WIP Wednesday, Quarantine Edition 1

Due to the Coronavirus, I've been out of school for the past week and a half.  I've been using this time to bounce between hobbies: reading, scrapbooking, cross stitching, etc.  Since I have all this time off, I also decided this would be a wonderful time to work on some of the larger projects that I've wanted to do for a while, but just haven't had the time for.  Of course, one of my biggest projects right now is my Disney World Scrapbook, but I'll save that for another post.  I also decided to embark on my largest cross stitching project to date as well.

Before getting into my project, I should not that I started a large, full coverage project in the past, but it just wasn't clicking with me.  I hope to go back to it one day.  The project I started is a stained glass version of Minnie Mouse (keeping with that all important Disney theme that seems to consume my life right now).  I bought the pattern on Etsy a long time ago, and I even bought all the supplies to make it, but I never actually got around to starting it.  From the fact that I had all the supplies and I had all this time at home, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

What I like about this pattern is the fact that it's a little more complicated with many different colors, but, at the same time, the colors are all group together, which means I don't have to switch colors all the time to blend colors together (I hope that makes sense).  In short, it's a way to grow my cross stitching skills without doing something I'm totally not prepared to do yet.

So, where exactly am I in the cross stitching process?  I've only been working on this for about a week, and I feel like I've made a decent amount of progress.  While some cross stitchers may be horrified, I don't limit myself to the page I'm working on for the pattern.  What I mean but that is, Minnie's head, for example, was printed on multiple pages of the pattern (the pattern is 3 pages total).  Rather than stop and pick up again for just a few more stitches that happened to be on the next page, I kept going, thereby completing all of Minnie's head.  I know, I'm making it more complicated for myself, but, I actually don't think I am.  There are parts of the pattern that only have three or four stitches on a page, so I save those until I see the rest of the stitches in that color in that area, and I do them all at the same time.  It works in my mind.

When I first started this project, I struggled a lot with counting stitches and making it all work.  Now that I've been working on it for a week, it's definitely become easier, and I haven't been messing up nearly as much (although now I'm afraid that I've jinxed myself).

I know with the exception of Minnie's head, it's hard to see what it's supposed to be.  Trust me, I feel the same way; I keep having to check back with a picture of what the final product looks like to make sure I'm doing everything correctly.  I am.  I know that as long as I follow the pattern, everything will work out.

Like I said before, this project is quite big, at least for me.  It's going to be about 10 inches wide and 13 inches tall.  While that may not seem big, it's a full coverage project, which means all of that is going to be covered with stitches, you won't be able to see any of the aida fabric underneath.  It's a lot.  I've included a picture of what the project looks like on the full piece of aida fabric so you can see what I've done and how much work I have left to do.  It's a lot.  My goal is to finish this sometime this summer, get it framed and enter it in the county fair.  I've never entered anything in the fair before, and I know I haven't been cross stitching for very long, but I'm excited to see if it gets anything.  Even if I don't, it will be fun to know that something I worked incredibly hard on is on display at the county fair for everyone to see.

This project is definitely a labor of love, but I'm loving ever minute of it!  The person who made this pattern made a whole bunch of other stained glass style cross stitch patterns (some Disney, some not), and I really can't wait to start another one, once I get through this one.

Check back next week to hear a little bit more about my progress and see how much I've gotten done over the course of the week!

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My Thoughts on "Circe" and Discussion Questions

I have to admit, I was extremely excited to read this book.  Unfortunately, it simply didn't live up to the hype for me, and I thought it was mediocre.  Also, despite the fact that I've been stuck inside for a week, it still took me a long time to get through it.  Someone on Goodreads described it as Wicked, only with Greek mythology.  I have to agree with this comparison.

This book focuses on Circe, daughter of the god Helios.  At first, Circe lives a fairly unremarkable life.  No one in her family is particularly fond of her, they see her as plain and ordinary among the other immortals in her life.  All of that changes, however, when she discovers she's a witch.  Fearful of her power, and as a punishment for turning Scylla into a monster, Zeus banishes her to the island of Aiaia.

