LM Montgomery Reading Challenge: The Blue Castle

I ended up reading one more book for the LM Montgomery Reading Challenge. Last night I glanced at my bookshelf and noticed that my copy of The Blue Castle was there. I thought it was in a box in storage. Since it's not, I decided to read it quickly for the challenge. It is, after all, my favorite of LM Montgomery's books.

I first read The Blue Castle in high school, I think. I distinctly remember seeing it in the bookstore my first year of college, but being a broke college student, I didn't buy it. I finally found it again about a year ago online. I don't remember right off how much I paid for it, but I'm sure it was more than if I'd bought it at the college bookstore. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

I like the storyline and I love the descriptions LM Montgomery uses. The descriptions of Valancy's family are so vivid and real that you can't help but despise them and feel bad for Valancy.

Some great quotes from the book:

• "...Valancy had long ago decided that she would rather offend God than Aunt Wellington, because God might forgive her but Aunt Wellington never would."
• "Aunt Isabel prided herself on saying what she thought, but didn't like it so well when other people said what they thought to her."
• "So Valancy was allowed to read them [the John Foster books]- under protest, for it was only too evident that she enjoyed them too much. It was permissible, even laudable, to read to improve your mind and your religion, but a book that was enjoyable was dangerous." [glad that's not true...]
• "'You made me apologise to Olive fifteen years ago for something I didn't do,' said Valancy. 'That old apology will do for now.'"
• "What business had Valancy to look like- like- like a young girl? The way of the transgressor was hard. Had to be. Scriptural and proper. Yet Valancy's path couldn't be hard. She wouldn't look like that if it were. There was something wrong. It was almost enough to make a man turn modernist."
• "At her old home Valancy, seized with a sudden impulse, got out, opened the little gate and tiptoed around to the sitting-room window. There sat her mother and Cousin Stickles drearily, grimly knitting. Baffling and inhuman as ever. If they had looked the least bit lonesome Valancy would have gone in. But they did not. Valancy would not disturb them for worlds."

You can't help but hate all of Valancy's relations. They're so mean-spirited and niggling. And her mother is so cold, unfeeling, and unloving. I feel that if she had been more loving and sympathetic, life would have been a lot different for Valancy from a much younger age. And who came up with "Doss" as a better alternative to "Valancy"?

In the end, after it's discovered that the man she married is the rich heir to a patent medicine company and the author of a very popular series, all her relations trip over themselves to get in her good graces. Before, she was neglected and the brunt of jokes. Now they're ever so proud of her, in a completely hypocritical way.  Her cousin Olive says it best:

"'Uncle Ben is a scream. Likewise Uncle James. The fuss they all make over Doss now is absolutely sickening. To hear Aunt Amelia talking of 'my son-in-law, Bernard Redfern' and 'my daughter, Mrs. Bernard Redfern.' Mother and Father are as bad as the rest. And they can't see that Valancy is just laughing at them all in her sleeve.'"

The vivid descriptions of nature and people and the storyline combine to make a very enjoyable story- everyone should read it if they can find a copy (good luck on that!).

LM Montgomery Reading Challenge: The Road to Yesterday

The last book I read for the challenge was The Road to Yesterday. Like the Chronicles of Avonlea books, it was a compilation of short stories. These were the ones I was able to get from the library- funny that it worked out that 3 out of 4 were short story collections.

These stories occasionally made mention of the Blythe children and the things they were doing, as well as Anne and Gilbert, which made me want to re-read the whole Anne of Green Gables series (it's been years since I last read it)- I vaguely remembered various things that were mentioned. Too bad they're buried in a box somewhere in storage. I'll have to add reading all the Anne books to my list of things to do once we move and get everything unpacked.

These stories were also entertaining, if predictable. The shortness  almost makes them 'fluff'. A quick and easy read that's enjoyable too boot :)

I had fun participating in this reading challenge. I got the chance to read some books I hadn't read before, and I now want to go find the rest of LM Montgomery's books that I haven't read yet. And once I get our books unpacked, I'm going to re-read all the Anne books and Blue Castle, which will always be my favorite book by LM Montgomery.

