DisOrganization

Snippets of an author's cut...

2012-01-30T21:11:00.002-05:00

Something I wrote tonight (different story, even) reminded me of this cut scene from Darkfall, so I went in search for it and after a bit of looking, I found it:

When he dropped Jeril off at the castle, Jeril went directly to Miss Mallon's kitchen, taking care not to be seen. It was early enough in the morning for her to be there, and she was, paging through a cookbook with a pencil tucked into the back of her hair, the kettle already on for tea.

She glanced up when Jeril arrived, and then her gaze dropped to the bundle in his arms, and she frowned. "What's this?"

The baby, of course, chose that moment to make a noise--not a cry, but a whimper, and Miss Mallon gasped.

"What happened?"

It was almost a relief that her first words were that and not "What did you do?"

Jeril explained, quickly, since the baby was starting to wake up. Miss Mallon took it--"A girl," she said, sounding stunned. "Her name is Flora. The boy you found--I think his name is Eric."

"I have to tell Lyenel," Jeril said. "Could you keep the baby? I don't know what to do with a human baby."

"Yes, of course," Miss Mallon said. "She'll be fine. She wasn't hurt? At all?"

"No, she was asleep," Jeril said. "Perhaps whoever did this was interrupted. The younger girl was dead, and so were the others. So I don't think Flora survived because whoever did this couldn't bring themselves to murder a helpless infant."

"Lyenel may be awake by now," Miss Mallon said. "Go tell him what happened. There are women here in the castle who will take care of the baby."

Jeril nodded, but hesitated in the doorway. "I couldn't leave her there," he said, wanting her to believe that; to understand.

Miss Mallon smiled at him. "I know," she said, her voice soft. "I'm glad you didn't leave her there. The person who killed her family might have come back."

The vampire who killed her family, Jeril wanted to say, but he held his tongue, because she would find out soon enough.

Sourdough!

2012-01-29T16:31:00.003-05:00

What better thing to do on a windy Sunday than bake bread?

A close-up of one of the bowls I bought myself for Christmas; perfect for letting the dough rise!

2012-01-28T20:46:00.003-05:00

So I didn't end up going out in the woods, but I went out in the backyard for a bit and I whittled a spindle while standing in the sunlight on the front porch (it was warmer on the front porch; about 10 degrees!) And I had a nice afternoon. Then I came inside, made some spindles to post on Etsy tomorrow, and spun quite a bit on my WIPs, wrote quite a bit on A Glint of Silver, thought about posting auctions on ebay (I did not, although I may yet tomorrow), washed some dishes, made spaghetti for supper, and had a lovely, quiet evening as well. Now I'm contemplating whether or not to watch a movie (I have two DVDs sitting here waiting to be watched) and, perhaps, winding off some yarn from two or so spindles and maybe even plying it. Or I could weave, because I really want to finish the scarf on Talia so I can warp her again. Hmm.

Oh, and I might have won an auction on ebay with 55 double pointed knitting needles (aluminum), so I think I'll have enough for spindles for a little while now. I was actually down to my last DPN suitable for spindle making!

Sunlight!

2012-01-28T10:40:00.001-05:00

The sun is actually shining, after the rain finally stopped. It's glorious morning sunlight (albeit late morning) and makes me want to go slog through the woods in the mud... alas, that won't happen today, although it's very tempting...

2012-01-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Detour is out!

This is the fourth official Karen Montgomery story, Capture is Russ' story, truthfully.

I was in the middle of writing Detour when Niles showed up, and Ethan, and I just couldn't help but write the backstory of how they met. So technically, Capture was written at the same time as Detour.

This is my nineteenth published book! :)

2012-01-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

"I guess that's what you want when you plant potatoes--potatoes."

2012-01-21T23:05:00.001-05:00

So after reworking my website a bit, I reworked this blog's template a bit and removed some stuff that wasn't being updated. Some of the old blogs might end up on the list again, but until then they can stay in the background. I like the streamlined look.

Today was a sourdough day, and I made two small loaves of sourdough French. The recipe I have is really too big for one loaf, but not big enough for two. Maybe I'll try adding a little more flour next time to see if I can get two true loaves. It did taste good, however. I love this particular recipe, because it's so simple and not fussy.

I started going through my shoes today, at least the ones downstairs. I've decided that I will be purchasing another pair of garden boots, because mine are looking a bit run-down at the edges (I do mow my grass in them, so that's why, I'm sure) and I'm afraid the ebay seller won't have them eventually, and then where will I be? (Learning how to make my own boots, more than likely.) And I really don't think my boots can be washed. (But seriously, how hard could it be to make a pair of canvas boots? I even have the canvas for templates. The hardest part would be the soles. And I could make them without buckles, which I rather don't like.)

But that's really something for another day. I'm going to go through the shoes that are upstairs tonight, still; I'm not at all tired yet, but I should probably head up to bed fairly soon.

2012-01-21T21:52:00.003-05:00

Lol. I love it. Perfect description!

2012-01-20T22:42:00.001-05:00

I haven't been gone, or anything like that, just busy these past few days. I did (finally) update my website, and chop it down a bit, because most of the pages were out of date and pretty unnecessary. I should really clean up the old files, which is on my list to do someday. But at least the bibliography is mainly up-to-date, and so is my bio. The rest can be found here, really.

Even though this was a short week, it felt like this week went on forever. So I'm really glad it's finally Friday, and I have two whole days to do stuff around the house.

I will be updating my Etsy shop tomorrow afternoon/evening, once I get some pictures of the new spindles! Finally! I am tentatively saying that I will be posting spindles every other week, provided I have the supplies on hand. I'm running out of dpns. Ack!

And I will also be making dolls again, starting after January 31st. I am also tentatively saying I will post a doll on Etsy every two weeks. Let's just say I will update my Etsy shop every two weeks and be done with it, ok? At least that's the goal. We'll see how I do.

We are supposed to be having a sort-of ice storm thingie, but it's 32F outside right now, and I think it's just raining so far. Perhaps it's sleet by now. We'll see how things look in the morning.

2012-01-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

2012-01-15T18:20:00.003-05:00

The upstairs desk in my bedroom is in place! That way, if I get cold downstairs, I can go upstairs and write at my tiny desk with my netbook and have no problems at all. It worked out perfectly!

My bed, however, is covered in clothes, so I'll have to go through them and put them away this evening yet. But even so... progress!

2012-01-15T11:24:00.002-05:00

The sun is shining, and it's a nice quiet Sunday morning. Or, at least, it was until the cats found a toy and decided to run around like crazy things and bounce off the walls and chairs. But they are quiet now, at least for the moment.

Today I'm planning to work upstairs in my bedroom. I have clothes to sort and put away, a chair to move, a desk to set up (for my upstairs "office" in my bedroom), and a few others things to rearrange. My bedroom is the smallest bedroom, so it's always interesting when I attempt to rearrange it a bit.

I don't have to go anywhere today and tomorrow, except, perhaps, the grocery store. It will be nice to stay home and get something accomplished.

FWIW, the indoor yard sales were okay; Friday was worse than Saturday, due to the weather. But the goal was to get some stuff out of my house, and I succeeded in that goal. The only thing I brought back with me were a few things that will eventually head to Burlington. And the only things I actually bought were a three-blade pocketknife, a small clay bundt pan, a clay bowl, and some small vintage colored bottles, because I can't resist those.

2012-01-12T10:49:00.001-05:00

I took today and tomorrow off work--today to get things sorted and boxed for the indoor yard sale tomorrow and Saturday up at church. This way, I don't have to rush around to get things up there, at least that's the idea. :)

And it will be a bit of a mini-vacation, too, since I didn't take any time off during the holidays.

2012-01-08T16:20:00.003-05:00

Hmm, St. Lucy's soup is... interesting. It's tasty, don't get me wrong, and the recipe definitely makes a lot of it; I'll be eating it all week long, I'm sure. I added fresh mushrooms to the original recipe, along with some oregano. I also ordered the Twelve Months of Monastery Soups and Twelve Months of Monastery Salads books, because they both sounded good. (And the others are on my list-to-buy as well.)

I did not get out in the kitchen garden today. My back is not happy with me even after a good night's rest, so I've been taking it easy. I can't quite decide if wearing my back brace thingy makes it worse or better, so it's off for the time being.

I have auctions to post this evening, and auctions to box up to mail tomorrow. Among other things...

2012-01-07T21:01:00.005-05:00

Contentment

Today, I worked out in the garden. For the first time in a couple of months I put on my garden boots (and have the blister on my heel to prove it had been a couple of months, unfortunately), lugged wheelbarrows full of mulch into the garden, backed up my car and rolled the smaller of the two hay bales down my driveway and into the garden, and probably inhaled enough hay dust and mold spores to last me for weeks, if not years, as I unrolled the hay bale and forked mulch across the entire garden.

Then I came hobbling back inside, took off my dusty clothes, and put on my pajamas. I made Chicken Noodle Soup, and Sourdough French rolls. I sat down to watch my auctions end, and wrote a few more pages of A Glint of Silver. I started writing up auctions to post and took a few pictures, but my camera battery died, and I didn't have the spare charged, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Going to the grocery will have to wait until tomorrow too.

I had an absolutely glorious day.

Oh, my back hurts--badly; it will pass, but right now I'm hobbling--and I have blisters and my shoulders hurt and I'm very tired, but it was all from hard work and nothing more. Honest work, I tore my oldest pair of garden gloves to shreds today (they weren't very good gloves, truly) and muddied up my boots. But the garden has been mulched and I feel a bit better prepared for next year.

Tonight I'll sleep soundly, and tomorrow I'll be outside again in the kitchen garden, preparing it for next year as well. And if I'm hobbling around on Monday, then so what? I'll have had a glorious weekend, and that's all that counts, really.

2012-01-07T14:47:00.003-05:00

Whoohooo! I successfully rolled the smaller of the two round bales of hay down my driveway, turned it without killing myself (barely) and right into the garden! This was after five loads from the wheelbarrow, so now all I have to do is peel it off and lay it down. Perfect!

2012-01-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

I'm out in the garden this afternoon, with periodic breaks to check on the sourdough, which is just about ready for it's second rising. I'm making Sourdough French again; it's a simple recipe that has never failed (so far.)

Lunch will be the rest of the Lentil and Brown Rice soup with cornbread on top (yum!) and I have the makings for Chicken Noodle soup in the fridge for supper and later on. And then, I have to make a trip to the grocery store for chickpeas to make St. Lucy's Soup from the Twelve Months of Monastery Soups book (I really need to get an actual copy of that), among other things. I'm trying for two types of soup for next week's lunches/suppers. We'll see how the St. Lucy's Soup turns out.

Tonight I will post more auctions, and tomorrow I'm hoping to work out back, especially in the kitchen garden. I have great plans for the kitchen garden next year.

2012-01-04T20:30:00.003-05:00

The Nook. Where I could spend the rest of my life, quite happily.

2012-01-04T19:17:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about moss. How it grows so small and tiny in out-of-the-way places or right there under your feet, and no one pays any attention to it. How the tiniest tendrils look like miniature ferns, spreading out across damp wood or stone or earth.

How moss is almost a doorway to the innermost world. There is beauty below us, and no one ever looks.

I had a dream last night that I covered the walls of my library nook (where I currently sit) with moss. I left the wallpaper half-torn away, and covered the plaster with moss, which grew and grew until my nook was more of a burrow with a bay window. And it was quite fabulous.

I rather like the botanical name for moss--Bryophyta.

I have lots of plans ahead that have to do with moss... and other hidden things.

2012-01-03T20:11:00.002-05:00

Turned in the edits for Detour, the next Karen Montgomery story, this evening.

This is what Capture spun off from; I was in the middle of Detour, and Niles showed up, and then Ethan, and suddenly I had to write how they met. (Kind of like how I am writing Jericho's story now, hmm.)

Here is a snippet:

I stared at him,‭ ‬then at Russ,‭ ‬and made up my mind.‭ "‬Do you have a corkscrew‭?"

"In the kitchen,‭" ‬Peter said.‭ "‬I'd get it for you myself,‭ ‬but the only things I can touch now are my books.‭"

"And the house,‭" ‬I said.

‭"‬Yes,‭" ‬Peter replied.‭ "‬The house and I are old friends.‭"

"I think it would be wonderful to have a house for a friend,‭" ‬I said,‭ ‬and meant every word.

‭"‬I imagine you would think that,‭" ‬Peter said,‭ ‬and faded away.

It should be out soon. I'll announce its release here, of course.

2012-01-02T20:07:00.000-05:00

This will be my last post today, I promise. :)

Somehow, the rewrite of the ending of Jericho's story is now 7,000 words longer than the first version. I'm very pleased with it; it will segue nicely with A Glint of Silver, which might be the title of the two together, since they are, after all, really just one story.

The Lentil and Brown Rice soup turned out great, so I will be eating that this week. Bread's in the oven, and laundry's in the dryer.

I'm very pleased with everything I got done with this weekend. It's a good start for continuing what still needs to be done, and since it was such a good start, I feel I have enough momentum now to actually accomplish what I set out to accomplish. This is a good thing. A very good thing!

I have to go back to work tomorrow. Absolutely not looking forward to it. But I'm also considering taking some time off in February, so we'll see... that might be the week I get upstairs and get everything rearranged/organized/decluttered, etc. I definitely need more than a weekend for that.

2012-01-02T17:42:00.003-05:00

The organ in question.

My desk in place, with bookcase and corkboard!

Reading chair, moved a little.

2012-01-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Hmm, interesting.

I moved the organ back, almost directly under the chandelier, and turned the dining room table sideways (it's almost the same width as the organ that way.) Oddly enough, it looks... rather nice. It kind of splits the room in half.

Agatha is on the other side where my desk was, in front of the bookcases. I hung up my strumstick and my guitar is over there as well. And my psaltry and zithers. I cleared off the mantle of books, which also opens up that portion of the room and uncovers the mirror. I have room for one chair at the table with no leaves; if I put a leaf in, I'd have room for two chairs, but the table pad's not big enough for a leaf, so I think I will leave it out.

I covered up the closet door with hand-embroidered linens hung on cords. To open the door, all I have to do is move a chair out of the way.

Unfortunately, I have too many chairs; there are four dining room chairs, after all. (I have too many chairs in this house in general, truthfully.) I guess I could use two of the dining room chairs at my table in the Entry Room, but that would mean two other chairs would be displaced. :) I'm sure I will figure it out.

But I have yet to start the laundry, and I still have to bake bread and start the soup, so I really need to stop for a bit and do that before it's too late.

The snow is still coming down, although I doubt it will mess up the roads much. My road is covered, but that's pretty normal.

ETA: I'm trying to figure out why I wouldn't want to keep the organ like it is. I could get an organ bench, even, to make it look better. It does split up the room a bit. It's not ugly, and doesn't really look horribly out of place. Why not keep it there? Yes, it's just another thing to dust, but even so. I will have to keep it like this for a little while and then make a decision, I think.

2012-01-02T13:05:00.003-05:00

My desk has been moved!! It was a bit more of a struggle than I thought it would be, thanks (no thanks) to the rug, which kept bunching up under everything. Argh! But the desk is in place. my corkboard's in place, there's room for a bookcase beside my desk, my computer's CPU is on the table beside my desk (not ideal, but workable), everything is plugged in, and voila!

Of course, the organ's sitting behind me like a mammoth in the room, everything is a mess, and I'm not sure where I'm going to end up putting everything else, but I really like the way my desk looks here, and that's what counts, right?

The organ, ooof. Talk about a potential disaster back-wise. I really thought I'd pull out my back while moving it, but I didn't, so that's good. But it's massive and heavy and ugh.

Interestingly enough, the drafts (at least right now) aren't too bad over here.

The morning started with the rearranging of the plants and my reading chair, so I'm a bit behind schedule, but not by much. I'm obviously not going to get completely finished today, but that's okay. I can put books away, etc., throughout the week. The heavy lifting furniture-wise (except for a couple of bookcases) is over.

2012-01-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

First snow of the season! (At least here at my house; I'm not counting the slush of the other night. This is real (albeit not much) snow.)

Today is rearranging the library day! That means the organ has to move, my desk has to move, and I have to sweep the floor and rug, big-time. I also would like to get the hallway cleaned out today as well. That would complete the rearranging of the "studio."

I also have to bake bread and do laundry today. And I'm making Lentil and Brown Rice soup for lunches next week as well.

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning a bit late--8:30am!--and I'm just now getting finished with breakfast.

Wish me luck that everything works out with the rearranging. :)

2012-01-01T15:39:00.004-05:00

Workbench, with washstand for storage. It's the perfect height.

Big Loom, chest of drawers, shelves, etc. Everything fit!

2012-01-01T10:46:00.003-05:00

It's warm today, but very windy, so my idea of working outside in the garden is probably not going to work out. I'd hate to start pulling up stuff/mulching and have it blow all over everywhere.

So, instead, at least for the morning, I'm in the Green Room/Studio (Hey, maybe I should call it the Green Room Studio. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?) Yesterday evening, I started moving furniture, and now I'm continuing in that theme. I have almost everything in place at the moment, with a few things to go through/carry upstairs into the Junk Room.

Shockingly, everything seems to fit where I want it to fit, unless I am missing something. That's a good thing!

I hope to get into the library this afternoon, with more furniture moving/rearranging/sweeping, etc.

Next Year.

2011-12-31T18:46:00.002-05:00

Next year's goals are both simple and complex. Simple because my ultimate goal is to make my life--in general--simpler all around, and complex because that's not a simple thing in the first place.

--I want to be in a better place financially next year at this time than I am in now. I should be; barring any drastic issues, four out of six credit cards will be paid off (And that's a definite; three are on payment plans that end in September.) Hopefully, I can squeak in paying off one more as well.

--I want to reopen my Etsy shop--permanently.

--My project this year is to not have any more projects, unless something literally falls into my lap.

--Instead of forbidding myself to purchase things I don't need, because we all know how long that lasts, I'm only going with one caveat this year: that no single purchase can add up to more than $50 or else I have to step back and seriously consider that purchase before I proceed. I am giving myself $25 per paycheck to buy whatever the heck I want--be it books, fiber, something from Goodwill, something from an auction, whatever. Without guilt. And if I choose not to spend that $25, it can go into my savings account.

--I want to have a decent savings account by the end of the year.

--I want to have enough money saved up to pay for my kitchen roof by May at the latest, but preferably March or April.

--I would like to have a new job with a shorter commute. I will definitely be actively looking.

--I would like to pare down my "keeper" spinning wheels by at least three. Considering my keeper spinning wheels currently number eight, this will be a difficult decision to make. But I feel it's a necessary one. (I'm not counting project wheels in this, or wheels that are currently decoration only. The number of spinning wheels currently residing in my house is thirteen. I think.) Now, of course, that doesn't stop me from buying and reselling spinning wheels that I come across. And while all of my "keepers" are lovely wheels, I honestly don't spin on my spinning wheels as often as I spin on my spindles. And thus I have no reason to keep them all, when there are other spinners or spinners-to-be out there who would love to have them.

--I would like to finish the following novels/stories: Scarecrows, Jericho/A Glint of Silver, and Darkfall. I would like to poke at Alice a bit more (it doesn't really have a title), and work on the Sort-of-fairy-tale collection I have in mind. I would also like to do something about Josh's story, and Whippoorwill.

--I would like to complete all obligations that are outstanding. You know who you are, I'm sure.

--I would like to have my entire house cleaned and decluttered by this time next year. I would like to live in a world without piles and/or blocked pathways.I want to go through everything, and I do mean everything. Every drawer, every closet (well, there aren't that many closets), every collection; every piece of everything. Of course, liquidating some of this stuff means more money to pay off credit cards, so it's all good in the long run. And I honestly don't need this much stuff.

--I would like to set up my lathe, and actually make something on it. Preferably before I've had it for two Christmases.

--I would like to plant more blueberries, start the berry patch out front, and not have to till the garden at all next year. And I would really like to do something about the Morning Glory/Ohio Kudzu, but I'm not aiming for miracles, here.

--I would like to clean out the kitchen garden and clean up the backyard.

--I would like to keep my sourdough starter alive. :)

I think that's enough for now. The list will probably expand as time goes on and things change, because it always does, and they always do.

2011-12-31T17:25:00.002-05:00

Oh my, where did the year go? It's the last day of 2011, and boy, it seems 2011 just flew by.

This has been a difficult year in more ways than one. In some ways, I feel as if I've gotten nowhere; in others, I feel I'm a bit wiser this year than last year at this time.

So, the rundown:

--In January, I received Very Bad News at work, which kind of colored the entire year. It meant a longer commute for me, more money out of my pocket for me, and uncertainty due to threats of layoffs. This pretty much sums up the entire year, work-wise. And it also made me question my reasons for keeping this job as well. In January, I was writing the fourth portion of Darkfall and spinning on my spindles. I started destashing spindles, since I had too many of them and needed the money. "Needing the money" continued to be a mantra for me across the year as well; moving to a new office, the extra commute, and extra gas meant that it was May before I paid off my car. And if you mix in credit card company troubles with that, it was not a pretty spring.

In February, I started a sourdough starter (again. Notice a theme here?) I created the library out of my former formal dining room, after getting rid of the china cabinet. My desk is still in the same place it was in February, although that will change this weekend, since I'm (finally) going to move the organ (and eventually get rid of it entirely) and put my desk in its place.

In March, the Bad News continued abated. I didn't write much about that here, but rest assured, I'm still digging myself out from under it. There were many tears and many curses. And a couple of close saves. And I posted a lot of stuff on ebay that I felt I had to sell to try to save myself, and I barely squeaked past doom. But I made it, and I'm in a better place (if not a perfect place, unfortunately) now. My office moved in March. My opinion of the move and everything else remains the same.

In April, I mowed my grass for the first time (booo!) I bought two spinning wheels, but sold quite a few other things to pay for them. Gas rose to $4.15 a gallon. I literally sometimes had less than $5 in my bank account to last the week before payday. I ate a lot of PB&J sandwiches for lunch. The first Burlington meant the antiquing year was off to a good start. And floods closed the roads on the way home from work, so I had to alternate ways for a while.

In May, I paid off my car! Finally! And that will never, ever happen again if I can help it. I got two round bales of hay delivered to my house, and have not been able to park my car in its normal spot since (even now, they are still there. And to think I almost had him deliver the bales behind my car. To think!) I got my hair cut, I started in on the garden, I mulched quite a bit in my spare time.

