Once every four years ...

Thursday. Leap Day. 

I've been getting in some new and ergonomic crochet hooks. I like them quite a lot. Give me all the tools!

Tonight I have sprints. I'll be crocheting. Reading. Then bedtime.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Halfway through the week

 Wednesday

Adding two more books to the currently reads. 

MURDER IN THE GRAVE by Irina Shapiro. 5th of 14 in Redmond and Haze historical mystery series. 

When the body of a newly appointed curate is found in a freshly dug grave, Inspector Haze and Lord Redmond are called to investigate. According to friends and family, the unfortunate man was a veritable saint who’d wanted nothing more than to dedicate his life to God and good works, but the savagery of his murder and the attempt to hide his corpse tell a different story.Facing increasing pressure to solve the case of the “Cleaved Curate,” Daniel and Jason must delve deeper into the life of Sebastian Slade, only to discover that even men of God have their secrets and that the reckoning can be biblical in its scope.

Published 2021; 272 pages. 

And about to start a library book, JANE AND EDWARD by Melodie Edwards. Stand alone.

A former foster kid, Jane has led a solitary life as a waitress in the suburbs, working hard to get by. Tired of years of barely scraping together a living, Jane takes classes to become a legal assistant and shortly after graduating accepts a job offer at a distinguished law firm in downtown Toronto. Everyone at the firm thinks she is destined for failure because her boss is the notoriously difficult Edward Rosen, the majority stakeholder of Rosen, Haythe & Thornfield LLP. But Jane has known far worse trials and refuses to back down when economic freedom is so close at hand. Edward has never been able to keep an assistant--he's too loud, too messy, too ill-tempered. There's something about the quietly competent, delightfully sharp-witted Jane that intrigues him though. As their orbits overlap, their feelings begin to develop--first comes fondness and then something more. But when Edward's secrets put Jane's independence in jeopardy, she must face long-ignored ghosts from her past and decide if opening her heart is a risk worth taking.

Published 2023; 352 pages. 

Steve's got the gun range tonight. I'll be crocheting. Then reading. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Why does it feel like it's later in the week than it is?

Tuesday

No change in the books I'm reading. Am I lulling? 

I worked on the Clayton/Mindy afghan last night. I think the pattern is going to be amazing. I brought it with me to work on at lunch just in case I have some time. 

The yarn for the new and improved genre blanket is supposed to be delivered today and if so then I'd like to get working on that. 

I've got sprints tonight so I'm hoping to work on it during them.

I also had an idea for the persimmon-colored yarn I had gotten. 

The triangle shapes will be good for a sobriety birthday gift in August. 

Have a good day

Much love

PK the Bookeemonster

Stop! No, it isn't Monday yet!

Yes. Monday.

No change in the reading area. Still reading and enjoying THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER and WICKED AUTUMN. 

I had a good weekend. I played with crochet A LOT. I didn't necessarily make progress in one particular project, but I did play with different hooks and yarns and helped figure out what worked best for some projects - tools, yarn, stitches. 

Because of this, I've made some changes to the plans from last time. Once I did a test swatch or two or five, sometimes the stitch didn't go with the yarn or I felt I wasn't ready for that level of crocheting. 

No sprints tonight but I will be working on the Clayton/Mindy wedding afghan. I started with the second color (black) last night and I think it's going to look very good. Slow and steady. Reminder of the pattern (will be cream and black):

Then reading and bed. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Is it really?

TGIF

I'm really enjoying THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER book. What a mess the War of the Roses/Cousin's War was. Also really enjoying the Malliet book, WICKED AUTUMN. Very descriptive, slow build, and slightly British snarky. 

1000 Pages Read Challenge update:

02/19: 142

02/20: 67

02/21: 92

02/22: 117

02/23:

02/24:

02/25:

TOTAL: 418/1000  

I have enough crochet projects either started or planned to start to last me through this year and perhaps through the next. Example: I have some yarn that is size 6 (Super Bulky) that I'd really like to use because I love the colors. But I was having problems finding a pattern to follow. Last night, I came upon this on YouTube that I think I will give a try:

And this is the yarn:

From the same creator, another one I'm going to start is learning different Aran/cable stitches in each section: 

Using this yarn:

I believe my first draw to trying crochet decades ago was because I love the Irish afghan patterns. 

For those keeping track -- because I lose track too -- including the above:

Steve's Red

Steve's Blue

October wedding: This pattern in cream and black.

March 2025 wedding: This pattern in cream, orange and blue.

Genre Blanket

And I have yarn for golden/cream combo in this pattern...

... sage/white combo, a pretty persimmon color, golden wheat, and ohmygod lots of other yarn I've collected over the past year. And I want to learn Tunisian crochet, do the herringbone stitch so it looks good, so many of another YouTube person, and try this mosaic pattern I found last night which looks amazing but the YouTube walk through is really not that difficult:

So all I need is time to do all this and read all the books and not go broke.

Sprints tomorrow afternoon. Haircut tomorrow morning. Crocheting (no kidding), reading, napping.

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

As if cherries are the weekend ....

Thursday

I'll be finishing the Allison Montclair today. 

Starting WICKED AUTUMN by G.M. Malliet. 1st of 7 in series featuring Max Tudor, a former MI-5 agent, now vicar at St. Edwold’s in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip, England.

Max Tudor, former MI5 agent, has adapted well to his post as vicar of St. Edwold’s in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip. Wanda Batton-Smythe, highly vocal and unpopular president of the Women’s Institute, turns up dead at the Harvest Fayre. Peanut allergy looks accidental, but Max has many suspects for murder.

Published 2011; 297 pages.

And a library hold came up, THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER by Philippa Langley. Nonfiction.

In 1483, Edward V (age twelve) and his brother Richard, Duke of York (age nine), disappeared from the Tower of London. History has judged they were murdered on the orders of Richard III. This new book reveals the truth behind the greatest unsolved mystery in English history. Philippa Langley took the world by storm when, against all the odds and after a seven-year investigation, she discovered the grave of King Richard III (1452-1485) in a Leicester car park. A king finally laid to rest, the rediscovery and reburial of Richard III was watched by a global audience of over 366 million. Now, in The Princes in the Tower, Langley reveals the findings of a remarkable new research "The Missing Princes Project." In the summer of 1483, Edward V (age 12) and his brother Richard Duke of York (age 9), disappeared from the Tower of London. For over five hundred years, history has judged that they were murdered on the orders of their uncle, Richard III. Following years of intensive research in British, American, and European archives, Philippa has uncovered astonishing new archival discoveries that radically change what we know about the fate of the princes in the Tower. Established by Langley in 2016, "The Missing Princes Project" employs the methods of a cold-case police inquiry. Using investigative methodology, it aims to place this most enduring of mysteries under a forensic microscope for the very first time. In The Princes in the Tower, Langley narrates the painstaking investigative work and research of the project. By questioning received wisdom, she and her international team of researchers shed light upon one of history's greatest miscarriages of justice, in turn revealing a surprising and phenomenal untold story.

Published 2023; 496 pages.

1000 Pages Read Challenge Update:

02/19: 142

02/20: 67

02/21: 92

02/22:

02/23:

02/24:

02/25:

TOTAL: 301/1000

Sprints tonight. Crocheting, reading, bed.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster