I have absolutely nothing new to report on the knitting front. I still have to bind off my shawl. I would like to do that this week, so I can take it home with me to Connecticut and block it there in a place where there are doors to close against cats who like to lie on wool and pick up small things (like T pins) in their mouths. (To be fair, Corey has never actually picked up a T pin, but I imagine it’s only because I’ve never given him the opportunity.)

I’m also still carrying around the sock project in my bag that I started back before Christmas, thinking that it would certainly be done by the end of January. I did unravel a knot in the yarn last week, but that really seems like a low standard of success, unless you judge it based on the Senate, in which case I’ve won the week.

I was hoping to knit up my Valentine’s Day hat before next Friday, but at this point, that seems unlikely. But who knows…

I’ve had a better reading week. I didn’t take The Paper Magician with me to California because it was a library book, instead grabbing Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue, part of my #tbtbSanta gift this year. It was a fantastic choice, demanding to keep being read long after I should have put it down and threatening to force me to buy a new book for the trip home. (It did not and I did not, which is good, because that was not in my budget and I don’t think I could have convinced work it was a mandatory travel expense, although…) But I did finish it on Saturday after I got back to D.C., and it was excellent, and actually worked together nicely with The Paper Magician, since it, too, highlights the magical power of words. (It’s a new year, so book reviews should resume shortly. They don’t usually fall off altogether until spring.)

I also started listening to A Fatal Grace over the weekend. I don’t love books that change points of view every chapter, and I clearly forgot about that from the first book, but Louise Penny has such affection for her characters that I think it will be fine. And who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas in Three Pines, particularly if you could guarantee you weren’t going to be the one being murdered? (It’s probably too much to ask that you aren’t amongst the suspects; I’m hoping your own conscience will keep you from being the murderer.)

I hope you’ve also had books you loved this week and that your craft projects are moving forward faster than mine… (Check As Kat Knits for people who are more productive than I — and who also don’t let their phone batteries die just as they need a blog photo.)