1001 Secret Santa

Several of the girls on my 1001 book forum on www.ravelry.com got together and decided to do Secret Santa. We decided not to spend more than $20. I was so happy when I found this on my front pourch this morning.

In the package there was the book Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, a tin of whole leaf tea which is so yummy (having a cup of that as I type) and my favorit chocolate. I'm a chocolate snob and Lindt is my favorit. Thank you so much Kitterluvspurls.

I forgot to take a photo of what I sent my person but I'm not going to say much about it yet. I didn't send it till yesterday so I was a bad Santa but better late than never and I hope she enjoys.

Merry Christmas Everyone! Icelandic and American Traditions.

Happy Holidays to all my readers. I just wanted to share a glimpse of what it is like on Christmas Morning for us. We are extremely lucky to get to puzzle together traditions from two different countries. That of my Icelandic background and the American traditions of my husband.

My knitting corner got a new lamp from my parents. It is the Eiffel Tower which was so fitting since we just came back from our trip to Paris. 

A cold coke made with real sugar and Nóa fine chocolates from Iceland. This is a family tradition from my side.

My Oldest brought this home from daycare. These are so much fun.

Traditional Icelandic Christmas Folk art

For as long as I can remember there hung a Santa head like this one but different between the living and the dinning room of my parents´ home. Now this one hangs between the living and the dinning room in my home.

The American Stocking Tradition and my new Master´s degree folder. I graduated with my Master´s in Psychology on the 15th of December.

These are all Icelandic Yul lads or Jólasveinar. They use to be trouble makers back in the day but now they are nice and leave presents in children´s shoes which the children leave in the window of their rooms. There are 13 Santas and they start showing up 13 days before Christmas. One comes each day before Christmas but little boys and girls have to be very good and go to bed on time to get anything.

American pancakes made with whole wheat for Christmas Morning breakfast.

Coffee a must in both countries.

Knitting basket over flowing but being ignored. I´ve not had the time or drive to finish these long forgotten projects.

O got his first camera. He loves it. It´s a Vtech - Kidizoom Spin & Smile Digital Camera
We got a pic of us taking pics of each other.

I got one of these. It is a Brilliantstore Logitech 720p Webcam C510 from my boys, the cats and the opossum that lives in our backyard. I will be starting some video podcasts soon on reading and knitting for mental health.

I got The Book Lover's Journal from Santa. He left it in my stocking. I was so happy when I opened it up and saw that is doesn´t just have pages for book reviews but also for the books you have, books you are borrowing, books you want, book clubs you´re in and so on.

M got his own Wooden Train Tracks which he has not been able to stop playing with. Now they can lay tracks clear across the living room floor.  I was so happy to find the cheaper version that fit the Thomas stuff.

We´ve had way too much fun with Quercetti Marble Run today.

O got a new game for his MobiGo. Toy Story 3
I like this game system because there is both a touch screen and a keyboard.

Got Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share for the hubster. He follows his blog so I thought he would like the book. It´s from the boys to him.

Apparently these were good plain for a snack after opening presents.

What are some of the traditions that you keep with your family? Do you go chop down your own tree? All do secrete Santa? How is your family holiday different from everyone else´s?

A Modest Proposal by Swift Review

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow OK um I wish I had been warned before reading this book what it was about. I had no idea that it was mostly talking about cannibalism as a way to control the numbers of the poor and the catholic population. I know it is written as a satire but with much thought put into it and thinking of the poor more like animals. Swift much talked about the poor mothers as them being a step up from poverty by giving birth to a gourmet cuisine for the higher class. It is worth reading. It makes you think about if the poor were edible animals wouldn't they most likely be treated better and pregnant poor women be treated with more respect? It really shines a light on the injustice of poverty and how dehumanizing it is.

