Yarn Along: Knitting, Reading, Watching

~knitting~

I have something to show for myself this week!  I've finished both girls' Pascha sweaters (finally!) and have made good progress on my sapphire pullover.  The yarn for my dad's vest came a week or two ago, and I'm hoping to swatch it up soon.

I actually finished knitting the girls' sweaters about a week ago, but the buttons I had originally picked to put on the sweaters turned out not to match that well.  I had picked them in evening light, I think, and in daylight, they just didn't match.  I ordered another vintage set from etsy and popped them right on the sweaters yesterday.  I'm happy with these buttons!

As for the sapphire sweater, I've finished the body, and am working the decreases on one sleeve.  I'm knitting the sleeve flat, as is my preference, since I really hate double pointed needles and will go to great lengths to avoid using them.  I don't mind seaming up the sleeve at the end.

~reading~

I've finished a few books this week, and put a few more into the queue.  I'm through volume one of War and Peace, and am about 30 pages into volume 2.  I think I'm about 330 pages in, so far.  I did find vol. 1 a bit of a slog, since it mostly details the Russian troop movements in Austria, but volume two picks back up in Moscow with the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys, and I'm finding it much more engaging.

I also finished The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe this week, and have put The Horse and His Boy on my nightstand stack.

I read Flannery O'Connor's Prayer Journal in two short sessions (it is only about 40 pages, and a very fast read).  I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading her other writing.  I was encouraged to realize that her struggles are my struggles, and also, there is nothing new under the sun.  The edition I have has been padded out a bit, and includes a facsmile of her original journal, plus a long introduction by a secular scholar of her work (I would skip it, personally.  I think the author doesn't really understand what it is to be a person of serious Christian faith, and it shows in his assessment of the journal).

I also (finally!) finished Fr. John Behr's Becoming Human over the weekend.  I've been poking through it for months now and finally just soldiered on to the end.  It is a brief book, very beautifully printed, but so profound and poetic.  I highly recommend it.  I already loaned our copy out to a friend!

I picked up a volume of Turgenev, and another of Michael Ondaatje's early books, but haven't cracked them yet (I'm trying to get through War and Peace before opening a new book...or at least, through volume 2 of W/P)  I'm also planning to re-read A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall, and Christy, also by Catherine Marshall.  I read them many years ago and enjoyed them.  I'm also hoping to re-read Lloyd Douglas' The Robe, which I read in junior high.

I'm trying to take a snowball approach to my reading list, and read through one book at a time, rather than constantly starting new books that I don't finish in a timely manner.  I'm also giving myself permission to speed read parts of some books.  I've always been in the habit of carefully reading books, every word, every footnote, but I can get bogged down (I'm a fast reader, but still...).  I learned to speed read for content in graduate school when my advisor got into the habit of assigning me six books a week to read, in addition to my other coursework.  I'm finding it useful for certain sections of War and Peace.

~watching~

I've been steering my watching toward documentaries and (more) edifying movies/shows during Lent, and have a few recommendations.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) with Jim Caviezel is excellent.  He brings a great spiritual dimension to the redemptive suffering of Edmund Dantes, and the casting and production are wonderful.  Plus it is a cracking good story.

Grantchester (both seasons).  I realize this is sort of a period police procedural, with a vicar at the center of it, but I really enjoy the series for what it says about human suffering, the human condition more generally, and about the private battles we all face.  James Norton is a treat to watch, and the relationship between his character and Robson Greene's character is so interesting.

A Man Called Peter (1955).  I saw this movie again recently, and found it so uplifting and spiritually encouraging.  I realized again that there is nothing new under the sun, and people are people, fallen humankind.  We can only learn the depths of our falleness, our need for the Savior.

Secrets of Great British Castles (netflix, streaming).  I'm currently working through this series  just finished the series, and it is a great little documentary on the history of significant castles in the UK.  Each episode details one castle's history.  I've learned a lot of little factoids along the way!  (Did you know that the Tower of London and Claremont Castle were both built by Gandulf of Rochester in the time of William the Conqueror, and featured two towers each?  JRR Tolkein, being a student of Anglo-Saxon history, seized on this little bit of history and a legend was born)

Tudor Monastery Farm (YouTube).  I highly recommend this little series.  It is a docu-series in which three historians undertake to live on a Tudor-era monastery farm for a season, and live as they would have lived in 1500, in a pre-modern setting and mindset.  It is fascinating to watch and learn, and has informed some of what I'm thinking about in terms of capturing the pre-modern mindset (more about that next week).

I usually watch The Robe at least once during Lent, and would like to watch The Passion again.  I did so last Lent and found it to be a useful addition to the season.  Two more weeks to Pascha!

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along!