Once on Aiaia, Circe hones in on her witchcraft abilities.  This is probably where most people know her, especially if you read The Odyssey in high school.  Banished to her island, Circe amuses herself by turning men into pigs and keeping them prisoner on her island to keep her company with the other animals around her.

Throughout her life, Circe finds herself drawn back into the world of the immortals, including an encounter with the Minotaur, dealing with gods such as Hermes and Athena and meeting famous Greeks like Daedalus and Odysseus.

I always thought I had a pretty good understanding of Greek mythology, but, after reading this book, that's definitely not the case.  It's far more complicated.  Thankfully, Madeline Miller includes a list of characters, but, unfortunately, it's in the very back of the book, so I didn't realize it was there until I was done reading.  It definitely would have been nice to know about as I read the book.

I wish I could explain why I didn't like this book, but I can't.  I didn't think it was awful, but it wasn't as amazing as other people were saying either; I thought it was alright.  Miller definitely did her research, which was impressive, but the book just didn't grab my attention.  I have to admit that fantasy isn't really my thing, and I only dabble a little bit in ancient history books, so it was a little outside my comfort zone, but it's not the type of book I would normally bypass completely.  Other people absolutely love the book, and it definitely had some good moments, so if you like Greek mythology, you might enjoy it more than I did.

Now, I don't really have a lot to say about this book or anything that will really be spoilers.  Some of my discussion questions, however, definitely have spoilers, so if you haven't read the book or want to avoid spoilers, this is where you should probably stop reading.

Even though I wasn't particularly fond of the book, I did write some book club questions.  If you're looking for something unique to read for book club, this would be a good book to read.

1. How did Circe's treatment as an outcast shape her personality?
2. Did the fact that the gods are immortal cause their hedonistic lifestyle?
3. How did the fact that the gods didn't understand pain, suffering or death lead to problems?
4. Did Circe's neglect lead to her interest in mortals?
5. Do you agree with Circe's decision to turn Glaucus?
6. Do you agree with Aeetes that Circe's attempt to punish Scylla backfired?
7. Given how she was treated, was Circe's exile really a punishment?
8. Did witchcraft or exile have a bigger impact on Circe?
9. Daedalus says to Circe, "a golden cage is still a cage?" (143).  Was Circe in a golden cage?
10. Why didn't power go to Circe's head like it did her siblings?
11. Could Circe be considered a feminist?
12. How did the fact that she's a woman create problems for Circe?
13. Was Circe as ruthless as her siblings?
14. Did Circe not tell Odysseus about her past because she ashamed?
15. Do you blame Telegonus for wanting to leave?
16. Circe said endurance had always been her virtue.  Do you agree?
17. Circe tells Telemachus, "You are not your blood" (308).  Could she follow the same advice?
18. Circe equates the gods to children "clapping their hands and shouting for more" instead of the parents they pretend to be (328).  Is this an accurate observation?
19. Do you agree with Telemachus' decision to turn down Athena and choose a life of obscurity?
20. Why was it easier for Circe to tell Telemachus about her past than Telegonus?
21. Odysseus said to Penelope about Circe that "he had never met a god who enjoyed their divity less" (380).  Is this an accurate observation?
22. Does Circe's decision to become mortal surprise you?

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My Thoughts on "Daisy Jones and the Six" and Discussion Questions

What's this?  Two blog posts in two days and I finished a book for the first time in about a month?  I know, this is complete madness, but, like I said yesterday, I'm really trying to get back on track with things.

Daisy Jones and the Six was voted best historical fiction novel of 2019 on Goodreads, but it never really called out to me.  I thought the plot sounded somewhat interesting, but not enough to actually get me to read the book.  Then I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which is by the same author, and I completely fell in love with the book.  I knew I had to read Daisy Jones, even if it takes place way before my time and deals with music that isn't really my style.

The book tells the story of the fictional band, Daisy Jones and the Six, and its rise to fame.  Then, at the peak of their stardom, they broke up, right in the middle of a world tour.  That was it, the band never performed together again.  Similar to Evelyn Hugo, this is the band's first time baring their souls and telling the rest of the world what happened between them.

