Yarn-Along #2: More Shirt & Two Books!

(Forgive the late post--long week)

Well, this week has proven to be just as crazy as other weeks, with a bit more spice added in for good measure.  My father had a hip replaced yesterday, and I'm second tier on-call for my paternal grandmother's medical alert necklace.  (For those who are unfamiliar with that technology, Grandma wears a necklace around her neck that she can push to reach on-call nurses.  If it's pushed and it's deemed not on accident, a family member is also called.  Dad is first on that line, followed by me [as I, out of the three local grandkids, can get away from work the easiest to help Grandma.])  Long story short, I'm bebopping between home, work, and the hospital where Dad's recovering and praying Grandma (who has dementia and is freaking out over Dad's surgery) doesn't have a spell of some kind.

My dad also had some complications yesterday involving his blood pressure, so I literally forgot to post this at all.  Dad's stable now and improving, which helps, but I hadn't slept worth beans for two solid days.  Last night became "Cherish crashed after dinner and never woke up again until her alarm went off."  Today also has me bearing a killer headache, so please forgive any crazy grammar errors.  I will re-proof this at a later date.

Ended up a bit blurry as I was working out lighting issues in our computer room; this is the best shot I got.

THE CRAFT:  I'm still on the same Playground Shirt for AB, though I've completely finished the body of the shirt and moved to a sleeve!  Behold, dear readers: my first attempt at the Magic Loop technique!  I didn't have DPNs of the right size for the sleeves, but I did have interchangeable circular needles and a tutorial on Magic Loop, so that's what we're doing.  I'm working the first decrease row tonight, so let's see how this works out.

One Sleeve done; blocked to test out borders' rolling issues.

**Later Edit**  Sleeve worked out, clearly: on to sleeve two!

I hate that scrap of yarn's color...at least it's great for scraps!

THE BOOK(S): I'm actually working through two separate books right now.  My current audio book is The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson.  It follows a woman named Tanya as she goes through life as a Grand Duchess (aka: princess) of Russia yet becomes a modest, Russian immigrant in her later years.  The elderly Tania (now going by Daria) tells her tale.  And, let me tell you, this is no innocent Russian grandmother telling this tale!  She's got fire in her, this Tania, and the story is hinting towards her doing greater things than just her birth-determined role of marrying a man of noble blood chosen by her father.  I was obsessed with Anastasia briefly as a girl, so this story of her sister is really catching my interest.

The other book I'm reading right now is The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff.  This story is weaving together the tales of a gay son of a convicted-of-murder 19th wife in 21st century Utah and Ann Eliza Young, a 19th wife who broke away from her polygamist cult and her husband.  A friend of mine recommended this book (and lent it to me), and I'm finally getting into the story.  It's a much slower read than some of the other books I've picked up, mostly as I can't exactly knit my shirt and read at the same time...and I've been determined to finish the shirt the past few days.