How life killed my garden this year...

At the beginning of the month, I wound up going into the hospital due to complications with my disabilities. While I was in there, Beloved did his best to make sure that my prized plants survived the spate of ridiculously hot weather that we had. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that I had vegetable plants and a few herbs growing out on the back deck. Between the heat and the wonky weather earlier in the year, my hopes of getting a few tomatoes and some other veggies were dashed.

I got home and took one look at the back deck. Lots of dead plants. Hubby was able to keep my plants out front alive and well. I was thrilled to see how wonderfully my rose bushes are doing. I think I'd have cried if I lost yet another rose bush. I think that all the rest of my plants out side could have died and I wouldn't have cared if my roses were fine. I have a minor problem with Japanese Rose Beetles, but nothing compared to last year.

I still want to do a bit of canning this year and a few other food preserving projects. While the farmer's market is still going on, I think I'll be going over there and buying what I need. Because I'm going to be doing small batch canning, so I won't be putting up huge amounts of produce. Some of what I want to make, I can use frozen fruit for. (The difference between the strawberry freezer jam made with fresh vs frozen berries seems to be the frozen is a touch sweeter.)

I am thinking about what to do with the soil and how to store the pots for next season. I am seriously considering using the big plastic tote to store the soil. I'm torn between that or making something of a pile on the edge of the lawn near the trees. I have decided that I will be making compost but I'm unsure on the logistics of making this work. I think, however, that I'm just going to use the opportunity I have now to plan for next year.

After all, having a smaller workload with my plants means that I have more time to do the other stuff that needs done around here to get ready for autumn.

Mostly clean house, not bad for a monday.

The boys have been busy today. Snuggle Bug went off to preschool for the first day of summer session. He came home with what appears to be chocolate stains on the front of his outfit. I'm guessing this means that they had chocolate milk at lunch time, but I'm not sure. Cuddle Bear and I went for a walk to check out the Summer Program at Vitale Park. When we got there, however, we discovered that today was the day that the Summer Rec. kids had a program and it wasn't open to the public. We were assured, however, that tomorrow is open to the general public.

They said something about doing a feature on fish tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that Cuddle Bear will enjoy it. He is very interested in our betta fish, named Swimmers. The plan is that we go over there for their morning program, Cuddle Bear gets some socialization time with his peers, and then we head home to do some academic work.

Today, we focused on hand writing skills and fine motor skills. We then went out for another walk. The plan was to stop briefly at his best friend's house to visit before stopping for a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches at Minnehan's. It's funny, but the morning walk looked like rain so we brought an umbrella. The afternoon walk, however, looked like clear skies. So we left the umbrella home.

Shortly after we reached our friends' house, the skies opened up and it poured. Rather then walking the additional half mile, we just went home. We were drenched by the time we got home. So, we changed into dry clothes. Then I whipped together a lunch of snack foods. Cuddle Bear was especially pleased with the pretzels. Aldi has these honey-wheat twists that don't have a lot of salt. Pretty much the whole family loves them.

The last bucket of them that I got lasted us just over a week. After lunch, I started to wash up dishes when Cuddle Bear insisted that he had to help. As a result, he washed 90% of the dishes that needed done. He did a pretty good job, too. When it came to picking up the living room, however, he wasn't interested at all in helping with that. Once I finish this entry, I'm going to finish up the last little bit of work for that task. Then I'm going to give Cuddle Bear the electric sweeper and Snuggle Bug the duster. I will set them loose upon the room. As they're doing that, I'm going to water plants.

This evening, I'm going to try to get out and actually get a bit of serious exercise in. My approximate mile of walking was good for me, but I want to try to get a little running in. I've been thinking about it and giving up on the 5K really doesn't sound right to me. So, I am going to make time to run after Beloved gets home from work. If I run a bit everyday, that should have me up to running three miles by the end of September, right?

I am probably going to wind up wearing the pink shorts that I feel make my legs look awful. But, the focus is not how my legs look, but what I am doing with them, right? Mood wise, I'm in something of a mixed state. This has me not able to sit still for very long. (Hence why I've been working on catching up on my cleaning.) This is an improvement over the weekend and a few days before, where I was feeling somewhat depressed and anxious.

