Monday, January 23, 2012

What's Happening in My World?

We had another major storm pass through on the weekend. The winds were howling for two nights. I saw on the news that ferries serving the islands off of Vancouver were shut down due to the bad weather and power was knocked out in many places.  I was snug inside and safe from the storms. I was blessed that my power didn't go out at all.

The small amount of snow we had was washed away by the rains and the temperature has warmed up considerably.  I spent the blustery day yesterday making progress on  my goals.

One goal is to finish the baby afghan. I had started out making dishcloth squares in a new-to-me pattern.  One of the ladies in my knitting group suggested I sew them altogether into a baby afghan and I thought that was a great idea. I made about half of the squares last Fall and finished the other squares today. I just have to decide on which colour to use to crochet all these squares together with and I'm leaning toward a cream colour. I also like the blue in the yarn.


I am still a newbie knitter and have only made dishcloths and slippers. I needed to make enough of these squares to practice the stitches but I see I still need more practice*smile.

I also started my second paper book over the weekend (I have a few electronic ones on the go) entitled, Paris, 1919 by Margaret MacMillan.   This one I've had in my library for awhile now and thought I'd better get at it.


Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919 is a colourful, epic history of the momentous days after World War I that saw U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the other Allied leaders reshape the world. Wilson arrived in France to referee the Paris Peace Conference only a month after the war's end, sailing into a French port past an avenue of British, U.S., and French battleships. The world, horrified by the millions of war deaths, was desperate for peace and embraced Wilson's call for a League of Nations and self-determination for all peoples. Enthusiastic European crowds greeted the U.S. president and posters bearing his face lined the streets.
It was a conference unlike any other in history: attendees redrew borders, rewrote international relations, and tried--unsuccessfully--to contain German militarism. It unfolded in the midst of massive social upheaval as Europeans awoke to widespread hunger and the inequalities of their age. In the pressure cooker of Paris, this bubbling stew of social and political forces boiled over, and many of Wilson's dreams were dashed. The world lives with the legacy of these few months. Not only did the conference produce a new map of Europe and the Middle East, it led to the infamous Versailles Treaty, often blamed for provoking World War II. MacMillan, a University of Toronto history professor, argues that the Allied leaders did their best, and to blame World War II on them is to absolve Hitler and his appeasers. MacMillan could perhaps be accused of bias: her great-grandfather was British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, one of the main political players in 1919. However, her book has been acclaimed by historians and has won Britain's richest nonfiction award. Complete with backroom intrigue, personal drama, and vivid characters, Paris 1919 is a vital contribution to our understanding of the last century and the current one. (Source: Amazon).
I picked this book up several years ago because I was fascinated to learn that political leaders of the day redrew borders. I didn't learn this in history class. I'm not sure why I waited so long to begin reading it other than I have so many books in my library that I have yet to read and this is just another one. I'm sure I will learn a lot from it.

It's great to feel like I'm making progress on my goals for the year.
Having goals helps keep me focussed on the things I want to do and gives structure to my time.
How about you dear reader? Are you making progress on your goals for 2012?

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22 comments:

LadyFi said...

Good luck with your goals!

That book looks interesting.

World Famous said...

This book is looking very interesting.
best of luck for you ambitions

Katy ~ said...

Reading history is not really one of my great interests, though I've found a series on the History Channel about the American Revolution that we have greatly enjoyed. Who knew that so many of our loved nation's founders were so flawed but in spite of it all still rose to the challenges of leadership. It amazes me that as a species, we still haven't evolved beyond our human flaws and shortcomings.

Great job on the knitting. It looks great!

Lonicera said...

History was such an important subject during the whole of my school years, and yet the world wars weren't even touched upon - incredible. I too have learned about it from reading books and watching TV documentaries. Your book sounds like a classic.
I'm really enjoying Dumas' Count of Montecristo - he really knew how to tell a story, and I haven't seen the film, so actually don't know what happens next.
I'm so envious of people who can knit. My teenage squares were either pearl or plain, but I couldn't manage both!!
Caroline

Gattina said...

I hate storms, fortunately you didn't have any troubles !

L. Neusiedler said...

well, sounds like a busy world! good luck with everything!

moni said...

The baby afghan is a wonderful work, I wish I can do the same. :)
Have a nice day
moni

Diane said...

That knitting looks good to me. I have never been a knitter, but I am happy to crochet all day long. Keep safe with those storms around. Diane

jewaicious said...

Nice shots of your world. I like the book, and have it myself on my TBR stack. Keep on knitting.

Linda said...

What a fascinating book! I've added it to my list of must-reads. I'm fascinated by the fact that what happened in that book had an impact on me and the way I live, all these years later. Thanks for the good recommendation.

Linda

Jessica said...

Getting snowed in is a great opportunity to get things done. I used to make mosaics when the snow kept me indoors in Colorado :)

Vores have said...

Hello Joyful.
Very nice carpet you have made.
Wishing you a good day - take good care of yourself.
Hugs Hanne Bente ♥

Eden said...

That is a beautiful baby afghan. Love the colour.

Fred Alton said...

Very happy to hear that you escaped the power outage that can accompay such storms as you had in your area. Your knitting looks great to me ... but I know practically nothing about knitting. Glad you are keeping up with your goals. It interests me to learn how men sat in their offices and "re-shaped" the world by drawing lines on a map. And people accepted those lines as their borders. Or is that why we are still having troubles? ☺

The Professor's Wife said...

I think blue would be really pretty to join the squares together! That book sounds very interesting - I love history!

Goals are going well - have been praying and reading my Bible everyday, and making and keeping other goals I haven't posted about- haha, it's in my blood :).

Pat said...

That will be one lucky baby to receive your wonderful hand-made baby afghan. It sounds so cozy being inside on a stormy day, knitting an afghan. My goal is to get my photos of my youngest son scanned into my computer. I've done that for my 2 older sons. It is very time-consuming, so I keep procrastinating. Another goal is to be faithful in my daily Bible reading instead of not doing it often.

eileeninmd said...

Staying inside during a storm would be a perfect time for reading your book. I wish you much success with your goals.

clairz said...

I think you are doing a wonderful job with your baby afghan. Please let us know how you like the book. I find that whenever I read one book about history, it sparks my interest in the whole period, and I end up reading more books on the subject.

Sivinden said...

Knitting and reading are nice hobbies:)

Pat said...

You mentioned that you forgot where I live----I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California east of Sacramento. All of CA was without rain for about 3 months until just recently.

Dimple said...

I have been knitting quite a bit, too. I think your baby afghan will be beautiful, whether you finish it with blue or cream.
Thanks for visiting!

EG CameraGirl said...

I very much like the look of the baby quilt! Very nice.

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