the Lair of the BookWyrm

Reminder

2008-09-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

For those of you who still make your way here, please see my main WordPress blog for actual current posts. I keep the Blogger account partly in case I ever get fed up with WP, and partly because it makes commenting easier.

Cheers!

Crossing Guard

2008-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ooops. As Sian reminded me, I do have a Blogger blog. I've been posting on my WordPress one, but forgetting to cross-post. So. Here is a post on both WP and Blogger...

So, Sian tagged me for the book MEME. The rules are as follows:

Go to the current book you are reading, on page 161, and copy down the 5th sentence:

"Very dead. Asphyxiated."

From Curse The Dark by Laura Anne Gilman. (And I cheated, since the 5th sentence was only one word. That's the 4th and 5th sentence on the page.)

And I guess you're supposed to tag people. I'm going to pull from all over:

Amanda, Tez, Jess, Anois, and Ginger or Wiggley.

~*~

Also, I'm in the moos for another MEME. This one I was not tagged for, and therefore will not be doing any tagging, but I nicked it from Tez:

A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it".

Since I was not tagged, I am ignoring B & C. Plus, I like snubbing directions of that kind. Chain letters, too.

1. I skipped kindergarten. (Was reading in preschool, so I guess it made sense.)

2. As a result, I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18. By the time I was 16, getting your license was no longer "the thing to do," so I had no incentive.

3. Also (partly) as a result, I've always dated guys older than me. This ranges from 2 months to 15 1/2 years.

4. Regardless of #3, a large percentage of the guys I find/have found attractive are younger than me.

5. I don't believe in horoscopes. Yet I read them regularly anyway. (They amuse me. Greatly.)

6. I almost never watch a movie (at home) without doing something else at the same time. This could be knitting, scrapbooking, cross stitch, etc.

7. One of my favorite holiday treats has "rat tail" as a part of the instructions for making it. =D I'm going to let you guess what it is. However, the holiday in question is fast approaching, so I'll try to post pictures and instructions soon.

~*~

Have a great Tuesday!

Socking It

2007-12-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

I couldn’t come up with what to write today. Totally stuck. So Jessica’s sock MEME was a perfect savior…

1. What’s your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word ‘yarn’ is singular. Just pick one. I know it’s hard.)
Since I haven’t gotten to play with too many sock yarns yet, I’ve got to pick the Spunky Eclectic sock yarn I’m using for the Mangotinis. It’s just a lot of fun, and the color is great. Plus, it feels like it will be really soft to wear (which is a bit thing for me).

2. What’s your favorite type and brand of sock needle?
I used to be an Addi circs girl. Then I got some Harmony double points. I have a very hard time going back… the Harmony’s (how do you make a brand name a plural? Harmonys? Harmonies?) are hands down my favorite. They even give you an extra needle because “accidents happen” to wood needles.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
Usually toe-up, but some of the best patterns I’ve found lately are cuff-down, and I don’t mind it as much as I used to.

4. Do you knit both socks at once or just one at a time?
One at a time. Never tried it any other way.

5. What’s your favorite toe and why?
I like the Turkish cast on. It just seems to work best for me. Though, I will admit to being easily amused by grafted toes. They’re a lot of fun.

6. Favorite heel?
Flap heel with slipped stitches. I like the cushiness. Next heel I do is going to be an eye of partridge heel, because it looks neat. We’ll see if I like that one.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
Patterned. Plain stockinette is too boring.

8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
I’ve not knit many pairs yet, but most of them have been/will be for me. I think Mom is the next closest, though, because I know how much she appreciates them.

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
Haven’t had to yet… and it will eventually depend on the sock. Some I don’t think I will bother with, while others I will save as long as knitterly possible.

10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
Nope. I don’t knit fast enough for that.

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic “I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks” sock pattern based on? Do you keep it written down or memorized?
Don’t have one. I would rather just jot down notes on a 3×5 card and slip that in with the sock. I have no problem referring to a pattern for knitting - keeps it interesting.

One Trumpeter Trumpeting

2007-12-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Or... at least, the start of one Dashing Mitt so that the trumpeter can trumpet without freezing his fingers.

This is the WIP for today, the mitts I started yesterday for my Bro-in-Law. I'm using Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Denim, and the yarn is softer than I remember from last time I knit with it. (That was for M's scarf last Christmas.) I hope the yarn will stay nice for mitts. Mitts get different wear than scarves do.

Anyway, I am surprised at how quickly this is knitting up. Probably because last time I knit fingerless gloves I used sock yarn, and they seemed to take forever. Worsted weight yarn is much quicker to knit.

So, I guess I'm doing Christmas knits this year (in addition to the crocheted snowflakes) after all. I wish I'd decided that with more than two weeks to go before Christmas...

(Sorry about the blurry photos. The camera phone decided to focus on the tree and not the mitt. Oh - and this is the tree at work. We've been too busy with theatre to decorate our house just yet. *sigh*)

Two Front Teeth

2007-12-11T09:32:00.001-08:00

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

~*~

So today I’m off to the LYS at lunchtime to get a set of size US7 dpns so I can make some Dashing mitts for the Bro-in-Law. I have no idea what to get for Christmas gifts this year - so I’m going to see how much I can knit between now and then. Well, really between now and Christmas Eve or so, because I will need to leave myself a little bit of emergency shopping time.

Another problem is answering the question of what I want for Christmas. My sister has asked (luckily it was when I didn’t have the ability to answer anyway, due to being busy with something else) and I had no idea what to tell her. Maybe I’ll write up a list of knitting books that people could buy me. Or of paperbacks I want to eventually own. I’m not going to point people at yarn stores, though, because I’d rather be surprised by any yarn purchases.

Life was easier when all I wanted for Christmas was the butterfly She-Ra doll.

~*~

All Suzy wants for Christmas is a cozy warm spot to sleep, either near me or on me. But if I can swing it, she’ll get a knitted mouse toy, too.

Snow on my Pillow

2007-12-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today, but here are three more completed snowflakes to show off!

These were starched over the weekend, and are now in the pile waiting for me to figure out who gets which one. (It will likely all be fairly random. But bead color will play into it a little. They are all beaded, though it is a little hard to tell in the photos.)

I have mailed out the snowflakes to Jess and Brigitte, who won my contest, and so hopefully those will arrive soon and unharmed. (There’s cardboard in the envelopes to help protect them, but you never know what stupid people will decide to do… Cross your fingers.)

Weeks 48-49 ~ Runesword series

2007-12-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

Week 48-49 ~ Nov 26-Dec 9, 2007

Runesword series
by various authors
(fantasy)

(First of all, I am combining 2 weeks because I'm reviewing a 6 book series. They are short books, but still. That's a lot of books for one week.)

1. Outcasts by Clayton Emery
2. Skryling's Blade by Rose Estes & Tom Wham
3. The Dreamstone by J.F. Rivkin
4. Horrible Humes by Stephen Billias
5. Dark Divide by Mark Acres
6. The Stone of Time by Rose Estes & Tom Wham

This is a series that I read for the first time in the early '90's. I was quite amused by them, but my reading expectations were quite different then than they are now. So, I decided to pick them back up again and see what I thought now. (This involved a good deal of hunting, but long story short, I now own them all again.)

And I discovered that they are enjoyable, as I remembered them being, but the stories do have some significant gaps. These are not "great fiction" by any stretch. However, they are fun reads. They seem styled for teens, and since that's what I was when I first read them, I guess my enjoyment level makes sense for the timing.

Best of the series (IMO): #5. It had the best motivation for the characters, and the most development. The plot was solid, too. (Others had decent plots, but this had more of the development part.)

Worst of the series (IMO, again): #4. This one felt like it was written without the author having read the rest of the series, just a summary of the previous plots. It had a totally different (and, to my mind, incompatible) style of writing, and the feel was just awkward in comparison. My main curiosity is how I would have felt if this one had been the first book with the character introductions - would I have liked it any better?

Blooming Lotus

2007-12-05T12:43:00.001-08:00

If absolute power corrupts absolutely, does absolute powerlessness make you pure?
- Harry Shearer

~*~

So today’s WIP Wednesday is focusing on the Lotus Blossom tank. (I had hoped to show off snowflakes, but no such luck. I guess it really doesn’t snow much in California.) (Please excuse the bad cell phone pics. One of the problems with a still broken computer is that I can’t get the photos off of my regular digital camera and onto my computer…)

I have been working on the tank a lot lately, partly because I got spoiled by the speed with which the Unoriginal Hat knit up - chunky yarn can be a WONDERFUL thing. Sport-weight (for the tank) isn’t quite as fast, but it beats fingering or lace weights!

Another reason for working on the tank is because it’s cute. I like it. I want to wear it. So I must finish it.

I’m nearly - and hopefully - a third of the way done with it. Hopefully, because I just finished ball #2, and I have 7 in this dye lot. I really hope I don’t have to go scrounging for more of my same dye lot. Cross your fingers that this will be enough yarn! Other people have used this many skeins of this type of yarn for this tank, so we’ll just hope.

And just as a quick “how I’m doing” update, one thing I told M last night (via IM) is that I’m frustrated knowing that I’ll get over him, because I don’t want to have to. That’s about where I stand. I know I’ll move on. I know it will be good for me. And I know that I don’t like the prospect of life without him. Well. Yesterday was a hard day (I was all excited over the weekend about Little Shop and my promotion, and it hit me yesterday that I can’t share it with him the way I want to) and today seems hard-ish but better. We shall see how it goes.

Snow in the Mail

2007-12-04T10:47:00.001-08:00

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas A. Edison

~*~

So… today, as promised, I have the winners of the snowflakes!

(Oops… did I say winners? I guess I did.)

I decided to draw names for two snowflakes, because - well, because it’s Christmas. And I feel good this morning. So there. I don’t think you’ll complain.

The two lucky recipients are:

Brigitte & Jess

Yay! Congrats! And I don’t have a picture of the snowflakes yet because I have been really busy with Little Shop and they aren’t starched yet. I’ll get there, I promise.

Brigitte and Jess, e-mail me (at: ca [dot] bookwyrm [at] gmail [dot] com) with your address and I will get the snowflakes in the mail to you!

Random Monday

2007-12-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

So, I read the radio programs over at StarDate Online. And one of the recent programs was about warp drive and how to make it possible. As a sci-fi/fantasy writer who needs help getting motivated to do the research she knows she needs to do, I find this incredibly valuable. The info from the program is here if anyone else wants to read it...

Also, I got promoted! Yay! No more reception desk work for me (once we find my replacement). I'll be in HR now. Should be fun, and will definitely be different than I've done before. Gotta love a challenge...

Little Shop auditions went well. Perhaps too well. We had 52 auditioners (as our vocal director says, a full deck) and the script calls for 8 actors... Yikes. We're going to pad out the cast as much as we can, but that brings us to 13-15, max. So we have a tough job of casting cuts to make now.

My personal computer is dark. Poor laptop decided to not turn on over the weekend. So, I wiped the drive and now need to find the time to reinstall Windows XP. With everything else going on in my life (side note: why does everything seem to happen at once?) "finding time" is more difficult than it seems it should be.

And... that's all for now. Must go figure out job stuff.

Make The Check Out To...

2007-11-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

An interesting tidbit:

My blog is worth $9,597.18.
How much is your blog worth?

~*~

So, my life is back to more or less on track - even if not the track it was on before. M and I have taken the first, hesitant steps toward a friendship rather than a couple-hood, and I think that (given where he is in his life and mindset right now) he made the right choice for both of us. It was a very wise decision on his part, and one that I would have been unable/unwilling to make had it been left to me. I respect him like crazy. (Still love him too, but one is allowed to love friends.)

(Since I have not been posting many details on this here, it may be confusing to those of you who read this blog and not the WordPress version. It has been harder than I had hoped, and the main part of the difficulty did not hit me until the Thanksgiving holiday also hit me. I am better now. For details, go here.)

If you pray and feel like sending them this way, prayers are appreciated. Especially for strength and healing, for both of us. I think this break-up was nearly as hard for him as it was for me.

~*~

And, in the knit-blogger tradition of thanks (for the support during this difficult time) and the holiday season, I am having a contest. Leave me a comment this week with the name of your favorite Christmas carol (or other holiday song, if you don’t celebrate) and I will enter your name into a drawing for a snowflake hand-crocheted by me! I’m not sure which one, as I haven’t finished making all the ones I will need for presents, but since I like them all, I don’t see where that matters. :p I will collect the names next Monday (12/3) before I leave work at 5pm PST, and will try to post the winner and a picture of the snowflake to be sent on Tuesday, the 4th.

Let’s all get into the holiday spirit together, shall we?

WIP-it Wednesday ~ 11.21.07

2007-11-21T09:21:00.001-08:00

So, this will be a picture-heavy post because I am trying to save my words for NaNo. (Plus there’s lots to do today at work before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.)

Snowflake #5 for this year gets started…

Mangotini #2 at the gusset increases, and posing where I do the majority of my sock knitting these days…

And these aren’t WIPs, but they are fun pictures anyway…

A Haunted Mansion (at Disneyland) vanity plate! Yay, how fun!

Prettiness from the car…

Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, everyone! (or at least you US folks… everyone else, um, happy Thursday?)

A Little Naughty

2007-11-20T12:37:00.001-08:00

(Side note - I wonder what my Google searches will look like with that post title?)

My father is sad. He says he has been “replaced by something naughty” - this:

My new niddy noddy. (It’s got some of the pencil roving I’ve been spinning ever so slowly on it right now.) It ~~came with~~ was ordered at the same time as a new ball winder from the Woolery because I was sick of winding yarn by hand. The yarn for the Cabletini socks he was good enough to hold for me while I wound it off into two (relatively) equal balls, one for each sock. He said that he used to act as a swift for his mom, too, and so didn’t mind helping me out also.

But, I guess I wanted the process to move faster (or to have my arms ache less afterwards) and so I bought tools for the job. Yay!

and life goes on

2007-11-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch.
- Orson Welles

~*~

There will not be much of a post today. But here is a short update.

M and I did break up over the weekend. I hadn't wanted to, but I begin to think that it's for the best. I have settled for being satisfied in previous relationships, and have decided that isn't worth it. So, I was thrilled to be finally happy in a relationship, and wanted to make it work. Now, the problem is, I didn't want him to settle, either. And he doesn't feel we have enough in common to really "fit" together. (My dad phrased it well - he said that M has a lot in common with me, but that I don't have as much in common with him.) So, if we were to stay together, I think he would be settling. Which I don't want.

Anyway, this is hard but not as hard as it could be. We are still friends, and we are going to work at a friendship in a while. Need a little time to adjust first, though. (That is a good thing, as I really didn't want to lose him from my life entirely. It is also a strange thing, as I have never had a "good" breakup like this before.) And I did find out (in words for the first time) that he loves me in his fashion but that he doesn't think he can give me as much as I need. So that is bittersweet.

I think what hurts most is that it doesn't hurt enough. For the beginning of the weekend (during the "silent" phase that some of you mentioned, while he was making sure this was what he wanted to do) it felt like my world was ending. But now, it's just a change. A hard change, but one that was perhaps the right one. It was certainly a very brave thing that he did, and I respect him for it.

~*~

And now it's time to catch up on NaNo. I (obviously) didn't get any writing done over the weekend, and while I have a lot of writing to go, I think I can do it.

Thanks, all for the support. And I guess this ended up being longer than I anticipated. Here is a LOLcat picture to end the post on a smile...

~*~

moar funny pictures

Charged

2007-11-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t the fine line between sanity and madness gotten finer?
- George Price

~*~

Today will be a hard day for me. Last night was an incredibly emotionally charged night, and while many things were discussed, nothing was resolved. Only, we did at least acknowledge that there were issues to be resolved. (Oh - this is relationship issues, if you wondered or didn’t want to assume.) That’s a start. But when the issues are mainly that he needs to figure out what he wants out of “us” then there’s not much that I can do about it. I know what I want. And I hate the fear that comes of not knowing if he will decide he wants the same thing.

But. Moving on.

There was no writing last night. Nor knitting. And no new pictures. But since I feel sorry for you having to wade through posts with no pictures, here is an old-ish picture of Suzy.

~*~

There’s so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?
- Dick Cavett

~*~

Normally today I would do a Friday Fiver, but it looks like it would be too emotionally charged for me to do while I need to keep my focus up for work. It has questions like “what’s the last thing you threw away?” and “I could have been _____.” So I’m passing on that today.

As a last note on the blog before the weekend, however, I will say that everyone sure seems to take a lot of showers when they have writer’s block! I guess it would be easy to tell whose writing is going well - the people with dirty hair have been typing away while the people who are squeaky clean have been blocked! Heh, at least that made me laugh yesterday. I have a very good group of blog readers.

