Wednesday 26 June 2013

What I'm reading 26/6/13

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me, between my wee brother graduating uni, getting reading for holidays and various other bits and bobs. It certainly doesn't feel like a fortnight since I did the last reading Wednesday.

What are you currently reading?

I'm two thirds of the way through Laidlaw by William McIlvanney, and enjoying it so far. I've just started Blade Reforged by Kelly McCullough, and it's like rolling yourself up in your favourite quilt by which I mean I love it, and I had to hold myself back from reading it when it arrived this morning as there was this pesky thing called work I had to go to.

What did you recently finish reading?

Last week there was only a quick reread of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold due to brain-space issues, and I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first time.

This week, I raced through Natural Causes by James Oswald. It was another one of these hyped books that I thought lived up to the hype. It was incredibly easy to read, one of those books that you almost just sink into and look up later to find hours have gone by and you've read most of the book without being aware of time. There were a couple of moments where I laughed out loud, and I enjoyed both the characters and the plot. llI'll definitely be reading the next one when it's out in a week or two.

I also read The Mad Duke's Bride by Loretta Chase after seeing it recommended on Dear Author. I greatly enjoyed it, though I wish it would have been longer - it's a novella, and I do think it works at that length, but I quite adored the main characters and would have liked to have seen a little more past where it ended. I think I'll give Chase another go when I come across another one of her books. 

What do you think you’ll read next?

I really need to finish Laidlaw ASAP. After that I'm on holiday next week so I think it's going to be finishing Blade Reforged, and rereads of The Thief's Gamble by Juliet E McKenna and The Barbed Coil by J V Jones while I'm away and trying not to kill either my brother or sister.

Friday 21 June 2013

Simple Hat

This year for father's day, part of my gift to Dad was a(nother) knitted hat. (He lost the last one when he was out walking the dog and asked especially for a new one. I did jokingly tell him that if he lost this one he wasn't getting another one, but he does appreciate knitted gifts so that's not likely to happen.)

My Dad is the type who likes simple patterns in nice yarns so picking the pattern was easy - a basic 2x2 rib for the brim, then 6x2 rib for the main part of the hat. The yarn itself was nearly as easy - a trip to my local McAree Brothers yielded two balls of this delightfully squishy wool/linen mix. On a sidenote, why do I have to discover these yarns just as they are being discontinued?

  
My wee brother modelling the burnt orange ribbed beanie style hat, with flecks of place yellow in places. Hat covers his ears.
Simple ribbed hat, knitted with two balls of Gedifra Diandra on 6mm needles, kindly modelled by my wee brother

It was a dream to knit up, and only took an evening or two once I worked out my gauge. I ended up going down to 6mm needles from the recommended 9mm as I wanted a really dense fabric, and I also knitted it long enough to cover his ears. According to the dog walkers in my family, that's the perfect combination to stop ears getting cold and prevent earaches when out walking in the wet, windy, and frequently minging Scottish winter.

We'll just have to wait and see how long this one survives ...

Wednesday 12 June 2013

What I'm reading 12/6/13

I've been a little quiet online lately becuase I've been a whirlwind of offline interaction, but I'm looking forward to catching up and hopefully sharing one or two of my adventures.

Onto this week's reading! 

What are you currently reading?

I'm back into Place of Execution by Val McDermid. Every time I put it down and think I'm not going to pick it up again, something else happens that draws me back in. I've also picked up Bujold's Komarr again.

What did you recently finish reading?

I ended up not finishing The City by Stella Gemmell after all. As I said before, there were a lot of intriguing ideas so I wish I had been able to, but I just didn't connect with the book at all. I've got bothing against the book, and I'll take a look when she writes her next one.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. I have to say it definitely lived up to it's hype for me. Despite some of the POV changes making me do a double take, I think it was well written, the characters felt real (as I suspected I was all ROBIN!, but I grew quite fond of Strike as well as I kept reading), and I enjoyed the plot. It's billed as the first in a series so I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Shattered Pillars
by Elizabeth Bear. I loved it. It was lyrical to read, hit so many of my buttons, and didn't feel like the middle book in a trilogy. I don't really have anything else to say as it really was one of those books that just hit all the right spots for me, but I am really looking forward to the last book in the trilogy.

What do you think you’ll read next?


I've got Laidlaw by William McIlvanney on short loan from the library so that at least.

Tuesday 4 June 2013

Cacti, gin and yarn - a grand day out

Friday was our annual visit to Gardening Scotland, and as usual we had a great time. There is always so much to see and admire even if you don't end up buying half the show.

My first port of call is always the Craig House Cacti stand. Succulents are just about my favourite plants, and they always have a lovely display and a good range to buy.




This year's haul, from top to bottom: Dioscorea Elephanipes, Pachypodium saundersii (left), Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg'(right), Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum 'Schwarzkopf'.

The show is now the only time I ever buy succulents or cacti, and all of my plants from Craig House Cacti have survived for a good many years - my oldest at the moment is just past seven years of me owning it.

Then it was on to the Scot's Cheer stand. I love their Damson Gin, and this year there was a new variety of gin - gooseberry and ginger. So new they don't even have proper labels yet!


The damson gin is almost sweet and it's lovely with tonic, or even on it's own, and it's a favourite of mine to curl up with a good book. The gooseberry and ginger is also delightful - so summery and refreshing. I'll definitely be buying another bottle next year.

Then my last purchase of the day - yarn from Ripples Crafts, because of course I can't go anywhere without buying yarn. I'm quite glad we ran across the stall, as we didn't get a good look at the stand at the Edinburgh Yarn festival as it was so busy. Rightly so, as there are so many gorgeous yarns for sale.


It's a 4ply mix of wool and nylon, and I think that eventually it is going to be a pair of socks. None of the pictures I took really do the colour changes justice but this one is the best. The whole skein is a glorious mix of blues, purples and reds, and I just want to keep fondling it.

Last of all was the Allium stand in the floral hall. I love Alliums but I don't have the garden for them so I'm reduced to drooling over them at the show every year.

 

 I didn't get any other pictures of the many gorgeous displays and show gardens as I was too busy scooting about enjoying myself!