Kindle Review

I received a Basic Kindle for my birthday in October and thought I would write a review on it. I've read quite a bit on it and for reading (which the device is really for) it is great. The only thing that I would change is have a built in light at the top that you can turn on if you need it since it isn't back lit (they sell separate reading lights for this at the moment). It is a black and whiteish device, no color, so if you are buying this to view your fashion magazines this is not the device for you. If you want color then you should go with the new Kindle Fire.
This kindle does not have a keyboard. Not with buttons. It has a keyboard that you have to navigate using the arrow buttons and I have to say that it is a bit annoying. It takes a while to type up a name of a book sometimes. But for the small price of $79 USD I guess I don't mind. If you war willing to pay more then there is the Kindle Touch where the keyboard will appear and you can touch it like you do on a iPad or an iPhone. The Kindle Touch is available in both WiFi only or WiFi and 3G so that you can always connect where ever you are.
I got the kindle with the advertizements on it. Don't get discurraged from these kindles because the ads are only on as screen savers, when you are not using the kindle, or when you are on the main screen or searching for another book. They are not bothering you while you are reading on it. The ads are also often pretty good and you get some good deals from them. It also makes the device much cheaper to buy.
My Kindle is WiFi only so it is not like the kindles of old that you had wireless access all the time almost everywhere. The WiFi only doesn't inhibit you from reading the books that you have already downloaded to your device but it does inhibit you from finding another book and downloading it on the go. The basic Kindle has a simple browser that you can use to access your email if you are in desperate need,where you need to use the little arrow buttons to navigate through the screen. But to navigate the web is what I have a laptop, an iPad and iPhone for. I don't recommend this device for anything but reading your books, news papers and magazines.
The battery life is amazing on this thing. I think I have only charged it a few times in the last 2 months. It's suppose to last 12 days with continuous reading as long as you turn the WiFi off.
And there you have it. I am mostly happy with my Kindle even thought I would love to get my hands on a Kindle touch and a Kindle Fire.  It's great for reading books on with non of the eye straign that you might get form a back lit device like a computer screen or iPad. There are plenty of free books to pick from as well. Most of the classics you can get for free which is really helping me get through the 1001 books I must read before I die.

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel Review

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Life of Pi is an interesting book. As you can see from the cover it is about a 16 year old Indian boy that survives 227 days out at see with a Tiger. It tugged at my heart strings and had me wanting to jump into the book and do something about some of the things the boys was going through. I learned a lot about survival out at sea for long periods of time. It threw me for a loop several times. I was never bored. I could have sat and read through the whole thing in one day had I had the opportunity. Maybe that wouldn´t be a good idea though. You sort of have to process this one in between each reading session. Was a bit disappointed in how little it touched on the 3 religions that the boy believed in all at once. As a person that struggles to believe in one religion it was interesting to read about someone that believed in 3. I really wanted the book to go into detail on how they all worked together.
This book is on the list of 1001 books to read before you die and I read it as a read along with my friends on a Ravelry Forum. I really love discussing these books with these intelligent ladies.

Dracula vs. Frankenstein review

  I recently finished reading Brian Stocker´s Dracula and have to admit that it was a lot better than Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I read Frankenstein first and I have to admit that I thought that Dr. Frankenstein was a bit of a pansy. All he did was complain and moan about how horrible his life was when he had created this monster and left the poor thing to fend for itself. The story told from the Dr's perspective annoyed me but when I read the monster's story I really enjoyed it and it was really written well so that you could feel the monster's loneliness and need for companionship. The human men in the story seemed a bit feminine. You can really tell that the story is written by a woman. Because when the letters are written by the men they talk much more about feelings and such than the average guy. The talk of needing companionship from another man borderlines on being homosexual in nature but if it were a woman talking like that about the need for feminine companionship it would sound natural. I thought maybe that back when the book was written that it would have been more natural to speak that way but I don't know. My knowledge there is limited.

Dracula on the other hand is fantastic. It is a book about how a group of great people get together to rid the world of a great vampire named Dracula. I really enjoyed the whole book and before reading it I had seen several Dracula movies I don't think that any of them did the book justice and that if someone were to take the book on now that they could do a much better job of it with today's technology. The format it was written in is fun too. I really enjoy reading books that are written like journal entries or letters to one another and this books is composed of letters, journal entries, news clips, and telegrams. It just comes together so nicely and really builds the characters nicely. It also has great suspense and great descriptions. I give Dracula 4 and a half stars out of 5. Shaving off half a star just because of how it went on a little bit.