Natural Bridge.

Last week, we spent a day at Natural Bridge. The first time that my parents took me there, I was somewhere between one and two years old. They took me and my brother back several more times while we were growing up, and I know we visited on a couple of school field trips, too, but it's probably been six or seven years since the last time we went. This time we went specifically to see the wax museum one more time, because sadly, it's closing after Labor Day.

We started off the day by seeing the bridge itself and walking the short trail to the waterfall at the end. It was a little warm and humid (this is August in Virginia, after all), but the path is shaded. It was such a nice walk, with the creek trickling along on one side and the mossy stone wall and trees on the other. And I never get tired of seeing the bridge...it's so massive and beautiful! (To give you an idea, in the picture of me with the bridge, those orange things to the right of my head are large traffic cones under the bridge. And the red and white spots to the right of the cones are people standing closer to the bridge than I was, but still not directly under it.)

{Me and Dad were proud of my mom for walking the whole trail! It was at least a mile and a half, which is the furthest she's walked at one time since her accident.}

Then we went to the wax museum. It's not a fancy, big budget museum by any means...it's small and quirky and a bit creepy at times, but that's why I love it. :) It's probably the exact same now that it was thirty years ago. There are lots of historical scenes set up with wax figures, most of them focused in Virginia (but not all). I remember being slightly intimidated by the museum as a kid...there was a fake bobcat set high on the wall around one corner, and when you walked under it lit up and hollered out. Also, there are wax tourists leaning against the barriers, looking at exhibits, and I remember always being nervous that I would mistake a real person for a wax one, or vice versa. :) The pictures above are: some guy (whose name escapes me) who killed several hundred bears during his lifetime and lived to be in his 90s (he died from stepping on a rusty nail, which is a rather anticlimactic way for a bear hunter to go, I suppose), the surrender at Appomattox, a section of the hall of presidents, Laurel and Hardy, The Last Supper (a short presentation about Jesus that serves as the finale of the museum), and a bit of the wax figure factory in the basement. All of the figures are very realistic looking, though some of them that are based on real people are more accurate than others.

Going through the museum was bittersweet knowing that this would be the last time I'd get to experience this piece of my childhood. I'm really glad we got to see it again before it closes, though. (There are also lovely caverns at Natural Bridge, but we skipped those on this visit.)

Afterwards we had lunch at the Pink Cadillac Diner, which is where we always stop when we go to Natural Bridge. It's a wonderfully tacky little place, where you can eat an Elvis burger while studying the hundreds (thousands?) of old pictures and bits of memorabilia hanging on the walls: classic movie posters, lots of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart, vinyl records, etc. On the way home, Dad had to stop at the feed mill for chicken feed, so I ran into the local yarn store there (probably the closest real yarn store to me, though it's still not exactly nearby).

Gorgeous new yarn...the perfect way to end the day! The orange is much darker and subtle in real life, and it's Madelinetosh, which is my one weakness. (Ha.) The purple and teal (it's really the most perfect dark teal, despite how bland it looks in the photo) are Cascade 220 sport and fingering weights.

Jane, the Fox, & Me.

This little book really stole my heart.

I'd been eyeing it on Amazon for quite a while. I was drawn in by the fox, the Jane Eyre aspect (it is one of my favorite books, after all), and the peek at the illustrations that I'd seen online. I hadn't bought it until recently because I have a hard time spending that much money on a book I'm not sure I'll like, especially when it's basically a glorified picture book. (Don't get me wrong, I love picture books...I just wish they weren't so expensive.)

Thankfully, it was even more wonderful than I imagined. I'd hoped that I would like it, but I never expected it to impact me like it did.

The illustrations are gorgeous. This is a graphic novel, so the illustrations are as important as the story, and they are perfect. There's a certain style in artwork that I gravitate towards (particularly in children's books), and this is it. I love the way that black and white and color are used, and there's a wonderful sense of movement to many of the pictures. And it's hard to explain, but the illustrations add so much emotion and atmosphere to the story. You don't even have to read what's going on in Helene's head...you can see it all in her slumped posture and ducked head.

