i went through one of my mom's 'big boxes of crap' (tm) yesterday. it contained mostly a bunch of old school binders- seriously, i'm not going to need my grade 12 math notes, you can throw that shit out.
but in among the papers, and a good stack of old teen magazines (yikes) was a cassette tape of a toronto indie band that i started listening to when i was about 13. they're called Blue Dog Pict, and i'm going to bet no one who ever reads this will have ever heard of them (unless Em is reading this, hi Em!). they released two subsequent albums on cd, and they're on my ipod and they still get regular play, but their first album was only released on cassette, so i haven't heard it in probably ten years (the album was released in '91). maybe my tastes just don't change all that much, or maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but it was still farking awesome. actually, it isn't even the original cassette- it's a dub that i made when my original was starting to sound a little wobbly from over-playing.
my next mission- get that cassette into a digital format so i can keep it forever. i'm such a dork, and i don't care.
Monday, May 24, 2010
i'm going to have to start taking my laptop to bed with me
because when i wake up at 5:30, and suddenly i have a great idea, and i think 'hey, that's pretty good, i should try to remember that when i actually wake up', i should realize that it's 5 fucking 30 and i'm not actually thinking clearly, and there's no fucking way i'm going to remember at 8:30 what i wanted to write at 5:30 when i've been asleep for 3 hours.
fuck.
p.s. in case you haven't noticed yet, i'm going to swear on this blog. probably a lot. that's what happens when i don't self-edit, apparently.
fuck.
p.s. in case you haven't noticed yet, i'm going to swear on this blog. probably a lot. that's what happens when i don't self-edit, apparently.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
in over my head?
so i'm having a self-doubty day. this happens, no big deal. but i figure, hey, it's something to blog about.
this usually happens after i've a) read a really good book or b) spent a really long time pounding out words only to find that they're all crap. but today, neither of those things happened.
i was looking around on writing forums and various internet resources, trying to get my mind around POV issues. i think i might not actually know how to write in 3rd as well as i thought. one of my current WIP could conceivably be told in 3rd limited, there's one clear main character. but i keep wanting to pop into other people's heads, just for a second, because hey, look, they've got something interesting in there... sigh. so it's taking serious restraint to fix that, and keep it just in one POV.
my other WIP is something that i know is way, way beyond my current writing ability. i have four main characters, all of whom are equally important to the story. most of the scenes will only involve two characters at a time (since two of the characters are fighting through most of the story) but there are some scenes with all four, and it's damn near impossible to decide whose POV i should use. i could use 3rd limited, rotating between the four, but in these big scenes, it's just going to seem clumsy, or i'm going to have to leave people out. so it looks like i either head hop (meh, i don't really like reading head-hopping, why would i write it) or go full out 3rd omniscient, which scares the bejeezus out of me for some reason.
it's times like these that make me want to take some sort of writing course. i need help with the nuts and bolts. i just don't think i do that well under pressure, with any kind of class structure, or any kind of real responsibility to the writing. i'm doing this for fun, dammit.
this usually happens after i've a) read a really good book or b) spent a really long time pounding out words only to find that they're all crap. but today, neither of those things happened.
i was looking around on writing forums and various internet resources, trying to get my mind around POV issues. i think i might not actually know how to write in 3rd as well as i thought. one of my current WIP could conceivably be told in 3rd limited, there's one clear main character. but i keep wanting to pop into other people's heads, just for a second, because hey, look, they've got something interesting in there... sigh. so it's taking serious restraint to fix that, and keep it just in one POV.
my other WIP is something that i know is way, way beyond my current writing ability. i have four main characters, all of whom are equally important to the story. most of the scenes will only involve two characters at a time (since two of the characters are fighting through most of the story) but there are some scenes with all four, and it's damn near impossible to decide whose POV i should use. i could use 3rd limited, rotating between the four, but in these big scenes, it's just going to seem clumsy, or i'm going to have to leave people out. so it looks like i either head hop (meh, i don't really like reading head-hopping, why would i write it) or go full out 3rd omniscient, which scares the bejeezus out of me for some reason.
it's times like these that make me want to take some sort of writing course. i need help with the nuts and bolts. i just don't think i do that well under pressure, with any kind of class structure, or any kind of real responsibility to the writing. i'm doing this for fun, dammit.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
seriously?
okay blog- i'm going to forgive you for interrupting my sleep this time, but let's not make a habit of it.
yeah, sometimes as soon as my head hits the pillow, the thoughts turn on, and i'm powerless to stop them, and damned if i'm ever getting to sleep. tonight the thoughts wanted to be on the blog, so here i am, mere hours since i posted last (i think that might be a record. don't get used to it)
So i'm thinking about books. specifically, the endings of books. i've been reading a lot more recently than i think i ever have (comes with the whole writing obsession, apparently). the most recent book i read (just today) is called BREAK and it's by Hannah Moskowitz, and it's really super great, and it's her first book and she wrote it while she was still in high school, which makes me totally jealous, and makes me want to hate her, except i can't because her book is too damn good. go read it. seriously.
anyway, as i often do once i've finished a book, i went online to look at reviews, critiques, etc. just to see if people in general thought the same things i did. i do this with books i like, because i love to read praise of the same books, sort of confirming that i have taste that falls somewhere in the realm of 'normal' (though is that necessarily a good thing?). i do it with books i hate too, because i'd like to see someone else whining about it for the same reasons i did.
the only really critical thing i've read about BREAK is that some people feel the ending was unsatisfying. now i'm not going to spoil the ending, don't worry, but if you're one of those people who doesn't want to know anything about a book, i mean any teeny insignificant detail (hi Chris- oh who am i kidding, he doesn't read this) then you might want to skip the next sentence or two.
i didn't have any issue with the ending. the only real complaint i had was that i would have happily read more, if there was more to read, but i didn't feel that the story lacked a satisfying ending. it was perhaps less dramatic than the overall tone of the book. the absolute worst thing i could say is that it was abrupt, and i'm still not sure that's even negative. and the ending didn't make me want to go shoot myself in the head, which is always a plus in my mind. (more on books that make me want to shoot myself in the head later).
so what makes an ending 'good'. does it have to be happy? or does it have to be in the same tone as the rest of the book? (if the whole book is sort of dark and depressing, does that mean it can't have a happy ending? what about the opposite?)
one type of ending i've seen a lot of is the whole 'flash forward' technique. generally i hate these. it feels like a bit of a cop out- like you get to the end of the real story, but the author wants to wrap everything up in a neat bow, so they flash forward to a point in the near future where all the drama of the last 300 or so pages has been resolved, and everybody lives happily ever after.
i say i hate this, but you know what- that's exactly how i ended my own farking novel. big dramatic scene with slightly ambiguous ending, flash forward a month, final scene that's probably a little schmaltzy and a happy-for-now ending (as opposed to happily ever after, but it's close).
maybe i just hate those scenes when they come at the end of books that i'm already not feeling the love for... that's a possibility.
last thought on books, not on endings necessarily- the stealthy-depressing book. i've been bitching to everyone i've talked to recently about a book i read, and i'm not even going to bother naming it because, frankly, i'm over it, but i had a good four days or so where this book infiltrated my brain and made me feel all weepy every time i thought about it. and it was chick lit too. granted, the author is known for dealing with 'serious' issues- but her other books weren't quite as sneaky about the specifics. this book draws you in by telling you that Something Bad has happened, but not giving you any important details, and ...
shit, you know what, i'm just going to spoil the whole damn book, okay? i'm not going to go back up and edit either, because i said i wouldn't, and breaking my word on the first day back blogging seems like a bad precedent to set.
