Home is where the wine is : a review

Crazy Aunt Purl's Home Is Where the Wine Is: Making the Most of What You've Got One Stitch (and Cocktail!) At a Time by Laurie Perry (2010)

The author of the amazingly funny and also rather helpful blog Crazy Aunt Purl is back with her second book. I read the first one, Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair, which chronicles her post-divorce life, back in 2007. Her new book begins with a set of New Year’s resolutions, and the following chapters follow the progress of each. They are varied enough to keep things interesting: explore new paths to enlightenment, deal with my issues, knit something that isn’t square, go on a real live date, grow a garden, etc. Although some of the stories she tells have been at least alluded to on her blog (travelling alone, her gardener Francisco) she has saved a great deal to disclose here. I was happy to see how much of the book she devoted to her dating life – since she is a young divorced woman I assumed she had been dating, but she never discusses it on her blog.

The book also contains a dozen or so knitting patterns, some of which are Perry’s designs, and others contributed by other knitters. There are color photos of a number (but not all) of them. They are pretty decent patterns including handwarmers, hats, scarves, bags, various cozies, a swiffer cover and a braided i-cold rug. (The rug is by far my favorite of the projects, but there is no way in hell I’m ever knitting that much i-cord just so my cat can puke on it later.)

I had to buy this book as no libraries in my system own it (boo!) But I’ve been enjoying the Crazy Aunt Purl blog for so long now, I had no problem forking over a little cash for the many hours of amusement this author has provided me. Minus the patterns, the book was only 150 pages, which I didn’t expect so the end snuck up on me. Although I think I liked her first book better, I still found it humorous and enjoyed reading it.

If you haven’t read her blog, you really should. Crazy Aunt Purl is ostensibly a knitting blog, but she writes about everything from her cats to the LA weather reports to organizing her apartment. I don’t usually go for the daily-life kind of blogs, but I find her advice helpful, her perspective refreshing, and her writing hilarious. I want to be her friend, but since she lives on the opposite coast I am happy just coming home at night, sitting at my computer, and reading her latest post. Over a glass of wine, of course.