Then there's the story itself. My heart broke for Helene...it's been a long time since I felt so sympathetic towards a character. I could see a lot of myself in her, which is probably the reason why this book hit me so hard. Helene is bullied by her former friends for most of the story. I was never bullied, but I saw plenty of it and I still remember vividly some of the taunts that kids threw at each other. (I was taller than most of my classmates and I got good grades, a combination that, strangely enough, seemed to protect me from even the meanest kids. I have no idea why.) But other things about Helene: the awkwardness of trying on swimsuits that don't fit, feeling overweight and insecure, hiding behind a book...it could have been written about me at that age. It could still be written about me at twenty-three. I needed to read this right now.

Anyway...I just had to gush about this lovely book. I always have a hard time recommending books, because you never really know how someone is going to connect to a story. Or even if they're going to connect to it. So I'm not telling you to go out and buy this book, because I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if you ever have the opportunity to read it, give it a chance for the illustrations, if nothing else. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised like I was. :)

{Besides a fox and Jane Eyre, the story even briefly includes sewing and vinyl records. Could anything be more perfect?}

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban {Book + Film}

I'm a little behind with this review...I finished reading the book and watched the film about two weeks ago! Actually, I've now finished Goblet of Fire and I'll be watching the movie tonight (Tuesday, not sure when this post will go up), so I wanted to get my thoughts on this one cleared up before I continue on.

{Speaking of being behind, I'm not even sure that my lofty Harry Potter knitting goal will work out. Honestly, I've got so many other knitting projects going on right now that it might not happen. At the very least I want to knit a Snitch, though!}

After reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I bumped my rating up to 5 stars, though I'd only given it 4 stars with my last reread. Honestly, this book is so awesome. For a while when I was younger, it was my favorite of the series, and now I remember why.

This is the book where things start to get serious (or Sirius, whichever you prefer :). This is when we really start learning about Harry's parents and their friends and the whole backstory to the Voldemort situation.

One huge plus in this book for me is that we get to meet Remus Lupin! He's one of my favorite characters of the series, and it was so nice to meet him again. It doesn't feel like there's enough of him, but of course he plays a bigger part later on. Sirius Black is great, too, but he's a bit more edgy and harsh, especially at this point. And even though she's ridiculous, I can't help but like Professor Trelawney. She provides a lot of humor.

Rowling's writing is so good that I even enjoy reading about the Quidditch matches! :) This is coming from a person who cares diddly-squat about sports...and cares even less for reading about sports. Even most of the Quidditch scenes in the films make me zone out, but in the books it's somehow fascinating. I almost cried when Harry won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor, you guys. Seriously.

The end is awesome. I appreciate that it's something besides another Voldemort encounter, while still being really suspenseful and climatic. The last few chapters are amazing and always make me tear up...I love the solution to it all (and Hermione's Time-Turner).

Okay, now on to the film. The biggest thing I have to say about this adaptation is that, compared to the first two, it's quite a bit less faithful to the book. I still enjoy it, though!

I wish they had included news of Sirius Black's escape in the Muggle world, too, as they did in the books. In the movie, Harry first hears about Sirius while he's on the Knight Bus. Also, pretty much every time Harry encounters a Dementor in the movie, they make it look like it's performing the Dementor's kiss on him, which is a little weird and overly dramatic. They're creepy enough as it is.

I have to mention some of the casting...I had completely forgotten (or never realized) that the lady who plays Aunt Marge is Pam Ferris, who was Trunchbull in the Matilda film! She's also played in quite a few BBC productions like Little Dorrit and most recently, Call the Midwife (Sister Evangelina!).

This is the first film where Michael Gambon plays Dumbledore, and he's absolutely perfect. He looks quite old but he's still energetic, just as Dumbledore should be. Then there's the always wonderful Emma Thompson as Professor Trelawney, and honestly, she just doesn't get enough screen time. Also, I had never noticed this before, but the Fat Lady (portrait) is Caroline Arless from Lark Rise to Candleford! I knew it as soon as I heard her voice, though I probably wouldn't have realized it if I wasn't currently watching Lark Rise again. :)

A few more little things that bug me: Lupin lets the boggart turn into a Dementor for Harry, before quickly interfering. But then he says he stopped it because he assumed it would take the form of Voldemort, which is obviously didn't. So it makes no sense when he says that! Why did they make him wait until after he saw it before he stopped it? It's so much better in the book, when he stops it before Harry even has a chance to face it. Also, I've always kind of hated it when Hermione says, "Is that really what my hair looks like from behind?" I feel like Hermione never would have said that. Even if she thought it, she wouldn't have said it aloud, especially at a time like that.

