Cooking

… which is something I have not been doing.

I am not referring to the “making food” version of cooking, however, I’m referring to the “really making progress on my story” version. My progress bar is the sad proof of that.

However, today is the last day of what has been an odd month. I can’t say that I’ll be sorry to see it end. (My TT tomorrow will include some of the things that make me happiest about May.) And during May, I intend – hope – to do much more cooking (of both versions).

Here is some cooking-related cute to distract you, in the meantime, from the lack of forward Progress Bar progress.

Tuesday Two-fer

Today I’m going to mention two books, both enjoyable.

The first is A GRAVE TALENT by Laurie R. King. It’s a straight mystery, and was a blog contest gift from Ann of Fractured Fiction. (Thanks, Ann!) Though it was strange to read something outside my comfort zone, it was a good read. The basic premise is that someone is murdering kids, and leaving their bodies along a Road in the San Francisco Bay Area. Everything points to an artist who lives on the Road and has a prior conviction of child murder… and part of the mystery part is the “did she do it, or not?” part.

(The Road is capitalized for a reason, but it’s too much to try to explain here.)

Part of the reason I liked this book was the depth to character. I’m not used to finding character depth in mysteries… though I suppose I mostly read more-fluff mysteries before. The kind where cats feature heavily. Another part I particularly liked was the setting. I have always enjoyed reading books that were set in my backyard, as it were. And this one was done very nicely. It’s obvious that the author has actually been to San Francisco, unlike some other books I’ve read.

Book two in the two-fer is THE COLOUR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett. I’m not quite done with this one yet, but I will be soon, so I thought I’d add it anyway.

This is the first Discworld book, and is quite amusing. At this point, I like SOURCERY better, and I think it’s because the world had a few books in which to develop by that point. However, the humour (British book, British spellings) is still very funny, and the characters are enjoyable.

I am definitely not done with this series.

Must Be Monday

Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself.
- Peter da Silva

~*~

Exhibit 1: A broken shoe.

Exhibit 2: PMS.

Exhibit 3: The discovery that I will be getting next-to-no (if any at all) video/voice chat time with someone I love talking to for around a month and a half.

Don’t you love Mondays? I think I will avoid touching my knitting today, for fear of creating an Exhibit 4.

see more crazy cat pics

At least the cat is cute.

Because I am Tired

… and so there’s not much of a post today. Just a little something amusing.

Your Learning Style: Expressive and Tenacious

You love to learn about new cultures, ideas, and theories. You Should Study: Anthropology Counseling Education Ethnic Studies Foreign Languages and Literature History Literature Music Philosophy Eastern Religion

What Should You Study?

Thursday 13 #37 ~ Reconnecting

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Ways to Reconnect With Your Novel

I need to do one of these. Well, I need to do more than one of these. But one is a start…

(Actually, I am in the process of doing the first of these. I need to do more. And I need to do the one more consistently.)

1. Re-type the text you already have written into your computer. This can be done as a part of an edit, or not. This also does not have to be done for the entire manuscript; re-typing pieces work just as well.

2. Interview your characters.

3. Delve into backstory. It might not help the current plot, but then again it might. Or it might (and should, if you let it) help your characters develop more depth.

4. Choose a section of your story – I would personally pick the section causing me grief – and write a parody of it. Said parody is written with the intent to burn it, shred it, tear it to pieces, or some similarly therapeutic action… but not with the intent to include it in your story. Therefore, it has no pressure. If it ends up being actually usable, so much the better. But at the least, it should help you get back on track.

5. Find pictures of real people that can represent your characters.

6. Write a journal entry as your character, even if the character cannot write or wouldn’t be caught dead keeping a journal. Really get into your character’s head – and you don’t have to write about the plot. Even just the daily activities work.

7. Listen to your novel’s (or character’s, or series) soundtrack.

8. Make a soundtrack for your novel (character/series) if you don’t already have one.

9. Write a synopsis of your story to date. Then keep going, writing the synopsis for the parts you haven’t written yet, even though this section will likely change as you go back and write the rest of the story. If you’re anything like me, you will come to a scene that just HAS to be written…

10. Switch your writing method. If you usually type the material straight in, try handwriting, or visa versa.

11. Take your writing to as close an environment as you can to the one you’re writing about. If the action takes place in a park, take a laptop or notepad to a park and write. If it takes place in a cafe, go write there. Don’t necessarily write your story – story is good, but so is just writing your impression of the people around you or the atmosphere.

12. Word Wars. (Granted, this requires a writing buddy…)

13. Have someone read your story, or pieces of it, aloud to you. (This requires not only a buddy, but a lot of confidence…)

~*~

Happy Thursday!

WIP Quickie

Just a quick post today, with two WIPs to mention.

The first is my story that has the progress meter in the sidebar, CP. I reset the meter to show my progress on retyping the story, so that I have a way of motivating myself.

The second isn’t really a WIP at all, but an FO.

This is a pair of socks that I started way too long ago. I knit them on US 8 dpns, with two strands of Wool-Ease held together. I then decided that they were too warm, and stopped knitting them. With only the toe of the second sock left to knit. Pretty silly.

So I finished them up over the weekend.

Happy Wednesday!

Earth Day, Trolls and Demons

I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.
- Stephen Hawking

~*~

So today is Earth Day. And it still seems that many people don’t care.

It’s easy to say “we need to do more,” easy to think “green is good” without doing anything about it. I know. I have been guilty of these. I am trying, though, to actually improve. I have been carpooling, and intend to learn about composting (we signed up for a class) so that we can get rid of our food waste in a more earth-friendly way. I recycle whenever I can and try to buy organic. I bring cloth bags to the grocery. There are other things I do or try to do, but those are the ones that I’m most consistent with.

