Joining Kat and friends. Go see what the others are up to.

Knitting.

I just started the second skein of the red yarn. (Each section takes almost exactly two skeins.) Next purple, then… what to knit next? Start a new project or return to the The Big Red Blob? I should do the latter; it remains to be seen if I choose that option.

A few words about this yarn, Knit Picks Shine Sport: it has been a pure delight to work with. A tiny bit splitty, but not worrisomely (is SO a word — I just used it). The “40% Modal natural beech wood fiber”, aka “rayon”, gives it a lovely drape and sheen. If I ever decide to knit a summer top, this yarn will be near the top of the list of possibles.

Reading.

Great books this week!

as

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Unlike a number of other readers, I liked this book a lot. It was okay with me that a number of things were never really explained; I found out some of those by googling after I finished the book. Okay, here’s the plot: Klara is a humanoid robot, one of (probably) millions of AFs, “artificial friends”. She is chosen by Josie, a little girl, and her mother to be the girl’s companion. The girl is sick (never explained with what), and the mother wants Klara to help her. The Sun of the title is the source of Klara’s energy — and, by extension, the source of all AFs’ energy — and Klara wants it to help Josie get well. Ishiguro’s prose is marvelous. Read more here. 4.5★

sd

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. I first encountered this author back in the early aughts when I listened to Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, a book about Paul Farmer, a Harvard-trained doctor and medical anthropologist and his quest to provide health care in Haiti. I may even have introduced Elder Son to Farmer through that book; for many years afterward, his life goal was working at Farmer’s Partners in Health, a Doctors Without Borders-type non-profit. Anyway, this book. It follows Deo, a medical student from his childhood in Burundi through the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi and his eventual arrival in the US with $200, no English, and no contacts. Through horrific hard work and incredible luck Deo is admitted to Columbia University and eventually medical school. From there he focuses on healing. 5★

Listening.

as

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have read a couple books by this author and been pleasantly surprised at how much I liked them, even though I doubted the subject matter was my cup of tea. Just started this one yesterday and hoping it will continue my love affair with this author.

df

df

df

Watching.

as

Guess what? I am still watching Suits. Just finished season 6 last night, 3 to go. Mike went to jail, Mike got out, no surprise.

---

Update.

The humidity evaporated yesterday (see what I did there?) Temp of 70˚, 47% humidity. Heaven!

In other earth-shaking events, I got my nails done yesterday. The last time was February, 2019 — right before the pandemic. Sitting in an enclosed space 12″ from another person’s face did not seem prudent, so I gradually picked the gel off my nails as it loosened and vowed not to return until the pandemic had passed. A couple weeks ago a friend and I were sitting next to a woman with lovely nails. When we admired them, she said she had had them done at a local spa. I am much pleased with the woman who did mine (unlike the woman whom I had seen in 2019), already booked my next appointment in 3 weeks. I have always wanted longish nails. Practically my only vanity.

WordPress is giving me fits. I start a post, schedule it, then click to preview it. The most recent changes are never there! It seems to take several minutes for them to register, grrr. And if the text for Klara and the Sun is not situated to the right of the photo above, it is not because I forgot to left-justify the photo. I cannot tell you how many times I fiddled with that to no avail. WordPress has been remarkably bug-free since I migrated here in 2015. I hope this is just a temporary glitch.