I wish they had put more emphasis on the fact that Lupin was very close friends with Harry's dad. They just sort of briefly mention it. Also, Harry doesn't get the Firebolt until the very end, and the whole Quidditch Cup part is cut out (see above, the part of the book that almost moved me to tears :).

Some of the shots in the movie are really gorgeous. But then there are some odd ones, like close ups, that don't fit in well with the film. There are times when it almost seems like they set things up to be filmed in 3D...

One last random thought: I love that Lupin always has old-fashioned, jazzy music playing in the background, like in the boggart scene and when he's packing up. It just makes me like his character even more. :)

Of course I enjoy this film (I enjoy all of the films!), but the book is so amazing that the movie just doesn't do it justice. I think I realized that more this time than I ever have before.

How do you feel about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Who was your favorite character of the new ones that were introduced in this story?

Knitting: handspun biased cowl.

I had originally planned on using this handspun (8 ounces of Falkland wool in the Circus colorway from Spun Right Round) in a small shawl. But at the last minute I changed my mind and decided to knit the Totally Biased cowl.

I'm glad, because I think this pattern worked really well with the striped craziness of this yarn. :) It is bright, much brighter than I normally choose. But the bright sections are balanced out by the darker sections (most of which feature that dark blue/teal color, which is one of the most perfect colors ever). Somehow it all comes together nicely.

The cowl is soft and squishy and long enough to wrap double around my neck (technically long enough to wrap triple, though it's a bit too snug that way). I've always wanted to make a cowl this long, but I usually don't have enough yarn. This time I actually had 50 yards left over.

The pattern is super easy, and the only change I made was to slip the first stitch of every row to make a smoother edge.

Apparently this is the year of handspun for me...I think this is my seventh handspun project so far? It seems that I can barely get yarn finished before I'm casting on. I guess that's a good thing, though it doesn't help my yarn stash get any smaller. :)

{Project page here}

About L.M. Montgomery.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only read the first Anne book, and that was years ago. I really enjoyed it, and I went on to collect the next three or four in the series. I watched the adaptations and loved them (the first two, anyway...let's not talk about The Continuing Story). But for whatever reason, I never read the rest of the series. Or anything else by L.M. Montgomery, for that matter.

Even though I've only read one of her books so far, L.M. Montgomery feels like an author that I will love. Usually I'm wary of authors who have written dozens of books...it always makes me wonder if their stories are all similar, because how can one person have that many different stories in her head? (I'm no writer, though, so maybe I just don't understand.) But with Montgomery, I'm just in awe of her, because most of her books sound interesting to me.

These beautiful new editions have recently made me even more interested in reading more of her books. They are seriously gorgeous and the covers have such a soft, nice feel. Even the spines are pretty!

So I'm finally going to do it. After I finish rereading Harry Potter, the next series I'm going to tackle will be the Anne of Green Gables series. :)

I suspect that many of you are big fans of L.M. Montgomery, so I'm wondering...which of her books are your favorites? Which do you recommend? The ones I'm currently most interested in are the Anne series and The Blue Castle (obviously, since I own them), plus the Emily books, A Tangled Web (despite the mediocre reviews), and Jane of Lantern Hill.

Currently.

Knitting: I'm knitting swatches for my next sweater: the Miette cardigan. I'm joining in with Shannon's Summer Sweater Knit Along, which is a fun way to get a sweater finished before cooler weather gets here. I made my first sweater during her knit along last year, so I'm really excited to be participating again. I've also recently finished a cowl for myself and a couple of items for the craft fair this fall (hopefully I'll have pictures of those to post soon).

