KnitCookWrite

Just a little book world vent

2011-09-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

No this isn't about agents. Or publishers. Or editors. Or even bookstores. This little vent is brought to you today by people. Yep. People. Specifically people who don't get it. Perhaps you need a little background. This past summer I acquired a job as a bookseller at Barnes and Noble (or as they like to say we are nooksellers). I love my job. I love the people I work with. I love the company I work for. I love exciting people about books and seeing them smile when I hand them a book they've been looking for. I even love helping people figure out how to operate their Nooks or helping them with a problem with their Nooks. I leave work smiling. I haven't had a job like this in ages.

I don't work because I have to. I have this job so we have extra spending, play and vacation money. It's our fun account. So I don't need the job, but I enjoy the joy and I am enjoying the fact that because I've been working our family is getting to go to Disney World in 31 days (yes I have an app for that on my phone). The store has been very slow since school started back. We are down to bare bones. People's shifts are being slashed left and right in order to try to make payroll. There are others at the store who do rely on this job to make ends meet. My hours have been cut in half. I went from having a lovely 24 hour work week to a 12 hour work week.

I'm sure you are thinking to yourself, "But you said this wasn't about bookstores." It isn't. It's still about people. You see, people come in and they need a book today for school or work or church or whatever. We don't have it in stock. It's either a more rare book that we don't normally carry in our stores or it is a popular book that we have run out of. I explain that we don't have it, but we can order it. Almost 75% of the time the answer I get is, "That's OK. I'll order it on Amazon. It's cheaper." Except it isn't. People forget about the shipping and handling charges that can make it as expensive if not more than ordering it from us. And every book they buy online is one less book they are purchasing from a brick and mortar store which brings us one step closer to closing our doors and going the way of Borders.

What is it worth to you to have a brick and mortar store? Do you like going there and having the ability to sit in the cafe and read a book or browse a magazine? Do you like the immediacy of going home with a book? Do you like the atmosphere and the friendly helpful employees? Do you like the music and DVD collection that has music and movies that you can't get anywhere else in town? If the answer to that is yes, then is it worth it to pay a few more dollars to keep that resource open to you?

Every time someone says they are going to purchase a book from Amazon (which I really find quite bold as I would never say to a store worker's face that I was going to go to another place to purchase something - I might go somewhere else, but I would never just say that one store is cheaper than another unless I knew they did price matching) that's one less hour that our store can afford to pay an employee. That's one more employee who is going to have their hours cut again.

See, it's more than just a book. It's about people. People are behind those books. Not just the people who write and edit and publish them, but the people who also sell them. They rely on individuals supporting local bookstores to keep them in business. While a company may be doing well at the corporate level, if a single store is floundering and not doing well, it's draining the company and will be closed. And I would hate to lose my local Barnes and Noble. There is nowhere else around for me to go. I would lose my community and that's important to me. I don't just go to the bookstore to work, I go there also to meet friends, browse books, find music and soak up words to put on paper.

So the next time you go into your bookstore to purchase a book, buy it there. Commit to your local bookstore. Keep the books in your community and keep your booksellers (and nooksellers) employed. You will be met with a smile and a thanks.

10 on Tuesday: Knitting Schedule!

2011-09-06T09:47:00.000-05:00

Carole's list for this week is to list the ten things on your knitting list this fall and winter. Woo hoo! Knitting gets me back to blogging. (That and a semi-sane work schedule.) So here they are:

1. Finish the green summer sweater so I can wear it next spring.
2. Finish the six, oops, I mean seven, pair of socks that are all mate-less or still OTN (I figured it was less annoying to lump them together than to list them individually)
3. Finish the Pea Vines shawl
4. Make a pair of magnificent socks by Anna Zilboorg now that I know how
5. Knit a pink ruffly bra for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in October (link is how you can support me)
6. Knit up the lovely pumpkin wool and silk I bought at Stitches into some sort of cardigan
7. Knit hats, scarves and mittens for Sylvia's Place
8. Knit on super secret project for super secret friend who is going through a very difficult time
9. Knit Something Wicked with the acid green lace weight yarn
10. Knit the grandlet a new winter sweater

Book Review: Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

2011-07-21T07:31:00.000-05:00

I was so excited the morning I woke up and found that Patrick Ness had won the Carnegie for his young adult book Monsters of Men. It was the final book in his Chaos Walking series. The coolest thing (at least to me) is that all three of the books, including the middle book The Ask and the Answer, in this series has been nominated and made the short list for the Carnegie. It was almost like a Peter-Jackson-Lord-of-the-Rings-at-the-Oscars kind of moment. Because of his win, I felt it necessary to read the trilogy again and so started with the first book Knife of Never Letter Go.

In this first book, Ness introduces us to a new world along with his two main characters, although the book is told in first person by Todd Hewitt. Todd and his dog, Manchee, are out for a stroll in the swamps to collect apples when they come across a void in the Noise. Noise is the thoughts of all living creatures, except for female humans. Every animal and male human can hear the thoughts of every other animal and male human. It is a huge cacophony that is surely maddening.

Todd is the last boy of his town. His town has no women, no girls and now no other children. He is just a few weeks shy of becoming a man and he is counting the days down when he will be Mr. Hewitt and not just Todd. He's excited, but finding this silence has caused Todd a problem. There shouldn't be a silence in the swamp or anywhere. Suddenly Todd is having his bags packed by his surrogate parents and thrust out the door with the instructions to read his mother's diary and get to the next settlement. Armed with just a hunting knife, Todd sets out to find something he didn't even know existed. As he travels he realizes that so many things he had been told are lies and that becoming a man means joining in on those lies.

And then he meets Viola, who can't possibly exist and the lies start unravelling to expose the truths behind them. And now Todd and Manchee have Viola join their escape. Together the three face horrors that neither could imagine existed. Todd learns what it means to love someone and at the same time becomes a man in his own fashion, facing the realities that have plagued his childhood village and understand the corruption that can come when selfishness and greed are the building blocks of your society.

The only thing that bothered me in this book was the spelling and grammar. Because this books is narrated by Todd and he has been given limited education, his grammar and spelling reflect that. Words are spelled phonetically and in dialect. This normally drives me up the wall and makes me want to scream, "What happens to grammar and spelling in post-apocalyptic societies?" For some reason this book didn't cause this immediate knee-jerk reaction. (I had to quit reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy due to lack of sentence structure.) I actually found the grammar more endearing than annoying. It is well worth the read and I encourage everyone to read this fabulous young adult book written from a young man's perspective in a language that both male and female readers can comprehend.

Currently Reading: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Ten on Tuesday: Beach Songs

2011-07-19T09:42:00.001-05:00

Let me preface this by saying that, despite living in a beach town, I don't go to the beach often. And very rarely in the summer. I love the beach. It is fascinating to me. I've always lived within an hour's drive of a large body of water and I have yet to meet a beach I didn't love. Whether it was the tan sands of Southern California, the rocky coast of Oregon or Japan, or the gorgeous sugar-white sands of Pensacola, I have found a connection with each beach I have visited. But I loathe summers at the beach. The beach is crowded and smelly and hot and even with SPF 937+ sunscreen I burn like a wayward potato chip. So here is my 10 on Tuesday, the beach song edition (in no particular order):

1. Under the Boardwalk (The Drifters, although I like Bette Midler's version as well)
2. Have I Told You Lately that I Love You (preferably the Van Morrison version, although Rod isn't bad - don't ask me why I think this is a beach song, but it is for me ever since I was a teen)
3. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding only!)
4. My Girl (The Temptations)
5. Margaritaville (Jimmie Buffet)
6. Fun, Fun, Fun (Beachboys version)
7. Sailing (Kris Kristofferson)
8. Anything by Meshugga Beach Party
9. Shout!
10. Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack

A weekend of wonderful movies

2011-07-18T13:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend was the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. It was "the end" of an epic story. It was fabulous and I cried and laughed and smiled and cheered and then cried some more. I loved it and will be going to see it again on Tuesday. Competing against this summer block buster (that broke tons of weekend opening records) was a quaint little film called Winnie the Pooh. My children asked to go. I obliged. I was not disappointed. I cheered, I laughed, I smiled, and I even got a bit weepy a time or two. It was fabulous and reminded me of the Pooh that I had grown up, even with John Cleese doing the narration. I felt like I was eight years old again sitting in my pajamas watching Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Pot. Christopher Robin was perfect, Pooh (still voiced by Jim Cummings who has done the voice since Sterling Halloway passed away in 1992 and in all honestly I can't tell the difference). Eeyore was lovable and Tigger was bounceable as always.

But the big movie this weekend was Harry Potter. I can't believe how blown away I was by the movie. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I felt complete at the end. I didn't feel that there was anything left out that was very important. I cried when they crowd at Hogwarts realized that Harry wasn't dead and George turned to his now absent twin to tell him. I cheered when Molly defended her daughter. I whooped when Neville beheaded Nagini! But most of the time I was gripping my middle child's hand as she grasped mine and neither of us daring to breathe. Both of us glancing at each other as we feared what we knew was coming.

The night was hot, but it didn't stop people from dressing up and being jubilant in line. Even I dressed as Professor Sprout (that's my hat to the left). I was accompanied by a Hufflepuff student and Gilderoy Lockhart. It was fun and festive and I'll miss getting to do it again next year. It still hasn't set in that there aren't any more movies coming out. But for the past nine and a half years we have enjoyed seeing the movies and getting to be part of the Harry Potter world. I look forward to Pottermore and can't wait to see what all that will hold for us.

Until then we will just have to go see other movies. On my agenda for this fall are the following: Hugo (based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret), Sherlock Holmes (yay!), Captain America, Cowboys versus Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Three Musketeers (I'm a sucker for period pieces), The Muppets (come on, it's the Muppets!), Coriolanus (Ralph Fienes and Shakespeare; do I need to say more), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (without subtitles this time!), and War Horse. So let's go to the movies!

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Wonderful Wizarding World

2011-07-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

I told you this was going to be a week of Harry Potter. I can't possibly review all seven books (in any reasonable amount of time). I can't even pick one book that I can say is my favorite. I love them all for one reason or another. I love Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone because it introduces us to Harry and this wonderful world that J.K. Rowling created in her mind. Chamber of Secrets is probably the least of my favorites, but only because I find Gilderoy Lockhart so annoyingly vain, but we are introduced to the Horcruxes even though we don't really know it yet and the lovable Dobby. Prisoner of Azkaban brings us the affectionate characters of Remus J. Lupin and Sirius Black (oh and of course Buckbeak). Goblet of Fire, broadens the wizarding world by bringing in more countries and gets us back on track with the reality of Voldemort. Order of the Phoenix shows us the young characters truly growing up with Harry realizing that he can be a leader. Half Blood Prince finally shows us the Horcruxes and how important they are. It sets us up for the challenge that is ahead in Deathly Hallows.

J.K. Rowling has written this fantastical children's series that is loved by people of all ages. I know people in their eighties who adore these books. My two younger children were listening to them when they weren't quite old enough to read them for themselves, fascinated by the imagery. As they grew old enough to not freak out, they came to the movies. As I mentioned yesterday, these books are timeless and will be loved by children (and adults) for generations. I wonder if she knew, as she wrote these books, who all would fall in love with this world and be sobbing on July 15, 2011 as they sit in the audience to watch the final movie. I can't imagine that she did.

These books can bring about such emotion. I have laughed and cried and sighed and had my heart swoon as I read these books. I smiled with delight and became angry for various characters that I felt were wronged. I mourned death and celebrated new life. I even threw Deathly Hallows across the room in anger when I thought Jo had killed off my favorite character. It took my family nearly an hour to get me to pick the book back up and turn the page to know that Hagrid wasn't truly dead. I have loved every minute that I have spent reading these books and not once have I been bored. I don't know that I can say that about any other book I've ever read. There have been times that I sort of skimmed through sections of books, but not with any of the Harry Potter books. I didn't dare. Rowling had a wonderful ability to be able to make everything interesting and important.

You may be thinking that I have found no faults at all in these books. I have, but they have been so minor that I can ignore them. There are things I wish I had seen more of, places I wish I could have just explored, characters that I want more back story. But those are personal grievances and not necessary to the plot. They may be in little notes scattered on Rowling's desk or locked up in her mind.

There have been no other books that have made me want to be a part of that world as much as Harry Potter. The only other fictional place I would want to truly live rather than Ottery St. Catchpole (because I would be friends with the Weasleys and the Lovegoods) is The Shire from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books. I want to go to Diagon Alley and go shopping. I want to have a pint of butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. I wanted to attend Hogwarts, damn it! My children each cried the autumns of their eleventh birthdays because they didn't get their letters.

I am sad today because this is kind of the end of everything for Harry Potter. There will be no more midnight book or movie releases. No more known opportunities to dress up as Professor Sprout (or Molly Weasley) and go into public. It's over. It's the end. It's final as of midnight tonight. But I have hope. I have hope that somehow Harry Potter will still be an important part of our lives. I'm excited for PotterMore. I've submitted my e-mail in case I am one of those lucky few who get in before the October official opening. But today is sad. And I blame J.K. Rowling for creating such fantastic books that have wrought this emotion on this day.

The Knitting in Harry Potter

2011-07-13T07:56:00.000-05:00

(Yes, to answer your question, Harry Potter is probably going to appear in every post this week, so get over it, thank you very much.) If someone had asked me who my absolutely favorite character is in the Harry Potter series, they might be surprised by me answering with Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and game keeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What? Not Molly? Not Severus (especially when played by Alan Rickman)? Not Dobby? Not Lupin? Not Hermione? Nope. It's Hagrid.

Let me explain. Yes, I am very much like Molly. I have a bunch of kids (not as many as Molly, but more than the average American household). I am married to a geek (and let's face it, Arthur is a wizard geek). I knit and do other domestic things. I am fiercely loyal to my family and somewhat doting and we both knit. But as much as I love Molly. As sexy and endearing as I find Professor Snape. As adorable and courageous as I find Dobby. As caring and understanding as I find Remus. As smart and confidant as I find Hermione, it is Hagrid that takes top spot.

It began when Hagrid pulled out a large bit of knitting that somewhat resembled a circus tent and began knitting on the train with Harry on their way to Diagon Alley. Here was this huge half-giant with large hands and fat fingers (at least in my mind) sitting with a pair of 4.5mm needles (at least in my mind) knitting a ... and that's when the mind goes blank. I've toyed with everything from a jumper to a hut cozy to a thestral blanket. But he was knitting. He was the first character we encounter with mention of knitting.

Lots of character knit, though. Molly (duh) and most likely Ginny (and I even can see Bill knowing how for some reason). Hermione knits. Later we find that Dobby has learned the craft (or perhaps he knit for the Malfoys). Dumbledore even knits (he loves knitting patterns). I can see him sitting up at night when he has been pondering where the next Horcrus might be or worrying about a meeting with the Board of Directors and pulling out a pair of thick woolen socks to knit a while gently prodding his thoughts in the pensieve.

There is no huge display about knitting in the Harry Potter series. But there is knitting. It's all around and it seems so ordinary and normal. But then that's how it is in my house. There are four knitters in this family, so the fact that there is knitting in Harry Potter just makes it that much more special to me. And tomorrow as my children gather around the television (beginning at 3am) to watch all seven movies prior to going to the midnight premiere, there most likely will be knitting involved. And maybe someone will have a good idea what Hagrid was knitting.

2011-07-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

This week's 10 on Tuesday is to list your ten favorite things about Harry Potter whether it is the books or the movies. I'm doing a mix of the two as I love them both. This list will contain spoilers, so if you haven't read the books and don't want to read spoilers, quit now and come back after you've seen the movies or read all seven books.
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was J.K. Rowling's break out novel. That such genius could come out of her first book was a miracle. To follow it up with six more books that became even better with each book is pure talent.

2. Neville Longbottom. Neville is one of my favorite characters. I loved him when he was a bumbling chubby eleven-year old in the first book. I loved him when he was the last boy home from the Yule ball. I loved him when he was at the Ministry of Magic facing his own fears. I loved him when he was an "of age" wizard at Hogwart's protecting his fellow students in the Room of Requirement. I cheered when Neville killed Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor!

3. I watched my children grow up with Harry Potter and our entire family had something to talk about at the dinner table, even if it was arguing which Weasley twin was the best (and why).

4. Molly Weasley. I understand and love Molly. She wants to care for people and love people. She's a Scorpio (according to the Harry Potter Lexicon) and fierce when backed in a corner. I like to think (as a knitter) that her wand is a Brittany Birch crochet hook that she uses to pick up stitches (it could never be a knitting needle because she'd need two and would probably have something on the needles in a time of need whereas a crochet hook can much more easily be accessed in an emergency. (See? Don't they look like they could be wands?)

5. That millions of children (and adults) have been brought to reading because of these wonderful stories and they didn't quit reading after the seventh book was over. They came back to the bookstores to read more.

6. The movies. I have always considered the movies as a visual representation for the book readers. I've heard so many people who never read the books remark how they were confused in the movie. Of course you were because the movies weren't for you. They were for the readers. We understand what is going on. We aren't lost. We get eye candy for all the hours we have delightedly toiled (can you toil delightfully?) over the books. We get to see Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut, The Burrough, and Gringott's. We get to see Quidditch! We get to see the magic we've read about.

7. Words. Yes; there are words in the Harry Potter books, but they are used so delightfully. I love Rowling's use of Greek and Latin. I love how she has named her characters with so much thought. Each word seems carefully chiseled from many resources in order to create a perfect sentence. My favorite use of this kind of word play? Umbridge. From Umbrage: 1. Shade or shadow; 2. shady branches; 3. an indistinct indication or reason for doubt; 4. a feeling of pique or resentment at some often fancied slight or insult. Whenever I run across a name or word that intrigues me, I have to go look it up. Xenophilius is another fantastic name.

8. The world of Harry Potter is timeless. It could be set in modern times (even though Rowling has said that it is set in the late 80's and early 90's). My grandchildren can (and will) read these books and be able to relate to them. This is so rare in today's juvenile literature. The last person who did this so flawlessly was Madeliene L'engle.

9. Magic. Magic just intrigues me. I love the idea of lighting a room with a single word. How thrilling it would be to have knitting aided by magic. I would love to ride on a broom or travel by Floo powder. I would adore going to school to learn magic to turn a whistle into a pocket watch and have it sing you the time. I would faithfully go to each class and do my homework just so I could do magic. It would be so awesome to go to Ollivander's to have my wand choose me. I would love to receive an owl post (or send one for that matter).

10. The "I love magic" scene in the movies. There's one in each movie. It's that moment that Harry realizes or remembers that he is a wizard and how wonderful that is. The look on his face the first time he sees Diagon Alley probably mirrored my own. I love when he walked into the tent in Goblet of Fire to find that it wasn't a drab old ten foot by ten foot box but a multi-room house with rugs and carpets and a kitchen. It's OK, Harry. Because I love magic, too!

Writing Workshop?

2011-07-08T07:42:00.000-05:00

Today starts the writing workshop that I was supposed to attend in June. (There were two sessions and the first one didn't have enough attendees so I decided to go to the one this month.) I'm supposed to go with a writing idea, manuscript, or outline, pen and paper to take notes and a dictionary. I've got my dictionary. My Webster's New Pocket Dictionary. (I wasn't about to drag along the unabridged, although I was tempted to take the Dictionary of American Idioms or my M-W Compact Visual Dictionary.) I also have my dictionary app on my phone (very handy). I have my notebook and paper. That was probably the easiest thing to come up with. But then I got to the part where I needed to bring "an idea, manuscript or outline." Oh I have ideas. I've got about a hundred floating around inside my brain. I've even got a few manuscripts (should I take my laptop - I'm thinking maybe). I even have a printed manuscript (my proof from my NaNoWriMo book). I have my current Camp NaNoWriMo manuscript that I could work on (but I'd probably blush every time I had any "naughty bits" to read). Why does it have to be this confusing?

So I've decided to take my laptop, my proof, and my memory stick. I'll have pen and paper and probably a nervous stomach because I don't know what I'm walking into. Wish me luck. And I'll report back on Monday how the weekend goes.

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

2011-07-07T07:51:00.002-05:00

I read this book a couple of months ago, but never reviewed it. Since I am still reading the book I was last week (got distracted by a couple of projects) I thought I'd take the time to review this one.

Room by Emma Donoghue is a contemporary novel written in a very unconventional way. They story is a sadly familiar one. A young girl is kidnapped and held as a sex slave to a heartless and ruthless man. We've seen this story in the headlines over the years and it is very sad. What is sadder is that this story includes another victim. A five-year old boy named Jack. This is his story, not his Ma's story. The narrator of this book is Jack and I found him to be a sweet endearing boy who only understands that his entire world is a room the size of an average child's bedroom (about 144 square feet). This is all Jack knows of the world.

There are parts of him that remind me of Samson. He's never cut his hair, so this young boy has very long hair. And he believes he has the strength of a thousand men even though he clearly understands fear, he is willing to put it aside for his Ma. However, I don't believe he truly gains or understands his strength until he cuts his hair.

And then there's Ma to consider. Ma has spent the past seven years as a prisoner to Old Nick. She has done everything she can think of to protect Jack from Old Nick and to protect Jack from the small world in which he was born. She uses all her energy and all her strength until it gets to be too much. She suffers from toothaches and headaches and clearly depression. She's at the mercy of Old Nick to give her the things she needs, knowing what it will cost her.

As depressing as this book seems, there is hope in it. There is perseverance. There is love. It is such a well-written book, that I almost believed at times that the book was really written by a five-year old little boy who had always been kept in a small locked cell for his entire life. I enjoyed watching Jack explore his world and describe it. There were times that I was angry with Ma because of the lies that she told Jack, but I questioned what I might do in the same situation and realized it would be much the same. I would tell lies to my child in order to make sure he felt safe and loved.

This book has been out for a while and I'm glad to see that it is still a popular read.

Currently reading: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Tour de Fleece

2011-07-06T10:27:00.001-05:00

It's July and for millions of people around the world it means it is time to check daily to see how the Tour de France is going. Who's ahead? Who's wearing the yellow shirt? How the heck do they endure it day after day through mountains and valleys and in rain and heat and sleet (remember that year)? For over 4,000 knitters this month also means that it is the annual Tour de Fleece. We spin our fibers as cyclists spin their wheels. It's kind of the same except without the mountains or hills or long exhausting hours. If we start to get a blister we stop. If we get hungry we go get a piece of cake. to tired to even get out of our jammies, we just spin in our lovely sheep festooned pajamas. Yep. It's grueling I tell ya.