Thanks, guys.

Week 46 ~ Darwin's Radio

2007-11-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

Week 46 ~ Nov 12-18, 2007

Darwin's Radio
by Greg Bear
(science fiction)

This is a straight sci-fi, something that I haven't read in a while. Even the Stardoc series, while being sci-fi rather than fantasy, had the romance element in it as well to make it more along the lines of "my usual reads." But Darwin's Radio is a sci-fi, and a plot-driven one. If you like character-driven fiction, you will quite possibly find yourself getting very bogged down somewhere in the middle.

The plot itself is interesting, don't get me wrong. It is well thought-out, and though there are some elements of it that I think are implausible, that is one of the hazards of sci-fi. There will always be someone who disagrees on what is likely to happen in the future. I don't have a problem with the parts I found implausible - they were a part of the story, and for the author's vision, they worked. The problem I have is that I felt no connection to the characters. None. There are plenty of places to, as well. One of the main characters nearly dies on the ice, another loses her husband in a rather icky way. The third is caught in a terrorist's bomb, and nearly killed. And I didn't care. About any of it. Not my type of fiction.

I did finish the book, in part to see what happens in the storyline. But I didn't finish it because I cared what happened to the characters. For those who don't care if their fiction is character-driven or not, this is a good book to pick up. But if you want a connection to the characters in order to get caught up in a book, I'd give this one a pass.

Now On Paper

2007-11-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

So I spent Saturday in San Francisco doing a combination of having fun and being in pain due to a PMS headache. (Hate them!) We wandered around, window shopped, and peeked at the beaches. No sign of the oil spill except for closed beaches and caution tape.

Sunday was more productive, and actually saw writing. I got some good stuff in, and yet it seems that all of the good words lately must be written on paper first, the old-fashioned way, before they can be put into the computer.

Read last week:

The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Darwin’s Radio - Greg Bear

And other stuff that I got done… I starched my snowflakes. (Sounds silly, yes I know.) They were still drying when I checked them last night, so I will try to take pictures of them again today. (For one reason or another I don’t want to take more pictures of them until they are finished.) Of the 4 I made, one is from a free online pattern and the other three are from a book. I’ll post the details with the pictures.

I think that’s all for today. Hope you had a good weekend!

Week 45 ~ The Little Prince

2007-11-09T15:53:00.001-08:00

Week 45 ~ Nov 5-11, 2007

The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(fiction, classic)

This book is a classic for me. I loved it when I first read it in high school, and I love it as much now. It makes me cry. It makes me laugh. It makes me think.

This is a book that everyone should read. And it's labeled as a children's book, though children and adults will get different things out of it. It is short, so there should be no problem finishing it.

I cannot say enough good about this book. I just - can not. It is hard to find the words to describe it...

Plots and Plans and Pompoms

2007-11-09T11:48:00.001-08:00

We’ll take the title from the end, and work our way forward. Why not?

Here is a little bit of encouragement for all my fellow NaNo-ers out there:

You can do it! I know you can! (I’m cheering myself on while I’m at it, by the way.)

~*~

So I found out earlier this week that the wedding I had been frantically knitting the Swan Lake Stole for is an uber-casual wedding. As in, I won’t be wearing the dress that I had planned to wear the stole with. And so no need to knit like the wind.

I am still in love with the stole and the way the beads work on it, but if I am not going to be wearing it to a wedding anytime soon I need to focus on making Christmas gifts. So, the stole is not my only knitted object that will be getting some love and attention now. Yesterday I picked up the Hot Cocoa Socks, and am loving the way they are turning out. I just hope they fit M. (Or wait… should I be hoping they fit me instead?)

~*~

And in the NaNoWriMo department, I have been plugging away at my story (as the daily updates will prove). The best part about this is that I have been discovering things about the plot and characters that I didn’t know before. This is always much fun.

Now, I am not one of the writers whose writing method goes something like “and then the characters told me the story and I wrote it down.” I believe that the story is my work, and that I have control over it, in the end. However, I am not opposed to letting my subconscious (otherwise known in writing circles as the Muse) tell me things that it has worked out without my direction. I am quite happy when my brain takes a running head-start on a story, because that means I can be working on both the writing and the knitting (or crocheting, card making, spinning, etc.) and not feel guilty.

So, the end result is that things happen without my having to plan every little detail, and I can be surprised by some of the twists and turns just as the reader is. (If I don’t like said twists and turns, however - and for a writerly reason, not because the reader in me wants a different outcome - I reserve full right to change the ending. (The way some authors claim that they have no control is a rant for another day.))

And, the reason that all of this came up in the first place is that I had one of those twists last night. I was plugging away, trying to get words on my computer and I got nothing. So I pulled out lined paper and made a cup of tea, and ended up giving my hero premonition dreams that he had blocked away for years until he met the heroine and now they’re out of his control again, and…

Well. Yeah. The words kept coming. The only problem was I got tired, and so typed everything in and went to bed. Still - you gotta love when the writing is good. (When the writing is bad is also a topic best left for another day.)

~*~

11.9.07 Friday Fiver:

1. Who do you owe? My parents. I’m not talking money, here - I owe too many people money.

2. What do you wait for? (cue Disney music) … my prince will come … (Sorry, couldn’t resist. That was my first impulse.)

3. What do you disguise? Mushrooms. Otherwise I won’t usually eat them. Sometimes avocado too.

4. Tell us a lie: No thanks.

5. Friday fill-in: can’t get enough of you, baby…. (I’m in a song mood today, I guess.)

Around The Blog ~ 11.8.07

2007-11-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here's something I haven't done in a while - a trip around the blog!

Paperback Writer is back! And she has a very amusing story about vampire portrayals.
1. and Joely has dedicated her TT to PBW.
Naomi is posting her NaNo progress, and amuses me no end with her “reeking of awesomeness” and “reeking of suckitude” comments.
I Can Has Cheezburger has some very funny pictures, as always.
Miriam has pictures of a new pattern up, and it’s very lovely. (Go to her site for info on the pattern - I don’t want to deny her the site traffic by linking directly.)
L-Squared has a sock inspector.
Chris is making her kitties pose in bibs.
Ann has up some lovely pictures for her Thursday Thirteen.
Jessica is home sick instead of knitting.
Sian is an Animal!
Melanie is spinning.
Nancy (at Romancing the Yarn) did the twist - or at least, her ankle did.
Bellamoden crocheted her gramma a lovely scarf.
… and to round out the 13, the Yarn Harlot has an unoriginal hat. (Complete with pattern.)

Happy Thursday!

WIP it Good

2007-11-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.
- Philip K. Dick

~*~

So… since my “Writing Wednesdays” have turned into “Writing Everydays” for NaNoWriMo, I will do something different this month. (Well, the NaNo posts are really over here. And actually, I’m thinking of changing this for good, but we’ll have to see how it works in November.) This month is a WIP Wednesday! And the title is stolen shamelessly from Turtlegirl, who did an awesome parody of Devo’s song “Whip It.”

(WIP = work in progress, for the acronym-challenged.) I have not been knitting anything except the Swan Lake Stole for a few weeks now, but I haven’t shown updated pictures of the other knits, either. So…. we have a WIP Parade today! With not many words to accompany them - I’m trying to get the NaNo word count increased, not the “babble on the blog” word count.

First, the MS3 aka Mystery Stole 3 aka Swan Lake Stole:

And then the Lotus Blossom tank:

Next up, the Cabletini socks (one is finished already; this is the second sock):

And then, the Hot Cocoa socks for M (first sock, third incarnation):

Oh, wait -

What’s this?

Happy MEMEday!

2007-11-06T14:25:00.001-08:00

When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not.
- Mark Twain

~*~

Since I have no real content for you today, have a random picture and a MEME.

This was taken out my window the other day at sunset.

~*~

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.

1. Who was your best friend?
Susie, I think. I didn't have a "best" friend, really, more a few close friends. But of my close friends, she was the closest.

2.What sports did you play?
Sport? Me? Uh, yeah - NONE.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
I didn't.

4. It's Friday night, where were you?
Home - probably reading, maybe at a Girl Scout event or out at a movie.

5. Were you a party animal?
No.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
No. Didn't know how to flirt.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
No. (Wish I had been, but no.)

8. Were you a nerd?
Yeah, I suppose so.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?
Never.

10. Can you sing the fight song?
Did we have a fight song?

11. Who was your favorite teacher?
Probably my humanities teacher. I can't remember names, though.

13. School mascot?
The Seventy-Sixers. Like patriots, only not.

14. Did you go to Prom?
Nope.

5. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Nope.

6. What do you remember most about graduation?
It was hot. California in June, in the middle of the football field. HOT.

17. Where were you on senior skip day?
I don't even remember if we had one. I didn't cut, if we did.

18. Did you have a job your senior year?
No.

19. Where did you go most often for lunch?
We hung out in our Humanities classroom at lunch. Or in the D-quad (my school had 4 quads). Though I brought my lunch a lot.

21. What did you do after graduation?
Went away to college.

22. When did you graduate?
1994

23. Who was your Senior prom date?
Didn't go, so nobody.

24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion?
Uh... Make that "did you go," and no. Wasn't aware that we had one until after the fact - that's the problem with attending a huge (aka 4000 students) school.

25. Who was your home room teacher?
Don't think we had a home room. Announcements came during second period, I think.

For the Sheriff

2007-11-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

Lorraine, this is for you:

"Suzy, get off my laundry." - me

And for those who aren't insane, NaNo (aka NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month) is where a bunch of people who "wanted to write a novel someday" sit down and actually do it. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month - namely, this one. November.

I have done this twice already, once successfully and once less so. It's actually quite amusing.

So, many apologies, but the majority of my posts this month will be about NaNo. I will try to keep the kitty pictures flowing. And the knitting pictures, too. (Speaking of knitting, I am into Chart #2 on the second half of the Swan Lake/Mystery Stole. I do not know why I decided to finish this stole in the same month that I decided to write a huge amount of words, but there you go. Both must be done this month. Pictures to come.)

"Laundry? I don't see any laundry, Mom. Just a nice kitty bed." - Suzy

For PBW Again

2007-11-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Since PBW (aka Lynn Viehl aka SL Viehl, aka Paperback Writer, and so on and so forth) still hasn’t returned to the blog-o-sphere, here is another Shakespearean knock-off in her honor. It goes with the Romeo & Juliet one I posted at Joely’s urging not long ago…

(ETA: Yes, I have heard that she is probably just really busy and doesn't have time to blog. These are still fun to do.)

~*~

If we mortals have offended,
Think but this and all is mended,
That we have but lurk-ed here
While your blog posts did appear.
And the trolls and spammers seem
But amusing, as a dream.
Lady, do not stay away:
We would cheer you, if we may.
And, as I’m an honest Joe,
If you have unearned woe
Now to hear again your song,
Our prayers will make you well ere long;
Else the Blog abandoned call -
Then, goodbye unto us all.
Give us a word, if you be well,
And all our foreboding dispel.

~*~

Happy Friday, everyone!

In the meantime, here’s a Halloween-themed Friday Fiver:

1. Did you celebrate Halloween? Sort-of.

2. Do you like to dress in costume? Yes. But only if I have time to plan it out.

3. Favorite chocolate? Resees Peanut Butter Cups or York Peppermint Patties.

4. Best scary movie? None. They’re all icky. (Though the original movie The Haunting - based off the book The Haunting of Hill House - is downright creepy.)

5. Friday fill-in: The pain of dying (but not death itself) scares me.

Shake, Rattle & Roll

2007-10-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to write a post on NaNo prep and all that, but I got distracted. By an earthquake.

Not today, but last night, there was an earthquake which is the biggest one the San Jose bay area has seen since our major 1989 quake. This particular one was a 5.6 magnitude, centered somewhere in Alum Rock.

Anyway, no injuries here, and the thing that made me write about this instead of NaNo (which I am sure you will get sick of by this time next month anyway) is that when the quake hit, I was in a building with lots of other people of varying ages. The quake was big enough in our area to be quite obviously an earthquake.

And how did we react? It was something along the lines of, “oh, hey, this is an earthquake, isn’t it?” There was some discussion among the younger kids as to whether it really was an earthquake, or whether it might instead have been the teens outside playing a practical joke by banging on the metal roll-up door. (Uh, no. Sorry kids. Earthquake.)

It’s like during the big 1989 quake. (That one was a 6.9 / 7.1 quake. And the “6″ part isn’t bigger than the “5″ part of the recent one by a small amount, but by a large amount. If you want more details on earthquake magnitudes, check here or here. They should be able to give you more science-type data. Remind me to find and scan and post a funny comic about earthquake magnitudes.)

Anyway. The 1989 quake. We still were like, “oh, hey, this is an earthquake. It’s still going on. I guess we should go get in a doorway, or something, huh?” And this was during an earthquake strong enough to knock down a section of the Bay Bridge, to collapse a double-decker freeway, and to send the water in our swimming pool sloshing all the way up to the middle of our kitchen window - which itself was already half a floor above ground level. And yet, “oh hey, it’s an earthquake.”

Californians are a weird breed.

~*~

Update: we just (3:54) had a magnitude 3.7 aftershock. And did I duck and cover like a good Girl Scout? No. I sat at my desk looking around and thinking, "Huh, nothing seems to be in danger. But the plastic decorative weird stuff they have on the wall sure makes some neat squeaking sound. I wonder how big this one is?" I maintain: Californians are weird.

Blog Soup

2007-10-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.
- Samuel Johnson

Eeep! Not a good quote to have as the quote of the day this close to NaNoWriMo. Ah well. We slog along anyway.

~*~

Randomness today. Hence the title, which is supposed to remind you of Stone Soup. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and lo and behold! A blog post!

~*~

Remember a while ago when I was spinning up singles from some lovely heather green pencil roving I have, and Peekaboo was super interested? Well, a little while later I started plying those singles. And guess who was interested in that?

Yup. Peekaboo again. Only - Suzy was interested, too.

~*~

Today is my repeat visit to the doctor to get my finger looked at. The munch-marks look a lot better today than they did yesterday, but the knuckle is still a bit sore and swollen. It doesn’t look nearly as infected as it had before, though, so that’s a very good sign. Yay antibiotics!

~*~

I have 20 scenes worked up for my NaNo piece, and while that’s not nearly the number I was hoping for it is at least more than it could be. I also have a good base for the characters, and - again - while I don’t have as much as I wanted, what I do have is a good start. Plus, I do still have a day and a half or so left. There is something to be said for procrastinating…

~*~

Work is good. Cats are cute. I am happy. M is stressed, but at least he’s not so stressed that he’s ignoring me. Even if I sometimes have to remind him.

Happy nearly Halloween, everyone! Here’s hoping for lots of treats and very few tricks.

Mom… there’s something moving down here! -Suzy

Without Leave

2007-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being AWOL last Friday. I was tending to a hurt finger.

Now, there are all kinds of neat reasons why one could have a hurt finger. It could have been used to plug the hole in the dike that kept the water from flooding the town. It could have been injured from knitting or writing too quickly. It could even have been strained from flipping the bird to too many annoying drivers.

But no, mine was hurt because it was munched on by a cat.

A kitten, really. The furball in question is some few months old, and ready to go in for spay/neuter time*. But instead of pulling out the carriers and trying to trap them in those - and accidentally getting any one of the 10+ other cats out front - we thought, “oh, hey! They are all so excited about food, and so used to us by now, that we can just reach down and grab them!”

And so I did.

And so it bit me.

It scratched a fair amount, too, but the bite is the bad part. (I didn’t take pictures, because you really don’t need to be grossed out by it.) Suffice it to say that the first knuckle of my left index finger is still swollen and probably has a minor infection. The nail of same finger was punctured in two places, and there are several other puncture marks and two nice gashes on the ball of the finger. Kitten or not, it has a very efficient mouth for tearing up muscle.

(Right, so we’ll post a pretty picture to distract you from icky injuries.)

Now, the point of this long ramble about me being cat-injured is this: Many of my blog-readers are cat fans. Some of you may have been in situations where you could have been bitten. BUT I don’t know if any of you know just how important it is to SEE A DOCTOR if when you do get bitten by a cat.

Even if this is your indoor cat and so you don’t have to worry about rabies, there is also Cat Scratch disease to worry about. (It’s not only through scratches, though.) Plus, there is just regular infections. Because cats have such sharp teeth, they often leave puncture wounds, which are hard to clean and can easily get infected. Go see a doctor. Get antibiotics.

