ironymaiden | boundin'

i have read two books in the last three days and am well into my third. while this is generally unremarkable for me, i haven't been able to stick with a book to conclusion for something like five months, or at least i haven't been able to read one and pick up the next one. in fact, i haven't even wanted to go into a bookstore. anyway, i read Thomas the Rhymer earlier this week, last night i left Twice Sold Tales with a whole bag, and then proceeded to read all of Virtual Girl in one sitting. i continue to be impressed by

amy_thomson's work. (note that i went with an interview rather than the cruddy Amazon page for the book; it's depressing that they only have badly written user reviews for an award-winning novel.) now i'm on to The Practice Effect, which seems to lack something compared to his later novels. i may skip it for something else from the bag.

the cats at the Queen Anne store really like me, unlike the one in the U district that tried to bite me last year.

i spent the morning in the Market and downtown, enjoying the sights and sounds of Seattle during the holidays. and having tea and crumpets. and buying dye. and pomegranates. and the rare and elusive orange bitters. while having my tea i came to the conclusion (okay, i've known for months) that i would not be able to complete every quilt project i set out to do for the holidays. but i stopped by Undercover for some thread to finish the one that's in progress, and ended up getting a book that totally changed my mind about the impossible project. as in, i changed what pattern i'm planning to do. and i was stoked enough about that that i came home, got in the car, and drove down to the Quilted Dragon and bought all the fabric i'll need to do it - including dim sum and geishas .

before i left Seattle (in a rush to get to Lakewood before five) i got some excellent news from a friend. when i returned i got a sweet card in the mail from my brother, including money to "go out for dinner or buy something frivolous." then i discovered the freezer was hot inside and we took the time to pull the fridge out from the wall and thoroughly clean the coils and vacuum around the motor and blow the rest of the dust out with canned air. i took C to Racha and we had a typically excellent dinner and a great number of fruity drinks involving gin or rum or tequila. now i'm ready to wrap this up and go fill some bobbins.

i've been so disinterested in my surroundings lately that i feel the need to let this energy drive me wherever it wants to go. something feels like it's about to be very right. if that's just me sewing a straight and even 1/4" seam the first try, so be it.

and the fridge works okay now. whew.