The sartorial elegance bit? It ran through my head when I was taking out the trash yesterday, wearing my Ruby Sheep PJ bottoms, a black sweatshirt, and a dark red and black plaid wool coat. Hmm. Maybe I’ve been working at home too much… speaking of which, Monday and Tuesday were 17-hour days, so all you get for this post is a contest link, some of my wee book reviews, and a cat picture or two.
Shannah’s having a contest. Let her know what your favorite handcrafted gift was this year, and you could win some sock yarn and a surprise. Contest closes at midnight, January 6.
Reading Update
Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton. This was absolutely delightful. Recommended for knitters who enjoy a bit of fantastical romance. Plus it has a black cat on the cover. How could you go wrong?
Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton. Nothing paranormal or knitting related in this romance, but it was a decent read.
Hex Appeal by Linda Wisdom. The sequel to 50 Ways To Hex Your Lover is another enjoyable read, although there were a number of major inconsistencies that kept jolting me out of the story.
It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons by Franklin Habit. Delightful. This was a birthday present from Deb, but I’ve just been reading a cartoon here and there for the past five weeks, anticipating.
Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, and Lover Unbound (The Black Dagger Brotherhood, Books 1-5) by J.R. Ward. Very good vampire romance – I really am not able to put these down. Bits of it seemed reminiscent of the Dark-Hunters. Ward does this sort of cruel but effective bit where she starts gearing up the next book before the end of the current book. She ties up the current story, but you definitely know what the next book’s going to be about and are eager to get your hands on it. Much more effective than a complete cliffhanger, which drives me nuts. Oh, and some of the books (Lover Awakened, Lover Unbound) had me sobbing. Just so you know to have the tissues handy… Also please note that these are very, very steamy and a bit dark.
Sex and the Single Witch by Theresa Alan, Holly Chamberlain, and Carly Alexander. Very light’n’fluffy short stories that were actually a nice break from the intensity of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. However, not particularly recommended.
The Cursed One (The Wild Wulfs of London) by Ronda Thompson. One of the later books in this series about werewolves in England in the early 1800s. I enjoyed it, even though historicals tend not to be a favorite.
Wolf at the Door (The Others, Book 1) by Christine Warren. Can an Irish werewolf and a NYC foxwoman find happiness together? Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld might have been a bit of the inspiration behind this series, but this is much lighter and more chick lit feeling.
“Oh, for fur’s sake, the last thing she needs is more pink feathers.” -Chaos
“Silly big kitty. You can never have too many pink feathers!” -Mayhem
“Unhand my feathers, Mom! Mine! Mine! Mine!!” -Mayhem
Happy New Year! I may or may not post on Friday, January 2. It’ll be a surprise to all of us.
I h8 to think what would happen if they were given a mouse with bright pink feathers and filled with cat nip 😉
Hope you and the kittys have a wonderful 2009!
Happy New Year to Chris, Chaos and (my favorite) Mayhem!!!
Happy New Year to you and the kitties!
May really likes the pink feathers, doesn’t she?
I liked Casting Spells too; I’m kinda hoping BB will bring the town/people back with a sequel or something…
May – you’d look beautiful in any color of feathers honey! I wish you could see Sammy Girl with her first ever cat-nip mouse. It’s hysterical!
Happy New Year!!
Hope that your cold has disappeared by now!
I have no idea how you read as much as you do, combined with knitting, working 17 hour days AND blogging so frequently. Meowza! Thanks for the great reviews as always.
Happy New Year to you and the kids!
Feel better and work less.
Can’t wait for a sequel to Casting Spells.
Casting spells was so much fun! I hear there will be sequels…
Happy new year = peace, health, serenity, and fun.
Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2009 isn’t filled with any more of those 17-hour work days.
BTW, that ensemble sounds color-coordinated at least!
17 hours day at Christmas! Bah Humbug! I hope they said they had no option but to raise your salary.
May knows what time it is. Never have enough pink feathers
Chris, Chaos and Mayhem- Happy New Year from everyone at the zoo- and big head butts from Kitten Chow.
I read Casting Spells a couple weeks ago — what a fun book.
17-hour days?! Bah, humbug, and your sartorial slip is hereby forgiven. May the new year bring lots of yarn, nip, and pink feathers to the denizens of Chez Chaos!
I hope you and the kitties have a happy new year!
Happy New Year to you, Chris, and the “kidz”.
oh, those look like “fightin’ ears”! Back away slowly from the pink feathers 😀
Hope y’all have a great New Years!
Happy New Year to you & the kitties – looking forward to more of your adventures in 2009.
The pink feathers suit her beautifully.
The happiest of New Year’s wishes to you and the kitties!
Ooh, May, lovely pink feathers! A very happy New Year to you all. May 2009 be filled with all good things.
Happy New Year!
May you look gorgeous darling in pink feathers!
Happy New Year!
So do you read alll of those books?
We’re like your cats, too. Just put up some pictures of pink feathers (or just pictures of black kitties for that matter), and we’re happy. 🙂 And if I had sheep pjs I’d probably wear them all the time. You sound like you were so well coordinated.
Thanks for plugging my contest.
(And I can’t get over that one title Hex Appeal. I’m still giggling.)
It sounds like a dashing outfit and sure to be the rage in ’09. Maybe.
Did you get the new Guaranis yet? I had to order it online along w/Wulfs. I’m sort of treating my VISA like a library card. This will not be good when the bill comes. Oh well. I’ll have plenty to read while I can’t do anything or eat. 🙂
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Love the sheepy PJs – a perfect look for the 2009 catwalk 🙂
See. I told you. More pink feathers are needed.
Happy New Year. I hope those 17 hour days are in the past.
Happy New Year to you, Chaos and May!
Happy New Year, Chris! I can see I’m gonna have to check about getting those Black Dagger Brotherhood books from the library… They sound great!
SEVENTEEN hour days?!?!?!? geesh! Hope you get good time off too! So I haven’t been online in nearly TWO weeks… that afghan is stunning! Happy New Year!
i really want to get muy hands on It Itches! frnaklin is hysterical.
i can’t get enough of May with the pink feathers (apparently she can’t either!)–too funny!
we’ll have to catch Chaos playing with the pink toy on the sly. I can’t believe you post all this after 17 hour days!!
Nice to see that Chaos and Mayhem are well ! Nice Afghan, I received two knitted scarves and hats for Xmas that came about 2 months late, but are welcome.
So Chaos, what color feathers do you prefer? Hmmm?
Love the kitty whiskers! =^v^=
Chaos and Mayhem are so glossy! The whole paranormal romance genre has really taken the book world by storm. I think it’s relatively new, isn’t it?
still working through your most recent posts – but I’ve noticed that you like paranormal/vampire books and some steamy stuff so I figured I’d let you know about a good self-published series of books you may not know about (but be prepared for some poor editing in the first few books) – the author is Amy Lane – the first book is Vulnerable – she has a second series that I haven’t read – the first book of which is called Bittermoon I: Triane’s Son Ascending.