All The Comforts

Being sick is never fun.  Throw in winter and all the wet and windy weather that comes with it and it seems even more unappealing.

The only joy is that if you're anything like me you're probably too feverish to notice or care.  Once the fever is gone though there is the road to recovery, that snugly time when your energy levels are the absolute pits and just the idea of standing on your feet for a minute is so exhausting that you end up having an hour long nap just to cope.

After being struck with one of those 'viruses' that seem to be the doctor's phrase for every disease known and unknown I'm now at the recovery stage and the couch along with comfy blankets and pillows is calling me.  Endless naps are on my horizon... at least for the next few days.  Luckily I've got a few of my 'comforts' to help make it easier. 

Garfield 
I adore Garfield.  He is my spirit animal in every way.   I can just pick up a book, read a cartoon and instantly feel all warm and glowy and comfy

Wallace and Gromit
If Garfield is my spirit animal then Gromit is my hero.  He's always calm, totally smart and can do anything he sets his mind to.  He also makes a mean cup of tea.

Macaroni cheese
I am very lucky to have an Other Half who is brilliant at cooking.  Even better he made me macaroni cheese following Martha Stewart's recipe courtesy of what he refers to as the Holy Bible - YouTube.  And let me tell you it was so yum and the perfect food to have when you're feeling energy deficit.

Socks 
Wearing socks always make me feel good, especially quirky socks with quirky designs.  I mean how cute are these.  And why yes I do have them.  Because how could I not.  Because beavers.  Looking cute. 

So what are your comforts when feeling sick?

June Plans And May's Outcomes

Well May has come and gone and this time I had a little more success with that month's plans.

I read all 7 books on my list plus few others consisting mostly of travel books about Toronto, Montreal and Nova Scotia.  Because yes Other Half and I are hoping to go on holiday there later this year.  As you can tell I'm kind of excited.

As for my other goals...

I didn't finish season 2 of Agent Carter because the show was cancelled so my enthusiasm kind of disappeared.  Instead I spent a lazy, wet Sunday catching up on season 2 of Outlander.  How perfect is that.

As far as everything else the writing is still not going that well but I'm learning to live with that, the knitting on the other hand is going a lot better.  I've finished one scarf and am about three quarters of the way through the second one.  Now just need to decide what to knit next.

Now for this month's goals...

I seem to be on a bit of a sci-fii kick at the moment, at least going by the first three books in my To-Be-Read pile and I'm okay with that. I've notice since I've started doing these plan posts that my reading seems to clump together certain topics/genres all at the same time.

1.     The raft by Fred Strydom
        End of the world books are definitely one of my things and this one has intriguing
        premise.
2.     Ageless by Paul Inman
        Another book with an interesting premise
3.     Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley
        I loved the first book in this series so I've been totally hanging out for this sequel to be
        released

4.     Find her by Lisa Gardner
        This month's thriller.
5.     Fellside by M R Carey
        I enjoyed his previous book so I'm hoping this is just as good.
6.     Summer nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello 
        Chick lit.

7.     Dumplin by Julie Murphy 
        I read a really great view of this on Book Riot so of course I had to request it.
8.     A slice of Britain: Around the country by cake by Caroline Taggart
        A book about cake AND travel.  Seriously it's like this book was written just for me.  
        Now I just need to find one about chocolate and travel
9.    The retro cookbook
       Yep.  Food is also this month's theme.

10.   Hex
        And along with the science fiction and food themes I also seem to be on a Michael 
        Fassbender bent.  Starting with this a TV series he did before he was famous.  And 
        why I hadn't heard of it before I have no idea.
11.   Macbeth
        I am not a Shakespeare fan in general but hey this has got Michael Fassbender in it so
        of course I just have to give it a go.  If anyone can make Shakespeare appealing it's 
        got to be this man.
 12.  The Tunnel
        The first series was so good so I'm really looking forward to watching this next one.

As for my other goals, well they'll pretty much stay the same.

13.   Lose weight and get fit
        I'm actually doing okay with this goal.  Slow progress to be sure but progress is 
        progress as far as I'm concerned.
14.   Write more
        One day this will happen but until it does I'm keeping it on my list.  Same goes for
15.   Cross stitching
        This too I will do one day. 
16.   Knitting
        I'm really enjoying this at the moment and scarves are so easy to make.

Click click click, clank clank clank

There's just something about winter and knitting that go hand-in-hand.  That and soup making, tea drinking and wearing tights, socks and cardigans.

I just love this time of year because of all the above.  Though like with most things I get interested in I've become a tad obsessed with all things knitting related.  There are just so many things I could knit and I want to do them all now.

Sadly work gets in the way but I have so far managed to a knit a scarf.  A purple, GLITTERY scarf because there can never be enough glitter in the world.  Especially when you're giving said glitter to a friend.