What about you? What have you done to go green?

~*~

For the trolls, I’m not talking about nasty blog commenters like most bloggers are who mention trolls. I am talking about trolls.

These types of trolls. Otherwise known as kitty toys. I thought it had just been too long since Peekaboo had graced the blog.

~*~

And the “demons” is in reference to PERSONAL DEMON, a book by Kelley Armstrong that I read over the weekend. It was wonderful, and caught me up in it so that I spent most of Saturday reading instead of doing laundry or mending socks. (Another way to go green – fix things instead of throwing them out.)

So Personal Demon. It’s the 8th book in the ‘Women of the Otherworld” series, and is a blast. I greatly enjoyed reading it. Unlike some series, where the author tries to throw a little bit of each of the previous characters into every book, this one doesn’t have unneeded mention of characters that aren’t involved. Yes, there are nods to previous books and prior characters make an appearance when it makes sense. But it does make sense.

This particular book is the first in the series that has two narrators. Every previous book has been told from the first-person point-of-view from the female protagonist. This one also has a male first-person POV (and not the gal’s love interest) that was included because there were some elements to the story that can’t be told from her eyes. She would have no way of seeing some of the things that happen; instead of telling them second-hand, or fabricating a reason for her to be present, Kelley used dual-narration. I really like it. I think the narrating style works well. The story told by Hope (the gal) is truly only half the story; adding Lucas’ half really makes the book.

I don’t know that I would call this book my favorite in the series. Hope is not my favorite of the characters (though not my least favorite either) and so the book’s not quite the same as the books where I really connect with the narrators. Lucas, however, is a favorite, and so I love his sections. Even without this being my favorite, however, Personal Demon does make the short list of my favorite books from the past couple of years.

FO: Cloud Bolero

So, over the weekend I sewed the ends in and added a button to my Cloud Bolero, and have taken the photos that pronounce it finished:

I loved this knit, it worked up fast (when I was actually working on it, rather than just petting the yarn) and the baby alpaca grande was so soft! Definitely a joy to knit and hopefully just as fun to wear.

It’s still ever so slightly cold to wear this on a day when I’ll be going outside, but I’m sure before I know it the weather will be perfect for it. And I think it will be great over a summery dress, or a camisole with a cute skirt (or jeans). Lots of options – evening wear, cute outfit to walk in the park, even to work.

The pattern is free here, in case anyone else wants to try their hand at it. My only “problem” is that 2 skeins of baby alpaca grande were not quite enough to finish the pattern as directed at size M. They might be enough at a different size, but I don’t mind having a shorter bolero than is written for. It still goes past my bustline, and that is what matters for this pattern, I think.

And the only modification I did was to use a regular bind-off (on the sleeves as well as the bottom) rather than the picot edge called for. I’m glad I did, because of the amount of yarn the fancier edging would take. Remember how I was worried about having enough to cast off with? Well, here is what was left after I went back and did a tighter-than-preferred bind off…

Happy Weekend!

So, I had mentioned maybe having pics of a finished object today. Well, sadly I do not. Partly because the object is not 100% finished – it still needs to have its ends sewn in, and to have a button closure added. But it’s nearly there, and should be done over the weekend. (The object in question is my cloud bolero, and I love it. I’ll show you why next week, in pictures.)

~*~

A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.
- Dorothy L. Sayers

~*~

Today looks to be a nice day. Maybe not as nice as last weekend, but still nice. I intend to get some work done on cleaning my room, paint my nails, get a large chunk of story re-entered, finish my bolero (and take pictures), and just generally relax. While doing laundry. I think it’s finally time to switch out my flannel sheets for something less warm.

~*~

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
- Douglas Adams

~*~

Friday Fiver: 4.18.08

1. What is heaven? Love, and being loved.

2. What is older than you? The world. America. Freedom.

3. Where do you belong? In California, I think. Also with my family, and in the arms of someone who loves me.

4. Who is no longer a stranger to you? Lots of people who read my blog.

5. Friday fill-in: I hear the bells ringing out…. (Fill-ins are still for songs.)

Thursday 13 #36 ~ Accomplished

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things I’ve Done This Week

This has not been my greatest week. A few less-than happy/frustrating things have happened, some in my personal life, one large one in my knitting life (see yesterday’s post), and one other large one at work.

So, instead, this TT is going to focus on good things that I’ve done this week. Let’s just hope I can actually come up with 13… (And we’re starting with Sunday, if you’re wondering.)

1. Planted the rest of the vegetable container garden.

2. Finished my Cloud Bolero. (Pictures tomorrow or next week.)

3. Played with my cat.

4. Got a lovely gift from someone special. (Yes, I know, I didn’t do anything in this case. But it has made my week a lot nicer than anything else that has happened. Plus, I have loved and appreciated the gift muchly.)

5. Helped a friend with some suggestions for a short-short story she was writing.

6. Enjoyed a walk around the park with a new co-worker (and probably made a new friend in the process).

7. Laundry.

8. Helped out with the horses and other chores around the house.

9. Paid bills. (A necessary evil, but good to have gotten done…)

10. Cleaned the top of my dresser.

11. Got things accomplished by the deadline for work. (Some things, anyway. Other things don’t have a deadline or needed fixing after the fact, but I’m not thinking about those.)

12. Went to my first theatre board meeting.

13. Shaved my legs. (Sometimes it’s all about the simple pleasures…)

~*~

Happy Thursday!