This site here has some good information on what to do if you are bitten by a cat or a dog. Seriously, people. If this happens to you, take it seriously. We don’t want to hurt the hands that knit, or those that write.

This has been a public service announcement. Thank you for listening. And now… on to the knitting!

There has been much work done on the Swan Lake Stole. I have now finished the first half, and started the second half. This is very exciting news. I also tweaked the pattern to add beads to the eyelet row before the center panel, as shown in the picture below. To do this, I knit the eyelet row as charted, and then on the WS row I placed a bead on every stitch to either side of the YOs. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I had seen someone else on Ravelry do this, and liked it so much that I worked out a mod for it.

And for proof, so that you know I really did start the second half:

*See, Lorraine? I am trying not to turn into the crazy cat lady.

Week 43 ~ Moongazer

2007-10-25T11:57:00.001-07:00

Week 43 ~ Oct 22-28, 2007

Moongazer
by Marianne Mancusi
(futuristic romance)

I really liked this book. Just - really. Liked. It. It wasn't technically the best written book I've come across, but you know what? That doesn't always make for a good read. Sometimes the technical aspects get in the way of the enjoyment.

I picked this one up because I was told that I should consider submitting some of my own work to the SHOMI line, and after reading this one (and Driven [week 42] and Wired [week 44, yet to come]) I seriously think I will. I like the way Moongazer's main character, Skye, has her reality twist all around her in ways that she sometimes recognizes right away, and sometimes doesn't. I like the way that it's written from a first-person POV, and yet there are things that Sky sees but doesn't recognize for what they truly are... yet the astute reader will pick up on them.

This is a romance, in addition to being a science fantasy novel. (Or speculative fiction, whatever you prefer.) It has a few steamy sections, yet nothing that detracts from the story. The romance is a part of the story, instead of the plot being a thinly disguised bridge meant only to get the characters into bed.

I really like some of the twists, but since I would rather encourage others to read this without knowing said twists, I will refrain from mentioning them. Go read it. Then message me, and we can discuss the twists I liked best.

Swanning Along

2007-10-23T10:10:00.001-07:00

I promised pictures today, so let’s jump right into the Swan Lake Stole update!

This is the current progress of the stole. I’m approximately 35% done, and I have a month in which to finish it. Do you think I’ll be able to make it? I’m certainly going to try. This is now my everywhere knitting. It came to work with me for the first time today, and I’m going to knit it on my lunch break. And when I visit M after work (assuming I do, that is) if there is TV knitting time, that’s what I’ll be working on there, too. I had been leaving the MS3 at home because the beads and lace make for a touchy travel knit, but since I’m to the part with the least difficulty and the fewest beads, I figure I can take it places.

(That’s where I am - the long section of cat’s paw lace, for those of you who know the pattern. There are still beads along the edges, but none in the interior of the pattern at this point.)

Also, I am still planning to knit the symmetrical version, because while I love the wings and the idea of a flighted stole, I don’t really want an asymmetrical shape on a stole I plan to keep. I like symmetry in shape - the design inside the shape doesn’t matter as much, but the shape itself I want to match. (Yes, this does mean I plan to knit the two-winged version as well.)

(A close-up with a colored background so that you can actually see the stitch pattern… for all that unblocked lace tends to be a scrunchy and not-very-pretty thing, I think this knit doesn’t look too bad unblocked.)

Anyway, the pattern is now available to the masses here, if you want to buy it. It’s a lovely knit, and so much fun to knit with beads! If nothing else, Melanie (the designer) has gorgeous pictures of her finished shawls up on the site. Go check them out!

Week 42 ~ Driven

2007-10-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Week 42 ~ Oct 15-21, 2007

Driven
by Eve Kenin
(paranormal romance)

I picked this book up to research the line and see if it was one I could write for. (Side note: yes, I do believe it is. Must get cracking.) I'm not sure that I would have picked it up based on the cover alone, which looks like anime-grown-up. Since I'm not a huge anime fan in itself (nothing against it, though) I am not the target audience for the book's cover. So, I'm glad that I had a recommendation from someone I trust to prompt me to look for this book, because I really enjoyed it.

Driven takes place in the future, in something similar to a nuclear winter. The main character is a trucker, driving shipments to and fro in the frozen northern wastes and saving money in the hopes of moving to the still-warm tropics. There are, of course, plot twists which include a shipment that isn't what it seems, a group of ice-pirates on her trail, and an intense attraction to a man she barely knows.

The attraction is the romance-book sort, for those who shy away from sex scenes. It does get quite steamy in places. However, the romance isn't entirely contrived. There are more emotions at work than just lust between the hero and the heroine. There is even a little peek into the villain's thoughts, and though he is not as fully fleshed out as the bad guy in a longer book would likely be, it is still fun to get a glimpse.

Anyway, this was a fully engaging book. I really enjoyed reading it, and - while the line doesn't automatically imply a sequel - I am curious to read more about the characters. Will I get to? Maybe. Maybe not. But to leave your readers wanting more without feeling cheated is a very good thing.

On Clinics and Tangents

2007-10-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

So, I decided a short while ago that I was having issues finishing my outline because I wasn’t firm enough on my characters. So, the next step was to create better developed characters. The only problem there, was I was having trouble knowing where to start.

Solution: Holly again. I nabbed her “Create a Character Clinic” from her e-store and last night I started working with it. Now, I have barely scratched the surface with the tools that are in this book. (I know, because I’m on chapter 3 or something early.) And yet I have already found some good advice and good character building tools to work with. And that’s a very good thing.

If you have problems with your characters, go check it out. Very good resource.

In more of an update blog post part, I haven’t been working on much lately. I’ve been so tired that it’s hard to focus on much. And oh, it was so hard to get up this morning. I guess I probably stayed up too late. And then of course I’ve been having to get up for work in the mornings. So no sleeping in. But it’s really hard to have to deal with work, and sleep, and food, and visiting with the boyfriend, and the commute. Those of you who are married (or co-habitating) and don’t have to commute to visit with your significant other, feel very lucky. And give said SO a big hug. Because that’s probably the thing that I miss most about having been married before and not being married now. Yes, I like the rest of it, too, but the thing that is the most taken for granted, from what I’ve seen, is the physical presence of just having someone there.

To wake up at night from a bad dream and hear someone breathing softly next to you.

To feel safe when you hop in the shower because there’s another person in the house who can handle emergencies (in theory).

To look up over the morning paper and receive a smile that lets you know you’re loved.

Just to not be alone.

Now - I like my alone time. Don’t get me wrong. But I like to have alone time because I have something to do or am relaxing rather than to have alone time because M is at his home and I am at mine. I don’t like being physically apart when we have our phone conversations at night that run on until one of us is out of battery.

Anyway. That’s totally not where I started this post. But the mind will wander where it will.

Ye Olde Faire

2007-10-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

So, a little over a week ago now is when we went to the Renaissance Faire. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up hanging out with some good friends. That was cool. Plus, we got to see MooNiE and BrooN, which is always a highlight of Faire.

Aaaaand, as you know if you have been following the blog, I made M’s costume last-minute the three nights prior. I think it doesn’t look half bad, if I do say so myself.

I also made my costume, but that one was made over a much more sedate period of time. I’ve had it for a couple of years now, periodically adding bits as I decide they are needed. (The headpiece came later, for example, and the skirt ruffle was added after I decided that the skirt as written in the pattern was too short for me. I think it was meant to be a gypsy skirt, and therefore is supposed to be calf-length rather than ankle-length, but still.)

So, I promised about a week ago that I would provide pictures, and there they are. Us all decked out for Faire. Unfortunately, I only took a very small handful of shots actually AT Faire, and none of the large group of friends I met up with while there. (Ooops.) But maybe that’s because I was having too much fun to remember pictures? Yeah. That must be it.

Mistakes

2007-10-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?
- James Thurber

I think I have finally fixed my mistake with the Hot Cocoa socks, but we shall see. I’ve only gotten a couple of rows past the ribbing; there is still plenty of time to make more mistakes. Before I go into the mistakes I’ve already made, however, here is a cute kitty photo to cheer everyone up:

This is Olivia and her three kittens. Olivia is one of our “front-yard cats,” aka a stray who has adopted us because we feed her. Actually, her mother adopted us, and Olivia just stayed as well. We have since managed to catch and spay/neuter all except for one of the adult cats, and the three current juvenile cats, so that’s quite a relief. When you have in excess of a dozen stray cats that have attached themselves to you, it’s time to take action.

So anyway, Olivia and kittens are living in one of our bathtubs for the moment. Our two house cats (Suzy and Peekaboo) aren’t quite sure what to make of it, but since Olivia and her clan are quiet and not too disruptive, the house cats aren’t as upset as they could be.

Now… on to the socks.

This picture was taken shortly after I cast on the Hot Cocoas for the third time. I figured that if I took a sock-in-progress picture, they would be less likely to mess up. (Right? Please agree with me here…) This third time, I even did a swatch.

I had wanted to check my gauge, and play with the cable pattern a little. (Yes, I know, it’s a very small swatch. But I did one! Maybe the knitting goddess will smile upon me now.)

So, I’ve cast on again. I added some stitches because my gauge was off, and I’ve been concentrating on not holding my stitches too tightly so that the ladders between the needles - which is why I frogged it the second time - aren’t too noticeable. I had originally planned to do the body of the sock in reverse stockinette, because I think M would like the fabric better that way, but that made the ladders even worse. I think he will have to put up with having only the sole of the foot in reverse stockinette. Hopefully that will work.

Suzy is less than impressed.

Orient Express

2007-10-12T10:06:00.001-07:00

So, I discovered another forgotten finished doily not long ago. I had even previously blocked it, and everything. All it lacked was a post, some love, and a home. So here’s a post for it.

This is the “Orient Star” doily from South Maid’s “Special Doilies For Special Times” booklet. I crocheted it at least a year ago - I’m guessing it was finished in 2005. I remember making it, but I have no idea what I was doing at the time I worked on it… Ah well. That’s what Ravelry is for, right?

Suzy, as always, was interested in what I was doing. Never a dull moment in the life of a cat… there’s always something to sniff, something to investigate. In this case, it was a dragon figurine. And, for Charlie, this time I took a picture of the bottom of the figurine, too:

See? A Book Wyrm! It fits me perfectly. This particular one was a gift from my dad last Christmas. Isn’t he great? Knows how to treat a daughter.

I also have been working on the Hot Cocoa Socks again, but this post is already picture-heavy so I’ll write about those later. Maybe Monday. Now that the socks have come out of time-out, I will be working on them some more… I really do like the yarn (KnitPicks Essential) and the needles (KnitPicks Harmony Wood) and so might be knitting them more than the Mangotini socks. (Poor Mangotinis on poor mistreated Addis… I think my tension is fairly tight. The needles have been bent quite a bit due to the way I hold them…)

Week 41 ~ Lover Unbound

2007-10-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Week 41 ~ Oct 8-14, 2007

Lover Unbound
J.R. Ward
(paranormal romance)

Lover Unbound is the 5^th of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and focuses on Vishous. However, the story is not completely centered on him, spending time to update the reader with the other brothers too. There has been some complaint that not enough time was given to V, but I actually liked the split. Because of the way JR Ward is writing the series, attention must still be paid to the entire brotherhood, even if each story is specific to one pair. Each individual story ties in to the main plot well enough that I don’t have an issue with this division of time.

My biggest problem with the book was with the ending. (Let’s see if I can do this without spoilers…) I had heard rumors that V’s story ended with an unconventional HEA (‘happily ever after’ in romance-speak) and I was glad, because I think that he’s the best of the brothers to deal with that. However, once I reached the ending, it seemed pretty darn conventional to me. I can see where the claim would come that it’s unconventional, but I disagree. (If you want to talk specifics, we can do it via e-mail or something else to avoid spoilers.)

And my favorite part? Probably watching Jane adapt to her new surroundings. Jane, being human, had a lot to get used to. And yet, she did so in a very believable way. She was a strong heroine without being anti-feminine, and she was smart while not being a machine. I really like Jane. My take on Vishous, though, hasn’t changed. I still like him well enough, but he’s not my favorite of the brothers. His book, too, I like without it being a favorite.

Trick or Type

2007-10-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

So, it's that time of year again. The time when the leaves start to turn colors, kids start begging for Halloween costumes, rain starts to fall, and novelists get a manic gleam in their eyes. The time for candy, sweaters, and write-ins.

In other words, National Novel Writing Month is nearly upon us.

I am getting ready, and have been aiming all of my writing tasks towards being prepared for that. I am finishing up critiques that I've had lying around. (Got Phoenix's AD crit finished, and I plan to do Ian's SHOMI chapters ASAP.) I am outlining and plotting and getting into my characters' heads... but not too far, just yet. If I go too far with my outline or get too immersed in the characters' thoughts, it's possible that I'll have a hard time not writing before November 1. Must. Wait.*

Anyone joining me?

~*~

*For NaNoWriMo virgins, the rules state that on November 1 you begin a whole new novel. You can have been planning it for as long as you like, but you don't actually start writing until midnight local time on the first of November. And you stop at midnight local time on the last day of November, assuming that you haven't finished your novel (or 50,000 words) before then. The goal is to finish a 50K novel; most people either aim to finish a longer novel, or to finish the first 50K of their novel. Me? This year I have a project in mind that needs to reach about 85K words, and so my plan is to finish the first 50K next month. It would be lovely, however, to finish the whole thing. Then I'd have more time to revise it before the contest deadline.

Give Three Cheers And One Cheer More

2007-10-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

The world is round; it has no point.
- Adrienne E. Gusoff
~*~

This is what I got up to last night:

Knitting while playing Oblivion on my PC. The only thing that would have made the evening better was if M was with me, or if I didn’t have to go to work the following morning. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And I made progress, too! (On both the game quests and my knitting.)

This is the current progress. Though the color isn’t quite right in this photo, since it was taken long after the natural light had faded away. It’s a lot closer to the color in the pic below. I really like it.

And yes, I know - this is a tank. And I started it in the fall. If I keep knitting on it at the pace I’m going (which is highly unlikely, but we’ll ignore that fact for argument’s sake) then I will be done with it sometime in the winter. Which is a silly time to complete a project with no sleeves. Ah well. No one said I made any sense at all.

That’s about it for today, I think. Though I am feeling very accomplished already this morning, as I just finished the critique of AD for my friend Phoenix. (Yes, that’s her online handle. I’ll use her real name - or pen name - once she’s published, and not before. Unless she asks.) I’m happy that I got it done - I’ve only been sitting on it for a couple of months now. But, she wants to polish it up for submissions, so it’s about time I finished. Besides, finishing the crit has been on my “to do” list for how many months now?

Yeah. Me? Procrastinate? No never! (Well, hardly ever!) —(link is to a mp3 - music - file)

Monday, Monday

2007-10-08T11:48:00.001-07:00

Well, for those that asked, yes I got the costume finished in time. And yes, I have pictures - but not with me. Sorry. I will get them up as soon as possible.

I have noticed, while restocking the candy dish at my desk, that the chocolate always vanishes fastest. And the peanut butter cups seem to go faster than the other chocolates, with the regular milk chocolate mini-bars going last. The Starburst which I also have in my dish (for color, variety, and cost-effectiveness) sit in the bottom until all of the chocolate is gone. And of the Starburst, the yellow (which is incidentally my favorite) gets taken last. I currently have about 14 yellow Starburst, 3 pink, 3 orange, and 2 red in my dish.

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.
Laurence J. Peter

‘Huh? Me? Mom, what are you giving me that funny look for?’ ~Suzy

(This is going to be a very random blog day, in case you hadn’t noticed.)

I am still working on all my knitting projects. None of them have new pictures, because frankly none of them have gotten that much progress. I’ve been doing a little bit here, a little bit there, and not much at any one time on any one project. I have been restless lately. I have also been playing Oblivion on the computer. (Mmmmm… Sean Bean as a voice actor…) I know, Oblivion’s been out for quite some time now, but see, I keep starting over and haven’t yet finished the main plotline.

I have been working on my writing projects, too. Making notes for CP (because I don’t want to actually start writing it until November for NaNo) and working on the outline, thinking through my worldbuilding to see if there’s anything that I forgot, or anything that needs to be re-worked to make more trouble for my MCs… I’m also almost done with the edit of AD for Phoenix. Yay! I’m down to about 20 pages in her ms. So I really need to get that done. ASAP.

I really don’t have anything more to say. So I’ll leave you now, and hopefully have some progress and pictures tomorrow. Maybe on Lotus Blossom? I am really liking knitting on a larger scale. I might get some good progress on the tank. We’ll see.

