Book Review: "Seven" by Jen Hatmaker

You know how sometimes the universe tells you it is time to embrace a concept? Well, shortly after I read the Seven Things blog, Steve's aunt Kim posted something on her facebook about a book called "Seven", mentioning that it was an amazing read (or something... I don't remember her exact phrasing.) Wondering if the two sevens were at all connected, I did what I always do when someone recommends a book - I went to see if my secret lover (known in some circles as "library") had it. Well, my lover had it, but had loaned it to someone else. I asked very nicely if I could borrow it next, and my lover agreed. Then I promptly forgot about it.

A couple weeks ago, my lover sent me an email informing me that the book had been returned, and I could borrow it. During our regularly scheduled date, I picked up the book, put it on my shelf, and ignored it for other things I was reading. When it came time to pick a new book to read, I chose it because it seemed the most likely to stay open in my lap while I knit/crochet. The first night, I cozied up to it with knitting project in hand, and started reading. I have been hooked since.

The book is about a woman's experiment in severing earthly attachment. For 10 months she challenged herself to minimize. She focused on one area a month (taking two weeks off between each month): food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, stress. For food, she ate a diet limited to 7 foods. For clothes, she allowed herself a wardrobe of seven items (not including bras, socks and undies). For possessions, she pledged to get rid of 7 things a day (but far exceeded her goal). You get the idea.

Sometimes she undertook the challenges with only her husband. Sometimes her kids were in on it. Sometimes her friends did the same or related challenges.

Even if you have no religious affiliation, or align with a different religious group than the author, the realizations she comes to about her life and attachment can resonate. The concept of a global movement as she envisions it is compelling. And if nothing else, she tells some really touching stories.

Next time you are looking for something to read, I highly recommend Seven by Jen Hatmaker.

Where books and crafts collide - in a bad way

There comes a day when the book shelf you kind of use as a catch all for... life... just can't take it anymore. Today is that day for bookshelf 1 of 4 in my living room. This was the very last bookshelf I put together, so it got all the random books that didn't have a place on the other shelves, and over the past several months, I started using the top shelf for my sewing stuff because my sewing machine lives on top of the bookshelf. A lot of random fabrics and yarns, etc, have made their way onto the shelf. I looked at it today, and decided I couldn't take this eyesore any longer.

 This is the stuff that I pulled from the top shelf before I snapped the above photo:

As you can see, books and crafts were stacked willy-nilly, and it made touching anything on the shelf a gamble. I did what I needed to, in order to clean a mess that had outgrown its space - I made a bigger mess. I took everything off the shelves and piled books and craft implements on the dining table and a coffee table. I wiped down the shelves, then started organizing. I set all the stuff that needed to go upstairs in one pile, and made a pile of the fabrics that I am not currently using so they could go downstairs. I decided to keep the top two shelves for crafting, and for my library books so they have somewhere to live. The next two shelves are for books I want to keep. The bottom shelf is books I plan to get rid of.

 Even though the other three bookshelves are in various stages of disaster, having this one nice and tidy makes me feel awesome. Maybe even awesome enough to tackle the other shelves in the next week...

Gabriel thinks the shelf looks awesome, too.

Weekly Check-In

Hi Sunday! So many good things happen at midnight, I am having a hard time waiting!

Blog Stuff: This owl giveaway week was really fun. I will be closing the giveaway at midnight (or when I wake up, if I fall asleep first). I'll draw names tomorrow, and get in touch with winners. I got a lot of interest for the owls. Stay tuned for more owly goodness.

New from the babies: Gabriel is still potty training. I know *shakes head*. Anyway, today while I was at knitting, he pulled his diaper-thing to the side and peed on the floor by the shoe rack. Steve saw him do it, and was like "Gabriel, what are you doing?!?!??!" Gabriel pointed and said "Look, dog peed." As if we couldn't tell the difference between boy pee and dog pee. I have to admit, when Steve called me and told me I got many strange looks from the other people in the Barnes and Noble cafe because I nearly peed my pants laughing.

Mara has decided she cannot possible be awake without shoes on. First thing when she wakes up, she grabs her shoes and makes me put them on her. I am sure she would sleep in them if I would let her, but they have miniature spikies on the bottom (for advanced grip to prevent clumsy toddlers from dying) which hurt when she kicks. I get kicked a lot when she wakes up with nightmares.

