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Book Review: Confederates in the Attic

May 17th, 2012 by

Title: Confederates in the Attic
Author: Tony Horwitz

While this book was not part of the Civil War discussion series I just ran, it was one that the neighboring town of Chelmsford selected as part of the their One Book One Town program.  It was actually 2 books they picked this year.  This and Geraldine Brooks’ March (which I did read and review already as it was part of the series).  I had hoped to hear Brooks and Horwitz speak when they came to Chelmsford, but I had another commitment that day.

Of all the books I read for the series, this was different.  First, this doesn’t look at the Civil War, but at the way the South remembers the Civil War.  Horwitz also wrote this book almost 20 years ago.  At that time the idea of the New South: republican, neo-confederate, and religiously conservative, was just beginning to reveal itself.  Many people he speaks to in the book express how their grand and great-grand parents would be upset to see them voting for the part of Lincoln.  I was in high school when Horwitz wrote and researched this book.  I lived in Miami, an area that was in the middle of a very different shift in culture.

Personally, I loved this book.  I read complaints by some who thought he was being condescending or mocking southern culture.  I didn’t get that.  I read something by a man who enjoyed most of the people he spent time with, found their thoughts illuminating as well as frustrating, and who did a great job of giving a balanced view of what had been going on.  It helped me put some of the lessons of this past semester into perspective.  I felt I had a better understand of what is still going on in the South.  I felt his frustrations at the prejudices from everyone and the reactive attitudes he frequently found himself up against.  I was fascinated as he explained his experiences with the re-enactors.  I was saddened by things that I had never learned about like Andersonville.

For me this is just another book I am reading about the Civil War this year.  Even though the program is done, I am still picking up Civil War books and reading them.  An extensive bibliography from Dr. Pierson (our program scholar) helped me identify a few books I want to read.

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Grammy’s Shawl

May 16th, 2012 by

by librarygurl
, a photo by librarygurl on Flickr.

It is not easy to pick a knitted gift for my family that lives in Florida. Even in Central Florida it is insanely hot more than it is cool. Scarves are out as are most items I would make for someone here in New England. So, I when I had to pick something to make for my grandmother in Florida, I knew I had to pick something that would keep her warm on the rare cool night as well as be light enough to not make her too hot. This is why I love cotton! It does this and is very easy to care for.
I have a ton of cotton. Of all the yarn I buy, I can get it so easily and inexpensively that I find my stash has an entire shelf dedicated to it. I really need to stop buying and finally use it. This shawl used up three different skeins of cotton. The purple is the color that ties it all together as it is in each of the variegated yarns. It also appears I picked up a skein of the Sugar and Creams that have a scent. All I could smell for the whole project was lavender. It was wonderful!
This shawl was knit on the length and was a super easy patter with yarn overs that were dropped on the next row. It made the shawl lacier and thus helping the project from being too heavy. I sent the shawl out for Mother’s Day last week and it arrived on time. My grandmother loves it and loves the colors. I am glad I was finally able to find the right project for a Floridian.

See the project on Ravelry

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Race to the Finish Line: Thesis 2012

May 15th, 2012 by

It has been a few weeks since I have managed to write anything.  This is because I have been focused on finishing my thesis.  When I last wrote about it was in February and that feels like 100 years ago.  At that time I was finishing up my proposal.  I was trying to get that turned in before Spring Break and a trip to Miami.

As of now I am having my Dad proofread the first draft of the finished thesis.  I have been driving myself to finish this before I go to Book Expo in a few weeks.  There have been some set backs.  I am defending the proposal in a few weeks.  This means I go, present my proposal and get feedback from my committee members.  The thing is that my actual project has changed since the proposal.  I started looking at the discussions on the Paul Revere page after Palin’s comments and knew this was what I needed to focus on.  So, over three months I have been reviewing what happened on the discussion pages and interviewing editors.

Most of the interviews have been done over email, but I did get lucky enough to find one who lived locally.  We were able to meet one afternoon to discuss his experiences as a Wikipedia editor.  I have found a fascinating mix of people and the thesis has really just blossomed as a result.

