Project Spectrum: Bluer than blue

It's cold outside. I don't mean chilly. I don't mean a little nippy. I mean frigid. And even though I love almost all of the trappings of cold weather (such as having an excuse to drink cup after cup of hot chocolate, wear those ugly thick socks in the back of my drawer and the big warm sweater described as "cozy" by a dear friend, which is a far cry from "hot"), dipping temperatures are unkind to me in two ways.

I have slathered myself from head to toe (literally) and am still trying to use a letter opener to reach a spot in the middle of my back that is itchy. My skin simply is depleted of all liquid. Not even hot chocolate can save me.

And my head only hurts when I move it, blink my eyes, breathe or think really hard. It's easy not to think deeply, but the blinking won't stop.

On a more positive note, two out of the three birthday/gift scarves have been received and since worn. That's reason enough to enjoy gift knitting. I see a red one in my future.

Another view of blue via book spines on my bookshelf.

Project Spectrum: Blue

It's Sunday and for that very reason, my mood is in keeping with the February-March Project Spectrum color theme. Blue. I am blue that my weekend is over, yet again.

I can't blame it on partying, mayhem and living the high life. Our weekend was simply eaten up by adding layers of clothing on top of layers of clothing, home projects, lots of television and excessive closet organization.

On Friday, Cynical and I met up for dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants and rented a few movies before I noticed our lips were purple, a sure sign it was too cold to be out and about.

Yesterday I spent the entire day inside, having learned my lesson after attempting to brave the cold the previous night. Every hour on the hour I added a layer of clothing: another pair of socks, an additional fleece shirt. . . This was followed by either Cynical or I saying, "It's cold in here."

In a flurry of home improvement energy, we removed the poorly installed and damaged paneling from our bathroom in preparation for a visit by a remodeling firm later this week. As for the rest of the day, the details would only bore me further to type them: television, knitting of a hat with ear flaps, housework and something that resembled a nap. In between there was some cooking, lots of coffee and some more discussion of exactly how cold it was outside.

Today, however, was much more exciting. Hold onto your seats. There were pancakes and sausage, there were tacos, there was a trip to the Y, a stop at a used bookstore, a visit to the library, the purchase of sheet protectors (which made this obsessive-compulsive very, very happy) and a closet overhaul. Riveted. . . well it's always nonstop mayhem at Chez Ragged, excitement around every corner.

And now we sit, still discussing the cold, watching very bad television, burning CDs and fretting over the week ahead.

I assembled a few "blue books" in honor of Project Spectrum's theme for February and March.

Calling all reading nerds:

1. A Book that Changed Your Life
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston

2. A Book You've Read More Than Once
My Antonia by Willa Cather

3. A Book You'd Take onto a Desert Island
Pride & Prejudice (I am embarrassed to admit, I have never read it.)

4. A Book That Made You Laugh
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro

5. A Book That Made You Cry
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

6. A Book You Wish Had Been Written
Lost on this one.

7. A Book You Wish Had Never Been Written
Crime & Punishment by Leo Tolstoy

8. A Book You're Currently Reading
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

9. A Book You've Been Meaning To Read
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

10. Now Tag Five People You Want to Hear From
All of ya!

Is it still Monday?

This morning when I sat down at my desk, I noticed that I hadn't changed my daily calendar since Monday. I think it's because I have been much too busy to worry about what day it is or perhaps I didn't want to let Monday go because I just didn't accomplish everything I set out to do that day.

For whatever reason, it may be Thursday for the rest of you, but it's certainly feeling like Monday here.

It's been a hectic week all around, with me having something scheduled each night. I can't complain as most of it has been fun, but so much work and play does make for a very tired girl.

Monday night of course is set aside for knitting group. On Tuesday evening I had a board meeting for a non-profit that I work with. Last night I met my knitting buddy for some dinner, conversation and of course, knitting. Tonight I am headed out to visit a friend recovering from a surgery that was due to be minor, but had a few complications.

I have made great headway on my second sock. (Yes, Apple will have a mate. No sock should have to go through life alone.) However, I have come across a minor snag and I am hopeful that I will be able to get some expert advice this weekend from Needlefingers. You see, on Saturday we are going to trek to Illinois for a two-day visit.

For now I am going to try to make it through Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all in one day. Wish me luck.

Additional Notes:
Still hoping for additional input on the Reading Ragged site. I had several suggestions via comments from a previous post and listed a few of my ideas at Reading Ragged, so stop by to provide your two cents worth on our next selection.

I am making a yoga mat bag for my mother thanks to a pattern in Stitch N Bitch Nation, had a few snafoos. The good news is that I was able to rip out a stitch pattern, which was tedious, but I was ever so proud. The good news is that it is in the April Project Spectrum colors, the bad news is that I started it much too late to get it done this month. The color for May is GREEN, so I should be set, at least in theory.

I shot the photo above during our hiking/geocaching adventure on Sunday. I don't know why it struck me, but it did.

Reading, anyone? Anyone?

Seems we breezed through our last selection over at Reading Ragged and I am wondering if anyone is up for another book. I posted a few ideas, but am certainly open to input from any other of our readers or anyone that might want to join us. So, stop by the site, let me know what you think and maybe we can dive into a new book?

For all of you OCD readers out there. . .

Just came across a cool site where you can catalog your books and create reading lists. Just passing it along in the event you may want to undertake such a task.

To start anew

Reading Ragged
Slap my wrist, muddy my name, I failed completely when it came to reading "The Chronicles of Narnia". I just couldn't get into it. However, some of the reading group are on to bigger and better things and a new book has been suggested, so stop by Reading Ragged and maybe we can make a comeback with a new selection and discussion.

The photograph included here is of a silver piece at my folks' house. I love the shape of it and the smoothness of the finish.