Location, Location, Location

Today at work I helped three people who had never been to Panera before. This happens all the time, since ours is a new location, but it was odd that all of these people specifically mentioned that they'd never been because they live far away from a Panera and just happened to be in the neighborhood.

It got me thinking about my hometown and how I felt as if I was ages away from everything. It always seemed as if everywhere worth being was at least half an hour away. It's funny because in my hometown with "nothing" in it, we had four fast food restaurants, six or seven sit-down restaurants, two grocery stores, and a super Wal-Mart. Nothing indeed.

Now that I live in the Cincinnati area, I have access to anything I could want within a 15 minute radius. It's amazing, but sometimes I forget just how convenient and special that is. Honestly, I take it for granted. Next time I think to myself I wish I didn't have to go so far for X, I'm going to stop and appreciate just how close that actually is and how lucky I am to live an area with so much, and that I'm fortunate enough that nothing is holding me back from enjoying everything it has to offer.

Sweater Decision

Well, I have finally decided on a sweater: the "Enrobed Wrap" from Amy Herzog's book Fit to Flatter.


Isn't it super cute? Plus, I think any small sizing issues I make can be compensated for with the tie on the side. Since this will be my first sweater, I can foresee many sizing issues happening. But you better believe I'm going to swatch like crazy to avoid as many of them as possible.

Now I just have to figure out what yarn I'm going to use. I'm thinking KnitPicks' "Wool of the Andes" since it's cheap and comes in any color I could want. Of course, having that many color selections isn't helping me choose any faster. What lovely decision making problems to have!

The Cave

Logan bought a subscription to PlayStation Plus about a year ago and we've gotten a ton of games from it. Most of them are things I'm not really interested in, so I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the list. But recently, The Cave caught my attention.

Image from gamingbolt.com

Basically, you play as three characters at a time, each of which has a bit of darkness in his/her past. Over the course of the game, you discover bits of their story by playing through puzzles and finding cave paintings that show a piece of whatever secret they're hiding. It's a fun puzzle/platformer that moves quickly and is quite charming, in a dark kind of way.

I played through with the scientist, the time traveler, and the monk. All of the stories were pretty good, but the monk really got to me. You see, the other two were dark because they centered on slightly evil choices. I won't spoil anything, but trust me, they were occurrences that everyone would say "of course you wouldn't just do that."

But the monk was different. His dark secret came about because he wanted to be something that he simply wasn't. He tried so hard to change himself, but just wasn't good at what he desired to do. His story hit me hard, because it touched upon insecurities I know that  I carry and that I suspect many other people carry as well. What if we're not actually good at what we're trying to do?

I, for example, feel that way about my writing. What if I'm trying for naught? Am I secretly the monk, doing my best for an ultimately hopeless goal?

I sure hope not.

Help! I Can't Stop Watching Murder, She Wrote

Lately, I've found myself in a loop of little creativity. I get home from work and all I want to do is lay down for a minute to get off my feet, have some tea, and watch an episode of Murder, She Wrote. One episode turns into many episodes and, before I know it, it's bedtime.

Because of this, I haven't had much knitting to share. I'm still working on Logan's Magic Socks, but grey stockinette doesn't make for the most exciting pictures. I'm also searching for a the perfect sweater pattern, which has been easier than I expected. In fact, it's been too easy. Now I have to choose between all the brilliant sweater patterns I've found!

In an attempt to boost my creative output, both in knitting and writing, I'm going to blog every day for an entire week, just to see what happens. So I'll see you again tomorrow. Until then

How to Be a Good Customer

Working in the food service industry, and particularly in a restaurant with a drive-through, has taught me quite a bit about what happens behind the scenes of the places I eat. It has also taught me some things that separate good customers from bad customers. So far, I've worked mostly in the drive-through, so most of my observations will be taken from that standpoint. With that in mind, I present

How to Be a Good Customer:

1. Know What You Want: You don't have to know exactly what you want, but you should have a general idea to work with. If you don't know what you want, that's ok too, but be willing to stand to the side while you think about it. Don't hold up the line by trying to think at the register.
2. Have Your Money Ready: This is more of a drive-through problem. If the line has stopped and you have some time in your car, pull your money out. Can't remember the exact total? Just have your wallet ready.
3. Correct Mistakes Gently: If we make a mistake with your order, let us know so we can fix it. But please don't raise your voice or start throwing blame around. Sometimes things just slip through the cracks during all the hustle and bustle of preparing food, especially during the lunch rush. 
4. Leave Yourself Plenty of Time: If you're in a rush, we can't make an exception to get you out the door quicker. It's first come, first serve. Even if the person in front of you has a large or complicated order. This rule is especially true if you are placing a large or complicated order. It's going to take longer than normal.
5. Want, Don't Need: Admittedly, this one doesn't have a whole lot to do with being a good or bad customer, but it's a pet peeve of mine. You want your combo meal with an extra large frozen fancy drink -- you don't need it. Say so.

