In which a star falls
Today I did something that I hadn’t done for a while. I took myself back to my childhood. There were these cookies
from Trader Joe’s, they in my mind are the original “Two Bite” cookies. They were crunchy Chocolate chip cookies.
They were wonderful. They came in a tub. They remind me of the sail boat.
Well the last time I was at Whole Foods, I saw in their bulk area they had cookies that mostly reminded me of the Trader Joe’s ones. So, I got myself some. And literally just moments ago, I poured myself a glass of milk, loaded up the the glass with the cookies and let them turn to mush. Mind you, I didn’t do it proper. I should have put the cookies in first, THEN the milk. But oh well. I should have broken the cookies up with my spoon. I didn’t. But the memory was still there. It took me right back to the days of my youth. Mushy cookie soup. Yum.
Now onto a book review:
Stardust by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this story.
I had seen the movie first, only because I had not gotten the chance to read the book first. I am sorry that it took me this long to get around to the actual book.
To me, this is a book that I can completely see myself reading out loud to my future children.
Neil Gaiman is an absolute genius when it comes to delivering us into an amazing world. He really is my hero.
Now as I said I had seen the movie first. It was quite easy to imagine the characters as their movie counterparts. There were also some changes that were made betwixt the page and the screen, but the changes that were made in my opinion enhanced the story. I guess it helped that they actually had Mr. Neil Himself on hand to help with the changes.
But this review is about the book, not the movie. All in all, I thought it was absolutely wonderful and amazing.
On to other news:
My minion and I are hard at work on the Labyrinth Club. I honestly couldn’t do this with out her.
We’ve also got lots of things planned coming out of The Asylum. Most of the things we are working on won’t actually come to fruition until after the Grand reopening. It’s a timing thing. I can’t work for those 6 months. But I can get stuff ready before I do close up shop, and then once the shop is reopened, it will be as I said… Grand. I can’t talk about the plans yet. Not till they are more firm. But when they do become more firm… ooh boy you’ll be getting some teasers at the very least.
Last Friday I went to the Unsurpassable Prince and Pauper’s Steampunk Ball in Colorado Springs.
I decided to go Ricepunk instead of the classic Victorian Steampunk.
There is apparently not a solo shot of my anywhere. In fact, there are only shots of Tory and I together. It’s alright, we were Representin’ the multicultural minorities at the party… we had to stick together.
The party was a benefit for Myles Pinkney who is a fabulous artist here in Colorado Springs. He went into a coma immediately after an event in March, and we honestly thought he wasn’t going to survive. Mere days before the benefit for him, he was finally up and walking around. We are all so happy about this.
I bought my kimono at a thrift shop for like 3$. I fell in love with the colors and couldn’t pass it up. The belt is one I traded with The Twisted Gypsy for a shawl that I had knit.
The goggles I made in about the equivalent of an afternoon. They were so simple to make. I call them my Copper Goggles since I did a verdigris patena effect instead of a brass one. It fit the kimono better thank brass. I tell you, I got so many compliments on those quicky goggles. It’s actually quite amusing to me.
I haven’t been able to work on any of the novels like I’ve been wanting… but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been formulating plots and working out kinks behind the scenes. I just wish I have been able to get more words written. Oh well. I am going to be dog sitting for 2 days, which means I’ll have peace and quiet. I’ll focus on writing then.
Random: It’s been a very interesting couple of days. The Royal Wedding finally happened. Which I was quite sad that I was not in England for. I know it’s silly, but for me I wanted to see the people. Experience the street parties. Feel the surge of national pride that comes about during those times. The Wedding was beautiful. I will admit the 13 year old girl in me cried about the groom being who he was. Then the 27 year old woman in me took up notice at what a very handsome man the brother (Harry) has turned into. (Okay, notice was taken years ago… but it was just quite noticeable. He looks damn fine in a Royal Uniform)
Then the week became even more emotional when it was announced that Osama Bin Laden was dead. I will not touch on this much, as I know not all my readers share my opinion on the matter, and I am working on keeping this blog more reader friendly. But I will say that it was very emotional for me to hear about this. I remember exactly where I was when 9/11 happened.
At first I feared what would happen to the plans the Hubs2be and I have, as our major milestone we were waiting on WAS the Royal Wedding.
The next milestone (okay, it’s not a very big milestone time wise) is in 2 days. The election. Whether he wins the election, or looses… we are submitting the paperwork for my VISA. Thats right folks, after 4.5 years of plotting and waiting… it’s finally happening. It feels quite surreal.
And so of course with the death of OBL, and the threat of retaliation and heightened travel concerns… I was naturally worried. The hubs2be has allayed my fears on this, but I will of course take the advice of my immigration specialist (I am going to be going through the same people who helped with my visa last October. Though my visa didn’t arrive in time, that was not their fault and they did a great job at taking care of me.). But as near as we can tell, it is full steam ahead.
I’ve got a lot to pack up. I’ve got business to close. And I’ve got to actually start saying goodbye to people that I now don’t want to say goodbye to.
Why is it that you can keep yourself from making new ties for nearly 4 years, and then just weeks before leaving, you meet a whole bunch of awesome people that you actually would like to remain friends with and are now sad that you are leaving… thank goodness for Facebook, otherwise I really would be quite sad.
I guess I shall leave this here. I am going to try to be better about blogging again… I might not be able to do so directly during the move weeks, but until then, I will try to be better.
Bugs and Hisses everyone!
Anomaly Con 2011, Part 1
I want to do a good long post about Anomaly Con. I even started mentally writing it last night. But it would require downloading photos, etc.
I’ve also decided that certain things I wanted to talk about… I shouldn’t. So I won’t. Ya dig?
Anomaly Con was quite fun. It was quite interesting being a “vendor” type person instead of just a patron.
I will touch lightly on this, and that is it. I found most people at the con quite… negative.
I don’t know if it’s just that I have basically turned into a bit of a hermit over the last year or not… but the patrons were by and large dour and negative whilst looking at wares. This is an observation not just at my table, but something I noticed as I observed people at other artist’s tables, or downstairs in the dealer area.
Alright, I’ve said my peace on that. Now I’ll move on.
The con it’s self… lets just say I do realize it is the baby year, and there was a lot of learning experience.
The Tivoli Center is a beautiful building. The atmosphere was perfect for what we were doing. Giant copper brewery … urns? (My brain is dead, I can’t think of the word I want) lots of piping… and just amazing bits and pieces.
But, it is not a good place for a convention. To get places, you would have to walk across the entire length of the center, then go up another elevator etc. And there was one section that quite a few of us never did get to, nor could figure out how to get there. (I feel so bad for the people who were stuck in that area…)
The Asylum did not do so well at the con. I made back my booth fee, and the cost of everyone’s tickets.. So that is great. That’s the least I could ask for.
Copper Dragonfly’s hats did well and people loved the odd shapes of the hats instead of just general round ones. (By well, I mean a few of them sold)
Erin Gallagher the author did amazing. Lots of people are excited for me to finish my novel and have it out in the world.
At one point I was kicked out of my own table and told to go listen to a panel that was going on. I did. I’m glad I did. Though it was amusing, I was pretty much the only person asking questions.
But… I might have found a self publishing route that I might go with. It is a group that was created by authors who have gone the self publishing route. So, they banded together and created their own author house. Self publishing is hard work, but having resources is a good thing. And most importantly, I would retain all rights nor would I have to worry about exclusivity. So if my dream came true and Harper Collins, or Tor decided to pick me up… I could easily go with them without having to give up a pound of flesh to get out of contracts etc. What I also like about this group, is that they are inclusive of all genres. For me, that is a very good thing. After all, I’ve got several. Aether Horizons, steampunk adventure fiction. Angel Blitz (working title), a paranormal fantasy in WW2 England. The Q2-Files (series title), a modern mystery thriller. The Happy Housewife (working series title), a paranormal fantasy set in the 1950′s.
See, I don’t just fall into one category. Then there are other projects that I’m not yet at liberty to discuss, which fall into none of the categories I just mentioned.
Now, this company is a baby company. They literally just published the first title as of this weekend. The website needs a lot of work in my opinion. (Right now it looks like a fan page for one of the authors… which I understand why it’s like that, but I would recommend making it a little less about Her Her Her.)
I am interested in this pub house because yes I had planned on doing the self publishing route. I know it means I’ll have copies of my book laying about my house waiting for me to ship out. I know it will mean me selling the hell out of my book to everyone I come across. But, going with the print on demand publishers is just bloody expensive(with very little profit), and won’t ever get me into Barnes and Noble. (This pub house needs a few more authors… well not authors, but book titles before it can be put into the big distribution list that all the shops order from.)
And there isn’t a print on demand website out there that I have discovered that can get me my novel for 5$ a book (my cost).
I think I’ll still go with smashwords, and a few other sources for the e-book editions, but that is neither here nor there right now.
For those who are interested in knowing the group… the website is here: Tangled Webs Publishing
The weekend was not so fun because Saturday evening after we left the Con (no, we did not stay for the ball.. we were too tired) we went to dinner. After dinner we got back in the car and it didn’t start.
Oh, I had completely forgotten. The night before on Friday… we went to a concert. It was Great Big Sea. It was the final show of the tour, and the boys were having fun. I am so very glad I went.
When we got done with the concert, the car didn’t start. We got towed over to Danny’s shop, and then the car started. We risked it and went home because of how early we needed to be up in Denver. The car went up to Denver just fine.
So here we are, at a Mexican restaurant a few blocks away from Katte and Curtis’s house. The car is not working.
Katte comes and rescues us, as we were staying at her house anyway.
Curtis makes a call on his cellphone while I calm myself with a dram of scotch.
Curtis is the only man I know who can have a mechanic call him back at 10:30pm on a Saturday. And more oddly, that mechanic agrees to come out to the car at 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday.
I slept not so great because my brain wouldn’t shut off, I was dehydrated, and I had a migraine forming.
The morning comes, the mechanic meets us. We determine it looks like it’s the fuel pump thats not working anymore.
