addicted

Recently I found a small stash of goodies that I bought in Sweden last summer. Fortunately these candies are the kind that don't have a shelf life, and they've been stored safely. I have to admit that I'm moderately addicted and will need to find a source once they're gone.

What's to love? The name—Kryptoniter. The appearance—fussy pink with black piping. The Swedes, and Scandanavians in general, have a special fondness for licorice. Some licorice candies are a lot better than others, and Kryptoniter happens to be one that combines a few fine features. First, the lozenge is coated with a tart sugar, which is not dissimilar from a mild Sour Patch Kid. Then you hit the sweet hard candy, followed moments later by salt. I haven't yet learned to appreciate salt licorice, but can tolerate it when combined with sugary brightness. 

And for a moment I was transported back to a 13th century house and its attic-room views of the Baltic.

knitting

I'm knitting like the dickens even though I've probably missed my opportunity to this sweater this winter, which, according to the calendar, ends tomorrow. Yes, I realize we may still see some snow fall before June.

The Retro sweater is a yoke-down number. I just finished knitting the body and because I used circular needles, I won't have to sew side seams. Since I took this photo, I added another four inches plus three inches of wide ribbing to form the bottom band. Next: The sleeves will also be knit "in the round," though on double point needles (dpn) so no seaming there either. Basically, once I get the sleeves knit, I'm done, which is pretty motivating.

One small glitch: I've never knitted successfully on dpns. Typically they're used in sock knitting. Knitters who already have the hang of juggling four or five needles love it. I remain open to learning and to becoming a convert. Thank goodness for the internets and instructional videos on You Tube.

reading

Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou 

This graphic novel appears on the 2010 Tournament of Books' shortlist, and I thought that it might be manageable to read owing to its format. Once again, I've discovered that just because a story is told through the medium of illustration with little text does not mean that it will be a breeze to read. I'm enjoying Logicomix, but find that I need to put it down often. More a biography than a novel, the book suffers from not being very plot-driven. This is the story of Bertrand Russell and his quest to find the logical roots of math. Russell suffered for his art/science, toiling for years on a problem that, three written volumes later, no publisher wanted to touch. I haven't reached the end yet, but I know that Russell's story doesn't have a happy ending. 

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson

Hornet's Nest is simmering on the side. This is the third, and likely final, installment of Steig Larsson's mystery/thriller staring Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist. It's a big one, too...632 pages. By contrast to most books, especially Logicomix, Hornet's Nest is gripping. It picks up right where the previous book left off and doesn't miss a beat, building new story lines in a way that keeps the reader turning pages. I've got the first 100 pages under my belt and hope to be close to done by the time spring break ends. On Sunday. Sad. I highly recommend this series to anyone who is looking for an absorbing read.

Also, until I lost momentum in a severely scratched CD, I was listening to 44 Scotland Street, one of Alexander McCall Smith's charming series. Smith's Edinburgh-set vignettes, involving the inhabitants of a building, were inspired by Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. I noticed some of Smith's trademark quirky characters, especially with how they approach moral dilemmas. Easy listening at its best.

And, with the boys, I am reading aloud The Sea of Monsters, the second book in Percy Jackson and the Last Olympians series. Percy has returned to Camp Half Blood following his "odyssey" to return Zeus' lightning bolt, and nothing is as it should be. Percy's best friend, Grover, is in trouble; his mentor, Chiron, has been fired as camp director; and the new director seems out to get Percy. The camp is threatened, and a journey presents itself. The action and character development are incredibly satisfying, even as an adult. The boys are interested in Greek mythology and, I have to admit, I haven't minded brushing up, either. 

drawing midterm

Spring break is an appropriate time to trot out some of the work I have done leading up to this point in the semester. I am learning how to draw, and I have a fantastic teacher, Monica Fogg. She's pushing me to dig a little deeper, to not be so minimal and safe in my technique. So for the midterm project, we picked a piece of produce and explored drawing it in at least eighteen different ways, twelve of which were mounted, according to some grouping principle, on Crescent board.

