Keeping busy

I haven't been stitching much lately. Not really sure why. I'm in a bit of a funk with it getting dark so early. I am thinking about getting one of those lights that simulates sunlight. I have been working lots of Sudoku's and reading. One that I started last night is pretty interesting. It's called Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea. It follows the lives of four young (upper-class) Saudi women as they try to balance modern Western notions of womanhood with the traditional Islamic view. Not the best book I've ever read, but not too shabby either.
As for the best book I've ever read... Well, at least in my top 5 best books ever read... That would be Trials of the Earth: The Autobiography of Mary Hamilton (edited by Helen Dick Davis). Sadly, the book is difficult to come by; I think it might even be out of print. Nevertheless, this book, if you can get a copy, will have you hooked at the first page. This book is the story of Mary Hamilton, who was born in Missouri in 1867, and her experiences in the Mississippi Delta. She was married at age 18 (while living in Arkansas) to a man 12 years older than she (and who had a "mysterious" past that he never revealed). She tells of cooking for dozens of men at the various lumber camps her husband worked at, as well as raising her own brood of kids. I think she was the first white woman settler in the area we now know as Parchman. The NYT book section has a good write-up of the book if you're interested in knowing more.
W's favorite book these days is Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, by Al Perkins. It's hilariously illustrated (by Eric Gurney) with monkeys that look like beatniks. The book is actually mine from childhood, so it's sort of worn, but W doesn't care.
It got down below freezing last night. My impatiens finally kicked the bucket. I'll pull them out of their pots this weekend; it's too depressing to look out on the porch and see their little wilted stems.