The Rhinoceros Who quoted Nietzsche

828art19
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

My friend Lou, who is a very nice person, gave me a copy of Peter S. Beagle's book The Rhinoceros Who quoted Nietzsche for Christmas. It was the 1st book I read in 2011. I love Rhinoceroses, as evidenced by this drawing made in 2006, and it was a delightful book. It made me want to go back and reread all the Beagle I've read, and track down and read everything of his I have not read yet. Not only was the fiction delightful, but it also included three charming essays, which I quite enjoyed. So I do recommend it.

forest creature

watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i have not painted in over a week. even though i love to paint and still have been getting ideas and things. i think i just pushed myself too hard for a few months, and i had not been knitting as much, and i think i am just taking it easy a little to read and knit a little and get myself ready for whatever comes next. this is one of the last things i painted prior to my little holiday as it were, it's 5 x 7". just the sort of thing you would see when wandering the woods around here, but only if you looked very closely and weren't texting.

minaret 1

minaret1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is a better image of Minaret 1. It's a scan, though the scanner is not quite big enough and cut the bottom 1" of so off. The original is 26x36 cm or 10 & 1/4 x 14 & 1/8". It's watercolor and ink (Pitt pens) on Arches watercolor paper, 300 lb coldpressed 100% cotton paper.

Books Read in 2010 / Audio Books Listened to

i must have forgotten to write down a few.. I marked my favorites w/ an asterick.

1) Divine Inspiration by Jane Langton
2) Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers
* 3) Capote: A Biography by Gerald Clarke
4) The Grass Harp, including the Tree of Night and Other Stories by Truman Capote
* 5) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6) Mr. Slaughter by Robert McCammon
* 7) Blackout by Connie Willis
* 8) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
9) The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
10) The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
11) The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
12) Dingos by Charles de Lint
* 13) Dark Nantucket Noon by Jane Langton
14) The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
15) The Memorial Hall Murders by Jane Langton
16) The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
17) The Alienist by Caleb Carr
18) The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr
* 19) Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare
20) An Absolute Gentleman by R.M. Kinder
21) Rip Tide by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
* 22) The Physick Book by Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
* 23) Ilyria by Elizabeth Hand
* 24) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
25) Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
26) Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
27) The Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
28) The Cabinet of Curiosities Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
29) Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
30) Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
31) Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
32) The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
33) Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
34) Fever Dreams by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
35) The Codex by Douglas Preston
36) Someone Comes to Town, someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
38) The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich
39) The Monster of Florence by William Dietrich and Mario Spezi
* 40) The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
41) Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich
42) The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
43) The Night Villa by Carol Godwin
* 44) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
45) Thor's Hammer by William Dietrich
46) The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich
* 47) Wings to the Kingdom by Cherie Priest
* 48) Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
* 49) Those that Went Remain There Still by Cherie Priest
* 50) Bone Shaker by Cherie Priest
* 51) Not Flesh Nor Feathers
* 52) The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
53) A Son of the Circus by John Irving
54) children of god by mary doria russell
* 55) Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman

audio books:
* 1) the lost world by sir arthur conan doyle
2) journey to the center of the earth by jules verne
3) at the earth's core by edgar rice burroughs
4) study in scarlet by sir arthur conan doyle
* 5) the story sisters by alice hoffman
* 6) swiftly tilting planet by madeline l'engle
* 7) an acceptable time by madeline l'engle
* 8) the enchanted glass by diana wynn jones
* 9) the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver
* 10) midnight's children by salman rushdie
* 11) the amaranth enchantment by julie berry
* 12) her fearful symmetry by audrey niffenegger
* 13) the secret history by donna tartt
* 14) the little friend by donna tartt
* 15) the sparrow by mary doria russell
* 16) The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
* 17) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
* 18) The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
19) Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
* 20) The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
* 21) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
* 22) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
23) The Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
* 24) The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
25) Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
* 26) The Pinhoe Egg by Diane Wynne Jones
* 27) The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diane Wynne Jones
* 28) The Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
* 29) The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
* 30) Many Waters by Diana Wynne Jones

lace scarf

lace scarf
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is the one Christmas gift I knit this year. I knew it would be time consuming so I did not plan to knit any others (though I snuck in 2 hats this week, but that's after Christmas!) anyway, here are the details:
yarn: handmaiden, lady godiva in cedar
pattern: Twin-Leaf Scarf from vogue knitting spring / summer 2010 by heather carlson

It's a 12-row lace repeat with 3 easy rows per section. It's 33 stitches wide so even I can manage it! (I am not really made-to-knit-lace. I love the outcome, though, so I do some lace from time to time.)

The yarn is lovely. I used all of 1 skein and a bit of the 2nd. I think the scarf was between 5'6" and 6' long. I believe the pattern called for 8' but I made mine a bit shorter. Anyway, it's a good pattern, well written, no errors -- give it a try!

yarn haven

yarn haven
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Pantone says a pink color will be the color of the year - but I've been into orange. This is a pile of yarn and knitted items nestled together on my hassock. Here we have a orange shibori scarf my friend Kathy knit, on the right, a baby hat I knit in the center, under that a kimono in progress, and some other yarns awaiting transformation!

peacock Swirls

peacock
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Happy New Year!

This is a painting I did for my friend Kathy and her husband, who I got to spend the day with yesterday. It was a nice way to end the year - wrapped up in a blanket, eating homemade paella and sipping punch! They live on Vashon Island - where I grew up - and a favorite place of mine. It's hard to believe I WAS really there because the power did not go out once. We did see 3 three deer as we left for the ferry, that was certainly appropriate! Fortunately none of them decided to wander into the road.

Jesse met me at the ferry and we had a nice dinner, then he went out with his roommate and I went home and drew and went to bed. I'm not much of a party animal!

Happy 2011!