Of course with that project done it's on to the next one.

And yes it's another scarf because yes I believe in starting small.  It is after all been awhile since I knitted anything... like 10 years... or more... so starting with small things and working my way up to bigger projects seems like the smart move.

This one is in seed stitch which is difficult and easy at the same time in a weird kind of way.  And it's looking pretty snazzy though you wouldn't think it from the pic below. I really need to get a better camera. Then again it's probably my bad photography skills that make everything look a bit off colour and wonky.

Swoony Feels: Tom Hiddleston

Though I may have a thing for bad boys with snark I also have a secret weakness for geek boys.  Nerdy guys in glasses who still manage to make you go weak at the knees especially when they smile or do something heroic or suddenly act all manly and badboyly when you least expect it.

Case in point.... Tom Hiddleston.  Or Hiddles as his fans like to call him.  The man is geek personified.  He even wears glasses from time to time and geeky t-shirts.

He does have another side though.  A inner bad boy vibe that comes out from time to time and the geek boy vanishes and is replaced with an intensity and seriousness that makes your ovaries explode.

Because yes geek boys have brains.  And intense looks that make you go all melty.

It's no wonder then that he is rumoured to be in strong consideration as the next James Bond.  Just watch The Night Manager and you'll see why.

The man is born to be Bond.

Geek guy, bad boy, suave, dashing and looks good in a suit.  What more can you ask for.

And that smirk?  Be still my beating heart.

Essential Viewing: Cranford - The Avengers - The Deep Blue Sea - The Night Manager -Thor -  War Horse

Book Talk: Flawed But Perfect

I love gutsy women particularly gutsy women with flaws.  Forget about perfection flaws are where it's at. 

Characters who struggle against the odds when everything else around them is falling apart.  Who know fear and terror and even madness and yet who despite it all find away to push through it.

My latest reading binge seems to have been drawn these characters lately and I'm loving the books I have been finding.  

On The Edge Of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

"January 29, 2035. That's the day the comet is scheduled to hit the Earth. Denise and her mother and sister have been assigned to a shelter to wait out the blast, but a last-minute meeting leads them to something better -- a generation ship, scheduled to leave Earth behind to colonize new worlds after the comet hits. 

But everyone on the ship has been chosen because of their usefulness. Denise is autistic and fears that she'll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight?  

And what about her mother and sister?  

When the future of the human race is at stake who lives matter the most?"  

Being something of a sci-fi fan this was just my kind of book with an end of the world disaster, a struggle for survival and a flawed but courageous heroine trying to make sense in a world about to end. 
 
The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

"Twelve years ago Stella and Jeanie vanished while picking strawberries. Jeanie was never seen or heard from again while Stella returned with no memory of what happened.  She s the lucky one who survived.  

Now the past comes back for Stella when a body of a little girl is discovered in an old cemetery.  A little girl who has red hair just like Jeanie did.  

Suddenly memories of that day begin to return and Stella is about to learn that sometimes monsters really do exists."

Creepy stories where you're not sure who or what the evil is always have a way of pulling me in.  

This one also has a very Gothic Southern feel to it with old cemeteries and scary forests where people still believe in hoodoo, voodoo and ancient spirits.
 
When by Victoria Laurie

"Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie ability to see a person's death date hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. 

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. 

When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie. who suspect her of the crime.

Getting them to believe her is one thing, finding the real killer is another thing altogether...

I love these kinds of books.  Ones where the heroine struggles to live her life with a unique ability that no-one else believes or understands.
 
Reign Of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

"Years ago an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness.  Luna has been hiding in a tower ever since. But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. 

When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. 

But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized."

This was such a cool concept - a world surrounded in darkness, where people live never seeing or knowing daylight.  

Throw in some mystery and intrigue and a flawed but brave heroine and I'm sold.

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

"Grace Mae knows madness.  She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

A visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology sees Grace's brilliance and knows that she will make a perfect assistant. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past."

I read this book in one sitting it was just so good.  Partly because of the flawed heroine thing but also because part of the story looked at the very real (and horrific) reasons as to why some people were placed in insane asylums and the treatment of people in these places.
 
I almost wished there had been more of this book it was so good.

Alive by Scott Sigler

"A young woman awakes trapped in an enclosed space. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. With only her instincts to guide her, she escapes her own confinement—and finds she’s not alone. She frees the others in the room and leads them into a corridor filled with the remains of a war long past. The farther these survivors travel, the worse are the horrors they confront. And as they slowly come to understand what this prison is, they realize that the worst and strangest possibilities they could have imagined don’t even come close to the truth."

And another sci-fi book and one that hooked me right from the beginning.

Even better the sequel has just arrived on my desk - I'm hoping it's just as good.

