Woodland Enchantress Cross Stitch, Progress Report 9

Back on track for updates, hopefully! Here's a reminder of what the cross stitch is supposed to look like when it's done:

Here's what it looked like the last time I updated, in October 2018:

And here's what it looks like now:

Once again, I haven't been keeping up with tracking my hours. I think I'll try to get back to it, because it's actually pretty interesting to see how long it takes. I'm hoping to finish the actual stitching by July, which will be the 3-year mark since I began. After that will be the back stitching to give the picture details, but that's typically not as time or labor intensive.

One problem I've run into is that I've actually run out of floss for a few colors! That's never happened to me before. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to order extra floss from Dimensions, the makers of the kit, so I've had to buy more at a fabric store. The colors don't match exactly. I'm hoping it won't be noticeable.

I'm feeling excited to get this project finished some time this year!

Top Movies of the Year 2018

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During the Great Blog Burnout of 2018, I stopped keeping track of the movies I watched sometime in April. That means, not only do I not have any numbers to share with you, but I also don’t have great recall on what I actually did watch after April. I know that there weren’t a lot of movies that truly spoke to me this year. I remember feeling disappointed a lot, even by some of the year’s most popular movies (“Black Panther,” “A Star Is Born”). At one point, I basically stopped watching movies at all. I’m still watching more TV shows than movies right now.

Anyway, I’ve had to build my top 5 movies list from my incomplete “movies watched” list & my shaky memory, so there were probably better movies I watched last year that I’ve forgotten. (Or maybe not; if I forgot it, could it really have been that good?)

5. “I, Tonya” (2017), directed by Craig Gillespie

This biopic of controversial figure skater Tonya Harding features a lot of excellent performances. A friend (who turned the film off after 10 minutes) felt it was too sympathetic toward her, but I thought it did a good job of showcasing both the hardships of her life and how she created her own hardships.

4. “Coco” (2017), directed by Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina

An aspiring young musician, trying to understand his family’s ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead in search of his great-great-grandfather, who was a musician himself. This movie is visually stunning and deeply touching. Plus, the music is awesome. I think it could make even a stone cry.

3. “A Star is Born” (1954), directed by George Cukor

A famous actor helps a struggling singer hit the big time. I didn’t hate the 2018 version (both Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga were fantastic), but I think this version is so much better. The directing is far superior, and I feel like it just makes more sense, especially the “big thing” that happens toward the end. In this version, you could see the film leading to it. In the 2018 version, it kind of came out of nowhere. All comparisons aside, I LOVED this film.

2. “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957), directed by Billy Wilder

A sickly but prominent barrister attempts to save a charismatic man from a murder charge. This is one of the mostly masterfully played out stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. The twist ending completely blindsided me. Everyone is magnificent in this, but no one more so than Marlene Dietrich. Watch this and you’ll understand why she was a star.

1. “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

Superheroes saving the world from a bad guy, what’s so great about that? That’s pretty much every superhero movie. I guess I was living under a rock because I had no idea this was a 2-parter and I’ve never read the comics, so I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. Beyond that, this movie has action, great performances, humor, drama, stunning visual effects (I love how they do Dr. Strange’s magic), and a good soundtrack. It’s the only movie that I saw that came out in 2018 of which I can say, “I really loved that film!”

Top Books of the Year 2018

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Just like 2017, I had a difficult year reading-wise in 2018. I didn’t read many bad books, but at the same time, nothing genuinely "wowed" me. However, there were quite a few books I really enjoyed. Here are the five I enjoyed the most:

5. The Unexpected President by Scott S. Greenberger
Non-Fiction

I became interested in President Chester Arthur when I read a book about James Garfield’s assassination. Arthur was Garfield’s vice-president, which means he became president when Garfield was assassinated. Initially, when Arthur was chosen as Garfield’s veep, he was a “machine” man, deep in the pockets of the Republican party’s powerful ruling class. Garfield was not; he was a reformer. Many expected that Arthur would follow the machine’s orders when he unexpectedly became president. Instead, he chose to honor Garfield by continuing many of his policies. I was interested to learn what prompted this change of heart. I can’t say that this book truly answered this question (it is perhaps unanswerable; Arthur ordered much of his personal papers destroyed upon his death) but it was still an excellent biography of a little-remembered President.

4. Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuściński
Non-Fiction

An in-depth look at the rise and fall of the last shah of Iran. This is the second book of Kapuściński’s I’ve read. There are two things that I really love about him. The first is his ability to write compelling, informative non-fiction that includes beautiful, vivid language. I often find myself moved by him & have even copied down passages to re-read at a later date. The second thing I love is that so much of it is written based upon his personal experience. A Polish journalist during the time that Poland was ruled by the USSR, he covered some of the most turbulent times in modern African history (1950s onward). A truly fascinating author that deserves more recognition in the USA.

3. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
Fantasy Fiction

Set in the 1850s, a young man still recovering from a life-altering injury is sent to Peru by the British East India Company. His quest is to find a grove of cinchona trees and take cuttings, so that Britain can save money by growing its own trees. This is important, as quinine, a drug that treats malaria, comes from cinchona bark, and Britain is deeply mired in India, where malaria is rampant. This book is full of both mystery and mysticism while also including lots of interesting details about Peru. It’s a fantasy that somehow doesn’t feel like a fantasy. After I finished it, I read online that it’s considered a prequel to another of Pulley’s works. Being unfamiliar with her other work didn’t impact my enjoyment of this book in the slightest.

2. River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Fantasy Fiction

Set in the 1890s, this novel asks he question: What would have happened if, in the early 19th century, the U.S. government had imported hippos into its marshlands to be bred as an alternative meat source? The answer is: nothing much good. When a wronged man is hired to do something about the hippo problem, he assembles a rag-tag team to help him finish the deal. This slim book is inventive. I’m amazed by how Gailey was able to build such a rich world in so few words. I really enjoyed the characters, and was particularly pleased by the inclusion of a non-gendered person. I thought it was a fast-paced, fun romp (it’s also quite violent). I enjoyed it so much that I was genuinely surprised to discover online that others don’t feel the same way.

1. The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan
Non-Fiction

Thomas Meagher may not be well-known today, but he was extremely popular in his time. Born in 1823 to a wealthy Irish family, he suffered under the oppressive British rule of the time despite that wealth. After taking part in one of Ireland’s many unsuccessful revolutions, he was exiled to Tasmania, which he later escaped. He then made his way to America, where he became a famous orator before jumping in to command one of the fiercest Union brigades of the Civil War. After the war, he moved to Montana and unexpectedly became one of its first governors. All of this before his mysterious death at the age of 43. Timothy Egan is hands down, without question, one of the finest non-fiction authors alive. I’ve never read a single one of his books that hasn’t been interesting, informative, and thoroughly engaging. This one, however, is definitely a highlight. Don’t skip out on it - give non-fiction a chance!

Top Songs of the Year 2018

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In no particular order, and with little commentary, out of all the songs I downloaded in 2018, here are the 5 that I listened to the most.

This year, I’ve been into synthesizer music in a way I never was before (I blame “Stranger Things” for triggering 80s nostalgia in me). I love how moody and slow this is (plus all of GUNSHIP’s videos are super cool). Warning: although it's in claymation, this video is violent:

Getting to see them in concert reminded me of my love for Toad & how comforting I find Glen Phillips’s voice. It also introduced me to some of their more recent work, including this song:

I love this peppy little missive about (in my opinion) the insecurities of relationships:

“Out of the darkness, into the light… I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive.”

Discovered this Montreal-based band (and also Hot As Sun above) while watching the show “Killjoys.” I’m really loving all their work. In this particular song, her voice reminds me of Stevie Nicks: