My last entry was at the end of August and a month and a half has passed. What did I do in that time? Well, I took a couple of trips. The first was a road trip I took with my cousin to visit her brother who was stationed at Ft. Drum. It was a beautiful trip through Pennsylvania and New York.
We had the chance to attend a Deployment Ceremony, to see off the members of the 10th Mountain Div., who are heading to Afghanistan. 
We got to see Sackets Harbor, a battleground during the War of 1812,
and we drove to Syracuse, Cooperstown,
and all around the North Country of New York
and up to the 1000 Islands region.
It was a lot of fun and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.
A little over a week after that trip, I took a solo trip to Annapolis, Maryland. Why? Why not? I had never done anything like this, taking a trip all by myself, and I loved it! The day I arrived there it was raining and miserable, so I went to the mall and got my nails and hair done. Then I drove around and ended up at a big yarn store, flipping through patterns.
The next day was beautiful. I parked my car off Main St. and walked for miles. I explored the waterfront,
the side streets and the shops. I took a tour of the William Paca house and garden
and discovered Capital Teas, my new favorite tea shop.
I had planned on getting lunch at the Reynold's Tavern, to have a tea there. But I was so lost in my explorations, I forgot to eat. I did have dinner there when I met my cousin, who drove over from Virginia, before we went on a ghost tour of the town.
The next morning I went to the National Harbor, just south of D.C. to check out the American Market. Overall, I had a fantastic trip and, since I didn't get a chance to do and see everything I wanted to do, I have more to do when I visit next time.
On the reading front, I didn't have as much time to read as I would like because of my crafting and baking. I read Mockingjay, the third and final book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series.
Collins kept the action going strong in Mockingjay, I couldn't put the book down and I finished it in less that 2 days. Katniss Everdeen is a strong, flawed character and you can't help but root for her to succeed. As a fan of Gale over Peeta (I just never saw the chemistry between her and Peeta) I was glad this book was more Gale centered. There were more twists and turns in this book than the previous two, I loved the direction Peeta took, and the hidden world of district 13. Overall, I really enjoyed the Hunger Games series. While waiting for the release of Mockingjay, I was as excited for the book as I had been waiting for the release of each Harry Potter book. What Katniss did in the end was satisfying, but I was little disappointed in the outcome. Not because it was poorly written or depressing, but because, as a fan, I was hoping for a different outcome.
I also read The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
A friend had mentioned this book to me and I was a little hesitant as to whether or not I wanted to read it. To me, it sounded like a Harry Potter rip off, a group of students sent to a magical school and how they live as wizards in a world of normal people. But it wasn't.
The Magicians follows Quentin Coldwater, a 17 year old high school student from Brooklyn. One day, on his way to meet with a man who could help him get into college, he is lured into a magical place where he is given a test. Of course he passes and is entered into Brakebills Academy for magic. He spends the next few years learning, making friends and finding his first girlfriend, Alice. One of the things Quentin and Alice have in common is their love of the Fillory books, stories similar to the Chronicle of Narnia series. Only the first half of the book is spent on their magical education and it is quite different from Hogwarts. The real story begins when Quentin and his friends graduate. What does a young Magician do once he is out in the real world with all this power? Where do they go? How do you find an even balance in life knowing how powerful you are and yet having to blend in with normal people? This imbalance spirals into excesses of drinking, drug use, and sex. One day, a former classmate of theirs shows up with the promise of being able to take Quentin, Alice, and their friends to Fillory, the fictional land of their childhood.
The Magicians can't compete with Harry Potter (really. what can?) but it tells an entertaining story with flawed, compelling characters. I love the questions it raises about the blurred line between what is real and what is fictional. What if these fantasy books, like Narnia or Fillory, are based on real places but what happens there is so unbelievable, they are thought to be fiction. It was certainly an entertaining, interesting read. I wasn't too crazy about the ending, but I think that's because it so obviously hints at a sequel.
I am currently reading, Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, another book recommended by a friend.
After she and I both read The Hunger Games trilogy, she read Battle Royale before passing it on to me. It tells the story of a large group of 15 year olds who are taken, without their or their parents' knowledge, to a hidden place where they are forced to battle to the death. Their parents are told of their children's part in the battle only after the bus carrying the kids is on it's way to the battle and the location of the battle is only made known after the battle is finished and a winner declared. I am only about a third of they way through Battle Royale and it is already darker than The Hunger Games, yet I can't put it down.
I have been keeping busy knitting as well. I finished a scarf from a pattern I found on one of my favorite websites, Knit Picks. The yarn I used came from a local yarn shop, Knitter's Dream.
It's called Sherbet and was spun and colored by the owners daughter. I am normally not a yellow and orange person, but Linda had a shawl on display in the store knitted from this yarn and I couldn't look away. I caved and bought it. The pattern calls for the scarf to be blocked, which would flatten the scarf and make it easier to see the design, but I like the skinny scarf look for this one and I decided to keep it that way.
I received an early Christmas gift of a beautiful, black leather jacket. Last time I was in Knitter's Dream, I fell in love with this red and black yarn, it was also spun and dyed by Linda's daughter and red and black were my college school colors.
It is a self striping yarn, but I am knitting it with 2 strands, so it is coming out variegated rather than striped.
I didn't want anything lacy or too feminine to wear with a leather jacket so I found this pattern online and I am about 2 squares into it.
I am currently working on a gift, which I can't show now since it is a surprise and another scarf for myself. My next projects include a pair of mittens for myself, stockings for my cousin's children, and another gift. I'll be sure to update more often.
Baking has also kept me pretty busy the past couple of months. For the second year in a row I took part in the Harrisburg Cupcake Cup.
I wasn't very gung-ho about taking part in this, I couldn't do the recipe I wanted to do because it contained alcohol and I had to register as a professional, even though I don't consider myself one. So I ended up going up against several actual bakeries and a few other people like me, who just baked for themselves.
I entered a recipe I made up for strawberry and cream cupcakes.
I knew from the beginning this wasn't going to go well for me. The competition was the day after I returned home from my trip to Annapolis, I got home about 4 hours later than I had planned because of traffic around D.C. I went to the craft store and found they didn't have the liners I wanted and when I started baking, I discovered I didn't have enough sugar. It was a day of bad omens. But the cupcakes turned out nice and they tasted great. I came in 6th out of 12 in the professional category, beating out 4 bakeries and 2 bakers.
The month of September also brought about my Goddaughter's second birthday. We celebrated it in early October and I made her cake. Darby loves her baby dolls and so a baby doll cake was requested. I took my Wilton Wonder Mold Pan and went searching for a doll, rather than a Barbie type figure, to use. While wandering around A.C. Moore, I found a doll that is used to crochet air freshener covers and she was the perfect size and cute enough to be a baby doll. I went with pink and made her as girly as I could.
When Darby saw the cake, the first thing she said was "My baby", so I think it was a sucess.
In the coming months I have plenty of baking planned and crafts to make, so I will be sure to update more often. I promise.
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