The premise is that you set a goal for yourself and spin every day that the race is happening. I decided to spin for 10 minutes a day at a minimum. I've spun a total of 9 grams so far. It may not seem like a lot but considering I don't spin all that often and I'm using my lovely Trindle to do so, it's a big step for me. I love my Trindle. It spins fabulously and my spinning is getting more even each day. Yesterday I only dropped the spindle twice while spinning.

The fiber I'm using is a wonderful merino and bamboo blend that I picked up at Stitches South last year. It looks a whole lot like cotton candy with its pale blue and pinkish lavender colors. (Xeno cat can attest that it doesn't taste like cotton candy). It drafts so lovely and is going to be gorgeous once spun and plied. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it will be something people will be able to see easily (so not socks). I'm thinking a scarf or hat.

It may not be as challenging as riding a bicycle for 3600 kilometers, but when we get to the end we will have more to show for it than a silly yellow shirt. And the really cool thing is that everyone is a winner. I like that kind of world.

10 on Tuesday: Herbs

2011-07-05T09:21:00.001-05:00

Today's 10 on Tuesday challenge is to name my 10 most favorite herbs. There was a time when herbs and spices were considered two distinct things. Spices were generally aromatic plants that were generally ground or grated when used in cooking whereas herbs were used whole or cut and were from leafy sources. Think the difference between cinnamon and oregano. Today, however, the word spice is used interchangeably for any plant-based material that is used in cooking. You don't go to the grocery store and see an herbs and spices section. It is simply labeled Spices. So here is my list of my 10 must have "herbs."

1. Pepper (I don't know how a kitchen can function without pepper (allergies aside))
2. Cinnamon (This is a necessary ingredient when making snickerdoodles, so one must have this spice)
3. Ginger (I know I use this on a weekly basis)
4. Basil (Lemon basil is probably my favorite of all, but I'll make due with regular sweet basil)
5. Oregano (You can't have Italian without it and basil and garlic, but mostly Oregano)
6. Thyme (We always need more thyme, time?)
7. Mint (Peppermint mostly, but I love growing chocolate mint because when it rains my front step smells like a York Peppermint Patty)
8. Rosemary (I think this is actually my most favorite herb ever)
9. Lavender (Although I don't cook with it often, I use it mostly for aromatics although I do have a fabulous recipe of lavender cookies and have added lavender water to cake frosting in the past)
10. Lemon balm (Again I use this more for aromatics than cooking. I just love the way it smells)

Red, White and Blue

2011-07-04T07:41:00.000-05:00

Today is Independence Day in the United States. The celebration of the birth of our nation. Our declaring that we are a free and sovereign nation. Together, in one very big loud voice we declared that we were going to take no more. We were bold and wrote a letter declaring that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I love my country, don't get me wrong. There are just some things about my country that we are still working to get right. We still haven't perfected that whole unalienable rights and life, liberty and pursuit or remember that those are only among our unalienable rights, not our only inalienable rights. We also tend to forget that our Declaration of Independence is not our governing document. That would be the Constitution of the United States. Two separate documents. Two separate functions. Although it saddens me that our Constitution sometimes forgets the principles on which we based our independence.

What does this day mean to most people? Wearing a flag on their chest, putting up little rows of flags along the edge of their yard, barbecue, beer and fireworks (please don't mix those last two). People play patriotic music and watch movies that are reminiscent of "Go go USA." My middle child will be watching Independence Day, the Will Smith movie with aliens.) No. The other Will Smith movie with aliens. No no. The Will Smith movie with aliens where he punches one's lights out. Yep. That one.) I bought it for her this past year when she was frustrated that no network was playing it on July fourth. We are grilling burgers after I get home from work (yep, I get to work today). We may or may not go watch some fireworks. Most likely we will sit at home wishing that our neighbors would remember that fireworks have been banned this year because of the drought (only official fireworks are permitted). And because it is my family and we are weird that way we will have an open discussion on what it means to have freedom. I'm always interested in my children's viewpoints. They are quite refreshing and enlightening.

So it is Independence Day. The Fourth of July. The President of the United States is alive (despite the Fox Twitter feed last night that was hacked into). Our service members are working hard to assure our freedom (and the freedom of other people). The sky is blue (at least for some of us). The world is really a good place to be. So go out and pursue a little happiness today. (And if you must go into a retail business, be kind to those who are working so you can enjoy your day off.)

Cucumbers

2011-07-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

I love cucumbers. There is something wonderful about them and I never quite could figure out what it was I loved about them until I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Towards the end of the book the Dena moves to Egypt and she has cucumbers for the first time. "But best of all were the cucumbers, the most delicious food I could imagine, green and sweet. Even in the heat of the sun, a cucumber kissed the tongue with the cool of the moon. I could eat them endlessly without getting full or sick. My mother would love this fruit, I thought the first time I bit into its watery heart." Isn't that perfect?

I can eat cucumbers right off the vine. I can eat them with our without their skins (although my preference is without, especially for commercially grown cucumbers that tend to have tougher skins). Cool or room temperature. It doesn't matter. A cucumber sandwich is wonderful with just a very thin swipe of mayonnaise and layered on white bread (although it is acceptable on wheat bread). The less you do to the cucumber the more I like it.

There are three main kinds of cucumbers: slicing, pickling and burpless. I don't normally care for the flavor of a burpless and if you don't want to burp after eating cucumbers then don't eat the seeds. But that's my favorite part. Cucumbers have been grown as a crop for over three thousand years. Someone had a good idea with that. They are a fairly easy crop to grow unless you have squirrels who also think that cucumbers are tasty eats in which case you have to hover over your garden night and day with a threatening look on your face (not that my threatening look scares many squirrels much less my own children).

If I have to do something to my cucumbers I do very little. This is my favorite cucumber recipe:

Summer Cucumber Salad

4-5 regular cucumbers
2 t. dill weed (fresh is better, but then I always think that fresh is better)
1/2 c. sour cream

Wash, peel, quarter and slice the cucumbers. Mix with the dill and sour cream. Let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours. (If you are going to a picnic or party, make it the previous day). Serve. It will serve about eight, but often times I have found people want this very difficult recipe. Why? Because it is so simple and fresh.

It's summer, so go eat a cucumber!

A bit on self-publishing

2011-07-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I reviewed a book that was self-published. I currently have on my Nook several self-published authors. I have nothing against self-publishing and there are a few of my books that I have toyed with self-publishing. In today's world there are some great resources for self-publishing that make it truly affordable. Create Space is one of many print-on-demand services that has very little initial outlay of money to publish your book. They have paid services as well such as cover and interior design options, editing (from copy editing to full-blown editorial editing) and even marketing tools. There are also several e-publishers including Barnes and Noble's new Pubit! (their exclamation point, not mine) where you can create an account, upload your book and have your book available to Nook owners around the world.

I have wishy-washy feelings about self-publishing. On one hand self-publishing allows the average person the ability to put their toils and tribulations into a book format. I actually have a paperback copy of my last NaNoWriMo book (courtesy of being a winner and getting a "free" ARC of my book - It wasn't truly free as I did pay for the expedited shipping.) It's really cool to hold your own book in your hand. To see your name printed on the title. To flip through the pages and smell your words. It's really really cool. As a former librarian and current bookseller I get such a giggle out of seeing "my" ISBN on the back. (Although if I decide to have this traditionally published I know that the number will change, but I have an ISBN!) I have pet my book, stroked its lovely cover and carried it around with me. It's my first book baby and it makes me feel like one of the Big Kids in the writing world.

On the other hand though, even though I have done copy-editing in the past, I still find my work littered with errors. I find grammar blunders, misused words and spelling blunders. You know what those are. Those are the words that are spelled correctly but aren't the ones you mean. In one of my books I have a character whose name constantly comes up as Any rather than Andy. Spell-check doesn't catch those worse because Any is a real word spelled correctly. It's just not Andy's name. It won't catch the stupid mistakes like "They're" and "Their" or "moot" and "mute" or "could have cared less" instead of the correct "couldn't have cared less."

On the other hand (now do you see why I chose Kali for the picture today?), self-publishing can boost your self-esteem, especially if you have been toiling for years trying to get your work published. You know it is a good story. You know people will love it. You are confidant that your work is solid. You can't find someone who will take a chance on it though. So you do it yourself. Market it yourself. And you love what you have created. You have a tangible (or digital) book that belongs to you. It is your book forever. And people can (and probably do) read it. You are an Author now because you have a book to prove it. Ha! Take that publishing world!

Yet on that other hand, there is something about needing the strokes from a Real Publisher to make one feel that they have triumphed. It's really cool to have Harper Collins or Scholastic or Random House or Penguin or Little Brown (or one of their many smaller houses) printed under your name on the spine. How fantastic to have that little Penguin flapping its little wings on the spine. Traditional publishers will generally help you market your book and they can get your book into a lot more hands than you can on your own. They can send to the mass market book sellers and go to ALA and Book Week and RWA and Comicon and all those really cool book venues. They make your book look not just like a book but like a Real Book. It will look very polished and professional. They will use unique photography that will get people's attention (and hopefully they won't use a similar photo the same year as a different publisher used for a CS Lewis book).

On that (what are we up to now?) fifth hand having a self-published book that does well can help you get your foot in the door to a Traditional Publisher. (We really shouldn't think of self-publishers as not being real. They are real. They are really publishing books, but they aren't what we have come to think of as traditional publishers.) If you show that you have done your market, taken your licks, worked your way through the publishing world on your own and have a book that has done moderately well, that can all make an impression on an agent or editor. I've even talked to self-published authors who have had an agent or editor contact them after reading one of their books. That's pretty darn cool.

Yet (and you knew there was going to be another hand in all this) there are still traditionalist Traditional Publishers who scoff and dismiss those who haven't written the prerequisite nine thousand eight hundred fifty-seven query letters and received six thousand five hundred one rejections (because the other three thousand three hundred fifty-six query letters went unanswered). They don't care how witty or charming or influential your writing may be. You didn't go about it the Real Way so therefore you aren't worthy of their time. OK, so the majority of agents and publishers aren't really that bad, but there is a bit of prejudice in the publishing world against self-published authors. Go to a writer's workshop and raise your hand when they ask if anyone is published. When they ask you who your imprint is and you say, "Create Space" eyes will roll. "Oh, you are one of those writers." They won't even use the word Author associated with you. It's as if you haven't earned the title.

Now I'm going to say the part that makes almost everyone groan. Do your homework. Whether you are self-publishing or writing your next query letter, do your homework. Find out who your audience will be. Find out more about the publisher or agent or editor. Make sure there aren't any hidden fees or clauses. Know everything ahead of time. Don't go blindly blundering into your mistakes. Take time to really know your craft no matter how you choose to publish. Make sure your manuscript is as polished and flowing as possible. Just because you threw up words on a page does not mean you have written a book. A book tells a story or gives us information in a clear and concise manner. Make sure you actually have a book before you publish it. Even if you do it yourself.

Book Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

2011-06-30T07:00:00.013-05:00

First let me say that I really love this story. No matter what I say in this review, remember that I love this story. I think that Amanda Hocking is a brilliant story teller and she is very bold for self-publishing. (Although Amanda has recently had a series bought by St. Martin's Press.) I'm going to start with the "worst things I found in the book" and then move on to the "best things I found in the book." The worst thing I found is that the book seemed to lack a professional polish. Perhaps this is due to not having an editor when Amanda first decided to self-publish. (I do not know that she didn't have an editor. I am completely assuming she didn't.) I found the book littered with over used words ("just" being the top of the list), over-repeated words (using the same word over and over in the same sentence, paragraph or page), and incorrectly used words (rod for wrought). They all seemed to be common errors that an editor would have easily caught and corrected. Not surprisingly, the biggest problem I ran into was that I was reading this on my Nook and I couldn't make editing notes in the book as I do with my paper copies. (That's the former editor in me that insists that I can't leave a mistake unmarked. I've even corrected grammar and spelling in a Tom Clancy novel - ooooooooo. It happens. Even to the best. But this is an e-reader issue, not Miss Hocking's issue.)

Now for the best parts. This is a wonderful story. It is fresh, alive and unique. The story moves you quickly through what is happening and Amanda doesn't let you forget about things left behind. I was fascinated by her use of imagery and could easily envision the details in the book. As I was reading I wasn't given unimportant information that didn't relate to the story. So many times I am given far too much detail in a book and wondering why I needed to know that there was a bowl of grapefruit on the coffee table. What does it mean? Why grapefruit? Amanda never once did that. Every detail she offered was relevant in the story even if you didn't come back to it for several chapters. I also loved reading a new look at an old idea. I've gotten tired of vampires and werewolves that all seem to have the same sort of story as to how the creature came to be, how they live and how they die. So many young adult paranormal stories have turned into watered down romances that just happen to have a vampire in them. Switched is completely different. I like this world Amanda has created and I look forward to finishing this series and moving on to some of her other work.

If you are looking for a good quick read for the summer, this is an excellent pick. Plus, most of Amanda Hocking's books are available through Barnes and Noble or Amazon e-books for the low low price of $2.99 and even 99¢ each. So not only are they good, they are also very affordable. Go support independent literature!

Currently reading: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Twisted German Cast On

2011-06-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

I have fallen in love with a new cast on technique. I had done it in the past on one or two projects, but never truly liked it. This past Sock Madness competition had a sock that started with this cast on technique and amazingly I fell in love with it. I'm not sure why, but I did and I've been using it ever since. Perhaps it was all the Scandinavians who said, "Oh, that's the cast on we always use" or maybe it is because I realized how much stretchier it is than the regular long tail cast on. Although, do be aware that this is a variation of the long tail cast on and takes just a wee bit more yarn than the regular long tail cast on.

I have found that by using the Twisted German Cast On I don't fall too hard into the "Ooops, I cast on too tightly ... again" problem. I also think it gives a much nicer look than the ordinary long tail cast on.

This is the long tail cast on:

Notice the bottom is kind of wimpy looking and not very stable.

Here is the Twisted German Cast On:

See how the bottom edge looks like a lovely braid or a row of knitting and the base is much more stable. Yet it is fairly stretchy.

Here's a wonderful video on how to do the Twisted German Cast on:

Ten on Tuesday: Independence Edition

2011-06-28T07:00:00.009-05:00

Next Monday is the celebration of the Independence of the United States of America. I need to say something right off the bat: I'm not an "oo-rah Go America USA USA kind of person." Don't get me wrong. I love this country and the principles on which it was founded, but I've been to other countries and I don't think that we are "number one." I think that we have a lot going for us, but I don't think that we are supreme above all other countries. If that makes you hate me or quit reading the blog, have a peaceful journey as we aren't made for each other. I am an unrepentant liberal and for that I will never apologize.

Ten things I like about the "Fourth of July"

1. Fireworks (I love fireworks. Any fireworks. They are so pretty!)
2. Waffle House will be open (I know, my foodies, but this Southern Girl loves Waffle House)
3. That red, white and blue (and their related colors) go well together
4. Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney (I love musicals and George M. Cohan wrote such memorable songs that are short and fun.)
5. Apple pie (but I also like it on July 5th and September 19th, and February 23rd)
6. Grilled hot dogs (normally I'm not a hot dog person, but on Independence Day I feel this urge to eat a hotdog with sweet relish, catsup and mustard on a white bun with a side of baked beans)
7. People seem a bit kinder to each other in this country on that day
8. Baseball (Go Cubbies!)
9. That we live in a country where we are free to worship (or not) any god (or goddess or nothing) that we feel called to worship (or not) without federal or state persecution and that I have the freedom to say that as well
10. That I will be working in a bookstore on this day where people are free to write and read books of their choosing. (So go read a banned book just because you can.)

Twue Love!

2011-06-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

This past week I have had a couple of reminders about my favorite movie. This is not a cinematic masterpiece. It doesn't have an astounding (or even surprising) plot. It has no major wonderful special effects. The dialogue is cheesy, the costumes impractical and the cast was virtually a bunch of nobodies or half-knowns. However, if I were stuck on that proverbial deserted island with only one movie to watch (no one has told me yet how I would play it) it would be Princess Bride. Yep. The movie with fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles... (Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.)

This past week Peter Falk died. He was the grandfather who tells the story to his grandson, stuck at home sick. And yesterday on TeeFury Fezzik was the subject of their daily shirt. (Buy it so the artist won't hurt.) (If you don't check out TeeFury on a daily basis you should because they only release a single design each day for one day only and then it's gone. The topics range from Firefly, Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, TMNT, LOTR, POTC, Harry Potter, Buffy, comics, basically anything that strikes a fancy with current or nostalgic pop culture - today it's Calvin Ball.) And from that (I'm assuming) there was a flurry of tweets on Twitter quoting Princess Bride. It also didn't help that the question of the week last week was "If you had a million dollars what would you buy?" and someone wrote down "Andre the Giant's left hand." (Don't ask. I don't know.)

So if this movie isn't a cinematic masterpiece, what is it that makes it my favorite movie? Simple. It's brilliant. It has fantastic witty and quotable dialogue that can be used in so many different situations. I can't think of another single movie that has so many quotable lines than Princess Bride. Off to the store to do a little swim suit shopping? The line that chases you out is "Have fun storming the castle." To which you are then obligated to call back, "Do you think it will work?" It will take a miracle. As you wish is the exact same in our family as I love you. And I have learned over the years to never end a sentence with "I mean it" because one of my children will respond with "Anyone want a peanut?" Even when I am angry and about to explode. In a hurry to leave for something and the others in your party are not fast enough for you? Out comes the fake Spanish accent and "You donna suppose you could speed things up?" That guarantees the response, "If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a rope or a tree branch or find something useful to do." When the oldest teen sleeps in until afternoon they are usually greeted with "You've been mostly dead all day."

I love the score for this movie. There are lots of Dun-dun-dun-duh's that are so reminiscent of old westerns. It's climatic when there is fighting and swoony when it is romantic. And there is kissing (They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?) A movie with kissing can't be all that bad and because the kissing is generally made fun of in this movie even a seven-year old boy can watch it without being grossed out.

There is much to be learned from this movie as well. For instance if someone is all dead then the only thing you can do is go through their pockets and look for lost change. There is nothing better than true love (except for a nice MLT where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe). Life is pain (, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something). There are no R.O.U.S.'s in the Fire Swamp (Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist. THUMP! And there always has to be a thump after I don't think they exist otherwise it isn't funny). Mawwiage is a bwessed awwaingement. (Do not try to quote the Impressive Clergyman unless you can do it correctly.) And always remember: never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Thunk!

Need a new insult? Princess Bride has got some good ones including: you wart-hogged faced baffoon, miserable vomitous mass, unemployed in Greenland (I mean really, that would be so horrible!) and my favorite "Humperdink! Humperdink! Humperdink!"

If you have never seen it, I pray you, get a copy. Invite some of your most silly (or better yet serious) friends over and eat chocolate (it makes it go down easier) and drink a bottle of brandy. Learn the lines. Quote the lines. And above all live for True Love! It's inconceivable that someone wouldn't.

Share with me some of your favorite quotes.

Spiritual Sunday: Rain

2011-06-26T07:42:00.000-05:00

We've been having a drought where I live. Days and days without rain in an area that normally has rain almost every afternoon this time of year. It makes people grumpy. While they say that they are enjoying all the time that they have to get out and go play in all the sunshine and that they don't miss the rain, they really aren't having any fun and they are getting grouchier with each passing day or no rain. Our cars are dusty. Our yards are dry and brown. We have to water our gardens to get the little produce we can. The berries aren't as sweet. The air even feels dry, which is odd for living along the Gulf Coast as we do.

Then on Wednesday night it started to rain. We had a really nice storm come through and it rained throughout the night and into Thursday. It even was raining Thursday night and I didn't have to play my white noise machine (which is programmed to play rain with thunder) to go to sleep. I had the real thing playing outside my house. And while the air felt wet and heavy and it became steamy on Friday when the temperatures started rising again, it felt fresh and new outside. Things seemed cleaner. Even the houses seemed fresh from the new rain. It was simply lovely.

It's odd how weather affects our mood. And it is different for each of us. I love rain (and snow for that matter, but we don't get snow here in the south often - which is a good thing). On rainy days I feel fresh and clean. The rain is soothing and the thunder's rumbling is peaceful. I've never been afraid of thunder. My grandmother told me that I was born during an extremely violent thunderstorm and that when I was a baby they could always count on me taking a nap when a storm would roll in. I like that story. I don't know if it is true or not, but I like to think it is. None of my children are afraid of thunder either and rarely will they even wake at night from a storm. If they do, they simply sigh and snuggle deeper into their blankets and are lulled back to sleep.

Rain, for me, means a good day or reading. It is curling up in bed or on the couch with a new book or an old familiar and letting the rain play the soundtrack for the book I'm reading. Since beginning work at Barnes and Noble (a bookstore for those who don't know) I have found that rain also makes other people become readers. When it is raining outside people tend to stay longer in the bookstore. On Thursday I found all the over-stuffed chairs filled, the cafe full and people curled up on the floor throughout the store with books propped, enjoying the forced captivity and the time to enjoy a book.

Rain has played a role in many different religions. In the Judeo-Christian story of Noah's Ark, God cleansed the earth with rain. He washed the impurities away. The ancient Aztec had a rain god called Tlolak. He wasn't a very nice god, but he was revered because the sacrifices to him were thought to bring about the rains needed for a plentiful harvest. Zeus is the god of thunder (and with that comes rain) as are the Roman Jupiter and the Norse Thor. The Inca has a god of rainstorms called Pariacaca (which when you say it almost sounds like rain pitter-pattering on the window). The Egyptians had Tefnut who was the goddess of rain. Many cultures had devotions or rituals they performed to their gods and goddesses to plea for rain (and in some cases to stop the rain). Rain has even played a role in our religious structures. Masons knew that water running across mortar would weaken it and cause structural damage, so gargoyles were built to divert the water and thus save their work. (It should be noted that gargoyles date back to pre-Christian cultures and are found throughout the world including Greece, South America and Japan.)

