bits, shawl and kite flying

 Mark got some good pictures of Esme flying her kite on Saturday when the weather was warm.  It is a Red Baron plane and she really likes it.

She got some good lift on the kite.

I 'finished' this shawl last year, but it was always slipping off of my shoulders and no pin was really practical.  So, I took every last bit of matching yarn I had and made it longer and wider at the bottom until I could tie it in a knot.  Now I can wear it handsfree (a little like a Scottish arisad, but not that big)   I am really glad to have it back, because it is so warm!

It has been so cold - and winter just does not want to give up.  I've had these two days off and it has rained and been 30 to 40 degrees.  So, no progress on the garden.  And this weekend I have off it is supposed to rain again.  *growl*.  I do have some tomato seedlings coming up.. which is good.  Asparagus seeds (yes, seeds) are coming in the mail.  I want to start a bed halfway up the road where the birds dropped some volunteers and the roots at the local store just didn't feel right.. kind of squishy and bad smelling.  I saw good reviews on starting from seed - even though they take years to really establish.

We gave Esme the choice today of trying to get to a bank we know had a coin counter or going to get her musical instrument from pickup.  They were in towns in the opposite direction of each other.  She chose the coin counter - but it had closed 6 minutes before we got there.  Their hours are earlier than we remember... so, she was a bit sad.  Fish sticks and a bath made her happier.  I'll get the instrument tomorrow after I get off of work - it is finally here!

And, I got a strap for my mandolin and it works.  Mark put the extra button on it.  I was going to make a strap but having it be adjustable is a big win.  I did get supplies to make a zipper bag for it.

Books :
I finished 'The Bear and the Nightingale' .. It was a very good book steeped in lots of Russian folklore.  The author is Katherine Arden.

Other notable mentions - 'Mistakenly Married', a free romance book about a couple who marry the wrong 'blind date' at a Las Vegas chapel but find out they are better matched than their original intentions...it was predictable  but sweet and made me a laugh a few times, by Victorine Lieske,

and 'Perfected', by Kate Jarvik Birch, about a 'genetically engineered girl sold as a pet' in the future - it paints the picture of what different members of society consider human and property in a pretty real way, and the girl tries to decide what she has been trained for and what she really feels and wants and the struggle between them.. and the real fear of what will happen to her if she does or does not conform to her 'owner's standards under the terrible laws in the future (that some oppose, and try in good and bad ways to 'help' her).  It was quite clear she knew exactly what would happen to 'disobedient or tainted pets' although she never actually tells anyone and there are different theories others have of 'country homes' and 'rehabilitation' or 'hospitals'... when actually there is only euthanasia for those returned to their 'kennels'.  These issues that are never fully addressed but might be in the sequel.   It was a short read, but reminded me a lot of the 'Matched' series which was where the recc came from and had some good vignettes on society in general.