Necessary Chocolate

Read for fun 2010

Okay, it's time to stop trying to perfect the chart. In honor of long, sunny days, piles of library books, and the fun of interacting with you*, it's time to Read for Fun again!

For those of you who haven't played before, here are the rules (or lack thereof). This chart isn't meant to make you read lots of books. This chart is all about five-minute summer vacations. In fact, this year, there are only nine official goals. Just as well, since you'll be cutting out oddly shaped badges. You're a grown up, so you can change the goals if you want. Except for the frozen treat one. And the Shakespeare one.

Let's end the party on September 12th, the Sunday after Labor Day.

Want to play? Download the PDF file:

Download Read for fun 2010

Please leave a comment to let me know that you're playing. If you tell me about some of your summer reading experiences, then you'll earn a reward.

Have fun! Please don't forget to share some of your favorite moments!

I'll add a badge to the sidebar at some point this week.

*and because I wanted to play with Phaeton font and Blue Goblet font (Frames and Vignettes)...

A little reading and a little fun coming soon

It's almost time to Read for Fun. I'll be posting this year's chart on Sunday. For those of you who've played before, are there any goals from previous years that you really liked?

Highlights from Montreal

1. I made it to Montreal! It was only my second week back in the car, so l was a little scared that my arm would hold up. But the train takes 8.5 hours vs. a 3.5 hour drive (and I would have had to wrestle my suitcase through the metro with one good arm).

2. The committee that organized the pattern review weekend did  a tremendous job. How often do you have really great catered food at an organized event? We did. I hope to never stay in the UdeM dorms again (I'm a little old for those beds, and hauling the suitcase up a down the hill with, I have to say again, one good arm was interesting to say the least), but they were a perfect solution and location for the gathering. Plus, you couldn't beat the view from my 14th-floor window:

 
3. Shopping! Besides having an opportunity to meet great women who sew, I was introduced to the fabric district on St. Hubert St. I found a few pieces: some linen, embroidered batistes, and buttons. Lots of buttons. From a tiny little button store with a theater in the back, where the proprietor puts on a one-man-show at night. About buttons.

4. Chocolate! By noon on Saturday, I thought that I was exhausted. My arm hurt, it was hot, and I was done. But then, as I went around the back of the Jean Talon market, I found the chocolate store, where they sold the equivalent of a dark chocolate slurpie. Suddenly, I had the energy to head downtown to McGill and two bookstores, and then over to Chateau Dufresnes. Why my arm wasn't up to carrying 4 metres of fabric, but had no problem with six books, well...

So now I have to try David Lebovitz's chocolate sorbet recipe. Maybe I can add enough ice to slurpify it.

5. Not a highlight of Montreal: After sweating through the weekend in my little cotton cardigans, I am happy to say that the swelling is down in my arm to the point that I can wear wovens. Nice, cool, button-down lightweight wovens. Yay!

6. Shouldn't have been a highlight of Montreal: I stayed up too late every night because I recently discovered Foyle's War.

7. Insights from Montreal: I'm much shyer than I thought. And I need to sew more knits.

And she's back

The bullet points from the last few weeks:

I went to Arizona (sorry Lois, went via Albuquerque so that I could see Alyson) to see the oldest of the Arizona kids graduate. Kind friends and family picked me up and drove me around so that I could participate.

Then my parents came up to help me survive and plant the yard - and on day two the doctor told me that the sling could come off! A week early! Everyone had taken such good care of me that the bone healed quickly.

Now it hurts, and I'm in the midst of physical therapy, and it gets better every day and

I can DRIVE.

The last day of seminary was last Friday. Let the summer begin!

Oh wait, that pesky full-time job with millions of reports waiting for me to be out of the sling. But it's okay. Why?

I can DRIVE.

And now I can go to Montreal this weekend and do a little fabric shopping with this group. I honestly couldn't imagine it happening with the sling. I haven't sewn for two months, but why let that stop me?

Who knows? I might even start posting pretty photos again. Once those pesky reports are out the door...