In June, I planted my garden even though my tiller didn't want to work properly. I write the sequel to Capture, which is called Ruby. It was hot enough to have to sleep downstairs on my couch/bed, which was the whole idea of setting it up.

In July, I made ravioli from scratch for the first time. It was wonderful. I went to the Wilds with my family. I ate a lot of kale. I bought Mabel an outside pen, which cut down on my stress considerably, since she'd started chewing in the house and had been spending all her time in her crate. She remains outside.

In August, my next door neighbor's house caught fire. He eventually died from injuries sustained in the fire. I picked lots of stuff from my garden. I started reading some interesting literature that I'm still mulling over. It was quite hot and nasty outside. I took some pictures of the garden and started poking at Scarecrows again. I'm still poking at it periodically.

In September, I decided that I really should rearrange the library how I want it, but I couldn't quite decide how I wanted it to be. So I've been contemplating that for the past three months. Ack. I had a yard sale, and managed to sell quite a few things and make some money, too! I rearranged the Green Room, and made myself a workbench. I also decided to make a decision--that I could not continue the way things had been continuing. I had to make some changes. I'm still making those changes.

In October, I found not one, but two floor looms. I managed to get the smaller one set up and running, but the larger one has not been warped yet. I wrote a sort-of-fairy-tale, quite by accident. I turned on my heat. I wrote Jericho's story, which I'm now adding on to the end. I set up at the Appalachian Fest in Winchester OH. Capture was released. I sold a spinning wheel to a new spinner, too.

In November, I took a week off and actually managed to make my kitchen presentable. The bookcase that sat in church's garage for months finally made it into my library. I made challah for Thanksgiving. I purchased a Nook 1st edition ereader. I had one craft show, which was not so bad. And I made a decision for next year which will color every decision I make from now on.

In December, I bought another sourdough starter, finally warped the small floor loom (scarf-in-progress is still on there now), I bought a Penguin Quill spinning wheel, I tried out my pressure cooker and didn't blow up my kitchen, and I had a great Christmas.

For 2012? I have lots of plans, as I do every New Year's. And that will be a separate post.

2011-12-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

Lost package is here, along with the replacement.

Is it dumb to consider keeping both Nooks? I like the Simple Touch because it's a lot smaller; I like the 1st Edition because it has more capabilities.

I have no desire to get a color one at all.

But I really am not sure I need two ereaders. I will have to think about this.

2011-12-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

"I have split my night instead into words and work."

Yes. This.

2011-12-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

The lost package magically appeared in New Jersey one week after the last update--it's now in Middleburg Heights, Ohio with a delivery date of tomorrow end-of-day. The replacement is also in Ohio, but it's in Columbus, with a delivery date of tomorrow end-of-day. I'm really curious to see if I come home from work tomorrow afternoon to find two packages from B&N on my porch, or if they will be delivered at all.

2011-12-26T15:05:00.000-05:00

One of the things I bought for myself this holiday season was another sourdough starter. So, this morning, to not waste any ingredients in the preparation stages (I really hate the fact that they recommend discarding half; I mean, why? You can bake with it just as well as anything) I made sourdough pancakes for breakfast. They were quite tasty.

Currently, I'm eating a piece of Oatmeal Sourdough Bread with peanut butter; it's also quite tasty. That's to use up the "discard half" recommendation, and no loss of ingredients. No loss of taste, either, and it rose just fine. I adapted the recipe I had for use in the bread machine (I didn't really want to knead dough today) and it was perfect.

I'm going to attempt Sourdough French mixed in the bread machine in a bit here, using the actual sourdough starter this time. The book I have has a great Sourdough French bread recipe, which I have made before. It's supposed to make two loaves, but they tend to turn out rather small, so I'm just going to bake it as one slightly-larger-than-regular sized-loaf, since it calls for only 1/2 cup more flour than my normal loaf.

I have sourdough pancakes in the freezer to eat later on this week, too. And a whole book of recipes to try, including sourdough cookies.

2011-12-26T13:06:00.002-05:00

So Christmas was yesterday, and despite no naps, everyone had a great time, although Elsa and Chase were just about conked out on their feet by 8pm last night. We only had a couple of minor meltdowns. :) I think everyone enjoyed their presents, and I certainly enjoyed mine. We had fabulous baked gluten-free macaroni & cheese, baked beans, and Honeybaked Ham, plus peach and apple/cranberry pie. I brought home lots of leftovers, too.

Since I'm off today, all my usual Sunday stuff got pushed to today, so I am doing laundry and baking bread (sourdough!) today in preparation for the week ahead. One of these years, I will take off the week between Christmas and New Year's, just for the novelty of it.

So anyway, every year I make a list of presents I received so that in later years, I can remember when I received them. Thus the only reason why I know I received my 3-in-1 crockpot for Christmas in 2007, and my cordless drill is from Christmas 2005. That's honestly the only reason why I remember such things. :)

(And that probably explains why the cordless drill's battery seems to not hold a charge for very long lately.)

This year is no exception, but I have a story to tell about one of the gifts I received. My goal this year was to not buy myself anything when I purchased Christmas gifts. I'm really bad about that; I'll add something to my cart for myself just because it's on sale, or whatever. I have many justifications, and I'm very good at justifying purchases.

So my goal this year was no gifts for myself. I did pretty well; I think the only thing I actually bought for myself was a knife sharpener and knife set, and that wasn't terribly expensive.

Way back in September, I got it in my head that I needed a new pair of slippers, a new pair of sandals, and a new pair of clogs. This is all true. My slippers are dying, my summer sandals are dead, and I'm afraid of wearing out my clogs, which I love, and not be able to replace them.

But what ended up in my cart were boots. Reasonably priced boots, yes, and in a color I desperately need (dark grey, to go with black) but I really didn't need to spend that money on myself, so I took them out of my cart and ended up not buying any shoes at all. I'll still have to find a pair of sandals before summer, and I've been wearing my slippers even though I don't dare wear them out in public (and I got a pair of slipper boots for Christmas, so that should help anyway), and I'll look for a new pair of clogs eventually.

Well, my sister Emily bought me that very same pair of boots for Christmas. And I had to laugh when I opened them, because they were the exact same color I chose, correct size, and everything. What a perfect present. :) And since my other pair of Teva boots are from 2004, I hope these last just as long.

I also received a Dremel! Now, this should be a fun tool to use. I can foresee all sorts of interesting uses for it. I also got a selection of woodworking tools that I actually had Dad bid on for me at an auction, and then when I went to pay him for them, he said they were wrapped, so I said yay! There's one mystery tool that's really kind of cool, but the book I'm going to use my Amazon giftcard for should help with an identification.

I received a couple of books from my wishlist on Amazon--one on Root Cellars, one on Wilderness Survival, and one on growing whole grains. Jess also got me a cookbook from a local author as well.

Since I told Mom I didn't need any pajamas (she likes to buy everyone pajamas every year, but I have so many pajamas that I really can't fit any more in the trunk I store them in) she bought me a cute sweater instead, which will be nice to wear to work. She also bought me a flowering teapot, with tea; Emily bought one for Mom as well, so we tried hers out last night. It was neat!

Bekah was very creative this year and made everyone soap--she's going to maybe sell soap at the craft shows next year. She also did the cookie mix in a jar, which should be tasty; I'm thinking I'll make my cookies over New Year's weekend. Yum. And she also bought me a set of custard tarts and a pie plate in the Country Kitchen pattern by Royal Worcester. Found, of course, in the best place of all, Goodwill.

Jess bought me an art doll "woodland fairy", which she found at a craft show, and who will grace the top of my desk with my handcarved monk and my Beanie Baby Vulture. (My muses, you realize.) She also got me some plum colored Romney roving to spin. Dad found a cane with a carved rattlesnake at an auction and wrapped it for me--it's really neat--and also a snake-shaped hand-wrought cast iron hook to hand on my wall somewhere. I will have to figure out a place to put it.

There were other things as well, including giftcards, but this post is getting long and I have yet to eat lunch (leftovers, of course) so I'll end by saying it was a good Christmas, an exhausting Christmas, but a good one. And I came home late last night (past 9:30pm!) and unpacked the car, and decided not to even turn on the computer, so I went upstairs and read the book I'm reading on my Nook (I'm actually rereading the complete works of Agatha Christie, and this one's The Secret Adversary) and then I went to bed.

Whew!

2011-12-25T08:50:00.002-05:00

The lovely silence of a frosty Christmas morning greeted me when I woke up this morning. Only the much reduced Dawn Chorus twittered and crowed and tweeted outside and nothing more. Waking up to birdsong isn't a bad way to go on any morning. I actually managed to wake up right at dawn.

I hope everyone who reads this has a lovely Christmas if you celebrate, and a lovely whatever-you-celebrate, if not. And if you don't celebrate at all, then have a lovely day.

2011 is almost over. It's been a very trying year. But today, I will be with my family and hold the memory of this frosty Christmas morning deep inside my heart. And raise my cup of tea to the new year-to-come.

2011-12-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

This was, for some reason, a really long week, culminating in the loss of package by UPS (they actually admitted they didn't have it; they told me to call the shipper (Barnes & Nobles) and have them start a tracer on it. Barnes & Nobles nicely expedited another one to me; I wonder if expedited means overnight? Probably not.) Oh well... maybe it will be here Monday.

But seriously, the package was last seen in Louisville on Monday the 19th, was strangely "In Transit" in Cincinnati last night at 11:20pm (UPS told me that wasn't their scan, which just sounds weird to me.) I joked to Jessica that since it was in Louisville on the 19th, it should get here at the latest on the 21st, since they could walk it here faster than the expected delivery date of the 22nd. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

But at least the workweek is over now. I have to wrap all my presents yet (I'm going to work on that a bit tonight), and also make one still, which I will be working on tomorrow. And I had an epiphany about Jericho's cousin Phillip, which ended in a rewrite of the end of Jericho's story. I'm not finished yet, but Phillip's ending up a bit more of an important character than I expected him to be.

And somehow, it's the end of the year, and Christmas. I have New Year's Resolutions to create, a job to apply for (30 minute commute one way! Less money, though. We'll see.) and my house is still not clean. But I will get there. Eventually.

2011-12-20T21:26:00.002-05:00

This morning, it was all I could do to drive in to work. The world outside was soft and grey and dripping with a fine misty rain; such a perfect morning for a jaunt in the woods that I came very close to just parking my car on the side of the road and walking away.

But I didn't; I drove to work; I did the responsible thing. And tonight was choir practice, which I wouldn't have wanted to miss anyway, and tomorrow, work again.

One day soon, however, I will make that day happen. I will drive to my favorite spot, park my car, grab my walking stick, and vanish into the forest until I am chilled to the bone and muddy enough to be happy. And then, someday soon after that, I will do it again. And again, and again, and again.

I swear it.

2011-12-18T18:36:00.001-05:00

I shall never buy croutons again. That was just wayyy to easy!

2011-12-18T16:40:00.000-05:00

Today I warped the small floor loom (now known as Talia for some reason unknown to me) with a pretty linen/cotton blend. This will be the Experimental First Warp to make sure I have everything tied up properly, so I'm thinking I will just do plain weave because of that.

It took me oh, 45 minutes to warp for one scarf. Not too bad at all. And in the initial setup, everything seems to be working just fine.

I'm tempted to warp Junior too, just to have a project going on both looms. And I will probably get up in a minute here and go do that.

