Book Review: Saltwater Socks (Caps, Mittens, and more from the Island of Newfoundland)(OT)

Saltwater Socks (Caps, Mittens, and more from the Island of Newfoundland*) by Christine Legrow and Shirley Scott (Boulder Books, 2022, 250 pp paperback, $29.95) Review by Skye Anderson

The latest of four knitting books in the Saltwater series, Saltwater Socks is well-worth waiting for if only for the colors and the patterns and the history which is interspersed in between 25 patterns.

Vamps and Sleep Socks and Play Socks - What are Those?

Beginning with a history of socks (would you believe socks have a history?), Socks is a book to drool over. Your children will want socks with whales on them,

or osprey, or cod or caribou (degree of difficulty - Tangly). . . . 

The Humble Sock

Plus coordinating fingerless mittens, watchcaps, scarves, headbands, gloves, warm-ups. . . . with traditional knitting patterns

and, of course, stories galore.

They Also Serve Who Only Sit and Knit

Just as good food was important to me when I served in Afghanistan, perhaps color is crucial during the long winters of Newfoundland. Regardless, the colors of these socks are simply to die (dye) for - worth the price of the book for the history and photos, even for non-knitters. 

But beginning knitters will get a kick out of Saltwater Socks and learn with the introductory patterns labelled "Easy Does It (Think of this as a gateway pattern - the next one will be much easier. Keep calm and carry on. Best foot forward.)" 

Soon, with more experience under your belt, you will graduate to the "Tangly" patterns and finally to "Over the Wharf" socks (Rough road ahead. There will be tears before bedtime. It's time to fish or cut bait.).

And remember, the puffins sent you!

Long may you knit!

*The Canadian province, Newfoundland and Labrador, is composed of the island of Newfoundland and a mainland portion called Labrador.

Book Review: Weaving Step-by-Step (hearts, baskets, chairs, etc.)(OT)

Weaving Step-by-Step by Sue Muldoon (Sue Muldoon, 2024, $34.99, 59 pp spiral bound)

Whether you are a total beginner like me, an intermediate or an advanced weaver, Weaving Step-by-Step will teach you more than you could ever have imagined! 

Ideas Galore! With Variations!

From easy-peasy hearts and paper or reed snowflakes to more intricate baskets (see my favorite below)

and backpacks, author Sue Muldoon's knack for teaching will make it not only easy for you but challenging at the same time with information about dyeing reeds, drying and sealing reeds, and lists of sources, guilds, suppliers and websites (with QRCs).

The author's excellent photography and just-the-right-size diagrams that are highly labelled make for early success.

You can tell she is a teacher! Most of the 20 projects are for beginners, even children, yet look so complicated that pretty soon you will even talk like a professional weaver, thanks to the basketry definitions on page 25. 

You can find Sue and her books at the 2024 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the first weekend in May. Hopefully she will return next year and teach some classes. Stay tuned!

Book Review: Whose Manger is This? (children's book, OT)

Whose Manger is This? by  Lisa Robbins (Elk Lake Publishing, 2023, $13.99 pb, also Kindle and hardcover, ages 3-8, 36 pp)

Easy Rhyming

It is so hard to write a book, even a short book, in rhyme and make it sound natural but author Lisa Robbins has managed to do so with a lovely little book.

A Book of Gifts

Whose Manger is This? begins with us meeting a rowdy ram and a cranky cow. Then we come across a moody mule and curt camel, a jeering jay, a dapper dove, a meanie mouse and, finally, a cozy cat - all of whom claim the manger. And each animal is true to life with their own characteristics that are specific to their kind: the camel spits, for example.

But then, the rowdy ram notices someone in the manger. . . . 

Each animal has its own gift to give. You and your child will go back and forth in this lovely little book to see the animals with their negative adjectives turn into their gifts. You will learn how to overcome those adjectives with the questions in the back of the book. And you will cherish and keep this book. I did.

Book Review: Bodhi, The All American Lodge Dog (Maryland, yellow lab)

Bodhi, The All-American Lodge Dog, photography by Middleton Evans (Ravenwood Press, 2007, $35 HB, 192pp) Review by Skye Anderson 

Who Says You Can't Tell a Book by its Cover?

The cover photo will draw you in and the inside photos will keep you enthralled and entertained!

Every hotel should have a hotel dog (there is at least one in New York City). Every dormitory, daycare, camp, school, retirement home, prison, fraternity and sorority house, too! And in Maryland, the Savage River Lodge* has its own resident yellow labrador retriever, Bodhi. Of course, if your favorite dog is the labrador retriever like so many Americans over the past decades, you will want to keep thumbing through Bodhi, The All-American Lodge Dog and 'dog-ear' your favorite photos! There are so many of them. . . . 

Bodhi started out life as a little pup whose people built a wilderness resort for him (of course!) (well, sort of!) that was simply heaven on earth, full of adventures to experience, animals and people-guests to meet, winter snow to ski and snowshoe on, spring buds and 'baby wilds' to smell and befriend, autumn leaves to bound in (and wear).

Fall Fun

Man's Best Friend, or - Everyone's Best Friend?

Bodhi is a healer: many lodge guests come to relax, commune with nature,  escape the stresses of everyday city life while others come to ski or fish or . . . meet Bodhi!

In an interview with an animal communicator, Bodhi related that communication with him and his kind is becoming more understood. It is like learning another language. When we learn the language of interspecies communication, we can truly say "Bodhi speaks" and we listen (p. 161).

Game Warden

With Six Chapters. . . . 