Rain is important. We need rain to fill our rivers and reservoirs. We need it to grow crops, to clean, to cool, and, especially, to quench our thirst. Rain may inconvenience at times. Weddings have had to be rescheduled or moved because of rain. Ball games have been called due to rain. Rain has caused floods and when paired with the winds of a hurricane has been known to devastate cities. Rain isn't predictable. We can't forecast very far into the future when we will have rain or when it might stop. Our powers of prediction are truly limited to just a few days at best. Yet as infuriating as it is and as fickle as it seems, we still should be glad when we do see it as living without it would be a terrible world that would be dry and parched. And I don't want to live in that kind of world.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-06-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

I love a good simple cookie sometimes. Chocolate chip is just that perfect cookie. There isn't too much chocolate, just the right amount of vanilla cookie and, when fresh out of the oven, speak to my inner child. Over the years I have toyed with a variety of cookie recipes. Through a process of trial and error I have mished and mashed several recipes together to get the best dough and my favorite cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup of butter softened
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (although I usually make them with all butter. Half shortening tends to make them a bit more chewy)
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar packed
2 eggs
2 T. milk (trust me on this)
1 t. vanilla extract (if using artificial vanilla use 2 t.)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
2-1/4 c. flour (although this varies anywhere from 2 cups to 2-1/2 cups depending on humidity)
1-1/2 c. mini chocolate chips (although you can use any, I like the way that mini chips spread through out the dough)

Using a mixer add all the ingredients in order, mixing well before adding the next. You can add 1/2 - 1 cup of chopped pecans, although I seem to be the only one in the house that likes nuts in my cookies, so I rarely get to have them.) When the dough is thoroughly mixed, using a spoon. Eat it. OK, don't. OK, do. OK, technically you aren't supposed to eat cookie dough that has raw eggs in it, but in all my forty-something years of eating cookie dough I have never had a bad reaction. And cookie dough is just so yummy. But if you insist on baking cookies (which you really should because if you ate that much cookie dough you will get a tummy ache and it won't be because of raw eggs) heat your oven to 350°F and bake them on a baking stone for 12-14 minutes. If you don't have a baking stone, then I recommend using parchment paper on a metal sheet. It won't be as good as on a stone, but it will make clean up easier and you don't have to worry about your cookies sticking to your pan. After they have baked eat them as fast as you can. Have a glass of ice cold milk with them or a cup of tea. It's best that way.

Today I shall write

2011-06-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

Today I shall write. I shall write the most stunning prose ever. My words will rival those of Milton, Mitchener, Rowling and King. Sentences will flow with ease and every word will appear as though it was meticulously planned when in reality they spilled onto the page to tempt and delight. My characters will be so well-formed that the reader will feel as though they are their best friends. My villains will be heinous and my heroes strong, bold, and deliciously beautiful. The heroine will be no femme fatale, but a confidant and capable woman who is still sexy and alluring. The plot will be riveting and the reader will languish in bed captivated by each chapter or, sadly, the reader will be stuck at work wishing the hours to whisk away so that they can get back to the book that is calling to them from their coffee table. It will cross gender lines and be adored by both staunch conservative and radical liberal alike. My writing today will be hailed as this decade's most entertaining and important work of fiction. The Washington Post will announce that it is a
"Must Read!" Yes! Today the words themselves will be my muse!

Actually I'm probably going to write a whole lot of shit today that will be edited and slashed and rewritten tomorrow, but the above paragraph is how I want to write each day. I wake up with the intention of writing well and when I review it later I wonder what idiot sat at my computer and put that stupid drivel in my book. But that is what the writing process is about. I am sure that there are few authors who are a pleasure to edit. Whose manuscripts are clean and polished and ready for the world. I have had the pleasure of talking to quite a few published authors (some of them even well-known and well-read) who have griped about having to go through the editing process. The authors I follow on Twitter remind me daily that writing is not something we do, but something we perfect. It is a continuous work in progress until it has been printed and delivered to stores. And by that time there is more work to be done on the next book.

So today I most likely will not channel Shakespeare or Goethe or even Austin. Today I will regurgitate a couple thousand words and hopefully they will form some kind of sentence structure and arrange themselves into paragraphs and when I look at it again tomorrow it would look like a two-year old pounded on my keyboard. And I shall be thankful for spellcheck.

Book Review: Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

2011-06-23T07:00:00.015-05:00

First let me say that I adore Hannah Moskowitz. Break broke my heart (and squigged me out at the same time). Sometimes I think this woman sees right into my very teenage soul. I was hesitant to pick up her newest novel. It's that fear that the Breakout Novelists Breakout Novel will be their One Hit Wonder. I kept passing it in the Young Adult Contemporary section. I think I was a tad put off by the cover as I was afraid that somehow Hannah had fallen into the genre of "Contemporary Teens Having Lots of Sex Books." However, after reading countless Tweets about how wonderful her book was, I picked up Invincible Summer. I am so glad that I did.

Invincible Summer is the story of a family. A quite broken and passive aggressive family. Sort of resembled my own growing up (though with fewer siblings). The story is told from Chase's point of view. Chase is the second born and the second son. He idolizes his older brother. He puts up with his younger sister. He absolutely adores his little brother who is deaf. And he shares his birthday with his baby sister. He loves them all. He worries about them all and for all different reasons. Each year this misfit family spends their summers at the beach with their seasonal neighbors, the Hathaways and their three children, Melinda and the twins, Shannon and Bella. The McGills and the Hathaways. The Hathaways and the McGills. Every summer together. Every summer the same. Or at least that was the way it had always been. But for the four summers of this book, each summer seems jarringly stepped apart from that sameness, held together only by the clever intertwining of Camus's quotes.

I found myself understanding almost every character in the book at some point in my reading. I identified with Chase because I always felt like it was my responsibility to worry and care and take care of the members of my family. It was my duty to keep them all together. I worked hard at that for many years. I associated with Noah, the older brother, because I always wanted to run away. I always wanted to leave. It was easier to leave and forget than to stay and deal. I even associated with young Gideon and completely understood how he felt to not be able to be understood even though he was always being heard. I especially related to Melinda in a big way. Being a rape survivor and acting out sexually in very unhealthy ways is not uncommon. Each month for several years I was thankful I didn't get pregnant and when I was older I was even more thankful that I had never picked up any STD's. I kept thinking if people made love to me then it would void the rape somehow. I equated consensual sex with making love. It took me a long time to understand how those things were different. I hope that Melinda figures that out sooner than I did.

This book made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me even blush. It made me cry a whole lot more. I loved this book and glad that it is part of my collection. Thank you Hannah for opening your heart and pouring out those words for us so delightfully, so lovingly and so honestly raw.

Currently reading: Switched by Amanda Hocking

The problem with UFO's

2011-06-22T07:00:00.010-05:00

I honestly think sometimes that aliens come and abduct not our bodies but our knitting patterns when we are half finished making something. I started fantasizing yesterday about a new knitting project. A nice vest with waist shaping that buttoned in the front or perhaps it was a pullover with a deep neckline that would be perfect to wear over a crisp shirt. I even think that the gorgeous silk/wool blend that I got at Stitches would be the perfect yarn for such a venture. I went as far as to go to Ravelry and search for vest patterns. I doodled a bit. I looked through my own library to see what I already had. And I considered swatching to see what gauge I was getting.

And then I came to my senses. The aliens had come back and stolen my patterns to all my UFO's (For those of you who are not knitters, UFO's are UnFinished Objects as we have FO's as well ... sometimes if we actually get to finishe something prior to alien abduction.) I tried to reason with myself that I didn't really have that many UFO's. In fact I went over to my Ravelry project page and counted them just to prove it. See? I only have my second Little Slipped Stitch sock, the second My Little Bit of Lace sock, the second Kimono sock, the second Rick sock, my second Regency sock, the Argus Panoptes socks, the Pea Vines shawl and the green cabled summer sweater which is 45% finished. I could lie and say that my way of dealing with socks missing their mates in the wash is to not knit their mates, but the honest truth is that I have every intention of knitting their mates because they are beautiful socks and deserve to be worn in pairs. I could just wear Dobby socks, but again, these are great socks and as much as I love that mischievous adorable House Elf, I like pairs of socks.

I have decided that I will not cast on anything new until I am caught up with what is already on the needles. Well, except the shawl. That's a Big Project and complicated so I may end up having that as a work in progress even after I have finished everything else. Oh and maybe after I finish the cabled summer sweater I will cast on another sweater project because one can't have just socks to knit. And while I really shouldn't, I may end up casting on something with some of that sock yarn I got at Stitches before I forget all the cool things that Anna Zilboorg taught me in the sock class I took from her.

See? This is why I really think it has to be aliens! No knitter in her right mind would have this many UFO's hanging around. What is that green glow I see on the horizon. Quick! Hide your patterns. The aliens are here.

10 Books Recommendations to a Friend

2011-06-21T07:00:00.009-05:00

This week's 10 on Tuesday is 10 books you would recommend to a friend. Just 10? OK, I'll try this, but 10 is going to be a hard number to stop at. (All links are to Goodreads.)

1. Little Women (only because it is my comfort book that I always end up going back to)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird (love it love it love it)
3. The Red Tent
4. Tuck Everlasting
5. The Time Traveller's Wife (I hated it, I loved it, I hated it, I really loved it)
6. The Harry Potter Series (only because it is the best children's literature written and I don't want to waste seven of my spaces)
7. The Very Quiet Cricket (Because every reading list needs a good bedtime story)
8. The Hunger Games Trilogy (they should be read together)
9. The Handmaid's Tale
10. Knitting a Boyfriend Sweater (OK, you can't buy this yet. I wrote it and it isn't published, but I'm working on it. I smile when I read it because I enjoyed writing it so much.)

What's on your list?

A brand new job!

2011-06-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

Each Monday night I go to my local Barnes and Noble bookstore for knitting night. We are one of many groups of "Noble Knitters" who meet at their bookstores to share our love of knitting, drink a beverage from the cafe and surround ourselves with books. I don't know about the other "Noble Knitters" around the country, but I can say that our group of knitters loves books. Adores them in fact. We often share books around or recommend new books or break out into mini book club discussions while sitting with our knitting in hand.

Recently a sign was posted at the store that they were looking for a new bookseller, particularly for the Digital Section. In other words they needed a Nook salesperson. My daughter immediately said I should apply. Three people in the group asked if I had. I mentioned it to my spouse and he said I should definitely go for it. So, oddly, I did. I wasn't looking for a job. I don't need a job. Somehow, though, I have found myself employed. So tomorrow is my first day of real work. I have already been to the New Employee Orientation, wherein I learned what to do if I am robbed at the cash registers, what to wear, and gave them the name of who to call in case I fall, bash my head open and have to go to the emergency room. (That isn't as funny as it seems as I am a complete klutz. The likelihood of that happening are greater than you would expect.)

My biggest concern hasn't been if I will do well at my job. I love books. I've been a librarian and have worked in a bookstore in the past. I adore my Nook. When the cat knocked it off the table and cracked the inner screen I cried (and bought a new Nook and now I have insurance for it). I am not afraid to cross train to help in other departments. I'm not even worried that they will like me as I know most of the employees and they know me. None of the normal things that a person is worried about when beginning a new job are much of a concern. My big concern was "What am I going to wear?" Yep. My wardrobe.

Now if it were winter I wouldn't worry too much as my winter wardrobe is much more work-friendly than my summer wardrobe. My summer wardrobe is made up of flowing skirts, camisoles, lightweight shirts to layer on top of the camisoles and espadrilles. Not really bookstore friendly clothes. So I went to my favorite clothing store chain (aka thrift stores) and spent under forty dollars to spiffy up my wardrobe. I came home with four pair of nicer slacks, three buttoned tailored shirts, and a new purse. OK, I didn't need the new purse, but it was brand new, never used, and met all my needs (a place for my Nook, a place for my knitting and a place for all my other crap that I have to carry with me). Surprisingly (or maybe it shouldn't be) I had all the grown up shoes that I could possibly need for work. I have hemmed the two pair of pants that were too long and ironed everything nice and crisp for this week. (The down side to having grown up clothes is that so many of them require grown up work like ironing.)
I will say that Project 333 really helped in making this wardrobe as I was able to think of the things I was purchasing in terms of how they would work together to create a bigger looking wardrobe than what I actually have. How do the pants, shoes, and shirts all tie in together to create more outfits than just four? It helped me limit what colors I aimed for at the store and kept me looking for things that could cross over seasons as well. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this new wardrobe to see how much I really did learn from that experiment.

The big challenge is going to be remembering to blog. Hopefully work won't get in the way of my fun times.

Fathers and families and fairies

2011-06-19T10:28:00.003-05:00

In case you missed all the signs in the stores, the sappy (or funny) television commercials, the reminders on the radio or Google's doodle of the day, today is Fathers' Day. There is controversy over who is to get credit for the first Fathers' Day, but we can pretty well agree that it came after the first Mothers' Day. Woodrow Wilson was the first President of the United States to actually declare it a holiday. Fathers around the country were honored for one day for all that they do all year long. Children knelt at the knees of their fathers and basked in his wonderfulness. And then the retail industry got involved.

Personally I loathe these Hallmark holidays. It's like someone had the bright idea that we would give dad a special day wherein we buy him lots of (sometimes useless and often times cheap) things like ties, aftershave, soap-on-a-rope, and rotary saws which will go unused, become dusty or slice a finger off. (By the way all those things happened to my dad and his gifts when I was a child.) Fathers don't have to cook, do the lawn, or wash the car on this one Sunday of the year. They can sit in front of the television and hope there is at least a baseball game on. Who thought that the middle of summer was a good time for Fathers' Day? Hockey and basketball are over, Football won't begin any time soon and baseball is just getting started. There isn't much exciting going on sports-wise. (No, do not mention golf. That is the. Worst. Sport to watch on television, much less in person.) Where I live it is already too hot to go outside and do anything really fun (our heat index today is supposed to be over 105°F). Which boils down to aside from a card and some "OMG I need to buy dad something" gifts, today is pretty much like any other day. Except it is Fathers' Day. Like that is supposed to mean something.

In the Judeo-Christian scriptures it says to "Honor thy mother and father." It doesn't say to "Honor thy mother and father on one appointed day of the year." Nope. It just says honor. Perhaps if we honored our parents more throughout the year we wouldn't have this need that we need to do something special one day out of the year to make them feel like we care about them. We wouldn't have to single them out for the work that they are doing all year.

Now granted many of us have dysfunctional families. Some of us have not just dysfunctional families but ones that are so broken and hurt that they resemble a jigsaw puzzle where the dog has chewed on a few of the pieces so they will never fit together correctly again. My own family (that being my parents and siblings) are more like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing (I'm afraid the dog might spit them out later, but that has yet to be verified. My baby brother could be hiding them in his pocket so he can be the one to put the last pieces on the board and thus "win" at the family puzzle.) My created family (that being my spouse and three children (and four cats and one hamster and a tiny elephant named Tippy)) are more like a new box of puzzle pieces. All the pieces are there and we even have the border built now and most of the fun parts are done, we are just working our way through all the sky. There are a few pieces that fell on the floor and the cat batted around so they are dusty and one one has a little crease on the corner, but they all fit. I like how we have worked together. We are comfortable with each other and like being together.

One of the things that we have done has been to basically ignore Hallmark holidays. We don't really celebrate Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day and Valentine's Day. Why? Aren't we supposed to honor and love each other all year? Does it really prove we love someone when we buy them flowers or boxes of chocolates or soaps-on-a-rope just because some industry said we should? We joke in our family that we have a Valentine Fairy. She comes on February 15th bearing clearance chocolates. (She's almost as closely loved as the Easter Fairy who comes bearing clearance candies and 25¢ egg dying kits which is then used to dye fabric and yarn.) We generally greet each other on those "special days" and give each other a kiss. However, that is how we begin most of our days. "Good morning. I love you." Smooch. Smooch.

And that is how I think it should be. Honor each other every day. Honor your mother. Honor your father. Honor your lover. Honor your friends. Honor your family. Respect each other. Be good to each other. Love each other. And then we don't need to feel that we should go out and purchase stuff. Stuff. Stuff. Stuff. I really don't like stuff. I want relationships that work and people I love surrounding me. Not just on the third Sunday in June, but every day. Now go be good to each other.

Ratatouille!

2011-06-18T07:32:00.000-05:00

No, not the Pixar movie. The food. What exactly is ratatouille? Basically it is peasant stew. Sometimes made in a pot sometimes baked in an oven. Most people associate ratatouille with eggplant. Why? Eggplant is nasty and slimy and putrid. (Apologies to those of you who like eggplant.) There is no hard and fast rule that ratatouille must be made with eggplant. It's not Eggplant Parmesan which, by virtue of its name, would imply that eggplant is a big part of the pot.

Ratatouille is a French Provencal stew. And guess what grows really well in Nice? Yep. Eggplant. It is Nice's answer to the Pacific Northwest's zucchini. When I lived in Oregon, I used to wake up to find that someone had gifted me random zukes on my back step quite often. People had so much of it that you had to actually either pay people to take it off your hands or gift it to people, thus making them feel obligated to use it.

They key ingredient in ratatouille is actually the tomatoes. Everything else is whatever you have on hand. It can be eggplant (although I never have random eggplant just hanging around in my refrigerator). But it can also be onions, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, bell peppers, celery, and mushrooms. Go look in your pantry and see what you have available. It probably can be made into this tasty stew.

There is also a big debate over whether ratatouille should be made from vegetables thinly sliced and layered or whether the vegetables should just be cut into chunks and all jumbled together. Personally I prefer the thinly sliced variety of ratatouille, but I am not opposed to something that more resembles stew. In fact I would bet that most housewives in Provencal France had more glop than layers.

Here is my recipe for ratatouille:

6-7 medium sized squashes (this can be all one variety or a mix of zukes and summer squashes or if you so decide to eggplant)
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced

1 - 28oz can of diced tomatoes. (I prefer the petite diced, but have no prejudice to regular diced)
1 small onion diced
1/2 a head of garlic (I like garlic. You may decide that this is too much garlic for you.)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
herbs (whatever you like although basil and thyme are nice as are oregano and rosemary)

Slice your squashes. I like using my mandolin (which I call my guillotine) for nice even thin slices.

In a medium sautee pan, heat your oil and add your onions and garlic (this would be an ok time to throw in celery as well). Cook until the onions are tender. I actually like to caramelize them just a bit, but that's up to you. The important thing is to cook them so that the onions lose their bite and are sweet. Add the entire can of tomatoes to the pot. Do not drain them. Just open the can and dump. Stir and add in your salt, pepper and herbs to taste.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish (I like to use my Pampered Chef baker, but whatever you have will work). When the tomato mixture is hot, spoon some of it into the bottom of your prepared dish. Layer your squashes and mushrooms. You can make them all neat and prettyful or you can just put them in there so that they are all just all flat. This is peasant stew. Don't stress about it. Pour the rest of the sauce over the squashes and mushrooms. Cover (I prefer using parchment paper, but if you must you may use aluminium foil). Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until the squashes are tender.

Words for Friday

2011-06-17T07:57:00.000-05:00

According to my self-appointed schedule, today is supposed to be about writing. I like writing (duh). I've been asked many times why I have a blog, though, that isn't just about writing. Well, to be perfectly honest, that would be boring. No, seriously. Do you know how many blogs there are out there about writing? I don't know either, but there are many. Maybe even too many. I follow or am subscribed to quite a few of them. I probably get around to reading about ten posts a week. That's on a good week. Usually it is more like three. It isn't that I don't enjoy the blogs. I mean I followed them initially for some reason. It really boils down to not having enough time to read all the blogs I follow. To be even more painfully honest I tend to skim more than I read. I glance through them to see if there are any interesting words, look at the tags to see if they are of interest to me and sometimes it is as brief as reading the title. Ouch. I know. Sorry.

The other Big Reason is that I am more than just about writing. Thus the name of my blog KnitCookWrite. I'm actually much more than those three things, but those are the three most prevalent things in my life after my children and trust me, you do not want another Mommy Blog talking about snotty noses, dirty diapers, and five hundred ways to upcycle a used paper towel tube into children's art. (Fortunately my kids are all teenagers - or will be on June 30th, so I wouldn't talk about snotty noses or dirty diapers and we merrily recycle our paper towel tubes.)

I've also been asked why I don't have three blogs: one for knitting, one for cooking and one for writing. Please! Have you seen how difficult it has been for me to keep up with one blog? How the heck do you think I am going to remember to update three blogs let alone one? I would be constantly referring to things from my other blogs in each of the other ones because my life is so much more than just about writing or knitting or cooking or even snotty nosed non-diaper-wearing teenagers waving glitter-encrusted paper towel tubes. Plus I would have to put on my Big Thinking Hat and come up with three witty blog names and it was not easy coming up with this blog name. (Do not remind me that it is my Twitter and Ravelry name. It was hard I tell you. Hard!)

I was also encouraged by Kristen Lamb's recent blog about why writing blogs are fairly boring and not helpful to writers. I don't have to worry about being too diverse because my blog is about me and I am diverse. I can't blog just about writing because that is not who I am. I feel very justified in my decision because of Kristen's blog. Thank you Kristen!

You may be saying to yourself, but today is Friday why isn't she talking about writing? I will. Maybe not as much today as you might hope. This week has been an exercise in getting used to a new blog schedule (which is now further compromised by the fact that I just got a job at my local Barnes and Noble Booksellers). Introducing myself and my readers to what is coming up in the next few months. And while Friday is Writing Day, I may not blog about writing as an art, but more about what I am writing and my journey to being published.

However, if you feel that I must say a few words on writing, then here's my Big Idea on Writing: What are you doing reading this blog? Go write something.

Book Review: Shades of Grey

2011-06-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde Genre: Dystopian (Young Adult Appropriate)

I enjoy dystopian novels. I believe part of it is because they play into my biggest fears. What would happen if there was a nuclear war? What if the religious right were to take over the world? What if our government collapsed? In Jasper Fforde's novel Shades of Grey, the question is: What happens when people are subjugated to a certain lifestyle because of the colors they can perceive?

I found this theme quite unnerving. We already deal with discrimination based on what color a person's skin is, but what about when we further discriminate because of what colors a person can actually see. The idea that one could only see shades of blue, or green, or yellow, or purple, or, Munsell save us, grey was eerie. I can't imagine my world being limited to seeing 72% blue. Not even the full blue spectrum, just 72%. And what makes someone who can see 29% purple better than my 72% blue?

I enjoyed following the changes that Edward Russett (even your name is delegated to your color perception) as he begins his journey as a compliant follower of the Great Munsell. He is poised to marry up-color and is on a pointless task to make up for a practical joke at school. He follows his father, a healer, to a town on the outer-edges of their world where he starts to see things differently out here further away from the big city. And lo and behold he has to go and fall in love with a Grey! Oh the shame! But Jane Gray (love the name) doesn't just steal his heart. She infects his mind with new thoughts and challenges his way of thinking. Soon young Edward finds that life isn't so black and white.

Tinted with fabulous double entendre using color words to not only describe people, but also to help the reader see what life would be like with a limited color spectrum, Shades of Gray is a fabulous read, even for people who don't normally pick up dystopian books. About the only thing that I can say that bugged me about this book's writing was the use of "artificial color." I am still having a hard time understanding how if someone has a limited color spectrum how they can see "artificial colors" but not real colors. But then my world is surrounded by color and my eyes function as they should (provided I am wearing my glasses!)