LM Montgomery Reading Challenge: The Further Chronicles of Avonlea

I also read The Further Chronicles of Avonlea a couple weeks ago. This was another compilation of short stories.  The thing I noticed with the two Chronicles books was that the stories revolved around characters in the surrounding communities, but with only slight references to Anne or Gilbert.

The variety of characters and the different points of view used in the story telling were interesting. The stories were a bit predictable if you're at all familiar with LM Montgomery's work, but they were still enjoyable.

LM Montgomery Reading Challenge: The Chronicles of Avonlea

I'm trying to get caught up on these posts before the end of the month and the end of the challenge. I finished The Chronicles of Avonlea a couple weeks ago, but never got the post written.

The Chronicles of Avonlea is a compilation of short stories, told by different characters. I found the descriptions of the people quite vivid, though it's a little hard to believe that there's that many ... characters, for lack of a better word. They're all so unique with their own little quirks and mannerisms. We just don't see that today. Though perhaps that's because we just don't know our neighbors as well these days?

In any case, I enjoyed the book and found the stories entertaining.

Meal plan: check

I know I said I was going to stain the bed frame yesterday or today, but that hasn't happened yet- I've been busy working on a meal plan and shopping list to use after we move. I've done very little cooking in the last 2+ years, so cooking every single day is going to take some getting used to. I'm not a fan of complicated recipes with tons of ingredients. Simple, quick, and easy is the what I go for.  In the interest of making a smooth transition, I'm starting out with a bunch of crockpot recipes (which are quite easy and don't use lots of ingredients), and then we'll go from there.

When I made up my meal plan I used a lot of recipes from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. I also used a few from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone and some from The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson  Blatner. The crockpot recipes were already gluten free, and I picked naturally gluten free recipes from the other two books. The recipes I picked use a lot of fresh produce and very little processed items, so hopefully they'll be healthier than some of the meals I've cooked in the past.

The meal plan I made is for seven weeks of dinners (each a unique recipe, allowing one night per week for leftovers or pizza), but I only did the ingredient and shopping list for the first two weeks. Since the recipes are ones I haven't used, I really don't know how they'll turn out or if there will be lots of leftovers or none. Hopefully after two weeks I'll have a better idea of how well things are working and what changes need to be made. I also have a list of breakfast and lunch recipes, but I didn't chart those out for x number of weeks, so there's a lot more flexibility with them. I did make an ingredient and shopping list for all of them, though.

It was all quite time consuming, but being the OCD control freak that I am, I do feel more prepared to jump back into daily cooking.

On another subject:
Mr. M heard from the company he was working with this fall - they have a couple positions available that they think he might be a good fit for. Too funny that everyone's got openings now that he's a got a job. The one he took is the one we wanted, so at least there's no buyer's remorse (or the equivalent).

Progress on some of my goals

I've found some great Valentine's projects lately and since I'm feeling a lot better and more creative, I would like to try some of them. However, I’m already in packing mode, thinking of what I can be packing now, rather than right before we move. I’m already antsy to be gone.

In the meantime, I've been working on some goals on my list that need to be finished before we move.

the crappy (it looks better in the pic than it did in person) varnish job that was on it, with some of it coming off because of the stripper

1. We stripped and sanded the bed frame the weekend before Jeremy left. We were about to start staining it Tuesday when Mr. M got the call that he officially had the job. After that, we dropped everything and started preparing for him to leave. I'll stain it today or tomorrow, depending on how on top of things I am.

the only pic I could find of the stripped and sanded frame- in the background behind LMS

2. I finally sent out our Christmas cards, and I’ve written our thank yous. Now I need to address and mail them.

3. I’ve pulled out the records I could find, scanned them and emailed them to my brothers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find all the records I’m looking for, and since they weren't were they were supposed to be I really don’t think I’ll find them till we move and I unpack and sort every single thing we own.