Crafty things:

Nerd Wars starts tomorrow!!! (Which is really only an hour a way right now!!!!) So I was really good, and only started one new project. Other than this Cthulhu and the owls, I only worked on WIPs.

I managed to finish two of them! Both of the pairs of socks I had on the needles are done! This is good, because I need those needles to make two pairs of socks in October for Nerd Wars.

Still no CAL sqaures. I know, I need to work on them. I have been unmotivated for squares, though. I will try to get motivated. And I have a concrete plan for my niece's shirt/dress (dependent on the fabric I end up going with for the base), so that WILL happen this week. I will probably CO some socks tomorrow, too. And maybe the owl my best friend asked me for.

Books:

I finished reading "The Waters and the Wild" by Francesca Lia Block. Ah-may-zing! This had her stylist touch that I missed from''Pink Smog". The lines between reality and imagination were blurred in the best possible way. At only 128 pages, it is a super quick read, but worth the time. Yes, I know it is a 7-9 grade reading level book, but I will never stop loving the words that fall out of Block's head. Really, if I could crawl in her head for a week long vacation, I would. Any longer, and I would probably go insane. 

I also finished The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters by Lynne Vogel. A lot of the information went over my head. I think this book will make more sense to me once I actually make a sweater. I don't have yarn to make a sweater yet, but one day...

My Secret Lover: The Library

I have an addiction. Well, I have a couple addictions, but I am only going to talk about one today. Today's addiction is: books. Some people like cars, some people like shoes. I like books.

When I was in high school, I wanted to have a used book shop with a cafe. This combined all the things I really liked - books, flavored coffees and teas, and baked goods. Then I grew up, realized that wasn't practical, and moved on. Still, there are few things I like better than curling up with a chai, a blanket and a book. I'm sure readers of this blog would assume that my favorite thing to do is craft, but you would be incorrect. I do love to craft, but not as much as I like words.

You know that feeling you get when your crush flashes you a smile from across the room? That is the feeling I get when I walk into a library. Yeah, I'm weird. Whatever. I just know that when I walk into the library, I get to leave with a stack of books and dvds I am going to enjoy curling up with. And they are free! Okay, I have to return them in a few weeks, but I don't need to keep every book I read. The ones I can't live without, I put on my amazon wish list and wait for.

Today's library visit started like many others: I walked in with the intention of picking up two particular books: Timeless by Gail Carriager, and Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

No big deal, right? Just walk over to the appropriate shelves and grab the books. I walked to the new fiction rack, found "Timeless", then walked directly to a computer to find the call number for "Sock Innovation". I got the call number and walked to the appropriate shelf. I didn't even look at titles, only call numbers. I found "Sock Innovation", turned to leave, and then... my eye hit the shelf. I saw Knitting Green by Ann Budd. The title caught me. I grabbed the book, glued my eyes to the ground, and tried to make my retreat.

I walked all the way out of the non-fiction section, but the young adult section sign caught my eye. "I'll just check if they have anything from Francesca Lia Block that I haven't read," I told myself. I walked to the shelf and right there, at eye level, was The Waters & The Wild. I couldn't leave it on the shelf after coming to look, so I grabbed it. I turned to go, but the spine of Crusader by Edward Bloor caught my eye. I grabbed it. I walked out of the shelf, but then I thought, "Has Holly Black published a new book?". I walked back to the shelf, saw two titles I had already read, and then The Poison Eaters. I added that to my stack and, noting the weight in my arms, walked away. I had made it almost out of the young adult section, when a pink cover waved at me from the new rack. I almost didn't walk over, because pink and I don't always get along, but then I saw the author. It was Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. Onto the stack it went, and out of the young adult section I went.

In order to get to the children, I had to pass the DVDs. I made it past the stacks, and thought I was in the clear when I saw Bride and Prejudice. I tried to keep walking, but the cover said "From the director of Bend it Like Beckham", so it was a lost cause. Onto the pile it went.

I collected the children and Steve, and was making my way to the circulation desk when it happened. One of the books on the shelf by the entry to the children's room caught my eye. The cover art of Frances Hardinge's Fly by Night has a banner that says:

"Imagine a world in which all books have been

BANNED!"

Again, I tried to leave. I did. I even walked away. But then I turned around and grabbed it.

What this means is that instead of adding two books to the two books that I already had from the library (Color in Spinning by Deb Menz; The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters by Lynne Vogel), I added nine things.

My name is Heather, and I have a book problem.