Our new little guy seems to be doing okay. Our two large boy cats are mostly ignoring him at the moment but that is a step up from the hissing the first two days. Parker seems interested in snuggling with him but is still unsure about the whole idea. They keep sniffing at each other and then wandering off in opposite directions. Caramel continues to hiss at him most of the time but she hasn't swatted at him or anything and last night she jumped up on the couch, saw him sitting on my lap, and jumped back down without hissing at all so we might be getting to the end of that as well.
He has been having a little bit of tummy trouble but we are hoping that it's just the stress of a new place and so many new cats and experiences. He seemed interested in the shower so my husband stood in the shower and held him. He didn't put him directly in the water but did stand close enough to get him wet. He didn't freak out or try to get away. We have been considering names and the top contenders right now are Natsu (the fire wizard from Fairy Tail) or Curry ( after Arthur Curry aka Aquaman). With him being so interested in the shower we are currently leaning toward Curry.
Now on to the book reviews:
The Handbuilt Home: 34 Simple Stylish and Budget-Friendly Woodworking Projects for Every Room by Ana WhiteMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am not at all skilled at building things for my house but I'd like to be. This book starts out with a fairly extensive section about tools and basic techniques, I find that lots of books of this type skip over this assuming that you already have some idea what you're doing so I really appreciated finding it here. The rest of the book is broken down into sections based on what room of the house you would expect to find the finished projects in. Each project has a rating for suggested skill level, projected cost, and time estimate to complete the project.
The projects cover a fairly wide variety; everything from a simple picture ledge up to bunk beds for the kids or a recycling center with pull out trash can. I don't really have enough tools to try anything out yet but the steps are explained in language that seems easy to follow and there are pictures of nearly every step. I would probably have to work up to it a bit but I'd really like to make the extendable sewing table it shows as well as some benches to go outside with our patio table.
Age Recommendations: Obviously with the use of power tools involved this book is for more adult audiences but older kids could probably assist with building.
Gertie Sews Vintage Casual: A Modern Guide to Sportswear Styles of the 1940s and 1950s by Gretchen HirschMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
While this book focuses on sewing vintage style clothing it contains loads of information that can be used for any sewing projects. The introductory chapters discuss every aspect of sewing such as choosing the right type of fabric for your garment, tips for various types of fabrics (specifically knits), techniques for finishing seams, tips for getting the best fit, and so on. The later chapters focus on the patterns that come with the book. There are just a few basic patterns but each one has several variations. For example the pants pattern has several variations for different styles of short and also combines with a halter top pattern to make a cute romper.
Age Recommendations: This book is geared toward adults but teens/ tweens interested in sewing and fashion could learn a lot. While it does contain all the knowledge a beginning sewist would need I think that the sheer amount of information could be overwhelming. I think it would be best for someone who has already mastered basic sewing techniques and wants to take their skills to the next level and/or learn to alter patterns for optimum fit.
Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin by Terry TaylorMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book offers instructions to make books using a wide variety of recycled materials. Everything from egg cartons to old cassette tapes is used as a cover for books. Often the pages shown as recycled as well from old maps or book pages to simply brown paper grocery bags. Although it does include a section in the back with more information on types of stitches used for the most part this book assumes some previous experience with bookbinding. If you are new to the idea you should still be able to complete the projects but you may end up flipping back and forth in the book quite a bit. I would prefer it if the information about the binding stitches was included with the project in which they are used. The books using gift cards and cassette tapes are my favorites but I also like the idea of using the mini cereal boxes or old floppy disks.
Age Recommendations: There is some variation in difficulty level among the projects here but even beginners should be able to find something they can handle. All but the youngest kids should be able to complete the simpler projects and even then little kids could help with some of the steps.
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