okay, so the book is Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes. i have to say that i really did like the other books of hers that i've read. they definitely had serious overtones, and i'm pretty sure they both made me cry at some point, that's not the issue. this book spends 150 or so pages telling you about the main character, Anna, and the fact that she's obviously had some sort of terrible accident, the details of which we are not privy to (again, Keyes does this, and usually it's okay. it's interesting to see how she sprinkles the details in slowly, usually it's a great effect). interspersed among the scenes about Anna's injuries and recovery, we get some backstory about her life before whatever happened to her. we hear about her job and her friends in new york, and how she met her boyfriend, Aiden. a little more backstory later, we find out she actually married Aiden. so when Anna's desperate to return to new york, to get back to her job and her friends and Aiden, we start to wonder- why isn't her husband with her during her recovery. my immediate thought was that he had somehow caused her accident, hell, maybe he even deliberately hurt her, who knows. but Anna keeps emailing him, calling his cell, and we get to read these sweet emails that she always signs 'your girl, Anna' and she even catches a glimpse of Aiden on the street, and now i'm just saying "What the fuck Aiden, call your fucking wife already". and then we get to the big reveal (and you've probably figured it out by now, but it wasn't quite so obvious in the book, at least not to me). Turns out, Anna was injured in a terrible car accident, and Aiden was in the car with her, and he was killed. Wheee! we even get to read the scene where they are in the accident, seeing it from Anna's point of view, describing Aiden being badly injured, but still sort of putting on a brave face for her (until he dies!).
this is the point where i start sobbing, and i don't stop for another four-fucking-hundred pages! we go through Anna's bereavement process, and it's all very well done and very real, but i was just so damn sad about Aiden (and yes, i am a giant suck. mock me if you will. he seemed like a really great guy. *sniff*)
now, after finishing the book, and after still being annoyingly upset by it three days later (like, to the point where i'd start tearing up if i caught a reference to the boston red sox- Aiden was a fan- god i'm pathetic) i started to realize that i was having a particularly bad response because the book hit on two of my big panic triggers: spousal death (but i mean, honestly, that's a pretty tough subject regardless, right?) and car accidents (been in two, neither fatal to anyone, in fact no one ever got seriously injured, but it fucked my head up about it, so...yeah.) so i cut myself a little slack for being upset, and then told myself to get the fuck over it already. and i read some fluffy chick lit, and a book that i wanted to throw against the wall for entirely different reasons, and i felt better.
so i guess my issue is that sometimes books can try to use the whole twist aspect to get a reaction out of readers, and sometimes it's kind of cool, but mostly it feels like a cheap trick, and for me, it lead to a lot of unnecessary moping. because i am a suck, but still...
hey, if anyone is reading this, and they know of any other books that haul out and punch you in the gut halfway through like that, let me know so i can avoid them. thanks muchly!
yeah, sometimes as soon as my head hits the pillow, the thoughts turn on, and i'm powerless to stop them, and damned if i'm ever getting to sleep. tonight the thoughts wanted to be on the blog, so here i am, mere hours since i posted last (i think that might be a record. don't get used to it)
So i'm thinking about books. specifically, the endings of books. i've been reading a lot more recently than i think i ever have (comes with the whole writing obsession, apparently). the most recent book i read (just today) is called BREAK and it's by Hannah Moskowitz, and it's really super great, and it's her first book and she wrote it while she was still in high school, which makes me totally jealous, and makes me want to hate her, except i can't because her book is too damn good. go read it. seriously.
anyway, as i often do once i've finished a book, i went online to look at reviews, critiques, etc. just to see if people in general thought the same things i did. i do this with books i like, because i love to read praise of the same books, sort of confirming that i have taste that falls somewhere in the realm of 'normal' (though is that necessarily a good thing?). i do it with books i hate too, because i'd like to see someone else whining about it for the same reasons i did.
the only really critical thing i've read about BREAK is that some people feel the ending was unsatisfying. now i'm not going to spoil the ending, don't worry, but if you're one of those people who doesn't want to know anything about a book, i mean any teeny insignificant detail (hi Chris- oh who am i kidding, he doesn't read this) then you might want to skip the next sentence or two.
i didn't have any issue with the ending. the only real complaint i had was that i would have happily read more, if there was more to read, but i didn't feel that the story lacked a satisfying ending. it was perhaps less dramatic than the overall tone of the book. the absolute worst thing i could say is that it was abrupt, and i'm still not sure that's even negative. and the ending didn't make me want to go shoot myself in the head, which is always a plus in my mind. (more on books that make me want to shoot myself in the head later).
so what makes an ending 'good'. does it have to be happy? or does it have to be in the same tone as the rest of the book? (if the whole book is sort of dark and depressing, does that mean it can't have a happy ending? what about the opposite?)
one type of ending i've seen a lot of is the whole 'flash forward' technique. generally i hate these. it feels like a bit of a cop out- like you get to the end of the real story, but the author wants to wrap everything up in a neat bow, so they flash forward to a point in the near future where all the drama of the last 300 or so pages has been resolved, and everybody lives happily ever after.
i say i hate this, but you know what- that's exactly how i ended my own farking novel. big dramatic scene with slightly ambiguous ending, flash forward a month, final scene that's probably a little schmaltzy and a happy-for-now ending (as opposed to happily ever after, but it's close).
maybe i just hate those scenes when they come at the end of books that i'm already not feeling the love for... that's a possibility.
last thought on books, not on endings necessarily- the stealthy-depressing book. i've been bitching to everyone i've talked to recently about a book i read, and i'm not even going to bother naming it because, frankly, i'm over it, but i had a good four days or so where this book infiltrated my brain and made me feel all weepy every time i thought about it. and it was chick lit too. granted, the author is known for dealing with 'serious' issues- but her other books weren't quite as sneaky about the specifics. this book draws you in by telling you that Something Bad has happened, but not giving you any important details, and ...
shit, you know what, i'm just going to spoil the whole damn book, okay? i'm not going to go back up and edit either, because i said i wouldn't, and breaking my word on the first day back blogging seems like a bad precedent to set.
okay, so the book is Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes. i have to say that i really did like the other books of hers that i've read. they definitely had serious overtones, and i'm pretty sure they both made me cry at some point, that's not the issue. this book spends 150 or so pages telling you about the main character, Anna, and the fact that she's obviously had some sort of terrible accident, the details of which we are not privy to (again, Keyes does this, and usually it's okay. it's interesting to see how she sprinkles the details in slowly, usually it's a great effect). interspersed among the scenes about Anna's injuries and recovery, we get some backstory about her life before whatever happened to her. we hear about her job and her friends in new york, and how she met her boyfriend, Aiden. a little more backstory later, we find out she actually married Aiden. so when Anna's desperate to return to new york, to get back to her job and her friends and Aiden, we start to wonder- why isn't her husband with her during her recovery. my immediate thought was that he had somehow caused her accident, hell, maybe he even deliberately hurt her, who knows. but Anna keeps emailing him, calling his cell, and we get to read these sweet emails that she always signs 'your girl, Anna' and she even catches a glimpse of Aiden on the street, and now i'm just saying "What the fuck Aiden, call your fucking wife already". and then we get to the big reveal (and you've probably figured it out by now, but it wasn't quite so obvious in the book, at least not to me). Turns out, Anna was injured in a terrible car accident, and Aiden was in the car with her, and he was killed. Wheee! we even get to read the scene where they are in the accident, seeing it from Anna's point of view, describing Aiden being badly injured, but still sort of putting on a brave face for her (until he dies!).
this is the point where i start sobbing, and i don't stop for another four-fucking-hundred pages! we go through Anna's bereavement process, and it's all very well done and very real, but i was just so damn sad about Aiden (and yes, i am a giant suck. mock me if you will. he seemed like a really great guy. *sniff*)
now, after finishing the book, and after still being annoyingly upset by it three days later (like, to the point where i'd start tearing up if i caught a reference to the boston red sox- Aiden was a fan- god i'm pathetic) i started to realize that i was having a particularly bad response because the book hit on two of my big panic triggers: spousal death (but i mean, honestly, that's a pretty tough subject regardless, right?) and car accidents (been in two, neither fatal to anyone, in fact no one ever got seriously injured, but it fucked my head up about it, so...yeah.) so i cut myself a little slack for being upset, and then told myself to get the fuck over it already. and i read some fluffy chick lit, and a book that i wanted to throw against the wall for entirely different reasons, and i felt better.
so i guess my issue is that sometimes books can try to use the whole twist aspect to get a reaction out of readers, and sometimes it's kind of cool, but mostly it feels like a cheap trick, and for me, it lead to a lot of unnecessary moping. because i am a suck, but still...
hey, if anyone is reading this, and they know of any other books that haul out and punch you in the gut halfway through like that, let me know so i can avoid them. thanks muchly!