Today I crocheted two scarves, and I ended up with a dozen dishcloths in the washer (I wash them before I give them as presents, since they shrink.) I'm making Rosemary Bread for tomorrow's "Holiday" Work Meeting (after all, I work for the state, so we can't say the word party), and I also have to bake a loaf of my regular weekly bread for myself. The theme is Italian, so this is Italian Herb Bread, really. Honest. ;)

The laundry's in the dryer, the bread will be smelling quite yummy in a minute here, I moved the gateleg table back in the kitchen to complete the kitchen "island", and I have cookies and creamsicle fudge and Mississippi Mud to eat.

I still have Christmas presents to work on, but I have a week to do them, so I think I will get them all finished in time.

And for the first time in a week, I've actually sat down and written a bit of Phillip's story, which really needs a title.

So all in all, this has been a very nice Sunday and a nice weekend overall.

2011-12-17T19:10:00.000-05:00

Argh! I thought I had a great idea as to how to rearrange the various bits and pieces of my house, but some things aren't cooperating. It's not quite back to the drawing board, but it's getting close. Phooey.

2011-12-17T17:02:00.000-05:00

Had a great time baking cookies with Mom, Elsa, Emily, Bekah, Chase, Jess, Aunt Sissy and Ethan today! We didn't quite get as many cookies baked as we wanted, but the ones we did bake were tasty! Nest year, we're going to premake some of the dough, since a few of the recipes we wanted to make had to be refrigerated.

And now I'm back home with a cup of hot tea and some Mississippi Mud, and trying to decide if I want to start moving furniture tonight or wait until tomorrow. I also have a couple of Christmas presents to make as well, so I'd best get going on them, too... I can't believe Christmas is next weekend!!

2011-12-15T19:12:00.003-05:00

This is the third week I've updated Sunday and Thursday. I can't stop now...

And that's mostly because I sit down on Thursday and think, "Hey, I haven't updated my blog all week long!" And then I post something.

I have been busy, though. Mostly crocheting. I haven't started to move around the furniture yet (waiting for the weekend for that) now that I know where everything is going. I'm hoping to get a lot of that done on Sunday and even tomorrow evening and Saturday evening.

Saturday is Cookie Baking Day with everyone at Mom and Dad's house; we are all cramming into a rather small kitchen and baking cookies together. I'm sure we'll all have fun.

Sunday... I may attempt Mom's candy, if the humidity is low enough. We'll see! I also have to make something for the work "party" on Monday, although I'm really and honestly leaning towards Challah, since the Thanksgiving Challah turned out so well.

2011-12-10T14:15:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Dad told me that one of the estate sale auctions sites had a Penguin Quill Wheel upcoming, so I told him to bid on it, because I'm still buying local wheels when they appear. (A few weeks before that, I got a $10 Great Wheel from shopgoodwill.com in Indiana.)

So today was the first time I had a chance to really try it out. I'm making Elsa a doll for Christmas, so I thought I'd spin up some of the fiber I've reserved to use for doll hair.

Here's my Penguin wheel:

And here's the yarn for Elsa's doll's hair, not quite finished (although it's soaking now):

The yarn actually has sparkles in it, but the picture does not show that. It's a mixture of blonde and browns; I think it will look great! And I have more if needed.

Earlier this morning, I caught Chloe sleeping in her favorite spot:

Which is, of course, on the big radiator in the library. So much for keeping it cleared off for raising bread dough. :)

2011-12-10T13:12:00.001-05:00

I am moving stuff around today-- I have this idea, you see, and if it works, it will be great! If it doesn't work, then at least I'll get some exercise moving furniture around. Right? I'll post pictures if everything turns out okay.

Tomorrow, I hope to start on a couple of Christmas presents! :crossing fingers:

2011-12-04T18:42:00.001-05:00

Lunch for next week is some sort of stew that includes chunks of pork (cooked in a combination of honey and maple syrup), basmati rice, split peas, mixed beans, cumin, olive oil, garlic, and ginger.

It's quite tasty.

I say "some sort of stew" because it doesn't have a name quite yet.

(It was also supper tonight, along with garlic cheese bread topped with goat cheese. Mmmmm.)

2011-12-04T15:34:00.001-05:00

Adventures in... Pressure Cooking.

So, I have a pressure cooker. It's a Cuisinart 6qt. Quiet Pressure Cooker/Steamer. (Non-electric.) It came to me via an auction of household/kitchen goods--one of those semi-truck auctions. It was new, out of the box, but did not come with the manual, so I ended up getting cold feet about actually using it and it has been on my laundry room shelves ever since. And ever since was... 2007.

Today, I got it down, dusted it off, read my pressure cooker cookbooks for pointers, and decided to give it a try. Well... it works. I have to get used to the release for the lid, since I've gotten it stuck twice already, but I think that was user error more than anything.

I successfully made rice in my pressure cooker, yay!

I will have to try a more complicated recipe soon.

2011-12-01T20:25:00.001-05:00

Here is my blue desk.

Up there's an old picture of my blue desk. The one Dad and I carried downstairs in 2010, and that I moved into the library in 2011. The one I'm typing at right now. (It still doesn't have the drawers; they are still upstairs.) The one that I've been waffling over, around, and sideways, trying to get it to fit into a better place in the library.

It's not a big desk. It's only 40 inches wide. And the cubbyholes are what I like about this desk, because they can hold all sorts of things, and almost always do.

However... I'm a bit torn.

See, here's my dilemma:

--I'm pretty sure that the next computer I buy will not be a desktop.

--Therefore, the reason for me to have a dedicated desk close to a plug becomes rather... useless.

--However, the whole point of moving my desk into the library was to have a dedicated writing space in the library.

--However, does that dedicated writing space have to be this particular desk?

--However, I have written many novels and stories at this desk. So, sentimental value, there.

--However, I am running into the problem of the Other Organ. See, I like the OO, and I like where it sits. It looks nice there. But that's where I want to put my desk. However, the OO won't really fit anywhere else. And it's not really worth much of anything, since it doesn't work. It's just a really wide piece of furniture that looks nice in my library, really.

--However, I also don't use this desk to its potential, cubbyhole-wise. Seriously, the cubbyholes are packed with not a lot writing-related, mostly just 'stick this somewhere' related stuff.

--However, if I move this desk into the Green Room (which is becoming the studio), there's really no room for it unless I give up my workbench, and I really like my workbench.

--However, both my blue desk and my workbench are blue, and they would look so nice together. But they won't fit in the same spot, either.

--However, I really think I'm overthinking this a bit. And that's why the library has not been rearranged/put back together. And that's also why the cookbooks are now back on the shelves in the kitchen.

--However, if I moved this desk somewhere else, and moved my smaller (well, by one inch wide) walnut table into the library, it could become my "desk."

--However, for that matter, the dining room table could become my "desk" too, so.

--However, ARGH.

(And you may wonder why I never get anything done around here...)

2011-11-27T16:18:00.001-05:00

Finally in place! And I took away the toaster; I'm going to try this for my toast for a while.


This is pretty much the extent of my Christmas decorating--the 1950s mugs I collect.

Clean for the first time in... quite a while, let's just say.

2011-11-27T10:58:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was great, as always. I brought home lots of leftovers, which I've been eating these past couple of days and will be eating today as well.

I've been crocheting for Christmas gifts, and I actually had to order some cotton yarn. Thankfully, it was on sale.

The vast majority of my Christmas shopping this year is done and over with, and was mostly online. I think everyone will be pleased with their gifts.

I am almost to the point where I can plug in my toaster oven that I received for Christmas last year. Yes, it's taken me that long to clear off my countertops. "Never again" might be famous last words, but I am trying out a different approach to dishes, and so far so good. Now, just to apply that to the rest of the house.

And I still have yet to set up my lathe. sigh.

But, never fear, I have Plans for that as well. That involves more cleaning and decluttering, of course. I'm not positive I'll get it set up this year at all, but it's on the list for spring or winter cleaning, even.

2011-11-24T12:42:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The dough, after rising in the fridge overnight.

My loaf of Challah. Mmmmm.

The sweet potato of DOOM! 3lbs! And perfectly yummy!

Three loaves of challah. One without poppyseeds for those who can't eat poppyseeds, poor people.

This one formed a bit weirdly, oh well.

This one is perfect!

2011-11-24T07:50:00.001-05:00

I'm up a bit early this morning (considering I told myself I could sleep in, which, technically, I did, so...) to get going on the baking/cooking and have a nice morning to drink my tea and eat breakfast and write a bit before I have to begin. My No-Knead Challah rose really well overnight in the fridge! I'm glad I put it in a big bucket. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

2011-11-23T21:14:00.001-05:00

I am making No-Knead Challah for Thanksgiving, so I have to do the initial two-hour rise this evening (I'm doing a variation of the King Arthur Flour recipe, the variation being I needed more liquid and such added more eggs.) Oh, and Challah should have poppyseeds on top, not sesame seeds, sheesh.

I am also making the sweet potatoes, although that will be tomorrow. I'm considering Maple Sweet Potatoes again, since that was very tasty. And I'm hopefully going to use a gigantic sweet potato that a lady from church grew for the entire dish. :)

Other than that, I am evidently also baking banana bread. So tomorrow morning/early afternoon should be fairly busy!

2011-11-20T19:20:00.001-05:00

It has been raining all day long, sometimes pouring. If I'd known it would rain all day today, I would have unloaded my car from the craft show in the dark last night, but it's unloaded now, at least.

The craft show was okay, it was a bit too nice outside for a great crowd, so we had to make do with a good crowd instead.

I was really stiff this morning, however, so I've spent the day not doing much of anything at all. (My feet don't like the tile-over-concrete floors at church, so this is a normal occurrence.)

I only have to work three days this week, and then I am off Thursday for Thanksgiving, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That means this weekend will be Rearranging the Library weekend. Wish me luck. (And getting the little floor loom working weekend, too, since I did not get it finished in time for the craft show.)

2011-11-18T06:34:00.001-05:00

I'm going to have to go see this, just because of her hair...

2011-11-16T20:22:00.001-05:00

I will be at the St. George church craft show in Georgetown, OH on Saturday--with books, of course, along with... maybe... my little floor loom, and perhaps a few others. Definitely one spinning wheel, at least. And of course crafty stuff to sell as well.

2011-11-13T18:54:00.001-05:00

This was one of the books in the bookcase full of books I bought a while back at an estate auction.

2011-11-13T10:54:00.001-05:00

So as I was sitting here, weaving and reading, I heard a commotion in the bathroom where I'd opened the window earlier this morning (Basil insisted.) I just figured to many cats wanted the windowsill or something, but then the commotion continued, and I walked into the living room just in time to see a bird fly smack into the window.

Now, the storm window in the bathroom has slipped down, and I need to fix it, so there's a gap. And sometimes I end up with bumblebees in the summertime, or large moths, but up until now, no birds.

Well, the cats were Very Amused; I was not so much, since I have 9ft. ceilings and if the bird made it upstairs, two-story ceilings in the hallway, which would entail me driving to the store for a net, because I don't have one (and I bet no one stocks nets in November anyway.) So I grabbed a throw off my rocking chair, and the race was on.

I think it was a little wren or something? I am not up on birds. But needless to say, I did manage to grab it before the cats could do much damage, and carry it outside, where it sat on my blanket for a little while in the breeze before it flew away.

