Book-Wyrm-Knits

Magic Worse Than Poison

Nicole — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:23:23 +0000

It’s a monorail. And we just got back from Disneyland, which also has a monorail. I couldn’t resist.

~*~

And now for the contest winner. First, here is the ball I chose:

A pirate one! I’m counting all the pirate-y answers, and the winner is….

Linda in Chicagoland!

I know, she changed her answer, but her original guess was pirate, therefore she’s a pirate. Yay Linda! I’ve send you an e-mail asking for your address… once you let me know, I’ll send you off a small Disney package!

~*~

And lastly, though not least, the book review for the week.

I picked the post title because it was somewhat related to the book being reviewed, and was catchy. I liked it. So I used it. But I think it needs some explanation. This week’s book is MAGIC STUDY by Maria V. Snyder. It’s a fun read, but quick and nothing too spectacular. Quite unlike the book it’s a sequel to, POISON STUDY. I LOVED Poison Study. So I was enthusiastic about its sequel. However, Magic Study just didn’t have the same charm. Maybe because Valek wasn’t in the story much? Or maybe because the premise of the first book was so very neat and yet didn’t carry over to the second? I’m not sure. I will be reading the third book, FIRE STUDY, but I will not be in as big a rush to find it.

Home Safe!

Nicole — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:45:20 +0000

Hi all! I don’t have much for you today, but I am home, and I wanted to thank you all for the well-wishes and happy thoughts while I was on vacation.

Reminder: if you have not guessed yet, place a guess of what antenna ball I brought home with me for a chance to win one of your own! (Note: the ball is already on my car, but I’m not telling! Also, I brought home two different types - I hadn’t decided until I looked at my car with the toppers which one I actually wanted to use. The other one is the prize one. But I do like them both.)

I would have pictures to share with you, but I got sick near the end of the trip and spent the weekend moping around instead of being too productive. I’ll have pictures later this week, I promise.

I also would have an FO to share, but I ran out of energy before finishing my socks, so don’t have that yet. Also hope to have that this week.

Home Bound

Nicole — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:32:54 +0000

(Don’t forget to leave a comment in yesterday’s post for a chance to win a Disney goodie!)

Today is the day we’re driving home. Happy thoughts for good weather and safe driving would be much appreciated!

I’m guessing that if I could blog right now, I would say that the trip has been wonderful, I’ve loved being at Disneyland, and yet I’ll be glad to be home. It’s one of those things about vacations. It’s always fun to be on them, but you miss the little things about home… your own bed, your pets, your dresser/closet instead of living out of a suitcase. Now if only we could just bring the maid service home from the hotel with us…

One last photo from my previous trip down to see the Mouse. This was the castle all decorated for the 50th anniversary. I should have new, updated pictures for you sometime next week.

Happy weekend!

Thursday 13 # 48 ~ Mouse in the House

Nicole — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:00:58 +0000

I’m not here. I’m at Disneyland! (I know, a lot of vacations this month. I’ll pay for it next month, when I’m stuck at my desk, working.)

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things I Want to do at Disneyland!

1. Ride the Indy Jones ride. (Multiple times. I love that ride.)

2. Go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

3. Buy some chocolate mint fudge on main street. Yum.

4. Watch Fantasmic! It’s been too long since I’ve seen that.

5. Play with the niece in Toontown.

6. See the Electrical Light Parade in DCA. Many fond memories of that thing.

7. Ride the submarines! They’re back! Yay!

8. Show S Disney’s California Adventure. Without going on the Tower of Terror.

9. Get an antennae ball.

10. Watch the parade.

11. See the fireworks display. I’m not sure I can do this, the ELP and Fantasmic! in only 2 nights at the park, but I can try.

12. Go to Pirate Island and see the changes.

13. Ride Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, the carousel, etc., etc., etc., and just generally squeeze in as much fun as I possibly can!

~*~

Actually, let’s make this a contest, eh? Guess what type of antennae ball I’ll get, and if someone guesses correctly I’ll send you a little something from Disneyland. (Maybe a keychain, or an antennae ball of your own, or a pin.) If multiple people guess right, I’ll pick randomly from the winners. If no one guesses right, I’ll pick randomly from everyone who entered.

I won’t be back on the blog until over the weekend… let’s say you’ll have until midnight Pacific Time on MONDAY, July 21 to guess in comments to this post, and I’ll announce the winner Tuesday or Wednesday.

(Don’t make requests for items, please, as I won’t see this until after I’ve bought it. :p And the link above has pictures of lots of examples… not all of them are still for sale, but it should give those of you who may be unfamiliar with the balls an idea of what’s out there.)

Happy Thursday and good luck!

Still Gone

Nicole — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:24:08 +0000

I’m still not here.

In the meantime, I have probably been working on my 2nd Cabletini Sock (dubbed the Mangotinis due to the colorway) and might even have finished it. Hopefully when I get back next week I’ll have a FO picture to share with you. We’ll see.

Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for something special!

Knit To Kill

Nicole — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:37:28 +0000

So, while I was at the library most recently I browsed the new book section. And I found one whose title caught my eye: KNIT ONE, KILL TWO by Maggie Sefton.

So I checked it out.

It was a fun read, not my usual fare (this is a mystery slash chick-knitter-lit) but I enjoyed it. The writing didn’t seem as tight as what I’m used to, but that could easily be the genre. I know the books I usually read are the urban fantasy, gritty, dark books. I like them - they seem more intense than a lot of books out there. Knit One, Kill Two is definitely much less intense than my usual read.

One fun thing about this book is the knitting pattern and recipe at the back of the book. I have yet to try either (and am not sure I will get a chance to, since I need to return the book to the library) but it’s a fun idea. I know other books have done it, and it definitely is appropriate for this book.

As far as I can tell, this is the start to a series. As long as I remember to pay attention to when the sequel comes out, I’ll be picking it up to read it. This is a start to a series. It was published years ago now. WHY it is still on the new book shelf at the library is a mystery to me. However, as long as I remember to look for them, I will read more in this series. If nothing else, reading about Kelly (the main character) and her adventures with knitting serves as a reminder that all knitters have bad days!

Oh - yes, this is a murder mystery. But it is not the suspenseful kind of mystery. It is the light-hearted, fun, “can you figure it out?” kind of mystery. I enjoyed it.

Gone Again

Nicole — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:16:36 +0000

I’m not here again. Today we leave for the Happiest Place on Earth…

It will be the first time I’ve gone there on a Road Trip, it’s always been family vacation time. Sometimes with a (singular) friend. This time, it’s a bunch of friends! But anyway, I do have some posts scheduled for your entertainment (including a bit of a surprise in my TT) so have fun while I’m away!

Grass Cat

Nicole — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:38:02 +0000

Just a very quick post today… work is pretty busy, and I’m trying to get ready for a lovely week off next week, so I haven’t much time right now. However, I do have a picture.

Suzy loves eating grass. She will eat cat grass, or grass from outside, she’s not particular. (Sometimes we “mow” a little bit for her with scissors so she can eat it that way.) She will also eat corn husks. I guess that’s similar enough to regular grass to count. Maybe.

Thursday 13 #47 ~ Accountability

Nicole — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:49:01 +0000

So yesterday I sat down at lunch and wrote up a list of goals that I thought were achievable and on the path to me getting to fulfill my life-long dream/goal of being a novelist. (Not as in “I write novels,” but as in “I get paid to write novels.” I am already the first, and I do hope to someday - soon? - be the second.)

And, in order to keep myself accountable for actually working toward these goals, I decided to share them here.

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things On My Writing Schedule

1. July 2008 ~ Rest and get distractions out of the way in preparation for really buckling down at my preferred job.

2. Aug - Dec 2008 ~ finish writing CP.

3. Jan - Mar 2009 ~ revise CP.

4. March 2009 ~ write a synopsis and query letter for CP.

5. April 2009 ~ start submitting CP.

6. May 2009 ~ plan out the changes needed to make SS really work. Take the existing draft and re-outline it, complete with the character (villain) revisions that I’m already mulling over.

7. June - Sep 2009 ~ revise SS.

8. Sep 2009 ~ write a synopsis and query letter for SS.

9. Sep - Oct 2009 ~ write a quick summary for RS, FK, and ST (the 2nd through 4th books in the Watcher Quartet which follow SS). This can be used when pitching SS.

10. Oct 2009 ~ start submitting SS.

11. Oct 2009 ~ plan RS.

12. Nov 2009 ~ use NaNo to get the bulk of RS written.

13. Dec 2009 ~ finish RS.

~*~

Whew. Looks like I have my work cut out for me! But in all seriousness, I really don’t want to be working for someone else all my life. If I ever intend to REALLY DO THIS, I need to get started yesterday. And the only reason I’m not starting now is that I have so many things that aren’t writing planned for July, I’d just be shooting myself in the foot if I tried to schedule around them. I know the way my mind works, and giving myself a little time to anticipate finally getting on what is hopefully the right path will give me that much more chance at making it work.

Happy Thursday!

Through Violet Glasses

Nicole — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:45:54 +0000

I would love to have the time to talk about how I see the world through violet-colored lenses, or to compare violet glasses to the Emerald City’s green glasses from the Wizard of Oz, but the truth is I’m too busy to even find a link to the Wizard of Oz so there’s no way I can get creative with this post.

Instead I’ll just show you what the pun was supposed to end up relating to:

The violet sunglasses case I was embroidering is done! Yay! Here’s a close-up, showing the beading (which was included with the kit).

I’m really pleased with it (though not so much with the bad cell phone pics), and now I will be getting back to knitting socks.