Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall, by Hillary Mantel is a book that I picked up at the Raven in Lawrence, KS when I was back for X-mas. For those of you that don't know - I love the Henry VIII time period in England. Not only does the man marry six wives, but it is the time period that England split from Rome, which I find fascinating.

This book is a fictional account of Thomas Cromwell, who becomes Henry VIII's secretary. The story begins during the fall of Cardinal Wolsey and ends prior to Anne Boleyn's fall. I have read a lot of books both non-fiction and fiction about this time period and this is the first one that portrays Cromwell in a completely positive light. He seems intelligent, protective of his family, ambitious, talented and almost all knowing. In contrast, Mantel portrays Thomas More as a radical who is ruthless, cunning and childishly stubborn. While I agree that More wasn't a hero, and that Cromwell probably wasn't as horrible as many books portray him, I find the extreme views that she shows of each man in the book a little far fetched from what was probably their true character; but hey, it's fiction. (It also shows Mary Boleyn in a less than flattering light - which changes from author to author since no one really knows much about her.)

It is an interesting read, and I would recommend it. I should warn you that it gets a little verbose towards the middle but it picks back up again.

My mother has also just finished reading it and we both believe that she is going to write a sequel. It leaves off at a weird point in Cromwell's life. Who knows, we could be very wrong. Let me know if you have read it, or if you have any thoughts on it. I am also always looking for book recommendations.

It's Official...

We are going to Paris in April!!! We are both super excited and are in super planning mode trying to figure out everything that we want to do while we are there. We have a little over a week, so are going to try and do some day trips as well. I'm beyond excitement when I think about wandering the halls of the Louvre!

Knitters Unite

There has been a call to action from Knitters without Borders. There is no way that I can explain better than Yarn Harlot does on her blog, so will refer you there for more information (http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2010/01/13/the_knitsignal.html). Please donate to Doctors without Borders to help with their work in Haiti right now. I have already donated and hope that you will be able to help out as well.

Harold Update

We had our first training class with Harold the Hound last night. It went really well. His biggest problem at this point is pulling on the leash. We were able to get some pointers last night from the trainer after class and she said that we would work on it more during the next 8 weeks. He is getting better with Adam, but I don't walk fast enough to keep him distracted from the smells around him, so we are still working on it. (It also doesn't help that I have been sick and haven't really been able to go on long walks with him - feeling better though, so hopefully that will start to change.)
We have figured out in the past couple of days what type of hound we think Harold is: an American Foxhound. He has the features and build of the American Foxhound, but with enough features of a greyhound that we still think that he is a hound, greyhound mix. I found pictures of American Foxhound puppies online today and am in love with the puppy that I think Harold was. They, like all puppies really, are REALLY cute.Adam and I have quickly become BIG fans of The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. His show is on the National Geographic Chanel. He is AMAZING. He has dogs calm and and doing things with him in five minutes that their owners haven't ever been able to do. I have a new dream - become just like Cesar Millan :)We have started to incorporate some of what he talks about on his show, especially during our walks with Harold. It is already starting to help - we are becoming the pack leaders! We just bought one of his books today - Becoming the Pack Leader. I'll let you know how it is :)
We are both really encouraged by the progress that Harold is making. He is a really good dog. At home, he is doing really well; we will continue to work on the walking. We have actually starting dreaming about possibly doing agility competitions with him - we are WAY off from being ready at this point, but we can dream right?

Brooklyn

For the final installment of the nieces and nephews - I bring you Brooklyn, the newest to the family.I know that I only saw her three weeks before this last trip, but she is growing so quickly. She is smiling and laughing now as you can see in some of the pictures below. I'm excited to watch her grow and to see what type of personality she has. I couldn't put her down when I was in KC for x-mas. She is such a sweet baby and is so much fun to hold and sleep next to.

This has to be my favorite picture from x-mas. Look at that smile :)


I love having a niece, not only because she is beyond cute, but also because there are SO many more knitting patterns for little girls than there are for little boys. I have already knitted her a few things. In addition to the blanket (which you can see in the above picture) and the booties that I made her (I think I have already posted pictures, if not, I will) I have also knitted her a couple of hats.

The first hat I made her during the trip for Thanksgiving. It was a quick knit and a lot of fun to make. It is the white one below.
Unfortunately she has a head like her brothers and VERY quickly outgrew this one. So, I knitted her a second hat while I was there for x-mas. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Adam and I forgot our camera, so I don't have any pictures of it to post. However, I will try to get some from my sister and will post them here later.

Again, I hope that you all have a wonderful 2010. One of my new years resolutions is to post more often. We will see how that goes :)

Aidan

As promised today is Aidan.What to say about Aidan. Well, he has the most energy that I have ever seen in a toddler.He is a handful, but is a happy, smart and amusing kid. He got a shopping cart and a kitchen set for x-mas and loved them - he loves doing anything that the grown ups do, so he has taken to helping mom and meme in the kitchen when they are cooking. I wish that we could be around him more and watch him and his personality grown. In the mean time, we make due with the phone conversations that we have with him - hopefully one of these days we will speak the same language :)


Aidan watching out for squirrels in South Dakota.
Just being his wonderful fabulous self!
Nap time :)
Eating. He still eats a lot, but he is starting to become a picky eater. No signs yet of him smelling his food like his mother :)
Aidan put on Meme's sweater one night and thought that it was awesome and hilarious. He kept it on for quite some time so I was able to get lots of pictures.
Explaining something to us in Meme style.
Is that not a Krystal look???
As I mentioned, he likes to do what the grown-ups do, so he brought in lots of cups and the old brita filter and was pouring and serving us cup after cup of imaginary water. Yum-yum.
What a cute kid - I might be a little biased, but come on - he's cute.
Tomorrow - Brooklyn.

David

Happy New Year!!! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and that you all have a wonderful 2010.

It's seems a little late, but I have a lot of pictures from Thanksgiving that I have yet to post. All of pictures are of the nephews and the niece, but since I have been getting some flak for not posting more pictures of them, I didn't think you would mind. So, I am going to post pictures of them one kid at a time. First up is little David.

David and grown so much since the last time that we saw him. It is amazing how much kids change when they are little. He is SO much fun to be around. It is exciting for us at this stage because their personalities are starting to shine through. David is a very happy affectionate boy. He is smart, picking up new words and games quickly. We can't wait to see him again.

Uncle Adam loved spending time with the little guy...

but how could you not; look at that laugh :)
I had to get some love too.He is looking like a little boy - we can't believe that he is almost 2!!
The brothers went out to play with the football and little David went with them; with his dad and uncles, David was born to love football :)
Uncle Adam and David discussing the proper way of throwing a football.
He is mesmerized by his new blocks.
The Miles clan :) It was awesome getting everyone together. We all live so far apart that unfortunately we don't get to be all together very often. It makes the times that we do have together that much more special.
David saying good-bye :)Tomorrow Aidan.