Curtis hooks up Ginny to The Beast, and I nervously steer while he tows me the few blocks to the shop. (Oh my gods I hadn’t had to do that kind of towing in 7 years… I do not like to do it at all!!!!)
Katte then takes us to the Con. She was just going to pop in and see my table setup, and ended up staying for 3 hours. She loved it. She has all sorts of ideas now. Ideas that involve The Asylum as well.. muhahahahahaa.
Von who was coming up from the Springs on Sunday for the con gave me and all my crap (and people) a ride home. Which is good, because I had no idea how I was going to get all of my crap home otherwise.
The car is still in Denver. Katte is coming down with the kids on Tuesday to go to Garden of the Gods, so she’ll just scoop me up and take me up to Denver when it’s time to go home. (I was told that Tuesday is when the car should be ready, if nothing else I can always spend the night at their house until Wednesday if needed.)
So it was a good and bad weekend. Lots of interesting things happened.
Oh, and apparently my steampunk name is “Extra! Extra!” as everyone remembers the badge on my hat. (At least thats what the Colorado Springs people remember me as.) So I even moved the badge to my fedora on the Sunday. We’ll see if the nickname sticks or if I find something better.
I promise to post photos once I get them all downloaded etc… but for now… here is this one.
Saturday at Anomaly Con
Because I could…
I could say it’s a result of the stress I’ve been under the past couple of weeks.
I could say it’s because I have been marginally good when it’s come to my sweet intake the past few days.
I could say it’s because I won’t have anything like this for a while again.
But the truth is… I did it because I could.
So I had myself a bowl of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (Blue Bell since it just came to Colorado Springs, and Mim had never had it. Being of Texas myself, I have of course had it) topped with a chocolate chip cookie.
I made chocolate chip cookies today for this weekend. I like to feed people who are helping me out, and I’d rather myself have homemade cookies than store bought ones.
I couldn’t find my usual recipe from Martha. So I am trying one of her other ones. I think this is the same recipe I used while I was in England… I thought that they were my usual recipe but I guess not.
When I was in England I blamed the difference on the butter/chocolate chips. I am not fond of the chocolate chips I had in England (Milk chocolate. BLEGH! Give me Semi Sweet or Dark!) and the future Mother In Law does not keep butter in the house. (She runs Cardio wards in hospitals. I personally would rather have the real butter and take care of my heart in other aspects.)
My French Grandmother would roll in her grave if she knew I had used fake butter to bake with. But that is another time.
Today I used real butter, and had proper chips. The recipe I used is still different than I’m used to, but it is quite yummy in deed. Nice and cakey. Almost too cakey.
Today I also made myself some hummus. Made it for the first time. Used a mortar and pestle even. I did use a blender, but as my blender is a tiny thing I decided to help it out by premashing the garbanzo beans.
I think the hummus was a success. It was nummy.
Next up will be to make different flavors, and also to make Edamame Hummus.
Pictured above is also some English Muffin bread that my mum made. It is always a yummy success.
For dinner Mim made crustless Quiche and I must say that I much prefer crustless Quiche to regular Quiche. I’ve never been fond of most pie crusts, and Quiche was not an exception. I think from now on I’ll be making this version as I am fond of Quiche, but always am disappointed with the crust.
I’ll post the recipes up but today you are just going to get the cookies.
And the next time you most likely hear from me will be after Denver’s first ever Anomaly Con. I am quite excited. It’ll be my first time selling anything from The Asylum in a public setting. I will also be harking my scribblings. Yup, as an author. (Well, it’s my artists table that I’m paying for … so it’s not quite being there officially as an author.. but hey, my Asylum.. my rules!) Yup, Aether Horizons will be at the Con. I’m quite excited. It will make me feel all official like.
Martha’s Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Happy Birthday Mum – a giveaway
Edited note: Remember, to get multiple entries you need to do multiple comments (not just saying “I followed this, this and this” in 1 comment). Otherwise my RNG won’t find you.
Today is my mum’s birthday. I cannot for the life of me remember how old she is, but that’s nothing new… I’ve never remembered. We’ll go with the classy reason of “To me… she is ageless.” Yeah… that one works.
The chocolate cake I made a few weeks ago is defrosting (first time ever freezing cake… we’ll see how it goes.).
Her pressies are ready and waiting (yes, you might think I’m a good daughter. Truth is, I totally forgot it was her birthday, but luckily I bought her presents last year and didn’t misplace them.).
So Happy Birthday mum. Hope it’s a good one.
Now onto the giveaway. No, this really wasn’t planned due to mum’s birthday… but again.. I’ll just say it is.
I have not announced this new little project before because I’ve been too busy. (Really… I need a full time assistant, and an actual work space now. This is getting ridiculous.)
The Asylum For Wayward Yarn is being a secondary sponsor for the Crafty Diversions Fan Appreciation Knit Along.
I am absolutely honored to be a part of this. I really like her patterns (had quite a few of them queued without realizing it when I agreed to be a part of this KAL), and this is a huge step up into the big leagues for my little Asylum.
I couldn’t have done it without one of my fans/customers being juts totally awesome and dropping my name when the question about yarnies came up.
Well, right now I am very sleep deprived. And when I am sleep deprived… I do stupid things. This stupid thing, you will benefit from.
On top of the prizes I am going to be doing for this KAL, I am offering up one now.
Oh, I guess I should talk about those first.
1) You are allowed to purchase some of my new colorways that I have not debuted here on the blog. (I guess I should do that) My only rule is that you actually participate in the KAL if you buy the yarn. I’ll be sad if you don’t, and a sad Erin means no more giveaways. (I’ll put the new yarn pictures down below)
2) I will be doing a Finished Object random drawing winner from this KAL. Doesn’t matter what yarn you use, if you finish your shawl, you can possibly win one of my yarns in a colorway of your choosing.
3) I will be doing an Asylum Finished Object random drawing from this KAL. If you use an Asylum yarn, you get entered to win another skein from me, colorway of your choosing.
4) Oh wait… 4… that was just me giving a skein to someone already. Nevermind… ignore that. (Yes, someone has already been lucky)
So I’m a gonna do another (yes, what great sentence structure from me this morning…) drawing. Right now.
There are several ways you can enter.
“Like” The Asylum on Facebook. – This one is obvious as to why.
“Like” Me, the author on Facebook. – I know, it’s blatant self promotion, but hey… my Asylum.. my rules. And I bet a few of you didn’t know that I have an author page on there now. Well, now you know.
“Follow” me on Twitter. – I’m not sending you to my Asylum one on twitter because I don’t really use it anymore. Just go with my personal one. I’ll do yarnie goodness on there as well. And I’m trying to be better about using twitter. (Make sure in your entry comment you tell me who you are on Twitter so that I can associate you with it)
“Follow” this blog.- Seriously, just do it. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
And one last one because I’m totally about promotion right now…
“Like” Aether Horizons on Facebook. – If you don’t know what it is, it’s a novel I’m hoping to publish later this year. Does it have anything to do with this KAL? No. But it’s my baby, and again… my Asylum… my rules.
Comment here in the comments each action you take. (I’ll be checking, so don’t try to lie… ) For each action, please leave a separate comment (it just makes it easier on me when it comes to picking the winner, and if you shove all of it into one comment, you’ll only get ONE entry.).
Alright, I think my insanity is over for the moment. On to photos of new yarn goodness.
“Beware” inspired by the most awesome band “Bitter Ruin”. I kind of love them. Kind of more than I should. If you haven’t listened to them, you should. Go do it. You won’t regret it. This yarn was created as I am knitting a hat for Georgia, who is the more feminine half of Bitter Ruin. But that is a post for another day.
“Les Pacte Des Loups” inspired by the creature that actually terrorized the French countryside in the 18th century. The Beast of Gévaudan (huh, guess I could have named it that… non? Oh well, if I ever have to change the name… that’s what I’ll change it to.) was responsible for an estimated 210 attacks, resulting in 113 deaths and 49 injuries; 98 of the victims killed were partly eaten. Some say it was a giant wolf. Some say it was a hyena (I don’t give into the people who say it wasn’t due to not having the right amount of teeth. When you kill 113 people or more, you are bound to loose a few teeth eh?). Some say it was a wild boar. Some say it’s sire was a red furred Mastiff. Some even say it was a Mesonychid. We will sadly never know.
“The Silver Kiss”, this one amuses me because while I was dyeing it I kept thinking it reminded me of Silver Kisses. Don’t ask why, it just did. I decided on Silver Kiss instead and only then remembered that The Silver Kiss was my very first vampire book that I read as a child. I’ve spoken about the book before, in my post about “Blood and Chocolate” by Annette Curtis Klause. She also wrote The Silver Kiss. So yes, I unintentionally named it after the first vampire book I ever read. It feels appropriate.
The photo does not do the yarn justice. The subtlety of the steam and brass and copper tones is gorgeous on this yarn. I can’t wait to see it knitted into something. I had been planning a series of Steampunk yarns for a long time now, this is just the first of what will be many. Oh hey.. there ya go.. there is the tie in to Aether Horizons. See, I can justify anything.
Copper Dragonflies is another in my Steampunk line. Inspired partly by the most fabulous friend of mine who is Copper Dragonflies. Her hats will be with me at Anomaly Con (ACK, another thing I haven’t posted about.. whoopsie. I guess I’ll be doing another blog post soon!) as she is my… “apprentice”. *shifty eyes*
The Governor’s Daughter is the next in the Parley of Pirates series. Betcha can’t guess who that’s supposed to be? I’ll give you 5 guesses and the first 4 don’t count.
“The Anguisette” is the latest in my Love as Thou Wilt series, based off the immortal works of Jacqueline Carey and her Kushiel Legacy. I think it turned out just perfect.
And last but most certainly not least…
Sleepy Hollow. I really wanted Fall colors for this yarn. I think I got exactly what I wanted. Headless horsemen, Ichabod Crane… things that go bump in the night…
Alright, you’ve seen all my new yarns (which other than for the KAL, will NOT be available until April, after the Anomaly Con is over.