What I'm currently reading: Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Knitting in my office

2011-06-15T08:26:00.000-05:00

My office is my writing space. This is where I come to pen words. I have a variety of dictionaries (my favorite being the Merriam-Webster's Compact Visual Dictionary - is very useful for answering the question, "What is that thingy called on a bell that makes it ring?"). I have books and magazines on the art of writing. I have character development workbooks and books of quotations. I have sticky notes for plot development. My calendar is even one of women reading.

Intertwined, though, in all these words are parts of my other life. My knitting side. For instance in the cup of pens, markers, pencils, and other office supplies are a pair of knitting needles and a crochet hook. There is a ball of yarn on the desk as well. I have a painting that my son made for me of sheep grazing on a field and I own a Sheep Incognito print (Silence of the Lambs) which hangs on my wall. And then there is my Intwined Pattern Studios software on my computer. It is the best knitting design software I have found on the market and Heatherly is one of my friends, so I love supporting her creation. It is a great break sometimes from when I am at a loss for words. I pick up my needles and will go cast on and try a new stitch or new cast on technique that I read about. The other thing that I find myself doing in my office is watching movies on my laptop while I knit.

Sometimes I think that I should limit my office to only writing, but this area has always been a space of art long before I decided to seriously put my stories into print. When we first moved into this house I was deep into rubber stamping and so the remains of that craft are all over the shelves in this room. I rarely use them anymore and keep thinking I'm going to drastically pare down the rubber stamp, inks, paper (oh the paper), and the plethora of embellishments and turn this little nook into a "real office and fiber arts design studio." It's just hard to let go of stamps that I fell in love with. I have Very Much money invested in all those wood mounted rubber stamps.

I have this vision of having my stamps confined to a small area while the rest of the office is dedicated to books and knitting. I'll have baskets of yarn on the shelves instead of paper cutters. There will be all my needles, neatly organized instead of a jumble of colored markers. I will replace the tool-turn-around full of spritzers and bone folders with knitting implements. And the back wall will house even more books. I should do it. I have too much unused crap as it is. Books would be used (I pull down my aforementioned visual dictionary at least daily). Fiber would be used. This space would become a place that fulfills me in so many ways than just writing and feeling peered down on by neglected and spiteful Past Crafts.

Ten on Tuesday: Love Songs Edition

2011-06-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Love songs. Le sigh! Love songs are old. They date back to, well, a really long time. The Greeks and Romans wrote love songs to their lovers. Unfortunately, they didn't have a good way of recording or notating their music, so we don't know the melodies, but we have some of the words left behind as poetry. The Song of Solomon is one big love song written almost one thousand years ago. In fact Solomon apparently loved to write love songs. The French troubadours went around singing their little love ditties (and probably breaking hearts everywhere they went). Sort of like medieval Beatles.

Most of the love songs I love are fairly old as well, although not as old as Solomon or the troubadours. I just don't have many current songs on my list of ten favorite love songs. So brace yourself, you are heading to Retroville:

1. Michelle by the Beatles (Hey, if my spouse had Paul McCartney sing Michelle to me I would be so thrilled!)
2. As my Guitar Gently Weeps (the Beatles)
3. In My Life (yep the Beatles again)
4. And I Love Her (Do you see a theme here?)
5. Love Me Tender (Elvis, although Norah Jones' cover of it was very good too)
6. Only Fools Rush In (Elvis)
7. Don't (Elvis - can't you just imagine those words being pleaded in your ear :shiver:)
8. When I fall in Love (Nat King Cole - I also like Linda Ronstadt's version is good, too)
9. Have I told you Lately that I Love You (Van Morrison version, although Rod Stewart will do in a pinch)
10. Anything for You (Ludo - hey, it's from this century - even this decade!)

The Sweater Survey

2011-06-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Alrighty roo cowgirls and cowboys! Here's a link to the survey. Please fill it out and pass the link on so I can get more sizes. For those who don't remember, back on April 25th (you do not need to remind me that that was nearly two months ago) I ranted about how sweaters didn't seem to be any kind of real size, so I wanted to know what people's sizes were. Real people, not what Brand XYZ said a size is. I was frustrated at how patterns for knitting never seemed to match up with what real people wore. And that sweaters (in particular) seemed to be built around some odd formula that was applied to one size without test knits being done on other sizes. So now I'm wanting to collect people's measurements. You can remain anonymous. I'm not going to come hunt you down with a measuring tape to verify, but I would appreciate if you are honest (you should be anyway because otherwise you knit sweaters for yourself that don't fit correctly).

If you get a message that says something like "exceeded monthly limits" let me know and I'll send the survey to you another way.

Thank you!

Spiritual Sunday

2011-06-12T13:36:00.000-05:00

Everything I know about religion I learned from Star Trek. OK, not really. But Star Trek was a huge influence in my spiritual beliefs. I was raised as a cradle Episcopalian. Have a mother who is an Episcopla priest. I like to think that I put her through seminary. We would have long theological discussions based on various papers she was writing or classes she was taking. I had never really questioned my beliefs until I started truly paying attention to the themes of Star Trek and not just the plots. The plots were essentially the same. Kirk pokes the snake with a stick. An intergalactic space being threatens to unleash cosmic power which will end all life as we know it. Picard rushes in and saves the day and Reiker gets the girl. But the themes were what started making me question what I really believed.

Over the years I called my self a Star Trekian philosopher. I believed that there could be all kinds of truths in the world and not just the one I had been raised to accept as truth. It wasn't until one day when I friend of mine asked me what my spiritual beliefs were that I found out there already was a "Star Trek" religion. It was called Unitarian Universalism. Wow. There were entire congregations of people all over the world who were living the Star Trek philosophy that I thought I had discovered. (Silly me.) It wasn't until after September 11, 2001 that I actually sought out a UU congregation. I had lots of questions and mainstream religion wasn't helping. I was told I was wrong for speaking out against the President of the United States and for daring to say that was was not the answer. (Despite my Star Trek background, I am a pacifist.) Fortunately, in the UU church I found others like myself who felt the same way, including members of the US military.

As the blog progresses I will expand on how my beliefs meld in with my writing and knitting because I do see my beliefs on the pages and in the yarn that flow through my fingers. I can't imagine how one can't be influenced by their spirituality.

Birthday Cakes!

2011-06-11T11:41:00.002-05:00

Today is my birthday. My forty-sixth birthday. I'm not afraid of "growing old" or reaching a big number like fifty or sixty or ninety. In fact if I reach ninety I'll be tickled pink. Although my goal is to get to my eleventy-first birthday and then I'm going to have a hobbit birthday party and give everyone presents. But today I am just forty-six. It's just a number. Saying I am twenty-nine is not going to make me twenty-nine. And besides when I was twenty-nine I had a two-year old and was pregnant, so it wasn't very fun. I like being where I am. I've enjoyed growing in maturity, wisdom and understand (stop laughing) and still retaining my youth and frivolity.

Cakes and birthdays go hand in hand. And I love birthday cakes. I would have to say that my very favorite birthday cake is actually yellow cake with a traditional real buttercream frosting. Although yellow cake with a creamy chocolate frosting is pretty high up on the enjoyment list. I'll never refuse chocolate cake, though. In preparing for this post, I wondered what kind of cakes are made around the world and throughout history. I went to that compendium of never-failing information, Wikipedia (yes; you may laugh at that) to see what it had to say about birthday cakes. They're pretty old. In fact there are references that date back to the Greeks and Romans. I knew about medieval birthday cakes, but the recipes I have found for medieval cakes are more like sweet breads rather than what we think of as cake today. They were yeast risen and contained fruits and nuts. Think more German Stolen than Betty Crocker. It wasn't until the the middle of the eighteenth century that we started getting cakes that actually look like what we envision as birthday cakes today. Tiered cakes dripping in icing and floral decorations.

When searching for literary references for birthday cake, Google was somewhat a failure in producing anything truly useful. Although there was a Wiki question asking what color Bella's Birthday cake was in New Moon (It was pink.) And I did find this quote: “Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.” So go eat cake. (BTW, cake wasn't referring to cake when Marie Antoinette suggested that the peasants go eat cake. The actual word was brioche not gateau. Brioche was a savory bread made with eggs and milk rather than starter and water. Both, though, require flour, which the bakers had none of, but Marie did not know this and thought one was just a substitute for the other. And it is also doubtful that Marie Antoinette actually uttered the words.)

This is my favorite recipe for a good basic yellow cake:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups buttermilk
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Bring the butter, eggs and buttermilk to room temperature!

Grease three 8" or 9" pans. I like to sprinkle mine with a little flour as well. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Using a mixer, cream your butter and sugar together until it is soft. Next add in your eggs one at a time and beat this for a good 5 minutes. You want a nice light fluffy cake. Add your vanilla and buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can substitute regular milk, but add a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream to add just a pinch of tartness to it which will work well with the amount of sugar that is in this cake).

While your wet ingredients are beating away, sift together your flour, baking powder and soda. You do not need salt because everything you need is in your powder and soda. Trust me. It will be fine. Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, scraping the bowl as you go. Let it mix for just a few more minutes. Evenly divide the batter into your three prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes or until it tests clean.

Remove them from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the pans and letting them cool on racks.

Sometimes I like to add a bit of orange or lemon zest to this recipe just because it is so darn good. In those instances I will sometimes bake this as a loaf and slice it, toast it and put butter on it. No frosting needed. But most of the time I put frosting on it.

What kind of frosting you ask? OK, here's my favorite recipe for that: Go to the store, look for the tub that reads, "Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate." Spread liberally. But when I do make my frosting from scratch this is what I use:

1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

It's pretty easy and fairly foolproof. Just mix the first four ingredients adding the 2 tablespoons of milk a bit at a time until it is spreadable. It's simple, basic and so delicious on cake.

Catching up and a new challenge

2011-06-10T09:52:00.005-05:00

I keep thinking about really cool things that I want to blog about. I'll even make a note about it. Sometimes I'll even find the perfect graphic to pair with it. And then you know what? Nothing. That's right. Nothing happens. I think about blogging, but thinking about it and actually doing it are two different things. So I'm challenging myself for the summer (starting today) to blog every single day, even if it is just a line or two. And since I love lists and schedules are like lists, I've decided that I am going to have a schedule so even my readers know what I'm supposed to be blogging about. Radical, eh? Not really, but I'm pretending it is.

What's your schedule? I'm so glad you asked. Here it is:

Mondays: Mindless Ramblings (this could really be about anything)
Tuesdays: 10 on Tuesday (I get these e-mails so I might as well utilize them, right?)
Wednesdays: Adventures in Knitting
Thursdays: Book Reviews
Fridays: On Writing and/or Publishing
Saturdays: Sumptuous Saturdays (look for recipes or cooking tips)
Sundays: Thoughts on spirituality and how that relates to my love of knitting, cooking and writing

But, today is Friday and this doesn't look like a post on writing or publishing. You are so write (write - as in writing, get it, hahahahaha - I'm so lame). Seriously, though, yes; today is about writing and/or publishing and my journey there.

What is going on? I'm back into that wonderful flurry of writing where I have a million book ideas all screaming to get onto paper first. I love when this happens because I find that I am creative in other aspects of my life as well. For instance I get knitting patterns in my dreams (that actually can work, not the abstract three-dimensional hat knit on seven needles and needing two other sets of hands to accomplish). I have also finished a major re-write of the first book of my witch trilogy and have a few friends who are beta reading it for me. I'm working feverishly on a synopsis and good query letter for it. I think it is one hundred times better than the previous rendition. I've also finished a major edit on my NaNoWriMo book and have started a sequel to it which is going very well. This book also deserves a synopsis and a query letter.

So why aren't you writing these synopses and query letters? Because I suck at writing synopses and query letters. They always seem lame or I feel like I'm rambling. I've read probably twenty books on writing query letters and mine always look either cookie cutter or really lame. Sometimes I think of writing a really bad query letter with all that agent's pet peeves written in a very sarcastic-yet-understand voice, but never send it because I doubt very seriously the agent would ready it with the same voice that is going through my head.

Are you doing anything to try to remedy this lack in your writing skills? I am. It doesn't mean that it is getting any better, but I am trying each day to write a two-paragraph synopsis of my book. It usually ends with me deleting the entire thing before I toss my laptop across the room, but I am working on it. I was supposed to go to a writing workshop this weekend, but there weren't enough participants and it was cancelled. I signed up for the one in July and hopefully it will make.

Can you tell us about the book(s) you are working on right now? Kind of. As I mentioned earlier I am writing a sequel to my NaNoWriMo book which was about knitting a sweater for a boyfriend. This one is about knitting a wedding veil. The other book I am working on is written in the voice of a dystopian man who lived through the changes that happened in his world and is now dying.

That's about it. Tune in tomorrow when I will be talking about Birthday Cake! (Because it will be my birthday and cake and birthdays go together even though I'm having tacos and margaritas tomorrow and not sure if there will be any cake at all, but that's a post for tomorrow.)

The Real Sizes Sweater Project

2011-04-25T08:59:00.003-05:00

Are you frustrated at finding really pretty sweaters only to find that the only size the sweater will correctly knit into is not the one you need? You know what I'm talking about. It's a very lovely lace sweater and you get all excited when you see the size range is XS through 6X. Wahoo! Your size is somewhere in there. You find your size, check the finished sizes, print a copy, highlight your size, test your gauge (you are a good knitter after all and this is a garment that you want to fit) and cast on. And then five inches into your knitting you start thinking how this sweater is not knitting up like you expected. You whip out your measuring tape and check to make sure you are still knitting at gauge. Then you start measuring your work. It's three inches wider (or narrower) than it should be. In a fit of tears you recheck to make sure you were really knitting the correct size. You then start doing the math and realize that there is no way whatsoever that the designers numbers can create what s/he says they should be. 144 divided by 4.5 will never equal 44. Nor will 186 divided by 5 equal 34. The mat proves it.

When I went to Stitches South I found a very lovely short sleeved pullover knit up. I bought the pattern. I bought yarn. I even bought a brand new set of needles. I tested the gauge. I selected the size. I cast on. I knit for over four hours before realizing that this sweater was so large that I could wear it with at least one other friend at the same time. Then I realized that it wasn't my knitting. It was the designer. When I started doing the math for the other sizes I realized that the only size whose numbers matched the math was the one for the medium sized. I was heartbroken. I pulled the needles out and frogged the entire thing. I haven't decided if I am going to cast it back on in a different size.

This isn't the first time this has happened to me. And I know it happens to other knitters as well. I've heard the frustrated tales of woe at my Monday night Stitch n Bitch. Some people don't even quit at the five inch mark. They keep trusting the pattern and make the entire thing only to be frustrated with it and having to frog an entire garment. So after ranting about it and fussing about it for an entire night I decided to quit bitching and do something about it.

So this is where I need your help. I want to start a project that explores real people's sizes. Not just bust/chest and waist, but all your measurements. Starting tomorrow I am going to collect people's sizes. I'll have a survey for you to fill out and your measurements will be sent to me. This gives you time to find your measuring tapes. Tell your friends. Tweet the link to here. Put it on Facebook. Spread the word on Ravelry and at your local knit shop and knit nights. I want as large of a sampling of sizes as I can get. I'll keep everyone posted as I go along with what I discover.

Ten on Tuesday: The Library

2011-03-29T09:38:00.003-05:00

I couldn't pass this list up this week. It's the former librarian in me that called me out of my knitting cave to respond. I've worked in libraries since I was in middle school (age 11 - about the same time I learned to knit). My grandmother was a cafeteria lady at my middle school and I caught a ride with her each morning to school. Of course she had to be there at seven in the morning and school didn't start until eight thirty. I needed something to do, so my grandmother talked the librarian into letting me be an assistant rather than just hang around and be bored. At first I just shelved books, but after a few weeks the librarian realized that I was good for other things and quickly learned how to process new books, repair broken books, fix torn pages, create displays, and do various printing, laminating and binding jobs for teachers. I became their pet and learned to love the library. When I got to high school I learned that I could volunteer in the library rather than do study hall and quickly found my place back among the stacks.

In college my work study program was also in the library, thanks to my eight years of library experience through grade school. I was in heaven! And, once again, the staff found I was good for more than checking out books and so I was given a task of doing library inventory (which I barely made a dent in before changing schools, but it was fun nonetheless). At the university I got a job in the serials department and learned not just about journals and magazine binding, but also about how government documents were cataloged and shelved. That lead me to my First Real Job. Acquisitions. I got to handle each new book as it came in. I was the first in the library to touch them, feel them, smell them, and write in them. Yes; I was the one who wrote the Secret Library Code inside the books. I stamped the books with the library's name. I sent the books to be processed. I also got to handle donated books from people's estates and I also was the one who collected books that were being deleted from the shelves. Which meant I was the first ones to get my hands on withdrawn materials. Ah, it was heaven.

After I got married I moved to Oregon and got a job in cataloging and catalog transfer. It was this Big New Thing where libraries were transferring their paper card catalogs over to computer databases. And I was right there in the forefront of that excitement. We were never without work because it was the newest greatest thing. Our company was developing software and I had an input. It was fantastic and thrilling to see libraries shove everyone into the computer age. There was speculation that One Day people could sit at home with their computer and actually search for and check out books without even having to go to the library. But that would be years and years away.

When I became a Mommy, I realized that as much as I lived library work, I loved mommy work even more and so for the first time since I was a very young child I became a patron rather than a librarian. I still love the library. I ache when I hear that funding has been cut and that the public library has no acquisition funding for new books. I pay my overdue fees promptly (which was a new thing for me since when one works at a library one always has access to returning books). I'm careful with my books. And I make donations to the library when they are missing a book in a series I'm reading.

So here is my list of ten reasons why you should use your public library:

1. Free books. Can I make it any clearer? Free reading.
2. Books that were fun, but maybe not fantastic, won't clog up your limited bookshelf space.
3. You can read magazines and newspapers from all over the world. Yes; I know you can do that at home on your computer, but there is something wonderful about actually holding a newspaper.
4. Increased patronage shows the governing bodies that there is a need for the library. This means that funding is needed and keeps the libraries open.
5. Most libraries have an Inter-Library Loan department and can get you almost any book from any library in your country.
6. You can try out a book before you purchase it. This is especially true with craft, cooking and new fiction series.
7. Most libraries have Internet services that people can use if they don't have home computers.
8. Your library may even have a reading group that you can join to expand your reading interests.
9. I read an article that children are reading less these days. I blame parents for not taking their children to the library and not reading themselves. So get your kids to the library and let them read!
10. Libraries are great places to sit undisturbed for a period of time while you knit on a project or read a book, or simply watch people pass by. My library even has a walking path that is great for meditation as you wind your way around the building.

I know I am biased, but of all the places I love to go in the world it has to be the library.

Catching up!

2011-03-18T09:27:00.004-05:00

First a report on Project 333. I think that Project 333 worked well for me until the seasons changed. We only have two really distinct seasons where I live and our cooler season runs from mid-late October to mid-late February. Our warmer season runs the rest of the year. In those two seasons we have some very cold days and some not quite so hot days. By February 20th I was having to dig out warm weather clothes and on March 10th I had to just relent that I wasn't going to make it another 3 weeks with the clothes that were in my closet, so most of my winter clothes have been boxed.

I've decided not to do Project 333 for the spring and summer, mostly because we have such a long time when we wear warm weather clothes. To stretch 33 garments out over 190 days or to have two "sets" of Project 333 clothes (a spring and a summer set) just doesn't make sense for me. However, I have learned a lot from Project 333 and how to approach my wardrobe. Currently I have 37 pieces (including shoes) in my closet to consider each day. However, this year's spring/summer wardrobe is much different from last year's. Things go together and when I go out shopping for new pieces, I truly keep in mind what I have in my closet and how things fit in there. My closet is much more versatile and with this losing weight venture I know it is going to change a bit. Fortunately, I wear more elastic waisted skirts and drawstring pants in the summer, so other than a new pair of jeans in a couple weeks I shouldn't need to buy too much to keep my wardrobe working.

I'm truly glad I did Project 333 this winter and may do it again this year, but starting in October through February and perhaps do a Project 355 (thirty-five pieces of clothes over five months). We'll see. For now I have a fairly well assembled closet that has quite a few pieces that mix and match easily giving me an appearance of a larger wardrobe than what is there.

In the world of writing, I've been doing mostly editing and revising lately. I took advantage of Create Space's NaNoWriMo offer and have a "proof copy" of my book. It's so pretty with it's cover and book title and author name all looking like a real book. I'm enjoying reading it in this format and finding things that need fixing. I may do this more in the future. I do have the next two books in my romantic knitting series mapped out. Now to find the time to sit and actually write them.

As I eluded to earlier I am working on shedding some unwanted pounds. I've lost right at twelve pounds so far, but it's my body shape that is the most odd. I've lost quite a few inches in my hips and bust and a bit in my arms and legs. However, my waist is still the same size it was when I started. It's very irritating because my pants are falling off everywhere except my waist. They sag and pucker and droop, but I can't get a different size because of my stupid waist. I know it will eventually come off but in the meantime it is a bit aggravating to wear any of my jeans.

And the only thing that I can say about knitting is that it is Sock Madness and I made it through round one! Hopefully round two's pattern will be released on Monday and I can begin knitting like a demon again.

Project 333 half way through

2011-02-21T13:21:00.005-06:00

I thought I would do a quick review of how Project 333 is going for me. What I have found is that I have yet to wear the black skirt or the black shoes. I also only wore the black jacket once. One shirt got exchanged out and somehow I have misplaced my art shirt. (I'm quite distressed about this.) Another issue I have started to have is that I joined Weight Watchers and I have already lost 3" in my hips and 3" in my bust. It feels great, but remember those fantastic brown pants that I searched high and low for? Yeah, those? They are getting a bit baggy already. They aren't quite to the "these are uncomfortable" but it won't be long before they are. I already find myself hitching them up a few times a day.

It's February. That means winter. Yeah, except that yesterday it was 71°F and sunny. No sweaters, no multiple layers, no jackets. I'm not quite ready to give up on my winter 333, but I may have to exchange some of the longer sleeves out in the next week. I'm trying to stretch it to March 15th. We'll see. That's just three more weeks. I've already started thinking about my Project 333 spring wardrobe, though, and how I want to reorganize the clothes I had from last spring. Some things will definitely stay such as some skirts, tennis shoes, and my two summer cardigans (one cotton and one silk). I think I have also found the perfect shoes that are almost like espadrilles. What do you think?