Creepy Kids, Awesome Princesses, and a Woman Who Knows Her Worth

I've been getting a lot of reading done recently, and wanted to share with you some of the books I've finished recently. All of these reviews are cross-posted from my Goodreads account.


Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Professor Henry Higgins is a phoeneticist who prides himself on both his mastery of the English language and his ability to teach others to speak properly as well. When he runs into a flower girl named Liza Doolittle who has an extremely thick Cockney accent, he bets his friend Colonel Pickering that he can pass her off as a lady within six months.

Review
I wasn't crazy about Pygmalion, but I liked it well enough, so it gets a solid three stars from me. I was expecting the story to be more about the process of Liza's transformation from flower girl to lady, but in actually it focused on the way she was treated by others.

That being said, I think it's fascinating to look at how Liza views herself and her worth, and that she's so conscious of the importance of how others view her. She flat-out says as much to Pickering towards the end of the play. So often women are portrayed as self-deprecating and humble to the point of shaming themselves, but not so with Liza. From the very beginning she holds herself in high esteem, and gives Higgins the what-for when he doesn't see her as worth much.

I am bothered by the fact that Higgins never apologizes for the way he objectifies and uses Liza, but I'm bothered even more so by his lack of even really seeing the problem. Liza explains how she feels to Higgins, but he just doesn't get it, saying that he treats everyone the same, so what does it matter? He has a deeply ingrained sense of self-importance and righteousness that got under my skin for the entire story and left me fuming when he never seemed to feel bad about any of it. But, that's life I guess, and it probably would have felt inauthentic if he had changed.

I would recommend this if you're looking for:
*a short read
*something that's referenced a lot
*a strong female character who steals the spotlight



Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Jacob is a 16 year old boy who has lived with his grandfather's stories about monsters and super-human children for his entire life. After his grandfather is killed by one of the monsters that has haunted his memories, Jacob sets out to a remote island to find the orphanage his grandfather grew up in with hopes to learn more about his past. There he finds the peculiar children and learns that there's more to his world than he ever could have bargained for.

Review
Peculiar Children was a fast read that I had a lot of fun with. The story moves quickly and the pictures themselves were interesting enough to make me keep going, just so I could see the next one. Jacob's struggles with not trusting his own mind keep him an interesting character to follow and add a layer of depth to what could have otherwise been a very boring protagonist.

The book feels like more of a set-up than a story at first, until Jacob actually finds the peculiar children, which doesn't happen until fairly late. But I found out that this is a series, not a stand-alone as I originally thought, so that makes sense. I'm definitely going to continue reading, especially since Riggs drops you at a point in the story where things are really heating up.

Read this if you like:
*YA fiction
*slightly disturbing photographs
*monsters
*something quick and light



Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Princesses haven't always been the cute, friendly Disney versions we're all used to. Many princesses in history have been killers, rebels, independent spirits, and/or clinically insane.

Review
I saw this hanging out in my library's new arrivals section and had to have it. Princesses being awesome -- yes, please! I wanted feminism and great stories and surprises, and boy, this book delivered.

The only problem I had with it was McRobbie's lack of "scholarly" sources. A lot of the stories come from local tales and writings steeped in gossip and rumor. But, McRobbie is completely up front about that fact, and if you aren't concerned with having the 100% absolute truth and just want awesome stories, you should definitely check this one out.

In addition to the stories themselves being pretty fantastic, I loved McRobbie's writing style. She is educational without being dry or condescending. She's witty and snarky without being rude. She makes you feel included and excited, and I plan on looking her up to see if there's more for me to read!

I would recommend for anyone interested in:
*princesses
*women going against the grain
*old-school politics
*folklore

Work and Celebration

Long time, no see!

Things have been a bit hectic in the Shuler/Smith household lately, but in a happy kind of way. I got a job! A Panera opened up near the apartment, and they hired me on so I can earn some money while searching for a career in my field. Overall, I like working there quite a bit, but my training schedule was frantic and unpredictable, so the blog suffered.

But training week is over, which means I have a stable schedule, and that's good news for Scraps of Yarn. In fact, partly to celebrate and partly to get away from the color gray for a bit, I started a new project. It's Hibernatum, a cute little beanie-style hat I came across on Ravelry. I've shared the one of the project page pictures below.



I'm making my own out of Cascade Yarns' Cherub DK, which I won from my local yarn store a couple months ago when Cascade Yarns had a "yarn tasting" there. I probably never would have picked up this yarn if I were on my own because it's acrylic, and the only acrylic yarn I've had any experience with is Red Heart, which I am not a fan of. But so far I've loved working with Cherub. It's super soft and has a nice spring when worked up, which I didn't expect from an acrylic. I'll share a picture of my progress when it looks less like a shapeless blob and more like a hat.

Until then!