So of course I went back to get my camera before it left...

Suicidal birdie, or just one that made a wrong turn?

The cats, of course, are quite disappointed that their new toy has 'flown away'.

2011-11-13T10:38:00.001-05:00

It's warm today, but so windy that I'm obviously not going to get out into the garden to mulch it for winter. Oh well... there will be other days. This is my last day of vacation, so I intend to enjoy it as I prepare for the week ahead.

One day, I will look forward to the week ahead and not dread (although dread is a bit too strong of a word) going back to work, because I will never have left 'work' to begin with, and it will be a lot more enjoyable and not something I would call work at all.

I'm a little stuck on the second part of the Jericho sequence (although this one is really turning out to be Phillip's story) so I'm rereading How Lyenel met Jeril in the hopes that gives me some ideas for a conclusion of that one. We'll see.

Still no movement on Scarecrows, either. It's being quite flighty.

2011-11-13T08:52:00.001-05:00

The Bookcase of Doom is now in place in the library, without much to-do at all, thanks to a last-minute loan of a truck. I spent last night moving all of my old and ancient books (okay, most aren't that ancient; I think the oldest book I own nowadays is from 1838) behind glass doors.

So now the big rearranging of the library begins. I'm not going to get finished today; there's no way, but hopefully by the end of this week.

Pictures later, when everything is in place.

2011-11-10T18:46:00.001-05:00

Heh. Back in the day when there were less than a thousand ebooks in the fantasy section of Fictionwise, my books regularly hit the top 10 bestsellers list, one once rising to #2. Then the ebook market boomed and little authors like me barely made a blip in the top 100. So I've been aiming for the top 50, but I usually forget to check and haven't checked for a long while.

Imagine my surprise when I checked Fictionwise this evening and found The Sixth Stone #54 and Capture #55. Out of 2,148 ebooks in the fantasy section. Not too shabby! (And Full Moon, a perennial bestseller, is #100.)

In the Young Adult section, Nine Lives and Three Wishes is #11, again, not too shabby.

2011-11-10T08:15:00.001-05:00

While watching Into the Wild* last night, I crocheted one scarf (will take pics later; it's really lovely) and finished the weaving-in-progress on Junior. Today, amid cleaning, I will warp Junior again for a scarf already spoken for; one I should have woven a long time ago and did not get around to it. Well, this is the time to get around to it.

The weaving-in-progress is too short for a scarf, so I thought I'd make it into a Nook bag, but I'm not sure I can double layer it and do that. We'll see; I'm waiting for my Nook cover to come in the mail (hopefully today.) And then, perhaps, I can play around with it a bit.

I completely rearranged and cleaned the living room yesterday, and a good portion of the Green Room is done as well. Today will be cleaning out the hallway, sweeping, mopping, folding laundry, washing and drying more laundry, and getting ready for tomorrow, when Elsa will be here all day! :)

But this morning I am going to Sams with Mom. So I have my list ready and will be leaving in a few minutes.

The second part of the Jericho sequence is going well, too. All in all, this has been a great week.

*It was a good movie. I've been wanting to see it since it came out, but it hasn't been available online as far as I could tell. Amazon now has it "for rent." I am ok with renting streaming movies I know I won't want to watch again, so I watched it last night. I read the book a long, long time ago. I thought the movie was really well done. Lovely scenery!

2011-11-09T16:59:00.002-05:00

Living room, weaving/crocheting-in-progress

2011-11-08T19:40:00.003-05:00

Almost evening.

2011-11-08T14:59:00.003-05:00

Midafternoon.

Hot chocolate is so easy to make I don't understand why people bother with the packaged stuff. I wanted something chocolate, so I poured a cup of milk into a small pan, measured out vanilla (not much), black cocoa (feel free to use regular unsweetened cocoa), sugar (about half a teaspoon), stirred, and when it was boiling (which took no time at all), poured it into a mug.

Yum!

(I'm sure you could add cinnamon or ginger for a different taste as well, or any number of extracts.)

And those are the Oatmeal Sunflower Seed cookies!

2011-11-07T17:48:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but I am madly in love with raw sunflower seeds. They have so much more flavor than roasted ones! Thankfully, the semi-local Amish bulk foods store carries them for a reasonable price, so the last time I went there, I stocked up.

Tonight, I made Oatmeal Sunflower Seed cookies. It is a variation of a recipe I found online. And while I wondered if the flavoring (vanilla) and just plain sugar (although I did use organic sugar) would be enough to make them tasty (I almost added cinnamon), I shouldn't have worried. They are delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar (I used organic evaporated cane juice sugar)
1 egg (I did use a fresh-from-the-local-farm egg)
2 tsp. real vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sunflower seeds (I used raw. If you use roasted and salted, I'd cut down on the salt)
1 1/4 c. oats (I used regular oats)
1 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder

Some extra sugar for dipping.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together until well creamed. Add salt, sunflower seeds, oats, flour, and baking powder. Mix well. This was a very sticky dough. Roll into small balls and dip into sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Makes approximately 2 dozen.

Enjoy!

2011-11-05T18:37:00.002-04:00

I'm off work next week, and so today, my first day of vacation, I've been writing. Oh well. :)

My intent is to clean and reorganize and declutter. I am still working through some things as to where I want some items to go. Not that successfully, truthfully.

(But Part 2 of the Jericho sequence is currently 6,485 words.)

I also found the cache of free Nook books at BN.com, as well as a bunch of "Complete Works" Nook books. I am beginning to like this idea a lot. :)

I will write more later.

2011-11-03T21:44:00.001-04:00

Well, my Nook is here and charging. It's actually a bit larger than I expected. It seems to work well; I downloaded Bag of Bones by Stephen King (it's my favorite one of his, and I can't find my hardback and I've been wanting to read it lately), plus a book of 1200 fairy tales, plus the complete Sherlock Holmes. That should work for a while. :)

2011-10-30T20:12:00.002-04:00

The day after I brought my loom home, Dad called and told me there was one listed at a local estate sale listing service. It was smaller, older, and it stole my heart, and I got it for less than what I paid for the larger one. (I will have to name them now, I suppose.)

Anyway, it's oak with one cherry piece, counterbalance, four harness, four treadle, 24" weaving width (although it has a 22" reed in it right now. It doesn't really need a lot to get it working.

This is not where it will stay.

And so, unintentionally, I ended up with two floor looms. So that has made me rethink the Green Room a little bit--not much, but enough to move some things around--again. Once I get in there, at least.

While driving home (Dad had a clock to pick up at the same location), I checked my email on my phone and saw a coupon code for a Nook EReader--just the basic one, nothing fancy--for $64. This was so close to the $50 mark (which is kind of what I've been aiming for) that I really couldn't pass it up. Multiple times during the year I've wished I had a book with me when I did not, because the backpack I carry to and from work unfortunately only fits my netbook, not a hardback book as well. It would fit a paperback book, but I've been reading mostly larger paperbacks and hardbacks. And I'm not inclined to buy a larger backpack, since this one fits my netbook so well. And while I read all the time on my netbook, it's not really that comfortable to read on, and plus I bought it to write on anyway. And I've been wanting to try out an EReader anyway.

So we'll see if I like it when it gets here. It is just the Wi-Fi version, which is fine for home and at work, and it evidently holds something like 1200 books, so I should be good. ;)

So basically, other than cleaning the entry room, which is almost finished (!!!) that's been my weekend.

(Seriously, almost finished! I even got rid of Mabel's crate! And I took out the garbage!)

Oatmeal and Tea

2011-10-28T19:13:00.000-04:00

There's something so simple, so pure
about putting the kettle on for tea and supper--
water steams as you pour from kettle to teapot,
over leaves that waken and grace you with flavor and warmth.

Supper, three handfuls of oats in your favorite bowl,
again, the kettle, pouring water, a dollop of maple syrup.
One handful of almonds. By the time you carry it to the table,
it's ready. How much closer to instant can that possibly be?

2011-10-28T06:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday evening, I was sitting here, minding my own business when the scene from a story struck me so hard I had to write it down. I'm not sure where it's going, or even if it will go anywhere (heck, I have what, two other unfinished storydreams at the moment, so why not three?) but we'll see...

He sat and watched as they searched, curled up in the reading chair, as they tore apart the library and gouged holes in the walls. They carried out more than he cared to count, as some sort of evidence, he supposed, but they didn't come close to finding what they were looking for.

They wouldn't find it. It was well-hidden, and so was he.

For weeks they kept guards on every door, waiting for him to return, not knowing that he watched them from inside, and always chose the times they weren't looking to scrounge something to eat from his own well-stocked cupboards.

And he kept the cloak on and activated, a ghost in his own silent house.

Read more...

2011-10-24T06:36:00.001-04:00

I just got a "new book announcement" from Amazon, and the words "the modern sewist" are included in the blurb.

Sewist?!?! What the heck? Is that even a word?

2011-10-23T17:42:00.001-04:00

I'm making stew for lunches next week, using mostly root vegetables, including beets and radishes, and one bag of frozen vegetables to get them used up. It smells really good. Hopefully it will taste really good as well.

I had half-decided to go to the grocery and buy some meat for my stew, and perhaps carrots, but then I decided to make do with what I had, and I had more than I thought. (No meat, though, but that's okay.)

I'm also making honey whole wheat flax seed wheat germ bread. I made up the recipe, so we'll see how it turns out. It should definitely be interesting!

ETA: Stew--fabulously tasty. I might never eat radishes raw again. And the beets!! I bought them at the Amish Farmer's Market and they looked kind of woody, but after peeling, they cooked up great. I had a very yummy supper!

The bread is... interesting. I'll know more when I actually cut into it.

2011-10-22T16:45:00.000-04:00

Jericho's story, which ended up a novella at 20,732 words, is finished. 17 days. Not so bad.

If anyone wants to read it, let me know. :)

This is actually perfect timing, because I need to take a bit of a break, writing-wise, to clean and declutter and reorganize my house. I will be on vacation in two weeks, so that will work perfectly. And, it's right in time for NaNoWriMo if I want to write something new. (Although I really should finish Scarecrows.)

2011-10-22T11:47:00.002-04:00

German Farmhouse Rye, Honey French (2), and Honey Cornmeal are rising. Since I can only fit four loaves at a time in my oven, I have to go in stages.

Next up will be Russian Black Rye, two more Honey French, and White Cheddar Cheese Bread.

If I have time, I will make two more: Sunflower Bread and/or Three Seed Bread. Or something with garlic, just because.

ETA@ 1:13pm: Honey Cornmeal and both Honey French are in the oven. White Cheddar Cheese and Black Russian Rye and rising. German Farmhouse is taking its sweet old time rising. I want to do at least three more loaves, I think.

Pizza-from-scratch for lunch. I am so hungry!!

ETA@ 2:47pm: Honey Cornmeal, Honey French, and German Farmhouse are out of the oven. Russian Black Rye is in the oven. White Cheddar Cheese is almost ready to come out of the oven; it smells fabulous. Another loaf of Honey French is rising. And Apple Chunk bread is in the bread machine for dough.

The two loaves of Honey French are kind of small. Sometimes I have trouble with that recipe rising properly.

I'm curious to see how the Apple Chunk bread looks/tastes. It's supposed to taste like apple pie. I've not made it before.