So 333 is working well. I may have to change it to more like 332 during the fall and winter months and 334 or 335 for spring and summer. Silly weather. It thinks it is spring and didn't consult my wardrobe first.

Thoughts on Minimalism

2011-01-05T17:05:00.005-06:00

I'm a minimalist at heart. I like things clean and neat. The things that I do have I like to be compartmentalized and orderly. I live with four other people who don't have these goals. I don't collect knick knacks. I truly have no use for them in my life. I think it comes from growing up in a house filled with knick knacks and expensive figurines (Hummels, LLadros and silk Japanese dolls) and being the one who had to dust them all the time. Every week without fail, each item had to be taken off the shelves. They had to be dusted. The shelves had to be dusted and polished. The figurines had to be put back on the shelves in the right place and angle. So I don't care too much for things that just sit there collecting dust. I'm an adult now. I can choose to dust or not. I choose not to very often.

While I have a lovely stash of yarn, I can't say that it is as large as other knitters. In fact I try not to purchase yarns just because they are on sale or because they are pretty. I have enough pretty sale yarn that I've yet to knit. As I said yesterday I have enough yarn that I can knit for several years without fear of running out, but I would eventually run out before I die. Actually long before I die. I don't, however, have a large stash of needles. I have Knit Picks' interchangeable set all in metal and with a few of the wood needles as well. I have a good collection of DPN's for sock, hat and mitten making. I have yet, though, found a need to purchase other needles just because they are "very cool" or "exotic." I don't need very cool or exotic needles. I just need solid dependable functional ones.

My kitchen is the same. I really don't have every gadget under the sun. Why? Many tools are multifunctional. For some reason I have a citrus press. I use quite a bit of citrus (I mean, come on, I live in the Sunshine State so citrus is fairly inexpensive). However, I mostly end up not using the citrus press. I just roll the lemon or orange around for a bit and then slice it in half and squeeze the juice out with my hand. Sure some seeds get in, but they are easily removed and I usually already have a cutting board and knife out so there is less work to do afterwards. I also got a new stove (remember the new stove that's flat top and shiny cobalt blue on the inside?) When I emptied out the old stove drawer I put all the things that were down there in a box. I've only removed three things from that box. I'm wondering why I have the rest of the items. In fact I think there are several lids to pots I no longer own.

I think the reason that I am drawn to Project 333 is not because my wardrobe is out of control, but for other reasons. In fact I had to purchase a few items to get to 33. Yes; I did box up quite a few things, but they are all things that have just been living in my closet for the past decade not being worn. I think that donating them when the weather warms will be much easier seeing as I have proven that I don't need them. What attracts me to this project is that I have some control over my wardrobe. I dress intentionally each day. I've created a wardrobe that lends itself to mixing and matching. I do believe that I can wear any two or three tops together without looking aesthetically offensive. It will also keep me from purchasing things just because I found them on the Beal's 70% off rack and it happened to fit with no regard as to whether it matches anything except my jeans.

I think that while I strive for minimalism in my life in some areas, there are other areas that will always be somewhat overfull. Books come to mind. I have shelves and shelves of books and boxes and boxes that don't fit on the shelves. I love my books. They are an indulgence. I also refuse to have minimalism in cuisine. I don't want to ever eat simply. I love flavour and colour and texture and aroma in my kitchen. I love filling my kitchen with beautiful and delicious food. I will never be able to eat simply to live. It's why I failed so badly at Weight Watchers. I would get into a rut with food and become bored and there were places where I just won't compromise when it comes to food. I will not give up real butter or homemade bread or honey.

Perhaps I am only a quasi-minimalist. I'm good with that. I like the things I like and limit the things I don't. I like finding new ways of simplifying my life, but at the same time I will always have boundaries of what is too stark and too missing in my life. One has to be happy with their level of minimalism and that is what is important. I believe in a reduction in consumption, but hold strongly that you should embrace the things you love. I will continue to embrace even while I reduce.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-01-03T12:44:00.006-06:00

Ten things I can't live without? As a striving minimalist one would think that this would be a fairly easy list to make. I'm not attached to too many things. And since people don't count as things, I had to really think hard about what I can't live without.

1. My stash which I could probably knit on for several years.
2. My Knit Picks needle set otherwise the stash is sort of moot.
3. Ibuprofen - greatest thing ever invented and if the world were going into an apocalyptic situation I would run to the store and stock up on as much of this as I could.
4. The electric tea kettle. I can do quite a bit with boiling water (in the event of the aforementioned apocalypse I would change this to my regular tea kettle that I can use on a fire or grill)
5. Paper and pen. Maybe that counts as two. I could live without my computer, but I need a way to write and I still know how to do this the old fashioned way.
6. Someway to bring music in my life. Whether it is an iPod or CD Player or even a musical instrument. I need music.
7. A good kitchen knife
8. M&M's - after the Ibuprofen I would load up on M&M's
9. Tea - it's third on the apocalyptic shopping list
10. Niji Saru. That's the sweet little meditative monkey at the top of this list. She's travelled the world and there are times when I just sit and hold her knowing all the arms that have hugged her in the past and all the places she has seen. She tells me periodically she wants to write her own book about her travels. She has a fantastic journal filled with her adventures from around the world. I'm glad she is home and sharing her stories with me.

Starting Off

2011-01-03T10:21:00.003-06:00

It's a new year. 2011. According to my daughter we have less than two years before the world explodes and the Mayan calendar proves true. Well, in that case I think we should live it up and go reckless. The logical side of my brain says that's not such a good idea and we should be a bit more practical. Of course it is my theory that the Mayan calendar ended on the Winter Solstice in the year 2012 because the person making the calendar got tired and decided to quit and besides, no one he knew was going to be living then anyway.

Many people make New Year Resolutions this time of year. You know like, "I'm going to lose thirty pounds, get my book published and post on my blog every day." Yeah, so as you can see if those were my goals I've already failed seeing as it is the third and I am just now getting around to posting for the first time this year. That's why I don't make New Year Resolutions. I do have goals. For instance I want to knit mostly from my stash. That's a good and attainable goal. And I want to make Mr. KCW that fisherman's sweater he's been asking for over the years. I want to finish organizing my kitchen and pare down the duplicity and unused items (like the twenty year old Kenmore mixer that doesn't work). I want to spend more time writing and less time fretting about writing.

I did begin Project 333 Saturday. I'll post weekly pictures rather than daily ones. It's nice to look in my closet and see everything hanging neatly. Although this morning I hung up the clothes I had washed last night and had a panic attack because I had an extra hanger and couldn't figure out what was missing. I then realized that I hadn't washed whites yet this week and so my white and silver striped shirt was not in the closet. I was about to blame Mr. KCW for putting extra hangers in my closet just to mess with me. (He'd do that, too if he thought of it.)

My current knitting endeavour is to finish my Triangle Lace Shawl (Ravelry Link). I've got six more daisy repeats to do and then the border lace. I'm using variegated yellow and gold beads and it is looking very pretty. All the other knitters who have made this shawl have expressed that it has blocked bigger than they would have thought. I hope so because I'm wanting a larger shawl. I'm planning how I want to incorporate this shawl into my spring Project 333 wardrobe. I'm thinking it will pair well with blues and tangerines, which is good because that's what I have a lot of in my summery wardrobe.

My current cooking endeavour is learning what Mr. KCW can eat and what with his new insulin pump. It's sort of putting a cramp on our regular meals which are generally rice or pasta based meals. Coming up with new meals that work with his needs has been challenging and we've had tried very interesting recipes that won't be revisited. We all seem to like the mustard encrusted steak (except for the vegetarian in the family).

And my current writing endeavour is revisiting a book that I lost and wanted to rewrite. It's actually coming along nicely. When I finish this project I am going to edit my NaNoWriMo novel from this year. And I'm reading about a billion books all at once. Room by Emma Donoghue is what entertained me for two hours last night when I couldn't sleep. I'm also reading Jane Eyre (I don't remember that book being 1600 pages), Portal by Imogen Rose and Interred with their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell. This is why it takes me forever to "read a book" because I keep switching from one book to another. I'd change this, but I've done this since I was a young child and somehow I've managed to keep all the plots organized. Apparently that is how I write as well.

So Happy New Year and may this be a good year for all of us. Keep up the writing, knitting and cooking. I know I am.

Project 333: The List 1st Quarter '11

2010-12-28T17:24:00.012-06:00

I have decided that I am going to really do Project 333. Yesterday, with the help of my very savvy daughters, I put together my wardrobe for the next 3 months. It was actually very freeing to box up everything else in my closet. And guess what I found?

Hangers!

Space!

And Mr. KCW wanted to buy more hangers this weekend. I did end up going to the store and purchasing a sweater hanger thingy so I can fold my sweaters and have them in my closet rather than in the drawers. That way everything I wear outside of underwear and socks is right there in plain sight. I don't have to second guess what I is available. I thought that was a brilliant idea. I also bought a shoe rack for the bottom of my closet. I packed away my more summery shoes, although I don't think that my hemp rope espadrilles are actually going to make it to the summer. I may have to replace those next spring. But the only things visible are my Project 333 clothes. It makes for a very bare closet, but that's ok because I have plans to eventually use that space to put a small dresser for my socks, underclothes and small knitwear items.

Here is the list:

1. Jeans
2. Black striped pants
3. Brown pants
4. Black skirt
5. Pink cami
6. Lime cami
7. purple cami
8. gray cami
9. Turquoise 3/4 sleeved shirt
10. Gray long sleeved shirt
11. White and silver long sleeved shirt
12. White v-neck long 3/4 sleeved shirt
13. black v-neck 3/4 sleeved shirt
14. Bright Teal long sleeved shirt
15. Pink cabled sweater
16. Teal v-neck sweater
17. Black cabled sweater
18. Purple buttoned sweater
19. Black jacket (which may get a replacement this year)
20. Art shirt
21. Cranberry corduroy button up shirt
22. Ishbel shawlette
23. Annis shawlette
24. Maja shawl
25. Gaia shawl
26. Seaweed scarf
27. Pink pashmina
28. Salwar Kameez set (it's a three piece suit, but it all goes together and isn't interchangeable so I counted it as one thing)
29. Green Crocs (also may get replaced)
30. Brown Boots
31. Gray Birkis
32. Pink Converses
33. Black Shoes (which I may trade out for my heels before I ever wear them)

This is what they look like hung up ever so neatly:

Things you may notice are missing from my list:
1. A jacket - because I only have one and only wear it when it is raining and only while outside and I have a wool sweater that I wear if it gets too cool for the layers, but I'm more fond of layers because I tend to get warm (thanks, perimenopause).
2. Hats, gloves, winter scarves - it just doesn't get that cold here. I have 2 pair of fingerless gloves. One pair sits in my office and the other pair is in my knitting bag. You may see me in a hat here or there, but I didn't count any hats.
3. That pink and orange shawl I'm wearing - This is my office shawl. It hangs on the back of my chair and I throw it around my shoulders when I get cold. I don't ever wear it out (at least in the winter) and it sometimes ends up in my lap rather than my shoulders as a lapghan.
4. Jewelry - as I said in a previous post, I just don't change my jewelry. I have the same pieces that I wear all the time. I consider them a second skin. If I were to change them someone might think I had done some radical plastic surgery or something.
5. Hand knit sweaters - confession: I've never made an adult-sized winter sweater. I have knit two summer sweaters, but never a winter one. I'm thinking of remedying that this year.

So off we go!

Ten on Tuesday: Intentions

2010-12-28T10:08:00.004-06:00

I like the word intentions rather than resolutions. Resolutions at the New Year have become very much like the Lenten disciplines. "Oh, it is the new year I must give up something or do something because this is when I am supposed to make myself a better person." Intentions are just that. Things that you want to accomplish. There are quite a few things that I intend to accomplish this year. So here is my list:

1. Eat better. I'm not so interested in dieting. I just want to eat better.
2. Make Project 333 work well for me and my closet.
3. Finish revising some of these books before I start writing new ones (OK, quit laughing)
4. Knit from my stash rather than buying new yarn.
5. Take classes at the Small Business Development Center to learn how to
6. Open a yarn shop
7. Go to Stitches South
8. Write at least one query letter a week.
9. Continue working through The Bread Baker's Apprentice.
10. Remember to blog more regularly.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll talk about how I intend to accomplish some of these intentions.

Ten on Tuesday: Last Minute Gifts

2010-12-21T09:06:00.003-06:00

My children decided three weeks out that they wanted to "do Christmas" this year. Being non-religious, we haven't celebrated Christmas is many years. We usually go to a movie and then out for Chinese food. So this year the kids said, "Hey, we want to do Christmas with a tree and a gift from each person and lights. Yeah, we want lights and cookies." So we have lights and a tree and I've been working on gifts. In the future I would truly appreciate a bit more warning the the kids want to "do Christmas" so that I have time to properly knit for everyone.

Having this list has helped and since I am that minimalist at heart (and needing a few suggestions that won't break the bank, be meaningful and useful) here is my list:

1. e-reader books. Don't know how to do that? Then get your favorite book lover a gift card. It's like buying them the book they've been wanting all year. Look on their B&N or Amazon wish lists for ideas.

2. Knit them cup cosies so they don't have to keep using the paper ones at the coffee shop. In fact make them one that will go over their favorite mug at home. There is something fantastic about cuddling a wool enshrouded ceramic mug in the winter.

3. Knit yoga or house socks out of worsted weight yarn on size US7 needles. They are quick and easy and if you do yoga socks, no heels (although that is the favorite part of a sock for me) or toes and you can be fairly generic with the size.

4. Make felt dolls or stuffies (monsters are very popular this year) or sock puppets from left over fabric, felt and dryer widows.

5. Create an indoor herb garden. You don't have to pay a lot of money for the fancy hydroponic specially lit plastic kits. You can make an indoor herb garden with a narrow windowsill planter and some already sprouted herbs from the garden center of your local home improvement stores. If plants aren't available you can make your own hydroponic garden using a reclaimed bowl from the thrift store, some Styrofoam sheeting (that will float on the top of the water), some garden seeds, a reclaimed lamp and a full spectrum light bulb. There are instructions on the Internet for making your own hydroponic indoor gardens.

6. Have a crafter in your life? Buy them the supplies of their craft. Know a quilter? Get some fat quarters (if you don't know what those are just ask at your local fabric store or hobby store that sells fabric). Scrapbooker? How about a die cut machine? (Psst, the Making Memories Slice is on sale for $49 at JoAnn this week. Just saying). Knitter? Yarn. Cook? Interesting ingredients (or for that matter any ingredients. I would not turn down a five pound bag of flour!) Consumables are always appreciated by those of us who create

7. Back to that e-reader thing, make a nook cosy or a Kindle cosy. They can be knit or felt or quilted. We e-reader users love to look like we have different books even when we are holding the same device. Think of it as clothing for our nooks (does that mean if I do the 333 project that I need to get 33 covers for my nook?)

8. A collection of family recipes. Two of my dearest possessions are my dad's pancake recipe and my grandmother's honey whole wheat bread recipe. They are on my refrigerator waiting for the next time I bake. I love them and they are precious because they are familiar. What family recipes are important to your children or relatives? Write them up on some tidy recipe cards or type them up and print them or download them to a CD-ROM.

9. Nice pens and journals. But only if they will be used. I love my journals and am always carrying them with me. I also have a particular pen that I love that aren't easily found so when I do find them I buy several packs of them at a time. And journals don't have to be expensive or large. I like little ones that fit in my purse or knitting bag. They are perfect for jotting notes, making lists, plotting a story, or quickly dashing off a note to a friend to leave on her windshield.

10. Your time. It may sound cheesy, but your time is one of the most valuable things you can offer. Babysitting, laundry folding, knitting or sewing or cooking lessons. Errand running, dog walking, cat box scooping. I love gifting people my time and appreciate when people value their time as a worthy gift as well.

First Ravelry Download

2010-12-17T12:33:00.002-06:00

I took a deep breath and posted a pattern I made up on Ravelry. They are some simple yoga socks that I made for a friend. I call them the Dancing Stone Yoga Socks and they are free! I love them. I may even make myself a pair for them (in my vast amount of free time!)

PoMoGoLightly prompts me to Project 333

2010-12-14T15:11:00.007-06:00

I have been considering Project 333 over at the Be More With Less blog. I'm a minimalist at heart. Truly I am. I followed Beverly on her blog and Twitter the past few months as she worked through the project. The basic principle of the project is to select 33 pieces of clothing (not including underwear or pajamas) and only wear those three pieces for three months. I loved watching her transform her wardrobe into very unique different outfits using these 33 pieces. She took pictures each day and her outfit along with a quick listing of what she wore. It was cool. And she also has ceased making me run over to the Fluevog website twenty times a week to see what cool shoes she's been drooling over.

Here are the problems I'm having with the Project 333:

1. My wardrobe sucks! Seriously sucks. I've been trying to buy more intentionally rather than "Oh, this is on sale and it fits so let's buy it." The problem with this is that when I do purchase intentionally it is very difficult to find exactly what I want and I get frustrated and buy three things that I don't like. This happened last year when I wanted cute lacy camis to wear under things like sweaters or as another layer under thinner shirts. I wanted this cute layering look that wasn't quite in style yet. So I ended up buying two camis that only sort of fit and weren't all that cute. Fortunately style has caught up with me and I now own a bright pink, a lime green, a grey, and a purple cami. This year's dilemma seems to be pants. I have a pair of jeans and a pair of dressier black and gray striped pants that are comfy. And one black skirt. I need at least one more nicer pair of pants, but haven't found the exact thing I'm looking for. Anyone seen some nice soft corduroy pants with just a little bit of pleating at the waist and pockets preferably in charcoal or rust in a size 20 petite?

2. My children already complain that I wear the same things over and over again. I think this is less about minimalism and more about being in a rut. It's just too easy to pull on a pair of jeans and a knit shirt and call it good with my art shirt and a pair of Crocs or Birkis. I want to look cute or artistic and come across looking dumpy and sloppy. Which means I'm not happy with my wardrobe no matter if it is minimalistic or full.

3. I have a hard time releasing things, even those things that don't fit, I don't like or are tired or out of fashion. It's that "I paid good money for this and I haven't gotten my money's worth so I am going to hold on to it until I do." That would be all well and good except I never will "get my money's worth" because it just hangs in my closet and collects dust on the shoulders.

4. I live in Florida. Today the high is only supposed to reach 42°F. This weekend it is supposed to get up to 70°F. We've been known to have 80°F days in February and by March our days are much warmer than in January. I'm thinking I will have to definitely use the additional rules of having clothes I need to rotate through just to keep up with our wonky weather.

5. A jewelry issue. As I have a fairly boring wardrobe, I also have a fairly boring jewelry collection. I wear the same two rings (both sterling, neither a wedding ring), the same two bracelets (both sterling bands that I've worn for 20 years) and the same two earrings (one sterling and one titanium both in the same ear) all the time. I never take them off. They are a part of me. So do these six pieces count as six items or just another layer of skin? I have maybe three pair of earrings that I rotate through if I actually remember to wear earrings.

6. I knit. And I love my knitwear. I probably have twenty pair of hand knit socks (are those underwear?) and four shawls. And you do not want to know about all the projects worth of yarn that I have in two three bins in my hobby room. I've actually been pretty good about being on a yarn diet since Stitches South in April and have been good about knitting from my stash. In fact the gifts I'm knitting for the kids all came from my stash. I have planned projects, I just don't have enough time to knit what I currently have and am trying not to get sidetracked by new patterns. This is very difficult to do when Interweave Knits keeps putting out such cool stuff and there are all these talented designers on Ravelry.

I am figuring that I have sixteen more days to decide if Project 33 would actually work for me or not. I like the idea. I want to be cute and fashionable. I think I had this same dilemma in the spring when I wanted to look cute and charming like one of my characters. Perhaps it is a seasonal thing. (I'm still looking for blue espadrilles.)

Ten on Tuesday: Top 10 To Do List

2010-12-13T17:28:00.005-06:00

Well, I found that topic to be rather vague. I have several lists (I'm a list maker by habit). I love making lists of things I need to do. However, I find that the order changes depending on the immediacy of the project. I suppose that this is my top ten list of things that need to be done as of ... right ... now.

1. Clean the floor from where my old stove sat (hey, I pulled that sucker out and found: a wooden spoon - been missing for two years; a pair of kitchen shears - missing over one year; a piece of metal - have no idea what it is our where it came from which means I've never cleaned out from under my stove in the six years we have been here; five Legos; twelve packets of English Breakfast tea from England actually - so that's where those went; two quarters; a pile of sludge that looks like it came off a dirty grill.

2. Wait for my new oven to be delivered sometime today. Have I talked about me new oven? The flat top stove with the cobalt blue enclosed burner interior? It's being delivered sometime between noon and four p.m. (sigh)

3. Finish several projects for gifts for family members. I do have a feeling that I am going to be gifting people projects still on the needles.

4. Finish up several charity knitting projects that I have going on.

5. Reverse numbers three and four because I'm thinking that I need to get those finished before the knitted items for family members.

6. Go to the post office to mail off pocket zombies and nuns.

7. Move number six up to the number three spot because those need to get in the mail pronto.

8. Finish editing the manuscript on the book I'm considering releasing through Barnes and Noble's PubIt program.

9. Cook something in my new oven. I'm thinking some bread or a do-over of Thanksgiving with real stuffing and gravy.

10. Outline the new idea I have for a book. It's really cool with nuns and geeks and, um, why yes it was that funny little plot idea from the plot generator, but the more I think about it the more I think it would be completely fun.

Some of my favorite things

2010-12-13T13:18:00.005-06:00

Unfortunately in the wonderful Richard Rodgers' song, it fails to mention anything about cookie baking day. I love a cookie baking day. Today is one of those days. I'm making several different varieties for a cookie exchange with my knitting group and since I couldn't decide which cookie I wanted to bake I'm making a sampling from some of my favorites. From very easy (butter, sugar, flavoring (I used orange) and flour) to more intensive time consuming ones that require one to actually decorate and paint the finished cookies. But it's one of my favorite things to do, so I don't look at it as work.

My first recipe called for me to roll the cookies in powdered sugar. This meant I had to get down my sugar rolling bowl. This is a pottery bowl that my mother made probably thirty years ago. I've retained ownership of it and its twin and when cookies need to be rolled this is the bowl that comes down. It doesn't matter if it is powdered sugar for mocha crinkles or cinnamon and sugar for snickerdoodles. It's all the same. This is the perfect rolling bowl. It isn't too deep, it isn't too wide and it isn't too large. It allows for perfect hand movements and is large enough to hold three or four little balls of dough without crowding each other. It is one of those warm and comforting objects that is ingrained in traditions. I am quite sure as my children move out of the house there will inspections made to make sure that this bowl doesn't leave with them. They will fight over who gets it at my death. And if, by some horrid chance, it breaks we will have a service to remember all the wonderful times we had rolling cookies in sugar in this bowl.