The Mystery of the Carved Bones
This has been an interesting year. I never win anything. I always want to win things.. but I never do. This year though, I have won 2 things. A book (Which I still haven’t read), and now a pair of custom made earrings by the fabulous designer Alena from Alena’s Originals.
Her Artfire shop is here, and her Facebook page can be found here.
I discovered her jewelry in a quest to find jewelry inspired by the tv show Bones. I love the necklaces that the main character of Bones (Based off the novels by Kathy Reichs) wore in the beginning seasons. I had found the actual designer many years ago, but her necklaces were going for thousands of dollars… and I’ve lost that link.
I ran into Alena’s shop once again in my quest for the necklaces.
With this set of earrings that I won, it was entirely up to me to pick what I wanted. Well, I didn’t know what I wanted so I told Alena to be creative. Just to give me something organic and earthy looking. I think she did an amazing job. I LOVE them. Wooden beads, A Walnut see, and Silver. Lovely, just absolutely lovely. And so light weight!
I love to look at pretty things. I can’t necessarily buy pretty things right now, but I can look at pretties and also send my “likes” to the hubs2be who is now terrified to buy me pretties because the only jewelry taste he is familiar with, of course is his Mothers, and his Sister. I am going to attempt to put this as delicately as possible.
I have the direct and total opposite taste in jewelry than my future Mother in Law.
She freely admits to loving the Bling.
I love things that are more organic and delicate. I do not love the bling. Guy has tried to show me things that he wanted to buy me. Thank gods he didn’t surprise me with pieces because quite frankly… I had not been happy with his choices.
OF course if he had bought me something, I would have loved it and loved him for buying it for me. Even if I thought it was the ugliest thing in the world. You do that for your spouse.
But he and I communicate with each other. He’s starting to learn what I like. When he and I are finally cohabitating, he’ll finely be able to see what I like, and not just hear what I like.
Well, I like Alena’s work.
And I was absolutely floored when I won a pair of custom earrings made by her. Even though I’m allergic to sterling silver (Though my ears aren’t hurting right now after wearing them for a few hours yesterday) I wasn’t going to mention it since these were free. If they had been less than SS, I would have offered to pay the difference so that I could actually wear them. Even with the SS, I chose a wire style that would allow me to change the wires out if absolutely necessary down the road.
Yesterday I had a photoshoot with Rebecca. We used the church of Grace and St. Stevens in Colorado Springs. That is my mother’s church, so while we were photographing, she was working in the garden. The reason we chose to have the photoshoot there was because the administrative offices are is in this amazing building next door. It is called the McWilliams House, and it is an old Victorian.
Now I shouldn’t be showing these photos yet, as there is a certain one that is for something very specific… but I’m going to risk it.
We had fun doing the photoshoot. I borrowed my mum’s hat for it, as I don’t have one of my own at the moment.
I have many more photos, but they aren’t ready yet.
I have quite a headache, so I’m going to leave it here for now.
Ta!
Oh, and stay tuned for more information about that pretty scarf I’m wearing. In a few days you’ll get to hear all about it with some detailed photos!
Sometimes you fly…
Happy Imbolc to everyone who celebrates it. For me it certainly has been poignant. It’s about rebirth and renewal. Getting rid of the old, and bringing in the new.
Today I took a leap. I’ve decided I’m going to have a table at the Anomaly Con here in Denver this March.
This is big for me. Very very big. Like, starting tomorrow I need to dye my bum off so that I’m ready. I’m sure I’ll either be far too overstocked, or I’ll be understocked. I’m okay with being overstocked. I’ll be thrilled though if I sell out of everything and am understocked. I of course won’t expect this to happen, so I will be presently surprised if it does.
This will require me finding my costuming that I’ve packed away. But it will give me a chance to wear the awesome awesome new hat I have that was given to me as part of the Pay It Forward 2011 from my dear friend Kristen.
Isn’t it awesome? Don’t you wish you were me right now with such an awesome hat? Well, you can buy one of your own from her brand new shop (I’m so proud and excited for her) on Artfire: Copper Dragonflies. You really should check her out. She doesn’t have hats up in the shop right now, but send her a message and she’ll make you one.
It means also that if you don’t hear from me for the next 2 months, it’s because I’ve fallen into a vat of dye and drowned myself. This is very possible people. Yes, I realize that I’m possibly biting off more than I can chew, especially with still needing to finish the Sherlock club.. but I’ve never been one to do baby steps. I dive into that deep end and learn to swim. Wait.. no.. I’ve got a better analogy. One quite fitting.
“Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.” – Neil Gaiman
Well, I’m determined to fly. I never thought I’d get the chance to do an event like this. Certainly not in the US. I might not get something like this in the UK. So I might as well take that leap. After all, this witch just might prove that she can defy gravity. (Alright, how many more analogies can I throw in this paragraph structure?) (Oh, and photograph taken from here.)
I’ve got many big plans for this year, and this wasn’t even one of the original plans! This year is definitely going to be my year.
I’ve lost 21.6lbs as of writing this. I don’t know if I’ll reach my goal before the end of this diet, but I am okay with that. I am happier with my body, my self, my business, and my life. The only aspect that I am not happy with is still not being with my hunny. But there is nothing I can do about that.
My hunny though is striving to make me happy. He bought a rug for our place. Oh yes, we found a place. It’s small and dinky, but it’ll work for us right now. But as I was saying, he bought us a rug. A rug I had said I liked. When I first saw this rug, I fell in love with it. But I told him I liked the gray one, and not the purple one. I told him this because he is not fond of purple. The gray was nice, and would look nice in the house (our main carpeting is a dark blue). So I was fine if he wanted that one. What did he do? While he was shopping in IKEA (which by the way, I love IKEA. I grew up in Ikea. I am sad that the Ikea here in Colorado will not open till next year… I’ve been wanting this store to pop up in Colorado the entire time I’ve lived here) He got us the rug. He got us the rug for a mere fraction of the original cost.
And he got me the purple rug. I love him for it. He knew the purple would make me happy. And it would look good with the blue carpet. (The other choices besides gray and purple was this “sand” and a yellow green)
To any men reading my blog.. it’s little things like that which win over girls hearts.
As the first month of the Sherlock Holmes Yarn Club is now over and done.. (and I’m scrambling to get this 2nd month in the mail asap!) I can now share with you photos of what you are either enjoying in your house or missing out on.
Photo thanks to Reni LeBard
Dr. Watson in shades of mustards, curries, browns and gunmetal. When I think of our dear Doctor, I cannot help but think of him in those colors. Some might think it odd, but that’s the impression I always have. It is mostly due to the very first impression of him meeting Holmes for the first time. He is on my new base, a 2ply SW Sock
Hound of the Baskervilles was not originally planned. When I planned this club, it was going to be a 3 colorway club and that was it. (2 skeins of the same colorway each month) But then I had a customer ask for Hound of the Baskervilles to be included, and my imagination went from there. Hound of the Baskervilles was one of my favorites of the stories growing up. And whenever I think of it, the image of those haunted moors. So while designing this one, that’s exactly what image I used. The purple and greens and browns, the ever shifting mist of those moors. This one is shown on my 4ply SW Sock
I hope you like what I created… Also in the months package is:
An Absinthe Lollipop, after all that was one of his vices. (Though Watson will tell you otherwise) They are from Lollyphile, but it does not appear that you can get them anymore. I guess it’s a good thing that I have an extra stash left over from this club. Muhahahaa
A random assortment of Holmes inspired Pin Badges (before anyone gets huffy.. each customer got 1 pin badge, certain people got 2 for their help in the project)
A tea strainer that is rather neat! (it’s got its own drip pan even!)
A pattern designed by the awesome Christina Scovel from Serenity Stitches.
Today I went to the printers to get this month’s pattern. It’s beautiful. But you’ll have to wait a month before you can see it! I’m also working on getting the last of the swag done, which hopefully will be tomorrow. Then it’s back to the dye pot for me. I’ve only got 1 more colorway that needs to be designed and dyed. I have the other colorway 99% finished. It just needs one last little treatment done to it before I can call it done.
I have been truly blessed by my loyal customers, and amazing friends. This club was a huge leap for me, and it has taught me a lot, and enriched my soul while doing it.
Oh, I also had another Big Ass Order during all this… It was for a Sock Kit that is being put together by one of my customers.
“Bold As Texas”
I had carte blanche on the colors, so I chose: Red, White and Blue for the state flag, not to mention the patriotic tones that Texas has to begin with! Bluebonnet Blue, and a Yellow that matched the Yellow Rose of Texas.
I’m very happy with it. She’s very happy with it, and apparently the people ordering the kit are happy with it! Yay!
Well, I have more that I can announce, but I’m awfully tired. I should have gone to bed before I actually started writing this. So I guess I’ll just have to announce the rest tomorrow. Goodnight everyone, and may your Imbolc fires burn bright!
Gelato of yummy evilness
I must yell at Jes for introducing me to a little gelato shop in Colorado Springs.
I love gelato. I have for a long time. Last time I was in Vegas, I walked the entire length of the strip to get to the Venetian so that I could have some gelato at the little place there.
Well, there is a place not too far from where I live. It’s exactly directly across from where I live… As the crow flies. Unfortunately the crow does not have to deal with a bluff… namely Austin Bluffs, which the road is named for. So it takes me much longer to get to the little gelato shop than it should.
It only opened up last month, and I cannot remember it’s name at the moment, but oh my god is it good.
For the last 2 months I’ve been making some ice cream.
I’ve nearly gotten it right. But the last batch turned out a lot naturally lighter than normal ice cream and I was sitting there going “it reminds me of gelato” and then I go and have gelato again and BOOM.. I was right. Mine just wasn’t as creamy because I didn’t strain it through cheesecloth.
Well I have cheesecloth on hand, I’ve got my cream, I’ve got my milk.. And I am even going to attempt to make my own caramel sauce to make a caramel gelato.
Life has been busy. I’ve been doing a lot of orders, and I’ve even just reopened the shop. Yay! I’ve also started working on some major happenings in the Asylum, which I’ll be filling everyone in on later.