With six chapters, each introduced by an essay followed by several two-page spreads on a specific topic, my favorite was "A Day in the Life," showing Bodhi's morning commute, his office hours, a sniff test of new canine guests arriving at the lodge and 'Kissing the Girls' who check in at three, three square meals, romper room, show business, and finally, "Good night and sweet dreams, Bodhi!")

What the Future Brings

Bodhi's book appeared in 2007 and there have been some changes  since then, of course. First of all, in his book Bodhi mentions his people will soon travel to pick up a set of yellow lab twins, Koko and Karma, who Bodhi will train to be the welcome staff at Savage River.

Since the Bodhi book was written in 2024, Bodhi, Koko and Karma have passed away but left their legacy in calendars for a few years. We hope the Lodge will soon again have a canine ambassador with a calendar for those folks too far away to visit in person.

The Savage River Lodge, home of fine dining and delightful events such as Wine in the Woods and weddings (even elopements) and retreats, is still welcoming guests who stay in the lodge itself or in yurts or cabins. And the Lodge is dog-friendly, of course!

Y'all Come Back Now, You Hear?

*about three hours from both Baltimore and Washington, DC

Bonus: some of my favorite Bodhi photos, besides the silly ones: inside the front cover (below)

 and inside the back cover (below)

Summer Fun

More Summer Fun

Book Review: TL;DR Shakespeare (summaries of his plays)(OT)

TL;DR Shakespeare, by SparkNotes (Spark Notes, 2022, $14.99, 96pp) Review by Skye Anderson 

TL;DR? LOL?

At last I know what TL;DR means! Like LOL which some thought meant Lots of Luck when it really means Laughing out Loud, Tl;DR actually means Too Long; Didn't Read!

I have been an amateur Shakespeare aficionado since the age of 12: I try to like his plays and I keep trying, which is why I picked up this very colorful little book.

Six Comedies, Six Tragedies: Organized

One of two TL;DR books (the other being Literature* - 13 modern classics), this is a keeper for any student in high school or college or for any self-learner. Since it can be difficult for an amateur (non-English major) to understand poetry written hundreds of years ago, Notes can help explain Shakespeare for you. It would make a great gift for a 12-year-old to read over the summer and decide which of the plays to really start with.

Each play has a 6-page spread starting with illustrations of the characters, with the genre, setting and 'year first performed.' Next comes the summary (plot overview with rising action, climax, falling action and major conflict )

followed by a page of more main characters (more than before) and their relationships, themes and a quote,

closing with the key question and answer, and finally, 'What Does the Ending Mean'?

This TL;DR book also contains half-page synopses of 9 other comedies, 6 tragedies and 11 histories in addition to the six comedies and six tragedies.

What Would I Change?

A few things: first, some pages had backgrounds of such dark colors like blue that the print was difficult to read. And, like Russian novels of several hundred pages spanning decades, this book of summaries tries to include everything so that you don't remember the characters' names after reading the one paragraph synopsis.

However, I can't wait to get the other TL;DR book - Literature!

*includes To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, The Handmaid's Tale, The Things They Carried, Of Mice and Men, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and more

Book Review: Kody's Capers: Finding Joy (horse - rescue and therapy)(OT)

Kody's Capers: Finding Joy, by Terri Abbatiello (Terri Abbatiello Publishing, 27pp, 2023, ages 3-10, $10.99) Review by Skye Anderson

Kody, a little miniature horse with one blue eye and one brown eye, comes full circle in his book Finding Joy. In the beginning, Kody wants for food, among many other things, but most of all, he wants love. Then, a miracle happens but it's scary - a trailer comes for Kody and his friends and takes them - fast and noisily - to a wonderful new home, a horse rescue farm.

Trimming Tickles!

We loved the part where getting his hooves trimmed tickles!

The next thing Kody knows is that he is adopted and he (with his person) visits others as a therapy horse! They bring joy but not only to people - also to the animals Kody lives with.

Starting Conversations

Kody's Capers will start many a conversation, from the younger set retelling the story, to the older ones noticing Kody's eyes and asking about therapy animals. Who knows? Maybe the readers will beging taking their dogs to schools, libraries or nursing homes to spread the joy!

And, Best of All

And, best of all, this is a true story!

Book Review: Driving Home Naked (and other misadventures of a country veterinarian)

Driving Home Naked (and other misadventures of a country veterinarian) by Melinda McCall* (She Writes Press, 2023, $17.95, 304 pages PB) Review by Skye Anderson 

Now that I have your attention. . . . !

If the cover illustration (with the requisite border collie as co-pilot) doesn't reel you in, the title will: Driving Home Naked. 

If you like to carry a book around with you as you go through your day and open it when you have a few empty minutes (rather than using your i-phone), this is the book for you, with short anecdotes of sometimes humorous situations and other times unbelievable situations. However, you might want to cover the cover, especially due to the title!

Divided into three sections, "Dressing the Part" (with 18 short chapters covering the years 1990-2007), "Peeling Off the Layers" (12 stories, 2008-2011) and "Wearing Many Hats" (25 situations, 2012-2021), Driving Home Naked covers the early years, mid-career and experienced experiences to date of a teacher of others in a female large-animal veterinary practice in Virginia. 

Who hasn't wanted to be a veterinarian? Not I! I still want to be one. And I can be - sort of - by reading books like Naked.

I hesitate to say this, but I especially liked the two stories about euthanasia, one being rather humorous. But I can't tell you my favorite story - McCall simply included too many. However, she will sell and sign her books at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds on 4 and 5 May: I can't wait to chat with her!

The Author

McCall is truly living her dream and was driven to be a veterinarian from an early age, having been brought up on a dairy farm. You, too, can live your dream of being a veterinarian in Driving Home Naked without having to drive home naked yourself!

*Also author of Million Dollar Goat