A Nordic respite

It's been a week of fluffy clouds alternating with greyness and rain here in Seattle. This is the view to the west from the freeway bridge while we were heading north. I was not driving and if I was, I would have been on the bridge that you see in the photo. That's the Aurora Bridge and right behind it, on the left , is Queen Anne Hill. I'm not a freeway driver and being a life-long Seattle resident, I have loads of alternate routes that take me- usually without heavy traffic- where I need to go.

But, this was the only trip out this last week as I have been at home- resting a sore knee. It's not been bad enough to get me to the doctor but I don't know what would this fall. The offices are so busy with sick people and frightened parents that I think that I'll stay away. And, I think that what the Doctor would say is "Rest it, ice it and give it time". So that's what I've been doing.

While I've been resting- I've found myself immersed in Nordic stories. The second book of the Millennium Trilogy- 'The Girl Who Played with Fire' by Stieg Larsson had arrived from the library at the beginning of the week. I was 657th in line for it and it's been quite a wait. I enjoyed this book more than the first one- 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' which I thought had more violence than it needed for the plot. My fingers keep straying to the Book Depository website where I could order the final book now (and read it now) instead of waiting for its US release next year. But, I have other books to read and I don't want the story to be over too soon.
Going from Sweden to Iceland, the next book to read is 'The Draining Lake' by Arnaldur Indridason- the 4th in his Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson mystery series. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Iceland and its people through his eyes. I think that I've been around the world and back through the reading of mysteries and you certainly get a different view from that which you'd see from a tour bus. Armchair traveler indeed.

For a little break, I also have home from the library 'The Alchemy of Color Knitting' by Gina Wilde. Full of photos of beautiful yarns and interesting knitting patterns, this book explores the relationship between colors- tones, hues and intensity- and how to combine them in stitch patterns and garments to get just what you want. I get a lot of inspiration in looking through the wide variety of knitting books that are published now and I love to borrow them from the library first to do a sort of test drive. Then, if I can't stop thinking about them, I'll find a spot for them on my overflowing book cases.

With my own knitting in hand, I'm back to Sweden as I watch the BBC's Wallander series featuring Kenneth Branagh as Inspector Kurt Wallender. I missed seeing the series when it aired earlier this year and I haven't read the original books by Henning Mankell-yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the southern Swedish landscapes as much as following the story line. So, I'm off to snuggle under a down blanket, an ice pack on my knee and Jack at my side.