I’ve been filling out important documents… like my visa paperwork.
I also got back into writing on Aether Horizons. I had an interesting little twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting. A new character even.
I’ve been doing a lot of things for the wedding, including buying the centerpieces etc.
Lots of knitting, even in the hot weather. Working on a few projects, “Sneaky attack elf”, “Falling through time and space”, and “Royal Brew”
Of course there shall be photos soon of everything I just mentioned.
I guess that’s all for now. I’ll go start making some gelato now. Success or fail story tomorrow.
And for those who don’t know, gelato is Italian ice cream, but not nearly as fatty, yet maintaining major creaminess. It is yummy.
Nom de plume…..?
It’s a very tough decision, knowing what you shall be known by when you are an author.
Even more so when you are female.
Even more so when you are about to get married.
Even more so when the person you are about to get married to plans on having a long career in politics.
Depending on the genre, female writers don’t do as well as male authors.
Romance- Heck yeah! In fact, they do better than male authors there.
Paranormal Fiction – Sure!
Classic Literature - Errr well… unless you are in the class of Austen and Bronte… then no.. not so much. (And truth be told, the Bronte sisters didn’t do well with their own name in their own time.)
Action / Adventure – Not really.
I don’t even know my genre yet.
I have one novella that is almost finished, which could fall in the Paranormal, and even Paranormal Romance. (It was originally written for a contest that was Paranormal Romance, but my level of romance is quite tame and nothing I wouldn’t do in the other novels.)
My current novel that I am also working on… (I know I know, I’m not done with the novella yet… I’m almost there though, and if I don’t get the words down now for the current one, I’m afraid I’ll loose them forever. I can multitask with writing.. really I can.) is a Steampunk/ Alternate Victorian / Action Adventure / with a bit of Mystery dashed in. – hmm…. that makes it a bit difficult to decide which genre is falls into in the first place, let alone what name should be on the cover.
I will admit, it’s a pride thing. I really want to see “Erin ….” on the cover.
But will it hurt my career?
Will having my name at all hurt Guy’s career? Will it help?
Then there are options. I could do my maiden name… but then I’m stuck with it for the rest of my life, and Guy will then be called (at least once) as “Mr. Gallagher”.
But will Erin Grandison sell any novels?
There are options…
E.A. Gallagher – Pretty androgynous
E.A. Grandison – Also androgynous
But I have to admit, I don’t know if I want to be known as “E.A.”
It feels like… I honestly don’t know how to describe how it feels, but it makes me slightly wiggy.
Now until I’ve actually got my manuscript ready for submission, this is actually all moot. But it is food for thought that I have been chewing on for a while now.
Part of the reason was a discussion that cropped up in a Pens and Needles group on Ravelry which that in it’s self was spurned by this article: Call me James
On one hand, going with a non de plume can cause problems. One of my favorite authors I just found out is not in fact Kim Harrison, but instead is Dawn Cook. I didn’t much mind (other than going “wow.. she doesn’t look like a ‘Dawn’…”), but apparently it caused a lot of strife amongst the fan boards, and it came to such a furor that Kim had to quit that forum and go back into being at arms length again. Now, Kim (sorry, I just can’t call her Dawn) did go all out with the persona though. Wig, wardrobe, backstory… So I can slightly see why some people might have been irked when it all came to light as a lie.
Sigh, even typing it all out here hasn’t helped make my mind up much. Mayhaps when I actually finish my manuscripts, I’ll have a long discussion with my close peeps and see if it needs to be under a nom de plume or not.
Random: The gym today was good. I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out afterwards. Woot! I am getting better at this.
Super Seeeeekret Projects almost done!
Could it be yours?
It’s a possibility. After all, I have a few of these I’ve been doing.
I’ve been naughty and not working on the Doomsday Cardigan.
Instead I’ve been working on something else.
Something I can’t talk about. So 
Writing: Last night I had an awesome dream. Now mind you, this of course was an awesome dream so I do not remember much of it.
It was almost Phantom of the Opera like in the fact that there was a … theater of sorts.. and rooms, corridors and dark corners abounding.
It was steampunkish, in the aesthetic appeal of everything. There was also this cool “light bomb” of sorts. I wrote down the details of that.. But I’m not going to share it here. Ya know.. gotta protect the intellectual goods.
I think it was snowing in the dream, but I’m not sure. It really is a shame I can’t remember all of it. It was rather neat.
I categorized this as writing, as well.. go back to the middle part with the light bomb. Connect the dots.
Tomorrow is Aqua class, and possible gym time (depending on how I feel about it, as I’ll be solo after class since Jes will have to go to school) . I am just now starting to be able to walk without wincing.
Then, I shall pick up my standard dyeing supplies after class as I’ll be on that part of town.
I think rather shortly, I shall be having a contest to name one of the new yarns. If the name comes to me, I won’t bother with the poll.. so stay tuned!
And randomly related… I really am having the urge to watch Stardust right now.
Sneaky Sneaking Sneakers
Isn’t it funny how little things can sneak up on you?
I mean, it’s the same as buying a Starbucks drink every day, you don’t think about it. It’s just a few dollars.
It’s only when you see the large amount of how much those drinks cost you for the year, that your heart starts skipping a beat.
I’m sure some of you are thinking “What the heck is she talking about? She doesn’t drink coffee, and I know she dislikes Starbucks”
Well, it was an analogy.
Since January.. no make that February of this year… I have been slowly buying things for my future business. Though, I did not know that is what I was doing.
My first yarn purchase was for a different project, and when that fell through I decided “I can dye this myself… but I’ll wait till after I move.”
And then the idea got started that… “Hmmm maybe I could start a yarn dyeing business someday..”
I was not planning on using the Bamboo yarn I had bought, as that was still for me..
But now, it’s caked up, ready to be skein’d.. and then ready to be dyed.
Today I feel official, as I did a spreadsheet of my costs etc of all this.
Now, most of the items I have spent money on, are not things I would have to replace anytime soon, so this cost analysis is pretty much all start up base cost.
But I must admit that my heart did a pitter patter when I realized I have now spent $207.00 (And a skosh of change)
Really? WOW.
Okay, also in my defense, 60$ of that was today buying the perfect pot, and another set of dyes so that when my pot gets here, I’ll be ready to go dye crazy.
I feel official, because I know exactly what I have to do to recover my costs, and it’s not that insane a situation. Actually, my prices will be quite modest compared to what I’ve seen out there for 100% Hand Dyed Bamboo.
Unfortunately, I have determined I do not have enough yarn in this go round to fully recoup my costs… But.. I have a plan.
Actually, I have Mother Of Mine to thank for the plan.
And no, I’m not just jacking up the price.
No, Mother of Mine is working on learning how to hand spin yarn (she used to know how, but it’s been a long time)
I, a few years ago gave our friend (And ex house mate and Renscot) Darla a HUGE amount of raw wool.
It was given to me, because I was learning how to spin.
When I was going through all my highschool to post highschool transition and homelessness, I gave the wool to Darla to be used for demonstrations in during the Renscot events. I mean, Darla and Mark gave me a roof over my head.. a huge box of wool was the least I could give them..
Well, Mother of Mine will be re-learning to spin with this wool. She has offered to give me the result, as she doesn’t know what she would do with it.
So, I shall be dyeing that up as well, to cover the “amount I need” to recoup my cost of this little adventure.
Heck, after the next batch of yarn gets dyed and sold.. I might even have some profit. I look forward to that, but mostly I look forward to just breaking even. That way, if I decide I can’t do this.. I won’t be out any money.. Just my time.
I highly doubt that I will walk away from this, because I just have far too many ideas. tee hee.
Alright, enough talk about my budding business, because if I don’t stop now, I’ll just keep babbling. I’m excited. When I’m excited, I babble. I really want my new pot to arrive so that I can dye!
Today I had to pick up a bunch of things at the craft store.
A bunch of buttons to send to my swap partner…
I am totally spoiling my swap partner.. Jo-Ann’s had all buttons 50% off, so my 20-25$ limit … heh.. well you can see where that was going.
Though, she’s not really getting many Stitch markers, she’s getting a few, but I totally went out on the buttons, so it’s all good.
Also picked up another 2 skeins of yarn for Marissa’s project. Which I will be working on once I finish the stitch markers I need to make this weekend.
Also I will be working on The Great Batsby, which my project name for him is “On the Wings of Steam”
I picked up the copper wire I wanted. Yes, I am using Copper not Brass.. oh what a bad Steampunker am I!
Well, they didn’t have the size wire I needed in the Brass, and to be frank.. I’m a Copper girl, not a Brass girl. And the Copper will stand out better amongst the other yarn.
Speaking of things sneaking up..
Today is the 19th.
The 19th of June!!!!
It is also the monthly Anniversary of meself and Guy. One month closer on the full count.
Just a week left on the official count for the month to be over. – it’s complicated.
Oh… Did I mention that my first batch of yarn… shall be Vampire related? Oh yes.
And no… I shall not be posting the name of it yet.
But there shall be photos, and an official vote. (I’ll be dyeing the colorway 5 different ways, and ya’ll will get to vote on which one gets the official tag for all subsequent dyeing.- This is how it will be for pretty much all my colorways, unless I decide during dyeing that my first one is the one I want to go with.. but I doubt it.)- alright.. seriously.. I’m done talking about it.
Currently reading:
Club Dead – Charlaine Harris (Book 3)
Dead and Gone – Charlaine Harris (Book 9) And yes, it is odd reading both book 3 and book 9 at the same time, but the library decided to send me book 9 before I finished rereading the whole series.
Currently on the TV:
MacGyver season 2
Tomorrow, other than making stitch markers, and knitting.. and dreaming of other colorways.. we shall be making a drastic change to the house.
The couch, that has been afflicted with the “curse of the painfully sleeping ‘tocks*” shall be shuffled upstairs into the loft. To be used when we have company. (okay.. thats the plan.. but seriously.. we really haven’t had company in this house.. ever.. )
And in it’s place shall be a chair that Mother of Mine found for me, and a chair that she finds most comfortable for herself.
