And Sunday night

* First sleeve of Raven is done, and second begun, just enough to be comfortable for working on while I invigilate an exam tomorrow. (I'm excited to think this may be done soon: there's minimal finishing, just putting the sleeves in and working a collar on it)

* Decided to start a new book. I finished "Death in the Tunnel" (Miles Burton) last night. It was a good mystery. I kind of guessed "who done it," but I didn't guess the why. There are a lot of twists and turns to the story and it's generally pretty well written - and it does, in a way, transport one to that middle-class between-the-wars British world.

I've decided to try to intersperse my finishing-up of "The War that Ended Peace" (because, darn it, I am going to finish it this time) with "Moonfleet," which is an older (First published 1898) YA historical thriller - about smugglers in a Cornish (? I think) town, and apparently there is a mystery and pirates - and it's the kind of fantastical thing I probably need to read right now, what with the fact that it seems every bit of news programming is 55 minutes of each hour spent promoting the next debate).

I probably need to read more fantastical novels. I certainly have enough on the shelf - the full Dark is Rising sequence (which has the added appeal for me of being a "Good beats evil" story) and the various Rosemary Sutcliff Roman novels (e.g., "The Eagle of the Ninth") and a recently-purchased YA historical novel about Alessandra Giliani, who is thought to have been the first female anatomy professor. (It looked interesting to me....it's a used copy bought online). Part of the reason I enjoy Golden Era detective fiction so much is it takes me to "a different place" and certainly the Cornish coast in the late 1700s, or ancient Roman Britain, or 14th Century Italy are "different places."

On some level, it helps me break out of the one-inch picture frame I get my head stuck in, where the bad junk going on in our world has always been going on and always will be going on, and that people are mostly depraved, and they don't make an effort to be better or kinder. (This is also a big reason why I get myself to church every Sunday; the reminder that there are Better Things and, what's more, there's a reason to be better myself, and that striving to be a better person doesn't make me a chump and a loser, no matter how much some in the world might portray it as such).

* I finally watched "Mystery Men" from the beginning last night. A couple thoughts:
 - It's PG-13, which means most naughty words aren't there. Also there's comparatively little "real" gore, though there is a horrible doomsday machine that does nightmarish stuff to Captain Amazing.

- It's just a funny movie. Kind of dumb-funny in some ways, but I like things that are dumb-funny but fundamentally good-natured, which is what this movie is. The villains are mostly cartoonish rather than truly scary; one of the reasons they lose is that they are buffoons. (Though the Mystery Men do improve their skills considerably after working with The Sphinx)

- I really, really like the Shoveler's speech at the end, which also gets at some of his motivation behind becoming, well, the Shoveler - that there are a lot of ordinary decent people out there who go to work every day and do what needs to be done and keep the world running, and a lot of them don't ever see any real appreciation or perhaps even any real clear results in their jobs. (he is the Shoveler because he's a sewer worker who wants something more; he wants to be a hero)

- Blue Raja is still my favorite character but I do also like the Shoveler. And Invisible Boy.

- I do think this is an underrated movie. Maybe it came out at the wrong time, maybe it wasn't promoted in the right way, but it is interesting and funny and well-done in kind of a low-key way. There are a few gross gags I could have done without (the skunk getting romantic with The Spleen's leg didn't do a whole lot to advance the story) but in general it was a good movie.

*  Follow up on the 100% polyester sheets: they're fine on colder nights, but when we had a few warmer nights recently, they did get a little too warm. (However: I run hot and I "sleep hot" so other people's mileage may vary). I'm also concerned that they might pill easily. I changed them out last night for the cotton sheets again and I can tell I like the cotton ones better.

I definitely think that the "Clothesline Crisp" sheets (from Vermont Country Store) are the best I've ever had. Granted, I've never bought the $400 sheet sets some places sell (the Clothesline Crisp ones are about $90 for a set, which is expensive enough) but I like the feel of them and they wash up well and don't feel flimsy.

Actually, everything I've ever bought from Vermont Country Store has been good quality....I am going to ask for one of the wintertime knit dresses they are featuring for Christmas, because I was happy with the other dresses I bought from them.

* I have all but decided to go to Whitesboro one day of my break in addition to the meet-up with Laura in Longview. I don't get out enough, I don't get to have fun enough, I think. I might go Thursday even though Lovejoy's isn't serving on that day - I can probably swing over to Sherman for lunch afterward (and also do "big grocery" shopping).  That way, if I'm coming back late on Saturday, I don't feel like I have to stop and shop then.

I do want to look for some dk weight yarns; I don't have much and I recently got a book with some neat patterns in it - particularly a pair of mitts that would make a good Christmas present. (Yes, I am going to try to do some Christmas knitting this year).

Also, Whitesboro has a couple nice antique shops, and I've had a shortage of being able to go antiquing of late.