Aladdin im Zaubergarten

I really enjoyed the book, only the rhymes where sometimes rather difficult to read, for the lines occasionally don’t work out the way the should. Still I hope I managed to read it in a way that makes listening enjoyable.

As a short preview, here is my reading of the first chapter:

All the other chapters as well as the link to the text and everything else can be found on project’s catalog page: http://librivox.org/aladdin-und-die-wunderlampe-by-ludwig-fulda/

Lambton Top

I just love how it turned out. The pattern is great and the top actually fits. Well it’s a tiny bit too big around the shoulders and it tends slip down. Maybe I’ll add another couple of rows to the neckline to make it tighter.

Lambton Top

More pictures and all needle/yarn details are on my ravelry page: http://ravel.me/aravis83/ew1ku

Here is proof that the Easter bunny came by in spite of all the snow and bad weather.

Our second Easter bunny (created by mum) also brought a couple of Easter eggs… and Kitty the cat had a good long look at them.

The first is the Zerg hat I knit for K. Zerg is something from the video game Starcraft. I used duplicate stitches to get the logo onto the hat… to be honest, it was real pain to create the logo and it took me about twice as long as it took me to knit the hat itself.

Zerg Hat

And here is the hat I knit for myself. I love how it turned out and it matches my green winter coat perfectly. Knitting it was quite a challenge, but after a few mistakes everything went smoothly and I just love how fancy the pattern looks.

The only thing I’m not too happy about is that it fits quite snuggly (a lot like a beanie), instead of being slouchy as it was supposed to be. Oh well…

To match the hat, I worked a pair of really lovely red mittens with the same yarn. The pattern is simply great and the mittens are supereasy and fast to do… and they look just awesome.

Reading Mittens

I loved the pattern so much, that I knit a pair in white and green as a Christmas present for H. and a pair of black ones for N. (Pics are on ravelry or on flickr)

After all those mittens, which I knit before Christmas I needed a bit of change and so I knit a lovely dress for my cousin’s baby girl. The pattern is also from ravelry and I really enjoyed it, though it required about a million of purl stitches.

Gaia Dress

It’s a bit hard to see in the pic, but there are actually cute leaves all over the skirt of the dress and the edging is crocheted white lace.

And for the other baby in my family, which is due in a couple of weeks, I knit a blanket. The pattern is from rav., but I modified it quite a bit. For one I used a thinner yarn and smaller needles. The main part of the blanket is also quite different. I started by casting on 1 stitch and then increasing by knitting front to back (kfb) into the second stitch in every row. This creates a lovely garter stitch blanket.

Hap Blanket

The ediging I worked according to pattern with the only difference that I of course had a lot more stitches to knit.

And finally here is the project I’m working on at the moment… just a pair of simple socks for one of my uncles.

basic socks

All the patterns can be found on ravelry along with more pics, yarn and needle details. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/aravis83

Of all the books I read, the one I liked best probably was “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin (and all the sequels of course) closely followed by “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. Both A Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games were re-reads, but I liked them almost better the second time.

The book I hated most was “Als ich unsichtbar war” by Martin Pistorious. I only made it about halfway through for though the book is very touching at the beginning, it gets tedious and whiny towards the middle… and also very confusing. There is no real story that is told, just bits and pieces mixed together totally at random. Apart from that the writing style is awful and the book is just plain boring, boring, boring.

Here is the list of books I’ve read:

Finished books (including non LV audiobooks):
1. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
2. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
4. Mercy by Jussi Adler Olsen
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (audiobook)
6. Als ich unsichtbar war by Martin Pistorious: only got halfway through… at first it’s really interesting but then it gets boring, boring, boring
7. Deenie by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
8. Achtung Baby by Michael Mittermeier (commercial audiobook)
9. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
10. All unsere Liebe für Kate by Ben Harrington
11. Double Fudge by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
12. Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben
13. Ich habe den Todesengel überlebt by Eva Mozes Kor
14. Bed by David Whitehouse
15. Storm Front by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
16. Ugly by Constance Briscoe
17. Sing you home by Jodi Picoult
18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (audiobook)
19. Otherwise known as Shiela the Great by Judy Blume (commercial audiobook)
20. Mit der Liebe einer Löwin by Christina Hachfeld-Tapukai
21. Die weisse Massai by Corinne Hofmann
22. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
23. Zurück aus Afrika by Corinne Hofmann
24. Wiedersehen in Barsaloi by Corinne Hofmann
25. Geschichten für den allerliebsten Liebling by Rudyard Kipling
26. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
27. The house of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah
28. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
29. Ziemlich beste Freunde: Ein zweites Leben by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo (commercial audiobook)
30. The Internet is a Playground by David Thorne
31. Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
32. Das fliegende Klassenzimmer by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
33. Till Eulenspiegel by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
34. Die Schildbürger by Erich Kästner (commercial audiobook)
35. Zerbrechlich by Jodi Picoult (commercial audiobook)
36. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (audiobook)
37. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (commercial audiobook)
38. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (commercial audiobook)
39. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
40. Die purpurnen Flüsse by Jean Christophe Grange (audiobook)
41. Der Flug der Störche by Jean Christophe Grange (audiobook)
42. World without End by Ken Follett (audiobook)
43. Du fehlst mit, du fehlst mit by Kinna Gieth und Peter Pohl
44. Der Streik der Dienstmädchen by Gudrun Pausewang
45. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
46. Madeleine by Kate Mc Cann
47. House Rules by Jodi Picoult (audiobook)
48. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (audiobook)
49. Der Weihnachtsabend by Charles Dickens
50. Weihnachtsmärchen für Kinder by Luise Büchner (LV solo)
51. Deine Schritte im Sand by Anne-Dauphine Julliand
52. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (audiobook)
53. Ein falscher Traum von Liebe by Christine Birkoff
54. Mundtot – Wie ich lernte meine Stimme zu erheben by Maria Langstroff
55. The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud (audiobook)
56. The Snow Queen and Other Stories by Hans Christian Andersen (for LV)
57. Wie der Grinch Weihnachten gestohlen hat by Dr. Seuss

