Love it!

Classes have started, and I'm looking at my clothes and thinking "do I really want to ruin all my clothes again?" Every semester I end up wrecking all my favorite outfits in the studio. I always dress all pretty, not planning to do any work that day, then end up at the polishing wheel, or covered in pickle. Always. The answer? A fabulously rugged, very comfortable apron from Utility Canvas in my new home town! I've always loved their aprons (they come on loan when you borrow a hammer kit from the school) and it's high time I bought my own so that I can always keep my clothes nice and in one piece.

Other news! I met my mysterious other house mate yesterday and he is very nice and remarkably sane!
Other, other news. The line to pick up pre-ordered textbooks is still so long that I suspect I won't be getting mine until the end of the week. I'm not really up for camping out on the floor all day.

Back to civilization

With classes starting Monday I moved into my new housing Friday evening. I sort of knew what I was getting myself into....sort of. No internet, old house, eclectic landlord. Right. My family works hard to "tread lightly" as they say, but this is a whole new experience for me. I can't imagine coming into this house from a family even less eco-conscious than mine, because it's been a culture shock for me as it is! It isn't helped by the fact that the libraries (both the local and the university) are all closed this weekend, as is the studio (though that was supposed to be open, so what gives?) I did escape from the surreality for a short time last night when I went out to dinner with an old roommate. I've managed to rationalize myself into some sort of calm, but I'm telling you, this is going to be the strangest semester yet!

Fall Schedule!

Come find me this Fall, I'm going to be all over the place!

Sep. 6+20, Oct. 4+18 Hillsdale Farmer’s Market
Sep. 14 Mountain Music Festival, Bethel, NY
Sep. 20 Pawling Arts & Crafts Fest, Pawling, NY
Sep. 21 Earth Day Festival, Bethel, NY
Oct. 4-5 Hudson High School Craft Fair, Hudson, NY
Oct. 11-12 Warren Fall Festival, Warren, CT
Oct. 18 Green Meadow Fall Fair, Chestnut Ridge, NY

As you can see there are a few dates that are doubled. In those cases my Mom will be working the Farmer's Market for me, so you should really go keep her company!

I'm anticipating having my Etsy back online by the end of the month so keep an eye on Soasadesigns.com for updates!

#30 + 31: Narcissus in Chains + Cerulean Sins

Shameless vacation reads!



Book: Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
Pages: 630
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 1/5
Total Rating: 5.5/10
Books Read Total: 30/50
Pages Read Total: 6301/15,000

I don't think the actual plot began until a solid 250 pages in, but it was certainly an amusing read. These books are really more like watching chick flicks than reading.




Book: Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
Pages: 547
Entertainment Rating: 5/5
Snooty Rating: 1.5/5
Total Rating: 6.5/10
Books Read Total: 31/50
Pages Read Total: 6848/15,000

More plot than the last, and SO MUCH witty dialog I thought I'd never stop chuckling. Why any of those men put up with that chick is beyond me.

At the moment I'm reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell which is proving to be quite interesting, and I'm listening to Children of Dune on my trusty Mp3 player.

And just because it's been a long time since I included these little gadgets, here they are:

31 / 50 books. 62% done!

6848 / 15000 pages. 46% done!

#29: Matters of Choice

Book: Matters of Choice by Noah Gordon
Pages: 448
Entertainment Rating: 3.5/5
Snooty Rating: 2/5
Total Rating: 5.5/10
Books Read Total: 29/50
Pages Read Total: 5671/15,000

--Insert summary here--(sorry)

Before anyone starts judging me, I read this book at the beach. I've been on vacation for the past few days (still am, as a matter of fact!) and at my mom's suggestion I'm reading some more entertaining, beachy reads this week. I've got Western lit, art history, anthropology, Spanish and contemporary Buddhism courses starting in almost a week, so it's safe to say this is some of the last breezy reading I'll be doing.

All that said, this wasn't laborious to read. I didn't realize that it was the third part of a trilogy until just now when I went searching for a cover shot. Apparently the first two novels are of a much higher caliber, so don't tell any Gordon fans that I picked it up thinking it would be some cheesy romance (which it is, a bit, in parts.) Anyhow, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but I wouldn't scream "Don't do it!" if someone took it out of the Library or found it left behind at their grandmother's house.

Now, I'm going to admit that the book I'm reading now is one of Hamilton's Anita Blake vampire books. You have every right to ridicule me but I'm telling you her books are hard to ignore. I can never decide if I'm weirded out enough to put the book down. On a similar note, I was in the bookstore the other day and since when is V.C. Andrews considered kid lit! I wouldn't touch another one of her books with a ten foot pole, let alone give it to a kid!!

#28: The Winter of Our Discontent

Book: The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Pages: 281
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 4/5
Total Rating: 8.5/10
Books Read Total: 28/50
Pages Read Total: 5223/15,000

I feel that since it has been such a long time since my last book I owe it to myself to really dig deep into this one. Somehow I can't do that, despite my adoration of Steinbeck and Ethan, his lovable protagonist. Perhaps the reason I find myself refusing to delve into this story more is because I understand that what Ethan ends up doing is bad, and yet I love him nonetheless. His quick wit and charming banter held my attention far longer than the underlying commentary, though that is what originally drew me to the book (besides my obvious love of Steinbeck, of course.)
Regardless of how much I examine this book I feel there is no denying that this is Steinbeck through and through. Rich descriptions and straightforward storytelling.

And the award for most neglegent blogger goes to....

I think that'd be me. Sorry.

I know I should have blogged about the fantastic trip I had up to Ithaca with my booth. I know I should have fabulous photos to prove that Grassroots was a fabulous festival! I know I should have blogged about the huge, terrifying storm that hit Falcon Ridge early Sunday afternoon, effectively shutting down the festival. I don't have photos of that either, so check out that link to see a video, check out this one to see another, and someday I'll wrangle some photos away from My dear friend and savior Amanda when I'm sure she's more settled in her new home! She's got photos of my pasty white legs standing in a river of muddy water running higher than my ankles through my booth. It took four of us hanging on the EZ-Up to keep it from lifting off, but I am very proud to say that my meticulous weather disaster plan was 100% effective! Nary an earring was lost, and the paper goods all survived as well!

My lack of blogging energy hasn't been helped by the fact that until this week I hadn't read an entire book all month (the horror!) and I've been on strict knitting probation thanks to my lovely OT who's trying to fix up my elbow. In other news, I've started hula hooping pretty much obsessively, and I'm cleaning and sorting and packing in preparation to head back to school next week! I can't believe my break is so close to ending.

Boo.