10 on Tuesday: 10 Things I'm Happy About Right Now

I think of myself as a generally upbeat person, so there are usually several things I'm happy about at any given moment.  This week, however, I'm happy about:

1.  Finally getting to work on the round one edits for my Interweave book!
2.  My DH feeling back to his normal self.  (He slept more over the last long weekend than I've seen him sleep in a long time.  I know he wasn't feeling well at all.)
3.  I apparently haven't caught whatever nasty bug laid him so low!
4.  We have predicted colder weather and possibly some snow forecast for later this week.  (Yes, yes, I know..... but I actually LIKE winter.)
5.  I have some awesome friends who are helping me out by running my skeiner while I work on dyeing a really large wholesale order.
6.  I finally pulled together a plan/design concept for my next planned knitwear collection.
7.  The Pats are going to the Super Bowl!
8.  I'm thoroughly enjoying my current read, Katherine, by Anya Seton.  (I do love historical fiction!)
9.  I am 99% sure I can carve out some time on Wednesday to go to a knitting afternoon with friends.
10. I have a working furnace this week.  (I am really happy about this one.  See #4.)

Those are the things I'm happy about this week!  I leave you with this reminder.....

Ten on Tuesday: Ten Random Songs from my IPod

I love easy 10 on Tuesdays - this one was perfect!

A random selection of ten songs off my iPhone's music (I pulled these by setting my music queue to shuffle):

1.  Van Morrison: Moodance.

2.  Nickel Creek:  The Lighthouse's Tale.

3.  The Goo Goo Dolls: Give a Little Bit

4.  B-52s:  Love Shack.

5.  Sugarland: Fly Away.

6.  George Harrison: While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

7.  Fleetwood Mac:  Landslide.

8.  Daughtry:  Life After You.

9.  Stevie Nicks:  Edge of Seventeen.

10.  Joe Cocker:  She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.

Uh... Eclectic much?

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things to Do for Fourth of July

1.  Relax.  First time I've had the holiday off in eons.  We'll be hanging out around the house, sleeping in and enjoying the day!
2.  Cook out.  Perfect day to fire up the grill and make dinner on it!
3.  Make iced tea to sip on all day - nice and cool and great for summertime indoors/outdoors.
4.  Enjoy listening to some music from Boston and/or D.C. from an outdoor concert.
5.  Possibly enjoy the fireworks over Santa Fe and Taos, both of which we can see from our deck.  (Although they are calling for rain and boy we could use it, so I'm actually hoping for rain).
6.  Catch up with family on the phone.
7.  Make a few classics for the grill - like burgers - but I'm thinking also about trying a new dessert recipe since I'm so limited on things I can eat on this new diet and I really miss having something sweet occasionally.
8.  Indulge myself in some uninterrupted reading time on the porch.
9.  Treat ourselves to a few fresh veggies from the garden to spice up dinner one night.
10.  Celebrate being an American!

Ten on Tuesday: Top 10 Summer Drinks

Today's 10 on Tuesday is my Top 10 Summer Drinks

1.  Iced tea:  I'm totally groovin' on a watermelon/mint iced tea blend from the Republic of Tea.
2.  Smoothies:  I wind up having one for breakfast even in the colder days of winter, but frozen fruit blended up in the morning sure tastes good in the hot weather.
3.  White wine:  Lighter wines are my choice for the summer.  I like slightly fruitier ones to go with summertime grilling.
4.  Spritzers:  Half and half sparkling water and fruit juice over ice = very refreshing!
5.  Nice cold water with lots of ice.

I'm stopping at 5 today.  Almost everything I love for summer drinks has either sugar or some kind of thing I can't drink in it (like Coca-Cola, Beergaritas, and Mai Tais, for instance).  Boring, I know!

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Bands (or individuals) You've Seen In Concert

OK - I'll come clean and say that my list is really long.... BUT... I used to work in various venues where we hosted concerts, so I'm not entirely sure it counts if you are working the concert in tech, but I'll hit some highlights.