Those are just the dead tree copies and commercial/non LibriVox audiobook. The full list including all LV recording I listened to can be found here: https://forum.librivox.org/viewtopic.php?p=686149#p686149

And as the weekly poem at LV fits so nicely, here it is too. It is called A Song for a New Years Eve by William Cullen Bryant:

Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay‚—
Stay till the good old year,
So long companion of our way,
Shakes hands, and leaves us here.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One little hour, and then away.

The year, whose hopes were high and strong,
Has now no hopes to wake;
Yet one hour more of jest and song
For his familiar sake.
Oh stay, oh stay,
One mirthful hour, and then away….

The full text can be found here: http://archive.org/stream/thirtypoems01brya#page/34/mode/2up

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ…. (for full text click here)

…and most important Merry Christmas to you all!

The book is called “Weihnachtsmärchen für Kinder” by Luise Büchner (translated the title of the book means “Christmas stories for children”). As the title already suggests, the book consists of 9 fairy tales all centered around Christmas. The stories are all connected in one way or another by a frame story, in which a loving aunt tells them to her small niece and nephew – Mathilde and Georg – to shorten the time till the Christ Child finally comes.

Luise Büchner

»Liebe Tante,« sagte eines Abends, grade acht Tage vor Weihnachten, die kleine Mathilde, »du erzählst mir immer von dem Christkindchen, aber gar nichts von seiner Mama. Sage mir doch, wer sie gewesen ist und wo sie gewohnt hat.« »Nun, wenn du hübsch ruhig sitzen und zuhören willst und der Georg auch, dann will ich euch alles erzählen, was ich von dem Christkindchen, von seiner Mama, dem Knecht Nikolaus und dem Eselchen weiß.« (Zusammenfassung von zeno.org)

As I’ve already posted my reading the preface, here is my reading of the first chapter :

It’s a sweet little book with really cute stories and I enjoyed reading them. The only thing I found a bit strange – spoiler ahead – is that the Nikolaus is made out to be be the one who punishes bad children and also that he travels with the Christ Child. Oh and in some of the stories there is almost a bit too much morale, but apart from that the stories are very cute and fun to read.

Anyway here is the whole recording: http://librivox.org/weihnachtsmaerchen-fuer-kinder-by-luise-buechner/

Happy Listening and Merry Christmas!

Mr Snow 2012

Isn’t he a beauty? Unfortunately he had to borrow Mrs. Snow’s hat and as if that hadn’t been enough he had a slight accident later that very day… if I may add, not due to sloppy construction of course.

Soooo, after some “slight” repairs may I present the New Mr. Snow to you all:

New Mr. Snow 2012

Oh and here is proof that our cat actually ventures outside occasionally in winter.

Here is one of the poems I read for the collection. It’s called Weihnacht by Ernst von Wildenbruch:

Die Welt wird kalt, die Welt wird stumm,
der Winter-Tod zieht schweigend um;
er zieht das Leilach weiß und dicht
der Erde übers Angesicht –
Schlafe – schlafe

Du breitgewölbte Erdenbrust,
du Stätte aller Lebenslust,
hast Duft genug im Lenz gesprüht,
im Sommer heiß genug geglüht,
nun komme ich, nun bist du mein,
gefesselt nun im engen Schrein -
Schlafe – schlafe…..

The full text of the poem can be found here: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/190/3

And here are all the other poems, stories and fairy tales for all the days leading up to Christmas: http://librivox.org/adventskalender-2012-by-various/

Happy 1. December and have fun listening!