What the what?
hey, it's a blog post! no, really.
okay, let's get the basics out of the way.
-still in Hong Kong (though atm i'm in TO at my folks house, sans kids, for another 2 weeks or so. it's wild)
-still knitting, though not with quite the same speed or obsessiveness, mainly because-
-i got me a new hobby. apparently i write now? yeah, go figure.
and since blogs tend to involve, well, writing, i thought i'd resurrect this baby again. any bets on how long i'll last this time?
so it all started back in november. i was homesick and kind of lonely, and the kids were settling into their routines, and the husband was working lots, and i though 'hey, there's this thing people do in november called NaNoWriMo, where you try to write a 50K word novel in a month. that might be fun.'
now, i have been trying to write for as long as i can remember. seriously, i have stories i wrote from when i was about 7 or 8, and they mostly involved unicorns or some crap, but i wrote them myself, out of my own head and everything. the problem i had was that i never actually thought i was any good. in junior high and high school, when we wrote short stories in english class, i was always left with this feeling of 'now what?'. and i didn't seem to be able to pluck an idea out of nowhere anymore, i needed someone to feed me an opening line, or a juicy plot point before i could take off.
when i was about 16 i wrote a really long, meandering story on my home computer. this was probably the point that i realized that more than anything else, hand-writing held me back. my hand-writing is illegible at the best of times, fucking ridiculous at the worst of times. i think it's that my brain works too fast and my hand + pen can't keep up. but i can type pretty quick (even quicker if i eschew the shift key, which explains the lack of capitals, because i just don't give a shit right now). so this story was incredibly long, longer than anything i had ever written before (or since, until NaNo) at least 20K words. at some point i printed it out. that computer is long long dead, but my mom swears she still has the printout around here somewhere. famous last words...
(i feel the need to point out at this time that i'm not going to go back and edit any of this shit. if it doesn't make any sense, sorry. this is mostly just for my own purposes anyway.)
so NaNoWriMo sounded like fun. I had a plot in my head that i thought up one night on the streetcar coming back from a knit night (see, i worked knitting in there somewhere) and i happened to have a notebook with me, so i jotted it down. the thing with my memory is, once i've written something down, there is a part of it that is permanently etched in my brain, or at least the gist of it is. so this idea had been bouncing around in my brain for over a year, and i sat down on november 1st and started writing, and suddenly i'd written something like 5k words and i had no idea i could do that. it was awesome, and a little scary.
i 'won' NaNoWriMo (in that i wrote more than 50K words in 30 days- 72K in about 25, to be exact). i read over my 'finished' novel once or twice, shared it with a few trusted friends, but basically i stuck it in a (figurative) drawer and left it there until april. i spent a few manic days editing the crap out of it, a few more days editing the crap that i'd just edited, and about two weeks later i had a suddenly-much-better second draft.
the novel is still no where near done. i have one fantabulous friend (hi Anna) and my husband telling me that it's really good. i totally trust them, i do. it's just that i also know that neither of them want me to cry all over them if they tell me it sucks (i totally wouldn't cry. just for the record). so i think i've found me a few beta readers (though i can always use more, but only if you're willing to be mean to me), and i'm keeping the project in the back of my mind at all times, fully intent on 'doing something' with it, once it's ready, and i'm ready (i need to write a query and a synopsis, and that makes me want to die a little bit, but that's another issue entirely).
besides that, ever since i finished the second draft, i've needed to write. like, constantly. i have a little folder of ideas, and every so often i'll go and pick one up and just start writing whatever comes to mind. and sometimes i actually get something good, and then i try to expand. right now i've got two ideas that i'd almost consider 'works in progress'. i have a pretty good idea of how i want the story to go, who the characters are, scenes, themes, blah blah blah. i just have to sit down and write now.
and this is where i come to the problem. for NaNo, you're more or less forbidden from editing as you go (i'll admit that i did edit a bit as i went, because i'm incapable of leaving completely fucked up sentences, or not at least attempting to end chapters somewhat properly. but i didn't edit much, and i didn't delete anything without replacing it with something better). it's about quantity, not quality. you make it better when you edit it (hopefully). but now that it's not NaNo, now that i'm not technically challenging myself, i'm letting myself fall into the write, reread, criticize, rework, edit, rewrite, just shoot me now routine. it's not terribly productive, and i know that if i'd spent even half of the energy i've spent criticizing myself on actually writing, i'd be a lot better off right now.
So i'm blogging right now as an exercise in not editing (like i said, if this is rambly and unintelligible, that's because it's for me, and not you. i mean, you're welcome to read it, feel free, that's why i'm blogging it, just don't expect me to make any special effort).
i'm hoping to force myself to blog on a regular basis, basically whenever i'm stuck on my 'real' writing and i just need to get some crap words out so i can get to the good stuff. that means i'm probably not going to be blogging much about knitting (but i might) or hong kong (because how many times can i say 'jeez it's fucking hot here'). if you're one of my friends following this to find out what's up with me, first of all, Hi there! second, thanks for reading this far. i'm so terribly sorry. third, this is probably as good as it's going to get.
this is where i click the publish post button without reading back. wish me luck...
okay, let's get the basics out of the way.
-still in Hong Kong (though atm i'm in TO at my folks house, sans kids, for another 2 weeks or so. it's wild)
-still knitting, though not with quite the same speed or obsessiveness, mainly because-
-i got me a new hobby. apparently i write now? yeah, go figure.
and since blogs tend to involve, well, writing, i thought i'd resurrect this baby again. any bets on how long i'll last this time?
so it all started back in november. i was homesick and kind of lonely, and the kids were settling into their routines, and the husband was working lots, and i though 'hey, there's this thing people do in november called NaNoWriMo, where you try to write a 50K word novel in a month. that might be fun.'
now, i have been trying to write for as long as i can remember. seriously, i have stories i wrote from when i was about 7 or 8, and they mostly involved unicorns or some crap, but i wrote them myself, out of my own head and everything. the problem i had was that i never actually thought i was any good. in junior high and high school, when we wrote short stories in english class, i was always left with this feeling of 'now what?'. and i didn't seem to be able to pluck an idea out of nowhere anymore, i needed someone to feed me an opening line, or a juicy plot point before i could take off.
when i was about 16 i wrote a really long, meandering story on my home computer. this was probably the point that i realized that more than anything else, hand-writing held me back. my hand-writing is illegible at the best of times, fucking ridiculous at the worst of times. i think it's that my brain works too fast and my hand + pen can't keep up. but i can type pretty quick (even quicker if i eschew the shift key, which explains the lack of capitals, because i just don't give a shit right now). so this story was incredibly long, longer than anything i had ever written before (or since, until NaNo) at least 20K words. at some point i printed it out. that computer is long long dead, but my mom swears she still has the printout around here somewhere. famous last words...