What makes this book unique is its format.  It's written as an oral history.  That's right, the entire book is written as one big, long interview.  At first, that was a little off-putting to me; I get enough of reading stuff like that for grad school.  Once I started reading, however, I couldn't imagine the book written any other way.  The way Reid wrote the book, it felt organic, like you actually listening to an interview on VH1 or MTV.  I imagine that the book could have been written in a more traditional format, but it would have lost a little of its authenticity.  One thing I really enjoyed about the book were the inconsistencies that came with oral history and recounting events forty or so years after the fact.  At one point, one member of the band said, "We finished recording our album in May", then another said, "We finished our album in November."  That shows you the problems with memory and the fact that everyone remembers things a little bit differently.  There weren't a ton of inconsistencies like that in the book, but there were enough that you definitely noticed.

As much as I loved this book, there was something that bothered me immensely.  It's going to sound petty and weird, but just bear with me.  So this book is about a band, and Reid even goes so far as to include lyrics from their top selling album, Aurora, in the back of the book.  What I wanted was to be able to hear the songs performed.  It's one thing to read the lyrics (they're pretty much poems), but it's another thing to experience the songs with the instrumentals, the various voices, etc.  I wish they got together a band that had the same sound as Daisy Jones and the Six to record all the songs as an album.  I know the book is being made into a tv mini series, so maybe then we'll get a taste of what the music sounds like.

That's pretty much all I can talk about without giving away too many spoilers.  So, as always, if you haven't read the book or want to avoid spoilers, this is probably where you should stop reading.  If you're using this book for a book club and need discussion questions, those can be found at the very bottom of this post, but they might contain spoilers too.

There isn't a whole lot I want to talk about in relation to spoilers, just my thoughts on the end, and a little bit about Daisy's relationship with Billy.

First of all, at first I thought the ending was extremely abrupt; it just stopped without warning pretty much.  When I stepped back and thought about it, however, that's how the band ended.  They were in the middle of their tour, and they just stopped after one performance, that was it.  They had just released a record breaking album, they were in the middle of a world tour, and everything fell apart in the blink of an eye.  It was supposed to feel sudden because it was.  I imagine their fans were confused as to what happened, and so to help convey that in the book, Reid ended things pretty abruptly as well.  She did a great job of leaving the reader wanting more, just like the fans probably did as well.

What did bother me more than the abrupt ending was Daisy and Billy's relationship.  It felt very awkward, and I couldn't really get a good sense of it.  It was like, sometimes they hated each other and wouldn't even talk to each other, other times they were head over heels in love in this star-crossed type of way.  It was weird, and, honestly, it gave me whiplash.  It also left me feeling conflicted, because Billy obviously loved Camilla and his daughters more than anything, so I couldn't figure out what drew him to Daisy.  She really was like a lightning rod for him, and no matter how much he tried to stay away, he just couldn't.  I could never figure out why, although I feel like it had something to do with the fact that she reminded him of himself, and he wanted to fix her.  I don't know, I'm just speculating here.

Minus those tiny little issues, I really did enjoy this book.  I thought the format was unique and worked extremely well given the content.  I also thought that Taylor Jenkins Reid once again showed that she's a force to be reckoned with when it comes to writing strong women in history.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.  Whatever it is, you can rest assured that I'll buy it and blog about it after I read it.

I didn't say this before, but this is actually a book one of my book clubs picked.  Unfortunately, I have plans the day of that meeting, so I can't go.  Oh well, such is life.  This was still a book I wanted to read, so I started it a little early, but it took me a while to read.  I did create a list of book club questions, so if you're using this book for your book club, feel free to use some of my questions below.