On a different subject:
Not reading labels has gotten me again. I bought a can of honey roasted almonds and cashews the other day without reading the label. Big mistake. I popped a couple in my mouth and read the ingredients as I chewed. One of them was wheat starch. Really? In nuts? What a waste.

Mr. Mellow is on his way

Mr. M left for Virginia this morning. I'm sooo tempted to start packing now, even though LMS and I aren’t leaving for another month and a half. I'm going to have to keep working on being patient.

We spent most of the week getting ready for Mr. M to leave- shopping for clothes for work (he didn’t have many appropriate for a business setting- the advantage of being active duty military is a uniform, the disadvantage is a lack of civilian clothes), oil change for the car, packing clothes and military gear, and loading the car and trailer.

We thought about flying, but it cost about the same amount to take Amtrak, but with both hewould be limited to 2 bags. He ended up taking all his military stuff with him, just in case he needs it at his next drill (which will be before we get there). In the end, we decided he would drive our car and pull our little trailer with all his military stuff (he’s got a lot of it). This does leave LMS and I without a car, but since we’re working on not spending money, I’m not making too many trips into town anyway. On the occasions that I do need to go to town, I just need to talk to my FIL the day before and he’ll work from home so I can use his car. So nice of him.

When it’s time for LMS and I to leave, we’ll take the train. I’ve always wanted to travel by train, but there’s always the problem of a vehicle to use at the other end. Since Mr. M will be out there with our car already, that’s not an issue. We’ll get a roomette on both legs of the trip, which will end up being more expensive than plane tickets, but will give us more freedom I think. Especially with the tightened security since Christmas. A long flight with a 3 year old, and I can’t have anything on my lap the last hour before landing, when she’s sure to be the fussiest? Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to be a good idea. On the train we’ll be able to move around, and the roomettes will give us some privacy at night, hopefully making it easier for her to get some sleep. I’m looking forward to it, and so is LMS- she likes looking at trains, so the thought of riding on one is just the coolest thing.

It never rains, but it pours!

Around Christmas, Mr. M finally heard back from a company he had applied to in the spring. It turned out that he wasn’t quite qualified for the position they had open, but they promised to pass his resume on to those who might be able to use him.

Around that time another opportunity came up: the chance to spend 18 months or so learning Pashto at the local National Guard camp. It’s a pilot program and this was to be the first class. Consequently, they didn’t have a firm start date. We were first told middle of January, then end of January, and most recently, middle of February. We still don’t know when exactly it’ll start.

In the meantime, Mr. M got back in contact with another company he had sent his resume to in the spring. This company responded promptly and enthusiastically- two of their departments wanted him! Last week they sent a contingent offer letter with a starting date of January 25, he filled out the info they wanted, they verified everything, and this morning they called and said he’s officially in and he starts on Monday!

In addition, last week he finally got an email from the state patrol, saying they’d looked at his packet and wanted him to come in and take the exam (which would determine his spot in the class). We’d decided a long time ago we didn’t want to go this route, but it served its purpose of helping us think of other options. The thing is, we were originally told they hold training classes in July and January of every year. The class in July was cancelled, and they never said anything about a class in January, so at this point, the next class to start will be in July. Who can wait around for more than a year?

So, Mr. M will be driving to Virginia on Saturday. He’ll start looking for a house for us to rent, and LMS and I hope to be out there around March 15. Yay!

WooHoo! Mr. M got the job! We were waiting for the paperwork to go through, now it has, and he starts on Monday! Sooo happy, excited, relieved, less stressed...


More details will follow, I promise :)

'Make it Fast, Cook it Slow' and 'The Kind Diet'

In my search for new gluten free healthy recipes I've been reading quite a few cookbooks. Two I recently read are 'Make it Fast, Cook it Slow' and 'The Kind Diet'.