ETA@ 4:42pm: Apple Chunk is in the oven, and I'm done. I might have to bid on that one, just to see what it tastes like... although if it goes too high, then I will just come home and make another loaf tomorrow. :)

2011-10-22T09:18:00.001-04:00

I am baking bread today for the Baked Goods Auction up at church this evening. I'm only down for six loaves of bread... I may make more, we'll see.

I believe we might have gotten a touch of frost last night, although the spaghetti squash vine out back still looks the same. The only thing (really) left out in the garden that still can be picked is kale, but the kale shouldn't be affected by a touch of frost.

I'll write more later, I'm sure.

2011-10-20T18:35:00.002-04:00

I turned on the heat. It was 53F and dropping at the thermostat; it would have been 50F by morning, and it's only supposed to get up to 42F tomorrow, with 34F overnight. So.

I only turned the thermostat to 60F, however.

For posterity's sake:

2011--October 20
2010--October 28
2009--Unknown, but sometime in October
2008--October 22
2007--Unknown, but sometime in October
2006--October 6 (!!!)
2005--October 23

2011-10-17T20:08:00.000-04:00

I neglected to say anything about the last Burlington and can't get my previous post to allow me to add anything at the bottom. Argh.

It was decent, temperature-wise, when we left Sunday morning, but the wind picked up by the time we set up, and it got cold. Really cold. Like, everyone was walking about in blankets, cold. However, the sun came out eventually and it warmed up and while Dad had a decent day, I didn't make much. But then again, I didn't bring much, so what I made was just fine.

Of course, all of it went to Dad for payment for a cast iron foot-powered jigsaw, but I'll talk about that later.

I didn't buy much, truthfully. A nice early chair, kind of small, for $15. You can see the marks where the maker hollowed out the seat a bit for easier sitting. A copper teapot made in Holland for $8. A (very sharp) carving knife for $5. A couple of old bottles from Dad--one blue, one green. And a wool skirt to remake to fit me for $2.

But since I went to see the loom last night, I didn't get home until after 9pm, so yesterday was a really long day.

Full Circle.

2011-10-17T18:57:00.001-04:00

(Mostly mirrored from Plethora.)

I started a story a couple of weeks ago, backstory for a character who appeared in the book I'm writing. It's a story in itself, not just a slice of his life.

His beloved, Celeste, is a weaver, among other things.

Around the same time, I realized that the awkward space in my workroom/studio was the perfect size for a floor loom. And I realized that I'd told myself someday, and I'd put that desire away, and I'd said I didn't have time to weave anymore. And I remembered when I first learned to weave, and how I bought too many looms and how I bought too many supplies, and how I decided to sell Elizabeth, my rug loom, Lisbet my four harness Harrisville, and Ester, my Glimakra table loom, and all of the others, because they weren't the right ones.

The only looms I currently own--that are sitting in my house--are Junior, my 9" rigid heddle loom, one unnamed osage orange tape loom, and a floor-standing inkle loom I'd love to sell (but would have to sell locally since it doesn't come apart easily.) I still have the project loom as well, upstairs in the Project Room.

See, here's the thing. I don't need the gateleg table in the workroom/studio. I have the dining room table, which is well-suited for cutting out large patterns. The gateleg table is just extra storage, if I'm completely truthful. And extra storage isn't necessary in that room. I want it to be a workroom, not a place to stick stuff/supplies, etc. That's why my upstairs studio is no longer usable.

I told myself that I'd set a firm budget (very small) and also spend time looking for the right loom. I would want something large enough without being too large, and also something sturdy enough to weave rugs as well as scarves and dishtowels and whatever I could possibly want. Something smallish and more portable would be nice, too. (Meaning, not huge, like a Glimakra or something like that.)

I would only want four harnesses, period. I'm not interested (still) in the Very Complicated weaving patterns. I did not want a table loom or a table loom with treadle setup, or a Harrisville. While Lisbet was a nice loom, I never felt that she was very sturdy. And while Elizabeth was also a nice loom, she was also really only a rug loom. And while Ester was absolutely gorgeous, I found that I'm not a table loom type of person.

And I didn't want to have to pay for shipping, either. So it had to be relatively local.

I figured it would take the rest of the winter and into spring and maybe summer to find one.

Imagine my surprise when I randomly searched on Craigslist Saturday afternoon and found one--literally--fifteen minutes away from my parents' house in Bethel for my exact budget price.

It had been up on Craigslist for four days already. I figured it was gone. So I emailed the sellers, and they responded while I was at Burlington yesterday. We emailed back and forth, and I went to go see the loom last night.

Not only did I get to meet the wonderful owners, I also found a practically brand-new Swedish-made loom in great condition. The only reason why it didn't come home with me last night was because I didn't think it would fit in my car and it was dark, so I didn't want to haul it outside, and then find it wouldn't fit.

This afternoon, Dad and I picked up a 45" Lillstina four harness/six treadle floor loom. I'm quite pleased with my find. And I'm planning to give myself time to learn to use her, instead of bouncing hither and yon as I go along.

And that awkward space in my workroom will finally have a purpose.

2011-10-15T12:42:00.002-04:00

Today was the official "put the garden to bed day", although there might be one more day if it doesn't frost for a while. I picked a large basket full of shell beans and dried beans, a nice amount of green beans for one last supper, dug up the sweet potatoes (I'm declaring the "sweet potatoes in piles of mulch" idea a success, because I filled up my biggest colander, and one of them is about 14" long), picked the peppers (lots of peppers!) and basically spent an hour and a half out in the garden this morning.

Earlier today, I renewed my drivers license and my license plate tags (I forgot to do it yesterday), and found no line at all at the BMV! I was in and out in ten minutes. Fabulous. I'd even thought ahead and brought a book, because I figured there would be a really long line on a Saturday.

After that, since it was early yet, I stopped in at the local Amish store to stock up on what they have there--great eggs, cheese, some lunchmeat for lunches and suchlike, and the pumpkin bars for my birthday that I intended to buy yesterday but the other store did not have any.

Now, lunchtime, and I have to pack stuff for Burlington tomorrow. I am still trying to decide about a spinning wheel.

Jericho's story, which really needs a name, is currently 15,751 because I had to cut three pages due to venturing down the wrong path for the right reason. :)

2011-10-14T20:01:00.001-04:00

Today is my birthday. I am 37 years old. I'm sure that makes my parents' feel rather old, too. :)

I had a lovely day to day. I drove to the local-ish Amish Bulk Foods store (Keims, for anyone in the neighborhood) and stocked up! On flours, and organic sugar, and sunflower seeds and spices and oats--I was out of quite a bit and needed to go so badly that I decided to go on my birthday. I also picked up some produce at the market stand nearby; it was really reasonably priced and looked good! I brought home cabbage, beets, and acorn squash*.

Then I went to Mom and Dad's to visit for a while, since both Chase and Elsa were there. I went down the road with Mom when she left to drop off Chase, and we stopped at Goodwill on the way home, since you get 50% on your birthday.

Well, I only bought a vintage picnic basket (I have one other one; I like to use them to haul stuff to shows and also to store fiber and/or yarn etc. in) and a small blue pottery dish, but we bought someone special a brand new bicycle (for $20!) and some clothes.

I would have ended up with a pair of Born clogs in my size, brand new, but the other shoe was mysteriously missing. The workers figured someone wanted to come tomorrow when everything was 50%, and they'd hid the other shoe. I personally think that's a dumb thing to do, since shoes at Goodwill (unless they are fancy shoes up front in the case) are never more than $10 and most likely $6 or $8, and the remaining clog had a price tag of $100 on it. So I did not come home with a pair of shoes, darn it all. (I looked everywhere, too. Except the bathrooms.)

*Speaking of acorn squash, Dad got me a really cool acorn squash and cabbage leaf teapot set for my birthday! It's so cute. There are two acorn squash teapots, six cups, a little acorn squash vase, and also three cabbage leaf plates. And it will go quite well with my pumpkin teapot.(Note: that's not my particular teapot; I've had mine for almost two years.)

2011-10-10T20:25:00.001-04:00

So the moon is almost full, and it was looking quite lovely up there in the sky tonight even with the cloudcover. I was on my way home from eating supper at Mom and Dad's (with Elsa and Emily) and I turned down the street that passes the library. There were a couple of people on the sidewalk in front of the library, an adult and three or four kids. They were clustered around something that looked (in the dark) kind of like a cannon--seriously, it was one of these, and they are huge.

Anyway, what a nice evening to watch the stars and the moon, even though the clouds!

Simple, Green, and Sustainable Living.

2011-10-10T16:24:00.000-04:00

Like many people, I've been struggling with the consumerism in our society, and the push over the last couple of years to live a simple, green, and sustainable life. It's gotten way too trendy for me, personally.

I'm not so sure buying 100% organic everything, sustainably harvested, or made with solar power is truly the way to go. See, you're still buying. You're still feeding into that consumerist society. Sure, what you are buying is better for the Earth, but you are still feeding the monster.

There's no simple answer, however. Buying from sustainably-minded businesses is a good idea. But sometimes, buying nothing at all is the best idea.

Most of us already own everything we possibly could need in any given year. We are so used to excess that to do without something for the simple sake of not needing it seems alien.

So I took a step back, and reconsidered.

What do I truly need to live a simple, green, and sustainable life?

Wants are easy, and of course I want a lot. I want a bread oven in my backyard, for example. I don't need one.

But what do I truly need?

I broke it down to basic generalities:

Currently--

--I need clothing for work and for at home.
--I need transportation to and from work.
--I need some sort of internet access.
--I need a place to store food.
--I need a place to sleep, and eat, and create, whether it be making jewelry, spinning, sewing, or writing books.
--I need a sense of community, or family that I can call on in times of need.
--And yet, I also need to be more self-sufficient.
--I need silence, and quiet, and peacefulness.
--I need space for a garden, and trees.
--I need a dedicated space for meditative exercise.
--I need a place to relax and do nothing, if needed.
--I need books for the knowledge they contain.
--I need space for new hobbies-to-come.
--I need time to do all of these things.

I do not need--

--More crafting supplies.
--More fiber.
--More kitchenware, including mixing bowls and/or bowls in general; I seem to have a particular weakness for bowls lately for some reason.
--More stuff in general.
--More shoes, especially boots. The only pair of shoes I actually need is a new pair of sandals for next year.
--More animals. While I dearly love my pets, now is not the time to add any additions to my household.
--More obligations. See that last need, above.

To me, truly living a simple, green, and sustainable life means that unless it's worn out, it doesn't get replaced. And even when it wears out and/or breaks, do you truly need to replace it? And if it absolutely needs to be replaced, find it used*. And if it can't be found used, then buy it new--from a sustainable source.

*And if it's an electric item, can it be found hand-powered?

But with that in mind, there are things I like to have that I don't particularly need and never really needed at all. And that will be in another post.

2011-10-10T11:15:00.002-04:00

Jericho's story is currently 7,188 words.

Yes, I'm supposed to be working on Scarecrows. But this happens sometimes; a character shows up, and the backstory is just too interesting to write.

ETA @ 4:46pm: Currently 10,014 words. This is fun to write. If it's longer than a novella, I'll be surprised, but it might surprise me. Even so, it's a nice addition to the Mess.

2011-10-09T18:36:00.003-04:00

The front yard is mown, hopefully for the last time this year. It wasn't as hard as I thought; the grass was really long, but most of it had gone to seed (it doesn't grow very high) so it was actually pretty simple, and yet a very good workout.

