Withdrawl

I know I spend a lot of time on the computer, but I didn't realize just how much until our modem died on Tuesday morning. Suddenly, I couldn't check my email, I couldn't do anything with my Etsy shop, I couldn't blog, I couldn't check my Facebook... and what was worse, Daniel couldn't talk to his grandparents on Skype or watch an occasional Veggie Tales silly song on YouTube.

By the time we finally got a new modem hooked up and were back online Wednesday night, I felt like I'd been trying to quit caffeine or something. My husband and I had to take turns catching up on our internet lives after Daniel went to bed, and our own bedtime was rather later than usual.

But while I was without internet access for two days, I got an astounding number of other things done. I finished crocheting little flowers for a scarf I'm making for a custom order. I crocheted almost a dozen new scrunchies. I picked all the dead blossoms and leaves off the flowers we have hanging on our balcony. I did laundry. I fixed a toy for Daniel. I wrote up some episode reviews of my favorite TV show, Combat!, to be posted soon on the Fruit Salad fansite a friend and I have created. I worked on a story I've been revising lately. In short, I was very productive when deprived of my internet.

So I'm thinking I need to scale back on some of what I do online. Do I need to belong to quite so many Etsy teams? Maybe not. Do I need to spend quite so much time online promoting my shop when I could be making new items for it instead? Maybe not. Do I need to take quite so many fun quizzes on Facebook? Maybe not. I'm definitely going to be giving this a lot of thought. But I'm really glad I'm back online anyway :-D

"Deja Dead" by Kathy Reichs

Deja Dead is Kathy Reichs' first novel, and it's a riveting read. Her dialog can be a bit stilted, but her characters were excellent, and the plot kept me guessing, which is actually a bit unusual for a mystery.

I don't mean that in a conceited way -- I love reading mysteries, and I don't usually try to figure out whodunit or anything else. I like letting the stories unfold before me, without me spending time trying to outsmart the author. If I do figure the ending out ahead of time, I get all disappointed and feel like the author didn't do their job very well.

But while I read Deja Dead, I couldn't stop the story from popping into my head while I wasn't reading it. I had theories on who the bad guy was (all wrong, yay!) and who would die next (I was mostly wrong, so mostly yay!), and I kept trying to figure out how I was going to get creeped out next.

Yes, this is a somewhat creepy book. Reichs is a real-life forensic anthropologist, like her protagonist, Dr. Temperance Brennan. She fills this book with all sorts of vivid details about death and other not-so-yummy-things -- so vivid sometimes that my skin started to crawl. If you're a fan of forensic TV shows like Bones, NCIS, and the CSI: shows, then you'll probably do fine here. If those churn your stomach, you might want to avoid this book.

Speaking of Bones, these books by Kathy Reichs spawned that show. I've been a fan of the show right from the start, due to the presence of David Boreanaz (who had starred in my second-most-favorite-show-ever, Angel). Bones is a really fun show, revolving around the characters of Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz). I think my biggest surprise while reading this book wasn't at all related to the plot -- it was regarding how different the book's Dr. Brennan is from the one on the show. On Bones, Dr. Brennan is socially awkward and has a pretty unusual view of life, people, relationships, everything. The Deja Dead Dr. Brennan is cerebral, but not to the point of social awkwardness. She's actually a divorcee with a college-age daughter, and seems to have no problem relating to "normal" people. There was no Seeley Booth, but I'm hoping he pops up in one of the next books in the series.

So, I enjoyed Deja Dead, and I hope to read the next book or two later this summer. If you like forensic mysteries, you'll dig it!

However....

We went to visit my brother and his wife in Boston for Memorial Day weekend. We haven't been there since Labor Day, although they've been here to visit a couple times. Daniel had a lot of fun in Boston -- we walked pretty much everywhere on Saturday and Sunday, and he loves walking, so it was like the perfect Daniel mini-break. And they introduced us to Lost -- they have the first season on dvd, so we watched the first 5 or 6 eps with them, and I'm on my way to being hooked.

When my dad joined us there Sunday night, then we did more riding in cars, but we still walked most places, or rode the train. And if there's one thing Daniel likes better than taking walks, it's trains. Days later, he's still saying, "Four trains and a bus!" when he remembers what he got to ride on Tuesday.

While my husband had to drive home on Monday night so he could work Tuesday, Daniel and I stuck around until Wednesday and then drove back here with Dad. My brother's done with school for the semester, so he got to hang out with us on Tuesday, although his wife had to work.

So it should have been a super-fun little vacation. However...

I got food poisoning.

Sunday evening we all ate at a Brazilian steakhouse, where they bring you all kinds of different meat that's been roasted over an open fire. And it was super tasty. But I had one kind of sausage that no one else tried, and when I woke up Monday morning... it was like having morning sickness plus diarrhea plus a fever. I spent most of Monday in bed, except for sudden trips to the bathroom. Even now, I'm still not back to normal.

However, I did find time to crochet eight pretty washcloths as a custom order for my shop. Good thing I got six of them done early during the weekend, so I just had to make the last two once I was feeling better. I love how cheery they are! Made from cotton yarn, they're soft and durable, and they're sure to brighten up a kitchen or bathroom. If you'd like some too, I'm going to be adding a few to my shop soon, or I'd be happy to make a custom order for you. Providing I don't get food poisoning again, of course ;-)

Milestones and a Weekend Recap

I made my tenth sale yesterday! Sold my baby sun hat pattern again. I'm thinking offering a few more patterns might be a good plan. For my finger puppets, maybe? I'm working on some new ones, and have a set almost ready for a photo shoot.

The weekend was awesome. Saturday, I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Laurie R. King. She writes great mysteries, and has a whole series about Sherlock Holmes and a character she created named Mary Russell. They're my faves, though I've read a bunch of her other books and like them too. If you want, you can read about my experience at her book tour here, on my other blog, "Inscriptions."

Saturday night, we hung out at our local library for a while, listening to a Beatles tribute band. While my hubby and Daniel were off running around, I got hit on by a guy almost as old as my dad. I'm still not sure if I should be flattered or frightened....

And on Sunday, I went to see Wolverine with a friend. I loved it. I want to see it again. Before it leaves theaters. Enough said. Mmmmmmmm. Posting a random pic from it just because that means I'll get to gaze at it every time I bring my blog up for a week or so.

And finally, I just found out that one of my favorite current TV shows, NCIS, is spinning off a new show (as yet unnamed). And that new show will star... Chris O'Donnell. Yes. The same Chris O'Donnell I have been madly in love with since, what, 1995? A really long time. Here's a pic from the recent NCIS eps that set off the spinoff, because that means I get to gaze at Chris (and Mark Harmon) for a while too. As do you.

Oh, one last thing. Happy birthday, Rudolph Valentino!

"Christy"

I picked up Christy: The Complete Series on dvd a few weeks ago, but didn't get a chance to start watching any of it until today. I put on the pilot episode as soon as the boyo was down for his nap, and pulled out some craft projects to work on while I watched.

I'd forgotton how good this series is! And how much I like Dr. Neil MacNeill (Stewart Finlay-McLennan). And how, the first time I saw Sarah Michelle Gellar on TV, she reminded me of Kellie Martin. I'd watched most of this series when it was on TV 15 years ago, and while my little brother wasn't much of a fan, Mom and I dug it.

Sadly, the pilot lasted longer than Daniel's nap, so I'll have to finish it tomorrow. But I did finish pinning together some little reversible purses I'm experimenting with. Now I just need to find time to pin them together. Two of them are made from this lovely springtime fabric, and I can't wait to see how they turn out!