1. How did Daisy's childhood allow her to become famous?
2. What impact did Camilla have on the band?
3. Why was this band able to make it big when so many others failed?
4. How did the inconsistencies throughout the band's memory add to the story?
5. Why did Billy struggle the most with drugs and the rock and roll lifestyle?
6. Daisy said she had no idea what it meant to truly suffer (page 80).  Is that true?
7. Daisy refers to herself as "the cool new jeans" while Billy is "the pair you've had for years" (page 88).  Is this an accurate description of them when they first started working together?
8. In what ways was the band more about Billy than Daisy?
9. What were the major turning points in the band's history that put them on the road to success?
10. How did miscommunication and misunderstandings lead to problems in the band?
11. How did Daisy change the dynamic of the band?
12. How did Billy and Daisy bring out the best and the worst in each other?
13. Why do you think Karen didn't want the band to know about her and Graham?
14. Did the drug use have a positive or negative effect on Daisy's song writing and singing?
15. At what point did Daisy lose control of her life?
16. Did Daisy care that her life was spiraling out of control?
17. How did the fact that Billy and Daisy were "the Chosen Ones" cause stress among members of the band?
18. Daisy said about her marriage to Niccolo, "I regret that marriage, but I do not regret that dress" (236).  How does this sum up her personality?
19. Did Eddie take things too personally?
20. Did the size of the band contribute to its problems?
21. Did Karen make the right choice having an abortion?
22. Was Daisy jealous of Camilla?  If so, why?
23. Was the band's break up caused by one event or a perfect storm of smaller events?
24. Did Daisy leave the band for herself or for Billy?
25. Were you surprised that Eddie stayed in the band as long as he did?
26. Why did Julia decide to write the story of the band?
27. Would this book work if written in a more traditional format?
28. This book is going to be made into a television mini series.  Do you think it will translate well into that format?
29. What drew Billy to Daisy in the first place?
30. What would their relationship have been like had Billy and Daisy gotten together?

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Date Night: "Onward" Edition

I know I haven't posted in a while, things got a little chaotic for me, but I'm trying to get back on track with things now.  So, that includes more blog posts.  Last night, Bryan and I saw Pixar's latest movie, Onward, and we both enjoyed it.

Let's start with our dinner beforehand.  I normally just gloss over this part, but we had to change up our routine a little bit (we're creatures of habit when it comes to certain things).  Normally when we go to the movies in Rockville we go to Gordon Biersch for dinner beforehand.  Unfortunately, Gordon Biersch closed down, so we're both pretty disappointed with that.  Instead, we opted to try World of Beer, which is right across the street from the movie theatre.  We'd been there before, and thought it was alright, so we decided to give it one more chance.  I'm glad we did, as it was much better this time around.  Since we got there at the tail end of happy hour, we opted for more mainstream beers for our first round.  I got Alagash White, which I love but don't drink too often.  For my second beer, I got Secret Llama Blueberry Wheat Ale.  Now, my mom gets this blueberry beer from Rhode Island, and she absolutely loves it, but whenever I drink it, I don't taste the blueberry.  That was not the case with Secret Llama.  It had this wonderful blueberry taste, and they even added some blueberries to the glass.  I would definitely drink it again.  In fact, I think I'm going to see if I can get my hands on it at home.  I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy fruit-flavored beers.

One of the reasons we enjoyed going to Gordon Biersch so much was the giant pretzel, although they got rid of the bacon sauce and changed up the cheese sauce lately, so it wasn't as big of a hit with us.  World of Beer has a giant pretzel too, so we decided to get it.  I don't like mustard, but Bryan said the mustard was really good.  When he tried the cheese, however, he immediately fell in love.  It was beer cheese, which is always good in my book, but, this time, it had a little kick to it, a little like queso, but it was beer cheese.  The kick wasn't overwhelming, just every once in a while you'd get some of it, and it added something different to the sauce.  Needless to say, we've found a pretty good replacement for Gordon Biersch for when we go to the movies in Rockville.

After a delicious dinner, we headed to the movie theatre.  There were so many trailers.  I mean, I expected quite a few, just not half an hour's worth.  Oh, and a short with Maggie from The Simpsons (Bryan pointed out that there was no talking during the short, as the voice actors cost a ton of money).  It was a cute little short where Maggie meets a boy she has a crush on at the park, and, of course, nothing goes as planned, especially when Homer's suddenly put in charge of taking her to the park.  It was cute, although I found it interesting that they had a Simpson's short during a Disney movie, but that's not my decision to make.  It could be worse, it could be Family Guy.