(i feel the need to point out at this time that i'm not going to go back and edit any of this shit. if it doesn't make any sense, sorry. this is mostly just for my own purposes anyway.)
so NaNoWriMo sounded like fun. I had a plot in my head that i thought up one night on the streetcar coming back from a knit night (see, i worked knitting in there somewhere) and i happened to have a notebook with me, so i jotted it down. the thing with my memory is, once i've written something down, there is a part of it that is permanently etched in my brain, or at least the gist of it is. so this idea had been bouncing around in my brain for over a year, and i sat down on november 1st and started writing, and suddenly i'd written something like 5k words and i had no idea i could do that. it was awesome, and a little scary.
i 'won' NaNoWriMo (in that i wrote more than 50K words in 30 days- 72K in about 25, to be exact). i read over my 'finished' novel once or twice, shared it with a few trusted friends, but basically i stuck it in a (figurative) drawer and left it there until april. i spent a few manic days editing the crap out of it, a few more days editing the crap that i'd just edited, and about two weeks later i had a suddenly-much-better second draft.
the novel is still no where near done. i have one fantabulous friend (hi Anna) and my husband telling me that it's really good. i totally trust them, i do. it's just that i also know that neither of them want me to cry all over them if they tell me it sucks (i totally wouldn't cry. just for the record). so i think i've found me a few beta readers (though i can always use more, but only if you're willing to be mean to me), and i'm keeping the project in the back of my mind at all times, fully intent on 'doing something' with it, once it's ready, and i'm ready (i need to write a query and a synopsis, and that makes me want to die a little bit, but that's another issue entirely).
besides that, ever since i finished the second draft, i've needed to write. like, constantly. i have a little folder of ideas, and every so often i'll go and pick one up and just start writing whatever comes to mind. and sometimes i actually get something good, and then i try to expand. right now i've got two ideas that i'd almost consider 'works in progress'. i have a pretty good idea of how i want the story to go, who the characters are, scenes, themes, blah blah blah. i just have to sit down and write now.
and this is where i come to the problem. for NaNo, you're more or less forbidden from editing as you go (i'll admit that i did edit a bit as i went, because i'm incapable of leaving completely fucked up sentences, or not at least attempting to end chapters somewhat properly. but i didn't edit much, and i didn't delete anything without replacing it with something better). it's about quantity, not quality. you make it better when you edit it (hopefully). but now that it's not NaNo, now that i'm not technically challenging myself, i'm letting myself fall into the write, reread, criticize, rework, edit, rewrite, just shoot me now routine. it's not terribly productive, and i know that if i'd spent even half of the energy i've spent criticizing myself on actually writing, i'd be a lot better off right now.
So i'm blogging right now as an exercise in not editing (like i said, if this is rambly and unintelligible, that's because it's for me, and not you. i mean, you're welcome to read it, feel free, that's why i'm blogging it, just don't expect me to make any special effort).
i'm hoping to force myself to blog on a regular basis, basically whenever i'm stuck on my 'real' writing and i just need to get some crap words out so i can get to the good stuff. that means i'm probably not going to be blogging much about knitting (but i might) or hong kong (because how many times can i say 'jeez it's fucking hot here'). if you're one of my friends following this to find out what's up with me, first of all, Hi there! second, thanks for reading this far. i'm so terribly sorry. third, this is probably as good as it's going to get.
this is where i click the publish post button without reading back. wish me luck...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
So, this blogging thing...
yeah, turns out i still kind of suck at it. sorry about that...
i have some pictures that need uploading, but i think i'm going to just be uploading them to my flickr acct. and linking them here when i do. maybe i'll do a fancy sidebar or something!
the boys started their swimming classes last week. Miles can put his face in the water, and can swim pretty impressively with a big flutter board. Asher has yet to actually touch the water during class (though we can barely keep him out of the pool at the apartment- go figure).
we have our apartment mostly furnished, though i desperately need more workspace in the kitchen. also, i'm still getting used to the gas stove- i really hope i don't blow anything up...
a few random things:
- the wet market- where you can get all manner of fruits and veg, very fresh fish (i.e. still wiggling) and cooked meats, and somewhat puzzlingly, various hardware bits- is called the wet market for a reason. it's advisable not to wear your nice leather sandals. yuck.
- also, the wet market is especially crowded in the mornings, and there seems to be an unofficial direction of movement. going against traffic is probably not worth the effort.
- if you're listening to music in crowded places (such as the aforementioned wet market), tuck earphone cords safely away, lest you snag them on some poor unsuspecting woman's pretty blouse buttons. i'm just glad i didn't accidentally cause her to flash herself at all the fishmongers.
- speaking of music, i had several episodes of The Vinyl Cafe podcast backlogged on my ipod. i wasn't sure why i didn't feel like listening to them, but i figured it out today. apparently, it makes me stupidly homesick. i discovered this standing in the middle of japan home centre, trying not to cry while listening to the weakerthans. sigh, really?
- speaking of homesickness, i just finished reading two books by an author from Parkdale (the neighbourhood where i grew up). her name is Pat Capponi, and the books i read are from her new fiction mystery series. check her out, they're quite good (and thanks for the rec. Nancy).
- people here don't seem terribly bothered by heights, or the fear of falling to your death (like i am). this was evidenced by the air conditioning repair guy who hoisted himself out our 25th floor window, with nothing but a very rudimentary harness around his waist. (incidentally, when i mentioned this to my new local knitting friends, the only thing that surprised them was that he was actually wearing a harness).
i think i do better writing this stream-of-consciousness style. i'm definitely incapable of sticking to one topic, or having any sort of consistent theme.
p.s. i'm not proofreading this, or capitalizing anything that i don't have to. my brain is just not up to the task these days.
love you, miss you, wish you were here (if only to commiserate about the heat!)
i have some pictures that need uploading, but i think i'm going to just be uploading them to my flickr acct. and linking them here when i do. maybe i'll do a fancy sidebar or something!
the boys started their swimming classes last week. Miles can put his face in the water, and can swim pretty impressively with a big flutter board. Asher has yet to actually touch the water during class (though we can barely keep him out of the pool at the apartment- go figure).
we have our apartment mostly furnished, though i desperately need more workspace in the kitchen. also, i'm still getting used to the gas stove- i really hope i don't blow anything up...
a few random things:
- the wet market- where you can get all manner of fruits and veg, very fresh fish (i.e. still wiggling) and cooked meats, and somewhat puzzlingly, various hardware bits- is called the wet market for a reason. it's advisable not to wear your nice leather sandals. yuck.
- also, the wet market is especially crowded in the mornings, and there seems to be an unofficial direction of movement. going against traffic is probably not worth the effort.
- if you're listening to music in crowded places (such as the aforementioned wet market), tuck earphone cords safely away, lest you snag them on some poor unsuspecting woman's pretty blouse buttons. i'm just glad i didn't accidentally cause her to flash herself at all the fishmongers.
- speaking of music, i had several episodes of The Vinyl Cafe podcast backlogged on my ipod. i wasn't sure why i didn't feel like listening to them, but i figured it out today. apparently, it makes me stupidly homesick. i discovered this standing in the middle of japan home centre, trying not to cry while listening to the weakerthans. sigh, really?
- speaking of homesickness, i just finished reading two books by an author from Parkdale (the neighbourhood where i grew up). her name is Pat Capponi, and the books i read are from her new fiction mystery series. check her out, they're quite good (and thanks for the rec. Nancy).
- people here don't seem terribly bothered by heights, or the fear of falling to your death (like i am). this was evidenced by the air conditioning repair guy who hoisted himself out our 25th floor window, with nothing but a very rudimentary harness around his waist. (incidentally, when i mentioned this to my new local knitting friends, the only thing that surprised them was that he was actually wearing a harness).
i think i do better writing this stream-of-consciousness style. i'm definitely incapable of sticking to one topic, or having any sort of consistent theme.
p.s. i'm not proofreading this, or capitalizing anything that i don't have to. my brain is just not up to the task these days.
love you, miss you, wish you were here (if only to commiserate about the heat!)
