Spring Is Here!

Well, it was today, anyway. Today would make a believer in global warming out of anybody. Considering it's February, anyway.

Holly and I went out and it didn't take long before we took off our sweatshirts (that we were wearing like jackets).

I know the weather will go back to winter in a few days, but it probably made it up to 60 degrees, judging by how it felt.

I got an IM from Holly last night saying that the headlights in her car were out again! I IM'd back "Will I ever see you again?" We did actually go out today, but we had to be sure that Holly started home in time to be there before dark.

We headed for Borders in Springfield first, with a stop at Michaels, since we were going right past it.

Michaels had some beautiful yarn that Holly bought to make a baby blanket for one of the ladies at work. It has ombre stripes and dots of different baby-type colors, so it's self-patterning, like some sock yarn. She'll be making a circular blanket, and I can't wait to see it.

At Borders, I finally got my copies of Coraline and Backup! They are both very short, but I suspect, very good. I started reading Coraline when I got home.

Then we headed to Walmart (the one in Dumfries that has yarn), and I bought lots of yarn. Now I can knit actual projects again. Most of the WalMarts in the area have essentially eliminated yarn from their inventory, so I have to take two buses to get to one that actually has yarn, unless Holly gives me a ride. I also bought lots of regular household supplies.

We stopped and got something to eat, and had a great time talking. Holly got her birthday presents (finally!), and really liked the protective "skin" I designed for her phone.

Then there was a quick stop at Giant, where I used the gift card I got for Christmas.

Holly went to Baltimore last night, which is where she was when she discovered that her headlights are out again! She and Malaia went to the Baltimore Aquarium yesterday, and watched their movie. Holly says it was in 3D, and scary. Kids were screaming, and being removed from the theater by parents, and it was all quite exciting. They also wanted to watch Coraline, but it was sold out far in advance, so they missed out on it.

I need to get some work done for all of you people who are fans of Steve Canyon. John has a new post up on the Steve Canyon blog, by the way, so go over there and check it out! The Steve Canyon hats will be back soon, so you'll want to read all about it. They sold out fairly quickly before, and this may be the only new batch of them, so get them now while you can!

Now I'm going to get something done on the covers so you can watch the second volume.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

I have the best sister in the world, and today is her birthday!

Just for the record, I've forgiven Mom for having you instead of the older brother I asked for!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!

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Speaking of birthdays, I haven't seen Holly since Christmas, so I haven't been able to give her Birthday presents.

Actually, this is a pretty good arrangement because I can find lots of things with hearts on them due to the proximity of Valentine's Day. She collects heart-shaped jewelry and other items.

Well, I'll get to see her tomorrow, and she'll get some of her presents, but I'm still working on some of them, and she won't get them all tomorrow. 

Can you say "procrastination?"

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I went out this morning to do several errands. One of those errands was to pick up two books at Borders, and I have to say that Borders has never been as much of a disappointment as it was today.

The two books I planned to get were Backup, and Coraline.

They just plain didn't have Backup, but Coraline was marked as "likely in store." I went looking for it in Science Fiction, and went back to the catalog and discovered that it was also stocked in the "kid's independent reader" section. Couldn't find it there, either, went back to the catalog, and it said "not in store." If I'd been a little quicker, I might have found it.

I went to the help desk, which was unmanned for at least a half hour in spite of the fact that there was at least one person waiting for help that entire time, and most of that hour had two or three people waiting. There would have been more, but people periodically gave up and went away.

I went to the cafe to get something to drink, but they didn't have anything I wanted except water, but I really didn't want to pay $2 for a few gulps of water.

Back at the help desk, with no help forthcoming, I had lots of free time to look around. The row of bookcases that has been there since the beginning of time (you know, the ones that display bestsellers) is no longer there. But there's lots more room for customers in the space it's freed up. If the bookcases were still there, they probably would have had the books I was looking for in them. I miss them!

Although the store was full of shoppers, and the line of people purchasing things was threatening to take over all the floor space, expand outdoors and take over the earth, there were very few people actually working in the store. I was going to say it looked like the first day the last Harry Potter book was released, but they had enough people there to deal with it that day. Today, they didn't.

What is wrong with the economy?

I keep seeing things that there's a large demand for in the store (in spite of the economy), but they're not in the store! I mean things that manufacturers could sell twice as much of if the items were just in the stores, but they're not there. People were all over the store with cash in hand, trying to buy things that the store didn't have!

Could this have something to do with the economy?

Anyway, I did, finally, track down someone who reserved Backup for me at the Springfield store, and said that they would search for a copy of Coraline, and if they could find one, they'd hold that for me, too.

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For those of you who enjoy fantasy on TV, Hallmark will have The Good Witch on this weekend, followed (in some showings) by it's brand new sequel, The Good Witch's Garden. It also has a couple of other showings later in the month, so check your local schedules.

It'll be on TV in a little bit and I want to catch it.

Oh, and have any of you been watching Legend of the Seeker? It seems quite a good fantasy story, based on books by Terry Goodkind, and several stations have it on at odd hours, so, once again, check your local schedules.

I have to go. I hope you're having a great weekend.

Happy February!

This particular February boasts a distinction that other Februarys haven't had in quite a while.

It has a Friday the thirteenth.

The significance of that is that because February is 28 days long, it means that March will also have a Friday the thirteenth.

Two of them! Back-to-back!

