Sweet and Mellow

The dear man brought me chocolate. A 400gm Cailler bar of extra fine dark chocolate. And since it might contain wheat (it says so on the label) it will have to be consumed prior to the start of Passover. Oh, and now that it is open I can hardly give it away now can I?

 chocolate

Spinning

I gave up last night on figuring out where I had mislaid an audio book for my cassette recorder, and just spun for an hour. The bobbins on this wheel will hold upwards of 200 gm. I am about 1/2 through the plying process.
 plying merino, fire

Audio Books

It seems one of those universal knowledge items: most people can read, but very few write. And even fewer really write well.

I will now add a caveat to this: just because you can write, does not mean that you can read. Or at least that you can read out loud such that others are going to enjoy the experience. They may have written it, but no—as a oral reader they kill the book.

Since I have made it through the first and second line audio books in the library, I have expanded the sampling in order to not go nuts on my commute. In the process I have discovered the above. Reading for audio books is a skill, an acting skill just like Radio Theater. It requires a pleasant, interesting voice on the part of the reader. Characters need to be clearly distinguishable if there is dialog; and delineation indicated between action and background information.

In fact, the six or so authors I have listened to thus far has ranged from adequate to so awful you could clear a room. Or perhaps I should not say listened to as none of them, with voices ranging from whiny to endless monotone, lasted more than two tracks before I ejected the CD in disgust. So it was with trepidation that I put the first CD of Very Bad Deaths by Spider Robinson in the slot this morning as I started my drive to work.

 Very Bad Deaths

A mellow voice informed me the title of the work, then started in so comfortable and pleasant a manner that I felt we were sitting side by side in front of a fire while he recounted his personal story. It is this exact manner of telling that make his redention so compelling. If you are interested in details or review, I recommend the SF Site.

Elena

Who is keeping up her end of the bargin, providing colour coordinated decoration. Not a bad dog’s life.
 worked too hard
-Holly

About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!
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