Dinner tonight is hamburgers. I'm also going to be giving the kids a bit of store made sauerkraut on the side with some chips. We'll see how they take to the sauerkraut with apples. They may like it, or they may turn their noses up at it.

Tour De Fleece status: bust.

I was hoping to do a lot of spinning for TdF this year. The humidity has been so horrid, however, that fiber is felting in my hands before I can do anything with it. I also have discovered that the bag of fleece that I thought I could just start spinning off of actually needs carded first. And it is a LOT of fleece. I think I'm going to have to resign myself to basically not participating in TdF this year. I'm pretty disappointed, but life happens.

Summer vacation, wheee!

So, the kids started their summer vacation approximately two weeks ago. It has been utter chaos around here. Between their being wired over the summer weather and a lack of previous routine and my developing a sinus infection due to my allergies, it was more then a little bit crazy here. Beloved is a wonderful, wonderful man who does amazing things to help me keep my head wrapped together properly.

I think the most fantastic thing is that as soon as he gets in the door, he takes over dealing with the kids. It was really distressing to realize earlier this week that I can't handle them when they're just going over the top crazy. I am still adjusting to the fact that my psychological issues have such a large impact on my life, but this was just like getting kicked in the teeth.

Then yesterday, Snuggle Bug decided to be an absolute hellion to his aunt (who was planning on watching them for a few days for us) so we had to go pick the kids up. I had really hoped that he was going to behave for her. It had been a case where he had decided that he was comfortable enough to start causing trouble. And then he didn't stop. I honestly have no idea what we're going to do with him.

Thankfully, summer session of preschool starts on Monday. I just have run out of ideas for what to do with him when he misbehaves. I'm going to ask the preschool what works for them, but I suspect that Snuggle Bug doesn't act up like this there. I try putting him in timeout, he screams and flails. If I am going to make him stay in timeout, I have to restrain him in my lap. Then he throws his head back and kicks, basically fighting like a wildcat. Spankings don't seem to have any effect on him, nor does yelling. Taking toys away doesn't phase him and sending him to bed just doesn't seem to have an effect either.

He's turning four this summer. I wish ... I wish I could figure out what makes this boy tick. This way we didn't have all the tears and screaming. This way he would listen more. As it stands, he has no real safety awareness and a huge dose of self willed motion. I find myself deeply concerned and uneasy.

Book of poems in the works...

I found my poetry journals. I'm combing through them and selecting poems to publish. Some of them are atrociously bad. Some of them are pretty good. And then others pull at my heartstrings. This one I wrote for Stargazer, though I never dared to reveal that to her whilst she was amongst us. I hope that where ever she is, that she forgives my lack of courage.
~*~*~*~*~

Venusian Muse
Oh sweet slayer of my soul
Thine eyes are arrows
Whose wounds a noble heart hath lain low
Crimson tears mix with pining sighs
For I suffer sweet sorrows
In want of thy tender grace
That which angels in heaven dare not know
By god's own hand
Wert thou formed
With beauty to make my heart burn as a brand
And a spirit more innocent and sweet then
     a babe newly born
My cruel mistress
Thy hidden, chaste eye wounds me
As my weak words bear witness

Back to work!

[insert sound of whip crack here]

The long weekend was busy. I had a wonderful time spending time just hanging out with my husband and the kids. Now I have writing to catch up on before the kids get home from school and housework to do. I also have the powerful urge to completely clear off and reorganize my altar. Meh, random stuff to do.

Ramblings.

For some incomprehensible reason, I suddenly feel exhausted. I don't know if it's just the weather affecting me or what. I do know that I don't want to go lay down and take a nap right now. I feel like I have so much stuff I should be doing right now. I finally have my writing schedule hammered out.

Monday: Work on my Fantasy Novel

Tuesday: Work on my Veiled Witch blog

Wednesday: Work on stuff for Anam Cara blog

Thursday: Work on my Dream Interpretation manuscript

Friday: Work on my memoirs

Saturday & Sunday: Work on my physics theories

At the same time, I have my daily writing that I work on too. Everyday, I write in my gratitude journal. I also make sure to write three pages in my daily journal. I have an additional project that I am working on for Beloved that I work on everyday as well.