Over the past 2 weeks I have finally begun putting everything together into an actual thesis.  I realized how I need to organize the analysis of my data and I explored the conclusions to my research questions.

Next week I will be defending the proposal and focusing on the changes since March.  I have gotten some feedback already and am trying to integrate it into the actual document.  Some things were easier to consider than others.  I am bringing the first draft of the thesis with me to the defense so they can have it to read right away.

My original goal was to be done by June, but that is not going to be possible.  Not only can I not graduate until January, but my committee members will be away for the summer.  This will give me the summer to make the final changes and consider the suggestions of the committee before I defend the entire thesis.  Still, I can begin focusing on editing rather than writing the whole thing.  I am going to take June off from the entire thesis to enjoy reading, knitting and relaxing.  Then, in July I am going to pick up for editing.

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Goals 2012: Finish Civil War Series *COMPLETED*

Apr 26th, 2012 by

Last year at this time I found out I got the ALA and NEA’s Let’s Talk About It grant to run the reading and discussion series about the American Civil War.  Some of you kept up with how things went either because you talk to me all the time or because you read what I write here.  As of this past Tuesday the program officially ended.  I was sad to see it end, but very relieved to have it off my plate.  With the THESIS looming, one less activity is necessary.

I have been so happy with the way the program was going too.  We had a few hiccups, but we had the participants we wanted and the discussions taught us all something new about the Civil War.  I hesitate to write too much as I am still trying to compile my final report for the funders.

One thing that I am considering, moving forward, is trying to develop my own series with another faculty member.  I asked the participants for ideas and one was to do a program about Kerouac.  Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell and UML does a lot of programing in his honor.  They have run book discussions, but I don’t think they have ever run this type of scholar led series.  I have already contacted a few people to see if the idea has some teeth.

I also have to think of using this as a future article.  While I think THE THESIS will be the first foray into academic, peer review publishing, something has to come after it.  I have been playing with the idea of how academic libraries benefit from public programing.  I want to maybe hold off on this until I have another program under my belt.  I also think I need to speak with other academic libraries that have done these programs.

All in all, I am very glad I got this grant and ran this program and I can’t wait to do it again.

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Bossa Nova scarf

Apr 25th, 2012 by

by librarygurl
, a photo by librarygurl on Flickr.

I have to ask myself, at this point in time, why I thought making a ribbon scarf was a good idea. See, everyone is making these. You find this new ribbon yarn everywhere. You knit into the holes of the ribbon to make this pretty scarf with layers of ruffles. I should have just bought one, but no. I am a knitter and thus I must make one myself.
It’s not a difficult scarf to make and it knit up relatively quickly. I bought two skeins of this yarn on the yarn crawl. I was so excited to make something pretty. Then I realized I had no real idea what I was doing with it. I found the pattern and it was vague about how to handle this yarn. I had to find videos that explained what I should do.
What the pattern doesn’t say is to leave an inch of ribbon between each stitch. They give you no idea how to really bind off the project, especially the part where you have a small hole and lots of ribbon.
The videos were better, but in retrospect I can say seeing it done on the video in no way prepares you for dealing with this yarn. They say get as close to the top as possible. They say use a small ruler to measure if you aren’t sure you have an inch. They say it’s easy. Then, when you sit down with the yarn you realize that it’s not a good idea to aim for the top row, but a few down instead. When you try to determine an inch you quickly realize you better just wing it because there is no way you can add a ruler to this mix. Then you realize you hate this and want it to end. I was only doing 1 skein and 4 stitches per row and it took me days. I didn’t even want to touch the second skein and put it away to give as a gift to someone who might be better at this than I.
What am I going to do with it? It has been put away for a gift. It’s not really long enough to be a scarf, but sewing the ends together will not only hide them, but also make a pretty cowl.
I am never using ribbon yarn again… been there, done that and didn’t like it at all. I would rather use fun fur again.

See project on Ravelry

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Nubbins for Tatas

Apr 24th, 2012 by

by librarygurl
, a photo by librarygurl on Flickr.

