucania company called "Aysen." This is truly the softest yarn I've ever used. I'll be sure to post a picture when it's done (could be a while).

Olive Vest

The vest I started just before Christmas is done...I worked on it a lot in California. It is warm and comfy and fun to wear, but I think it would look better without the cast!

So Cal

We had a great time in Southern California, but as our New York friend Dorene would say, what's not to like? The weather was gorgeous...sunny and in the 60s and low 70s, and we did all our favorite things like going to the beach, taking lots of walks, eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and enjoying being around family. Chris went boogie boarding one day, and Greg was so inspired that he rented a wet suit and went the next day. What's funny about this is that he rarely did such things when he lived in California growing up. He continues to amaze, inspire, and entertain me, and I guess that's what keeps things fun and interesting after almost 25 years of married life!

Chris is wearing Uncle Ronald's old wetsuit from the 70s (?):



Conrad "relaxes" on the beach with Helen/Grandma:



Julie's clowning around:



Happy New Year!