Forgive My Inanity

2007-10-05T10:49:00.001-07:00

That was just too cute. And it makes sense. I say silly, inane things. I am often near a cat. Like this one, who is now learning how to help me sew.

Please excuse the lack of much content today. The piece you see pinned out and being cut in the above picture is for a Ren Faire costume. We are going to Faire this weekend. Saturday, to be precise. Which means I don’t have much more time to sew. As in, whatever I can get done tonight. AFTER a dinner out with M’s dad. Yipes.

(Yipes isn’t at the dinner. It’s at the time left…)

My own fault. I didn’t start sewing until Wednesday night. But then, he never did tell me what he wanted me to make him. So I finally gave up and just started throwing fabric at patterns to see what would fit.

Today, to fill the space, we also have a Friday Fiver:

You bet your life it is

1. What’s your favorite cereal? ~dunno… Honey Bunches of Oats is a good one.

2. What is too gross to eat in the morning? ~steak. Seriously. That’s a dinner food, lunch at the absolute earliest.

3. What time do you go to bed? ~way too late, usually. I should be going to bed at 10:30 (or earlier) to get enough sleep before work. But it’s been more like 11:30… midnight….12:30…. um. Yeah.

4. Where do you put your keys? ~in my pocket. Or on my dresser. Or in my purse. Depends. When are we talking about?

5. What vegetables do you love? ~many of them. Especially cooked carrots and corn on the cob. And boiled veggies that go with corned beef & cabbage (including the cabbage). Yum. Oh, and salads are good too. And perfectly steamed broccoli or green beans or squash. Better to ask what vegetables I don’t like: brussel sprouts and eggplant. Ick. Keep them away from me.

Sounds Like Sci-Fi To Me

2007-10-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

This is too bizzare: A brain-eating amoeba hunts in warm-water lakes. It seems that this critter gets up your nose along with a splash of water, and then eats its way up and into your brain. Being a single-celled organism, amoebas can be hard to detect. And it seems that there is little to no way to stop this guy once it’s made its way up your nose. After two weeks, you’re dead.

Plus, China has its own Loch Ness style monsters. They move as fast as yachts, have huge fins (or is it wings?) and live in a lake supposedly too cold to sustain life.

Right - so that was a different way to start off a Writing Wednesday: with story sparkers. Maybe I’ll make a habit of that? But that would require more research on a regular basis. Maybe I won’t.

Writing-wise, it’s time for more goals. I know, I didn’t actually indicate which of last month’s goals I accomplished. Based on that fact alone, you should know that they didn’t actually get finished, though they did get worked on. (Well, I did do the OWG goals. So that’s good.) Anyway. October goals:

Finish an outline for CP, which is being used for SHOMI and NaNo.
Post my chapter to the OWG.
Critique the chapters my group has posted in the OWG. (1 down already.)
Edit the chapter of the Naked Project that I’ve been assigned.
FINALLY finish the edit of AD for Phoenix.

I think that should do it. I’ve got enough NaNo prepwork alone to get me through the month.

Week 40 ~ Three Bags Full

2007-10-02T15:52:00.001-07:00

Week 40 ~ Oct 1-7, 2007

Three Bags Full
Leonie Swann
(sheep mystery)

This is a very cute mystery story, with rather unusual detectives: the sheep belonging to the murdered shepherd. George Glenn has been killed, and his sheep determine to find out how, and then to bring the murderer to justice (even if they don't know what that means).

It's a different take on a murder mystery, and yet very enjoyable. I liked reading it, and the author has a good way of writing by using a different blend of senses than we are used to. Smell has a much higher priority than sight, and many of the common phrases you would expect to find in a book have been tweaked to be of the sheepy persuasion.

A Circ of Her Own

2007-10-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Remember when Suzy wouldn’t stop playing with my Addis? Well, I found a way to get her to stop. Give her a circ of her own.

It’s actually not an Addi Turbo, nor is it a full circular needle. It’s one of the cables from the KnitPicks Options set. And before anyone gives me a funny look, let me explain. This one was damaged. (Before Suzy got it. Honestly.) The threads on the cable weren’t good: one side was too big and wouldn’t fit in the tip, and the other side was all chewed up so that nothing would screw onto it. I asked the KnitPicks people if I should send it back, but they said to destroy it and they would ship me a new set. They did (very prompt service - I love them) and so I figured that giving the old cord to Suzy was as good a way to destroy it as any. And it keeps her away from my knitting.

In the progress news, my Lotus Blossom tank is the WIP that shows the most forward progress. It looks great so far, though I am slightly concerned that I didn’t order enough yarn. I’ll just cross my fingers and proceed. (I loved math as a kid. But knitty math and I don’t seem to get along as well.)

I’m using my new KnitPics Harmony wood tips on the interchangeable circular needles, and I love the feel of the wood. Same nice point as the Options needles, but with the warm, more organic feel of wood needles. I am so happy with that purchase.

Anyway, about the tank - I’m a couple of rows away from being done with the first repeat. I left the sweater on the larger needles for a few extra rows since I’m going to be adding an inch to the stockinette section, and I figured that a teeny bit of extra room at the bottom wasn’t a bad thing. (If you’re not familiar with the pattern: you start on US 6 needles, then after 9 rows switch to US 5 needles. I waited until row 15 or so to switch, just in case.) I’m really loving the way it’s knitting up, and the way the yarn (KnitPicks Shine Sport in Hydrangea) feels as I go. And someone - I think it was Amanda? or Jessica? - mentioned not too long ago how huge sweater yarn feels after knitting exclusively socks and lace for so long. I must agree. It’s so nice to be working on a project with a more instant gratification! Yay sport-weight yarn! Just imagine how I’d feel about super-bulky yarn…

(Actually, I don’t really like super-bulky yarn. I’ve yet to find a pattern I like for that yarn.)

Brief Writing Weds

2007-09-26T14:38:00.001-07:00

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.
- Bertrand Russell

~*~

Okay... this will be a quickie today. CP is going well, though I'm procrastinating more than I would like. Nothing to do with the story, either - I still love my plans for it. And I am excited about its prospects, though I have to write it before I can judge if those prospects even have a chance of opening up this time around.

I am caught up on my OWG required crits, though there are others that I want to do and am not sure that I will get to. And I'm supposed to edit my Naked Project story, and haven't done that yet. 4 days left...

That's about it today. I don't have much energy for writing an update post. The writing-related energy I do have I'm saving for the story plotting.

Kraft Knews

2007-09-25T11:18:00.001-07:00

Don’t you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There’s one marked ‘Brightness,’ but it doesn’t work.
- Gallagher

~*~

I did some spinning last night. I’ve been slowly re-working the pencil roving I had spun up. The first time I spun it, I decided to try making it into singles. Then I looked at it, and decided that the way I had spun the singles they wouldn’t be strong enough to knit into what I wanted to use it for. So, I have been re-spinning it thinner and then making it a 2-ply yarn. It’s much better this way.

But anyway, I’ve been spinning. And I’ve been getting help from the fuzzy ones. Suzy likes the roving, and wants to help me separate out the different strands. (And then she gets preoccupied and tries to eat it instead.) And Peekaboo decided that he wants to make sure the wheel works properly.

Now, let me see… just adjust this knob here, add a little more twist, and increase the cat hair content of the yarn, and it looks great. –Peekaboo

Lovely little helpers, aren’t they?

In more crafty news, I have decided that size 2.0 mm (US 0) needles are smaller than I want to use for the Hot Cocoa socks, and so I am waiting for the size 2.25 (US 1) needles to arrive in the mail. And I am waiting for the 24″ circular needle cable to arrive before I go any further with the Lotus Blossom top. (I’ve done a gauge swatch, and while I didn’t get the gauge suggested I think I have figured out what size to knit that will fit with the gauge I actually knit.) And I am still knitting the Mangotini Socks and the Mystery Stole 3 (aka Swan Lake Stole). I actually would like very much to get the MS3 finished by the holidays. Which means I must KNIT LIKE THE WIND! Yeah. Right. Like that happens a lot around here.

That’s the problem with knitting to relax. When you come up against deadlines, you decide, “I can knit that in time!” and then you realize that in order to knit said item in time for said deadline, you will have to knit fast enough that it no longer is relaxing. Argh.

I’m sorry, but you have a consistency problem with this yarn. Quality Control can’t approve it. –Peekaboo

Fill In The Blanks

2007-09-24T12:18:00.001-07:00

Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.
~ Jules de Gaultier
~*~

So, last week I mentioned my various packages and showed off pictures of yarn. Today, I don’t have pictures, but I can tell you about my new package of books. We shall do this in a blog-reader interactive style post today, just for kicks.

Fill in the blanks (circle one):

I was ____________ and joined the Writer’s Digest Book Club.

silly
responsible
impulsive

The books I got _________________.

show that I’m serious about writing
make some interesting statements about me
are cause for concern

Buying research books rather than looking the topics up online or at the library is good because _____________.

it supports the writing industry
hard copies in your own private library ensure the best access to information at all hours
it’s harder to trace questionable research

(And, a Suzy picture for those of you who skim blog posts looking for the kitty…)

The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.
~ P. B. Medawar

So, the books that I actually did get were the following:

Roget’s Super Thesaurus, 3rd Edition. - A good, basic reference book that I ~~don’t~~ didn’t have a copy of.

The Writer’s Guide to Places. - Since my travel budget isn’t as large as I would like, I decided that this was a good - if sadly homebound - alternative.

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. - (by Orson Scott Card) Ever since I’d read this one as a library book, I’d intended to buy it. Now is as good a time as any.

Howdunnit: A Book Of Poisons. - The book (of this bunch) that I am the most interested in, and the one that I ran from room to room, showing off with eyes aglow once the package was opened. It has all sorts of information about poisons, including the natural kind and the man-made kind. It talks about things from arsenic to hemlock, from snake venom (and many kinds) to spider bites.

My parents had very mixed reactions to me running up to them and saying, “I got a book on poisons!” My mom nabbed the book and started flipping through it, lingering on the plants section of the book. (Don’t plant lily of the valley if you have people in the house who put things in their mouths. That stuff is very deadly. Like, ‘don’t bother with an antidote because it works so fast’ deadly.) My dad, on the other hand, gave me a strange look and started teasing me. I’m still not 100% sure that he knows what to make of this writer-thing I’ve become.

She really liked my yarn-shoot. She thought it was a kitty-play-fest.

Of Packages and Socks

2007-09-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

So, I’ve had a package-y week. Since last Saturday, I’ve received a package a day (not counting Sunday) for several days. It’s been great. One thing that’s not in the mail on its way to me that I wish was is a black kitty t-shirt. I might have to actually go to Target and see if I can find one. (And it’s all Chris’ fault! She made me want one!)

I got fiber, I got jeans, I got yarn & new Harmony needles. (I think I got something else, too, but I forget what.) But - the new stuff!

I got a shipment from KnitPicks, prompted by the new Harmony wooden needles and the fact that I’ve wanted to get some solid color sock yarn for some time now so that I can try some of the smaller cables in a yarn that will show them off rather than competing for attention. So, the yarns pictured above: Essential sock yarn in Cocoa (ready to become a pair of Earl Grey socks for M), Shine Sport in Hydrangea (for a Lotus Blossom tank sweater from Interweave Knits), the Essential again (with Suzy) and Gloss sock yarn in Woodland Sage for a pair of Bayerische socks for me. Fun fun fun.

I’m looking forward to knitting all of that up. So much so, that I’ve already cast on the Earl Grey (henceforth known as the Hot Cocoa socks, due to colorway) and have been swatching for the Lotus Blossom.

I’ve also finished one of the Mangotini socks!

So that means my sock totals for the Summer of Socks is a whopping **drumroll** 3 socks! (Not 3 pairs of socks. Just 3 socks. 1.5 pairs.) Not nearly as impressive as Wendy’s 19 pairs, or Deb’s insane sock knitting for the 52 pair plunge, but still. That’s a sock a month. And that’s faster than I think I’ve knit socks before. So it’s still something nice.

Week 38 ~ The Buried Pyramid

2007-09-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

Week 38 ~ Sept 17-23, 2007

The Buried Pyramid
by Jane Lindskold
(historical fantasy)

This is a fun book with a nice premise, and Mozelle the cat is just the cutest thing ever. I’m not really sure where to classify it, though. It’s a very nice historical fiction to a point, and then it becomes a historical fantasy, and then at the end it seems to be a YA (aka young adult) historical fantasy. Now, I have no problem with YA or historical or fantasy. Or all three combined. My problem is that I like to know going into it what I’m going to get. An example would be the letter game books by Patricia C. Wrede and Carolyn Stevermer - before the first chapter is over, we know the era, we know there’s magic involved, and we know (based on the age of the main characters) that it could be a YA book.

Regardless of the issues I had with the book, it was very enjoyable. I liked reading about the Egyptian theme, and it seems that Ms. Lindskold did her research. I may not know much about Egyptian myths and hieroglyphs, but what I do know matched what was written.

The characters were mostly well-developed, even if one or two was fairly transparent. (By this I do not mean shallow - I mean I saw through their actions from the start, or nearly, and figured out their roles in the plot.) They were not all so easy to pinpoint, however, and there were some pleasantly unexpected parts as well. Definitely an enjoyable book, and it has piqued my interest (again) in the Egyptian myths.

I may one day try another of Lindskold’s books, though I would much rather continue with these characters than start a new series with new characters.

Procrastination

2007-09-19T10:40:00.001-07:00

So, I need to stop procrastinating. I have been building a language, which is cool and was not - originally - procrastinating. But the language is now built, with the exception of a few words that I just haven’t figured out yet, and I haven’t moved on. It is time for me to keep going, and to work on the plot again.

In the meantime, I have been also working on crochet and knitting. Knitting is common around here, but crochet not so much. And yet, when I was in college and doing exclusively cross stitch, the first other textile craft I picked up was crochet. I fell in love with thread crochet especially, and have made many doilies in my life. (A few blankets too, but not with thread.)

One of the doilies that I made a while ago is the daisy doily pictured above. I made it for my mom one Christmas (I think). It was at least 7 years ago. Beyond that… no idea. But it was fun, and I might make another one, perhaps with a light green in the center instead of yellow.

This doily has been loved, and was recently discovered to have been cat-fuzzed. It was in major need of re-blocking, and since I hadn’t ever taken a good photo of it, the time had come for that as well.

I also had recently found an abandoned doily in the WIP basket. It looked sad and unloved sitting there all alone, with no other crochet projects to keep it company… so I finished it. The Berka Blues doily was cast off a couple of days ago, then blocked, and was unpinned last night. It turned out quite nicely, I think.

Also, Friday marks the end of the Summer of Socks. So, I have been working on my Mangotini socks. I think that I should easily have sock #1 of that pair finished in 2 days. (I could cast off now, but I want it a little longer.) At any rate, 3 socks (not 3 pairs - just 3 socks) in 3 months is slightly faster than I normally knit. I credit the patterns. Both Monkey and Cabletini (link is a pdf) are fun patterns to knit, and make the stitches flow.

Spincerely Mine

2007-09-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay. I did say that my ‘Around the Blog’ from yesterday was going to be short. There are lots of blogs I read these days. But due to reader request, here is one more… Charlie, the wonderful gal who also loves dragons, did indeed post this month. She has a fun little exercise with homophones.

Isn’t this yummy fiber? I just love it. It’s from Tamara’s (aka Spincerely Yours,) Etsy store. Love love love. I can’t wait to spin it up. It’s a merino/tencel blend, and looks softer and shinier than anything I’ve spun before, with the exception of the silk I used to make my feather & fan scarf. (But silk is also a touch hard on the hands, or at least my hands, and I’ve never had that problem with wool.)

I think I will have to practice spinning on my alpaca roving/top/whatever just to get back in the swing of things. The only thing I’ve spun lately is pencil roving, and so I haven’t really gotten practice drafting. And drafting is the thing that I have the most trouble with, so is the thing I need the most practice on. Argh. Don’t wanna wait. But I think I have to.

Miss Suzy watched with interest as I set out the fiber for the photo shoot. She also seemed to like the colors, or perhaps the smells. Or maybe just the tissue paper. But whatever the reason, she was very attentive. She even let me get my photos taken without disturbing my fiber.

Of course, she thought it was hers.

Around The Blog ~ 9.17.07

2007-09-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?
- Scott Adams

~*~

**Reminder: this is now my secondary blog. (Thanks, Jess, for the comment that made ME remember that...) For the best updates and most posts (because I cross-post most things, but not every thing) go to My WordPress Site.**

Secondly, I have photos. Over the weekend, M and I went to ~~Bonfante~~ Gilroy Gardens. It’s a lovely park, and a very relaxing place. It also has two very fun roller coasters (especially if you are the sort that doesn’t like ~~insane~~ ~~death-defying~~ ~~suicidal~~ intense coasters). And there are other rides, too, and places to sit and people-watch, and lovely, lovely gardens.