I'm sure you're beginning to understand why some people have said to me, "You're easily amused!"

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I got tagged on Facebook, and put it up here so it would be easier to read. So, there will be three posts up today, so when you finish reading this, there are two more.

One of the entries on Facebook says, "John Ellis is predicting that facebook will blot out the sun and then swallow the earth within 7 days."

He's got a point.

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The Christmas stockings, which were done last week were picked up and paid for last night! The fact that the project is completed is a major relief for me, and it's leaving a knitting vacuum in it's wake.

I have several projects in mind that I'd like to do, but no yarn! I'd like to go out today and get some yarn, but this cold/flu/infection is hanging on, and I woke up today with my feet swollen up and my right foot hurting. It hurts enough to make me want to limp, so I'm less than enthusiastic about walking to the bus, and then walking to all the places I'd like to go. 

I have a $15 credit at Borders, and I want to use it to buy a copy of Backup. The list price for it is $20, but it's a novella, barely more than a short story. I have no doubt that it will be good, but everyone that's read it thinks the price is more than a bit stiff. Yes, I know that it's available at Amazon at a lower price, but there's also shipping, so it doesn't make a lot of difference. But my credit will mean that it'll only cost $5! So it will be well worth the price. I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's a quote from the beginning of the book:

Let's get something clear right up front.

I'm not Harry Dresden.

Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences--and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being.

I'll be damned if I know how.

But then, I'll be damned regardless.
My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster.

I can't wait! It's really a book in the Dresden Files series, but it's told by Thomas, and it's an account of his adventures providing backup for Harry on a case.

I also want to buy a copy of Coraline while I'm there. Coraline has either just come out or will be out as a movie real soon now. I want to see the movie, because, as the second link will tell you, the entire world of the movie has been created by hand. And then again, it's been written by Neil Gaiman, so it couldn't possibly be bad.

And then I want to walk across the road to Radio Shack to buy some DVD cases. Then there's a walk over to WalMart, and I really need to stop at the dollar store, which is another walk. None of these trips are far in themselves, but all together, it's a lot of walking.

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I haven't been telling you about what I've been reading lately, so let me remedy that.

I joined the Folklore and Fairytales group on Ravelry. I suspect that if you're not on Ravelry, you won't be able to see the page that link takes you to. It did cause me to put up a Fairytale section in my Amazon store, though.

Anyway, they've been discussing lots of interesting books, and I've been carrying tons of them home from the Library and reading them. A large part of what I've read because of this group is from Dianna Wynne Jones. First, I reread Fire and Hemlock, which is a tale heavily based on the Tam Lin story, with a touch of Thomas the Rhymer thrown in. Then I continued with The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volumes I, II, and III. 

I'm currently reading the Inkheart Trilogy, having finished Inkheart and Inkspell, and I'm now partway through Inkdeath, and I'm enjoying it immensely. My library card has been getting a workout with all this! The first of these three has come out as a movie (last month) and I suppose if it does well that they'll do the other two. If anyone has read the book and seen the movie, I'd really like a review from you.

I currently have a copy of The Alchemyst lined up for when I finish Inkdeath, and it's sequel, The Magician, is on order at the library. I'm going to have to wait until May for the third book, The Sorceress, though.

These are fictional stories about a real character named Nicholas Flamel, who showed up as a peripheral character in the Harry Potter books.

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This post is starting to get out of hand in length. Blogger has just thrown a fit because I have too many tags listed, so maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

There will be a new Fringe, The Mentalist and Leverage on tonight!

Have a good one!

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PS-- Here's a link to information on a movie that John's just finishing some work on. He's syncing dailies, so the movie is nowhere near finished.

Tales from the Bus

I've spent a good proportion of the day on the bus on four of the last eight days. And that's without counting in the crazy, robbing lady who is making it her life's work to abandon her kids.

Today, I went trucking over to Borders to get a copy of Welcome to the Jungle, only to discover when I got there that it is a graphic novel, not a book. I was very disappointed.

But, Backup will be out soon (Halloween), and while it's only a novella, it'll be something to get me through the withdrawal caused by having finished all the Dresden Files books (twice).

I did go across the street to Shoppers Food Warehouse and buy a dozen packs of Ramen noodles, so it wasn't a complete waste, although I wouldn't have chosen to pay $1 for the bus so that I could do a lot of walking to buy $3 worth of noodles. But then again, Safeway is no longer stocking Top Ramen in the Oriental flavor, so I wouldn't have gotten them any other way.

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Now that I'm back, I am just about ready to fall face first into my bed and take a nap. Whether I want to or not.

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Tonight, we have Supernatural, as usual on the CW, and they are very appropriate to the Halloween season, if you want to get in the mood.

Later, there's Eleventh Hour, Life on Mars, and a rerun of Burn Notice. Check your local listings.

Quick Update

More news is out on the Steve Canyon blog! Read about it here!

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Welcome to the Jungle is out in the stores! I was asleep at the switch, and they sneaked the latest Dresden Files books out while I wasn't looking! And before I forget about it, Backup will be out on Halloween or the next day.

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I finished the first sleeve on the Celtic sweater completely (including the I-cord) and am nearly finished the first sleeve. There's about an inch to go plus the I-cord.

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Pushing Daisies will be on tonight at the same time as Knight Rider.

I have some errands to do, and am otherwise busy, but here's something you might enjoy.

Have a great evening!