Monday, August 17, 2009
days like this...
whew. today was just unbelievable. so much accomplished, yet so much more to do...
we started the day by looking at apartments. one was really good. most of them are about the same size (977 sq ft) but how they choose to distribute the space seems to make a huge difference. this one had a nice big living area, and still managed to have a decent sized master bdrm, and even a tiny storeroom (for yarn?!). the kitchen needs a good cleaning, and there are a few doorstops* missing, one of which is in the bathroom, and would prevent the door from hitting a full length mirror, so it will need to be replaced ASAP.
between apartments, we picked up M's school uniform and some registration forms. We also got A's school interview done, picked up his uniform, etc etc etc. all of this stuff is needing to be paid in cash at the moment, because our HK bank account won't be fully set up until the end of the week, and nobody likes our visa card very much (actually, that's not true, the electronics store, Fortress, has no problem taking our visa. go figure).
so we finally decided that we should just go with the 'good' apartment, rather than keep looking for days for a 'better' apartment. we meet the landlord, we sign papers, make arrangements, lo and behold, the visa doesn't want to work for the real estate agent either. to make a long story short (too late) we have a place, we have the money to pay for it, but we don't have any way to access the money at this point. i think we're going to be doing some sort of wire transfer with my ILs, so hopefully this won't actually be a huge deal.
So on to other things. both kids start school on Wednesday (though M just for an hour, kind of an introduction day). the schools seem much more structured and official here (or maybe the schools in Kingston were just really lax?) but i think it will be good (I'm sure Miles will cope, not so sure about Asher, but here's hoping).
We got home from our trip out at about 6pm and we all just passed out, didn't even eat dinner (the boys both had some bakery treats on the way home though). Hence why i'm up at 4:30...
we're all well, though tired and smelly. i still haven't found the usb cord for my camera. pictures forthcoming when i do.
miss you all!
*the word 'door stop' is apparently not in the chinese english vocabulary. there was a fair amount of pantomime (and a few sketches) necessary to get the point across. we all had a good laugh once it was sorted.
we started the day by looking at apartments. one was really good. most of them are about the same size (977 sq ft) but how they choose to distribute the space seems to make a huge difference. this one had a nice big living area, and still managed to have a decent sized master bdrm, and even a tiny storeroom (for yarn?!). the kitchen needs a good cleaning, and there are a few doorstops* missing, one of which is in the bathroom, and would prevent the door from hitting a full length mirror, so it will need to be replaced ASAP.
between apartments, we picked up M's school uniform and some registration forms. We also got A's school interview done, picked up his uniform, etc etc etc. all of this stuff is needing to be paid in cash at the moment, because our HK bank account won't be fully set up until the end of the week, and nobody likes our visa card very much (actually, that's not true, the electronics store, Fortress, has no problem taking our visa. go figure).
so we finally decided that we should just go with the 'good' apartment, rather than keep looking for days for a 'better' apartment. we meet the landlord, we sign papers, make arrangements, lo and behold, the visa doesn't want to work for the real estate agent either. to make a long story short (too late) we have a place, we have the money to pay for it, but we don't have any way to access the money at this point. i think we're going to be doing some sort of wire transfer with my ILs, so hopefully this won't actually be a huge deal.
So on to other things. both kids start school on Wednesday (though M just for an hour, kind of an introduction day). the schools seem much more structured and official here (or maybe the schools in Kingston were just really lax?) but i think it will be good (I'm sure Miles will cope, not so sure about Asher, but here's hoping).
We got home from our trip out at about 6pm and we all just passed out, didn't even eat dinner (the boys both had some bakery treats on the way home though). Hence why i'm up at 4:30...
we're all well, though tired and smelly. i still haven't found the usb cord for my camera. pictures forthcoming when i do.
miss you all!
*the word 'door stop' is apparently not in the chinese english vocabulary. there was a fair amount of pantomime (and a few sketches) necessary to get the point across. we all had a good laugh once it was sorted.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Now with twice the Honk!
Hey! So I haven't blogged in a year or so...ummm, my bad.
Our family has just moved all the way to Hong Kong (or as Asher likes to call it, Honk Honk). Things have been crazy hectic, but I really want to get back to the blog, if for no other reason than it's a crazy convenient way to keep people up to date on our lives out here!
So it's Sunday, about 8pm here, so most of you are just waking up on Sunday morning. We've been here since Thursday. The first few days were just a complete whirlwind of hauling bags around, trying not to fall asleep mid-afternoon, trying not to collapse from the heat (currently 30/86, feels like 43/109) and about 17 trips to the tiny park'n'shop downstairs- they sell everything in small packages because of the small kitchens, small fridges, etc. But when you have a 4 year old who eats very little besides peanut butter sandwiches, you start to wish for full sized loaves of bread already!
Major successes so far:
- Chris and I both managed to get cell phones (his is rather pathetic, but it was really cheap. he's such a luddite).
- ordered Miles' school uniform, and discovered his new teacher is from Toronto!
- made a million appointments with real estate people. We're well on the way to getting a permanent place by Sept. 1st.
- discovered that it doesn't really matter if you're constantly sweaty and gross, because everyone else is too!
Random stuff:
- we lost one of Miles' sneakers for about a day and a half. it turned up just before we bought new ones (which is a nice change from the murphy's law). it was in my knitting bag. wtf?
- we're still trying to figure out the medical stuff so that we can get Miles' cast looked at, and hopefully get him a waterproof one now. there are lots of neat swim/water play areas, but the poor guy can't make use of them yet. boo.
- Miles has inherited his dad's dislike of sweet/savoury food combinations. so that's a no on the chicken teryaki.
- also, Miles still hasn't really warmed up to any type of noodles. I still blame the manchu wok noodles he had at Ohare airport in may...
- I'm really liking the bottled sweetened milk tea (cold). it sounds weird, and it is, kinda, but mmmmm...
Hopefully next time I post I'll include pictures or something. Right now I am just too damn lazy to get up and find all the camera bits.
We miss you all terribly, and we hope you're well. Please post a comment to say hi if you want, or email, or whatever.
Love,
Dani
Our family has just moved all the way to Hong Kong (or as Asher likes to call it, Honk Honk). Things have been crazy hectic, but I really want to get back to the blog, if for no other reason than it's a crazy convenient way to keep people up to date on our lives out here!
So it's Sunday, about 8pm here, so most of you are just waking up on Sunday morning. We've been here since Thursday. The first few days were just a complete whirlwind of hauling bags around, trying not to fall asleep mid-afternoon, trying not to collapse from the heat (currently 30/86, feels like 43/109) and about 17 trips to the tiny park'n'shop downstairs- they sell everything in small packages because of the small kitchens, small fridges, etc. But when you have a 4 year old who eats very little besides peanut butter sandwiches, you start to wish for full sized loaves of bread already!
Major successes so far:
- Chris and I both managed to get cell phones (his is rather pathetic, but it was really cheap. he's such a luddite).
- ordered Miles' school uniform, and discovered his new teacher is from Toronto!
- made a million appointments with real estate people. We're well on the way to getting a permanent place by Sept. 1st.
- discovered that it doesn't really matter if you're constantly sweaty and gross, because everyone else is too!
Random stuff:
- we lost one of Miles' sneakers for about a day and a half. it turned up just before we bought new ones (which is a nice change from the murphy's law). it was in my knitting bag. wtf?
- we're still trying to figure out the medical stuff so that we can get Miles' cast looked at, and hopefully get him a waterproof one now. there are lots of neat swim/water play areas, but the poor guy can't make use of them yet. boo.