Pan, the ever vocal shall protest the change, but will succumb when he realizes that the couch shall soon become his entirely. Yes, this shall happen. He is always distraught when we make him get off the couch so that we can sit on it. Heaven forbid!
*in case you are not aware of what “tocks” are, and lack the imagination.. here is a good definition.
Personally, I would recommend scrolling through all the Archives, and specifically looking at entries for “Tocktober”
Methinks I am done for now. Bugs and Hisses peeps.
My "Ah ha!" moment from last night.
Last night, I was actually writing.
Woohoo!
Then I hit a wall.
I was trying to describe clothing.
And then I told myself “I will need to research the clothing of the 1890′s. Darnit. Can’t write anymore tonight.”
I started researching a bit. And then it hit me.
It doesn’t matter.
I am not writing about London that was.
I am writing about London that never was. Thus, I can play with the clothing a bit. No drastic changes, but I am no longer held to the rules of “this is what they wore in that time period.”
I then started zooming when it came to writing again.
So I have a feeling that when it comes to this particular novel, I will have to constantly remind myself “This is my world. Not theirs. My world, my rules.”
Moving along. Yesterday Mother of Mine needed new sneakers.
So we hit the shoe stores.
I shouldn’t have gone in. I should have just had my mom meet me at Whole Foods next door.
But I went in.
Now, shoe shopping for me has always been a PITA. I mean serious pain.
I’ve worn a size 7 and up since the 5th grade. I now wear a 10, and have worn a 10 for the last like… Oh well.. since high school.
Finding a pair of shoes that 1)fit, 2)I like, and 3) don’t kill my knees is nigh on impossible.
Boots even more so.
I found a pair of sexy sexy black boots.
I made the mistake of trying them on.
I could actually zip them up over my massively large calves (thank you Track when I was a kid)
I didn’t wobble. I could walk. they didn’t pinch.
And they were 40% off. Sigh. I was suckered in as soon as I saw them.
Next pair of boots.
Not quite as sexy, not a color I would normally buy.
Again, knee high boots. Suede.. Cowboy style heel.
My mind went “Ren Faire?”
For years now, I generally have to leave mid day because the only boots I have, are not good Faire Boots, and my back generally is in too much pain to allow me to continue. Having a low heel is better for our rocky terrain.
These were more expensive.. but they were also 40%
So, for two pairs of boots, I spent 120$
Not bad… If the Ren Faire boots last me even 1 season, and make it possible for me to enjoy myself, then they will have been money well spent. (Not to mention, I can use them while mucking about the field in England.)
I guess thats all my rambling for now… My body and mind, really do not want to be here at work today.
Vote on a name, Startrek, and knitting.
The eye is twitchy.
The body didn’t want to get out of bed.
The mind was having some odd NCIS/Top Gear cross over like dream. I do not recall the details, but lets just say it was odd.
I very much wanted to not acknowledge Monday’s existance, but unfortunately the universe and my conscious “adult” mind had other plans.
I have a little project on the needles right now. And I must say I am really not liking the Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn anymore. I absolutely am just being annoyed with the texture of the yarn. I don’t know how to describe it other than.. skuzzy. I will still finish the project I am working on though, as well… I want to be done with this yarn. And if I use it all up then I can just make sure I don’t buy it again. Well… if I absolutely need yarn and the only option is that, then yes.. I’ll buy it.. but I won’t necessarily like it.
The project is not for me, and I haven’t a clue how it’ll turn out. Honestly I’m winging it. Which.. once the project is complete, you’ll find that pun amusing.
This little project did though, teach me something quite useful which will allow me to go forth and do some other projects, so all in all it’s a good thing.
The amazing Cathie, who is a buddy of mine over on Ravelry was totally awesome and sent me one of her spare copies of “Dead Until Dark” woohoo. Now I get to start the entire series all over again without having to wait for the library. Once I’m done, this one will go on the stack of books I need to send to Guy in the next care package. She also sent me a cute little bookmark she made. It was an attempt at some lace, and it is quite pretty! It’s pink, but it happens to be the 1 shade of pink I like. All in all, I say this was a WIN. Cathie rocketh most verrily.
Oh.. So Friday Mother of Mine and I went to see StarTrek.
IT. Was. Freaking. Amazing.
Yes, yes it was. I highly enjoyed it. I want to see it again. (But I won’t until it’s on dvd, because I’m being “responsible”)
I won’t go into detail because I respect that not all my readers might have seen it yet. But just gotta say.. freaking.. awesome.
They cast the film brilliantly, and if they decide to keep the Star Trek saga alive with the younger cast.. I welcome it.
And Karl Urban was just perfect.. PERFECT as Bones.
Well alright, actually everyone was PERFECT. I would end up just listing the entire cast if I went that way, so I wont.
The rest of the weekend was spent pretty quietly.
I did laundry. Did a few other chores. Knitted.
Started watching:
NCIS season 3.
BattleStar Galactica 2.5
The State Within, Part 1 (well.. not part 1, but disc 1 of 2) – Which was really good. It’s a political thriller by the BBC, set here in the US. Specifically in D.C. and it’s all about a terrorist attack on the US by a British Muslim and how the British Ambassador in the US has to handle it. (played by Jason Issacs) It’s very good. A heck of a cast, and I can’t wait to see the second part.
Underworld – man I forgot how much I love that movie. Mom never saw it, and as Rise of the Lycans releases tomorrow on DVD (and netflix is sending it to me today), I gotta have her catch up.
Tonight we’ll watch Underworld Evolution
Okay, on to the knitty gritty. I need ya’lls help.
Please vote on this name:
Mathais Davenport
poll can be found on the right hand side.
I will explain the name later, but for now.. just need to know if ya’ll like it.
Motivation in all it’s forms…
Alright, so right now I’m having odd motivations.
This morning, I was very motivated to sleep in. – I did not follow this motivation though.
Instead at 4:30am when my first (yes, first out of 4) alarm went off. I realized that the cat box very much needs to be done, and if I risked not doing it till I got home from work today, I quite possibly would want to strangle my cat for his.. ahem, misadventures and outright snippish attitude (meaning, I’d once again be cleaning up someplace other than his litter box.) So I hauled my ass out of bed, cleaned his cat box, and then promptly went back to bed. Odd motivation, non?
For the next 15-20 minutes, I was in a quasi state of sleep/awake. I thought about my writing and the motivations of it.
A Hard Day’s Bite has been officially put down for now. As I’ve quietly spoken about in recent posts, it needed to be changed. It just wasn’t gelling.
I no longer had motivation to write a story set in Denver.
I have motivation to write about a story set in London. But due to the setting change, a lot of the little things will have to change. This is not a bad thing, but it just means I have to think about things in a different way. I also need to do more research. I am okay with this. Mother of Mine was very supportive of the idea when I was pitching it to her with all my “hows and whys”.
When I move, pretty much I’ll be stuck with not much to do for the first 6 months. Yes, I have things that I can keep myself busy with. (I write this as if I won’t be going to school, because honestly… who knows if we’ll be able to afford me to not be working, and also be enrolled in school.)
I will possibly be trying to launch an Indy Dyeing business.
So, I am quite sure that I can and will always be able to find something to keep me occupied.
But, not working for 6 months, will also mean that I can:
1)Wander around London for hours upon hours “discovering / researching”
2)Spend a day with the police force learning their procedures.
This, excites me. This makes me look forward to writing again.
I was not able to really do either of those 2 things right now while living in CO, because it would generally require me to take off of work, which I just can’t afford right now.
As I am going to keep the main character (Alex for those who know her), American, it means I can still incorporate Colorado. And I can still have some bit of storyline set in Colorado. I am okay with this compromise. (By the by… she’s gonna be from Boulder, cause that just fits her.)
Another thing in my favor right now of switching the city, is that to my direct knowledge… I cannot recall any major Urban Paranormal Fantasy novels currently set in London.
Truth is, it’s all set in cities around America, and well… America is gettin’ rather full of the Vamps and wolfies. It seems like every city, weither it is a small town, or as large as gotham… they’ve all got the ones who go nibbly in the night.
So yes, I have currently put AHDB down for right now. I will not drop it entirely because I really feel good about this novel. But, I just am not at a point where I can do it justice. If you know me, I’m not one to really do things half assed. Wait.. let me clairify before Mother of Mine decides to chime in… If I care about something, I don’t do it half assed.
But, putting AHDB down, has allowed me to pick up my other novel. The one I refused to start writing on until I had finished AHDB. This one, does not require the same amount of research as it is not set in the modern world, nor is it set in a time period that I have to adhear to specific rules on. This one, allows me to play. Woohoo!
I’m not far into it, only about a paragraph or so. It’s a prologue really, and I’m quite happy with it.
Guy has read it, and promptly stated he wanted to read more. Which gives me confidence as always.
So this morning as I was half awake, and half asleep I was thinking on my new little novel. The main character is still nameless as of yet, but that will change. It’s just a matter of finding his right name.
Right now I am sitting at work, and I am quite unmotivated to be here.
Yesterday was not a fun day, because certain people have decided to not show respect.
I will not give a person respect if they do not give me respect.
Though, I will for now, keep my mouth shut and simply not speak to them unless absolutely necessary. I need this job for 14 months, and after that, well it will be a moot point. So, I’m determined to just smile on the outside and inwardly squish their heads every time I see them.
I am sleepy. I want to go home. I want to write, I want to knit.
Update on Mother of Mine:
We have determined that her fevers over the weekend were related to a tooth issue. (Well, we are hoping- because it’s not like she needs to be sick on top of the tooth issue)
Lets just say there was lots of pain, and just not being happy.
Yesterday we took her to the Er dentist, and shockingly it was not as painful on the wallet as we had been expecting.
For the most part, we figured we would need to just have the tooth pulled.
I’ve been down this road. The dentist will always try to sell you a root canal first.
But, that is at least 2300$ before even getting the crown put on.
The reason mom was in this much pain, was the crown she had broke off to begin with.
The tooth also we discovered had a big old crack in it. Hence all the pain.