'Make it Fast, Cook it Slow' by Stephanie O'Dea is a book of crockpot recipes that originated in the author's goal of making something in her crockpot every day for a year. I found it interesting- they weren't all meat and potatoes recipes, and they weren't all dinner recipes either. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, even a few crafty ideas. A big bonus for me is that the author has celiac, so the recipes are all gluten free already- I wouldn't have to do any tweaking. I don't plan on trying them all, but there is a good number of recipes I'd like to try.

Another book I've read recently is 'The Kind Diet' by Alicia Silverstone. She has lots of information about the environment and why veganism is the way to go, and does a good job of documenting where she gets her information. However, she does make the statement that celiac is very rare and uncommon (and doesn't document a source for that statement), and basically brushes off gluten intolerance. I wish it were that easy.

In any case, the real reason I checked out the book was for the recipes, not the philosophy. I've been looking for healthy bean recipes and recipes that use a lot of veggies and aren't full of refined crap. I knew I'd find those in a vegan cookbook, and I did. I'm definitely not going vegan (I like my meat and dairy products too much), but I don't mind using recipes that are healthy, regardless of whether they come from a mainstream cookbook, a vegetarian cookbook, or a vegan cookbook.

Next up: using all the recipes I've found to make up a preliminary menu for a month or two of meals and a shopping list to go with it. That way I'll be ready to cook healthy meals for us as soon as we move, and not 2 or 3 weeks later, during which time we've been eating whatever I can find or whatever Mr. M talks me into getting from restaraunts (not cheap or healthy).

Leap Frog Letter Factory

This summer my SIL recommended this video (thanks V!) as a good way to introduce letters and their sounds. I totally agree. LMS enjoys it, but we don't watch it religiously. Some weeks we'll watch it 2 or 3 times, and then we'll go 2 or 3 weeks before watching it again. I bought it in September I think, and LMS has probably watched it 15 -20 times since then.

The other day, we were driving past the high school, which has a water tower with the school's initials on it. As we drove past, LMS said "ha, ha, ha, and ssss, sssss, mommy!" Naturally, I was confused, until I realized she had seen the letters and was saying the sounds they make (H's make a panting 'ha' sound, and S's make a 'ssss' sound).

Since then, she's gotten quite good at recognizing letters on signs, stores, and in books. It's quite exciting to watch her realize she knows these things. She's not reading or anything, but she's making the first steps in that direction. How cool is that?

Kilmeny of the Orchard (L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge)

As I was requesting books by L.M. Montgomery from our library, I realized just how many of her books I haven't read. I've read all the 'Anne' books, Blue Castle, one of the 'Emily' books (a really long time ago), and I think that's it. I'm not sure why- she wrote quite a few other books, but I never read them. I noticed that our library does not have them all, so I think some of them are out of print now, which is unfortunate.

The first book I read for this challenge is Kilmeny of the Orchard. It was a quick read, only taking a couple hours to finish. As I read it was hard to miss the difference in writing style from most authors today. This isn't bad, just different. L.M. Montgomery is very descriptive, and uses a lot of phrases and language that I'm sure was current at the time she wrote, but is woefully outdated now. Kilmeny was an enjoyable book to read, and I recommend it to anyone who can find it.

The new year brings a new blog

I'm finally feeling better (eating a low-sugar, no-yeast, gluten free diet has done wonders), and I finally have the energy and focus to move forward. I've had a mental block for the past ten years and it's finally mostly gone. I'm feeling more creative than I have in years, and have started planning, working on, and finishing various projects.

However, I feel like this blog has strayed from my original purpose of documenting my goals. I've started talking more about projects, which could be considered small goals, but it's not quite where I want to go. So, I've started another blog, 'The Shoestring Diaries', where I will be talking about living frugally, getting out of debt, and so on. My projects lately have all been frugal projects, as most things I make are (why buy something when I can make it myself for less?), so I will be posting my projects on the new blog. I will be returning to my original intent and will be making new goals and documenting my progress towards accomplishing them.

