The Pact by Jodi Picoult

This is a quick page turner about an apparent teen suicide and its aftermath. I appreciated the nuances of the characters and the development of the close childhood friends turned lovers, and the conflict that Emily felt in dating someone who she grew up with and felt was more a brother than a lover.

Many people who recommended this book to me loved it. While I liked the novel, it does not earn my coveted 5 star rating. It was a great story and I would recommend it, but it is no Kite Runner.

Lancaster Goodies

Today was our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate, hubby and I went to a Bed and Breakfast in Lancaster called the King's Cottage for the weekend. It was just the getaway we needed. Of course, there was no getting out of the area without stopping at a yarn store. These hand-dyed goodies are from Labadie Looms in Bird-In-Hand, PA. This was a wonderful shop with a selection of weaving and spinning supplies and yarn, much of which the owner dyes herself.


This is approximately 425 yards of Hand-dyed Merino Superwash. It seems like fingering weight to me.

This is approximately 400 yards of a Hand-dyed Silk Blend. It seems like a Sport weight to me. It also happens to be our wedding colors, lavenders and greens.

Walking through this store made me want to start spinning as she had lots of colorful rovings and stunning wheels on display. A drop spindle may be headed my direction if the stars are in alignment.

Running With Scissors

I finished Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs today.

I realized when I started reading this book that I must have read it before. Although as a rule I don't read books more than once, with a movie recently made based on this memoir, I decided to read it again.

This is a memoir about a boy who's mother sends him to live with his psychiatrist and the unusual childhood he endured.

Written in a comedic style and yet with a hint of a child/adolescent's perspective, this memoir is unique. Burrough's writing style and content can be a bit rough and in-your-face, but totally appropriate for the content.

I was a bit perturbed at the ending, and without giving too much away, will say that I did not feel the characters got any sort of resolution at the end. The end felt rushed and incomplete. This is somewhat softened by the listing of characters in the epilogue and the paths life took them. Additionally, if you read Burroughs memoir of his adult years, Dry, you do get a bit more resolution.

I have the movie in my Netflix queue, and the previews look hilarious. I may enjoy the movie more than the book for once!

Branching Buttons

Here are the buttons I picked up at SlipKnot for My FLS. What do you think?

Adventure in Lititz

My friend and bridesmaid, Katie, came to visit this past weekend, and to say the least, we had a bit of an adventure.

On Friday, we went downtown and walked around. We passed by Independence Hall and went to the Liberty Museum.

This was one of the pieces of artwork at the museum.

On Monday we drove to Hershey, PA and then drove around an area called Lititz, PA so that Katie and her brother could see where their family was from.

Shortly after taking this picture, we heard an awful screeching noise coming from the back of my brand new, less than 1 month old car. After pulling over and trying to discern the problem, I decided to take advantage of our AAA membership and had the car towed. Unfortunately, the tow truck couldn't take all three of us, which left us stranded with no car in the middle of nowhere. With hubby in class, we were looking at a nice long stay at the Sunoco Station in the middle of nowhere! Luckily, I made a few phone calls, and a friend was able to come and retrieve us. In the meantime, we settled in for some dinner at he picnic table in the parking lot.

It turns out that there was a pebble stuck in my brake between the rotor and the backplate, and a screw in my tire. Seems I would have had a flat if I kept driving anyway!