- Miles has inherited his dad's dislike of sweet/savoury food combinations. so that's a no on the chicken teryaki.
- also, Miles still hasn't really warmed up to any type of noodles. I still blame the manchu wok noodles he had at Ohare airport in may...
- I'm really liking the bottled sweetened milk tea (cold). it sounds weird, and it is, kinda, but mmmmm...
Hopefully next time I post I'll include pictures or something. Right now I am just too damn lazy to get up and find all the camera bits.
We miss you all terribly, and we hope you're well. Please post a comment to say hi if you want, or email, or whatever.
Love,
Dani
Friday, June 27, 2008
Fight evil in style!
Mini seasilk socks with mohair trim- I think these should be a necessary part of every superheroes' wardrobe, don't you?
The lovely Superboy modelling:
And then The Flash had to get in on the action:
The lovely Superboy modelling:
And then The Flash had to get in on the action:
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Inexplicable Knitter Behaviour
Long story short- Damn that was fun. Boy am I sore.
I scored 3rd place in the scavenger hunt with 61 points! I swear I didn't set out to get that many points, but I'm a little obsessive, and once I started I couldn't stop.
Most of my pics are up on the flickr group. I left out the really out of focus ones, and the ones that are of no interest to anyone, including myself.
I was out and about bright and early, and as such I was the first knitter to arrive at Romni and Lettuce Knit (and thus the first to bring them hot chocolate). I also had the great honour of being the first person at the Old York Bar and Grill (owned by Stephanie's sister)- and as such, I was the one who got to break the news...
It went like this:
Me: Umm, hi. I need someone to hold my sock.
Her: Your sock? (short pause) Is this for my sister?
Me: Um, yeah.
Her: Did she tell them to come here?
Me: Yes. Didn't she tell you?
Her: No...
Me: Oh. Well, can I take a picture of you with my sock?
Her: Sure. Can I give her the finger in your picture?
Me: Oh, definitely!
She really is quite lovely. She gave me a happy photo too:
She also asked me if I was knitting socks for a dwarf, which made me laugh more than it probably should have.
The entire day was indeed "stupid amounts of fun".
Thanks Stephanie for enabling us all to be as inexplicable as possible.
I scored 3rd place in the scavenger hunt with 61 points! I swear I didn't set out to get that many points, but I'm a little obsessive, and once I started I couldn't stop.
Most of my pics are up on the flickr group. I left out the really out of focus ones, and the ones that are of no interest to anyone, including myself.
I was out and about bright and early, and as such I was the first knitter to arrive at Romni and Lettuce Knit (and thus the first to bring them hot chocolate). I also had the great honour of being the first person at the Old York Bar and Grill (owned by Stephanie's sister)- and as such, I was the one who got to break the news...
It went like this:
Me: Umm, hi. I need someone to hold my sock.
Her: Your sock? (short pause) Is this for my sister?
Me: Um, yeah.
Her: Did she tell them to come here?
Me: Yes. Didn't she tell you?
Her: No...
Me: Oh. Well, can I take a picture of you with my sock?
Her: Sure. Can I give her the finger in your picture?
Me: Oh, definitely!
She really is quite lovely. She gave me a happy photo too:
She also asked me if I was knitting socks for a dwarf, which made me laugh more than it probably should have.
The entire day was indeed "stupid amounts of fun".
Thanks Stephanie for enabling us all to be as inexplicable as possible.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Dead blog
I know, I'm pathetic. Like every diary I've ever owned, this blog is just floundering.
I'd love to blame it on Ravelry (I do so love that site) but honestly I've barely updated on there, because I've barely been knitting. Those gorgeous stripy socks from the previous post, well they're almost long enough to start calf increases, and I'm not sure how to incorporate them into the (ridiculously simple) pattern. My brain just refuses to compute it. Meh.
I knit 3/4 of a mini-cardi in my handspun merino silk, then lost momentum. Ditto my seasilk shawl (seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me that I don't want to knit with SEASILK!). I made awesome progress on my Belle shrug, until I had to rip back almost 8" of the second sleeve because I only made one decrease per 8 rows, instead of 2. That one really hurt.
So my mojo is broken. Clearly what I need is serious knit-therapy, and since I can't really justify the retail type of therapy, it'll have to be the social.
I'm taking the bus to go see The Yarn Harlot's book release on April 1st. Who's with me?
I'd love to blame it on Ravelry (I do so love that site) but honestly I've barely updated on there, because I've barely been knitting. Those gorgeous stripy socks from the previous post, well they're almost long enough to start calf increases, and I'm not sure how to incorporate them into the (ridiculously simple) pattern. My brain just refuses to compute it. Meh.
I knit 3/4 of a mini-cardi in my handspun merino silk, then lost momentum. Ditto my seasilk shawl (seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me that I don't want to knit with SEASILK!). I made awesome progress on my Belle shrug, until I had to rip back almost 8" of the second sleeve because I only made one decrease per 8 rows, instead of 2. That one really hurt.
So my mojo is broken. Clearly what I need is serious knit-therapy, and since I can't really justify the retail type of therapy, it'll have to be the social.
I'm taking the bus to go see The Yarn Harlot's book release on April 1st. Who's with me?
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Stripus Interruptus
We might have a little problem...
First, the foot of the sock. Gorgeous, stripy, and yes, the second one matches.
Short row heels. This is where I started to notice a little weirdness:
Continuing up the leg after finishing the heels:
*twitch*
Is it as bad as I think it is?
First, the foot of the sock. Gorgeous, stripy, and yes, the second one matches.
Short row heels. This is where I started to notice a little weirdness:
Continuing up the leg after finishing the heels:
*twitch*
Is it as bad as I think it is?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
High Fibre Post
Oh blog, I do apologize for neglecting you. I'm sorry to say, I'm just not that interesting...
Ahem. Yeah.
I have been spinning. I have been LOVING spinning. I bought myself a Golding spindle at Rhinebeck, and it is my new favourite toy. I spun all the way home in the car (well, until it got too dark) (oh and thanks to fiberkat for the idea) (hey, are you allowed to use parentheses like this, one after the other?) (yeah, I don't know either...)
Le sigh.
I also got to spin on a Golding wheel. It was very nearly a religious experience. I have to add a picture I stole from my friend Erin's blog:
I look like an utter goof in the picture. Clearly I was high on yarn fumes.
Now look at some stuff I've spun!
50/50 mohair and merino. It was only an ounce, but I did it all on the drop spindle (in fact, I bought this fibre specifically at the last minute on Sunday so I could spin it in the car).
This lovely merino:
is currently on the drop spindle becoming this:
I'm actually trying to spin singles here. We'll see how it looks when it comes off the noddy.
Ooh, that reminds me, the spinning workshop was fabulous. I need to take pictures of the stuff we spun and post it. I'm just not that organized right now (hah- try ever!)
Lastly, I have finally finished spinning Nicandro (the sunburn alpaca fleece from the sheep dog trials). I was going for laceweight, I'm not sure I quite got that, but it is just lovely nonetheless.
If you need me, I'll be huffing fleece.
Ahem. Yeah.
I have been spinning. I have been LOVING spinning. I bought myself a Golding spindle at Rhinebeck, and it is my new favourite toy. I spun all the way home in the car (well, until it got too dark) (oh and thanks to fiberkat for the idea) (hey, are you allowed to use parentheses like this, one after the other?) (yeah, I don't know either...)
Le sigh.
I also got to spin on a Golding wheel. It was very nearly a religious experience. I have to add a picture I stole from my friend Erin's blog:
I look like an utter goof in the picture. Clearly I was high on yarn fumes.
Now look at some stuff I've spun!
50/50 mohair and merino. It was only an ounce, but I did it all on the drop spindle (in fact, I bought this fibre specifically at the last minute on Sunday so I could spin it in the car).
