Three on Thursday, Book Juggling Edition

First, I have to thank all of you for your sympathy and commiseration on the lice situation. I am determined to defeat the foul "wee beasties" (as Jamie Fraser would say) this time around and am being very thorough in our daily combing. I can only conclude that I missed some nits the last time we went through this, and I don't want to make that mistake again. We've found that it's easier to comb through Rainbow's long hair when it's wet, so we're doing it after she showers now rather than before, and it seems to be going very well. I found only three lice and maybe one nit yesterday, so I'm hopeful (but not wanting to jinx anything) that I'm doing a better job. I know that lice can't cause any long-term harm or disease, but it's one thing that Rainbow shouldn't have to worry about right now -- and it's certainly something that I don't want to have to deal with right now, especially because on top of this I've had a sore/stiff neck and shoulder for the past week and would appreciate one less annoyance!

With everything that Carole is dealing with right now, I'm pretty sure she won't be doing Three on Thursday, but I thought I'd stick with the theme for today's post (and please go give her some love and support if you haven't already!).

This week I'm finding myself in an usual position of being in the middle of reading three books; when it rains, it pours, at least as far as the library is concerned! A week ago it looked like I'd be waiting a while for the next holds in my list, so I borrowed an ebook and an audiobook to enjoy while I waited -- only to have two more holds become available this week! Luckily I was able to delay a hold on the next audiobook (this seems to be a new feature of the Libby app, and I really like it), but I borrowed the ebook because I knew it wouldn't take me long to get through it. So here's what I'm reading right now:

• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: I had long wanted to read this, but the last time I'd checked its availability from the library (which, admittedly, was quite a while ago), there was a long wait. When I saw it was available to borrow right away, I immediately jumped on it. I probably did it in the wrong order, but I wanted to read the book because I'd binged the Netflix version of it last year and thought it was fascinating. I'd intended to put this book in the "By an author on your previous year's favorites list" square on my bingo card, but I think now it will go in the "More than 500 pages" square (it's 546 pages but moves very quickly).
• The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman: This audiobook, which I've been listening to while I exercise, will fill the square I originally intended for Alias Grace. One of my favorite books last year was The World That We Knew, and I also enjoyed the previous Hoffman book I read, so I knew this would be a good one. I've got about four hours left in the book (I'm listening at 1.25 time, so I can get through an hour of audio in about 45 minutes, which is usually how long I'm out when I go for a run), and I'm really enjoying it. I very well might read or listen to Practical Magic when I'm done, which will conveniently fill my "Magical realism" bingo square.
• Dead Water by Ann Cleeves (Shetland book #5): This is the book that I got unexpectedly but knew I'd be able to read quite quickly. I started it Tuesday night just before bed and am already more than halfway through; I hope to be able to finish it today. It's a good, cozy mystery.

The knitting is continuing and the mojo seems to be sticking around, for which I am grateful. I did get the shawl pattern put together and off to my tech editor on Tuesday, so now I'm working on two WIPs. First, there's a cowl that I'm sort of designing using some bright self-striping. When you saw this last, it was just some ribbing, and it's grown somewhat since then:

I'm doing a fairly simple stitch pattern, but I think it's having a really cool effect with the self-striping yarn. It requires a bit more attention than, say, stockinette in the round but not so much that I can't knit while also reading. I don't know if it's worth writing this one up or if I'll just knit it for myself and be done with it, but the colors are making me happy right now.

In the evenings this week, I've been working on my Breathe and Hope shawl, which now has two completed sections:

This is the first time I've knit this shawl shape, and it's fun to do something a bit different for a change. Plus, there isn't anything that isn't delightful about knitting with MCN yarn. Even though my neck and shoulder were killing me last night, I couldn't stop working on this -- it was that good.

I am looking forward to a weekend that is predicted to be somewhat rainy but also warm (in the upper 70s!), so Rainbow and I are planning to plant the flowers we picked up last weekend. We've got three types of tomatoes, impatiens for the front yarn, and marigolds for the back. I also got a pot of "Italian blend" herbs -- basil, parsley, sage, chives, and I think oregano? -- that I don't have to do anything with but water, and perhaps we'll also start some seedlings with the butternut squash and cucumber seeds we discovered we still had from last year. I hope your weekend includes at least some sun and some time outside in the fresh air!