What I've Been Up To March 2, 2016

What have I been up to? No good, that's what!! Oh, I jest!! My headaches have been worse over the last few months, but I have still managed to keep busy.

Knitting 

• I haven't been knitting quite as much as usual, but I did finish a pair of socks for my mom. They are the Traveling Woman socks done in Hearthside Fibers yarn in the Rhapsody color. So, the exact ones I entered in the county fair in the summer. 




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• Mom also needs me to mend the socks I made for her several years ago. Somehow, the picot edge on the top is coming undone. I still haven't sorted out how to fix it. I don't have any yarn that will match, so I will probably do it with thread. 





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• Last night, I cast on another pair of socks. The are "Here Be Dragons" from Knitty using Cascade Heritage yarn. 

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• I'm also making a blanket using some of our locally sourced wool from when The Knitting Nest was open. It's all garter stitch. Perfect for when I don't want to think while I'm knitting.

Reading

• Blessed by Kate Bowler. I can highly recommend it.
• An excellent review of the American Prosperity Gospel movement. Bowler writes clearly and tells her story well. In addition to the history, she also uses modern-day examples to help illustrate the movement and how the beliefs affect everyday life. 
• American Apocalypse by Sutton is another I can recommend. 
• This book is a good history of the Evangelical movement in the US. He starts in the 19th century with the earliest premillenial dispensationalists and moves forward through the Fundamentalists of the early twentieth century to the Evangelicals of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century.  The reader gets the history of everything from the old-style revivals to the history of the first Fundamentalist Bible colleges and seminaries, from Billy Sunday to Billy Graham, and so forth. It's well worth reading if you are interested in the history of religion.
• I'm finishing The Invitation Only Zone - The True Story of North Korea's Abduction Project by Robert S. Boynton. 
• I'm working on Beginnings by Steve Wiens. I love his writing style. I'll do a full review when I'm finished because I think it deserves it.
• Also on my desk is Rescuing Jesus: How people of Color, Women, and Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelicalism by Deborah Jian Lee.

Scrapbooking

• I've been using MyMemories digital scrapbooking program to make scrapbooks. I first finished the one of my parents' 50th Anniversary Party and received it from the printer last week. It is gorgeous!

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• I finally finished Rosie Girl's scrapbook from her graduation - 3 years ago!! I sent it off to the printer a week or so ago, so it should show up here pretty soon.
• I've got Wild Man's book just about done except for his band, choir, musical, and graduation stuff. I'll do that after graduation. He'll actually get his book this summer.
• I'm doing a book for Ashley, but I haven't started. Hers will be smaller since it will only cover about 6 months. I'll probably mail it to her new address in the fall since she'll be back in the US.

Podcasts

• You might have noticed that I didn't mention any audiobooks in my book list, which is unusual for me. That's because I have discovered podcasts!
• Serial. I listened to the first season of Serial, which got me hooked. Now I'm listening to the second season about Bowe Bergdahl.
• Hardcore History - This is what is really replacing audiobooks for me. This guy's podcasts are each about three hours long, so I don't usually listen to a whole one at once. Right now, I'm listening to a five podcast series (each about three hours) on World War I. Wow. So much to learn!!! 
• Criminal - These are 30 minute shows about a crime and they're interesting.
• Sword and Scale - These are longer podcasts about a crime or a set of crimes or even something else to do with criminal justice. With my macabre interest in true crime, I find these really interesting.

Coloring - I got some coloring books and colored pencils, so I sometimes sit down to just color for some relaxation when everything else seems too hard.

Being a Mom - Yeah, I'm a mom. Sometimes, the headaches keep me from acting like a mom, but the rest of the time, I manage the mom thing pretty well. Ashley is taking a hiphop dance class, so she and I drive to dance every Monday evening. I had to take Ashley last week to get new contact lenses. Wild Man and Ashley occasionally need help with their homework. And, there are the discussions of current events that occur over the dinner table, etc. I can't believe that PWM and I are going to be empty nesters next year!

So, what are you up to these days!!