KNIT LOUNGE

The Kindle Report

Well it's been four months since Stonewall Jackson presented me with the Kindle with a fancy Red Cover and I have to say that I enjoy it even more than before. It wonderfuly portable and contains 582 books that are ready and waiting for me at the flip of a switch.  And 99.5 % percent of them were free at one point in time.

At this time I think I've only spent about twenty dollars for a handful of books, including my Bible which I paid $6.39 and Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee for $6.99!!!!!! It was on sale. Now it is listed at a whopping $71.99! That in itself has made this piece of tech a worthwhile investment.

The only thing that bothers me about e-books is that I don't have  a sense of how "thick" it may be.  I always stayed away from proper books that were less than an inch and a half. I can devour thin books in less than a day. If the description of an e-book mentions the word short I don't bother with them either. Other than that I'm one happy little duck.

This week I'm reading  The Dead Saint that was once listed as free. It is a very well written political mystery.  

 

It is such a interesting tale that I've been reading late into the night with the help of my Kandle, least I disturb Stonewall and Ellie. 

Though I don't think Ellie cares one little wit. That girl doggie sleeps like a log as long as she is snuggled next to me!

Summer Reading

I finished off Hybrid on Friday evening though I did not care for the ending it was a good read. 

 

Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer Mcmahon was next in my que because the description caught my attention. 

    "On a soft summer night in Vermont, twelve-year-old Lisa went into the woods behind her house and never came out again. Before she disappeared, she told her little brother, Sam, about a door that led to a magical place where she would meet the King of the Fairies and become his queen."

My impression was that it would be similar to The Spiderwick Chronicles, which Tech Boy and I throughly enjoyed reading together.

The first chapter was vulgar and obnoxious. I found myself wondering what this had to do with the story.  I tried to get past it but the second chapter left me annoyed too, so I dumped it into my archive. I'll delete it from my Kindle later. I'm glad I did not pay for it.

I moved on to another previously free book  Elisha's Bones by Don Hossel. This one hooked me right away. It is an Indian Jones type of tale. That I can live with.

So tell me what you are reading in beastly heat of summer?

P.S. Houston, we have a sleeve.

Woosh!

This week went by so very fast that I shall recap in bullet fashion....

* Stonewall Jackson and I quietly celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. I am amazed - that's a whole lot of crazy shared between two people. I want 20 more. Yeah! I like him that much! 

* By a strange course of events I managed to purchase a Nook for my Mother which included a fancy red leather case for 50 dollars!!!! Her signature color is red too. I gave it to her for her birthday. God is very good indeed.

* Ellie got a micro chip on Tuesday and her yellow id tag is huge.

* On Wednesday Ellie got into something on her 3 o'clock walk and her poor little face swelled terribly. Off to the vet we went. $75 bucks and one allergy shot later the swelling began to reduce. The doc thinks she might have been stung by a bee. There's no surprise since she chases them. Silly puppy.

* Ellie has gained almost a pound since her arrival making her a heavy weight at 6 lbs. even.  Her coat is shiny and she shed her puppy coat which has been replaced silky black wavy hair.  

* I finally finished my Plain Jane commission knit. Worked in Comfy Fingering. Love that stuff.

 

* Do you Lendle? My handle there is Knit Lounge. Feel free to friend me.

* J.K. Rowling announced that Harry Potter is coming to e-books! I can't wait. Though I'm sure it's going to cost a fortune to purchase the entire set. It's a good thing I have a job.

* I started a new sweater for my winter collection. Comfy Sport in Black. Lots of cables. Pictures to come.

* Somehow or another 20 lbs. of excess weight has attached itself to my petite frame. Scandalous. I have eaten every bit of junk food in the house and vowed not to buy anymore. I'm renewing my walking and bike riding again. Wish me luck, strength and determination. Mostly determination.