My personal vote is and pretty much always will be right now (until I have money to get my teeth fixed) is to just pull it. You can always save to get an implant later. (or other dental item)
So, Mother of Mine got the tooth pulled.
She is also in the process of trying to get a Case by Case grant for dental work. And the dentist we went to is going to give a comprehensive list of everything she needs to get done (including the cost of getting a denture made.) so hopefully mom will get awarded the grant, and will be able to get her teeth fixed. The grant only goes to people in need, and my mom more than qualifies.
Moving along….
Knitting: I don’t have anything on the needles right now. Mayhaps I’ll actually finish my Wicked Verdigris… it’s just a few sewing stitches, I don’t know why I haven’t done it yet other than lack of motivation.
Oooh oooh Oooh!
My first batch of Lucien arrived. Woohoo! He is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot wait to start playing with him.
This very much means, that I will need to buy the pattern I plan on using, and then finding out the appropriate guage. I know I wasn’t planning on actually knitting up the waistcoat until I moved.. but he’s just sooo gorgeous. And the name of the project, has now changed from “Steamy Alexandra” to “Clockwork Lucien”
I have lots of photos that I need to take, and if I don’t loose the light today, then I will do that.
Must take photos of the Seaweed Shrug
Must take photos of Lucien
and I think there is something else I need to take a photo of.
I got another person for my Pay It Forward project, which makes me happy. As really I had been bummed that though I got people who thought it was neat, none of them actually paid it forward. And in the rules I said “maybe I’ll send you something even if you just comment” but really.. I want people to pay it forward if I’m actually going to make you something.
I guess I am done rambling for now.
Gotta get back to work (gee it only took me an hour on and off typing this while getting work done)
Later peoples!
Defying Gravity…
So just to make this even more themed…
Yes, I am going to Wicked in October. Wooohoooo! I can’t wait.
now on to my Wicked Verdigris.
I am completely finished with section A and B. (Which are exactly the same)They are currently getting some light blocking done. Meaning they were made damp, and currently are pinned to the carpet to “form” them into the proper shapes.
I’m proud of myself, as my tension was pretty darn good and so they really don’t need much blocking at all. Woohoo.
I am skipping ahead though, because your supposed to wait till it’s all done to block and then put the pieces together.
But as I am modifying section C, I want to put section A and b together so that i can put it on, and see exactly how long i need and or want to make section C. The difference can be at least 40 rows of stitching, so I’d rather just try it out first then end up having to rip stitches out.
Last night I cast on section C (meaning I started it. for all you non knitting readers), and I got about 20 rows done before bedtime. Mind you, that was less than an hours worth of work on a very boring part. You know the boring parts I mentioned on the other sections? Well this entire section is that boring part 200 to 240 (or something like that) rows of nothing but garter stitch. BORING. gotta put it down every few rows.
On the reading front:
Currently reading The Bride of Casa Dracula. I’m about 50 pages in, and the entire time I’ve been debating it if I want to actually read it. But it’s slightly a compulsion. Sigh. it’s just… I don’t know. Once again there is the whole “i dress like a slut, but why does think i’m a slut?!” aspect. Honestly. A plastic white mini skirt at least a size too small????
At least it hasn’t dived into the “oh everyone hates me because i’m hispanic” aspect of it yet. And I say yet, as it will be inevitable.
I guess I read these books as reminders to myself of what I don’t want to write like.
On the writing front:
Nope. nothing new. Sigh. Don’t have time right now. but I got ideas percolating, and I’m still running high off the new chapters. woohoo for that.
On a random note:
So some of you have been hearing me whine for a while now (most likely in the previous blog on myspace) about how I want to get back into playing the piano.
Well, there was that bruahaha with a certain individual whom I was going to borrow a piano from.
Weeeeeeel… the person who was kindly storing the piano for the bitch in question has also had not fun times with bitch in question, and has decided to let me use the piano. When bitch in question asks for it back, they’ll get it back obviously, but for now it’s out of my friends house, and soon I shall actually have it set up and shall be reminding myself how horrible I am at playing piano.
Though, as I just discovered, there are some things one never forgets. My right hand has full muscle memory of the right hand intro for Tarantella. Woohoo. Ironically, it was that piece of music which facilitated my abrupt stop of playing music when I was a kid.
Tarantella was the piece I had to learn to move onto the next level. I informed my teacher I didn’t want to compete. She didn’t want to teach me anymore. And I was terrified of Tarantella because it was so beyond my skill. So it’s the last piece I really “learned” and after at least 15 years, my right hand still knows how to play it. the left hand.. has half the memory, but it was confused the last time I attempted to play it.
On the work front:
Busy busy busy. They are messing with us greatly. Which is making more work for me. Which sucketh. To the point where my eye twitches when i’m at work. Almost non stop. I can’t stand it.
The only thing that keeps me going is my constant mantra of “15 months, 15 months”
Speaking of that… Today is once again the monthly anniversary of meself and Guy. By the old counting system.. we have 1.39 years left.
The new counting system.. 15 months and a week and a half.
On the Vampire yarn front:
Poll ends tonight. But there might be some last minute changes. Such as I might only have 1 yarn to pick when it comes down to it.
As I said there is issue with the whole dying thing.
And now there is an issue with the whole Weight of yarn thing.
Jen is sending me one of her leftover balls of yarn, out of her “Silk Sock”, which I can’t remember the content right now but I think it’s like 80% silk, 20% wool.. I think i can’t recall. Which I might be able to stand, but she can only get it in whats known as Fingering Weight. Which is a lot lighter than the DK that I need to do the project in. So I have to do the math and figure out how much more I’m going to need so as to be 100% sure I have enough for the Alexandra. So I might need 9 skeins of the Lucien just to be on the safe side. And, that means with the 2 yummy Michael Corvins, that will leave only 1 spot open for a random color.
I will of course let ya’ll know how it plays out. But I won’t know till later.
The Impossible Project.. – Very picture heavy.
Okay, so this really isn’t “The Impossible Project”, or at least it started that way, but once I got past some frustrations it was quite simple.
I think I’ve got a few other things that actually will fill the description of “The Impossible Project” but we’ll get to those in time. (Oh and James, you will love the fact that they are Kushiel related.)
Yes, this is the Entrelac Gator that I have made for my hunny.
If we were still doing Tourgique, this would have been perfect for our “house scarves” or equivalent there of (as we were set on an island).
But I did not make this with that in mind.
I did the project in the colors of Black and wine red, simply because I was learning how to do Entrelac, and the separate colors were a way to keep from getting fully lost. I was originally going to do 3 colors, but decided not to at the time.
So, when I decided that the project wasn’t going to be frogged out, and also that I didn’t want to make a scarf I’d never wear (due to the colors, I just don’t wear red often, though, this Wine Red isn’t that bad), I decided to make a Gator for Guy.
For those who don’t know what a Gator is, it is a cowl like scarf thingie. Okay, it’s a neck warmer. Generally Gators are knit in the round, because it is the equivalent for a Headband for your neck. But with entrelac, you can’t do that- well I think you can, if you know how to knit backwards, which I don’t. And I’m not sure if it actually be knit in the round due to just the way it works.
So, I decided to give my hand at buttons.
Now this was not in the original plan for this project.
In truth, there was nothing planned for this project. I was just trying to figure out how to do entrelac!
Button holes are not easy if you are just learning, and they are even more difficult if you are not working a “normal” side to side knitting project.
With entrelac, your sections end up going diagonal. So what you’d normally work with, is just slightly skewed.
Considering it was my first time, I think I did a DAMN good job.
Because of the small size of the button holes, to me they seemed a little sloppy, but in truth that is just the nature of the beast.
Unfortunately, when I was out buying buttons yesterday, I ended up getting two packs of different sizes. Sigh. I only needed 3 buttons naturally.
So the project is currently unfinished due to 1 button.
But all the knitting is done, all the button holes are finished, and all the ends woven in. All that remains is stitching on the last button when I go out and buy a new pack.
SQUEEEEEeEEEEEEEE.
In other news, yesterday was a good day. As I wrote above, I finished the project(mostly). Mother of Mine and I went out for breakfast at Panera as we had a Buy 1 get 1 free breakfast sammich coupon from the Library’s 8 books in 8 weeks event that we did. (Which is still running, but Mother of Mine and I finished it a long while ago and collected our prizes).
The brekkie was very good! Surprisingly good actually. I haven’t had something from Panera in a very long time, so I had forgotten that they were in fact good.
Then we skipped over to the store and picked up a few necessities like laundry soap. We managed to avoid any psycho crazy ladies this time, and got in and out very quickly.
Then we went over to the Colorado Mills, which is a privately owned fabric and notions shop. So basically, it’s Colorado Springs equivalent of Denver Fabrics. Only slightly smaller and more cramped.
But, I think it’ll be worth going there from now on, simply because oh my god.. they cut your fabric straight!
True, I was only there to look for buttons..
And actually, not for buttons for Guy’s Gator. I was looking for buttons for my button up leg warmers Mother of Mine made for me (pattern via Knockdown Knits by Joan of Dark).
We of course did not find the buttons for the leg warmers. But, I did obviously find the buttons for Guy’s Gator, and I also ended up finding buttons for my Steampunk Alexandra waistcoat. Woohoo. I had found buttons online that were made to look like gears and such, but honestly I don’t want to use those, simply because they might catch on the yarn, and if you read my previous post, I’m spending a lot on my yarn and the last thing I would want would be for the buttons to snag my precious yarn.
Coming home, I looked for buttons online for the leg warmers, as now I had physically held some buttons and knew what I was looking for.
Lets just say with all the buttons I’ve looked at, I felt like I was in Coraline’s Other world.
Okay, Okay.. I’m done chatting I guess on to photos. I don’t know what my next project will be. I have a few ideas, but I don’t have the yarn yet to do those. Mayhaps I’ll just work on a few patterns for another crazy impossible project. Or mayhaps I’ll start working on cables.