Thirdly, it’s been a long time since I’ve done an ‘Around the Blog’ post. So, we’ll have a short one of those today, too. With random photos of mine interspersed.

Mim’s camera is back, and photographing a lovely Seraphim shawl. Nancy at Romancing the Yarn has knit Darth Sweater. Amanda at k is for Knitter has pictures of an almost-finished Duster. Paperback Writer has posted 10 random freeware links and a sign which reads Here Be Cannibals. LesleyW reviews Unshapely Things and Ill Wind. The Sheriff of Knittingham has started her Mystery Stole, L-Squared has a lovely shot of a butterfly, and Chaos tried (unsuccessfully, it would seem) to keep his mom from going away for the weekend.

Hanna is saving the world a step at a time, and Kait has a new niece-burrito. The new Knitty (magazine) is up! Jess has discovered humility and her brain on procrastination. Bri at Have Goggles Will Fly has a couple of “musts” to share. Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist got some weather assisted knitting done. And Brigitte at Wrapped Around My Finger has some new yummy yarn to show off.

Have a happy Monday, all! I’ll be posting about my new fiber (that I got from the wonderful Tamara of Spincerely Yours,) tomorrow. Suzy pictures tomorrow, too.

A Test of Courage

2007-09-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Friday Fiver: But in your dreams whatever they be

1. Do you like looking at stars? Absolutely. I can stargaze for hours, as long as I don’t get cold and my neck doesn’t hurt too much.

2. Who do you say “I love you” to? My family and M. And my pets. They seem to appreciate it, too.

3. Did you say “good night!” to anyone last night? Yep. (Oh, you want to know who? M and my parents.)

4. When is the last time you felt blue? I dunno. I try not to dwell on it, and so forget it fairly quickly. I was angry yesterday, but that’s more red than blue.

5. Tell us one of your dreams: I really don’t remember them much. The one that I remember the best is a nightmare from when I was probably around 10, in which I started flying on my bicycle, and when I landed I was caught by an animated skeleton. Not a good dream.

The first part of this post was the Friday Fiver, and pure fun. I don’t have a Friday Snippet today, sorry. Still working things out with what - if anything - I want to post right now.

The rest of this post will be a bit more … well, it’s raw for me, and more political than I usually get.

So, last night I saw an advance viewing of In the Valley of Elah. I was given a pass by a co-worker who gets them from a PR firm, and I’m glad I went since this is a film I probably wouldn’t have seen, otherwise.

I know, the inevitable question is, “did you like it?” Or, “was it a good movie?” I don’t know how to answer either of those questions. It was a very well acted movie. It was a movie that made me think. It was an unconventional movie that deals with hard truths which most people would rather forget about. I am glad I saw it. I would recommend it to those who are prepared for it to be a hard movie to watch, and who don’t mind some nudity or scenes of violent death. I do not know if I will watch it again. It is still too raw in my mind to make that decision.

One of the things that the movie brought up to me (for those that don’t know, it deals with a missing soldier and his unit who have just returned home from the war in Iraq) is how under-prepared our soldiers are for what they face. They may be trained enough physically, but emotionally and mentally there is so much more going on than they are ready for. I do not know how to better prepare them. I don’t even have a clue how to begin. But I think that we need to do something about it.

We should be putting more money into the military, but not for more troops - we should be putting the funds into making sure the troops we already have are cared for, and are prepared for the horrors that is modern warfare. (I was not around to think this at the time, but I’m sure that this was needed in Vietnam, too. And I have believed for some time that it was needed for the Gulf War. And it is still something that seems largely ignored or swept under the rug.)

(Back to the movie…)

One interesting note was the underlying religious themes in the movie. The title seems out of place, until Tommy Lee Jones’ character starts telling the story of David and Goliath to Charlize Therone’s character’s son. He tells about how the battle took place in the valley of Elah, and how in order to beat Goliath, David first had to conquer his own fear.

And that seems to be the main focus of the movie, for me.

Not the mystery behind who killed Mike Deerfield (Jones’ character’s son), or why he was killed, or even what is pictured in the broken-up video clips Mike shot while in Iraq. Overcoming your fears and besting the monsters inside you… that is the real theme of the movie.

I'd Like to Buy an 'E'...

2007-09-12T11:38:00.001-07:00

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.
- Stephen King
~*~

Grammar sucks. There is no other way to put it, if you are a speaker of the English language. Other people, who speak other languages, can say other things. Things which do not translate into “grammar sucks.” You see, these other people have languages whose grammar MAKES SENSE. We do not. There are more exceptions than rules in English grammar, or so it would seem. There are enough exceptions to the rules that Holly Lisle, in her ‘Create a Language Clinic,’ has a method called “the English Method” which allows you to disregard any rules you want to. You just say that the nouns (verbs, etc.) are “exceptions to the rule” and have done with it.

Of course, this is silly, since you are creating the rules in the first place. But it does raise a good point about the insanity of the English language.

Now, the reason this is all being brought up is because I am building a language. (Lesley mentioned in the comments yesterday that I was super-organized because I was planning out my NaNo novel already… I assure you that while, yes, I am planning my NaNo, I am doing so now (and in such detail) because I don’t want to spend the two years fixing it that I have already spent on SS (my ‘05 NaNo) and still be nowhere near done with it.)

This year’s NaNo needs to be submittable by April ‘08. So… plan now, stress less later. (I hope.)

Anyway, I don’t really think there was a point to all of this. Except to say how much fun I am having building this language. I won’t want to do it for every new story I write, because then I would be liable to end up with some of my languages all sounding the same (my flaw, not Holly’s Clinic’s flaw) because I like certain sounds and styles better than others. Also because while it is fun, it is also work.

Yeah, mom. It’s work that takes time when you could be playing with me, instead. –Suzy

Week 37 ~ Dark Need

2007-09-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Week 37 ~ Sept 10-16, 2007

Dark Need (Darkyn book #3)
by Lynn Viehl
(urban fantasy, paranormal romance)

This third book in the Darkyn series focuses on Lucan, a character we meet in the first book but don't see in the second. I really liked him, and the insights we get into his life. Samantha, his heroine, is also likable and has nice depth to her character. I think they are a good match and I enjoyed reading their story.

What I disliked most about the book, however, was how little time it seemed we actually spent with either Sam or Lucan. It seemed that there was more focus on this particular book's subplot than on it's main plot. (Clarification: the series has a main theme, and that's a huge theme in the first book since the original MCs are who drive that theme. The other books all have their own book theme that goes along at the same time as the series theme. In the second book - Private Demon - the series theme was a definite SUBplot, and didn't compete with the book's theme. It probably enhanced it. In this third book - Dark Need - it feels like the series theme and the book theme are given equal time, and it feels slightly unbalanced to me. But that's just me.)

Anyway, I did still enjoy it. It's a good read with well developed characters. I had a hard time reading it straight through, however, instead of flipping to the Sam/Lucan parts and ignoring the rest.

Remember.

2007-09-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

It may not be much, and perhaps isn’t enough.

But it’s the least we can do.

Suzy Bluezy

2007-09-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
~Mark Twain

~*~

So, first thing’s first: a preview. I’ve been working on the world for the story I’m going to do for NaNo, and I’ve been working on the doily that I rescued from the hibernation pile. For details and pictures, keep reading…

Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.
~Alan Dean Foster

This is the doily I found and rescued. It had been sitting around, neglected, for who knows how long. I do know that I didn’t start it in 2007. Beyond that, I have no idea.

But it’s a fun one. It’s the same pattern as the one I made my grandma for her 80th birthday. It’s a “Berka Shells” doily from Southmaid Timeless Doilies to Crochet (that’s a link to Ravelry, if you’re in). This one is done in a variegated blue crochet cotton. It’s fun, though I do usually prefer doilies to be in a solid color. The color changes don’t usually work with things worked in the round. But, this one is okay. Not my favorite color for the pattern, but still fun.

Suzy likes it, too.

Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.
~Dandemis

In the writing world, I have been world- and language-building for the story I am going to write for NaNo. It’s fun, so far. I’ve been using Holly Lisle’s Create a Plot and Create a Language Clinics, and they are working wonderfully. So far I have not gotten much of the plot worked up, but I have enough for the moment - especially since I want the language barrier to be part of the plot conflicts. Also, I’ve noticed (from my limited experience with language-building and from what Holly has said) that the way a language works can give you insights into your culture.

(Suzy really likes it. She likes it so much she tries to steal it.)

Week 36 ~ Night Pleasures

2007-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Week 36 ~ Sept 3-9, 2007

Night Pleasures
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
(urban fantasy, paranormal romance)

This is one of the Dark Hunter books, and while I think it's the first actually about a Dark-Hunter, Fantasy Lover does precede it in the world Kenyon has created. (The main characters from FL show up again in NP as supporting cast.)

I enjoyed the book. It was fun to read, with nothing that jumped out at me as a 'flaw' until the end of the final battle. And even then, it's not so much that there was anything 'wrong' with the book, more that some important stuff happened off-screen (in order to keep the reader guessing, I presume) and we got shoved exclusively into the hero's head instead of flowing back and forth between the hero and the heroine. (Actually, the POV shifted too often to fit my personal preferences. I like a tighter focus in third-person-POV, and I like it to be obvious when the focus changes. Some kind of visual break is what I prefer.)

The sex scenes were okay. I didn't roll my eyes at the positions, and only chuckled at the language a teeny bit. They weren't as steamy as I find some other authors (such as Kresley Cole) to be, but they were quite adequate.

The character development worked for me, too, though I would have liked to see more of Amanda's (the heroine) family and their oddness for myself. We're told about a lot of strange things that they do, but very little of it happens on screen. This wasn't necessary to the plot, but it would have been fun.

Fiver, but Snippetless

2007-09-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Friday Fiver: 9.7.07
And maybe I should do the same

1. Have you ever run away? From what? From home? No. From emotions, or feelings, or other such? Yeah, I suspect I have.

2. What is the longest you’ve dated someone? Dated… a couple of years, I guess. Then I married him, then we got divorced. Take that as you will.

3. What don’t you like to think about? Sad things.

4. What was your last illness? Something that made me throw up. I’m not really sure what it was, but it wasn’t pleasant.

5. Do you like to get revenge? What’s the point of it? Once you get revenge, then the person you got revenge on wants revenge, etc. I really don’t see much of a need for it. It’s better and healthier to move on and get past it. –note, please, that ‘revenge’ is different in my eyes than ‘justice.’ If someone were to do me wrong in an illegal way, I would want justice. But not revenge.

~*~

As the title says, there is no snippet this week. I’m still working on where I want to go with that story, and I just don’t have the energy to put up a snippet from it. But, I did get a moment of clarity with regards to SS, so there will likely be bigger changes to it than I had originally thought. Anyway, it means a postponement of snippets for the moment. Maybe next week I’ll post a poem or something else, but I wasn’t thinking that far ahead for this week…

Have a great weekend!

Lit Up

2007-09-05T09:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I promised pictures, and so here are pictures. (Actually, I’ll spread them out a little, to make the post seem more balanced. Even though I’m only going to talk about the pictures up here at the top.) Also, Jess has a nice post on recognizing depression, and especially how depression affects writers. Go check it out.

This is my current sock-in-progress, the Mangotini (Wendy’s Cabletini pattern). I thought it was cute, and to go with the name I managed to find a martini glass. (Okay, so it has a candle in it. So sue me. Just be glad the candle wasn’t lit… Hmmm. Seems like some candle maker has a punny sense of humor.) This first sock is up past the heel, and fits me lovely. So I guess I get to keep the socks, after all! (I had worried while knitting it up… cable patterns always make a sock scrunch in and look funny.)

Anyway. On to the writing content.

It is the first Wednesday of a new month, so that means writing goals! Here is what I would like to get done during September:

Finish critiquing AD for Phoenix.
Do a minimum of two (2) crits for my OWG group.
Post my own chapter to the OWG for critiquing.
Get most of the preliminary worldbuilding done for CP. (”How much is that?” Well, enough so that I can do #5.)
Write line-for-scene index cards for 50 scenes (for CP) and put them in an approximate outline.

Now, I realize that is more writing work than I have done all year. However, I need to get this outline done before I can write the novel, and I need to write the novel before I can polish it, which needs to be done before I submit it for the contest… Etc. And I do fully realize that numbers 4 and 5 might get carried over into October’s goals. But my goal for November is already set: to complete as much of the first draft of CP (which needs to be 80-90,000 words) as possible, with a minimum acceptable level of 50,000 (to “win” NaNo).

I am hoping that I can easily get back into the swing of things. Though with as much going on in life as there is currently, it will take quite a bit of determination and will power. I know I am capable of it. Let’s see how dedicated I decide to be.

Evasion

2007-09-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.
- Carl Sagan

~*~

There has been progress on the first Mangotini sock, but sadly it eluded the camera all weekend and so there are no new pictures of it. There has also been progress on the Swan Lake Stole (formerly the Mystery Stole 3), which also eluded the camera. The sock is past the heel (barely) and the stole is some few rows past the beginning of Clue #3.

It’s progress-central around my house, actually, because I’ve been getting work done on CP also. Not as much as I would like, but enough to satisfy for the moment. I’m doing a combo world-build and outline for this one. I know the basic idea for the story quite well: spaceship crashes on uncharted planet due to sabotage, sole survivor falls in love with one of the natives, HEA. And I know some of the twists and turns that the story will take to make the relatively standard basic plot more interesting. The fun part for the early stages of this project, for me, has been building the world as I discover what’s needed.

I think that Holly Lisle said that she’s lately taken to only building her world as she discovers the world’s needs, and that seems to work for me (at least in this instance). In the past I’ve gotten way bogged down with building anything that could possibly be needed for the story, and then was bored enough with the world that I still haven’t finished (or started, in one case) the actual writing. This way I have some room for exploration left as I learn more about the characters.

Also, I’ve been using a program that was pointed out to me by Diane Duane, called TiddlyWiki. It’s kind of like your very own Wikipedia for your project. And since you save it on your hard drive (or jump drive, or - if you still have one - floppy drive) it’s still secure. (Or, at least, as secure as anything else on your computer.) It’s neat, though, because you can reference different things within your notes with hot links, just like Wiki does. (Or blogs do, for that matter.) It seems to be a great way to organize a digital journal for a project, because you don’t have to hunt everywhere for where you wrote about that little detail - you just link to it so you can click on it later. Seems to be working great for me.

Anyway, that’s it for today I think. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Maybe I’ll sprinkle some in tomorrow (if the knits consent to pose for photographs). This week Jess over at Tudor’s Desk is having a series of posts on writing and depression, so if you suffer from either of those (depression or the writing bug) you may want to head over to her site and check it out.

Have a great short work week!

Finally

2007-08-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Yay! The Friday Fiver is back! Woo hoo!

Friday Fiver: Why do you build me up?

1. Who never returns your phone calls?
~ No one. I don't place many calls to people who wouldn't call back.

2. What was your favorite childhood toy?
~ Um. No idea. I have a childhood blankie (still around, somewhere) and a favorite stuffed dog. But toy*? Dunno.

3. Who is the last person you greeted at your door?
~ Probably M. It's been a while since I opened the door (my door, as opposed to work's door) and so I forget.

4. Who do you need?
~ Don't be silly. M. Family, too.

5. Do you break hearts or do you have your heart broken?
~ A little bit of both, I'm afraid.

Also finally, M is back! I hate extended business trips. Especially 24-hour-notice "by the way someone quit so you have to fly out tomorrow to cover the workload" business trips.

And, my Friday Snippet is now here permanently. Go. Read. Join the Linky.

* Side note: instead of writing "toy" I put in "boy." I know that one. My favorite childhood boy was Zach. I told his older sister that we were going to get married when we grew up. I was three.

Week 35 ~ Staying Dead

2007-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Week 35 ~ Aug 27-Sept 2, 2007

Staying Dead (Retrievers #1)
by Laura Anne Gilman

(urban fantasy)

This is an amusing book, though for a while I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get into it. There are (IMO) problems with the grammar that annoyed me, and while it might be intentional to show character voice or it might be a different stylebook than I am used to (or I might be wrong, which in this case I doubt) it still came between me and the story... until I got to know the characters. Once I learned enough about the characters to get interested in them, I was hooked.