This lovely merino:
is currently on the drop spindle becoming this:
I'm actually trying to spin singles here. We'll see how it looks when it comes off the noddy.
Ooh, that reminds me, the spinning workshop was fabulous. I need to take pictures of the stuff we spun and post it. I'm just not that organized right now (hah- try ever!)
Lastly, I have finally finished spinning Nicandro (the sunburn alpaca fleece from the sheep dog trials). I was going for laceweight, I'm not sure I quite got that, but it is just lovely nonetheless.
If you need me, I'll be huffing fleece.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Home from Rhinebeck
There is so, so much I want to write about, but it is much too early in the morning, and I don't think my muscles have completely un-kinked from the camping. I will have to post in installments as I remember everything that happened. The whole weekend has blended into a fuzzy, fiber-y dream!
I do have to share a conversation I had with my 4-year-old in the washroom,
"Mummy, what is the toilet paper made of?"
"Paper. What else would it be made of?"
"I don't know. Maybe wool?"
(laughing) "Why would the toilet paper be made of wool?"
(said with a 'well duh' tone) "Because it's a wool festibal (sic)"
I love my little guy!
I do have to share a conversation I had with my 4-year-old in the washroom,
"Mummy, what is the toilet paper made of?"
"Paper. What else would it be made of?"
"I don't know. Maybe wool?"
(laughing) "Why would the toilet paper be made of wool?"
(said with a 'well duh' tone) "Because it's a wool festibal (sic)"
I love my little guy!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
feeling a little less dumb
Yeah.
We have a local Spinners/Handweavers guild. I rented a Lendrum folding wheel from them for $1/day.
Wheee!
(though still feeling a little dumb for not having thought of that sooner)
We have a local Spinners/Handweavers guild. I rented a Lendrum folding wheel from them for $1/day.
Wheee!
(though still feeling a little dumb for not having thought of that sooner)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
How did I miss that?
I'm currently working on remedying an oversight that, frankly, is still baffling me. I don't know how I managed to overlook this particular detail, but then, here I am, clearly in this predicament because I wasn't thinking.
So we are going to Rhinebeck in two weeks (!) Myself, the husband, and the boys (nearly 3 and nearly 5). We are camping, and given the fairly pleasant weather, I'm optimistic that we will not all freeze to death. (I have also assured my husband that, should the weather become dangerously cold, there will be no shortage of warm woolyness with which to insulate the tent.)
Our campsite is reserved. We are slowly but surely assembling all the supplies we'll need for the 5 hour drive, the 3 nights camping, and the festival itself.
I have also signed up for a workshop. A spinning workshop, which I am thrilled about, which I signed up for months ago. I got the email yesterday with all the details, including the supplies/equipment I'll need to bring along.
Like a wheel.
Oh, yeah. A wheel. Of course I need a wheel. Why hadn't this occurred to me before now?
I do have a wheel. It's an Ashford traditional. Our car is a Honda Civic. We are camping, which means we're packing a tent, mats, sleeping bags, etc. We have two young boys, so we will necessarily have to pack the better part of their entire wardrobes, to allow for all manner of messes (food, water, mud, other...) and it would be prudent to pack plenty of clothes for ourselves too. Oh, and our smallish stroller.
Do you think I can fit the Ashford in the trunk too? Heh.
I'm checking out my local options to rent a travel-sized wheel. Failing that, I'm not sure what I'll do.
I'm still marveling at how I managed to overlook this issue until now.
So we are going to Rhinebeck in two weeks (!) Myself, the husband, and the boys (nearly 3 and nearly 5). We are camping, and given the fairly pleasant weather, I'm optimistic that we will not all freeze to death. (I have also assured my husband that, should the weather become dangerously cold, there will be no shortage of warm woolyness with which to insulate the tent.)
Our campsite is reserved. We are slowly but surely assembling all the supplies we'll need for the 5 hour drive, the 3 nights camping, and the festival itself.
I have also signed up for a workshop. A spinning workshop, which I am thrilled about, which I signed up for months ago. I got the email yesterday with all the details, including the supplies/equipment I'll need to bring along.
Like a wheel.
Oh, yeah. A wheel. Of course I need a wheel. Why hadn't this occurred to me before now?
I do have a wheel. It's an Ashford traditional. Our car is a Honda Civic. We are camping, which means we're packing a tent, mats, sleeping bags, etc. We have two young boys, so we will necessarily have to pack the better part of their entire wardrobes, to allow for all manner of messes (food, water, mud, other...) and it would be prudent to pack plenty of clothes for ourselves too. Oh, and our smallish stroller.
Do you think I can fit the Ashford in the trunk too? Heh.
I'm checking out my local options to rent a travel-sized wheel. Failing that, I'm not sure what I'll do.
I'm still marveling at how I managed to overlook this issue until now.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wartime Knitting
While on vacation in Muskoka (Bala, to be precise) we came across a small sign in town announcing that there would be a knitting exhibit at the Bala Museum. My cottage neighbour (also an avid knitter) and I went down to check it out.
It was all contained in one small room, but there was so much to see. Naturally, there were socks and hats, and patterns for the "Wartime Woolies" and such, but there were also several posters set up, that existed at the time to encourage everyone to participate in the wartime effort in any way they could.
There were also items I never would have imagined (and I suppose that fact shows how very naive I am about all this). The rifle mitts, with an open thumb and index finger for working the trigger. And there was a table full of hand knit medical bandages- bedsocks, bandage covers and leg and arm amputation covers (those last ones were both fascinating and disturbing).
For efficiency's sake, I have arranged the photos from the museum in a Flickr set:
Wartime Knitting Exhibit
p.s. I'm sorry I couldn't devote more time to this post. I am sick, and burnt out, but I really wanted to share these photos.
d.
It was all contained in one small room, but there was so much to see. Naturally, there were socks and hats, and patterns for the "Wartime Woolies" and such, but there were also several posters set up, that existed at the time to encourage everyone to participate in the wartime effort in any way they could.
There were also items I never would have imagined (and I suppose that fact shows how very naive I am about all this). The rifle mitts, with an open thumb and index finger for working the trigger. And there was a table full of hand knit medical bandages- bedsocks, bandage covers and leg and arm amputation covers (those last ones were both fascinating and disturbing).
For efficiency's sake, I have arranged the photos from the museum in a Flickr set:
Wartime Knitting Exhibit
p.s. I'm sorry I couldn't devote more time to this post. I am sick, and burnt out, but I really wanted to share these photos.
d.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Ravelry Swap
So I participated in my first ever swap last month, just by stumbling upon it while browsing on Ravelry.
I got my package a few days ago, but with the insanity of getting the kids into school, and my house into order (hah!) I haven't had a spare moment to post pictures until now.
The swap specified sock yarn and roving, but it allowed for other goodies as well:
A calendar and notebook (that notebook is going to wreak havoc on my diet!)
A great little wooden box, with a set of super-cute stitch markers,
The sock yarn is just awesome- hand dyed, it has both autumny colours, and some gorgeous teal jewel tones. The picture doesn't really do it justice:
And last but not least, the fiber. Oh it's really something- it's from Crosspatch Creations, which I'd never even heard of before. They have three different colours of fleece: two hand dyed, blue and purplish, and one natural black, and all three are blended through with wisps of multicoloured silk.
It is going to be so much fun to spin, I can't wait. I am going to save it until I get back from Rhinebeck though, since I'm attending a workshop about spinning multicoloured fleece, and I want to put the knowledge to good use.
More of the fleece, close up, so you can see the silky bits:
Thanks so much Janet!
I got my package a few days ago, but with the insanity of getting the kids into school, and my house into order (hah!) I haven't had a spare moment to post pictures until now.