Oh, and a random note.. it is amusing how our couch there are balls of yarn shoved everywhere, seriously behind ever pillow is at least one ball of yarn if not more. Thats not dangerous, but the random knitting needles are! Lol. It’s a good thing we never have guests over, otherwise they might get a wooden knitting needle where they don’t want it!
Please ignore how horrible I look. Sunday morning prior to a shower. I’m sure you wouldn’t look too spiffy either!
Dreams of Knitting, and other randomness.. also 1.47 years left.
So today, I feel like I’ve been hit by a mack truck carrying a ton of bricks.
I did not want to get out of bed, and my body protested most loudly.
All morning long, I have been stiff and just achy. And unfortunately I’m most likely going to be this way until Saturday. Or at least last on Friday.
I’ve been in overdrive all week, doing 10 or 11 hour days, with no lunches.
My body doesn’t like working 8 hour days, so you can see how working an 11 hour day is practically suicidal for me.
One of my coworkers thankfully gave me some super strength Ibprophen. (sp?) and I’ve slowly started to be able to at least get some of my bones to “release” as my chiropractor used to call it.
Today has been very quiet at work, even more quiet than yesterday.
Like for the first nearly 3 hours, we didn’t get a single phone call. Honestly, I think we’ve gotten a total of 14 calls all day.
Now, that does not mean I’m here twiddling my thumbs. No, as my job is never done and is always busy.
We are thankfully able to breath and not just work at a break-neck pace.
I have already made over 30 phone calls today, and we are still kicking butt on our list of tickets to work.
This is good, because if it was hectic today, I would most likely have to go home. I’m just too broken to work quickly.
On other news, my backup, who is also the Backup team lead. So in one aspect he reports to me, and in the other aspect I report to him- it’s odd lets just say that… well he informed me of my “stats” today. And mostly he was telling me about my mistakes. Which other than a total of 2 tickets out of the entire month that I missed putting in 1 little snippet of useless information (which this was a FLUKE I tell you, cause I always add that info), my tickets are great, and all the feedbacks he gets on me are positive.
This is good. I haven’t gotten “she’s a bitch” at all so far in a good long while. Normally my boss pulls me into his office for those. But he hasn’t had to do that for a while. See I’m really working on it. Even with the stupid people I want to throttle. I’ve also got the highest amount of Kudos for the month, which rocks.
I know it’s silly, but hearing those things really do help. I’ve been busting my ass, and often afraid that I wasn’t “happy” enough, and I’m frankly over worked. But hearing that I am actually doing a good job, and I’m not about to get fired.. does make me feel better.
Actually, when it comes to layoffs, I will most likely now be the very last person they ever let go. This desk would quite literally fall apart without me. There is no one to replace me. Even if they replaced me with my backup, he still doesn’t match my pace.
So as long as the entire desk doesn’t go away, I’m the safest person here right now. And if the desk did go away, I’m going to be one of the few people that they shuffle over to another desk.
Okay, I’m going to shut up about that otherwise I’d keep rambling.
Today is the 19th. Which means once more an anniversary is upon us. 1.47 Years till I move to the UK. Or, 16.25 months in truth.
With really only a week left in the month, I think it’s safe to pull the number to the 16.25 instead of 16.5.
The months are passing quickly, but the days are passing slowly. Though January was just crazy.
Honestly, I do not hope that the rest of the year is as crazy as these few months have been.
I have done a lot in the last month and a half. Which is good. I’ve worked on my novel, I’ve learned a lot when it comes to knitting, I’ve actually hung out with friends. More than once! Lol. Okay so it was the same friend. But the sentiment is there.
I have also picked up an expensive habit this year. Sigh. Knitting shall not be good for my budget. As of course since I am allergic to wool, I can’t buy cheap yarn. Nooo I have to buy Bamboo, or boring cotton. Corn, Silk, Milk, or Soy. (the silk is the REALLLLY expensive stuff)
And generally the colors suck. Apparently, they think that if we want alternative yarns, we don’t have taste.
Sigh.
So, I have a person who hand dyes yarn. Gorgeously hand dyes yarn. And she’s willing to dye both cotton and bamboo for me. (haven’t even broached the others as I don’t know if I’d be able to find them undyed at this time)
But, for all her hard work, she is expensive. Not more expensive than others, just expensive. When I can go to hobby lobby and buy a skein of yarn for 3$ it makes the heart skip when the price tag is more like 35$. But that 3$ skein is 1) smaller, and 2) I’m most likely allergic to it. And 3) not in her super cool colorways.
I don’t mind spending the money on the good stuff, I mean you DO get what you paid for. But it just is not something I was planning on doing this year budget wise.
And man I’m a sucker for her colorways. It wouldn’t be a big deal but some of the colors I want are exclusives and therefore I have to get them now, or wait and wait and mayhaps never get them. See the problem? I do.
Then there is also the problem that I have lofty goals when it comes to my knitting. Such as wanting to do the “Alexandra” coat, (without the sleeves mind you) and make a super cool steampunked waistcoat. I found the perfect yarn. Or colorway I should say. But the problem is the coat will take a minimum of 8 skeins of yarn to make. 35$x8 = now your starting to get the picture.
(I’ll most likely only need 6 skeins, as I’m not doing the sleeves, but I can’t do the math yet to say “no only give me this much” and also I’m a tight knitter therefore I need to be prepared for the tight factor (which uses more yarn) and also, I’m a noob which means mistakes)
But it will be glorious when it is done.
Just imagine this coat:
Done in this yarn:
Glorious non?
Oh and for the record, the lovely Jen from Fresh from the Cauldron can be found here:
SquibStitcher’s Shop (meaning the girl who is dying all the yarn for me)
Well I guess I’ve slacked off and dreamed about future knitting projects a bit too long now. So I guess I’ll go. Hopefully tomorrow I won’t be so brain dead as it is my sweeties birthday.
Another month bites the dust. (Really long. Sorry)
Today was most bored at work. I mulled my way through it though, doing enough work so that no one can say I didn’t. Yes, I could have done more. But to be honest.. I’ll still have done more than anyone else, so why should they be complaining??
I left work early at 12, which is normal.
I for some odd reason went over to the mall. GASP.
Yes, less than a week before Christmas and I went to the mall.
There were a few reasons for this. I wanted to find a calendar for us. Nope still didn’t find one. But i have a better idea of what i want. That was at Borders. Which apparently was having a 40% off one item sale. As I had walked in the store, I came across two printed off coupons for it that someone must have dropped.
Well, I used one and I handed the other to the girl standing in line behind me. I did buy something, but I can’t talk about it as Mother of Mine happens to follow my blog now, to quote her (said with a smile) “it’s none of your(her) damn business!”
Then I wondered over to Old Navy in hopes of possibly finding a pair of jeans on the clearance rack that fit me. The jeans I have right now.. both jeans that i currently use most in my jean circulation both hit me odd at the ankle and it drives me crazy. I detest my socks being so visible when I sit down. Now these jeans are fine during the summer when I am wearing sandals. But for winter when i wear socks… no… i can’t stand it.
No, I did not find anything. They actually had like no jeans on the clearance rack. And I am not about to pay full Old Navy price for a pair of jeans right now.
I did find on their 5$ tables a few shirts I wanted. Simple, long sleeved, light weight shirts, and one tank top that will do me in the summer. it’s amazing how quickly those 5$ add up.
I also looked at the mens coats. honestly, my GAP coat that i have had since 2002 is really sad and pathetic, and you can see more of the guts of it from the outside than you should or is decent. I loath the idea of buying a new coat, but with how much I wear mine.. I should do something. Both my main winter coats, are dying. A slow and painful death. Both of them are at least 5 to 10 years old, (honestly my black bomber might even be 15 at this point as I bought it BEFORE moving to Colorado), and they have been worn hard and almost every day.
The only men’s coat that was appealing to me, was not too bad looking, but the inside felt like.. well… felt. Which meant all my clothing will catch and I’ll also always be miss static shock! I’m already electric people, I don’t need another coat to add to it!
I didn’t get a coat. But I did buy a men’s thermal type shirt to replace my GAP one, which most certainly is about 10 years old, and is literally falling to pieces. Yes, I’m finally retiring it. Considering, I only spent 10$ on the new one, thats not bad. (I think my GAP one, I might have spent 30$ on. Ahh.. youth… with a bank account.. no cares… sheesh. Though, even if I did spend 30$ on it, that was nearly 10 years ago.. I think I got my money’s worth!)
I wondered around a few other shops. I stopped at “It’s Your Move” and spoke with dear Monsieur Weasley! You’ll not know of him on this blog. But it was back from the Deathly Hallows release party at the mall I attended (the Borders)with my last roommate. He was the perfect Bill Weasley. He had the hair. The body type. The boots.. the earring. Yup. He was perfect. We flirted with him. Dot had a crush on him. Hell.. if I was single, I would have had a crush on him. And between you and meself.. if it had come down to a contest between me and Dot, I would have won hands down. Amanda (room mate before Dot, and ex roommate of Dot as well)learned that one quickly. The blokes always went after me if there was the option. Comes down to the fact that I have a flirty nature and most importantly confidence. Okay, I’m done tooting my own horn. But back to Monsieur Weasley. Whos name I just now remembered is Cody. We had run into each other enough over the last year and a half that he does remember me. He informed me that he has put in his notice, and that the end of the month is his last working there. He is moving back to New England. Ah well, I don’t blame him one bit. Colorado Springs does not have many options for living. Unless you have a security clearance that is.
Moving along, I managed to resist the temptation of buying some Pretzel bites, even though they were smelling delish! And nothing in any of the stores that I frequent were appealing to me. I saw a shirt in Hot Topic that Mother of Mine mentioned she saw a girl wearing. it was “I (heart) boys who sparkle” Yes, it was in fact a Twilight reference. Sigh. I hate fangirls.
I looked for a pair of shoes, as the ones I currently am wearing for winter, are bothering me. I paid 7$ for them on my birthday, so I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of them. But still, the are just a shade too small so my poor big thumb toes slightly hurt by the end of the day. (Wow.. that was a reference that took me back to my youth. Yes, I did in fact used to call my big toe the “big thumb toe”)
I skiddaddled on home, only having been at the mall for an hour and a half. Not too bad all in all.