I've been holding off on starting this new blog because I've been waiting for things to happen: Mr. M to get a job, a move into our own place, and so on. I feel like I've done a lot of waiting over the last couple years, and while I'm still waiting for those things to happen, I'm trying not to keep putting other parts of my life on hold.

2009 goals revisited

The other day I mentioned that I wanted to set some goals for this year, but was holding off till we got some things settled.

While that is still true, I realized I could still review my goals from the past year and see how I did.

Lifestyle goals revisited:

1. Learn to eat better and to counteract the effects of PCOS and gluten intolerance.

• I've been doing a lot of reading- books about gluten intolerance and lots of cookbooks
• new goal: make a menu for a month or more of meals (to be put into use after we move)

2. Learn to cook and bake healthy gluten free meals and snacks.

• I've done some baking and experimenting- some good results, some not so good
• see goal #1 for progress and new goal

3. Exercise regularly.

• Not so much. This happens every winter- I'm a wuss when it comes to getting outside and working out in the freezing cold. Last winter I was able to put my bike on the bike trainer, but I didn't have room for that this year.
• new goal: keep making an effort to get outside, even if it's only for a walk. Once we know where we'll be moving to and when, I'm going to find a 5K to sign up for as further motivation (by then it'll be a bit warmer, and we'll have the money for the registration fee).

4. Lose weight.

• I've plateaued at 20 pounds lost. I attribute this to lack of exercise and stress. I've noticed the scale creeping up again lately, so I really need to address the issue. When I'm stressed, I eat chocolate. Lots of it. I'm working on not stress eating, but there's only so much I can do myself. I do think that once Mr. M starts working and we get settled in a new place my stress levels will go way down. I'll have different stressors, I know, but hopefully they won't be as bad as the ones I've been dealing with.
• new goal: focus more on eating right and limiting sweets, especially chocolate (I'm not quite ready to give it up altogether, though I may need to). Combined with exercise and lower stress levels, I should start making progress again.

Current projects revisited:

1. Re-cover chair

• Finally started, hopefully it won't take too long
• new goal: finish re-covering chair as soon as possible.

2. Strip bed frame

• Need to start as soon as we have some warmer weather
• new goal: as soon as we have a nice day, get out and get started.

3. Mend/alter various clothing items

• finished these: the skirts, the re-purposed clothing items, etc
• no new goal needed

4. Make Sleeping Beauty crown

• finished in plenty of time for Halloween
• no new goal needed

5. Finish Christmas present for nieces and nephews by the end of October

• Finished them all, though I think there was a couple I had to work on in November. Either way, they all got done in time.
• no new goal needed

Some goals I can add to my list for the year, regardless of where we end up living:

Short term:

1. Send out Christmas cards (late, I know)
2. Write and send out thank you cards
3. Finish recovering the chair
4. Strip the bed frame
5. Find various records (birth, marriage, etc) and scan them in for family history source info

Long term:

1. Run at least two half marathons in 2010
2. Run a full marathon in 2010 (the same one I ran in 2008, if possible)
3. Do my continuing education courses to keep my massage certification up to date

Doctor's jacket and a chef's hat

Today I finished the two sewing projects I was working on. One is a chef's hat, and one is a doctor's jacket.

LMS received a doctor's bag this summer as a late birthday present. She loves playing with it! Since she's enjoyed it so much, I wanted to make her a doctor's jacket to go with it. I used her little Army uniform to get an idea of shape and size, and just made it up from there.

The collar didn't turn out quite how I was intending, but it looks ok, so I'm not going to re-do it. I wanted her to be able to wear it for awhile, so I made it long in the body with extra long sleeves. I sewed pockets on either side for putting syringes, thermometers, and extra band aids in (which she promptly did as soon as the photo shoot was over). I hate sewing button holes if it's not really necessary, so I sewed three squares of velcro down the front instead.
LMS also loves playing with her kitchen and play dishes and play food. I made an apron quite awhile ago, but I decided she needed a chef's hat as well. The hat was simple enough: a band around her head, sewed to a circle that's been gathered to fit the band. The band ended up being 4 thicknesses of fabric to give it more body, but the puffy part is just one thickness. I then hot glued purple ribbon over the seam to add some color (it was quicker and easier than sewing it would have been). Some day if I'm feeling really motivated I'll sew a cuter apron. For now, this one works.

