looking up

Hello! It's rainy and gross here (but not cold like in Woods Hole where there is the possibility of anywhere from 2 - 22 inches of snow coming).

I read three books these past two weeks, but I'm only going to tell you about two because the one I read  last night/today was free on the kindle - I finally learned how to get ebooks! - and not worth talking about.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett took me about two weeks to read because it was almost 1,000 pages long. I was shocked that enjoyed it so much! Normally I am not into books that are so long and although I love love love historical fiction, the novel is about building a cathedral which sounded suspiciously boring to me. However, this really is Follett's masterpiece and I will never look at churches the same. Although the book revolves around the cathedral being built at the Kingsbridge Priory (England, early 1100s), the story jumps around and focuses on different characters who are all somehow involved: Prior Phillip, the master builder Tom and his family, Tom's step-son Jack, William and his allies who want to destroy the cathedral, the beautiful Aliena, etc. so you get architecture, fights and wars, a love story, revenge, curses. I hauled that book around with me everywhere I went, very worth it.

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey focuses on a modern day police investigator who is laid up in the hospital. While there he begins an historical investigation into the disappearance of the two princes in the Tower of London, supposedly killed by Richard III. I won't spoil all the details but I am thoroughly convinced that Richard did not do it and I am very pleased because I always liked him and wished that he was less of a murderous jerk. Really clever book, lots of interesting historical facts and a very important reminder not to believe everything your history book (or history teacher!) tells you.

I've been very excited about taking photos of birds lately!

This little guy I saw while I was home over break. From my online research I think that he is a Cedar Waxwing.

click read more to see more birds!

It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the year!

Hey y'all I'm home! Keegan and I got in late Friday night, 11 and a half hours of driving, didn't hit a lot of traffic, ate a lot of snacks, not bad all around. 

I read two books last week:

Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier is a YA book about a young woman who is thrown in prison (time period unknown, but they ride horses so... Medieval?) and gets offered a deal that she can escape if she spends the next 7 years helping anyone who asks for help instead of seeking revenge on the guy who got her thrown in jail. There's some royalty, some magic, some forests involved. The book was a nice diversion from worrying about Christmas presents or lack there of! 

I then read Trapeze by Simon Mawer which I loved and I reccomend to all. It's a fictionalized story of the real women in WWII who were sent undercover into Nazi occupied France to help with the Resistance.  I love reading and learning about the world wars, so this novel was right up my alley. 

Not a book but still awesome, Serial, a spin-off of The American Life by NPR, just ended. It's a podcast, so only online, but you can download them to your device or comp through iTunes or listen online at serialpodcast.org/

A reporter reexamines a 15 year old murder case of a teenager girl in Baltimore. Her ex-boyfriend is currently serving life. The story is compelling and exciting and really made me think about the criminal justice system in America. 

In other news, I crafted so much this week!

I painted a moon phases design onto the back of a over shirt I bought at Salvation Army last month:

First I cut out some templates and chose my colors of fabric paint. I used an old cereal box for the cardboard, draw a circle using a bowl, and then decided how many moon phases I wanted to do. Tulip is my favorite brand of fabric paint.