I haven’t been knitting much lately. The only thing I have worked on this week (other than my blanket) is this pair of rainbow socks. I have the first sock done. I did a short row heel, which is not my favorite. I’m going to have to go in and tighten the stitches where the heel starts and ends because there are little holes there.
My goal is to finish these before the end of pride month. There is a lot of playground knitting to be done this month, so that should not be a problem.
Oh May, what a weird month for reading. I read two romance novels about NFL girlfriends and two novels about characters from The Odyssey. So, yeah, a weird mix. Luckily, I really enjoyed most of the seven books I read.
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton. This book follows one of the characters from Next Year In Havana as she adapts to life in the United States. Along the way she joins the CIA. It is a fun book about a difficult time. I give this book four out of five stars.
Intercepted by Alexa Martin. This book was cute and fun, without being totally mindless. Alexa Martin is the wife of an ex-NFL player, so the book has details about being a player I would not have known without her insight. She writes about a believable independent woman. I really enjoyed this book. I give it three out of five stars.
Fumbled by Alexa Martin. This woman can write a good book. A romance novel that tackles CTE? I never would have thought that brain injuries would be a plot point in a romance novel, but she makes it work. This book is cute and fun to read. I pre-ordered her third book after reading this one. If you like football and romance novels you should check her out. I give this book three out of five stars.
Circe by Madeline Miller. If you remember the Odyssey well you might remember the witch that turned men into pigs. This is a book about her. It is creative, entertaining, and incredibly imaginative. This is the kind of book where when it is described you think you would never want to read it and then you read it and you love it. I give this book four out of five stars.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. I loved The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang’s first book. This book was fine. It was cute enough, but I didn’t love it. I give it two out of five stars.
Zoo Nebraska by Carson Vaughan. This is the fascinating true store of chimpanzees at a very small zoo in rural Nebraska. The zoo is close to failure its entire existence. One day the chimpanzees get out and there is no plan in place to contain them. I wish there was a way to make this book sound as interesting as it is. I give it four out of five stars.
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This is a novel about Achilles and his lover. It was interesting, but I just don’t care about these characters the same way I did about Circe. I give this book three out of five stars.
My June pile is out of control, as two library books I requested just came in. My aunt just recommended In Order To Live very highly, so I’m looking forward to trying it. I’m at the point where I need to look at what I really want to read and get rid of the books I only kind of want to read.
Do you read more or less in the summer?
I finished the mittens in time for the wedding. I used Cascade 220 super wash for the yarn. I don’t usually use super wash, but I made these for non-knitters, so machine washable made the most sense. I hope they enjoy these and use them.
I was out of town most of last week, so I never made a skinnytaste recipe. I made up for it this week by making two.
First up, I made Spiralized Lemon-Basil Zucchini Mason Jar Salads. I loved these salads, which is weird because there is arugula in the salads. It was my first time trying a mason jar salad, and it won’t be the last. I usually feel like salads other people make are better than salads I have to make myself. Because I assembled these salads ahead of time it feels like someone else made the salad, so it was a treat to have these for lunch.
The next thing I tried was Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps (full disclosure, I had this as a salad instead of a wrap. I also left out the cumin because even though cumin is one of our favorite spices I keep forgetting to buy it at the grocery store and we have none in our house. It is a sad situation.). These were good, especially with hot sauce on top. Is it my favorite taco? No. Is it a perfectly acceptable taco? Yes.
Did you try any new recipes this week?
mildlygranola 