standing nutcracker, 3

This has been a satisfying week in terms of stitching.  Adele and I completed stitching Christopher's stocking with the black background and also the cuff area of Hadley's stocking.  I mailed them to the finisher this morning.  Hooray!

Now I can devote more time to my nutcracker.  I must think of a name for him.  I've almost completed the braid on his hat in Balger metallic--alternating vatican (102) with one of the newer golds (of course I can't remember the number.) 

Vero Beach is fortunate to have a wonderful independent book store, the Vero Beach Book Center.  It is a family-owned business that has been in Vero for about 35 years (it was here when we arrived in 1981).  It has a children's store, a large second-hand area and of course the separate building devoted to new books.  They are on the circuit of authors so several times a month they have book signing parties.  Another of their features is a rental library where you pay about 6.95 to rent a best seller for a week.  This is a great option when I'm impatient to read some of my favorite authors.  This past week it was Lee Child's Wanted Man, his latest Jack Reacher novel.  When I returned it last Saturday, I remembered to inquire about Kaffe Fassett's Dreaming in Color autobiography.  What a gorgeous example of bookmaking.  I had to treat myself to it.  The paper is weighty (I think clay-based for better reproduction) and the colors are magnificent.  It is just great eye candy.  I'm letting myself savor the story, reading about 15 pages a day so I can really enjoy his designs.  My only carp is and always has been that when he designs needlepoint, he uses too coarse a canvas mesh.  He's such a versatile designer.