I like the way there is romantic tension from the start, and yet the characters neither jump into bed together at first opportunity (actually, not at all in this book, though there what happens in the sequels is anybody's guess - unless you've already read them, in which case you don't have to guess) nor even acknowledge any attraction until quite a ways into the story. I like the fact that the tension stays tension. That works for me.

Also, it is nice to see a realistic approach to a world with magic and different species. I like how the creatures called demons are not fully demonic, nor are angels complete saints. Overall, I liked it. Nicely done.

Randomosity

2007-08-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

~*~

(My Thursday Thirteen is over here...)

So, it seems that I have joind a cult. This greatly amuses me. I would tell you more about it, but since the (two) founders have dubbed it the “Ambiguities,” I doubt there is much I can say to explain it.

~*~

In more a definable line of thought, Paperback Writer (aka Lynn Viehl, aka S.L. Viehl, et al) has written up a post on Cast Balancing. More good ideas from PBW. My thoughts, as posted in the comments, are:

Very good ideas, all, and since I’m plotting out a new story this will be very helpful. (Of course, a large number of the cast will die in the first chapter or three, but they might as well be a balanced cast before they die, eh?)

So, more work for me to do for CP. Not that I didn’t already plan on doing more work - but this is at least work with a purpose.

~*~

~*~

I have been working on the Mystery Stole (which is no longer a mystery, but is the Swan Lake stole) and have finally finished Clue #2. I still love the pattern, and love the yarn, and the beading, and will be knitting on it more. But hopefully I will be writing a lot more too, and so the stole won’t get finished as quickly as it otherwise might.

At the moment, I only have two knitting projects on the needles (which is odd given that I have had more than that going for a long time now). (Oh - and not counting the project or so that I have abandoned. Like the worsted-weight socks. Not a smart idea in coastal California. Maybe if I lived in the Sierras, or something, but… no. They will probably be ripped back eventually. Maybe the yarn will be made into a hat.)

~*~

I’m not sure what other randomness I can get into at the moment. So I’ll leave you with some cuteness:

… a picture of some of the front-yard kittens. These aren’t the bittiest ones, but they’re still young. And adorable! And in need of spaying/neutering so that we don’t find ourselves up to our ears in kitties.

Writing Weds ~ 8.29.07

2007-08-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of month again. The time where I look at my writing goals, and determine where I have fallen short. This month - though I haven't finished quite everything on my list - is the first in a long time when I actually feel a sense of accomplishment.

Let's see: the list had three things on it.

Do 2 (+2 added mid-month, for a total of 4) OWG crits.
Crit up to page 100 of AD for Phoenix.
Work up a line-for-scene set of plot cards for SS.

I have done the first two. I did not do the third - and I am not going to for a while.

I have been rather lacking in enthusiasm for SS for some time now, and so have been putting it off. I had been thinking of that as a lack of enthusiasm for writing in general. However, when it was mentioned in my online crit group that there was a new line that was holding a contest which could result in publication, I was interested. I looked at the requirements, and realized (slowly and happily and excitedly) that one of the ideas which has been bounding around in my head for years now would fit the contest much better than SS. In fact, they seem almost made for each other.

So, I have committed to that project. It is code-named CP, and will only be referred to as that until something resembling an actual title appears. (This particular code, unlike SS, has no bearing on titles. This code is there only because I needed something to identify the project, preferably something that would have a meaning for me.)

Last night I worked up around 10 pages of notes and scene ideas in around 2-3 hours. I haven't done anything like that in a long time.

It is good to be writing again. And this time, my writing isn't an escape from a bad relationship. It is merely having a story to tell and a desire to tell it. (That was a part of it before, but the drive to write came not from the desire the way it does now. Anyway, all of that is a long story, and yes, I am emotionally over it, but no, I don't want to talk about it. Not here, anyway, and not now.)

Hope all is well with you!

Turn Around, Bright Eyes

2007-08-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We’ll be holding on forever

~*~

Okay, okay, so it wasn’t a total eclipse of the heart. (Those that don’t get the reference, go here.)

It was a total eclipse of the moon. Last night, around 2:30 PDT, I looked out my window and saw that the previously incandescent moon was half eaten. (Yes, I got up at 2:30 in the morning on a work night so that I could see the moon vanish into the Earth’s shadow. So I’m an astronomy geek at heart. So sue me.)

Anyway, it’s not often that you are in a good spot to see a total eclipse. So, I wanted to see this one. And it was worth it. My whole family got up (or stayed up) and went outside to watch. Earlier that evening, you could have read a book by the light of the moon; after the moon was fully eclipsed, we practically needed a flashlight to find our way in off the porch.

I just wish we had a telescope set up. It was really cool to see as it was, but that would have been neater. Though, it was also fun watching the eclipse reflected in the pool. The slight ripples along the surface of the water mixed with the slowly creeping shadow… very nice.

The biggest problem was our back porch cat was so very friendly, and we were so very preoccupied, that he started nipping at my toes to get attention.

Speaking of cats… My Suzy has been taking lessons from Mayhem. She has determined that Addis (circular sock needles, for the uninitiated) taste very good.

‘Mmmm… yummy.’

New Projects and Lots of Pics

2007-08-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Okay… there are two new projects that will debut today. The first is socks, and you won’t have to wait very long for them. The second is a thought for the blog I had yesterday, and it will appear on my Wordpress blog after lunch.

But… socks!

These are Wendy’s Cabletini socks, and I’m knitting them in the lovely Spunky Eclectic yarn that I was gifted by Barbara of Romancing the Yarn. Due to the color, I’m dubbing them my Mangotini socks. Now I just need to find a martini glass, and I’ll have the perfect photo op for them.

Also, I’ve been told that it’s been too long since I had hedgie in a photo. So, here he is! He’s been bored and lonely, and is very glad to be back in a photo.

But Mom, these don’t taste at all like mango…

Friday Snippet Moved...

2007-08-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today's Friday Snippet has been moved to WordPress. If you'd like to read it, go here.

I will be moving (more or less gradually) everything over there, so readjust your bookmarks accordingly.

FO: Mini Monkey Socks

2007-08-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

(FYI: My Friday Snippet is still planned for today, but will be postponed while I do some running around for work. Once I have a chance to catch my breath, I’ll post something.)

I finished my monkeys!

Aren’t they fun? I really like the way they turned out.

Cast on: first day of the Summer of Socks
Cast off: 23 August 07

Knit on bamboo DPNs, size 2.75mm (US 2), out of SWTC’s TOFUtsies yarn (”Foot The Bill” colorway.)

I’ll post more details on the FO page (under completed crafts) once I get the chance to write that page. (See note at the top about not having time for more at the moment.)

FO: Icarus Shawl

2007-08-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

(FYI: my Thursday Thirteen post is over here. I am going to be moving my blog back to WordPress.)

Icarus is done! And it's lovely. Anyone who has wanted to try a Miriam Felton pattern but hasn't should seriously consider it. Not only is the pattern (and the resulting shawl) beautiful, but she's very helpful and offers support every step of the way. But I doubt you want to hear me talking... you'd probably rather see the pictures.

Cast on: January 2007.
Cast off: 21 August 2007.

Knit in KnitPicks Shadow, in the Oregon Coast colorway. Edges beaded with jade chips. I used a 3.25 mm circular bamboo needle (metric knitting needle sizes make more sense, so I'm trying to switch... but that's a US 3) of whatever length Miriam suggested in the pattern... I forget. (Note to self: use a pointier needle for lace next time.)

I love this pattern. And the way it worked with the yarn and the beads. Love love love.

Week 34 ~ Knitting Rules!

2007-08-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Week 34 ~ Aug 20-26, 2007

Knitting Rules!
by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
(non-fiction, knitting humor)

This is a highly amusing book. In it, Stephanie (aka the Yarn Harlot) tells stories and anecdotes about knitting, and life in general. I laughed a lot. It was very funny.

However, I suspect you will find it less funny than I unless you are also a knitter, or live with a knitter. Stash enhancement, for example, means a lot less to those who neither have nor desire a stash. And jokes about garter stitch scarves are only funny (or tortuous) if you have ever tried to knit something 4 feet long in garter stitch.

In addition to the humor, Stephanie includes some basic pattern "recipes" for hats, socks, shawls and scarves. She gives a break-down of the gauge rule, and why you should follow it. And she explains the Evil Sweater Curse.

I really think I need to buy this book. But to pass on the recommendation? I can only suggest it to you if you already understand at least a little bit of the knitting lingo. It even begins with a disclaimer:

If you picked up this book, I probably don't need to convince you that knitting is great. ...

Writing Weds ~ 8.22.07

2007-08-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to say, writing-wise. I know: this is bad of me. I should have progress. I should have updates.

Well, I have done things. I have been working on the AD crit for Phoenix. I have been ... um. Yeah. Not so much in the writing department.

To distract you, here is a Suzy picture! Yay for cute cats!

Also, I cast off my Icarus shawl last night! I'm very excited about that, even though it took me well over an hour to do so. (Non-pointy bamboo needles aren't the best for knitting lace. Especially the bind off. Just so you know.) I expect to block it tonight, since I am so excited and long to have it done, and I will have pictures once I have blocked it. Not until then. Sorry. You'll just have to wait.

That's all for now. Happy hump day!

Beading Knits 101

2007-08-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, let's see. I was actually asked to show pictures of how, exactly, I beaded my Icarus shawl. Well, since I'm not one to let a challenge go by, I pulled out the beads and the shawl last night and tried to take pictures of how I did it. (This was made slightly more difficult by trying to take the pictures and hold the knitting all by my lonesome, because I was too silly or stubborn to ask for help. And the cat didn't help. She hindered.)

But, silliness and stubbornness aside, here is a pictorial view of how I beaded the outside edge of Icarus...

(Click on the pictures to make them bigger. I don't want to take up too much space with huge photos.)

First, thread the bead onto a small crochet hook. (I used a size 12 steel hook.) If you don't have a teeny enough hook, you can use a small piece of wire, such as a twist-tie that has the paper removed, or a piece of fishing line folded in half instead. I am going to go with the assumption that you are using a crochet hook; for the fishing line idea, you can read the instructions Miriam herself posted on how to bead Icarus.

Knit up to the stitch to be beaded. Hook the stitch to be beaded with the crochet hook. (You put the bead on the stitch before you knit it.)

Gently pull the stitch off of the needle with the crochet hook. I tend to keep the stitch between the thumb and index fingers of my left hand so that I know I will not drop the stitch and lose it in the lace pattern, causing me to cry bitterly. (I am not doing that in this picture because I had to hold the camera. I was nervous, but the stitch behaved very nicely for me in this case.)

Pull the yarn through the bead. This can be either very easy or very hard, depending on the stickiness of your yarn and the size of the hole in your beads. I would recommend using beads that fit nicely. Not too loose, but not too snug either.

Put the stitch back onto the left-hand needle. Try to put it on the needle facing the same direction it came off. If you don't, you will likely end up with a twisted stitch. (In some cases, this doesn't matter much. The beads I used in my shawl, for instance, are big enough that it is very unlikely that anyone will be able to tell if I twisted a stitch. I still try not to, however.)

Knit the stitch, as directed by the pattern. (I do not recommend trying to put a bead in a pattern where you do anything except knit the newly-beaded stitch. Maybe you can purl it. But do not try to bead a k2tog, for instance. That just gets messy.)

The bead will now sit nicely below the row of stitches you just made. Depending on the size of your bead, knitting the next row is sometimes a little tighter (because the bead is pushing the stitches around) than usual, but blocking should sort the slight difference out.

Now, I am not (by far) the first knitter to have up a beading tutorial. I doubt I am the best, either. For some other examples, you can either look at Miriam's link above, or try the following.

Fluffy Knitter Deb has perhaps the best tutorial on beaded knitting that I have read. (This is where I first learned to bead my knitting.)
Melanie at Pink Lemon Twist has a nice discussion of how to add beads to a design that doesn't have them.
Annalea at The Passionate Mind posted a video clip of adding beads to knitting.
Silvia Harding wrote a beading tutorial for Knitty.com.

I think that's probably enough links to get you started. Hope that helps, and happy (beaded) knitting!

Honored

2007-08-21T08:39:00.001-07:00

Wow! I feel very special. L^2 at Dog's Eye View has given me a Nice Blogger Award.

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

What can I say? She said that it's because I (we - counting the others she gave the award to as well) leave nice comments. Well, gee... thanks. :)

And who should I pass it on to? Hmmm.

Lara at Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing
Kait at Struggle and Emerge
Ginger and Wiggley at Ponders of Two Guinea Pigs
Tamara at Spincerely Yours,
Imbrium at Nerd Knits
Brigitte at Wrapped Around My Finger
Tiennie at Tiennie Knits

All of these ladies (and guinea pigs) have a variety of things going for them. They are nice, say nice things, have nice looking sites, etc. Go, visit and spread the love.

And happy Tuesday.

Monday, Monday

2007-08-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

It's Monday. And I was almost late to work because I almost missed my light rail train. That was because I was having troubles with my car. My - NEW - car. Which is a manual (aka stick-shift, aka type-of-car-I've -never-owned-in-my-life) and so I was driving more cautiously. And slower. And with more unexpected stops at stop signs. But OH MY GOSH IS IT FUN! I love that car. (Which car? This car:

Anyway, that's one thing I did over the weekend. Bought a new car.

Another thing I did over the weekend was go to a wedding. And I brought my sock. (No, not to the ceremony, but that will be addressed on Thursday.) And I knit a bit in the car, and took a traveling sock photo while waiting for the bridal party to arrive at the reception. (Only to find out later that we'd been expected to stay for the wedding photos, even though we figured that we were distant enough family that we thought we shouldn't.)

But the sock had fun. It got to lounge on the rocks by the San Francisco Bay, looking out from the Berkeley shore to the City. Lovely view, too. No fog to speak of (except far out), nice cool breeze... in short, California showing off. I love it here. (Until I look at my budget. But that's another story.)

Anyway, within a few days I expect to have finished Icarus photos to show you. Or at least beaded Icarus photos. (I'm putting beads on the edging. Mim mentioned how somewhere on her blog, for those of you who - like me - purchased the pattern by way of Interweave Knits, and so don't have the beading instructions. I had a link here somewhere. Either look through my 'Icarus' category, or do a search on Mim's site.) It will almost certainly not be a BLOCKED Icarus until this weekend. At the earliest.

Have a good week!

Friday Snippet ~ 8.17.07

2007-08-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

This week's snippet comes immediately following last week's. I'm not sure if it will stay in or not (because I'm not sure if Cynthia's actually going to go home or not) in the next draft, but since I like the scene I thought I'd post it.

Reminder: This material is copyrighted by me, and is still in draft form. It may be altered or even cut before the final, hopefully published, version. Please do not reproduce it anywhere, in any form.

Today, Rich was working on the set of one of the big comic-book superhero movies. I forgot which one; he’d done most of them, so I supposed it didn’t matter any more. He got to see many of the big stars, even if they never noticed him. It would have made me jealous, except he made a point of getting me show t-shirts or souvenirs from the sets as presents.

This package didn’t feel like a movie souvenir.

It felt like a book. And a book was even better than a souvenir.

I ripped the paper off, not even bothering to read the card. Mom reached down and picked the paper off the floor where I’d thrown it. She got out her penknife and slit the tape attaching the card to the wrapping paper; she even opened the envelope for me before starting to smooth out the paper.

It was indeed a book: a large, coffee table book about Yosemite National Park. Tingles ran up my spine as I looked at it—not because I love Yosemite, though I do, but because I had a feeling. It just felt special.

I opened the front cover to see that Rich had personalized it. “Happy birthday, Cyn! I know how important books are to you, and this one seemed appropriate. Let me know what it does! -R.” I stared at the inscription, and then scrutinized the back cover. There had to be some clue, some hint...

My dad cleared his throat, drawing attention back to the rest of the gifts awaiting my attention. With a self-conscious smile, I took Rich’s card from my mom and read it quickly before tucking it inside the book and taking a small box from the top of the pile.

Rich’s book was first in the stack of unwrapped gifts that began taking over the coffee table. A pair of earrings, three CDs, and a blouse had joined it when the phone rang.

“Delaney household.” I glanced up at my dad and saw a smile spread over his face at the response on the other end of the line. “Just a moment please,” he said mock-seriously before handing me the phone.

“Hello?”

“Cyn! Happy birthday!”

“Rich, I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

“Why not? You work in ‘Sin City’, and it—”

“It rhymes. Yes, I know.” I could practically hear the grin spreading across his face at his old joke.

“If you know, why do you bother to ask?”

“It’s nice to talk to you too, Rich.”