I have to say the crowds were not as bad as I imagined they would be. It actually reminded me of shopping in my youth at the Thousand Oaks mall. Yeah.. thats it. It was a normal day at the T.O mall was how crowded it was here for christmas. So it could have been a lot worse.
Mother of Mine is apparently not feeling well, so I have been chilling talking to my hunny and watching The Da Vinci Code this afternoon.
Today is the anniversary of meself and himself.
As of today, we only have 1.63 years left to go. That also breaks down to still being 17.5 months away.
Today, I also received my care package from himself.
The one that had all my pressies pretty much for the last year.
Our Yearly anniversary (which is different than today’s anniversary, same date, different month), Valentines Day, My birthday.. and the Solstice. Or Christmas. Whatev.
I was told to open the box, as my Solstice presises were wrapped up. The others weren’t. So it was safe.
I sat there with tears running down my face, bawling like a little girl as I looked at all the wonderful, and most importantly thoughtful things that my sweetie gathered for me.
I received two James Bond books:
Quantum of Solace
and Devil May Care
The irony is that I just finished reading Casino Royale this morning while I was at work. So the timing was perfect.
I also got a Torchwood book. “Another Life” (the first one)
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson (which I believe Mother of Mine will most likely steal.)
Chobits volume One
A beautiful bracelet from India, made of enameled copper and bronze tones (on copper- i think that it is copper), it looks like it depicts the sun and the moon, but I could be wrong. I don’t know if it is something I would have chosen for myself, but I love it. (I think the reason I wouldn’t have chosen it is the actual bracelet part is colors I don’t think I would choose, light tanish brown tones, where i’m more darker tones when it comes to my browns) But I do love it. I will have to coat all the metal bits in clear nail polish, so that I can wear it. And I will take a photo of it sometime in the near future.
I also got some buttons, a grouping of Beatles buttons, Vampire buttons, and a little button that shows a flying witch, and says “Neighborhood Witch”. It’s cute. I like it a lot.
I got a Geek tag that says “wicked” on it, I’ll have to change the chain on it, so that I can wear it with other things, as I like the tag.
I got a set of DVD’s, Life on Mars being most prevalent on it. WIth a few other movies also burned. (Wall.e and Highlander (snerk.. like i don’t already own that), and The Secret of NIMH – squeeeeeee I love that movie)
I finally had a chance to test my region hack for my dvd player.
Which appears to have worked… but… I still couldn’t play the dvd’s as the format was set to AVI… oh well, sweetie forgot to change that, or it didn’t take when he changed it. It’s alright. It plays on my laptop. And, I have him hunting down a cable that would work to hook my laptop up to my ANCIENT telly. (Seriously.. who still uses AV RYW cables??? Yeah. I do. And my telly is such crap, that it’s just the Yellow White cables, not even the red cable. *sniff* that poor red cable just hangs limply down from the front of my telly looking all forlorn and unloved.)
Can I just say I cannot wait till I have a new Telly? I’m sick of the streaking I have down the top 3 inches of my telly, and the fact that it’s so ancient to begin with. I doubt I’d be able to hook up a PS3 to it. (Sweetie and I will have a sweeeet setup to snuggle in front of. Not right away. It’ll depend on the budget. But there will be HD. There will be Bluray. Oh yes, there will be a computer hard drive hooked up and set aside specifically for the telly.)
Meep Rambling. Sorry. Moving along, I also got a framed Doctor Who image thingie. It’s got my Doctor (10.. technically 9 was the first Doctor I fell in love with, but I’m more than happy to claim 10 as my Doctor as well. I’m a bi doctor kind of girl.), an image of the Tardis, and a Dalek. There will be jealousy running rampant of all my friends. Oh yes, very much so.
Speaking of Doctor Who, and this blog being called “Journal of Impossible Things”, those in charge, have decided to release as a toy.. John Smith (aka The Doctor)’s very own Journal of Impossible things.. SQUEEEE.
Sorry for the large picture size, but it’s the little book thingie on the left side.
Sweetie of Mine has promised me that some day I will have it. Yay! It’s just a toy, an in expensive toy at that, and I actually want to make one. Which I will some day. But having a little one like that means the future little Child of Mine will get to run around with a prop.
Hmmmm.. That almost gives me an idea. Mayhaps Alex (main character in novel- A Hard Day’s Bite) should have a Journal of Impossible things for her ever changing world.
Or.. maybe I should leave that for my Steampunk world? Mayhaps it would fit better there… hmmm I’ll have to ponder it.
Speaking of the novel (A Hard Day’s Bite), I actually have a little research project for Mother of Mine, as she is the go to girl for the Scottish stuff, and for anything relating to Diana Gabaldon’s world. Something in “A Breath of Snow and Ashes” stuck with me, and I want to know if it’s actual myth or something Diana created. It’s sad, a few years ago.. I would have been the go to person for the answer to this, but thats what happens when you break away from that world for so long.
Moving along (sheesh this is a long entry.. sorry peoples, I’m in a chatty mood)… I have been sucked in to Ravelry. It’s a knitting … BLACKHOLE. It sucks you in. I’ve joined many groups on it, and all of this is in hopes of getting my knitting skillz up. After all, I won’t be able to run to Mother of Mine and ask her to make me things. I do need to learn for meself. Hmmm.. I wonder if mayhaps I’ll mention some really cool knitted item in my novel and get my own group on Ravelry. That’d be neat. Hell, even if I don’t mention something knitted in my novel, I could possibly end up with a group, as there are groups for everything and everyone. That’d be neat.
Okay, I guess I’m done rambling now. Later people
A Werewolf Moon, Inspiration, and future promises.
So today, I have not written any new pages.
Nor have I typed up those 8 pages of long hand staring me down. Which I’ve been staring right back at all this time.
No, today I some how managed to get roped into *someday* writing a Vampire Steampunk Novella. – They wanted a full novel, but apparently will settle with a novella (aka short story).
Mother of Mine will dutifully reply to her Ravelry friends that yes, I will someday do it, but I need to finish writing both A Hard Day’s Bite, and my steamy airship story.
Now news on A Hard Day’s Bite. Like I said, I didn’t get anything written or typed, but I did just spend the last hour looking for “Character Inspiration Photos”. Meaning looking for qualities in famous people whom I think about when I think about some of my characters. Now this does not mean that I think of a specific person then base my character off of them. No, it is I think of qualities then find the person to match. That way I have a visual representation to remind me “oh yeah, thats how I wanted the hair” sort of deal. Also the other day while I was at work, I was bored and decided to do a bit of a search on Gargoyles. Just for the hell of it. 
Lets just say… mmmmmm i just got a lot of eye candy.
Who might be on my list?
Weeeelll fine I’ll tell you.
Keira Knightly
Alex O’Loughlin
David Boreanaz
Those are just a few mind you. I’ve been gathering images for a while.
And no. I’m not going to tell you who represents who, or represents aspects of whom.
Ha ha ha. Yes, I’m evil. I doubt even my 1st readers would be able to figure it out at this point. Muhahahahahahaha.
Sigh. I really should type up those pages. Mayhaps I’ll get more inspired if I get it down.
Last night, by the way was absolutely a gorgeous moon. It was the fullest moon of the year. Which, actually I had to print out an article about the moon, as part of my research. Friday (when the moon was going to be full) was actually quite a good day for inspiration. Got two ideas written down, and research started, and also nabbed another reader (see previous blog).
Mother of Mine is going to try quilt what we saw of the moon. Specifically as it was surrounded by a full circle of rainbows. The colors went double even. And it was rather neat as there was a contrail running through it, and also there were “werewolf” clouds floating around it. (That comment was stolen by Dave Lowe, whom has an amazing photo of the moon- sans rainbow and contrail on his blog. You can find him under the list of blogs i follow)It is actually the Wolf Moon, which was neat, with those special clouds. It has many other names, but honestly I do believe the Wolf Moon was perfect for it. Mother of Mine is going to actually do the quilt as how I saw it when I was walking back into the house, through the barren tree branches. That will give it a neat perspective, and a focus point so that it isn’t just a moon in the night sky.
I have warned her that I will most likely steal it if she makes it, barring of course if she sells it. Which considering she hasn’t sold any quilt I’ve laid claim to, I think that this not yet made quilt will be snuggled safely amongst my things to move to the UK.
So no, I have not written down anything since yesterday in regards to A Hard Day’s Bite which is sad. But, I do have to say this.. the world is very much fleshing it’s self out to me, and for that I am happy. It is no longer shapes in the mist. It is now defined faces, defined personalities, defined locations. What vampires can and cannot do, what a little bit of their mythos are. Cute little nods to the past vampires that came before them.
This, makes me very happy.
Finally!
Oh my! The muse finally struck, the idea came to me last night, the words and the desire to actually write (also having the living room, and my laptop blissfully alone with no interruptions!) actually happened. And I am very pleased with the result.
But I must say, I am shocked because I think… I think I just wrote the final pages of my novel.
I don’t know if I just broke one of my rules or not, but I do have to say I am pleased with the words. I guess if necessary it doesn’t have to be the final pages, but if it works out that way, it will be very good.
I have several pages from the inbetween that I do need to type up, but that desire has been lacking, and now my back is aching from sitting. Honestly I do need to get a chiropractor.
As far as my other novel. The novel that I will not admit to writing at all yet… Well, I got more inspiration for that, and also even jotted down a page of dialogue and stuff. It wasn’t much, but I did like it as well. I truly do look forward to officially writing that novel. airships, steampunk wonderment. It will be fun. Oh, I hadn’t mentioned that I had in fact named one of my characters in it. I won’t reveal the name at all here yet, simply because remember, I’m not officially writing it yet. Lol.
Hopefully this turn of events, means I’ll be able to dive fully back into writing and get more of this novel finished.
I must admit, I’m still quite shocked at these being the final pages, and even more shocked at how much I like it.
I guess I must go now, and I think there is some laundry calling my name.