1.  James Taylor - I actually paid for tickets for this one!  Great show, gorgeous voice, entertaining performer.  One of my favorites.
2.  Pat Benatar - THAT gal has some pipes.  A nice tightly run show.  She and her band had been together a while at that point, and it definitely showed in their performance.
3.  The Kinks - These guys were fun.  They gave a great show and were friendly and approachable backstage.
4.  Huey Lewis and the News - Some of my favorites to work with.  These guys were SO polite and helpful, even to us working minions.  The show was PACKED and they managed to make everyone feel like they were having the best time ever, but also were aware of crowd control and managing the pace of things.  A good group of professionals.
5.  The Everly Brothers - I'm just going to say that singing well is only part of the whole show.  If you are asshole jerks to your fans, that doesn't speak well about you, IMHO.  People PAID MONEY to see you perform - the least you can do is smile and wave when the fans are clamoring for your autograph, even if all you want to do is get on your tour bus.
6.  Jerry Lee Lewis - This guy... wow.. he's wild.  I mean... WILD.  Onstage and offstage.  I was not even 21 when I worked his concert - my older (male) boss wound up running most of the interpersonal interaction in the dressing room.  Which I was totally and completely okay with.  Made my life a lot easier.
7.  Jay Leno - I guess this counts as a concert.  It was a live performance anyway.  He is super down-to-earth and friendly.  His standup is spot-on and funny (I don't think it necessarily carried into TV, but live?  He's hilarous.)   He waived all of his contract things (like food, drinks, limo) and his mom picked him up at the Boston airport in her car, drove him to the venue, and they picked up pizza and soda for him for dinner on the way. How cute is that?
8. Barbara Cook - if you aren't familiar with the name, she's the person who brought many of the roles Shirley Jones did in the movies to live on Broadway first.  Things like The Music Man, Show Boat, and Carousel.  She is an extremely classy lady.  Absolutely gorgeous voice, completely comfortable on stage, lovely, gracious, talented.  She's worked for many years with her arranger and pianist (although they play with a small group on tour) and that close relationship really shows in the performance of their music.
9. Liz Story.  Probably another name you aren't familiar with unless you've been a fan of the Wyndham Hill music label.  Amazing pianist.  Listening to her play is a truly transporting, emotional experience.
10.  Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - BEST.CONCERT.EVER.  That is all.

10 on Tuesday: Things I did this weekend

1.  Took some naps.  It was lovely - cool and rainy here for a lot of the weekend.
2.  Worked on my final men's-sized sample for The Book.  Almost finished!
3.  Knit on another Book sample - a shawl this time.
4.  Made some great pulled pork BBQ in the crockpot.
5.  Had a nice visit with friends for Memorial Day itself.
6.  Worked my first set of "real schedule" shifts at my new job post-training.
7.  Finished reading The Last Queen.  (Another post on that to come this week.)
8.  Watched a couple of good movies with D.
9.  Got accepted into the Heart of NM Fiber Festival in late September (woot!).
10.  Kicked back and relaxed!!  The whole point of a holiday weekend, I think!

10 on Tuesday: 10 Things You Want to Try

1.  A really good, really old bottle of wine.
2.  High-level dressage.

3.  Freeform quilting.
4.  Weaving on a Jacquard loom.
5.  Making beef Wellington.
6.  Reading an entire book in it's original language - other than English.
7.  Designing a house.
8.  Watercolor painting.
9.  Horse wrangling for the movies.
10.  Knitting up my entire stash.  (HA!  The least likely to happen on this list!).

10 on Tuesday: 10 Things You Wish You Knew More About

1.  Graphics.  I wish I had a better skill set for things like creating logos, doing layout, creating ads.  Working on it, but definitely a long way to go!
2.  Local plants.  Growing up back east, I spent a lot of time with my gram who loved to garden and knew the names of just about every plant you could point out to her, wild or cultivated.  Things are different here in NM.  Lots of local plants I just am not as familiar with as I'd like.
3.  Mechanics.  Most cars today are all run via computer, but it'd still be nice to know how to take a motor apart and get it back together with a diagnosis of whatever ails it.
4.  Math.  Exciting, I know.  I have a bad math phobia, helped along by a little numbers dyslexia.  I'd love to have an easier approach to dealing with math in all it's forms - I'm not talking quantum physics here - long division would be enough.
5.  Crochet.  I'll admit it - I have really limited skills here. It'd be nice to know something beyond a single chain with some proficiency.
6.  Pastry.  I'm sworn off the carbs, but I've always envied the gorgeous pastry creations in upper end bakeries.  I'd love more skills in that area, just for bragging rights, I guess.  Most pastry confections I've tried have been candidates for the Pinterest boards of shame.
7.  Perfume blending.  A pretty esoteric subject, but I'd love to spend some time learning more about how different scents layer, how you can get each layer to wear at a different rate, and some basics on the craft.
8.  Computer programming.  Just in general.  How the heck do these things work anyway?
9.  Nutrition and metabolics.  My DH is a font of knowledge, having been essentially pre-med with a degree in physiology, but I'd like to know more for myself.
10.  Early 20th century.  I'm fairly well read on most of the 19th century history, but I definitely could use more time spent on the early 1900s, both US and European history.