Okay, enough rambling, now to talk about the movie.  For those of you who don't know what Onward's about, it follows two brothers, Barley and Ian, who are elves but live in a world where technology has replaced magic.  So, you have all the mystical creatures you'd expect in a fantasy movie, but they're doing day to day jobs just like us normal people.  On Ian's 16th birthday, they're given a gift from their father, who died from some illness before Ian was born; it's a magic wand and a spell that can bring their father back for twenty-four hours.  Of course, the boys are thrilled, especially Ian, who never actually met his father.  As can be expected, things don't go exactly as planned, and only half of their dad is brought back (from the waist down).  There's the possibility of getting another one of the gems needed to power the magic wand to bring their dad back, so they set off on a quest.  For Barley, this is his dream.  He's obsessed with role playing this game that's based on what life was like for his world before they stopped using magic.  Therefore, he sees himself as an expert on quests as magic, although he has a habit of acting like a fool, so no one takes him seriously.  His heart is always in the right place though.

When I first saw the teaser for this movie, without really knowing the plot, I thought it looked amazing.  I mean, you have fantasy creatures who have lost the ability to do magic, fly, etc., just living normal, boring lives.  When I saw the first full length trailer, I thought it looked alright, but I was definitely less excited about it, as I didn't really like the plot.  I still wanted to see it though, and I'm definitely glad we did.  I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and Bryan seemed to enjoy it a lot as well.

One thing I really liked about this movie was how these fantastical creatures have lost the ability to do magic as they became more reliant on technology.  It honestly reminded me a lot of the world today.  With technology, people have forgotten how to sew, cook, make things with their hands, etc.  At the end of the movie, however, there was a definite shift as characters wanted to get back to their roots and learn what had been forgotten over time.  This also reminds me of today.  Quite a few times in my 7th period especially, they get upset because they're not being taught how to sew, cook, build things, etc.  They tell me that they want to learn that.  One student even said, "I heard there used to be a class where they taught you that stuff.  Why did they get rid of it?"  I couldn't agree with them more.  Yes, we live in a society driven by technology, so those skills are important, but that doesn't mean we have to forgo learning how to do things with our hands as well.  Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.

When it comes to the movie, I also loved the focus on brotherly relationships.  Lately (meaning the past 20 years or so), Disney has really focused on sisterly relationships, with the only exception being Brother Bear, which is an amazing movie.  Onward focuses on the relationship between Barley and Ian as they try to navigate life together and even mourn their father's death together.  What I enjoyed most about that was the fact that both Barley and Ian weren't afraid to show their emotions; they cried, got angry and laughed with each other.  The focus of the movie wasn't really about getting their dad back for 24 hours but rather the growth and evolution of their relationship.

I want to talk more about this movie, but I'm worried it'll get into some spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie or don't want to read spoilers, this is probably where you should stop reading.

That ending was rough for me, I'm not going to lie.  There were definitely some moments that hit close to home for me, and I think it's just the timing of it all.  Had I seen this movie a year ago, it would have been sad, but I would have been fine.  With my dad passing, however, it all hit very close to home.  I think Bryan sensed that, as he kept squeezing my hand during certain parts. 

The scene where Barley talks to Ian about how he didn't go say goodbye to their dad in the hospital was difficult for me.  I almost didn't go see my dad that last day in the hospital before he took a turn for the worse, but now I'm so glad I did (we didn't know that that was his last day at the time).  I can understand where Barley was coming from, though, as it can be incredibly difficult to see a loved one like that, but it can also be incredibly difficult to live with the guilt of not saying goodbye.  That's difficult enough for an adult, so imagine how difficult it must be for a child.

I do have to say, I'm glad Ian gave Barley that chance to say goodbye.  How they did it in the movie was perfect too.  I thought it was great that you didn't hear specifically what they talked about but instead had Barley recount it later, it gave him a chance to show what was important to him from that conversation.

The other part of the end that I loved was when Ian realized that while he didn't have his dad with him to grow up, he still had Barley, who stepped up and filled in that roll early on, despite the fact that he was young when his dad died.  It was a wonderful moment when Ian realized that he had a male figure to look up, and while it might not have been his dad, it was still someone who loved him and cared for him immensely. 

Overall, I thought that this was a fantastic Disney movie.  It captured the whimsicalness of Disney films and the importance of family in a way that hasn't been done before.  Even though it's not doing as well in the box office as people anticipated, I still hope this isn't the last we've heard from Ian and Barley.

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