Not Quite Mindless Knitting

Instead of mindless stockinette and k2p2 ribbing, I've been knitting away on the Snoqualmie wrap from Wanderlust. With the garter stitch borders and simple lace pattern, it's been almost the perfect project to work on while we watch the Godzilla movies that Hubby recorded on Christmas day. The only problem I run into is when one of the boys asks me a question about the plot and gives away the fact that I'm not paying enough attention to what's going on with Mothra and Mechagodzilla. I don't feel too badly because even if I was devoting my full attention to the show I still wouldn't know what those glowing eggs under the ocean were.  

I cannot get a decent picture of this project. The flash keeps making the yarn shiner than it looks in real life and it's too wet and muddy to drag it out to the yard. Just trust me -- it's pretty and squishy and lacy and it's going to be wonderful to wrap up in!

My youngest son asked me who Lizzie Borden was and, being the good mommy that I am, I taught him the rhyme. A few days later, there was a documentary on the history channel and he learned that a hundred years ago, the police weren't able to use fingerprints or DNA. When I saw The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, a new children's book, I decided to see if it would explain things any better. After reading it, I know a lot more about the murders and trial than I did before. The publisher recommends this book for ages ten and up, but I don't think my own boys are quite ready for it. They could probably handle the description of the investigator who "boiled Mr. and Mrs. Borden's heads like soup bones until the flesh - their very faces - dropped off," but I don't think they'd understand the pail of bloody rags in the cellar, or that they'd have the patience for the lengthy trial. The author does a great job of explaining what's known about the murders and uses sidebars to explain things like the odd layout of the Borden home, the difference between slop buckets and chamber pots, and other historical details that would otherwise puzzle young (and adult) readers.

Not long after I finished that book, I got the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Secrets of Lizzie Borden by Brandy Purdy. After the first few paragraphs, I was hooked. One of the things that had disappointed me most about the documentary and the children's book was that there isn't much detail about what actually happened that day, or about Lizzie herself. This, however, is a novel and the author paints such an amazingly vivid picture of Lizzie and her life. The murder of her father and stepmother is only a small part of a much larger story.  I'm glad I'd read the other book first, since it was interesting to see how the author explained some of  the real facts of the case.

This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, and iknead2knit.