The washcloth was a source of many giggles on Saturday when Pat and Christi came over to knit with me. To be fair, genitalia tends to do that to us.
This washcloth is probably the most difficult one I have ever worked on, but mostly because I made it more work than it needed to be. First, there are two types on yarn in use. I was almost done with it when I realized there was no way I had enough yarn to finish the project. Not only was I about 20 yrds short in the skein, but I think the skein wasn’t as long as it told me it was. That would be the outer, hot pink (kinda hard to tell how awesome it is). I got that yarn on the Yarn Crawl (with the yellow from the HP washcloth). The yarn that is making up the boobs (yep, with nipples) is yarn I got on Saturday when we went to Michaels. It’s a new Sugar and Cream scrubby yarn that is going to be so much fun in the shower. I got to practice my intarsia techniques to frame the lighter pink and i am very pleased with the results. I have a bunch of the light pink left and enough hot pink to maybe make an icord.
The outer edge has little nubbins on them. They were easy: cast on 2 and promptly bind them off before knitting the rest of the row. The washcloth was designed to support breast cancer. I made it because sometimes (often) I am really just a 13 year old boy in a 30-something, woman’s body. I can’t wait to weave in the ends and add it to my small collection of washcloths-for-Sara.

See project on Ravelry

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Harry Potter Washcloth

Apr 19th, 2012 by

by librarygurl
, a photo by librarygurl on Flickr.

Anyone who knows me well also know I love Harry Potter.. specifically Cedric Diggory, but that’s another post that will never be published. Anyway, I have wanted to make this washcloth forever and just never have. Who knows why, but that all changed as I was making my list of yarn to find during the Yarn Crawl.
The thing with washcloths/dishcloths is that I make tons, but I make them for others. I have 4 of my own, but they are mostly projects that didn’t turn out so great and I didn’t feel I could give them to someone. I have never really made a special one just for me. I knew i wanted a nice, bright, yellow cotton. I knew I could finish is quickly and when I found the yarn I knew it would be something I would do soon.
So, here it is. I worked on it at Knit Night this week because I can’t work on other projects in public. I needed something that won’t get messed up if I get distracted with conversation.
What am I going to do with it? It is going to be a bathroom washcloth for me and me only. If you think this one is neat, just wait to you see what I do next. Hint: it includes bobbles.

See the project on Ravelry

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12in12: Spiral Scarf

Apr 13th, 2012 by

by librarygurl
, a photo by librarygurl on Flickr.

I have all this yarn and I need to use it. With all the big projects I have going on (the Market Tote, the February Lady Jacket and my lace shawl) I want other quick and easy projects. It makes me feel a bit more productive.
This scarf has a future home. I have decided to use this and the other two recent scarves for gifts. I have already identified the people they will go to, but I am not sharing that detail here.
It took me all of 2 days to make this scarf and the vast majority of the work was done on the last 2 rows and bind off. Why? Well because this scarf starts with 100 stitches and I double the number of stitches over other row until I have 1600. Working with 1600 stitches is massive. It took me about 2.5 hours to bind this off.
The yarn I got from a de-stash about a year ago. It’s alpaca yarn in a lovely green and very soft. I have tons of it left so I have a few project ideas for the rest of it.
This is going to be put away with all the other gift projects. I may have to make another of it though. It was quick-ish and easy and so pretty.   This is also the third completed 12-in-12 project!

See the project on Ravelry

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Goals 2012: Weight Loss

Apr 6th, 2012 by

Yep, one of my goals this year is a weight loss goal.  No details, but it goes hand in hand with my goal to make exercise a habit.  There is more to this goal then just starting exercise.  It really means I have to consider what I eat.  My eating habits have changed significantly over the last 10 years.  Since moving to MA I have had to face the reality about what I enjoy eating.  I will be clear: I love food, but it’s rarely the things that are good for me.  I never really cared enough until I started really thinking about it.

I have already talked extensively about what has happened to my eating and body over the past three years.  I have a friend who had weight loss surgery about a year ago.  She thinks I should do the same.  She thinks it would work for me as well as it has worked for her.  When she wants to understand why I flat out say no I tell her this: I have never cared before.

