I had a break in my classwork for a few days and it seemed so strange not to be sneaking textbooks to work and scheduling tests and essays…but I got used to it!! I spent the time finishing my Christmas shopping (thank God for Amazon Prime), and doing a bit of knitting, and some reading for fun.

I finished these simple house slippers (Raveled here) – originally for me, but I made them a bit too small, so they ended up going to my daughter. She was happy with the gift (“elf slippers” she called them) but she probably won’t get much use out of them – her socks are one of the first things she sheds when she gets home and even in the dead of winter she runs around inside the house barefoot. I can’t imagine this as I’m always freezing.

This pattern was quirky as it started flat but then finished in the round, and got stitched up the back. This seems to make the heel a little prone to slip down the back of the foot, at least on L’s pair. I think I’m going to try them again for myself so I can really get a feel for whether that’s a problem.

I’m doing a bit of Christmas knitting for a girlfriend, and am planning to cast on for a pair of socks soon. I really liked the Jaywalker pattern that I did an eon ago in Australia and still wear them quite a bit. And now that I know how to properly Kitchener stitch the toes, I don’t feel so inclined to search out a toe-up pattern.

As far as reading goes, I’m halfway through “The Bear and the Nightingale”, by Katherine Arden, which I didn’t expect to catch my interest as much as it has. It’s a medieval Russian fairytale and although the main character struck me as being a bit of a “plucky girl” stereotype (you know the kind – tomboyish, can’t be tamed, the despair of her family as they try to make her fit into the male-dominated world they live in) she’s also very likeable and endearing. This is the first book in what Arden is calling the “Winternight Trilogy” and the sequel is due in December.

I’m also plodding through “Wolf by Wolf” by Ryan Graudin. In reverse of “Bear”, I expected to love this one instantly and yet so far, it hasn’t caught my interest in much more than a dutiful manner. It’s an alternate historical fiction with the premise that the Axis powers won WWII, and used their experimentation on war prisoners to create people capable of shapeshifting, taking on the physical attributes of another human. There’s a brief interview with the author here. I love historical fiction and yet this one just isn’t doing it for me.

I listened to an audio book club review of “Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan and put it on my library hold list. I understand that she is quite a brilliant writer and that some of her prior works have been innovative. This one was described as less revolutionary and more like a “comfortable Thanksgiving dinner” of a historical novel which is definitely more my speed.

And to round off this mishmash of nonsense, if you’re looking for a good recipe for leftovers, try this. I was scrolling through Instagram on the day after Thanksgiving when a picture of this pot pie came up and both B & I thought it looked good for our leftover turkey. It really was! I’m a big fan of the pot pie genre and I’m an even bigger fan of being able to use leftovers in a tasty and appealing way. I liked it so much, in fact, that it went into my rotation this week at home (using leftover chicken).
Hope you are all enjoying your week as much as I am. xo