Unraveled, Week 39/2024

Happy Wednesday -- and happy union ballot counting day! Today's the day that the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board will begin counting ballots from the staff union election. I don't know how long it will take them to count them all or how soon we'll hear about the outcome, but I do know that a simple majority of all the returned ballots will determine the outcome (so if 100 ballots are returned and 51 of them are in favor of a union, then we get a union). Please send good, pro-union thoughts this way!

As it is Wednesday, that means it's time to join Kat and the Unravelers, this week with a finished pair of socks!

After starting these way back at the beginning of August, I finally wrapped them up Monday -- well, technically yesterday, as I ran out of time to graft the toe of the second sock before bed, but really the knitting was done Monday night. I guess I've learned my lesson that while they can be more exciting to look at, patterned socks just don't get knit as quickly. I call these my copycat socks because I basically reverse-engineered a pattern that I've seen others make so that I could use a different gauge. The patterning is on the front the leg and top of the foot only, but it uses biased fabric, so the fit is snug. My socks always stretch out as I wear them, though, so I'm hoping that while it might be a bit of a struggle to get them on, they'll be fine once I've worn them a bit. The yarn is my favorite Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce (superwash merino/nylon) in the colorway Sugarplummed, which was a holiday colorway a few years ago. I'd been saving this skein for a while and decided to finally make myself some socks with it already!

I've already cast on another pair of socks, this time just stockinette so that I know they won't linger on the needles. I'm making them for my mother-in-law for the holidays, and I'm using some yarn that's probably among the oldest in my stash because it was purchased at a yarn store that closed soon after I started knitting seriously.

According to the editing history on Ravelry, this yarn was discontinued in 2011 -- so I think it has aged quite long enough in my stash! It's a blend of bamboo, wool, and nylon, so it should feel pretty nice in a sock, even if it's perhaps not the best for durability. But my in-laws' condo isn't carpeted, so I have a feeling they'll both be wearing socks all the time in the colder months.

I mentioned in Monday's post that I got some extra reading time in over the weekend. What I didn't say was that I used it finish two books and read a third (it was really short).

The first order of business was finishing up Creation Lake, which I was reading primarily because it's on the Booker Prize shortlist. It's told from the point of view of a woman known as Sadie, though it's not her real name because she's a spy for hire working on infiltrating a group of activists trying to stop the French government from stealing all the groundwater in the region for a "mega-basin." But she's also reflecting on earlier jobs, including when she was an FBI agent who took the fall when a case when south, and sharing the emails from an older man advising the activists (she's hacked into his account) who spends a lot of time philosophizing about Neanderthals. It's a strange book, and while I didn't necessarily get bored with it, I was left wondering what the point was. There's not really a tidy resolution, and the narrator isn't particularly likable. Plus I didn't need to know that much about Neanderthals. I gave it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3; I didn't particularly like it, but I also didn't hate it. I would not recommend it unless you're committed to reading the entire shortlist.

A much, much better read was Sipsworth, which I know has been making the rounds. My library only had it on audio and there was a bit of a wait, but once I did get it, it took me only a couple of days to get through. This is a delightful story about Helen Cartwright, an octogenarian who, when we first meet her, is living alone and pretty much waiting to die. She retrieves an aquarium that a neighbor has thrown out and finds that among its contents is a mouse. After initially trying to get rid of the mouse, she eventually comes to enjoy its company, and its presence in her home leads her to connect with others in her town and to form new friendships that enrich her life. It's a really lovely, heartwarming book that reminds you of the power of connecting with others. I gave it 4 stars.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, after watching Katie's video in which she reviewed it, I read the entirety of Happening. This memoir recounts -- in very specific and graphic detail -- how the author obtained an abortion when she was a university student in France when the procedure was still illegal. Because of the subject matter and the frankness with which it's discussed, this is a difficult book to read, but I felt it was a story I felt I should read, especially given the current political climate in our country. It reminded me a lot of the movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which deals with a woman trying to get an abortion in Communist Romania in the late 1980s. Tough book, certainly not for everyone, but a worthwhile read, in my opinion. I gave it 4 stars.

Now I'm trying to make some headway on September, though I doubt I'll finish it before the month is over. But I don't really care if I don't, because it's such a feel-good read, especially before bed!