the sun has remained (unfortunately, so has the cold, but I'll take cold over gray any day)

[topaz119]

My living room is almost de-holidayed--I am both sad (I like my winter lights) and relieved (all the stuff I shift out of there to make room for the 9-foot tree and the *cough*mutter*mumble*-dozen Dept 56 houses always ends up just stuck in my bedroom, so it is nice to get it all back on shelves where it belongs.)

On to the real, actual de-cluttering. (That sentence should probably be punctuated with an exclamation point, but as much as I would like to find a house under all the Stuff we have, I am not at all enthusiastic about the process. Which is why we're in this mess in the first place, I guess. sigh.)

What-I'm-Reading Wednesday

Originally snagged from musesfool and passed along to ariadnes_string. We can make it a thing!

What I'm Reading

Persuasion, Jane Austen. I finished up a few things and this was sitting on my iPad and it's been years and years since I last read it, so off I went to Bath.

Roselynde, Roberta Gellis. Medieval romance with pretty impeccable historical details.

The Tempest, Shakespeare. BabyBoy & I are going to see this performed at the Shakespeare Tavern this weekend & he always enjoys it more if he knows the story.


What I Just Finished

Dark Road To Darjeeling, Deanna Raybourne. Julia and Brisbane remain stupidly in love, which is about all I care about. Just as I'm about to swear off their tiresome power struggle, Brisbane gets a migraine, Julia takes care of him, Brisbane lets her, and I'm good for another hundred pages. I did think the death count was a little high in this one, though.

Richard III, Hamlet, Shakespeare. The joys of homeschooling a teenager. (The BBC adaptation of Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart made reading along an utter joy, I must say.)

Lusitania: Saga and Myth, David Ramsay. Again with the homeschooling.

A Lady Awakened, Cecilia Grant. I did give this one a little bit more of a try, but no go, so DNF (and the sequel A Gentleman Undone is going to be DNS.)


What I'm Reading Next

The library is holding a pile of things for me if I can manage to get there during their reduced operating hours: Wonder Show, Barbara Rodgers Barnaby (YA traveling carnival mystery set during the Depression); The Secret of the Pink Carnation, Lauren Willig (which I've read before, but I ended up with some of the later books in the series and thought I'd refresh my memory); Something Like Normal, Trish Doller (YA PTSD vet romance--I am dying to see if she can pull that combo off); The Billionaire's Vinegar, Benjamin Wallace (foodie book club). yikes.

Comments

[kare.livejournal.com]

Saw this site the other day and thought of you, click on the eras to see the clothing:

http://www.vintagetextile.com/

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

::dies:: I WANT ONE OF EVERYTHING VICTORIAN.

[kare.livejournal.com]

I know! Some of the photos are clickable and when you go to the page, it gives a bio!

http://www.vintagetextile.com/new_page_185.htm

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

ugh, it's probably fortunate that I would never fit into any of these dresses because I can already see where I'd be trying to figure out how to get one. I can hold off the acquisitive demands if I know it'd just be a museum piece.

Though I do have a friend who is awesome with the costuming...

[kare.livejournal.com]

I'd totally have nowhere to wear something like what's there, but damn I want to!

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Oh, funny, this just popped up in my inbox and I thought of you, too!

http://www.urbandecay.com/The-Glinda-and-Theodora-Palettes-by-Urban-Decay/361,default,pd.html

[kare.livejournal.com]

ohh! I just happen to have a Sephora gift card! Thanks for the head's up, I'll see if it's on there. I love the Glinda!

[hora-tio.livejournal.com]

I can certainly empathize with you..it is currently well below zero degrees here in upstate NY.

I put away the holiday decor a few weeks back...but I put Christmas lights around the perimeter of my bedroom. I find it most relaxing to go in there at night and just lay on my bed with them on. Its so peaceful.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

::shivers::

I grew up mostly in Pittsburgh, so I'm used to the cold, but we currently live in Georgia, where my Southerner of a husband lured me under the false pretense of it not getting cold. Granted, it's not Northeast/Midwest cold, but seriously, if I have to put up with summers in the 90s for both temperature *and* humidity, I shouldn't be seeing 20s in the winter. hmpf.

I went wild with after-Christmas candle sales and have them all over. They're not quite my twinkly tree lights, but they're better than just the too late/early darkness.

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

ugh, it is freezing here, too--but I agree, it's okay as long as the sun is out.

Hope you're enjoying Persuasion! I will PM you a funny story about it.

I'm curious about the YA PTSD romance, too--let me know how it is if you do read it.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

I think Persuasion is my favorite couple -- I love watching them work their way back into the other's life.

That particular book is first up, I think. I read the description somewhere and thought it sounded interesting and then it kicked up as YA and I *really* got intrigued. We'll see how much T is actually in the PTSD...

[lar_laughs.livejournal.com]

I need to reread The Secret of the Pink Carnation, too! I have the third (?) book on my shelf and realized that it's been many years since I've read the first.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Everyone says the follow-up books are better (which you don't hear very often) so I thought I'd go back and refresh my memory. My mom is working her way through the series and is having a good time with them, too. It seemed to be a sign.

[rogoblue.livejournal.com]

Cold? Really! It was finally above zero when I got up this morning. And my kitchen was 54 degrees on Monday. I was legitimately in Under Armor Cold Gear in the house! Oy!

Hope all is well other than temps and overcast conditions. Gearing myself up for a 6th grade band/orchestra/choir concert tonight. Eyes already glazing over.

Have become sort of twitter buddies with Reed Diamond. He suggested that I become his manager yesterday by DM. Twas fun!

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

Well, it's the southern version of that cold wave, so, you know, not quite as extreme. But I maintain that I was lured here under false pretenses.

C took 2nd place in the Science Fair. Given that I sacrificed my kitchen sinks to the bins of grass on a long tray, for a month, during the holidays, I feel like it is a family win.

Management detail sounds awesome!