My parents just smiled indulgently as we traded sibling banter, though a frown developed on Dad’s face as he watched Mom smoothing out the wrapping paper I had torn off of the packages. He waited until I hung up the phone before exploding.

“Must you do that, Barb?”

“Reusing the wrapping paper saves trees, Carl. I’m not asking you to do it for me. But—” she held up her hand to forestall the comment we both knew was coming “—we can discuss that later. Today is Cynthia’s day.”

They exchanged a long look, then turned to me with nearly identical smiles. If they didn’t have this “discussion” every time presents were unwrapped, I’d have been worried. As it was, however, I just reached for the next box.

Want to join Friday Snippets?

FO: Baby P's Blanket

2007-08-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!

Baby P's blanket is done! And, as far as I know, Baby P hasn't arrived yet, either. So I'm very happy. The blanket isn't as long as I had intended, but it's done. Maybe I'll use some of the extra yarn to make socks or a hat or something.

I had meant to knit this longer, but I finally decided to do a marathon movie-knitting night (knitting while watching The Mummy... very amusing night) and just GET IT DONE. So, when the movie was over, I cast off. And I am very pleased. I think it turned out lovely.

And just to show how far I got before throwing it into the sink to wet-block it... Just over 2 feet, all pinned to shape. (I'm not measuring it after taking it off the blocking pads. As far as I'm concerned it's over 2 feet. So there.)

Week 33 ~ Mage Winds Trilogy

2007-08-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Week 33 ~ Aug 13-19, 2007

The Mage Winds Trilogy (Winds of Fate, Winds of Change, Winds of Fury)
by Mercedes Lackey
(fantasy)

This trilogy is one that I have read many times, and so has become a comfort-read. It's a book that I can read when I don't want surprises. When I feel that the rest of life is doing strange things and I need some stability. Now, don't take this to mean that there are no surprises and twists in the series. There are plenty. But I am familiar enough with them that they are not surprising any more.

This series is set in Lackey's world of Valdemar, and I would highly recommend starting with Arrows of the Queen and finishing that trilogy before reading this one. They can be read out of order, but they are all closely related enough that doing so will cause spoilers - in some cases, major ones. (In fact, if you do start with the Arrows trilogy and get super-hooked on it, you may want to go and read the Vows & Honor set and By The Sword before starting the Mage Winds trilogy, as those are all directly related as well.)

The Mage Winds trilogy follows Heir & Herald Elspeth as she goes in search of magical assistance for Valdemar. The first book in the series is split between her point-of-view and Darkwind's - a Hawkbrother scout and former mage who, we are allowed to guess, is going to become an integral part of Elspeth's quest by the time the trilogy is over. To go into much more detail would ruin things, but I will say that this trilogy manages to be a part of a (much) larger world without losing the ability to stand alone, should you choose. (I recommend against it, but it is possible to read this as your introduction to the world of Valdemar.)

Thursday Thirteen ~ 8.16.07 (#5)

2007-08-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things About Cats

They can be the sweetest things in the world.
They can also be pains in the rears.
Small enclosed spaces are preferred cat resting places.
When they purr (especially while lying on your stomach) it is easy to forgive them for anything.
Except kneading you in tender places with sharp claws.
Cats always want to be the center of attention, and have mastered the fine art of coming between you and your book.
Or the computer screen.
Or your knitting.
Plus, they tend to play with your knitting while you are trying to get them out of the way.
Cats or kittens at rest can always bring a smile to my face.
They can be incredibly affectionate to other animals, including both other cats, and dogs.
And sometimes horses.
Though they tend to run away from overly curious rabbits.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Testing, One, Two, Three

2007-08-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

FYI, I am messing with my WordPress blog again. I am sick of some things on Blogger, and yet also sick of some things on WP. Both have their ups and downs, so now it's just a matter of me determining which one bugs me more...

Writing Weds 8.15.07

2007-08-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

So, I had planned to assess my writing goals today, and set goals for the rest of the month. Here is the status of what I had originally planned to get done by today:

Edit up to page 100 of AD for Phoenix.

Well, I didn't. I got through page 70, though, which is more work on it than I did all last month (and maybe the month before). And that's not half bad.

Work up a line-for-scene for the entirety of SS (preparatory to doing the Major Edit I've been procrastinating).

I didn't get this done, either. But I have thought up some new scenes and some scene modifications, so my brain is at least working on the story fixes.

Do two (2) critiques on the OWG.

Yay! I did this one!

Post my own chapter on the OWG.

Yay! I did this one, too!

Okay, and so my goals for the next two weeks (aka the rest of the month):

Do two (2) more OWG critiques.
NOW get through pave 100 of AD edited for Phoenix.
And get the line-for-scene for SS done.

Based on the amount of work SS is going to need, I think that's enough of a goal for two weeks. Especially since my personal preference is not to to 2 critiques, but as many as are posted in my group plus a critique for anyone else who critiques my chapter. That could be a small number, or a big one... usually it's fairly big. We have a nice, active OWG group.

Happy hump day!

You Oughta Be In Pictures

2007-08-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's how it works:
1) Go to http://www.google.com/
2) Click on Google images
3) Type in your name and search
4) Repost the picture of the oddest, craziest, strangest, coolest, oldest, etc. person that shares your name. Post multiples if you find a few you like.
5) Pass it on to at least 5 other people.

(I tried using my real name, but got almost exclusively images of celebrities in various stages of (un)dress, and so decided on the username instead.)

Hee hee! Those are fun. The first one is actually where I got this username, so it's appropriate that it was one of the first images to come up on the search.

And since I wasn't actually tagged to do this MEME, I'm not tagging anyone. It's fun to do, so play along if you want! (And may you have better luck than I did with family friendly images...)

Weekend Warriors

2007-08-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

The sock went traveling over the weekend. (The sock in question is the Mini Monkey from the TOFUtsies yarn.) (And yes, I went traveling with it.)

We went down from Northern California to So Cal, by way of the Grapevine.

It was hot, but not nearly so hot as it could have been. And hey - it's California. Hot in the summertime is expected. We went visiting (M has family there) and playing (yay Downtown Disney!) and also went to the Rose Bowl. The whole purpose of the trip (besides visiting family) was to go see the DCI* finals. We got to spend around 4 hours sitting in warm California summer evening weather, watching colorful flags and costumes, listening to horns and the drumline. Ah, contentment.

And then, when all was said and done, the corps we were rooting for won. Yay! Go Blue Devils!

I had a blast. (Heh. Pun intended.) And then on Sunday the sock and I went to Tommy Burger (where the sock did not take a picture in order to avoid getting chili all over) and then home by way of Hollywood. Very nice, mostly relaxing trip.

And that was my weekend. How was yours?

(*DCI = Drum Corps International. I am a marching band junkie, and proud of it.)

Friday Snippet 8.10.07

2007-08-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

(This is being posted early because I will not be near a computer on Friday itself. I am dating it Friday, though, for the sake of argument.)

This snippet is going up not because it's in order, but because many people are curious about how Watcher magic works. Also because I don't have a ton of time right now, and so am grabbing a snippet that looks cool so that you are all happy to even have a snippet. (If I were to search too much to try to find my place and make that a workable snip, you might not get one at all this week.)

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Reminder: This material is copyrighted by me, and is still in draft form. It may be altered or even cut before the final, hopefully published, version. Please do not reproduce it anywhere, in any form.

I had first been to Vegas to attend an annual Watcher convention with my Uncle and brother. Everyone who could make it out came to discuss issues that our regional boards couldn’t handle, meet the newly initiated, and just socialize. Being around only Watchers and Watcher-kin seemed a relief to some of our older members.

It was also a good way for us to monitor which of our number needed to retire before they got overwhelmed by the alarms in their heads calling them to duty. Most Watchers are normal, ordinary people who can do a few extraordinary things. On occasion some of us, like poor Sarah Winchester, go a bit...well, crazy. Usually those who can do more than a few extraordinary things. The more power we have, the more likely we are to go crazy.

Hence Vegas.

Someone, long before I was a Watcher and before Vegas had quite the reputation for craziness it had today, decided that the best place to hide our most eccentric members was in plain sight. Two obvious locations came to mind, both of which were also among the areas that needed the most Watching: Las Vegas and Hollywood.

While normal, Mundane kids were planning their careers at school, Rich and I spent the time trying to figure out what jobs we could do that would allow us enough free time to do our Watcher duties. No corporate careers for us. I ended up getting a basic liberal arts degree from San Jose State and playing around with various temp jobs before moving to Vegas—where I put my degree to immeasurable use as a cocktail waitress.

Rich moved to Hollywood, got a theater arts degree, and never looked back. He worked there now, on two counts: officially, he was a Fight Choreographer and Action Consultant. On a magical level, he Watched for trouble on location. He brought home some horror stories every holiday about near-accidents that he managed to prevent. Somehow he had a knack for getting himself assigned to the movies with large action scenes or dangerous stunts. A couple of important people on the various stunt teams called him their lucky charm, saying that they wouldn’t work on a movie if he didn’t. They claimed he was a kind of guardian angel keeping them from harm.

They didn’t know the half of it.

Want to join Friday Snippets?

Thursday 13 ~ 8.9.07 (#4)

2007-08-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Things I Love About the Coast

It's Nature's air conditioning.
The sound of the ocean.
Watching the waves break on the cliffs.
The smell of sea-spray.
The ocean looks like it goes on forever.
Seals, sea-lions, sea otters and dolphins.
Walking on the beach at sunset with a loved one.
I haven't found many places as peaceful, nor as inspiring.
Horseback rides along the beach are quite fun.
People watching.
Coastal fog on a summer morning, before it burns off in the afternoon.
Anyone can feel rich and lazy - at least for an afternoon - when spending time on the beach.
Though I am incredibly sick of the "Footprints" poem/parable, while standing alone at the coast I do feel very close to God.

Week 32 ~ Dungeon Crawlin' Fools

2007-08-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Week 32 ~ Aug 6-12, 2007

Dungeon Crawlin' Fools
by Rich Burlew
(graphic novel, fantasy)

(also an online comic, found here)

So, Dungeon Crawlin' Fools is the first print book of "The Order of the Stick," a web comic that's basically a spoof on Dungeons & Dragons. It's absolutely hysterical - at least for gamers - and even though the art is simplistic, it is well executed. To be honest, the semi-stick-figures used for the illustrations work better than intricate portraits would. The way it's drawn is in keeping with the whole role-playing theme.

The storyline is also quite amusing. Even though at first it doesn't seem that there is a story, the early strips work well as an introduction to the characters, their world, etc. It's not really any different than a regular novel: you can't always determine where the plot is going at first there, either.

Anyway, I've said before that I really have problems reviewing graphic novels, but I will say that this is one that's worth buying if you're into that kind of thing. And if you want to see if you're into it before you buy it, the link above will take you to the website where the comics can be found for free. There are a few new strips, some commentaries, and a few other goodies in the print version, but you can essentially get the whole story online free. (Why buy it if you can get it for free? Well, for me, it's important to support people who entertain. I buy CDs or individual songs - yay iTunes! - and I buy books when I can get them out of the library. Same thing here.)

Rock This!

2007-08-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

If you can't find a reason to dislike me that's more pointed than my skin tone--or my entire phenotype, I suppose--you're suffering from a huge lack of imagination.
~avangyline

For some reason, I totally forgot to mention that Jess nominated me for a Rockin' Girl Blogger award. I have no idea why I neglected to thank her, or to share the news. But I did. And I will do it now instead.

And in keeping with tradition, I will also nominate some of my favorite bloggers for the award as well. It seems that there is a set of MEME-like rules for it as well:

The Rockin’ Girl Blogger idea came from Roberta Ferguson. And the deal is that you; 1) give her credit, 2) put up the badge and 3) add 5 other rockin girl bloggers to the list.

So, here are my five nominees for the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award (in no particular order):

avangyline, aka annatheunknown, who writes cool things;
LesleyW, who jumped into blogging with an awesome book review site;
Hannah, who posts super neat things, especially on Fridays;
Amanda, who gets great photos of her knitting to share; and
Melanie, who is my new knitting designer hero.

If you have the time, go visit their sites and say hi! (Though I can't say for sure if avangyline's LiveJournal will let you in if you're not her friend already. But as you can tell from the quote at the top of this post, it's well worth finding out if she has her site friends-locked.)

So now those of you who are astute will be wondering, "where is the writing content? It's Wednesday; there's supposed to be writing stuff!"

Well, I don't have anything yet. I'm working on my list of things to do, but I don't have any progress worth mentioning. (Except I bought a new pen... there's nothing like stationary products as a gift for a writer!) So, there will be a writing post next Weds - progress or not. But there isn't one today. Sorry! I hope you guys are having a great hump day!

Minis!

2007-08-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish.
- Robert Jackson

Isn't is cute! It's a little mini sock on a mini sock-blocker that I got from Felt Up Designs. It's using leftovers of the Lana Grossa that I made the Blood Diamond socks with. I actually used US1 needles instead of the US0's that were called for, mainly because I don't have US0's. And the sock could be a little bulkier, so I might use US2's next time I knit one. I also knit a shorter leg than was called for, because I thought that - using larger needles - I might have too long a sock. Next time I won't worry about that.

And in case you want perspective, here's the sock with Suzy. So you can see just how mini it is. (She also thinks it's yummy. But she likes the metal keychain part better than the sock itself.)

That's what I did last night. I didn't knit the Baby P Blanket at all. Nor did I touch either the MS3 or Icarus. And my Mini Monkeys are patiently waiting until this weekend when they will get to come out and play.

Over the weekend I also made those stitch markers. They were fun. I think I'm going to swap the ones I've been using on the MS3 for one of the sets of red ones... the ones currently in use are for a size 7-ish needle, while the red set is for the needle I am actually using for the MS3. The other set of red markers and the set of blue markers are slated as gifts, so I won't be using those. But they were still fun to make.

Hope your Tuesday is going well!

Sunshine and Mondays

2007-08-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

So, it's Monday! Yay! (Only yay because I have plans for this weekend. Not because I am particularly fond of Mondays.) I actually got a fair bit of knitting on Baby P's Blanket done over the weekend. Look!

18.5 inches, or thereabouts. Plus I'm on to the second skein of yarn. So hopefully that means that I will actually get this thing completed near the time that I want to give it to Mama P. *sigh* But it also means that I haven't touched my other knitting, like the Mystery Stole, or the Monkey socks, or my poor neglected Icarus. (I'm thinking of finishing Icarus before I finish the MS3, merely because it's been on the needles the longest and I feel sorry for it. Also because I want to use the bag that Icarus is in for the MS3, but I'm not kicking Icarus out before it's done.)

And hey! Look what arrived over the weekend!

Presents from Barbara of Romancing the Yarn. Remember the Yarnapalooza drawing I won? Well, this is what arrived in the mail for it. Yummy Spunky Eclectic yarn, which is handpainted sunny goodness. And some fun Trekking XXL, which is yarn I've been wanting to try and yet haven't ever actually bought. So yay! Someone else bought it for me!

I'm looking forward to knitting that into something nice for me for the summer of socks. But I don't know that I will even finish the Monkey socks before the summer of socks is actually over, so that's sadness.

Yet I can't end my post on a sad note. So... one last picture of sunny yarn to make you (and me) happy!

Week 31 ~ Burning Water

2007-08-03T16:16:00.001-07:00

Week 31 ~ July 30-Aug 5, 2007

Burning Water
by Mercedes Lackey
(urban fantasy)

This book is the second in the Diana Tregarde mysteries series. It's not so much a mystery for us, the reader, as there are occasional jumps between the protagonists' POVs and the antagonists' POVs, and so most readers will figure out the whodunnit long before the main characters. There is, however, some misdirection involved in the story so that it's believable that the main characters miss a few important facts.

I like Di, she's a fun main character. And her partner in this crime-solving, Mark, is also a fun character. However, he's no Andre. (Andre is Di's partner in Children of the Night, the first in the series. He's a vampire, sexy, and just awesome.) So this is a good read, but not my favorite Lackey book.

There are some dark parts to the story, and the faint of heart might be grossed out, but for fans of urban fantasy, it's nothing explicit. I do recommend it, but I recommend Children of the Night more.

Friday Snippet: 8.3.07

2007-08-03T11:03:00.001-07:00

This continues the Winchester Mystery House part, and I'm starting to think that I will leave it in the next draft, but as a flashback instead of as part of the current timeline. So... if this story gets published (when! think positive - when.) expect some fairly significant changes to this part.