All those years of starting and stopping on whims is a clear sign that I never really cared or made a long effort.  I am like that, I get obsessed and then get bored very quickly.  The key is changing habits.  Of course I won’t loose weight if I don’t really want to loose it.  Suddenly, I do want to loose it because I am loosing it.  If I kept trying, really trying, and it never worked then, yes, I would look into surgery.  What is going on with me right now is proof that I can do this on my own.  It is proof that I can make diet changes and have it change my body.  It is proof that these changes can become part of my life and not be an effort.  I am not constantly fighting with myself to avoid fast food, processed sugar products and dairy.  Sometimes it is difficult, especially with the dairy, but I am not suffering.  I have made allowances.  For example, I will never, ever give up real mayo and I will never, ever eat something I don’t like on principle.   I will eat cookies, brownies, candy, pizza, fried foods and more.  I just won’t live on them like I use to.

My trainer, after 2 months of working out, has asked me to track my foods for a few weeks.  Why? Because something is not working.  I am struggling to manage my food with all the workouts.  Instead of getting discouraged, I allowed advice from friends to influence me and I download a food diary app for the phone.  Like with many weight watcher attempts in the past, I quickly became obsessed with tracking my food.  I was appalled at how meaningless items were more calories then they were worth.  I was shocked at how little I burned during exercise, at least compared to what I imagined I burned.  The app is not perfect, obviously, but it did the trick.  I realized I had increased bad dairy in my diet.  I didn’t think I was using exercise as a justification to eat worse, but I must be.  I didn’t think about what I was eating over the past two months, I just ate.

Now, it’s back to what has worked in the past: limited dairy, knowing what foods I want to keep in my diet, finding good replacements for things I can’t eat, and thinking about what’s coming.  I am trying to avoid becoming obsessed with the tracking and just focus on being aware of what is going into my body.  Hopefully this, with continued exercise, will mean I will soon go down another size and hit my weight loss goal for the year.

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Book Reivew: Bedbugs

Apr 1st, 2012 by

Title: Bedbugs
Author: Ben Winters

I got this book at Book Expo in 2011 from the publisher.  I put this one off because I had not been thrilled with another book Winters wrote.  Sadly, this book did not do much to change my feelings about Winters as a writer.

I will be fair, I couldn’t wait to get to the end of the book.  I wanted to find out what was causing the bedbugs, who the bad guy was and who would survive.  To be honest, I hoped the main character would bite it in the end.  I did stay up late one night as I got closer to the end.  Winters is easy to read as far as writing style. I felt the suspense I was suppose to feel, I just felt it for the wrong reasons.  Winters does a great job plotting the story and pacing it.  That’s probably what saved this book and kept me reading.

There were two things I really disliked though.  First, Susan, our heroine and main character, was someone I found totally unlikeable.  I quickly tired of her neurotic, anxious inner monologue.  Instead of creating a character prime for a psychotic break, Winters created a woman who annoyed me. Her saving grace was that she did love her child and husband and her intentions were good.  She obsessed about things I just couldn’t relate to and she ignored things I thought were important.  I am sure others may find her likeable or will identify with her, but I am not one of them.

Part of my dislike of her came from the fact that I don’t feel Winters did a good job setting up her anxiety in reality.  He makes a big deal out of her decision to give up a job as a lawyer to stay at home, be a mom and be an artist.  Well, she makes a big deal out of it.  Instead of making art and being a mom she constantly reminds herself that she really does neither (especially the art).  Her husband only mentions that he may be frustrated with her choice at a moment when he is under immense stress.  Her anxiety comes out of nowhere.  While this may reflect reality, it made for a poor story.

The other thing I really disliked was this was clearly a book for New Yorkers.  Winters wastes time mentioning NYC specific details.  For example, a friend of Susan works in theater.  Winters gives unnecessary details about the show she is working on when what theater it’s in and who wrote it.  He does the same with parks and neighborhoods and restaurants.  I don’t like in NYC, I don’t know neighborhoods nor do I care.  I am suppose to relate to these characters and their problem.  It was hard when I didn’t care about these details.

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