Unraveled, Week 11/2023

Is this week over yet? No, it's only Wednesday! It's been a rough week so far. I won't go into details because they're not very interesting, but let's just say I haven't been sleeping so great this week and have been especially thankful I haven't had to drag my tired self into an office to work.

Fortunately Wednesdays are my favorite for blogging, because on this day every week I get to link up with Kat and the Unravelers. This week is finding me with just one WIP, which is a strange place for me to be!

I finally got around to trying on my Love Note yesterday; after two failed attempts at a selfie, I called Rainbow up to take a photo for me (note that I did put the yarn down to try to take a photo of myself, but I guess my arms are not the ideal length). There is obviously a lot more still to be knit, but I can confirm that it does fit over a long-sleeved tee, which is how I like to wear my sweaters. I am hoping the lace will be more obvious once it's blocked.

This is my only current WIP because I finished up another project Monday night -- that one I can't show you just yet. It's done and it turned out exactly as I wanted, and now it's been blocked and is drying. But I'll give you a little peek in the form of some background for some "knitting bling" that arrived in yesterday's mail:

These adorable kawaii charms are from Noelle at Charmed and Dangerous, who does the most incredibly cute work. There was a third one in the box that was for Rainbow -- a little terra cotta star with a succulent on it. I've got a small collection of these progress keepers, and they're always an adorable way of seeing how much progress I'm making on a big project. Noelle also posts videos of the process of making some of her charms on Instagram, and they're very fun and relaxing to watch. No affiliation -- just a fan!

The reading has been good this past week -- I've finished three books!

I'd heard about The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation on the Down Cellar Studio podcast, and when I needed something to listen to late last week, it was available with no wait and I decided to give it a try. As someone who has read a lot of both fiction and nonfiction about WWII and the Holocaust, I found the background on the Frank family and the situation in the Netherlands to be really interesting. I was less enamored of the conclusion that the research team came to; frankly, I can see their points and their arguments, but I also think they've made a bit of a stretch. I don't think we'll ever know for certain how the Secret Annex was uncovered, and ultimately it's more important to remember Anne and the others she was hiding with than to waste time pointing fingers at people who may or may not have betrayed her. I will say that it was a really interesting book, and I was thankful to be listening to it so I didn't have to guess at the pronunciation of the Dutch names (the narrator is Julia Whelan, who does an excellent job). I gave it 3 stars.

Speaking of books I heard about on podcasts, The Violin Conspiracy is a title that Anne Bogel has mentioned quite a bit in the last six months or so, so I snapped up a Kindle copy when it was a daily deal a few weeks ago. I started it on my birthday and finished it Monday afternoon, and what a fun romp it was! The author has clearly drawn a lot on his own experiences as a Black musician in the very white field of classical music, and he's added in a mystery. The pace is fast and the story as a whole is very satisfying. Mary also let me know that the author created a Spotify playlist that contains all the music mentioned in the book! I gave it 4 stars.

Finally, over the course of Monday and Tuesday, I absolutely devoured the second book in the His Dark Materials series, The Subtle Knife. This was a reread for me, though I really remembered nothing of it from my first reading, which was back when I was in college or grad school. I have copies of all three books on paper in my personal library, but I'm enjoying revisiting them on audio, particularly as Philip Pullman himself is the narrator and is joined by a full cast. The first installment has some dark elements to it, but things get even darker in the second. I'm looking forward to getting to the third book soon; I remember very little about it, though I have a distinct memory of reading it in my favorite chair in my parents' living room when I was home for winter break. I gave book two 4 stars.

I'm currently reading The Bingo Palace, the next and, sadly, last selection for the Erdrich-along. We're back to some of the Love Medicine characters, so it feels a bit like we've come full circle. I expect to continue my reading of her books even though the formal group study is ending.

I'll leave you today with a big of spring to brighten up your day. My in-laws brought me these flowers on Saturday when we had them over for dinner, presumably as a birthday present. They were especially welcome when we woke to snow on the ground yesterday after not having seen it in a long time!