I picked up all the walnuts first and still missed some; I bet I have about 10lbs of walnuts in my bag at the moment. That's going to be a fun experiment; I've never actually picked walnuts to use before, and preparing them for use is pretty time-intensive.

I stopped by the garden as I passed by, and I have bunches of peppers to pick. It's also time to pick the dried beans. There are a lot of them. Also, it's time to dig up the sweet potatoes, since the vines are just about dead.

I will mow the backyard (again, hopefully for the last time this year) tomorrow, and also get out into the garden. Otherwise, my day tomorrow will be like my normal day on Sunday, since I watched Elsa all day today. (Well, watching Elsa mostly consists of being amused by Elsa and her antics. And we baked cookies, too! We had a blast.)

I have stir-fry (well, I'm making stir-fry) tonight, thanks to Emily; she brought home radishes, pea shoots, and mushrooms from the Farmer's Market and gave some to me. I'll take that as payment for "watching" (enjoying) Elsa any day. :)

Also, ten years ago today I got married. I can't believe I'm the same person.

2011-10-09T08:31:00.000-04:00

A slightly brighter beginning:

According to his father, the Richmond family owned hundreds of acres of the forest along with everything in it. So when Jericho found the derelict cabin on the edge of a long-dry creek, he--naturally--assumed that it was his to claim.

So he claimed it.

The books were first to come because they were easier to hide. The instruments came later--carried in pieces, sometimes, and painstakingly pieced back together with the knowledge he'd found in some of the books.

The Richmonds had never been any sort of wizards, but he tried to erect wards around his sanctuary, not that he thought his father would find him here. He'd never seen his father set foot in the forest. He should have been safe.

But even then, he spent a month in wretched indecision before he began to play.

He'd never actually played the instruments, just studied them. But that didn't seem to matter; his finger instinctively knew which notes to play. Vampire flesh did not callous well, but he had callouses on his fingers from many an overnight concert as spring turned to summer and summer turned to fall.

One November night, he thought he heard a snatch of music as he approached the cabin, but there wasn't anyone there when he arrived, and nothing seemed to be disturbed. But when he went to leave, someone waited for him on the porch, a someone with a guitar case on the floor beside him, sitting in a rocking chair that hadn't been there just hours before, his face hidden by a broad-brimmed hat.

"I'm not here to harm you in any way," the figure said before Jericho could bolt or do something he'd regret later. "I heard you playing, earlier."

Jericho wasn't quite sure what to say to that. No one had ever heard him play.

"How old are you?" the figure asked, still friendly.

"I'm eight years old," Jericho said. "Do you live out here?" It seemed impossible that his sanctuary could have neighbors, especially after seeing no one for so many months.

"Eight years old," the figure murmured. "Incredible." In reply to his question, the figure said, "No. I don't live near here. No one does. You're quite secluded, here on the edge."

"The edge of what?" Jericho asked.

The figure raised his head so that the moonlight spilled across his face, and suddenly, Jericho could see him clearly.

Not a human. Nor a vampire.

An elf.

Jericho had heard the stories; he knew what the elves did to vampires who strayed onto the territory. But this--this was Richmond land.

Wasn't it?

"As I said before, I mean you no harm," the elf said softly.

Jericho stepped back over the threshold. "How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"You don't," the elf said, and bent to lift the guitar case onto his lap. "But I'm hoping you accept this as a token of my trust." He opened the lid and lifted out a guitar, but not just any guitar.

Jericho hadn't been able to figure out how to smuggle a guitar into the house, and then into the forest and to his sanctuary. He'd managed a violin, and a passel of flutes and whistles, and even a ukulele, but not a guitar.

His fingers itched to hold this one; to play it. But he restrained himself. There would be a price; he knew that much as well. Nothing ever happened for free.

The elf held out the guitar. It was beautifully made; handmade, he sensed, and masterfully done. It wasn't as large as some of the guitars he had seen hanging in stores, but it wasn't a child's guitar, either. And it was very, very old. He sensed its age, even from across the porch. The wood gleamed in the moonlight.

"Try it," the elf said. "If it likes you, then it will be yours."

"On one condition," Jericho said when the elf did not continue. "Or maybe two, or three--" He waited, but the elf said nothing. "There are always conditions. There is always a price. I've heard the stories--" And then, "If it likes me?"

"The stories aren't always true," the elf said, ignoring his actual question. "But in this case, yes. One condition. I don't think you'll find it difficult."

"What is it?" Jericho asked suspiciously.

"That you play," the elf said. "And keep playing, until the guitar is no longer in your possession. Until you can no longer play."

"My father--" Jericho began, then stopped, because he didn't really know how to explain his family to a stranger, especially an elf.

"Your father will not deny you this," the elf said, and it was that--that assurance--that made Jericho take the guitar from the elf; accept a pick--just a simple plastic pick, nothing more, and place his fingers in the correct position--

When he finally glanced up; when he realized that the night was over and that it was well-past dawn, and he stood alone on the porch, in sunlight; the elf was gone, the guitar case open at his feet.

In sunlight.

It was past dawn.

The cabin he'd claimed wasn't on Richmond land. It was past the Veil, in Faerie. He'd been trespassing all along.

He stood there on the porch, staring out at the sunlit forest. He'd never actually stood in unprotected sunlight before. The world seemed too bright; too sharp. The nighttime world was full of shadows. In sunlight, the shadows faded away. He started to retreat back into the cabin, into his sanctuary, but the guitar caught his gaze, and he sat down in the rocking chair that hadn't disappeared with the elf, and began to play.

Later, when he returned home--after dusk, of course, since he couldn't see the Veil--his father made no mention of his absence. His mother noticed the guitar case, but she said nothing.

It was almost as if he had never left.

Ten years later, he returned to the cabin in the forest, only to find it empty; the instruments he'd abandoned as an eight-year-old child gone, the floor choked with leaves and twigs and forest debris. The table was still there, however, showing its age now, stained and sodden and close to collapse.

Jericho left a CD of his first album on the table, as thanks. He never returned to see if it was gone.

So now you see where we begin.

2011-10-08T18:53:00.001-04:00

I spent the day at the Appalachian Mountain Artisans Fest in Winchester, Ohio; it was a bit warm, but not as hot as last year. It was also quite fun. I sold some handspun yarn (yay!), among other things, and brought Eliza with me, and we plied some more yarn and spun some bright blue English Longwool Roving.

I brought home local honey, local maple syrup, olive oil soap, and olive oil-based lotion, along with some really soft bouncy brown tweedy roving.

It's a three-day show, and Jess was there as well yesterday, but she has another show tomorrow, so I only stayed the one day... which was fine.

I did a lot better this year selling-wise than last year. Maybe that's a good sign!

2011-10-06T20:50:00.000-04:00

"They cut down the tree," the first one said, and dropped his half of their burden into the snow that drifted across the forest floor.

The second one lowered the wrapped bundle a bit more carefully, not that it mattered now. "They? They who? Why would someone just cut down a tree way out here?"

But the first one wasn't lying; the tree they'd used six times before was gone, completely, as if it had never existed. There wasn't even a stump to tie their burden to; the snow lay unbroken where the tree had once stood.

The second glanced around the undisturbed snow. "There are other trees."

"Farther back," the first said sourly. "Closer to the Veil. If we pass through it, he won't burn."

"Do you want to go back and find someone who can see it to make sure he dies, or would you rather leave him here now and be home before dawn? Either way, he won't survive this. The elves won't treat him kindly if they find him before the sun and he's not already dead." The second's mouth twisted. "I'll leave the decision up to you."

Perhaps in better weather, the first would have elected to wait for a wizard or someone who could see the Veil between the Human World and Faerie. But with the night half gone already, and their burden more a millstone around their necks, he lifted his half, waited until the second had picked up the rest, and walked farther into the forest.

There was blood on the snow from where they'd dropped him, but neither the first nor the second cared.

It wasn't difficult to find a suitable tree. Not one with many branches, but large enough so that their burden wouldn't be able to snap the trunk. They had to wrap the chains around his chest, not his arms; their master had been... quite thorough with his fury.

Their burden never opened his eyes, although they seemed to be swollen shut anyway. Never showed any sign of awareness, or knowledge of his fate.

The first avoided looking at their burden's crushed hands. Broken arms. Bones peeked out from his shredded sleeves; the shirt had once been white.

Shockingly, if he'd been given blood, and enough time to heal, he would have healed, even from this. But their orders had been clear.

And they truly had no choice.

So with only a handful of hours to spare, they left him chained, slumped against the tree's trunk to await the dawn.

The second disposed of the sheet they'd used to wrap their burden in the creek where the water would wash it clean. The first disposed of everything else that might identify the corpse. Their burden's earthly possessions had already been destroyed.

Although, the first couldn't quite bring himself to dispose of the guitar pick he'd found clutched in their burden's broken hand. It would have melted, but he knew what that guitar had meant to Jericho Richmond, and he owed him that much, at the very least, since Jericho Richmond would soon be dead.

Jericho Richmond is Cecilia's older brother.

2011-10-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

It was 55F at the thermostat when I woke up this morning, mostly because I closed all the windows. It was only a two cat night, however. Loki and Chloe did not join me in my nice warm bed.

It was supposed to be a patchy frost last night as well, and I should have gone back out into the garden to pick stuff, especially beans, but I didn't make it out there. So hopefully the patchy frost (if it even happened) did not hurt anything. I know that the volunteer spaghetti squash is still fine out back, so maybe it didn't frost at all.

I drank too much strong tea last night, and had trouble getting to sleep. The tractor pull at the fair wasn't that loud, really. So I slept in a bit this morning.

I have a lot to do today nonetheless, one of which is to decide if I'm making soup for lunches next week, or something else.

2011-10-01T20:26:00.000-04:00

Jenna at ColdAntlerFarm had a good post today.

2011-10-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

Let's see--a small recap.

Capture was released on Wednesday! This is a must-read if you want to read the next Karen Montgomery story. This is my eighteenth book published, too!

The rummage sale was yesterday and today up at church. I ended up bringing home one quilt and a comforter, five bowls (four cereal bowls and one mixing bowl), a Pyrex casserole dish in my pattern (the Snowflake pattern), a couple of books, and a box full of Eagle pencils, leads, sharpening stuff, a tin can of pencils and pens I need to go through, and a bunch of other stuff, all pen-and-pencil related, including some ink as well. I also got a bag of clothing, including two zip up sweaters--boy, I'm glad I didn't use my online coupon from Old Navy to buy one brand new like I intended to do last week.

And then today, Elinor went to her new home. I met her very nice new owner in Wilmington, where it was 45F outside, brrrr! I'm so glad I wasn't at the RenFaire today, let me tell you! I think Elinor will be a good wheel for her new owner. And I got to meet another Raveler, too, which was fun. :)

While there (I ended up getting there early, and she was running a little late) I decided to stop at the antique shop. There weren't any spinning wheels, but I did come away with four Bybee mugs (the short ones, they're useful for soup and suchlike), one small green bowl, and two stainless steel and copper mixing bowls that are very heavy duty bowls. They are in great shape, only need a little cleaning on the outside. I am curious if I find a maker's mark. I looked at the shop, but I didn't see one. They will be very useful.