* I got a lovely bonus from my first and favorite Fetch and Carry Client and the money went straight to Knit Picks. Stonewall says money just does touch and goes in our bank account! I say that I am being a good citizen by keeping the money in circulation! After all it is good for the economy. I did my part, did you?

Got Books?

I do enjoy a good medical tale especially when it involves bizarre mutating viruses and the CDC.

Hybrid fits nicely into this category and so far it has been a good read that was free at one point. 

 

As soon as I finish that I'm going on an Indian Jones type of adventure by reading Elisha's Bones that was also free at one point in time.  

I do try my best to live on free books but every once and a while one comes up that is worth the sacrifice of a few bucks. 

A few weeks ago Through the Bible Commentary with J. Vernon McGee was on sale for $6.99! I was thrilled! He was a brilliant Bible teacher and I've listened to his radio show quite a few times.

Now the list price is a whopping $71.99! Stunning!

Signing up for daily email alerts at Pixel of Ink, Inspired Reads etc.,  has saved me a fortune.

Island Time

I am thoroughly convinced that Key West is permanently encased in a twisted time warp continuum. Very few things get done around here quickly or efficiently because Islanders have a very relaxed and casual attitude about everything. 

Personally, I think its the relentless and constant heat that causes this phenomenon.

The Locals or Conchs are people who have lived here for a very long time have brought this behaviour to a completely new level. 

When new comers to the Island inqure about this they are told that  "This ain't the mainland and we do things on "Island Time".  

It makes me crazy. 

 
 

Most Conchs appear to be oblivious to the fact that some people would like to take care of business and errands in a timely fashion and prefer not camp out in the Post Office, K-Mart, Wal-Greens, Ross, Bealls, Ben Frankling etcetera, etcetera.

Even if there is only one person in line ahead of me, there is always something that slows things down, especially when the employee is  acquainted with the customer, which happens more often than not. Then it becomes "Social Hour" and I have been privy to a great many conversations that I could have lived without.

For example : The other day I learned that good old Uncle Bob, who lives in Big Pine, had a nasty boil on his bottom and had to be taken to Dr. Norris to have it lanced.

It was so bad that he could not even drive himself to the Doctor's office. Poor pitiful Bob had to lay in the back seat of the car, while his ex-wife drove him there and back. Ewwww!

I have learned to cope with this infuriating Island Time behaviour by ensuring that my Kindle always goes into my purse before I leave the house. Yes, my knitting is in my purse too but sometimes the Kindle is easier to manage. Scandalous I know.

You can be sure that I make a big deal of pulling it out of my purse.  Then I'll unsnap the cover and begin to read. Of course I'll  hold nice and high so everyone can admire the pretty red leather case. 

It does not do make things go any faster but I feel that it does make a rather bold statement to those who might actually notice or care. 

Quite often I usually recieve  a few comments from others who are stranded in line with nothing to do. They are envious.

Yes, indeed I have gotten my moneys worth out of the Kindle and it's barely two months old. However, it is the only thing that keeps me from loosing my mind in Alcatraz.

Highlights

I survived graduation. The weather was so muggy and hot that it kept my mind distracted from the realization that my baby has grown up though I did tear up during the National Anthem.

My camera decided that today of all days that is was not going to cooperate and this is the only picture I have.

 

Cest la vie! I have the memories in my heart.

* * * * *

In honor of raising a teen boy who has never been arrested by the police or gotten himself into assorted amounts of horrid trouble, for which I'm truly thankful,  my brother in law Harley Man gifted to us a bottle of Jam Jar wine to celebrate!

Typically, I do not appreciate sweet wines but this one is a winner! It is not overly sweet and has a pleasant tartness to it as well. The balance between the two is spectacular. I see a few more bottles in my future. 

* * * * *

To keep my mind off of all the graduation drama this past week, I immersed myself in the book Bubba and the Deadwoman by C.L. Bevill.

It is a wildy humorous, fast paced read that was free in Kindle format. Totally worth 5 stars.

Bubba is my hero! 