April's Buyer Archive

Ever since I read about this idea on Elise's blog I've wanted to give it ago.  It seems such a great way of keeping track of spending habits through the months and seeing where the money goes - at least in terms of personal spending.  I kind of have the feeling that I spend way too much money on socks but I'm curious as to what else I tend to spurge-or-not-spurge on.

So here is my personal spending for the month of April...

Cardigans - $19.99 each and I brought 3.

OMG I brought 3 cardigans.  At once.  And I totally blame my Other Half who basically said if you like just buy it.  So of course I did.  Because of course I couldn't make up my mind and just pick one (FYI: decision making is not my forte).  Hence the 3 cardigans spurge.

Then again I love cardigans and they will probably get heaps of wear, so maybe not so much of a panic disaster buy after all.  Then again I already have a wardrobe cramped with a dozen or so cardigans... I starting to already see a pattern here.

Skirt -  $5 from charity shop (Hospice)

As soon as I heard that there was a new charity shop in my area I just had to go for a look.  Because rummaging through charity shops is so much fun.  Even more so when you walk away with bargains like this.  It's practically like brand new and though it's kind of summery I've already worn it a few times because the autumn here has been so warm.

Compact mirror - $2 from charity shop (Hospice)

Along with the above skirt I also found this super cute compact mirror which as soon as I saw it I just knew it was me.  And it fits perfectly in a slot in my bag so I can take it with me everywhere I go and never lose it... hopefully.

Total spend for the month: $66.97

May Plans And The Tragedy of April's

Man plans and....

... yeah that's pretty much it.  Life (aka family and work) got in the way.  And along the way my mojo went with it.  Being in a funk and feeling blue is never easy.  We all go through it.  For me it happens rarely but last month it happened with a sudden jolt and I've been feeling my way out of it ever since.

The plans halted... though looking back it wasn't a complete disaster.  

Out of the 12 books I read 9 plus a few others that weren't mention.  The joy of having a holds list which sees books constantly coming across my desk.  I also watched all of Season 2 of Bosch and it was good.  Really good.  Which of course means I am now hanging out for season 3.  My other viewing  (I'll See You In My Dreams) wasn't so good because instead of being quirky and funny like I thought it would be it was instead sad.  So sad that I sat through it crying buckets.  Which is probably not a good thing when you're feeling blue and yet kind of cathartic at the same time.

As for my last 3 goals... well I did manage to go for a walk 20 days out of 30 so I'm counting that as a win.  As for the other 2 - write more and do some cross stitch - does taking out my cross stitch work bag from it's hiding place in the wardrobe count?  Probably not.  As for the writing, well we all know how disastrous that turned out.

So on the whole part success and part complete failure.  Oh well maybe I'll have better luck with May's plans.

This month the reading is taking a bit of a dive.  Sometimes I feel like I spend too much time reading and not enough time doing other things.  And with the blue mood I've been in I've decided to pull back a little from trying to work through my To Be Read pile at lightening speed and concentrate on some other stuff.  

1.     Scarlet Widow by Graham Masterton
        I must admit I don't read a lot of historical fiction.  But every now and again something
        will catch my eye and this is one of those books.
2.     Nobody But You by Jill Shalvis
        I've mentioned before how much I love Jill Shalvis's books so of course this had to go
        on my To-Be-Read pile.
3.     The Passenger by Lisa Lutz.
        A thriller. Because you always have to have at least one in the pile
4.     The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell
        A book about bookshops?  You just knew I had to read this.

5.     The Complete Book Of Home Organization
        I know, right.  It seems completely weird but there you go.  Maybe having a tidy home 
        will help make my brain tidy.  
6.     Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees The World
        I've been thinking of getting back into knitting after more than 10 years of doing 
        absolutely none.  So this book and the next one are part of the outcome
7.     60 Quick Knits  
        Speaks for itself.

As with last month there are also things I want to watch and listen to.  Starting with...

8.     Agent Carter Season 2
        Do I really need to explain this one?  Probably not.  Because Hayley Atwell is 
        awesome
9.     Captain America: Civil War
        Yet another superhero one.  And one I'll actually go to the movies for 
10.   Tiny: A Story About Living Small
        A documentary about tiny house living.
11.   Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 
        I must confess that I currently have all of the 8th Doctor Who audio adventures.  One 
        because of Paul McGann and two because they are so good.

As for the rest of my plans well I'd like to still try and do the following.

12.   Lose weight and get fit
        Pretty much a permanent goal in my life right now.
13.   Write more
        After last month's no go I really would like to hit the magic number 13 in my blog posts 
        for the month.   Any other writing will just be a bonus.
14.   Cross stitching
        Yeah it's still on the list.  Hopefully this time I'll get further than just taking the bag out of
        the wardrobe...

 I'm also going to add...

15.   Knit something
        It's be so long since I've done any of this that I'm just going to start out slow and 
        small.... maybe some finger-less gloves or a scarf or two.