Dreaming of a house...

I've made a decision today. I am not going to look longingly at houses anymore. It is making me feel like where I live now is a mistake. I refuse to do that to myself. If we get a house someday, it will be nice. Until then, I am going to make the best of where we live now and be happy here. I'm no longer looking over the proverbial fence at somebody else's grass.

I may not have a traditional in the ground garden, but I do have a garden. I have my rose bush. I am growing vegetables and flowers. I will be growing some herbs again. This may not be the garden that I grew up with, but it is *MY* garden and that is all that matters.

My home is just the size for what we need right now. I am going to continue to get rid of and donate things that are excess and not of sentimental value. I am going to continue to pare back the random crap that I have kicking around until I have reached the core of what is important. I am going to be happy here.

It is not a matter of 'bloom where you're planted' as much as when we moved in I was excited about the potential for this place. As we moved our things in, the apparent space available diminished. Then the kids' toys piled up and apparent space diminished again. This is not a small apartment.

The one downstairs is. It is the size of my living room, the boy's room, and half of the kitchen. I am going to make the best of what space we have and what blessings we have here. I am going to make a point of being thankful for what is here. And I am going to aggressively pursue getting the best out of what we have here.

I'm not going to worry about a house. We can't afford one right now. And that's ok. More space would turn into more stuff and that would become more anxiety. I am not going to do that to myself.

Crochet Socks, FTW!

I used the first pattern listed to make the socks I pictured below. When I do another pair for myself, I am thinking about trying out the second pattern. I'm not entirely decided. The first one is pretty simple and really easy to tailor to your foot size. I'm not so sure about the second.


http://graftonfibers.com/toeupsocks.PDF
 

http://tinyurl.com/dxwwev5

I made the socks using the cotton candy print from Lion Brand's line Sock Ease.

 

 

Art Show Pictures!

As I promised, here are the pictures from the art show opening this week. It will be going around the county to different locations over the course of the month. If you want to know the locations, drop a comment in the box. I recognize that most of my readers are outside of the Livingston County, NY area so I have decided not to spam them with the details of where this is going on.

Productive day!

So far today, I have folded and put away four loads of laundry. I have sorted out all the clothes that the boys have out grown and put them aside to go to Goodwill. I have gotten out their outfits for tomorrow and their pajamas for tonight. (It's bath night, so things are probably going to get a bit wacky this evening.) I had a quick visit from my Auntie Adrian and my paternal Grandmother.

I have gotten a lot of yard work done also. I repotted some paperwhites. I'm hoping that they'll perk up and put out flowers now that they're in full sun. If not, there's always next year. I put up the hook for hanging plants out on the front porch. I have gotten the first layer of material down for the flowerbed that I am making and in doing so, tossed my used soil from last year. I also have potted my basil and oregano plants. I then pulled a bunch of weeds and a great deal of dead wood out of the edges of the back yard. I am going to work to push back the brush to the property edges.

There is a spot where previous folk had dumped things. I am going to turn that area into a composting heap. Right now, there is just a big ol' pile of sticks there. I plan on taking some of those sticks and using them to make a partition under the deck so that one section can be for yard care tools and the other for more social uses. I also made another bird feeder. I filled up both the feeders and hung the second one up in a tree.

I made a point of putting twigs into the feeders so that the birds have a place to perch when they use them. I think that will make them more attractive to the birds. I am seriously considering putting a few birdhouses on stakes in the flower bed. I think it would be charming and help make the spot have more vertical appeal.

Ugh, it's Monday.

It was a very long Monday. I didn't get the devotional prayer time that I was hoping for. At the same time, however, I did get a 2 1/2 mi walk despite the drizzly weather. The trees are beginning to get a blush of green to them. The maple out front is in bloom and wafting pollen everywhere. As such, Snuggle Bug and I have been having fun with allergies. I'm pretty sure that as the season progresses, this will just become more intense.

After a conversation with Beloved, I think we finally have hammered out what we're going to be doing for food. I don't think OAMC is going to be our silver bullet. It works great for some folks, but between my small freezer and what our cooking choices are, I have to stick with predominantly fresh materials.