Spinning: This really colorful Falkland fiber from Spun Right Round. It's slow going because I'm practicing spinning fine for socks. I ordered some wool and nylon blend fiber for spinning socks, but I'm spinning this first to make sure I can spin thin enough for 3 ply fingering weight. At first it took a lot of concentration, but it's going slightly faster now.

Also, I've been spending a lot of time over the past week working on a pound of raw Cheviot fleece. I washed it all on Tuesday, and a couple of days later I started picking through it and hand carding it. This is what I'll be spinning at the craft fair.

Reading: The fourth Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. At this rate I'm not going to complete my summer reading list, but at least I'm getting the chance to reread one of my favorite series. :)

Watching: Lark Rise to Candleford. I know I've said it before (here and here, for example), but I love this show so much. It's so endearing and I don't know...comforting somehow? I love BBC anyway, but this is BBC at its absolute best. It's a shame that the show doesn't get the attention that other period dramas do. (This past week I ordered the book that the series is based on, or rather, a bind-up of the three books, and I can't wait to read it.)

{And I don't think I've said this before, but I've been watching through Psych on Netflix. I'm about halfway through season 6, and I love it. I don't love it as much as Monk, but it does sort of fill that Monk-ish void. Shawn and Gus are hilarious and their friendship is great. Gus' terrified scream never fails to make me laugh.}

Listening to: The Secret Sisters' album Put Your Needle Down. It is so, so good. (Though I don't pretend it will be for everyone. The lyrics tell stories that are slightly depressing and haunting at times. I've read it described as Southern gothic, and that's pretty accurate.) Those girls' voices are incredible. Personally I think this one is even better than their first CD, which is saying a lot. Also, the Avett Brothers. Always the Avett Brothers. I've been listening to my favorite album of theirs, Emotionalism, but I've also remembered just how good The Carpenter is.

What I Read: July

Number wise, July was a good reading month. I read twice as many books as I did in June. But as far as loving what I read, it was split about half and half.

I went to the library towards the beginning of this month, which got my summer reading a little off schedule. And coincidentally, the library books are the ones that I read this month that I didn't love. I'm just thankful (with two of them in particular) that I got them from the library rather than wasting my money on buying them! :)

{Don't ask me why I kept reading the books that I wasn't enjoying. I'm a little obsessive and stubborn like that, even though I try to remind myself that life is too short to read books that I don't like! But there's also the fact that so far this year, I've actually finished every library book that I've checked out, which has never happened before, and I want to keep up that record. Like I said, stubborn...}

The FitzOsbornes at War, by Michelle Cooper. The last of the Montmaray Journals trilogy, which as a whole, I really enjoyed. This book was very intense, and it was the first book I've read that's actually set in WWII England during the Blitz...I had never before thought about how terrifying that would have been. This was a good conclusion, except for a couple of strange, off-putting family dynamics that are the most prominent in this book.

The Opposite of Loneliness, by Marina Keegan. I had heard such good things about this book, but I was really disappointed. The short stories didn't appeal to me at all...they were depressing and full of profanity and stereotypical college behavior. I do have to say that I liked her writing style at times, and I did enjoy some of the essays quite a bit.

I've Got Your Number, by Sophie Kinsella. After reading the previous book, I was in the mood for some fluffy chick lit. Unfortunately, though some of the crazy situations did make me smile, this was a little too silly for me. And I was really surprised to find that it was full of bad language. (Why am I surprised? I shouldn't be...it seems like every modern adult book that I've picked up this year has been that way.)

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing, by Sheila Turnage. I liked this one well enough, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book, Three Times Lucky. It was good, but I feel like I just wasn't in the mood for it, for some reason.

The Violets of March, by Sarah Jio. I've wanted to read this book since it first came out, when I saw it in Target and thought it sounded intriguing. (Actually, all of her books sound interesting!) Overall, I liked it. It was a bit slow and unrealistic at times, but I'll definitely be reading more of Sarah Jio's books. And bonus: no profanity! :)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling. By this point, I was ready to get rid of the library books and settle into a cozy, familiar reread, so I started the Harry Potter series. I did a post about the book and film here.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling. I also posted a review(ish) of this book and film here.

Murder at the Mikado, by Julianna Deering. My favorite of this mystery series so far! :) You can find my review here.