And to clear up any confusion from last week, much though I would like to take credit for thinking up the Winchester Mystery House, it is a real site in San Jose, CA, and I have been there several times. All of the things I describe in it (except for the part below about Sarah having magic) are a case of fact being stranger than fiction.

Reminder: This material is copyrighted by me, and is still in draft form. It may be altered or even cut before the final, hopefully published, version. Please do not reproduce it anywhere, in any form.

The girl’s head jerked up as she felt her balance shift. She panicked and unbalanced herself even more. I had lurched into a run the moment her feet left the ground, but she was now toppling forward towards the garden two stories below. I was never going to reach her in time, as long as she kept falling at a normal speed.

I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on a spell.

When I looked back up, the girl was still falling. The difference was that she was now floating gently, the way a feather would. I kept running. Since she was now as light as a feather, my arrival caused enough of a wind to push her a bit further out the window. I grabbed her leg before any more errant breezes could carry her out of reach

Her own instinctive flailing got her feet back under her, though they were still well above the ground. I gave her a good shove toward the ground, canceling the Feather spell as I let go.

I heard footsteps pounding in the hall and looked up to see a tour guide running toward me—Melissa, according to her name tag, the same tour guide I had ditched earlier.

“What happened?” She was out of breath, but the question was easy enough to understand.

“I don’t know.” I paused, searching for an excuse she was likely to believe. “I had stopped to tie my shoe, and thought I heard singing. I followed the sound, and it led me to this window.”

Melissa gasped and rushed to the window. “This window is supposed to be kept locked!” She locked the window as she spoke, then spun and scowled up at me. I cut her off before she could accuse me of opening it.

“I didn’t see who opened it. When I reached her, this little girl was already leaning out, trying to catch a butterfly.”

“Oh!” The guide caught her breath, and a look of horror replaced the accusatory glare. Her gaze suddenly shifted past me, and I turned to see the rest of the tour milling uncertainly in the hall. The girl took advantage of my distraction to grab my leg again.

“Just some of our resident ghosts playing a trick on me,” Melissa said behind me. Her gaze was still fixed on the tour, but the fake smile now plastered on her face didn’t quite manage to hide the shock in her eyes. “Head on back down the stairs now, and we’ll finish our tour.”

She waved them along, and the tour group ambled off muttering to each other.

“We need to get her back to the entrance as soon as possible. Would you take her?” She didn’t wait for an answer. I hadn’t expected her to.

I nodded as we left the room. Fortunately she was no longer screaming, though her grip was starting to cut off circulation to my fingers and her already large brown eyes were wide with apprehension. It was all I could manage to not squeeze her hand back with equal force as we started down the staircase; the two-inch deep steps were annoying to walk down on a good day. Descending it with a young girl clinging to my hand was even worse than normal.

Melissa stopped me again just inside the ballroom. The smile on her face now was a lot more realistic than the one she’d worn earlier.

“Through that door,” she said softly. “And thank goodness for the ghosts.”

I don’t believe the ghost stories that the tour guides spout to keep the guests entertained. If you believe them, Sarah Winchester built the mystery house to confuse angry spirits who had already killed her husband and child. That was nonsense.

Sarah Winchester built the house because no one taught her how to be a Watcher.

When I first started getting the hunches that mark me as a Watcher, I could get so distracted by them that I lost track of where I was. It took a little while for anyone to notice that something was wrong, as neither of my parents are Watchers. They originally thought it was just part of my becoming a teenage girl, along with the random fits of tears and hysteria. It wasn’t until a family reunion that my uncle figured out it was time to train me to follow in his footsteps.

If no one had trained me, the alarms going off inside my head would have eventually driven me insane.

Want to join Friday Snippets?

Strings and Sealing Wax

2007-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Before we get to today's Friday Fiver, may I say that I had nothing to do with the title of it? Because I HATE Puff the Magic Dragon. With a passion. It makes me miserable and I always cry. Depressing and sad and pointless and I even had problems when we went to Hawaii because we saw a place called Hanalei which of course made me think of the song and so I got sad and...

That's enough of that run-on sentence. Instead of thinking of the depressingness that is kids growing up and losing the magic of childhood we will look at cute kitties.

Friday Fiver: A dragon lives forever but not so little boys

1. What is your local lake/river/sea?
The Pacific Ocean.

2. Do you believe in dragons and unicorns?
le sigh. If I say yes, people will think I mean literal dragons and unicorns. If I say no, then I'm denying the fantasy author within me. Can I just say "to each his own" and leave it at that?

3. What is your favorite fruit?
Peaches. Or kiwi. Or cherries. Or ... Do I really have to pick just one?

4. Do you smoke?
No. Unless I get really mad, and then it comes out my ears.

5. Friday fill-in: Together they would BE MISERABLE AND CRY! WAAAAAAH!

(I told you. I hate that song.)

Hey, Mom, thanks for the snack! I needed more fiber in my diet.

Accountability

2007-08-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

16 inches.

So yes, I am working on it.

Head down, ignore lace (wah!) and just keep knitting....

Thursday Thirteen 08.02.07 (#3)

2007-08-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Books Near the Top of my TBR (To Be Read) List

Thief of Lives by Barb & JC Hendee (read #1 - Dhampir - and enjoyed it, so am continuing on with the series)
Doppleganger by Marie Brennan (recommended by several people, and the cover looks cool)
Winds of Change (Mage Winds #2) by Mercedes Lackey (I just re-read #1, so I want to re-read the rest of them)
The Summer Knight (Dresden #4) by Jim Butcher (Why not? Though I'm not so hooked on this series as several people I know.)
Heat Stroke (Weather Warden #2) by Rachel Caine (because the first one - Ill Wind - was so awesome)
Dark Need (Darkyn #3) by Lynn Viehl (enjoyed the first two, so want to continue the series... seems to be a trend, doesn't it?)
The Dream Thief (drakon #2) by Shana Abe (because - you guessed it - the first one was awesome)
The Sherwood Game by Esther Friesner (been a long time since I read it originally, but I remember loving it)
Ironfire by David Ball (I was doing research on the Knights of Malta and found this fiction book. Now, I know that this is fiction and not the non-fiction I was hoping for, but it still sounded interesting.)
Lover Unbound (BDB #5 - V's story) by JR Ward (Because. And yes I know it's not released yet, but when it is, it's mine. And I will read it that day, if I can.)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (which has been near the top of my TBR list for some time now, and still hasn't been read...)
The Knights Templar by Stephen Howarth (technically this is on the CBR - Currently Being Read - list, but I really want to finish it and not just skim it like I so often do with non-fiction)
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (because I remember loving it and now they're making it into a movie! Now I just need to decide if I want to see the movie first, or re-read the book first...)

Writing Weds: 8.1.07

2007-08-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

So we'll start today with a couple of pictures, for prettiness' sake. And then, below the "read more" cut, I'll put the writing content. Just because.

This is a set of ear-cuffs I bought at the Gilroy Garlic Festival this past weekend. I like them bunches. (I'm not sure I'm sold on the extreme ear closeup, but it does show the cuff nicely.) They're shiny. And have green beads. I couldn't resist them.

So... August's goals. I'm actually going to set these goals for only the first two weeks of August. Around the 15th (mid-month, plus a Wednesday; how convenient!) I will reevaluate those goals and see where I stand.

Edit up to page 100 of AD for Phoenix.
Work up a line-for-scene for the entirety of SS (preparatory to doing the Major Edit I've been procrastinating).
Do two (2) critiques on the OWG.
Post my own chapter on the OWG.

And that's it for now. These may or may not all get done in the first two weeks of this month, as there is a vacation scheduled in there too. And I'm not listing knitting content, because - as the post title suggests - this is a writing post. I don't think I'll bother with knitting goals sheets anymore. Crafts will get done on their own time...

Baby, It's Warm Outside

2007-07-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to work on the blanket for Baby P, but it's hard. Multiple reasons, which I will put in list form to make them look more impressive.

It's hot out to hold a blanket on your lap while knitting.
It's not for me, or for a family member, and I don't see the friend it is for very often.
I suspect I will not get it done before the baby is born. Unless the baby is maybe 3 months late. Or I do nothing but knit (this blanket) for the next two weeks.
The Mystery Stole calls me.
So do the Monkey socks.
And I am supposed to be writing/editing.
Plus I spend lots of time with M.

Okay. That's more than enough. And hey, no one said they were good reasons. But there is progress on the blanket! I will distract you from my pitiful excuses for not knitting the gift project with pictures!

Look, see! Progress!

Not enough, though. Must work on it more.

Anyway, that's all for now. I have been knitting the monkey socks and the mystery stole as well, but I don't have new pictures of them yet. Besides, the blanket needs some blog love. Maybe then I'll get motivated to finish it.

Around The Blog 7.30.07

2007-07-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
~Thomas Jefferson

I don't have much of my own content planned for today, so we'll go looking for interesting things Around The Blog. Before we set off on our tour, however, here's a cute picture of Suzy, munching my bookmark as I'm trying to read. (It's a non-fiction about the Knights Templar, because I've always been interested in them and finally decided to try to find out more about them. The only problem is sorting fact from fiction, even in supposedly non-fiction books.)

Go visit L-Squared at Dog's Eye View for some awesome pictures and discussions on leader dogs (otherwise known as guide dogs). I won yarn at Romancing The Yarn, where a month-long yarn giveaway has been taking place. Zarzuela has a new baby sister, Mim is jamming, Mayhem is stealing her mom's Addi's, and PBW has a list of things to make your writing life easier. Amanda has proven how much you can knit when you want to by finishing her entire Icarus in the amount of time it took me to knit Chart 3 and half of Chart 4.

Spincerely has double-decker flowers, which are not to be confused with double-decker buses. LA doesn't like scheduling her blogs, Holly Lisle is having a sale on her Clinics (through today; I only just found out about it), and Neither Hip Nor Funky has radioactive lemonade. The guinea pigs are cold (forgot that it's winter where they live). Melanie has finished her Sockapalooza socks, and Sian does Audrey Hepburn.

Hope you're all having a good Monday!

Friday Snippet 7.27.07

2007-07-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, this is another section that is likely to end up on the cutting board. But, it's enjoyable, and so here it is as a snippet. I'm just not sure how much it furthers the plot, or if - in the long run - it just confuses things.

This bit takes place in San Jose, where Cynthia has felt a pull toward the Winchester Mystery House... and for Watchers, these hunches always pay off. She's not sure what it is she's looking for, but she'll know it when she sees it...

Reminder: this is draft material, has been copyrighted by the author, and is not to be reproduced anywhere or in any form. It may not be in the final draft, and will probably be altered if it does make the final draft.

If I had come back for a tour, it would have been for the special tour at Halloween, not a standard tour at the end of the summer. There were too many tourists on these end of the season tours. You couldn’t actually talk to the tour guides; they had to put all of their effort into herding their charges along.

“This room here,” our guide was said, pointing through an open doorway as she led us down the hall, “used to hold a variety of musical instruments. Mrs. Winchester had them moved because the music played in that room made the spirits restless.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. Poor, confused Sarah Winchester. I had never met a ghost, nor had any of the other Watchers. Yet another way for the Mundanes to explain away things they didn’t understand.

“If you listen closely, you can still hear them singing.”

The part that amazes me most is how people blind themselves to real magic going on around them, yet cling to the idea of ghosts with such tenacity.

As we rounded a corner and started down another long flight of stairs, alarms went off inside my head. The time had come for the tour and me to part company. It was simplicity itself for me to fake an untied shoelace; no one noticed that I dropped behind. I tied my shoe and waited for instinct to tell me which way to go.

Nothing.

Okay, failing help from hunches, the next logical step was to do a little looking around on my own. The only problem was I had no idea what I should be looking for, and minimal practice at skulking. My usual duties—such as cleaning up after natural disasters—tend to leave telltale signs that point me in the right direction.

I headed down the hall opposite from the staircase, looking and listening for anything abnormal. Unfortunately, I was in a house that radiated abnormal. Windows and fixtures had a habit of appearing in multiples of thirteen, staircases led to nowhere, and there was at least one door in the floor.

On the bright side, I had been here enough times to know what to expect. Even better: now that I was away from the noise of the tour, I could hear sounds of movement somewhere ahead of me. I rounded yet another corner and entered a room that featured one of the house’s many windows overlooking the surrounding gardens. This particular window was open, with the source of the pending accident leaning out and reaching for a butterfly.

“Hey, little girl.” I spoke softly as I inched forward, trying not to startle her. Hoping to reach her before the butterfly lured her any further out the window. “Stop leaning out—”

Before I could get close enough to pull her away from the window, she leaned just far enough to reach the butterfly.

It was also far enough for her feet to leave the floor.

Want to join Friday Snippets?

Friday Fiver 7.27.07

2007-07-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Friday Fiver: Beyond the pale
1. Favorite pastry?
Austrian. Pretty much any kind of Austrian pastry. I took a trip over there in 2000, and the bakeries are the part that I miss the most (but it was quite an amazing trip, and I'm glad I went for more reasons than the pastries).

2. How do you like to waste time?
By surfing the net, these days. (If I'm near a fast connection.) Or by playing computer games, watching movies, or knitting. (Not that knitting is a waste of time. But I will knit even when I have more important things to do, merely because I don't wanna to what I'm supposed to do.) Or reading. Ditto the not wasted time bit.

3. How would you describe your complexion?
Asian with freckles. Essentially.

4. What do you hang on to that you should really get rid of?
Very little. I try to keep only what I really need or want. Things that no longer have meaning or are broken beyond repair I try to get rid of. Anything else that I currently have and need to get rid of, I have put out of my mind so as to not have to get rid of it. =)

5. What is the last thing that made you hurt?
Being sick earlier this week. When you throw up too much, your throat gets raw.

Week 30 ~ Harry Potter 7 (NO SPOILERS)

2007-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Week 30 ~ July 23-29, 2007

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
(fantasy, YA)

(NO SPOILERS.)

Right... so this is the last of the Harry Potter books. The epilogue, which I think was unneeded for the story and which doesn't really fit the tone of this particular book, does tie up Harry's story nicely with a sense of finality. There will be (Rowling has said) no further Harry Potter books, and the epilogue proves it.

Was it worth the wait? Yes. She tells a good story (I've said before and I'll say again that I'm not going into her writing style and technique) and manages to create engaging characters. She is good about having a new plot for each book, rather than continuing one plot through several books. (Book 6 was the weakest, plot-wise, but it did still have its own plot.)

Did I cry? No. Not even close. Not because there wasn't anything tear-worthy, but because the way it was written didn't move me to tears. (Reading while ill may have helped this, too.) The movie, I suspect, will make me cry. But that's another story.

I thought this was a nice ending to the series, and answered all the questions I could have hoped for. There is still room to move in the wizarding world, and we may get more stories about secondary characters in the future, but this is a nice end to this series. It's hard to know what else to say without giving anything away (which I refuse to do). But I can say that this is quite likely my second favorite of the books now. Book 3 has always been (and will always be) my favorite of the Potter books, but this one is nicely done as well.

Thursday Thirteen 07.26.07 (#2)

2007-07-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Reasons for Loving Harry Potter

(This is not the book exclusively, nor the movies exclusively, and there are no spoilers)

Neville. (Love him.)
Luna was perfectly cast in the 5th movie. Can't wait to see her in the next one/s.
The Weasley twins' antics. So much fun.
Rowling tells a good story. (Not going into editing, nor technical aspects of the books... just the story.)
Phoenixes and unicorns and hippogriffs, oh my!
Trying to make the connection between a character's name, the myth/legend/etc. behind the name, and then figuring out what will happen before the plot gets to that point... (For example - did any of you know that Bellatrix is the name of a star in the constellation Orion, and that Sirius is a star in the constellation of Orion's dog?)
Didn't you ever want to discover that you weren't normal, but really belonged to a part of this other, special world? Did you ever try to escape through a closet (few wardrobes in my area of the states) or try wishing yourself somewhere else or stare at a lightswitch trying to discover telekinetic powers?
Gary Oldman.
Flying cars and motorbikes!
I wanna be an animagus.
John Williams outdid himself on Hedwig's theme.
Come on - it's magic. Like Potter or hate it, it's magic. (And it gets kids reading instead of watching TV.)
QUIDDITCH!

(I'm kneeling at the bottom right of the pic.)

Writing Weds: 7.25.07

2007-07-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Paperback Writer: Writing Triage

Just a quickie in writing-related stuff today. (Been too sick to do much else; you really think I've had the energy to write? There will come a time when I write while sick, but now is not that time.)

But it's a reminder. I need to do my edit of SS soon, and so I need all the edit reminders I can get. I would like to try making a one-pass style revision work for me, so advice from the pros is a bonus.