10 on Tuesday: 10 Things I Like to Do Outside

1.  Riding.  I no longer have horses, but there's nothing better than seeing the countryside from the back of an equine friend.
2.  Gardening.  Veggies or flowers - either one makes me happy to be outside.
3.  Walking.  Normally my walking companion, who we still call "the puppy" despite being 8 this year, logs about 4 times the miles I do.  I'm more of a stroller.  She's more of a sprinter.
4.  Spinning.  Gorgeous spring days call for dragging a wheel out onto the deck and taking advantage of the sunshine.
5.  Reading.  Ditto as for #4.  A good book read outside somehow feels more vacation-like to me.
6.  Napping.  Sometimes #5 leads to #6.  A nap in the sun can't be beat for a quick recharge of the batteries. Sunscreen is mandatory, however.
7.  Bird-watching.  My DH was originally an ornithologist.  We logged a lot of time outside watching birds at various points in his career.  I still enjoy doing that.
8.  Picnicking.  Lunch al fresco under a big leafy tree.  My idea of heaven.
9.  Listening to a great band.  Even better if you can do that while picnicking with a bottle of wine.
10.  Watching a sporting event.  Fun, of course, to view games or matches on TV, but sitting in the stands on a crisp fall day is a lot of fun too!

10 on Tuesday: 10 Foods That Belong Together

This week's 10 on Tuesday topic is: 10 Foods That Belong Together.

1.  Chocolate and peanut butter.  A classic.
2.  Strawberries and champagne.  (Is champagne a food?  I guess I think so since I'm putting it in the category because really, how perfect is that pairing?)
3.  Blue cheese and pears.  Nice, ripe pears are great thrown into a spinach salad with a little bit of blue cheese and walnuts.  Yum!
4.  Pulled pork BBQ and coleslaw.
5.  Guacamole and salted, crispy corn tortillas.
6.  Steamed spiced shrimp with corn on the cob.
7.  PB&J.  I lived on that when I was a kid.  I still get a hankering for a PB&J sandwich every so often.
8.  Chocolate chip cookies and ice-cold milk.
9.  Bagels and cream cheese.  Although I do also like a bit of preserves on top of the cream cheese too.  Not mandatory tho!
10.  Beer and pizza.  And I'm not even that interested in beer, but a cold one with a hot slice of pizza tastes awfully good!

Gee - an awful lot of carbs in that list.  I think I'm off most of what I think of as "perfect pairings" except for an occasional #2 and #3!

Ten on Tuesday: Last 10 Books I've Read

This week's topic is the last 10 books I've read:

1. I'm going to include The Bloodletter's Daughter here since I'm almost finished it.  Set in the early 1600s, this tale intertwines the lives of a local girl (who happens to be the local bloodletter's daughter) and the mad Prince Julio, the illegitamate heir to the Hapsburg throne).  I was interested in reading this because it seemed like an interesting story line and it's also set in Bohemia, which is where some of my DH's ancestors came from.  I've been enjoying this one - it does drag a little bit in places, but the story is interesting enough I'll finish it up. I very much like the opportunity to be exposed to some historical fiction that's NOT US or UK-related.
2. Beautiful Wreck.  I can't say enough good things about this book.  I didn't think it was going to be something I would enjoy, but I have to admit that I rationed out pages so I wouldn't finish it too fast because I didn't want it to end!  The author is a knitter, so in the sections set in circa 900 in the Viking village, there's some spinning and wool preparation going on.  The book has a bit of time-travel, a bit romance, and a kick-butt heroine (although really... read it to the final few chapters and our heroine really comes into her own - I loved that!).  It also has some nods to horse-y things, which made it just that much better a book for me.
3, 4, 5, 6. Raven Black,  White Nights, Red Bones,  Blue Lightning.  Books 1-4 of the Shetland mystery series featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez.   I loved this series.  Each one of them can be a stand-alone, but really.... read them in order - I think they are best that way.  I do read a lot of mysteries, but I'll state emphatically I did NOT see the final scene coming in book #4.  I love it when the ending can still surprise me.  These are well thought-out plots, interesting characters, and a bit of Shetland birding, archeaology and crafting (as well as crofting) thrown in for some local color development.  The local islands shape and influence the mysteries for the books in these series - well worth a read if you like British mysteries.
7. Lady of Devices. A fun, lighthearted steampunk romp.  Nothing too cerebral here, but a quick read perfect for vacaation mind candy.
8.  The Opening Night Murder. A historical murder mystery, set during the Restoration period.  I was prepared to really like this one, but found it somewhat slow and a bit formulaic for my tastes.
9. City of Dark Magic. This book doesn't really fit easily into any one genre.  It's got some intrigue and mystery, and some fantasy and fantastical, and some historic fiction all rolled into one.  I had a hard time getting into this one.  It took me about 75 or 80 pages to finally pull things together in my head so I could follow along a little more easily.  Once past that tho, it's a fun story and interesting one to wrap your brain around with all kinds of red herrings and mystical sorts of concepts.
10. The Stationmaster's Farewell.     Set in the mid-19th century in the UK, another historical mystery.  This is #9 in the series and it held up pretty well despite the fact I hadn't read books 1 thru 8.  (Although I do think having had a bit of the back story for some of the supporting characters probably would have been helpful to flesh out things a bit for me.)  Entertaining, a quick read, another good long weekend/vacation read when you need some mind candy.