Then I splurged and paid $1.99 for Bubba and the 12 Deadly Days of Christmas. I'm saving that for a rainy day.  

I hope she has more Bubba tales in the works. 

Addicited

Little did I know when Stonewall gave me a Kindle how addicted I would become to scoring free books on a daily basis.

I  blame Pixel of Ink website for enabling me. They post free books every single day, all day long.  Some good, so not so good. Variety is the spice of life I suppose.

 

You see, I get a little buzz  every time I press the "Buy Now with 1-click" button in Amazon, after I have confirmed that the e-book is still free. I like free.

And the first of every month is when I get the biggest rush. That's when publishers release a plethora of books of all genres. Clickity, click. Click. Click. And there I go again.

Stonewall thinks I'm over the edge. His poor email is flooded with purchase confirmations from Amazon. 

He light heartedly grouses. I respectfully remind him that these books are free.  He should be delighted that I have at least one hobby that does not cost him a dime!

If it bothers him that much than he needs to change the email addy. Oops, did I say that? 

And then there is Inspired Reads for Christian reading from devotions, fiction and non fiction. Clickity, click.

Of course I use discerment and don't snap up everything. I read reviews and consider carefully. It would be positively criminal to fill up my precious Kindle with books that are junk. 

Should I became stranded on an island with my Kindle, it would keep my mind stimulated for quite a while.  Oh that's right, I am!

Kindle Love

In 2004 I took up knitting and practically gave reading since its rather difficult to hold a book open and turn pages with needles in my hand.

In March beloved Stonewall purchased a Kindle complete with a chic red leather cover and solved the problem. I love being a 21st Century gal.

The newfangled device rests nicely on my knee when I cross my legs and I am free to knit and read  simultaneously!

 

Being a Continental knitter makes this easy since I carry the yarn in my left hand and flip the page with my right. My left hand holds both needles for the half a second that it takes to press the button.

Though I will admit lace knitting and reading don't mix very well. I'll have to work on that.  

Should I?

 
..... .Yes, I think I will. And you dear reader will be subjected to trival bits of Key West life with my knitting adventures on "The Rock" thrown in for good measure. By the way, "The Rock" is a  nickname that the locals have loving bestowed on this particular Key.  

 However, I  tend to think of Key West as Alcatraz with the crappiest K-Mart on the planet. Now don't get me wrong. I'm thankful to have one but the customer service leaves something to be desired. When the rare occasion comes around and I am forced to make a return to the customer service desk, I always bring my Kindle because its going to take forever. Anyone who lives here will confirm that. I can read three or four chapters before the hassle begins. Fun times. I digress.

Now, I suppose  a proper introduction of sorts is in order. In 2004 I taught myself to knit and found my niche. I became enthralled with sock knitting  ever since, learned that sweater knitting is not as bad as it used to be, and have became quite passionate about lace knitting. You should see my wardrobe and my stash.

Four years ago I lived in Arizona with my beloved husband, Mr. Stonewall Jackson and our only son, Tech Boy. One day we decided to pack up our stuff, sell the house  and return to his roots in Florida and we landed in Stuart for a while. After a year of looking for work as a Network Administrator,  Stonewall landed an excellent government job in Key West FL.  

At first the thought of moving to balmy Key West caused me great anxiety since I'm a perpetual knitter. So what on earth was I going to do in the Southernmost part of the United States. Well the answer came quickly enough, shawls keep your shoulders from developing frost bite from the non stop frigid Air Conditioning and cotton tops since finding small clothing sizes here is next to impossible. And on occasion I escape Alcatraz and fly home to Richmond in the winter months so I can enjoy wearing a newly made hand knit sweater and a pair of socks.

After living here for a few years I've been blessed to make a wack of great friends who knit. I supposed life down here is pretty good after all. 

So join me every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for endless idiotic dribble on the Southernmost Point in the good old USA.

In the meantime Knit on, dear friends, knit on!