With Elinor gone, that means I'm down to projects again and no wheels ready to go that I want to sell. So I'd best get cracking if I want to bring a wheel to Burlington for the last show. I have Fancy and the Mad Stamper wheel, both Saxonies. I could probably manage a Great Wheel, perhaps, although that would mean more parts, and I don't really have any parts at the moment that would work. (I need a wheel for one Great Wheel, for example.) Fancy needs a little sanding, some cleaning, and a new flyer, which means ebay. The Mad Stamper wheel needs a maiden and a flyer, which is a bit more work.

So we'll see what I can manage, since next week looks pretty busy too...

2011-09-28T19:43:00.002-04:00

I had another idea... and this one might actually work even better!

2011-09-28T06:30:00.003-04:00

Well said. Very well said.

I grew up in my local library. I devoured books. Without the books I read, I wouldn't be the person I am now.

And I certainly wouldn't have become a writer.

I have more to say on this subject, but I have to get ready for work.

2011-09-26T20:32:00.001-04:00

My idea just isn't going to work--with the dining room table still in the same room. This isn't truly a formal dining room room; it's narrower, and long. Plus, I have--on one wall, the fireplace and closet and door. On the other wall, a long radiator and a window. Then the bay windows. Then the door leading to the hallway. There's just not enough floor space or wall space for everything.

Which leaves me in the same place as before.

The easiest thing to do would be to leave the organ in place; that whole side of the room in place, in fact. Move the bookcases, and put the glass-fronted oak bookcase on this wall, beside my desk. All three bookcases would have to move. Which isn't a big deal, since one will fit on top of the glass-fronted bookcase, and the other two can be put elsewhere.

It wouldn't look terrible, and I think I could actually move my desk over a little bit.

Not much, because of the table, but a little bit.

But then there's the closet problem. And I would really like to eliminate the closet problem. Just removing the door and putting in more shelves (for example) would not erase the problem; it would still be an awkward corner.

I've thought about blocking the closet off entirely and just forgetting it's there. My desk would actually fit sideways across the entire closet. But then I'd be butting up against the glass-fronted bookcase. Which might not be a terrible thing, but might look a bit weird, I don't know. And my desk would just fit. I'd have to find a spot for my computer's CPU, which is currently sitting beside my desk on a shelf. But there's actually three inches to spare, so maybe I could work something out. Hmm. But how would it look sideways with my glass-fronted bookcase effectively behind it? I don't know... and I really don't want to move everything around if I end up moving it right back where it was before.

I've considered putting a small table inside the closet and removing the door. I've also considered somehow creating a desk inside the closet--the neatest idea, yes, but that would mean putting my desk somewhere else, and I rather like my desk... plus, with my desk still in place, that means an extra-awkward corner, oh boy.

If my desk was not here, then it wouldn't be an issue, but again, we come back to the endlessly circling questions and what seem to be endlessly circling pieces of furniture.

*sigh*

Hmm, hold on a second. I think I might have figured it out, at least part of the way... yes, again.

I have hundreds of drawings like this one. We'll see if this works.

2011-09-25T20:59:00.004-04:00

So Friday evening, Dad went to an auction that had a couple of musical instruments, one mandolin that went for too much and one bowed psaltry that didn't, along with a zither by the same maker. (Pigeon Forge String Instruments.)

The psaltry is made out of red oak, I think; the zither might be cherry? It's hard to tell. Both were made in the mid-90s, and are in good condition.

I got both for $30, total. Considering what I paid for my original bowed psaltry, it was a steal. I think I will probably keep both of them, but we'll see what I eventually decide.

2011-09-25T18:02:00.003-04:00

In my library (formerly the formal dining room), I have a closet. It's the only closet downstairs.

I'm not sure what it's original purpose was; it's right beside the fireplace and has a door that is obviously a replacement; it's been built on and added to.

At the moment, I have odds and ends in this closet, none of which actually need to stay in there at all. Soon, I will be adding my glass-fronted oak bookcase to the library, which will house my great-grandmother's dishes along with many books. And the only other things inside the closet that are actually good, useful items are the table leaves. Everything else inside the closet could be stored somewhere else. (In fact, the table leaves could be stored elsewhere too.)

I've always wondered what the closet's original purpose was. If this was the parlor originally, it's too far away for clothes, really, and there are no holes where coats were once hung or anything like that. It makes no sense as a bookcase; it really looks like an afterthought and not much more. (The door going into the entry room (which was once the kitchen) is on the other side of the fireplace. So it's even, at least. But the doors don't match at all; the one on the closet has glass and it's more of a porch door anyway.)

So I've been thinking. With the advent of the oak bookcase, and moving my desk to the other side of the room, it would actually be neat to have a reading nook of sorts, and to move my reading chair from the bay window, since it will have to move anyway. I could remove the door entirely, place my reading chair somewhat inside the closet, have a lamp behind it, and use the two remaining shelves in the bookcase for large, oversized books and nothing more. Or keep my records on the top shelf and use the other shelf for books--you get the idea, I'm sure.

In fact, I could keep the table leaves inside the closet, because you wouldn't be able to see them at all.

The only issue is that I'm not sure of the width of the bookcase. I think it's about 50" wide, and if that's the case, then my idea would work, with about 5" to spare. Because what I envision is to have the organ on this wall as well, on the other side of the bookcase. And together, that would be 104" across this wall. (Right now, the bookcases and my desk are 105", and since the glass-fronted bookcase is obviously not as deep as my desk, angling my reading chair to fit wouldn't be a problem at all.)

My hickory rocking chair could go in the bay window, my desk would fit fine right in the "alcove" beside it, and voila, the library would live again, with space for glassware/dishes as well as books.

That's a lot of rearranging before the bookcase gets here, though. I was hoping to have it all ready this week, but we'll see. It might not be possible to rearrange that much furniture in so little time.

But now that I have a plan, at least I can make an attempt!

2011-09-24T16:57:00.002-04:00

I now have three outdoor cats and four indoor cats.

2011-09-21T20:45:00.000-04:00

Sometime in early spring, I threw the leftover spaghetti squash out the back door, into the remnants of the little garden (that has now become the berry patch.) Well, a seed sprouted, and grew (and grew and grew and grew and grew) and the resulting Vine is probably close to 12 feet long in places.

There have been lots of flowers, but I hadn't seen any fruit, until this evening, after feeding Mabel. I glanced towards the very overgrown kitchen garden and saw a spaghetti squash hanging from the Vine--a perfect, large spaghetti squash.

I am not sure it will be ready by the time frost arrives, but we'll see... maybe there are more of them hiding amid the weeds. (I didn't dare cut down the weeds outside my door for fear of cutting the vine! And it's getting difficult to maneuver out my back door, at least for the moment, but oh well.)

2011-09-18T19:59:00.002-04:00

The second-to-last Burlington was today--and yes, there was a $50 spinning wheel there (a Great Wheel, even) but the wheel was so warped it wasn't funny and someone had... done some weirdness to the finish, plus it was missing the tension nut, so it didn't come home with me. There was also another Great Wheel there, pretty nice, in truth, also missing the tension screw and nut. It also had a replacement back leg, which isn't a big deal, but it was a bit obvious. I did like the turnings, however. That one was $135, and didn't come home with me either. Maybe if it's there next month I can talk them down a bit more.

There was a miniature decorative Great Wheel there; now, that one came home with me, because I can put it on my craft show table, plus it will take me about five minutes to make it a working (albeit tensionless) wheel. I think the wheel itself is about 8" in diameter, perhaps. And of course I can't do that tonight, because I forgot to unpack it from Dad's van! And that's the one thing I wanted to bring home with me. It's marked; I can't read the writing on the side of the table, but it's cute. And it was pretty cheap, so I was pleased.

I brought Elinor, and still have Elinor. There were a couple of interested people, moreso when I sat down and started to spin (and had a dozen people standing in front of me; it was hilarious) but she came home with me anyway. That's ok; she'll go with me to the Appalachian Fest in West Union in October. (Hopefully along with a few others.)

I did make a few other purchases, mostly books. The Book Guy was back (he's been gone for three months; I was just about to dig out his phone number and give him a call, but all was well) and I found one book at his booth: The Illustrated Herbal by Wilfrid Blunt and Sandra Raphael, the 1994 edition.

Elsewhere, I found Brewing Made Easy for my sister's boyfriend, Bricklaying Simplified for me, The Douse Apocalypse, part of the Faber Library of Illuminated Manuscripts (which is really neat), The Owls of North America (I had no clue there were so many owls in North America), Farm House Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis, Bernard Clayton's Cooking Across America (I actually have all of his books now, I think.), Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville, The Grains Cookbook by Bert Greene, and Historical Collections of Ohio, V. 2 by Howe, the 1904 edition (obviously I should get Vol. 1 sometime.)

Most of the books were less than $3/each, so that worked out well.

I also found one of my baskets for a reasonable price, and a heavy oak wooden bench for my workbench; it will be useful.

The neatest thing I found, however, was a Japanese Tetsubin cast iron teapot--a new one, actually almost the twin of this one right here, although ouch on the price--and actually, it's exactly like this one, again, ouch on the price! Mine is marked on the bottom, but I can't tell about the one on ebay. (ETA: Oh, the teapot was a whopping $7.50.)

But the weather did not cooperate; it rained early on and kept misting and/or sprinkling throughout the day, despite the no chance of rain the weathermen obviously lied about. Phooey on them!

Obviously, I'm a bit tired this evening, however, and plan to go to bed early. But it was a nice day, nonetheless, even though I didn't make a lot of money. I need to bring more stuff to sell!

2011-09-16T19:53:00.002-04:00

I forgot to post the yard sale wrap-up, but it was great. I got rid of a lot of stuff and I made a very decent amount of money (more than Burlington) and then I had to go to work.

And this week at work was a whirlwind of training and billing out everything I could possibly bill out for the end of the fiscal year/new computer system coming online.

Next week will also be busy, although more of a catch-up type busy, but at least I'm off Monday due to Burlington.

And yes, the second-to-last Burlington is Sunday! Can you believe that I haven't bought a single spinning wheel yet this year at Burlington? (Now watch; I've probably just jinxed myself, but it would have to be pretty cheap, price-wise.)

We finally got some decent weather; it was 42 this morning when I woke up. Quite chilly! I think it's supposed to be 80 on Sunday, however, which is perfect.

I'm going to try my best to post auctions tomorrow evening. We'll see if I succeed.

2011-09-10T07:11:00.000-04:00

Yard sale Day 1 yesterday; it was a little slow in the morning, but picked up quite nicely throughout the day. I sold quite a bit--including the rolltop desktop bottom, which I was very happy not to have to move ever again.

But I ended up with a decent amount of "profit", and have plenty of change to go into today. I also have plenty of room; on the tables, I mean, and most of what I am bringing with me this morning is big. So I guess we can spread out a bit on the tables.

I dug out a metal computer desk (it's smaller, and on wheels; I think I paid $2 for it, intending it for Ethan or Bekah) from the Junk Room. I'm also bringing the Great Wheel that I intend to bring to Burlington next weekend (whew, two exhausting weekends in a row), two cane-bottom chairs, a stained glass "Singer Sewing Machine" hanging, and a doll-sized park bench I initially bought to display dolls at the craft shows, but never used.

I am also getting rid of a microwave (that's going to my sister Emily; it was originally hers) and I think that's it.

Of course, none of this is packed in my car as of yet. So I'd best get moving on that!