Snow, Socks, Stories

We are expecting the first and only real storm of the winter later today.  I am happy that the weather has been so mild this year, but it will be nice to see my world transformed by white.  There's something very special about snow.

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I've been knitting Pom Pom Peds for my daughters. The step-by-step pattern is free at Purl Bee, and it's quick and easy.  Since I started purling the Norwegian way with the yarn held to the back of my work (just as in the knit stitch) I haven't had any pain in my right hand.  It almost seems to good to be true. I think putting away the worsted weight cardigan I was working on, and switching to a project with a lighter weight yarn also has made a difference. Here are the peds I made for Amy:

The details are raveled about here.  

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I want to tell you about a couple of books that I read last week. I learned in Quiet, by Susan Cain, that Finland has the highest concentration of introverts.  I wanted to know how Finnish people think, so I searched for a novel written by a Fin.  I found Tove Jansson's, The True Deceiver at my library. It is a story about the little white lies we tell each other in order to be sociable (and polite), and how they affect the reality we inhabit.  It's a book about perception.  It's a book about human relationships, friendship, and inner motives.  It was beautifully and masterfully written--full of symbolism and layers of meaning.  Jansson's characters were very real, as was the cold, dark Finnish landscape.  I think I will be haunted by this book for a long time.  This is how the story begins:

It was an ordinary dark winter morning, and snow was still falling. No window in the village showed a light.  Katri screened the lamp so she wouldn't wake her brother while she made coffee and put the Thermos by his bed.  The room was very cold.  The big dog lay by the door and looked at her with his nose between his paws, waiting for her to take him out.  

I just finished another book, that I absolutely loved.  It was a true-blue romance novel, the kind of book that my mother reads without shame.  One day when my mom was visiting me she asked me what I was reading.  I showed her the title--some literary novel or non-fiction work.  She looked at me and remarked, "You might be happier if you read something lighter and more fun."  I think she would be happy to know how much I enjoyed the book I just finished.  It was Lisa Kleypas' first book, Love Come To Me.  While it was heavy on romance (and sex--very steamy and detailed), it was not light on story.  It takes place right after the Civil War, and is the story of a displaced southern man who moves to Massachusetts.  I completely related to his experience of moving  to New England.  He rescues a young woman from the Concord River, and falls in love with her.  The love story is complex and really captivating.  I liked that there was no pre-marital sex (I'm prudish that way).  Most of the story takes place after the couple is married, which is a departure from the typical romance plot. Here is how it begins:

Heath turned up the collar of his overcoat, cursing through his teeth as he felt an icy draft of wind slip down his neck.  It was his first winter here, and he was discovering that New England was not kind to misplaced Southerners.  His booted feet crunched through hardened layers of snow that had accumulated over many recent storms.  It had snowed and frozen over so many times that he suspected it would take until June to melt completely away.  

Oh, I do highly recommend it!  

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The first snowflakes have just started to fall.  I'm going to go heat up the tea kettle and settle in with my knitting, and Lisa Kleypas' newest release.

Joining Ginny in her weekly Yarn Along.