LMS liked both the jacket and the hat, and since they didn't take much time and were super cheap to make, they're a great addition to her dress up box.

Costs:
Fabric for jacket and hat: leftover from the $4 sheet I used for her angel outfit (and there's still a small piece of the sheet left)
Velcro for jacket: leftover from some other project (don't remember which)
Ribbon for hat: leftover from the purple hooded bath towel I made awhile ago
Thread and hot glue: sitting around in my supplies

Thoughts on sewing

I keep going back and forth regarding my feelings about sewing. Do I love it or do I hate it? Or do I tolerate it because it's a means to an end?

I've done a bit of sewing recently, but I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do enjoy figuring out how to make something myself rather than spend an obscene amount of money on a store-bought version. But I don't wake up and immediately think 'I can hardly wait to get started on ___!'. In fact, I have to be in just the right frame of mind to sit down and actually make progress on a sewing project. So maybe the ambivalence is a result of the concentration problems I have because of PCOS and gluten intolerance.

I guess that's why I still haven't managed to get the cover made for the chair that will go in my parents' room when we move out. It's only been on my to do list for the last year or so, but somehow, I still haven't taken care of it. At least I have the fabric...

I have two projects in progress that are almost done. When I finish them, hopefully today, then I will buckle down and get the chair cover done. We're getting closer to a job for Mr. M, so I need to make sure everything is ready for when we move out. Hmmm. That also means I need to hope for some warmer weather so I can strip the crappy varnish job off the log bed I found for them. I don't think sub-zero weather will be terribly helpful.

The fog we had the other day left behind a layer of ice on all the plants and trees.

Resolutions and marking time

I know this is the time of year when everyone makes resolutions (lose 10 pounds, exercise more, whatever), but I think I'm going to hold off for now. I have some ideas of things I want to do, but until Mr. M gets a job and we know where we'll be moving to, I really can't make definite plans for the future. I want to set goals for myself that I can achieve, given the circumstances I find myself in.

I've been working on not putting things off till we move (the various projects and such that I've been working on lately), but I do think that this is one thing I will put off till we have a more concrete idea of what this year will bring.

L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge

This month, I'm participating in the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge 2010 at Reading to Know.

I have all the 'Anne' books, which I've read, but they're in a box in storage somewhere. My favorite L.M. Montgomery book is 'Blue Castle', but I've read that one many times. I know there is quite a few of her books that I haven't read, so I'm going to head on over to the library and see what they have available. I'll keep you posted!

Winter walks

I finally managed to go for a walk with LMS yesterday. Between all the snow and the really cold weather we've had lately, I think it's been at least a month and a half since I last went for a walk. It felt good, and was good motivation to be more regular with my walks so I can start running again.

Which means of course, that today is really foggy and not safe to go for a walk. I have reflective gear and flashy lights, but between the twisty roads and the drivers who speed, I just don't feel safe taking LMS out in this weather. Or safe going by myself, for that matter.

Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be better.

I did it...

I sat down, pulled off the offending twine, and re-did my 'S'. And I'm glad I did. I can look at it without cringing now. My OCD feels so much better. And didn't it turn out nice?

Quick and easy jacket fix

I bought this jacket on sale at Kohl's not too long ago, and I really like it, except for the fact that it only has 3 buttons. I'm really a 4 button girl.

Luckily for me, the manufacturer was nice enough to include a baggie of spare buttons. I used the large one to add a 4th button to my jacket.
I measured the buttons and the button holes to get the right spacing, then sewed the button on and made a button hole. Voila! I've got a 4 button jacket!