Thursday, February 08, 2007

Certainty

In my overly-multitasked life, I am rarely certain of anything. At work, I am pulled from one project to the next and all want my undivided attention. At 3:00 p.m., I wonder if I should be at Young Man's school picking him up instead of sending him to after care. If I leave at 5:00 from an end-of-the-day meeting that goes over time, I spend the drive home wondering if I should have stayed for the rest of the meeting since Mr. Engineer is more than capable of handling the evening routines.

One of the two good things* about having a sick child is knowing with absolute certainty that staying home to care for him is the best thing that I could possibly do. Happily, yesterday's wan smile has been replaced by a real smile of joy that crackers stay down. (* The only other good thing is that even big little boys love to snuggle when they are sick.)

Booking Through Thursday

What kind of care do you take of your books? Let's review, shall we?

  1. Are you careful with the spines? Or do you crack your books open to make them lay flat? I try to be careful with my book spines. I dislike raggedy spines.
  2. Do you use bookmarks? Or do you dog-ear the corners? If you do use bookmarks, do you use those fashionable metal ones? Or paper? I always use bookmarks and never dog-ear corners. I love all sorts of bookmarks. I have hand made bookmarks, nice metal ones, ribbons with beaded bobbles, keep your line clips, and the all-purpose scrap of whatever is handy. It is certainly nice of magazines to provide so many bookmarks with each issue!

  3. Do you write in your books? Ever? If you do, do you make small marks, or write in as much blank space as you can find? Pen or pencil? Highlighter? Your name on the front page? Write in a book??? Not since college. If I loan a book, I will write my name inside the front cover. Otherwise, my books remain pristine.

  4. Do you toss your books on the floor? Into book bags? Or do you treat them tenderly, with respect? I try to treat my books well. Sometimes the do end up on the floor, but most stay on the table or nightstand.

  5. Do you ever lay your book face-down, to save your place? I will only do this if I can't find a bookmark or am drawn away by an emergency.

  6. Um--water? Do you bathe with your books? Hold them with wet hands? Read out in the rain? Anything of that sort? No water is allowed near my books unless it is in the glass from which I am drinking!

  7. Are your books lined up on a bookshelf? Or crammed in any which way? Stacked on the floor? Most of my books are lined up on bookshelves. Unfortunately, we need more shelves so some are stacked on top of the lines and there are also some stacks on the floor.
  8. Do you make a distinction--as regards book care--between hardcovers and paperbacks? I am probably more careful with hardcovers than paperbacks, but I try to take good care of all of them.
  9. And, to recap? Naturally, you love all of your books, but how, exactly? Are your books loved in the battered way of a well-loved teddy bear, or like a cherished photo album or item of clothing that's used, appreciated, but carefully cared for? I have some old favorites that look quite battered, but my book collection more closely resembles the photo albums that are cherished, but kept carefully.

    Project: Socks - cross between Simple Trekking Socks and the Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks.
  10. Yarn: Trekking XXL in colorway 105
  11. Needles: US1 dpns
  12. Notes: I wanted a pair with this pattern ever since I made it for Mr. Engineer. This colorway is soft and cozy looking. It should be perfect to wear with jeans.

2 comments:

Andree said...

Yes you are an engineer! (I love engineers, my father was one). Somehow the dark side was passed on to me, tho!

;0)

Sophie_vf said...

Nice - I've been wanting to find a way to modify the Gentleman's sock, because the stitch count in the original pattern is just too huge for me. This approach (hybridizing with the Simple Trekking sock) sounds like it will do the trick - thanks!