The swap specified sock yarn and roving, but it allowed for other goodies as well:
A calendar and notebook (that notebook is going to wreak havoc on my diet!)
A great little wooden box, with a set of super-cute stitch markers,
The sock yarn is just awesome- hand dyed, it has both autumny colours, and some gorgeous teal jewel tones. The picture doesn't really do it justice:
And last but not least, the fiber. Oh it's really something- it's from Crosspatch Creations, which I'd never even heard of before. They have three different colours of fleece: two hand dyed, blue and purplish, and one natural black, and all three are blended through with wisps of multicoloured silk.
It is going to be so much fun to spin, I can't wait. I am going to save it until I get back from Rhinebeck though, since I'm attending a workshop about spinning multicoloured fleece, and I want to put the knowledge to good use.
More of the fleece, close up, so you can see the silky bits:
Thanks so much Janet!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
If someone could kick my ass in a few weeks
I'd really appreciate it. I have a ton of stuff I need to get on this blog. Primarily, my trip to the War-Time Knitting exhibit at the Bala museum- absolutely fascinating, but I need more time, not to mention more brain cells, to compose a full post about it. But I have to get to it, because it's really neat.
I've knit a bunch of stuff this summer which hasn't made it on here yet because we've been out of town so much. I have had just enough time to upload my pics, update my ravelry account, and feel guilty about not blogging more.
Forgive the blitz picture posting. I just don't want to neglect these, because they're so damn cute.
Finished cotton stria baby surprise:
Finished baby surplice, with matching hat and booties:
Both of those sweaters went to the same person, one of my oldest friends who is having her first baby any second now!
I barely stopped to take a breath before casting on my second baby surprise, this time in Koigu with Fleece Artist sock yarn accents (also with socks and hat to match):
This is for another baby, due in November. I'm itching to give it to the mom right.this.second. Patience was never a quality I managed to achieve.
I should mention that all the buttons for the sweaters were from my mom's personal vintage stash. I don't think I'll ever need to buy buttons in my life. I might anyway, but not because I need to.
This hat for my nephew was just ridiculously easy and quick- Misti alpaca chunky, 2 days knitting time:
I also cast on, then frogged, then re-knit, then frogged again, one of my entrelac socks. That's an annoying story. I don't really feel like elaborating- it makes me cranky.
I got a big Knitpicks order right as we returned from our vacation, and so I began knitting Miles a sweater (per his request). It's not interesting enough for a picture yet.
And to soothe my sock-knitting pride, I've cast on a pair of Monkeys, in STR- autumn colourway. I'm doing them toe-up, but I'm leaving the pattern as-it, so they'll be upside down Monkeys. Meh, I figure Monkeys like being upside down, no?
I have decided to name them Reese's Monkeys. Get it? Like Rhesus Monkeys? I'm a sucker for a bad pun. I blame my dad. But I do have a good reason for the name. Just look:
Damn, hungry. Need candy. Grunt.
I've knit a bunch of stuff this summer which hasn't made it on here yet because we've been out of town so much. I have had just enough time to upload my pics, update my ravelry account, and feel guilty about not blogging more.
Forgive the blitz picture posting. I just don't want to neglect these, because they're so damn cute.
Finished cotton stria baby surprise:
Finished baby surplice, with matching hat and booties:
Both of those sweaters went to the same person, one of my oldest friends who is having her first baby any second now!
I barely stopped to take a breath before casting on my second baby surprise, this time in Koigu with Fleece Artist sock yarn accents (also with socks and hat to match):
This is for another baby, due in November. I'm itching to give it to the mom right.this.second. Patience was never a quality I managed to achieve.
I should mention that all the buttons for the sweaters were from my mom's personal vintage stash. I don't think I'll ever need to buy buttons in my life. I might anyway, but not because I need to.
This hat for my nephew was just ridiculously easy and quick- Misti alpaca chunky, 2 days knitting time:
I also cast on, then frogged, then re-knit, then frogged again, one of my entrelac socks. That's an annoying story. I don't really feel like elaborating- it makes me cranky.
I got a big Knitpicks order right as we returned from our vacation, and so I began knitting Miles a sweater (per his request). It's not interesting enough for a picture yet.
And to soothe my sock-knitting pride, I've cast on a pair of Monkeys, in STR- autumn colourway. I'm doing them toe-up, but I'm leaving the pattern as-it, so they'll be upside down Monkeys. Meh, I figure Monkeys like being upside down, no?
I have decided to name them Reese's Monkeys. Get it? Like Rhesus Monkeys? I'm a sucker for a bad pun. I blame my dad. But I do have a good reason for the name. Just look:
Damn, hungry. Need candy. Grunt.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Where there's sheep dogs, there's sheep. Where there's sheep, there's me.
I went to the Kingston Sheep Dog trials today. We saw a ton of neat stuff (big cats, lizards, birds of prey) but somehow managed to almost completely overlook the actual sheep dogs. Whoops.
I had an embarrassingly good time checking out all the crafty tables, and watching the sheep-to-shawl competition, and I found a guy who makes his own wheels (and almost considered buying this one tiny one that was only $350- until I saw dh's face when I said the words "only" and "$350" in the same sentence). I did buy a hook for pulling the yarn through the orifice (I know there's a name for them, but I'm blanking). I actually need one too. My bent paperclip is really not cutting it these days.
But my big score was while Miles was on a pony ride, I saw two gorgeous alpacas standing next to a table full.of.yarn! And fleece! And I just couldn't resist taking a little something home. A souvenir, really.
It came from an alpaca named Nicandro (I'm absolutely giddy about the fact that my fleece has a name, and yes I know exactly how silly that is). It's 86% fawn alpaca and 14% 'merlot' silk (I don't know the names of the worms that provided the silk, but I suppose that would be asking too much, wouldn't it?).
Here's Miles cradling my fleece (that is only half of it) like it's a newborn child. I'm so proud. *sniff*
I suppose my joy at this new acquisition left me a little distracted, and I did come home with something else, far less desirable:
(Oh holy hell, my roving matches my back!)
The only explanation is that I must have neglected this area during re-application of sunscreen (I may have also neglected this area in my primary application. That was just dumb).
So the whole Sheep Dog trial event gets an A from me (though I can't comment on the dogs themselves), the Alpacas get an A++. I get a D, but the sun gets an F. It was, after all, entirely his fault.
I had an embarrassingly good time checking out all the crafty tables, and watching the sheep-to-shawl competition, and I found a guy who makes his own wheels (and almost considered buying this one tiny one that was only $350- until I saw dh's face when I said the words "only" and "$350" in the same sentence). I did buy a hook for pulling the yarn through the orifice (I know there's a name for them, but I'm blanking). I actually need one too. My bent paperclip is really not cutting it these days.
But my big score was while Miles was on a pony ride, I saw two gorgeous alpacas standing next to a table full.of.yarn! And fleece! And I just couldn't resist taking a little something home. A souvenir, really.
It came from an alpaca named Nicandro (I'm absolutely giddy about the fact that my fleece has a name, and yes I know exactly how silly that is). It's 86% fawn alpaca and 14% 'merlot' silk (I don't know the names of the worms that provided the silk, but I suppose that would be asking too much, wouldn't it?).
Here's Miles cradling my fleece (that is only half of it) like it's a newborn child. I'm so proud. *sniff*
I suppose my joy at this new acquisition left me a little distracted, and I did come home with something else, far less desirable:
(Oh holy hell, my roving matches my back!)
The only explanation is that I must have neglected this area during re-application of sunscreen (I may have also neglected this area in my primary application. That was just dumb).
So the whole Sheep Dog trial event gets an A from me (though I can't comment on the dogs themselves), the Alpacas get an A++. I get a D, but the sun gets an F. It was, after all, entirely his fault.
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