Knitting is not for the lazy

2010-12-10T11:02:00.003-06:00

Well, not if you want to get anything done. There are fourteen knitting days left until Christmas (in case you didn't know). And I have a total of one project done out of four. Two I have to work on covertly because people keep hanging around or want to "spend time with me" which really puts a cramp on my being able to knit without them knowing what I am making. So all of this is going on and then I find out this week that several friends have had tragedies or bad news in their lives. That equates to charity knitting. Blankets and shawls and demise caps. But you know? I don't really mind. I may have to give a few gifts to family members that are still on the needles, but I think they will understand.

There is something about knitting an item for a friend who has lost a baby or a loved one. As you knit each stitch you think about what they are going through and how their lives are impacted by tragedy and you hope that each time that they wrap themselves in this thing you have made that they will feel loved and supported. For a friend whose grandbaby died our knitting group is making demise caps and blankets for the hospital that has tended to this family. Somehow you hope that the families that have to use these items will feel some comfort knowing that someone took the time to create a hat for their baby.

So in all this I am busy plugging away. I'm editing, so there isn't a whole lot of actual writing going on and because it is December and it is actually cold outside I have been baking cookies. The house smells all warm and good and it is easy to switch batches in the oven between rows of knitting and lines of editing. But there just doesn't seem time to do much of anything else. Maybe January will be easier.

Dental pain sucks

2010-12-06T16:13:00.003-06:00

Just in case no one knew this little fact I wanted to be very clear that there is no pain in the world as horrible as dental pain. I would go through childbirth again to avoid dental pain even though you end up with a baby at the end that has to be cared for and fed and diapered and taught not to stick pencils up its nose. Quite a few years ago I had some dental pain that ended up in three root canals with crowns. The teeth that held the crowns were not stable and all three ended up breaking out. Now I am faced with the trauma of having to go in and have those three teeth extracted and having bridges built. Every time I go into the dentist they lie and tell me that the pain will go away soon and that it is "almost over." Last week when I had the temporary bridge created I was told that this appointment would be easy. To which I replied, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it does." I really hate dentists.

Don't get me wrong, I think I would have a great time at TGIFridays with my dentist or I could see myself having a dandy time knitting with her (if she did knit) or just going shopping for shoes, but I really don't like her as a dentist. I don't like her rooting around in my mouth and sticking me with needles (yet another phobia of mine thanks to a sucky childhood filled with doctors, needles and dentists). I even like the receptionist with whom I know I would have a good time with because she went to DragonCon this year and likes Neil Gaiman. I even like the dental assistant who has a very pleasant voice and pretty eyes. She's gentle and kind, but I don't want any of them poking around in my mouth.

The worst part of all of this is that I am in pain! And when I am in pain I don't want to knit, I don't want to write and I certainly don't want to cook because eating hurts too. I'm tired of "eating" pudding, soup, and things one sucks out of a straw. I have story ideas that float through my head, but just sitting down to formulate them hurts and so I make little notes that make no sense the next day. What? I had a story idea about an evil widowed stepmother who is marrying a hotel concierge and the quiet unnoticed stepdaughter falls in love with the new concierge that the EWS refers to as Charles Two? I'm not sure where I was going with that. And anything that requires more than stockinette stitch is just a bit too mind-taxing at the moment.

Can someone zip me to the future, have all my teeth fixed while I'm in some sort of weird unconsciousness and I wake up with a full set of functioning teeth that aren't killing me and no gum pain either? My family would appreciate it greatly.

10 on Tuesday: Holiday Movies

2010-12-06T12:29:00.004-06:00

I find it rather funny that most of the 10 on Tuesday topics are difficult for me to do. I'm a list maker and love lists. It's how I cope with each day. I make a list:

1. Breakfast and tea
2. Shower and tea
3. Write 2,000 words and tea
4. Go teach a class (don't forget tea - students will appreciate you for it)
5. Do grocery shopping (stop at Starbucks for a cup of Joy tea)
6. Do dishes (do not drink tea or you will end up washing your cup and will lose said tea)
7. Make dinner and tea
8. Knit (um, yeah, there's tea here too)
9. Crawl into bed with a book and a cup of Chamomile tea
10. Get back out of bed and brush teeth and resist the urge to go make another cup of tea

I get these lists each Monday on making a list of 10 things for Tuesday. It shouldn't be hard, but for the life of me I can never make a real list.

So this week's list is 10 favorite holiday movies. UGH! There aren't that many that I truly enjoy, so rather than making a list of my 10 favorite holiday movies, I will make a list of 10 movies and at least one of them will actually be one that I enjoy.

10. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Yes; the classic puppet-mation. This is a horrid story of a reindeer couple who are so embarrassed by their son's difference that they hide the fact that he is unique. He is taunted and teased by the other reindeer children. He is cast off as a misfit by the Jolly Old Elf. He is completely ignored and considered useless until they realize that they are doomed and his odd glowing nose is the only hope for Christmas because Christmas will be just ruined if the children don't get their boxes and stockings full of useless crap made in China not by happy singing elves in the North Pole. This would not be one of my favorite holiday movies.

9. Elf. This Will Ferrell telling is actually pretty fun and while I enjoy watching it once a year, I don't need to see it for 25 days 3 times in a row each day. It's a cute movie, but it isn't all that.

8. A Christmas Story. This is the one that involves a BB gun, a leg lamp and a group of Chinese restaurant employees singing Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra. I can't begin to tell you what all is wrong with this movie. I have friends who think it is the most wonderful movie ever and I just don't get it. Although, I will admit that every year on Christmas we go out to watch a movie and then stop at our favorite Chinese restaurant for dim sum. I'm not sure if Chinese restaurants have always been open on Christmas or if they decided that A Christmas Story was a great promotional tool and started opening on Christmas because they knew people would watch this movie and want lo mein on the 25th of December.

7. The Santa Clause. This is funny and cute and entertaining. I love the premise of Santa being around for so long because of a "clause." I'll watch it if there is nothing else on. The sequel wasn't too bad either, but the third one was a hack and very lame.

6. The Holiday. I think I love this movie because I love the cottage that Kate Winslet owns and have this secret fantasy of living in such a cottage. It is also a good story and waking up with Jude Law beside me would not be bad either.

5. Home Alone. The original and only the first one. It was cute and charming, although how someone could not notice that they had left a child is beyond me. The sequel and the third and the fourth and the remake, well, no thanks. And maybe that was what happened with Makaulay Culkin. Perhaps if he hadn't been forced to be the cute, witty and adorable little kid for so long he wouldn't have turned out into the drug abusing surly man he is today.

4. Miracle of 34th Street. It's a classic. What can I say?

3. It's a Wonderful Life. Ditto. It's good movie making with a good story and a happy ending and ring-a-ding-ding an angel gets its wings.

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It has to be the animated one that has the actual reading of Dr. Seuss's book and not the Jim Carrey version that just sucked all the childhood memories I had away and turned them into great gobs of gelatinous goo.

1. Love Actually. Of course there had to be an Alan Rickman movie on the list and this ranks as number one, not because it has Alan Rickman (he's actually not his most lovable in this movie) but because it just makes me so gosh darn happy. I love what Hugh Grant says at the beginning that people's last thoughts are not of hate, but of love and that love is all around you. I love stories told in vignettes and then finding out that all these little stories are inter-related in the end. Love is all around us.

Knitting with words

2010-12-03T10:12:00.004-06:00

Because I am a knitter and a writer, I find that words and yarn tend to blend themselves well. This probably won't make sense to anyone who isn't a knitter. I find that when I write certain words lend themselves better because of the way that they sound or feel in the mouth. It is much like choosing a yarn to go with a pattern or a pattern to go with a specific yarn. It might be the most scrumptious Merino and silk, but it may make horrible cables or it might be the most fabulous lace pattern but the mottled yarn causes the lace to be lost amongst all the color changes.

In writing my NaNo for the year I wrote about knitters. This yarn and word mixture was even more pronounced for me. Now not only did I have to find the right word for the moment, but also the right knitting words. Words such as needles, cable, stitch, Malabrigo, wool, cotton all came into play. If someone is angry, the word cashmere is all wrong. She doesn't pick up a ball of cashmere and throw it against the wall. She picks up a ball of linen or a hank of black scratchy acrylic. Cashmere comes into play when he thinks about her or perhaps she remembers that disastrous first date while grasping a pair of fourteen inch long size US 4 Stiletto needles. That combination of words and what they represent varies from page to page and it is all important. I loved seeing that evolve in this book. The fibers that reflected the moment. The knitting actions that represented a feeling. Someone who is angry doesn't flit the stitches from needle to needle, but rather she picks at them or perhaps she is extremely angry and she stabs at her work.

In the end a sweater is born and a book awakens. It was a fun process. And now I have many ends to weave in, seams to sew, and blocking to shape it correctly. It's very sweater-like this book writing.

(Side note to all the non-knitters: you may find this true of your own interests outside of writing. I can't really give you any non knitting or cooking ideas, but you probably see it, if not consider it next time you sit down to write, especially if you involve those things that you love.)

I survived (and won)

2010-12-01T10:43:00.003-06:00

Once again I managed to pull of the NaNoWriMo challenge and finished in at 63,785 words and actually managed to reach The End. It was a fun and wild journey with several days lost due to dental appointments and Harry Potter. My Big Goal to actually blog my way through NaNo this year failed on day three. That's ok. I figured one of a few things.

1. Those who were truly interested in my NaNoWroMo word count could always go check out my profile on NaNoWriMo or follow my progress on Twitter.

2. Those who weren't interested in my NaNoWriMo progress were probably relieved to not have to hear about my month long ramblings about how my writing was going.

3. Those who were irritated because I wasn't posting blog entries for the month of November could go find someone else to placate their need to read and I probably wouldn't know they weren't here anyway. And I'm OK with that because this is my blog and while I share my thoughts with other people, I'm not out to please anyone.

4. Those who didn't notice I wasn't posting well, you were probably writing right along with me and trying not to "waste" words on blogs but rather your own novels.

5. The knitters and the cooks had more time to do their thing.

But NaNo is over so I can get back to my regular blog entries and start editing my NaNo novel (after the first of the year). I've decided that I really need to work on revisions of my last novels and give my brain a break from Harriet and Carl and the lovely yarn shop I created.

Tune in tomorrow when I hope to talk about knitting with words.

Word count update

2010-11-02T22:15:00.003-05:00

Because I promised myself I would. My total word count for NaNoWriMo is currently at 7,878. Nice number. Over 4,000 words today which included knitting 3 rounds on an entrelac fingerless glove (that's not three rows, that's three rounds and that's saying something in the entrelac world because I do not knit backwards very quickly), making dinner, doing the dishes, doing a load of laundry, running to Office Max for a set of bookends that meant I also had to run into Books-a-Million and get an Oreo frappe. I'm glad I'm this far ahead because tomorrow is knitting in the afternoon which is usually my good writing time. Maybe I'll take the laptop with and see if I can knit and write at the same time. (Stop laughing, Julie!)

Off to bed so I will be a fresh daisy in the morning.

And we're off!

2010-11-01T17:20:00.002-05:00

It's the first day of NaNoWriMo and I think it is looking pretty good. As of 5:00 this evening I have 3,502 words written and may even get some more out tonight before I go to bed, but first I must pause for dinner and Stitch and Bitch. One must have some pleasures in life.

I'm really enjoying the story and did a couple of challenges with PoMoGoLightly over at the NaNo Salons. I out-wrote her, but I think she was going easy on me. I've seen her 750 count on Twitter and she can easily pull it off in 15 minutes. But it does feel good to be challenged. I'm considering Write or Die, but need to make sure that the electric shock is just a joke.

If anyone else has any great ideas about word count challenges, let me know. Meanwhile, keep on writing!

Writing Prompt Sunday: Be Afraid!

2010-10-31T11:21:00.005-05:00

Let's all get excited because I actually A) remembered it was Sunday; B) remembered that I have a blog to keep up; and C)came up with a prompt. And guess what? It isn't really a Hallowe'en related prompt. Well, it's sort of kind of related. It's about fear. As a child I was always fearful of Hallowe'en. I'd been forced through too many neighborhood haunted houses and had too many people jump out of the bushes screaming when I was little to truly appreciate the fun of Hallowe'en until I became an adult. I also feared that my costumes would be lame (like the year I was a flower wearing a green leotard and pair of tights and this huge fabric flower that was starched so it would bloom out around my face, until it got humid half way through trick-or-treating and I looked more like a wilted daisy). I have very few real things that I am actually afraid of. I'm not really afraid of spiders, but have this fear of being wrapped up in spider webs. I'm not afraid of snakes. Not afraid of the boogeyman. Not afraid of black cats or saying that Scottish play's name. My fears run more into the emotional. For instance I fear being lonely (but not of being alone). I fear being lost. I fear being in very large chaotic crowds. Especially lost and lonely in very large chaotic crowds.

Sometimes when writing out characters I find that I either give them too many fears or that they are too perfect and fearless. We can't have that. I don't believe there is anyone who has no fears. So what are your characters' fears? Are they afraid of public speaking? What about falling down? Fear of flying? Fear of bats? Fear of being hit by a foul ball at a baseball game? Fear of being poor or losing all their money? How does that fear move them?

Here's the prompt: Have your character confront one of their fears. What does your character do to overcome the situation so that they can move on? What does your character learn about themselves? Has the confrontation helped or made the fear worse? Do you see your own fears reflected in your character? What would your character say about your fears?

Now how many of you are afraid of what NaNoWriMo is going to hold in store for you this year? (Not me!)

Oh there it is!

2010-10-29T12:13:00.005-05:00

I had a Really Good Idea for NaNoWriMo this year. I had a plot and everything. And the more I looked at it the more I realized it was nothing more than a short story. There was no way I could turn it into 50,000 words. At max it would be 10,000. So it was back to the drawing board. And nothing was coming. Do you know the sound that nothing makes in your brain? It's sort of like playing Pong with the computer as your competition. It's full of dark empty space with the echoing plink as the pong hit the paddle. Yeah. That bad.

Usually when I get into one of these states I will head to the bookstore and just browse the back of rows of books to read their covers. It gets my mind whirling and I end up with a plot about a computer nerd, a nun and a prostitute who are trying to save the world from aliens. (Do not steal that idea. I'm planning on using it one day!) I've had this horrible desire to want to create, but lacking the, well, gumption to actually jump off the creative diving board and do it. I've been that way with my knitting as well. I want to make gorgeous Jane Thornley inspired sweaters and shawls, but I keep standing on the edge refusing to even get my toes wet. It isn't that I don't have the talent or skills or education to do those things. It's that fear of failing or not being good enough. The bookstore did nothing to help inspire me. If anything it made me feel pathetic and clueless.

That's when the wonderful words that keep coming back to me started taking over the plinking of the everlasting Pong game.

"Write what you know," my brain finally heard.
"But what do I know anything about?" I asked.
"Knitting," said the mysterious voice.
"Uh, have you forgotten that this is National Novel Writer's Month?"
"So incorporate it."
"Leave me alone. I'm enjoying my game. Plink. Plink. Plink."
"Have it your way," said the voice.
"Bzzzz. Darn it! You made me miss."

But now it is there. I've got the idea. And yes; it incorporates knitting. Well, knitting is a character really. I've got a plot with a beginning, middle and and end and it can easily become 50,000 words. I passed it by my biggest critic and she said, "Aw, Mom, that sounds like a wonderful romantic comedy that I would pay money to see as a movie." (That, by the way, is a major compliment.) So beginning Monday morning my word count will appear here. You can also follow my progress on Twitter (user name is knitcookwrite there, too).

Now to go find all that yarn for my creative shawl.

OMG run around in circles screaming, "It's almost time!"

2010-10-18T10:57:00.006-05:00

NaNoWriMo is almost here again and this year I actually feel prepared going into it. I'm planning on posting my word count each day so those of you cheering me on can know how much further I have to that 50,000 word mark. I love NaNoWriMo. I feel free when I'm writing in a blitz like that. Just write. Don't think about it. Don't edit. Don't critique. Don't even spell check for that matter. Just sit there and write. I should write like that more often because I get really good stuff pouring out when I'm not all concerned about how it looks or reads or if it even makes sense. I think I'm hypercritical when I write leisurely.

In other news, I'm still baking away. It's fun. You should try it. I also am knitting up a storm. Have finished a few shawls and am almost finished with my hexagon socks.

I'm trying to settle on my next "thinking socks" and have a feeling I am going to lean either towards the Miss Marple socks by Star Athena or a pair of entrelac socks.

Bread bread and more bread

2010-10-04T14:30:00.004-05:00

The weather has finally started to cool off and with that I get a major bug to start baking. I was recently introduced to the book The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I am loving the concept of slow fermenting breads. I've played a bit with this concept in the past but never to this extent. I've made several of the breads and they have been quite fun. The hardest part is that we aren't eating the bread as fast as I can make it and most of the recipes come in two loaf variations. This is a delightful large book filled with fabulous recipes. Reinhart talks of bread as though he is wooing it. It is near poetic erotica how he speaks of bread and describes it. Just reading his description of crumb and crust will make you salivate and yearn to get your hands into flour. I highly recommend this book for any true bread lover. Oh and just a word of caution. If you make poolish and put it in a 1 quart jar because it fits and then you forget to put it in the fridge after a few hours you will come home to find poolish all over the counter, down into the draw that houses your bags and wraps, inside the door of the baking pans and in a puddle on the floor. The next day when you go to use said poolish you will only have enough for one large loaf of bread. I don't think you need to ask me how I know this.

The biggest problem that I am having with some of the wetter breads like the ciabatta is that I'm not getting the nice big open holes that these breads are known for. Mine tend to have a really nice crumb and great taste, but I'm missing the holey experience. I'm thinking that I am handling them too much between letting them rise on the cloths and putting them on the pants. The next time I make one of these I am going to let it do a final rising after they are on the pans and see if I am just degassing them too much when I move them to the pans. My friends are enjoying my efforts (though I think that their waistlines are not).

My last bread I made was a lovely egg enriched challah which had just the most wonderfully tender insides. It made you just want to use it for a pillow and it was quite delicious. I have several loaves to make for this upcoming weekend and I am going to make sure that this is one of them.

Don't faint - it's a post (and a writing prompt)

2010-10-03T11:40:00.003-05:00

Yeah, sorry about being gone for so long. Life sort of got in the way there a bit and I've been so busy with various projects and events that blogging took a back seat. I've got a blog planned for tomorrow that includes a bit about baking and later this week I intend to catch up on my knitting and writing projects. But this is Sunday and Sundays are my writing prompt days. So here goes:

Your character's best friend is having a birthday. How is it celebrated? What does your character buy or make for their BFF? Why? What is the point of the gift? What does this tell you about your character?

See you tomorrow!

10 on Tuesday: Off to College

2010-08-23T17:39:00.003-05:00

Today's 10 on Tuesday is about 10 things you wish you had known before you went to college or that you would tell someone before going to college.

1. You don't have to go to college just because you finished high school. You can wait. You can experience some life for a while. You can still backpack across the US or Europe or go do a mission trip to bring fresh water to people in Guatemala if you like or get a job at the MAC counter in the mall. College isn't going anywhere and if you go before you are ready chances are that you are going to drop out, fail out or (worse in my opinion) bore out of learning.

2. Don't let anyone tell you that your major is stupid or useless or not real. If you want to be a theatre major or a French language major or get a degree in fine arts with an emphasis in pottery, then go do it. Do what you love not what someone else thinks is important. If you are studying accounting because your father told you that it was a responsible career where you can make lots of money but you hate it, then don't do it. Do what you love. Be happy doing what you do rather than rich doing what you hate. Also, while it is true that jobs are further and farther between in specialized degrees, not everyone ends up as a teacher or waiter or flipping hamburgers at Mickey D's.

3. You will party. Don't delude yourself that you are going to buckle down and study. Let yourself enjoy your college years. Just don't let your partying dictate how well you do in college. If all you do is sit in your dorm or the library studying and you have no social life, you might as well just do a home study course in your closet in your parents' house. Save it for the weekends and for Bob's sake, please always have a designated driver and make sure that your DD is sober. If you can't trust your DD, then you be the DD.

4. No Doze will not help you pass a test. If you don't know the material, no amount of caffeine will get you through the test. You might as well take it tired with the limited information you have retained than hyped up and unable to answer a single question.

5. While ramen is cheap, you still need protein and fresh produce. Take care of yourself and remember those 4 food groups. Alcohol is not one of the four food groups. Protein and fiber come before rum and Coke.

6. Safe sex. If you don't know what it is, ask. Ask your mom or your dad or your guidance counselor or your school nurse. Or if you really are seeking anonymity, e-mail me and I'll explain it all to you. Or Google it. Just make sure you use it. Got it?

7. If you find yourself hyperventilating before every class and not sleeping because you are so stressed you can't think past the next minute let alone through Friday's Ethics class, then it is time to take a break. It's ok to take a break. See #1. College isn't going anywhere.

8. Always circle the last day to withdraw without failing on your calendar. Just in case. You never know when that World History class (or in my case the five attempts at College Algebra) are going to be your doom. Don't let that date slip by knowing that there is no way you are going to pull off a passing grade. It's ok to drop a course that is killing you so you can spend more energy on those classes that are going to be productive for you.

9. The package store is cheaper than a night on the town and usually lasts longer (as long as you don't invite all your friends over.) Now, I realize I've mentioned alcohol several times in this post and I'm not an advocate of heavy drinking. I'm just being frugal. Oh and red wine keeps better without a refrigerator than white. Just saying.

10. A degree doesn't equate to a career. And not all careers need a degree. If what you want to do would be better served through a different avenue, do it! If you want to own a yarn shop, take some small business classes through your local community college and get a job at a yarn shop. If you want to be a chef, go to a culinary institute and get a job at a restaurant. There are tons of apprenticeships available in all kinds of careers. College is not the only way to a successful and happy career. It's a lot of money to sink into something that you may not use down the road. Make it count for something. And if it won't, then find a different way to get to where you want to be.

10 on Tuesday (sort of)

2010-08-17T10:52:00.002-05:00

I received an e-mail that there wasn't going to be a 10 on Tuesday list this week. So I thought I'd put up my own list of 10 favorite numbers.

