I’m now within one scallop of the third corner of the edging of Gudrun’s “Hansel” hap. Here’s a pic:

It does look a bit on the small side. (I was worried about that, because of having so much yarn left over) but it’ll do, especially once it has been vigorously blocked. I have every hope of finishing the actual knitting before February starts.

While we’re at it, here’s this week’s Tuesday picture of the avocado tree, not looking so well:

Reading

Metropolitan Rebecca: I think Alexander would have liked the sweater, writing and all, if he had ever had a chance to see it. But I couldn’t go ahead after his reaction over lunch.

And, no, I thought the passages about Hallelujah Dawson were just about acceptable. He is a sympathetic character, liked by both the author and her other characters except one. And he belongs in the plot. What I didn’t like at all was the casual English anti-semitism manifested in several offhand remarks. And there isn’t even a Jewish character.

Valerie, I’ve never read any Tracy Chevalier. I think she went to Oberlin. Maybe I’m jealous. Perhaps I should start with “A Single Thread”.

Other

Oberlin: I had one of those letters recently from my class president, wanting money. He mentioned a current row between the college and a local shop which has been there forever called Gibson’s. There’s a substantial passage in Wikipedia on the matter of the row. Currently the college has been fined $11 million or something like that, and is appealing.

Two things struck me: 

1) the row started with a bottle of wine. In my day, Oberlin (the town) was “dry” (and students were forbidden to have cars). When did that change?

2) It sounds from the Wikipedia article as if shoplifting is regarded as fun by a significant number of students. In my day, the college operated on the Honour System. Exams weren’t invigilated. I think we would have felt that the Honour System put shoplifting out of bounds. When did that change?