If January is a month of housekeeping, then perhaps February is about small pleasures.  Anticipating a trip to Cartems Donuterie.  Talking a snowy walk in the woods around Brothers Creek.  Planning a mini-break for when the rain stops.  Right now I'm watching "Pimpernel Smith" with Leslie Howard, and watching Leslie Howard is always a pleasure.  Of course we all know him as Ashley Wilkes, but he was just as good at comedy as he was at drama.  I present the following Youtube evidence:
Exhibit A:  The Scarlet Pimpernel
Exhibit B:  Pygmalion
I tell you, I'm thisclose to falling into "they don't make them like they used to" fallacy.  And that's even before we touch on Bette Davis.  (By the way, "It's Love I'm After"?  Dream cast of Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland.)

having a dishwasher.  Oh Smeg, one day you and I will be together.

I'm nearly done "At Home" and it's been a absorbing and entertaining read.  The index lists everything from Dandies to Earth Closets, from Medieval Dining Habits to Elizabeth Gaskell, from Judicial Wigs to Servants, Scapegoating Of.  It is, in essence, a long series of digressions.  This is the first Bill Bryson book I've read, and now I'm looking forward to "A Walk in the Woods", mostly because I heard about the Appalachian Trail years ago and have been interested in hiking some or all of it ever since.  (From what I understand, Bill Bryson did not enjoy his hike.)

I've just picked up a copy of The Tiger's Wife, entirely due to the rave review from Kate's mom at Christmas.  Most newer fiction that I read comes from way of Kate, since I've always tended to stick to literature from about 1850 - 1950, mostly delving into modern books when they're non-fiction.

Some time ago I saw the movie; now I have a copy of the audiobook.  It feels like spring is coming to Vancouver, and I haven't spent time this winter yet curling up with a Gothic novel, a pot of tea, and a knitting project while it's still dark and cold outside.  We tossed out "Rebecca" as a bookclub suggestion some time back; I was reminded of it again recently while perusing a list of Best Gothic Books of All Time on goodreads (a very exciting list to stumble across, I might add.  "Rebecca" is #4).

This book's description reads:  "...obsession is not only a phemomenon of modern existence: it is a medical category - both a pathology and a goal.  ...  Beginning with the roots of the disease in demonic possession and its secular successors, Davis traces the evolution of obsessive behavior from a social and religious fact of life into a medical and psychiatric problem."  Since I haven't started, it's yet to be determined where this book ranks on the dull to lively spectrum, but it looks like a promising glimpse into the things we try hard to control and the things that control us.  

Pea pods - a perennial favourite.

A tomato with bad lighting.  (The tomatoes always have a face; and only the tomatoes have a face.)  This time I didn't finish the usual trio with a carrot bib, but made a sushi one instead:

This is a woodland bib; even the ties have birds and squirrels and mushrooms on them.

The final step - throw in some washcloths!  My work is done.

Felt sandwiches and knitted desserts...  Why do grown people feel such a strong pull to make cute stuff? I call this "kawaii crafting".  According to Wikipedia, kawaii is "the quality of cuteness, espcially in the context of Japanese culture". 
Anyhow, I saw the pattern for knitted ice cream cones here, and immediately made two.  (Upon looking at the pattern photos again, I blocked the frill on the pink ice cream cone so that it would point downwards - much improved!)
My next kawaii project?  A knitted campfire.

Today has been another chore and errand-filled day, and I can't help but feel with February just around the corner, I’ll have (somewhat) neatened and tidied my life up for the new year - as much as one can at least - and the balance will swing more towards whatever February's equivalent of palmiers and Seattle will be.

The plate does not lie.