1. 11 - just because I like rows of ones all lined up like little soldiers. I suppose you could say I like 111 and 1,111 and 11,111 as well. (But not 1 by itself. That's too lonely.)

2. 2 - Two is a nice number. Two is a couple. Two is a mother and child. Two is twins. Two is a pair (as in socks and shoes, two of my favorite things.)

3. 7 - Like the movie Se7en. (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow). 7 virtues. 7 deadly sins. 7th inning stretch. 7 days of the week.

4. 50,000 - it's the magic "You win" word count for NaNoWriMo It's the beginning of the end of a novel (or half way if your name is J. K. Rowling, Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer).

5. 667 - because it is the neighbor of the beast (even though we all now know that the actual number of the beast is 616, not the previously believed 666).

6. 8 - When I was growing up I learned my multiplication tables thanks to School House Rock. Figure 8 was my favorite one and I always dreamed of ice skating perfect figure 8's on the ice (not that we have ice in Florida, but a girl can dream).

7. 3 - because it is a strong number. Triangles are the strongest shape because two sides give support to the third. Three plays out often in religious contexts (Maiden, Mother, Crone; and Father, Son, Holy Spirit; trinities). It also is the number of books in a trilogy, which are so popular to write at the moment.

8. 100 because it is C in Roman numerals. It was the first really big number I can remember writing to as a child in kindergarten and remembering the thrill of getting to such a huge number. We measure things in 100's. We examine a president's worth by his first 100 days. We celebrate centuries and 100th birthdays and anniversaries in a big way.

9. 97132 - it's the zip code I wish I lived in again.

10. ∞ (Hm, it's sort of small for infinity). Infinity is one of those "numbers" that perplexes me. I remember the first time that I was informed that there is no last number. That you can always have one more after it. I sat for hours pondering the largest number I could (gajillions is a number, right?) and then realizing that there could be an "and 1" or even an "and 1/2." Wow. There is no end. It just keeps going. Unlike this post which will end now.

Hunger Games/Catching Fire Review

2010-08-16T09:44:00.003-05:00

Eight more days, folks. Eight more days. I'm going crazy waiting for Mockingjay (book three of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins to be released and downloaded to my nook. I secretly keep checking to see if someone makes a mistake and sends it to me too early (although I would be good and keep it to myself). But in preparation for the release I went and re-read Hunger Games and Catching Fire (the first books in the series).

I will admit that this story line sickens me. For those who haven't read it, the premise is that in the future (this is a post-apocalyptic story) there are 12 districts that all answer (serve) The Capitol. Each year a boy and a girl (ages 12-18) are chosen from each district to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. The idea was that it was to remind the districts of a time when they were at war, but it has turned into a mockery and the only people who seem to enjoy it are the people of the Capitol (as their children will never have to be sacrificed to the games). Things seem to run their course until a player with a conscience enters the games and refuses to sacrifice her friend.

That's really all I'm going to say about the plot because I want you to read the books. They are fabulous and well-written. I was kept on the edge of my seat as I watched the story unfold. I feel for these characters and even though Collins doesn't give me a whole lot of descriptors I can see their faces, imagine the way the stand, present themselves and even smile. The world she has created if believable even if I find it frightening and repulsive. Maybe that was her point.

If you care to help me out a bit, I am using the Hunger Games for our homeschool co-op teen reading group next month and am collecting questions to ask to keep the conversation going. What questions would you ask teens (ages 14-18) about these books? This will be our first meeting for the year and most of the kids will not know each other. I think it will be interesting to see what their reaction would be if I were to tell them that in order to get out of the room they have to kill each other. I'll be sure to report back!

Writing Prompt Sunday

2010-08-15T18:20:00.002-05:00

Your MC is lost. Not figuratively. Whether s/he is driving, walking, flying, tessering, or teleporting. This is not where s/he set off to be. What happened? How does s/he get unlost? How does s/he deal with being lost? Is it an adventure or is it frightening? Stressful or humorous? Go write!

Some more words for revising

2010-08-13T11:11:00.003-05:00

I've been finding so many more traps in my writing that I hadn't even thought of before. Let's consider them, shall we?

Probably The odd thing is that ever since I started noticing this in my own manuscripts, I've been seeing it used in published books. You know what? It isn't needed 90% (or more) of the time and 5% of the time it is used incorrectly. Consider: "He probably was mad because I left the milk on the counter again." Hmmm. I think we know he is mad, so why would he probably be mad? He is mad. He might be mad because the milk was left on the counter. But since we are presuming this is a first person sentence, then we most likely know why he is mad. So let's strip the probability out of the sentence all together. "He was mad. I had left the milk on the counter. Again." See, that's much nicer. It gets the point across and that pesky probably word is gone. When you edit through for this word, read your sentences without the probablies and see if they don't read more concise and more sure.

I think Really? You just think? Get rid of it. It's stupid and doesn't belong there. Up for editing: "I think I can put my on my own pants." It's an I statement. Don't I know if I can put my pants on or not? Strip it. "I can put on my own pants." Ah, there's a strong character and a strong statement. Where would I leave an "I think"? Here: "I think I know how to get there." It shows that the speaker is unsure of what she is doing. That's what you want to portray. Unless, of course, you know that your character really does know how to get from Space Mountain to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad without getting lost.

was _____ ing You know what was ____ ing is. It's when you write was and any ing verb when what you really meant to write was past tense. For instance: "She was already feeling lightheaded and woozy." Really? Did I really do that? Yeah, and unfortunately I did it quite a big. Come on, Lorna, just say it like it is "She already felt lightheaded and woozy." Gah! One would think you never took honors English!

That Here is another word that we tend to throw in that just doesn't belong. Strip them. Go ahead. Put on some really good stripper music and take it all off. What am I talking about: "She was thankful that he was there to lend extra support." See? It doesn't even belong there. It isn't needed. It's a filler word that I would use to earn my Word Padding Badge over at NaNoWriMo. But it doesn't belong in well-written sentences. "She was thankful he was there to lend extra support."

Well, that should keep you busy for a while. And don't forget the stripper music. It's really important (because this is all really fun and easy editing. Save the Cold Play for the serious editing!)

Pulling out the Pulls

2010-08-09T16:46:00.006-05:00

Or maybe since I've been on such a wonderfully fruitful editing streak lately I should say, "Editing out the pulls." I finally rewrote all the feels/felts from my manuscript and tackled the coulds. That was actually quite fun. But neither of those edits was as satisfying as rewording the pulls. As I edited them I made of list of words that I used to replace pull, pulled, pulling, and pulls. Here 'tis:

withdrew (form school - this is a YA book, please!)
gathered
dragging
handle
drew
carry
turned
entered
took
leading
snapped
held
slid
lowered
twirled
shrugged
tugged
drove
rumbled
snuggled
came
led
tore
set
turned
opened
influence

Now out of context one would think that none of those words could be interchanged with the pull words, but amazingly I found a way to make it work. Some of the edits required that I rethink the entire sentence or phrase whereas others were simple substitutions. I hadn't realized until I started this major revision how much we rely on the same set of words over and over. How I can have such a limited word base when I love words and have a fantastic library of books about words is beyond me. At least I love to edit and find no great insult in someone suggesting changes to wording and phrasing.

10 on Tuesday: 10 Reasons To Love Bacon

2010-08-09T10:53:00.004-05:00

1. JFK
2. The River Wild
3. A Few Good Men
4. Footloose
5. Animal House
6. Taking Chance
7. Six Degrees of Separation (I happen to be only 3 degrees from Kevin)
8. Apollo 13
9. Liberally minded
10. Kyra Sedgwick

Oh, you mean the meat bacon? Oh, ew. Not a fan.

Go do this RIGHT NOW!

2010-08-08T16:21:00.006-05:00

Seriously, I mean it. Drop everything you are doing, close all your extraneous programs, put on your editing music and open your most recent manuscript. Now using your "find feature" in your writing software (most have them, in MS Word 2007 it can be found under the "Home" tab to the far right hand side). Type in the Find box,"feel." It is the most insanely overused word ever! Seriously. In my 80,000 word manuscript I found almost 200 instances of feel, felt, feeling. There are better ways of expressing "I felt" than using "I felt." And guess what else? In many instances you can actually delete that little word and your sentence still makes sense. Really. Try it. And if that doesn't work, how better can you write that sentence without using "I felt"?

I only left a few instances of this word in and it was in places where the phrase is so ingrained in our vernacular that it just seemed silly to try to alter it. One instance was "How are you feeling today?" We say that all the time so why not use it? But the word feelings can be said so much better with the word emotions. I am amazed at not only how many times I used that word (or variation thereof) but how well-entrenched it is in our daily speech. Another example where I used feel too often was "The room felt hot." Um, what about just "The room was hot"?

So why are you still sitting here reading this? Go. Go edit. You know you want to now.

A special thanks goes out to RebeccaJoym for her tweet yesterday. She is the author of Infinite Days and blogs here.

Oh and when you are finished with feel/felt, try could and then pulled. I'll post more as I think of them (or share some you know.)

Word Prompt Sunday

2010-08-08T10:54:00.002-05:00

Tada! It's that time again. So let's talk about time. What is the time for your book? Is it modern or is it in the past? Is it in a real place or is it in a mythical place? We are going to play with time/place today. Bring your MC to your time and place. Hang out with your MC for a day, showing them your world. Where do you go? What do you show them? How do they react? Do they approve of your time and place or do they only wish to return to their own?

Limiting oneself or sticking to values?

2010-08-04T13:52:00.007-05:00

I've been thinking lately about the agents I have been submitting my work to. I consider myself fairly green when it comes to the environment. I carry my own shopping bags so I don't have to use the stupid (weak, holey, and ugly) plastic bags that the stores use. I recycle everything that I possibly can and reuse plastic containers and glass jars. I run multiple errands with thought going to creating a circuit so I don't crisscross town and drive a fairly fuel-efficient car.

I've been spending the past month adding to my database of agents that I want to submit to (as many are on vacation during the months of July and August I'm using that time to research.) I decided to head to the library last week and take advantage of various books on publishing in the reference section. I had my notebook and pen so I could write agencies' addresses, websites and various notes (such as only accepts through various months, what they wish to see for with the query - sample pages, chapters, synopsis, etc.), which genres they represent (of course bypassing those that don't mesh with my own writing), and specific agents' names). I have a great spreadsheet I created to keep track of these things.

I took all this home and started going to the websites to better understand what these agents were looking for, make sure contact information hadn't changed, and to see how familiar I was with any of their current clients and their work. I have truly been amazed in this Internet world that we live in how many agents do not accept e-mail queries or submissions. I started adding up what it would cost me in both paper, ink and postage to send just queries (not including synopses, sample pages or manuscripts) to all these agents. Then I figured out the cost for sending just five agents a query with the first fifty pages (as that seems to be most common). Let's just say it's not cheap. And I have to trust that these agents are actually going to recycle my pages. I don't have this fear of my work being stolen, but more my work ending up in a landfill where it may or may not decompose.

I appreciate agents who say on their website "We are a green company and only accept e-queries." Thank you. You are speaking my language. I was talking about this with another writer who was shocked that I was limiting my search. What if I missed the perfect agent and a great book deal because I refused to submit to someone who was not as "green" as I am? What if that agent is restricted by her firm to only accept paper copies? And am I one of those people who believes in the destruction of "real books" in favor of the e-book? One of her points was also that agents who only accept e-queries might not be as attentive and more easily dismiss work because it is so simple to discard bites of data than sheets of paper and perhaps "e-agents" aren't as attentive because it is "too easy" to create an e-query than to write and print a "real letter."

All this got me to thinking about whether I am limiting myself or if I believe strongly in my convictions of a greener planet by only using agents who accept e-queries. I do firmly believe in "real books." I love books. I've mentioned this before. The texture of the page, the smell of the ink, the dance of letters across the vast expanse of paper creating stories. All these things I adore about physical books. They are things that cannot be duplicated by any e-reader. As much as I love my nook, I will always love the feel of an open book in my hand. But does my application for an agent to help me sell my books (real and digital) mean that I should kill trees in order to reach that goal? I just can't believe that it does.

I'd be interested in my reader's views on this (yes; all six of you). If you are a published writer, did you use traditional means or is it truly possible to find an agent via the web? Tomorrow we will discuss the ways in which to create an e-query and not accidentally send it off to an agent before you are finished.

My first signing (not)

2010-08-02T22:19:00.004-05:00

I must admit that we got a little silly at Stitch n Bitch tonight and there wasn't even any alcohol involved. This may be a Very Good Thing. There is a romance writer by the name of Michelle Reid (part of my own legal name) who has a Harlequin Presents for the month of August called Mia and the Powerful Greek (I love these titles, really I do). So The other day my daughter took my picture with the book and we had a good laugh about it. Tonight one of the ladies asked me how my quest for an agent was going and I said, "Oh, didn't you hear?" I ran and got a copy of Michelle Reid's book and made sure everyone was aware that this was not my book.

But then things got very silly and they begged me to do an oral reading, and never one to pass up an opportunity to have a little fun I obliged them. (I'm afraid the mothers with the teenagers won't be returning.) Then one of the ladies begged me to sign a copy if she bought it. So I did (with great and sincere apologies to the real Michelle Reid). But it was all in good humor and fun and hey, both copies of the book at the store were sold (as I really have to have a book that has at least one of my names on it in my library, don't you think?) I must say that I can see the excitement of doing a book signing and hopefully one day I will actually be able to post a real picture of me really signing a real copy of my real book. Until then I 'm going to delve into a little naughtiness and enjoy a fun read.

And if by some stretch of the improbability the other Michelle Reid comes across this, I hold you in the highest regards and am so glad that Nikos does nothing tiny!

10 Things To Bring on Vacation

2010-08-02T14:48:00.003-05:00

It's time for another Ten on Tuesday list!

10 Things To Bring on Vacation

1. My toothbrush (it seems to be the most forgotten item by travellers)
2. A simple project to knit and a back up project in case I finish (or get bored)
3. My laptop
4. My iPod
5. My nook preloaded with several books to read (and the knowledge that I can always buy more!)
6. My sock monkey NijiSar as she is a world traveller who understands the ins and outs of international and domestic travel
7. My shoulder bag with lots of pockets to hold all the things that I need with me all the time
8. A small sewing kit (because I am forever losing a button or pulling out a hem)
9. Stamps so I can send witty postcards to friends
10. My phone because it acts as camera, calendar, GPS, address book and watch

I would add my sense of humor because I tend to A) get lost while on vacation (I am navigationally challenged) and B) run into rude people in amazing numbers (I'm like a rudeness magnet and despite the number of times I have been pushed into, knocked down, cut in front of and yelled at for no good reason I just don't push, knock, cut, or yell back).

Writing Prompt Sunday Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2010-08-01T13:07:00.003-05:00

Here's this week's challenge: Take a scene from something that you have already written where the MC had to make a choice between two different actions. Now rewrite that same scene with the character making the opposite choice. What happens to the story? How does it change the direction of the story? How does it make you feel about your character? How do your other characters feel about your MC's decision?

Sometimes I have found that even if I just play with a scene and make my character do something different than I originally imagined, it helps me understand my character better. And who knows, it might even change (for the better) the direction a book is going.

Jumping off the Cliffs of Insanity

2010-07-30T17:47:00.004-05:00

Do not fear gentle readers, I have not lost my wits and taken up cliff diving. What I have decided to do is to leave my lost manuscript behind for a while. It feels a whole lot like cliff diving though. It means I am free to work on other projects. I know that my full manuscript with wonderful revisions is really on the stupid pink flash drive ... somewhere. It can be regained (for a price - between $350 and $900). What I'm writing in trying to replace that which my flash drive is holding for ransom is pure and utter crap. I'm three chapters from the end of the story and about 20,000 (yes that is twenty thousand) words short. Which means, boys and girls, that I've left out a whole bunch of sub-plot (which I know there was some) and character development (which I know there was a whole bunch of) and it is necessary information for the story. SO, I am going to let it sit there as is. I'm not even going to finish the rewrite. I am going to continue with getting the first in this series published (I mean the missing book is the fourth in the series). When the first book is published then I'm going to pay those nice people at the data recovery place their big bucks and get Jason's story back. Until then I'm moving on.

And it is a big step for me to do. There are all these other books that are calling to be written and I have editing that needs to be done and query letters to formulate and send and meanwhile I've been sitting here spending this time, pulling my hair out while trying to recreate something that will never be as good as what I originally wrote and I know it. Therefore, for my sanity (and yours so you don't have to listen to me whine about this - at least for a while) I'm going forward with that next book in my head. So. Off. We. Goooooooo!

(This is where there should be some really cool inspirational music.)

A fresh clean sheet of paper (or because this is the digital age a smooth blank word document) sits in front of me and Jo March has left the burned manuscript in the fire. Wish me luck!

Too many blogs

2010-07-29T09:46:00.003-05:00

I've decided I need either A) another day that I catch up on my blogs added to my schedule or B) a better way to handle all my blogs so that I read them spread out through the week rather than on just one day. Unfortunately, not all the blogs I read are on Blogger so I can't add them to the "follow" feature and I haven't figured out how to manage the RSS feeds (and some people have websites that can't be -or I'm not tech savvy enough to figure out how to - be RSSed.) Anyone have a good tutorial? I tend to read a person's blog almost immediately if they actually tweet that they have a new posting, otherwise I wait until Thursdays and work my way through my list.

This week has been sort of odd. I finished another book and then took a break from writing to do the second edit on a different book. I always find it interesting that I will still find typographical errors in my second edits. Silly things like there instead of their or or instead of our and of course Word doesn't pick it up or find it completely nonsensical. Sent out a few more queries and received a few more no thank yous (thank you agents who are thoughtful enough to at least send a form e-mail).

In the knitting front I finally finished my Kiama shruggy-sweatery thing that I bought the yarn for at Stitches South. It is beautiful and drapey and soft and perfect as a summer sweater for here in the deep south where the temperature is 152°F (factoring in the heat index) outside and -15°F (with windchill) inside. I cast on a new shawl (Maja) out of Malabrigo. It is coming along nicely. And I joined a mystery knit-along that will also be a worsted weight shawl in the end. I'm using the yarn that I frogged from my Clapotis. The hexagon socks are still hexagonning and will eventually be finished.

I'm getting ready to try some new cookie recipes. I need to keep endeavoring on my cookie recipe idea that I've been working on. Anyone have any good ideas on what you think would be good in your perfect cookie?

OK, that is all. Back to blog reading.

Ten on Tuesday

2010-07-27T08:09:00.003-05:00

A big thank you to PoMoGoLightly for this idea from Caroleknits. I love the idea of lists (you should see me prior to a vacation) and needed something to fill a weekday posting, so this is just perfect for me. Hopefully I will remember to do this each week (even though I've been following this for several weeks. le sigh.)

10 Things to Do Instead of Watching TV

(OK, these first four shouldn't surprise anyone)
1. Knit
2. Cook
3. (You know it) Write
4. (It's related) Read
5. Sew on that quilt that is cut but not pieced
6. Make some fresh mozzarella (yeah, I know it is something like cooking, but it's really different. It's more like science in the kitchen.)
7. Browse a thrift store for funky shoes
8. Play Sock Monkey Bananigans
9. Go for a walk (but only if the temperature is under 90°F)
10. Ponder why I have the largest non-fruit bearing tomato plant in the world

I will freely admit that I love my television set. Not because I am a TV junkie. In fact, there are many things that I would much rather do than watch TV. However, I happen to love movies. Love love love love love movies. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is to go to the movie theatre all by myself and sit in the dead center of the auditorium and watch a movie while munching on trail mix (the one that mysteriously fell into my bag and I had no clue as to how it got there until after the movie started and then it is there, so I might as well eat it. Right?) I love almost every genre of movie except truly stupid humor and horribly graphic horror. I love rom-com's, comedies, animation, suspense, dramas, action-adventure, classics, art pieces, foreign films, children's movies, and (especially) baseball movies. I just love a good story and seeing that story come to life. There are movies that I go to when I am working on a project. I've been known to put on a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movie while I'm quilting or knitting, just to entertain something that probably isn't my prefrontal cortex. It's background noise. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing while I worked out a complicated knitting pattern.

And if you are nice and promise not to talk to me during the movie I'll even share my trail mix.

The Penultimate Writing Prompt

2010-07-22T19:49:00.006-05:00

OK, maybe not the penultimate. Although it might be if the world ends after my next prompt and then I would be correct in naming this the Penultimate Writing Prompt. I named it the Penultimate Writing Prompt because, well, I just wanted to use the word penultimate this week and couldn't fit it into my writing. So what is the purpose of all this? To bring up the concept of lesser used words. I love the word penultimate. It's a truly cool word. For those wondering what it means, I turn your attention to Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: pen·ul·ti·mate
Pronunciation: \pi-ˈnəl-tə-mət\
Function: adjective
Date: 1677
1 : next to the last

It's a much nicer way of saying, "the next to the last" don't you think? Wouldn't it be cool if you were the penultimate kid chosen for the basketball team rather than the next to the last kid chosen? (Of course that usually is better than the last kid chosen, isn't it?) Penultimate just sounds more regal, more accepting. There are so many other words that are just as wonderful.

So, here's your task for the week: Find five really good words that sum up an idea that would otherwise need an entire phrase to say. (Is there a word for that?) Use those five words to make a logical story. How can you use this idea to better your writing overall? Expand on it as you work this week and see if you can't find tired phrases and bring new life to them by using a single, better, word. (And much thanks goes to PoMoGoLightly for her inspiring this prompt idea in suggesting that I actually google a reverse dictionary.)

The Big Re-Write

2010-07-22T18:17:00.006-05:00

So remember when I lost all those books during the great Flash Drive Mishap earlier this month? I still haven't recovered them, but as I mentioned Tuesday I did find those first few pages which helped me push through some energy to consider trying to recreate that book. It's going pretty well, but it just doesn't seem the same. It's going to take months of edits and revisions before it looks anything like what I remember. The saddest part of having to rewrite something lost is that you never seem to be able to get it exactly as you had before. You try and try, but still it seems but a shadow of its former glory. I tweeted earlier today that rewriting a lost book is like trying to rewrite a classic. It just never is as good as the original author wrote it. Even a favorite book will never sound as good rewritten by someone else.

Consider, if you will, that suddenly all the Harry Potter books are mysteriously sucked up into a black hole (along with J. K. Rowling) and Scholastic Books comes to you and says, "Help! You are our last hope. You are the world's biggest Harry Potter fan and we want you to rewrite these books so that these stories won't be lost!" Unless you have a photographic memory (and have memorized all 4,175 pages) there is just no way to recreate that work. Rowling was a wordsmith and it was her world and she would probably be at a loss herself to recreate what she had worked so eloquently before. Can you remember the exact order of everything that happened in every book? Can you remember all the wonderful witty things that Professor McGonagall said? Do you remember who all were knitters in the books and what they each knitted? (BTW, bonus points to anyone who can list all the knitters and what they were referenced to having knitted) See? It's the little things.