I chose a pineapple, which I carried around in my book bag for two weeks. Of the twelve drawings I mounted, the top left was my favorite. It's a highly detailed and very delicate pencil rendering of a dried pineapple slice, which I also used (third row, right) as a stamp. This assignment was fun and allowed me to try many different media, including collage, pen, charcoal, paint, and beeswax. Other favorite drawings include the blind contour drawing (third row, left), in which I drew the pineapple top without looking at the paper. I also really like how the calligraphic strokes (top row, center) turned out. Inadvertently, the strokes formed diamonds, such as those that appear in other pieces, leading to a similarity grouping.

Next up in drawing: perspective, where we draw an interior view of McNeal Hall, my home away from home.

spring forward

Even though the vernal equinox is a week away, spring seems to have begun in earnest. The day's high temperature was 64 degrees, when historically we're at 39 degrees for the second week of March. I am not complaining.

On top of the ridiculously amazing weather, my friend Sarah called this morning and asked if I knew that we "sprang forward" to daylight savings overnight. And, shockingly, I did not. I am so used to having Eric Englund remind me at the Homeplans' Monday morning meeting whenever the time was changing. Sadly, this lapse indicates just how myopic I have become since second semester began. Just so head down—get kids to bus stop, get self to campus, listen/participate in lectures and studios, do projects. Wash, rinse, repeat. I count on routine to get everything done, but clearly need to step back and see life's bigger picture.

Thankfully, spring break occupies my next seven days. Seven days that I hope go s-l-o-w-l-y. After I got my head wrapped around the time change, discharged the overnight guest, and shuffled a kid out the door to play with a friend for the WHOLE day, I looked around and wondered what to do next. Anything or nothing was possible. Winston was playing the wii, which he would continue to do until bedtime if I didn't stop him, but since his brother was gone, I knew Win would be at loose ends. Only one thing to do about that—get out of the house and have an adventure.

First stop: Uncle Sven's Comic Shoppe, where Winston picked up a pet avengers comic (I refrained, having brought my own). Then we grabbed a bite at the Groveland Tap, while we watched a little NHL and read our books.

Next stop: Minneapolis, shape of culture vultures at the Walker. We wandered through various galleries until we arrived at the current "show," "Benches and Binoculars," highlights from the Walker's permanent collection. Arranged salon style, the paintings crowd two adjacent walls, covering every surface from floor to ceiling. John and Simon saw the exhibit last week so I was anticipating this part of our visit. Certain I'd find "Benches and Binoculars" gimmicky (it is, a little), I was enthralled by the way the paintings were arranged, and I was thrilled to see some of the work, such as the Chuck Close and an actual Joseph Albers. When the exhibit is done, it would be nice to see some of these pieces back in galleries. The installations, which have become so pervasive at the Walker, can go into storage or travel to other museums.

Also, I think it's safe to say that since I have started taking art classes, I have come to see art in a new way. Mostly I wonder how an artist came to their technique and how long a particular piece took to make and when the artist knew they were done.

After the Walker, Winston and I headed to Linden Hills, the charming and secluded Minneapolis neighborhood. First we hit Wild Rumpus. Visited all the animals and browsed sections before settling on Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files for Winston and Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? for me (score! especially since the guys at The Source told me I'd never find this Neil Gaiman collectible). To put the cherry on the cake of our day, we had ice cream at Sebastian Joe's.

Winston and I had a spectacular day. We marveled at how warm and sunny it was. Driving around Lake Calhoun, we saw a scene unique to early spring in Minnesota: snowkiting on the still-frozen lake while shorts-clad joggers and cyclists took their laps.

Hope your return to daylight savings was a spring forward as ours!

let the sunshine on

The Weisman Art Museum from the Washington Avenue Bridge, on a gloriously warm, sunny winter day.