Today I was writing away, and feeling good about the groove I was in when suddenly I remembered a scene. But where does it go? When did it happen? It had importance, but when did I reveal it? Was it before or after Merry was injured? Was the story spoken or thought? If spoken to whom? And what exactly was that wonderful line that Lexie delivered at lunch? But I persevere. I will prevail even. Can someone pass me the pitcher of Margaritas now?

Ten Whole Pages!

2010-07-20T11:06:00.003-05:00

10 pages and 3,088 words! That is what I found today of my previously missing novel. I am so happy I could almost scream! OK, it really isn't much, but I have that start and the outline to this book. I almost feel like I can write it again. It has to be written. I can't just shrug it off as a lost book. It's part of a series and a much needed story. Plus it was one of my favorites. I remember when I finished it - my NaNoWriMo '09 manuscript - and how complete it felt. It was the first book that I got to the end of and truly felt that I had covered everything and nothing felt missing. And then it all died (see previous blog entry of backing things up). Gone. Lost. Hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, keeningly heartbreakingly gone.

And then this morning I found this file marked, "Sangali Notes 1" and thought to myself, "Hmmm. That's odd, because there should not be a file called Sangali Notes 1. There should only be a Sangali Notes." So I opened it and there was the first beautiful line and I almost cried. "Jason rolled over." That's it and ten glorious beautiful fantastic euphoric pages! I truly understand the phrase, "Oh joyous day Callou Callay!" And yes, I chortled in my joy!

I'm so happy I may take my children to go do the recycling today. And the car wash. Oh, heck, let's throw in a trip for Taco Tuesday as well!

Writing Prompt Sunday (Oh goodie)

2010-07-18T09:53:00.005-05:00

Sometimes our characters are all too perfect, even if they are loathsome. Villains can even be the perfect villain - they smoke, they drink, they deal in drugs. The princess can also be far too perfect - she dresses well, she sings beautifully, she has long flowing tresses, she uses gentle words and believes that the world loves her. So here's what you have to do: Find the fault in your character's life. How does your character feel about this flaw? How do you feel about this character's flaw. Describe the flaw and your character's association with it in 500 words.

Now go to a self-help group.

New (and surprising) Electronics

2010-07-15T11:07:00.003-05:00

I eluded to the acquisition of a laptop in a previous post. Yes; I finally entered the "go to the coffee shop and write without pen and paper age." She's a lovely little laptop that came preinstalled with Microsoft Office 2007. Can I say that Word '07 is the least intuitive writing program ever? It took me over ten minutes to figure out how to "Save As" last week. So I'm looking for a better writing software.

I must say, though, that I am thoroughly enjoying the writing process even more now. I have taken Charlotte (that's her name - and yes; she's named for a Bronte sister) with me to cafe's, bookstores, coffee shops and (ready for this?) the living room! And Mr. KCW was kind enough to finally get the wi-fi going in the house properly so that I could (if I so desired, which I don't have any desire whatsoever to do) carry my laptop with me while I do the laundry. Amazing. Right? I'm married to a freaking network engineer and I think I'm the last gal in the world to have wi-fi in her house.

To add to this wonderful step into writing freedom I have also been gifted a nook. I have resisted having an e-reader for years. Despite my voracious appetite for reading, I never could bring myself to pay a whole lot of money for a "book substitute." As a former librarian and a struggling author, I love books. I love the feel of them, the look of them, the way the letters dance across the page teasing you to read the next sentence. There is nothing like the weight of a book, especially when you fall asleep reading and wake to find it smashed against your face. I even dream about the smell of books - the musty smell of paper and the stringent scent of ink, glue and bindings. There is just something about a book that is so amazing and wonderful. Why would I want to purchase an e-reader if I have bookstores and libraries.

And yet here I sit with a nook at my side. How did this happen you ask? Well, I came to realize that there are just some authors (Stephen King I'm talking about you) who write very large books. Even in paper back they are enormous. And heavy. So having an e-reader that weighs less than twelve ounces is better than a book that weighs three pounds. My second point of justification is that there are tons of free books out there to download. Some of them are even pretty good or are old friends. I was secretly thrilled to find that Little Women was included in the initial free books that came with my nook seeing as it is my most favorite book ever since I first read it at ten years old.

The most wonderful thing about the nook is that I can download knitting patterns onto it and take them with me. Isn't that amazing? I am thrilled beyond belief. Books and knitting patterns all there contained in twelve ounces of plastic and electronics. I think that Louisa is about to become one of my best friends. (Yes; her name is Louisa. Doesn't everyone name their electronic friends?)

Technology-fail

2010-07-11T14:57:00.003-05:00

After much hemming and hawing I finally got a laptop. It's for my writing. I love her. Her name is Charlotte. This was prompted by my flash drive fail (see an earlier post if you want to read the entire horrid story) and then my desktop getting corrupted by a drive-by infection (fortunately, not my external hard drive and Mr. KCW was able to clean it without any problems.) Through those ordeals I actually lost several books. It made me just sick. I transferred everything over to the new laptop. I have a new YA book that I've been working on and it is just nicely flowing along. Today I went to work on it some and so I opened Word, opened the document and sat there waiting for it to load. The screen stayed blank. Empty. Nothing. Word count: 0 Character count:0. ZERO! It's gone. Couldn't even restore a previous version. Thankfully most of it is on a flash drive, but I've lost nearly 2 weeks of work on that story. Good work, too. I hate trying to rewrite stuff. I never seem to capture the same spirit. :(

I feel like the technology gods (anyone know their names off hand - I'm thinking a burnt offering of some sort is in order) are out to get me. I'm half tempted to go back to an old fashioned manual typewriter (I have one of those) or maybe pen and paper. The worst thing that ever happened to Jo March was that her sister burned her work. She never had a computer eat her work. OK, enough pity party. I should get back to writing. Maybe I can figure out something and rewrite that first kiss scene better than before (doubtful - it was really cute.)

Writing Prompt Sunday

2010-07-11T13:55:00.002-05:00

Write your MC into a situation in which s/he is facing a fear. How does s/he cope? How does s/he work through the situation? How does s/he feel afterwards? Now (because we don't want to leave our MC's needing therapy) write how your MC recovers from the ordeal (which may or may not include therapy).

Writing Prompt Sunday

2010-07-04T11:17:00.003-05:00

Write a scene where one of your characters faces a struggle with freedom. What is keeping your character from achieving this freedom? With which freedom is your character struggling? How do you resolve this conflict? Or do you? How does this change your character's outlook on his/her current situation?

Dear Mr. Creepy Guy

2010-07-01T16:24:00.004-05:00

Yeah, so, I was at the bookstore writing in the cafe. This really creepy guy sits at the table next to me. Out of the side of my eye I think that he might be reading what I'm writing, so I moved my laptop (Oh yeah, I need to post about that) a bit closer to me. He adjusts his chair almost immediately. So then I turn my screen a bit and he moves his chair again. I keep trying to tell myself that it is all in my head until he tells me that I used the wrong word! No I am not kidding. I wish that I were. He said, "I think you mean the word propagate." I turned and looked at him and said, "Excuse me?" He says again, "I think you mean the word propagate. You used propagand." I said, "I know what I used. I meant to do that. Would you stop reading my work?" Then he says, "It looks interesting." So I said, "Fine. Buy it when it's published." I closed my laptop and left. I am totally dumbfounded.

OK, that is all. Just had to get that off my chest. Off to go to a different bookstore's cafe for a while.

On the reading table and movies

2010-06-30T14:31:00.004-05:00

(Because even though it is beside my bed, let's face it, the primary purpose of that table is not just to sit by my bed but to hold my reading lamp, glasses and my stack of books.)

I just finished reading the first two books in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series namely Uglies and Pretties. I found both these books a tad intriguing i how an entire society (world?) could be controlled by the idea that being beautiful only fits into a boxed criteria. "This is pretty and this is only pretty and if it isn't this then it isn't pretty it is ugly." Individuality is frowned upon and uniquenesses aren't admired. Of course there is much more to this society than just looks. There were quite a few things about these books that I found very believable and other things I found a little hokey, but then that happens in just about any book where the far future is explored. These would make excellent books for a young adult reading group (or an adult one for that matter).

Last night (after coming home from the midnight release party of the third Twilight Saga movie, which isn't always the best time to start a new book, but I had to let my mind unwind a bit through literature) I picked up Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci. I read the firs two chapters before my eyes screamed to be shut. My brain still wanted more, but the physical overtook the mental last night and it was probably a very good thing. Absolutely loving the set up in this book and am intrigued enough to continue. I'll post a better review later.

I also picked up The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I seem to be drawn to post apocalyptic stories these days. I haven't seen the movie, but probably because I have a teen who hates post apocalyptic movies (especially those with Kevin Costner). I might rent it after I read it. (Never before).

As I mentioned above, we went to see Eclipse at the midnight showing. It was me and my fifteen year old daughter. The twelve your boy didn't want to go and the seventeen year old boy feigned that she didn't want to go. I've read the books (good plot, not-so-great writing) and seen the first two movies (not impressed and don't get me started on the lack of acting). Last night was impressive though. It was fairly complete to the way things happened in the book (albeit some things were greatly compressed, but I've come to expect that in movies made from books) and the acting was much better than in the last two movies. For fun my daughter and I did a scream girl poll to see if we were in a Team Jacob or Team Edward room. Final count was Jacob: 6, Edward: 3, Seth: 1 (although it was more "aw cute" than "OMG HAWT").

Tonight is the opening of The Last Airbender. Unfortunately there is no way my body will allow me to do back-to-back midnight movies and I think that Mr. KCW would kill me if I actually went and saw it without him as he has to work very late tonight. We will go on Saturday and hopefully I will be able to stay away from any spoilers (even though I *know* what the story is and have seen all the trailers.)

What I love about finding really good movies and books is that it feeds my creativity. I thrive off good stories. Lately the Word Fairy has been blessing me and hitting me upside the head with a good dose of logophilia. I am greatly enjoying seeing daily word counts of four and seven thousand words. Thank you Word Fairy!

Writing Prompt Sunday Strikes Again!

2010-06-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

Have a conversation with your MC. Do your personalities mesh? Do you even like your MC? Does your MC like you? What part of you do you find in your MC that you don't like? Is that in anyway a reflection of you? What do you talk about? Where do you meet? Are you in your MC's world or your own?

Busy keyboard and a possible laptop

2010-06-24T20:13:00.004-05:00

The past two days I have had a flurry of good writing going on. (Why does the inner editor in me go, "Gah! You ended your sentence with a preposition." Happens when you are writing in a teen's voice. So let's try that again.) The past two days I have had a flurry of really good writing happening. Yeah, I added a word. I have managed to get out over 9,500 words in the past two days of a new book that doesn't feel like crap. Amongst all the wordsmithing I also have run errands, gone to knit lunch, and remembered to eat. I'm very pleased with the way my writing has energized me this week. It's so much nicer than last week when I might as well have just sat at the computer and written the word crap again and again.

When we were at the office supply store today getting paper for the printer I went to the laptop display just to have a look. They had several nicer full laptops that were priced very economically. I had considered a Mac, but they are just so expensive and as nice and as sleek as they are I just can't justify it. Plus I told myself that a MacBook was going to be a gift to myself when my first book finally is published. I need something now though. I have also looked at the little netbooks as they are very affordable and quite cute and light weight. The only thing is that most of them don't have a CD or DVD option and while it isn't a deal breaker, I'd like to at least have that option. I think I am going to get a Toshiba, though. It's what Mr. KCW has almost always had and they seem to have held up through all he has put them through. The price is also very right (right at $400). So hopefully soon I will have a laptop and be able to escape to the coffee shop or bookstore or other retreat and be able to take my writing with me. It will save some frustration too as I can always type much faster than I can write and I loathe copying what I've written by hand into the computer. I've already written it once and that pesky little inner editor tries to fix things.

Oh, and for all you foodies: raspberries and Gruyere.

Sunday Prompt

2010-06-20T14:35:00.002-05:00

Yes; Sundays are much better days for prompts for me than Saturdays. So here is this week's. Let me know how it worked for you.

Your MC is sitting down to his/her favorite meal. What is it? Who is with her/him? Describe the ambiance, the location, and even what s/he is wearing. Go!

Doldrums

2010-06-16T09:27:00.003-05:00

It seems as though these doldrums that I am in in regards to reading I have also fallen into in my knitting life. I have two projects OTN that I have so little interest in doing. They are going to be fantastic projects by the time I am done. People are going to ooh and ah over their brilliance and beauty, but intellectually they are just not stimulating enough for me to have this undying desire to get up every morning and knit. The first are the Hexagon socks. This is a marvelously wonderful creation of genius in construction. the entire sock is made out of nothing but hexagons, one worked on to the other until you have a sock. Some hexagons are stretchier than others (by design) so that they contract or stretch to accommodate things like heels, arches, and ankles. Made with self-striping yarns and they are just a delight. I have the foot and part of the leg done on one sock. It's going to be a fun sock in the end, but I can't convince myself to continue.

The other project is a sweater that I saw at Stitches South. It's from the Berroco Origami book (but I'm making it with a silk rayon blend instead). It has a gorgeous drape to it and is in a beautiful blue colorway that is going to look marvelous with the rest of my wardrobe. But it has become tedious as every other row is exactly the same. K1, P1, K1, P1 ad naseum. Then just to shake things up and make it interesting we are going to purl back. Yawn. Again, though, this had a unique construction and will make for a lovely sweater.

I'm looking for something that will at least inspire me. The worst thing is that I can't find that engaging pattern. I see lots of lovely patterns out there and have tons of gorgeous yarn (trust me on this one). I'm considering doing a Summit in a beautiful buttery yellow and mango lace weight yarn I was recently gifted or Maja in Malabrigo worsted. Both of these have "easy to remember" patterns which I am afraid will translate into "you will get bored half way through and want to pitch this project across the room where it can sit until the cats make it into a bed." I don't know what is stopping me from doing a full lace shawl. It's not like I don't have the yarn or the expertise. I just can't make myself do it. Maybe I'm afraid of committing. Maybe I'm afraid that it will disappoint me part way through.

I truly need a nice wind that will blow me out of my literary and knitting (knitterary?) doldrums.

Off to the library without a clue in the world

2010-06-15T11:24:00.003-05:00

OK, I do have a clue as to why I'm going there. I have a Mission. My son has been reading a series of books and our library owned the 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the series but not the 3rd. Odd that. Or maybe they did at some point and it got lost or damaged (I will refrain from accusing someone of stealing it.) My son really wanted to finish this series so instead of waiting for Inter Library Loan (of which I am a frequent user) I bought him the book. But, sweet kid that he is, we aren't keeping the book but donating it to the library to make the collection complete. I spoke with a librarian last week about this only to discover that the library has lost almost all of its acquisition funding. (I'll give you all a minute to mourn.)

...

I asked if the library took donations and explained the gap in the series. The librarian was thrilled that my son would want to donate a book to make up for the missing one in the series. So we are headed off in a bit to donate said book and pick up the fourth in the series.

But why do I not have a clue? I'm in one of those lost periods of reading. I have floundered around trying to find something to read and nothing I pick up is drawing me in. I'm finding nothing engrossing enough that I want to read the entire book. I have three books by my bed, all partially read, all left because the plot was predictable, the characters depressing or the writing just simply bad. I'd love to know what recent books you have all read recently that have enriched your reading lives. I love libraries, but I hate wandering around aimlessly looking at book covers, reading synopses and hoping that "this is the one." Suggestions?

Writing Prompt Sunday

2010-06-13T12:22:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know that I used to do this on Saturday and I may go back to that, but yesterday was World Wide Knit in Public day so it didn't seem like a Saturday to me. And Sundays are usually more leisurely for me anyway, so maybe I'll change it to Sundays permanently (provided of course I can remember it is Sunday and come up with a nice prompt.)

What does your character do for leisure? What does s/he do when not saving the world, crying over a lost love, running from the enemy, or whatever it is in your plot that your character does? Be specific. If s/he reads, what is the genre? If s/he paints, what is the medium or the subject? If s/he watches television, what are the shows?

The week of "Things You Should Know But You Do Anyway"

2010-06-12T11:22:00.002-05:00

As a followup to yesterday, you will be relieved to know that I have found my three most important stories in their most current form (as I had sent them to a few friends to read) and I found most of several others. Three stories are still lost, although Mr. KCW thinks there may be a way to retrieve them. (He's awesome that way.)

I decided since it was my birthday I would reward myself by sending off a query letter to a potential agent. Now this is where you need to pay close attention. Before you send off a query letter make sure that the first sentence does not contain the phrase "agents who has." It was a stupid change in phrasing as I had started off saying "an agent who has" and then decided to make it plural (for some unknown ChocoVine induced reason). And I sent it with that error. Now if I were an agent who received a letter with a stupid subject/verb disagreement I would circle file that letter (or in the case of modern agents hit the delete key) quicker than I could blink. And the sad thing is this agent looks like she would be a perfect match based on the authors she already represents. Sort of one of those "Oh she would be perfect." Meanwhile I look perfectly inept. (sigh) Chalk it up to AFGO.

What have I learned from this mistake? 1. Google doesn't grammar check and I should really run things through Word just to catch the obvious before sending something out. 2. I guess even one sip of ChocoVine is too much if you want to sound like the word author should be anywhere near your own name. 3. ChocoVine is really really good.

Back it up. And then back it up again.

2010-06-11T11:12:00.002-05:00

And just for good measure back it up a third time. By now I hope that all of you writers have gotten into the habit of Ctrl S. You write a few sentences and then you Ctrl S. Right? You are doing that, right? Now how many different places are you backing it up? I was a good girl for a while. I would remember to back up both onto a memory stick (so I could take my books with me should the house burst into flames) but I was also remembering to make a back up on my external hard drive. Well guess what? I got lazy. And when you get lazy it costs. See that little pink thing up there in the left hand corner. That cute little pink memory stick. Yeah, well it died. And guess what? I have NO back up of three of my books. None. They are gone. Poof. Unless Mr. KCW can come home and work some magic on it, I have lost months and months of writing. And, because losing three books isn't bad enough, I've lost edits from even more. All because I was lazy.

And let's add insult to injury: It's my birthday. Oh joy!

I'm going to go cry now. But all of you other writers (and designers) take heed: back it up. And back it up again. And just for good measure back it up a third time.

A fun read for wordsmiths

2010-06-08T08:44:00.002-05:00

I'm always looking for books about words. I like words. I read a quote yesterday that just about summed up my feelings about words. "Words make love with one another" - Andre Breton. OK, maybe well-formed sentences are words making love to one another, but then I try to only read well-formed sentences. My latest word book that I found is Just Ask Mr. Wordwizard by David Grambs. OK, first, I love the name Grambs. Not sure why, but it just is a fantastic name. And then you open the book and there is an amazing amount of information to soak in presented in so many different ways. He even has a section where he encourages you to create devilish definitions of common words. And example (and my favorite) is Modesty: passive arrogance. It made me giggle. And anything that makes me giggle is worth sharing.

Each chapter begins with a "Word of the Week" and a "Quote of the Week" which is always about words. The chapters range in subject from the history of word phrases to word uses. I love when he explains how we misuse words and how those misuses came into being. Each "lesson" is presented uniquely and there are even exercises for one to complete and in such a way that they seem to help keep them trapped in your brain.

If you are as fond of words as I am, this is a fantastic little read. And who knows it may make you desire to use the word baragouin in conversation this week.

Why I love Librarians

2010-06-06T10:13:00.003-05:00

When people hear that I used to be a librarian they are amazed. I don't fit into the normal realm of "librarian." My hair has been a variety of colors (from magenta to black) and my skirt length has ranged from nearly to my toes to barely covering my bum. My music listening is about as varied and I'm not exactly what one considers the "ssshhh" type (especially if you have seen me at our local Stitch n Bitch). Of course the people who are surprised are the ones who believe that all librarians are quiet, fussy, and proper. That is a facade that we put on for the public. Really. You should see librarians behind the scene. We are much more like the librarians in the video I'm about to share with you. We have a wicked since of humor and have been known to cut it up with the best of them.

A friend of mine tweeted this video and I just had to come share it with you. I hope it gives you a better understanding of what really makes up a librarian. This is not Music Man's Marian Librarian!

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10,000 words??

2010-06-03T14:11:00.003-05:00

So I've been writing this series of short (short for me means less than 65,000 words) books. They are quick, fun and interesting (at least to my easily amused mind). 50,000 is my goal for each book. So I finished the third one (which is actually the second on in the series, but the third one I've written). I've read through it three times. It's a good story. It feels complete. But it is right at 40,000 words. I'm wondering if I should just leave it like that. I keep wondering what else there is to tell in this story. I don't even think I could get to 50K if I did all the NaNoWriMo word padding tricks. It's just a nice concise story.

I thought if I left it alone for a while and came back to it I would see what is missing, but after four months and spending the past three days reading it and re-reading it I am still at the same place. It amazes me how some books just won't quit babbling along and others I have to pull the words out one at a time. I guess I'm going to button this book up and leave it for a while. It isn't like it is going to be published anytime soon (I mean I'd have to get the first one published before I can get this one published) and I have two other books that are screaming to be written. OK, Universe. Are you trying to tell me something?

What I found in the library

2010-06-02T18:19:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I finally made it back to the library after several weeks of not being able to go because of one thing or another. I love libraries. I used to be a librarian. Most of my adult work has been in one form or another with books (either lending them, ordering them, processing them, cataloging them or selling them and now writing them). The more time I spend writing and increasing my circle of wordy friends the smaller my "degrees of separation" become.

My friend Rachael Herron who wrote the book How to Write Love Song has been so cute (sorry Rachael, but cute is the best word to describe you) in her first book's publication. I've enjoyed watching her from the time she announced she had a contract until the book came out. I got to meet her at Stitches South in April and congratulate her and watch her being "goshed over" by her new following (which was where the word cute came from because it was just so gosh darn cute to watch her interact with all her readers). She squealed with delight when she found her book at Target stores (she's an up and coming author you know).

So I knew she would be thrilled to pieces to know that her book is available at the West Florida Regional Library and it looks like it has been checked out a few times to boot. Sorry the picture is a little blurry, there was a librarian scowling at me because I brought my cell phone out to take a picture. Those librarians.