Our meals (in not particular order)

• Hamburgers & salad  (Mon)
• Pizza (Fri)
• Pasta Bake / Spaghetti  (Tues)
• Pasta salad (wed)
• Pot roast, potatoes, hot veggie (thurs)
• Soup & sandwiches (sat)
• Momma's choice (sun)

We're going to be making a minor change to the weekend schedule to accomodate this and I'll be doing laundry in the middle of the day, rather then the evening. I'm fairly sure that this will not cause any problems, as this will be when Snuggle Bug is napping and Cuddle Bear is reading books or playing quietly. It's at that time that I go and do my grocery shopping on Saturdays.

I am thinking about how to get more vegetables and fruit into the diet. I'm pretty sure that my stomach discomfort earlier today was due to two things. One, the fast food that I ate over the weekend. Two, my not having enough fiber in my diet. I figure if Momma is having tummy issues because of this, it's quite likely that the whole household is dealing with a manifestation of this on some level.

My success today was getting the kids to eat fruit laden crisps (envision smushed fruit between crackers) with dinner. I know that those went over well because Snuggle Bug was carrying his around the house as he chewed on it. And Cuddle Bear polished his off right after he finished his sandwich tonight. I think it is going to take more efforts like that to get them to eat healthier. 3 to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables is the goal. In eating those three crisps, they got three servings of fruit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next.

Recycling teapots!

So, I have one tea pot that I turned into a planter. In the pot, I have cuttings from the white wandering jew that I have trying to conquer the world. The boys (namely Snuggle Bug) have kept pulling out the bit that I had put down the spout. I'm going to try Supermomnocape's trick of putting some soil down the spout and putting my cutting in that way.

I have another tea pot that I am going to plant with a combination of wandering jew and ivy. The planters are probably going to sit out in the project room/office for hubby to keep them safe from small hands. I have been flirting with the idea of acquiring another to make into a planter with the geranium that desperately needs a new pot into. It is not so much a matter of the pot itself is the problem or that the plant is growing too big for it.

The problem with the geranium is that my youngest child finds the leaves fascinating and loves to pull them off. He likes the tactile sensation of the leaves pulling off and the fact that his hands smell different after doing so. This makes me concerned for my herbs this year. I'm pretty sure that he will be delighted to decimate my mint. (And the typo just a moment a go was 'mind' not 'mint.' LOL)

One of the planters is going to go to my MiL. The other is going to be a joint gift to my Mom and my paternal Grandmother. If I do a third planter, I'll be keeping it for myself to add a touch of whimsy to my gardening efforts on the back deck. I have been eying the glazed giant sized tea cup planters that Walmart has. I'm seriously thinking about getting a pair to grow some miniature tea roses in.

If I am going to do that, I will most definitely be putting them in that bed that I am going to be doing this year. I will make a point of putting flowers in them that will be showy and exciting for the children. And making the bed look like a tea party for giants. Because whimsy is always a great thing in gardening.

Junk food for lunch, because I can!

Today started off uncomfortable because of my knees. I took something for it, but they're still just terribly painful. It's not as bad as it was the first thing this morning, which I am thankful for. I really, REALLY hate the fact that I have arthritic knees. At the same time, I am really, REALLY thankful for the fact that I now know why my knees hurt and give me problems. I have no words for how reassuring it is to know that it's not something that is 'just in your head' as I was told in the past.

I am being bad and having junk food for lunch. I will admit, my version of junk food doesn't entirely match up with other people's vision of it. The things that came closest to that are the sweettart jelly beans (I have a new candy love!) and the potato chips. I've also been indulging in pickles and my sauerkraut. So, a lot of salt and a lot of sugar. Oh, and let us not forget my gummy bear addiction!

I'm pretty sure that this isn't a warning sign of a migraine but just a random whim. In the event that this is my body gearing up for a migraine, I've already got my battle plans for this afternoon figured out. We're going to be reading books and playing with quiet toys (trains, cars, etc.) rather then having the boys howling around the house with their guitars at the top of their lungs.

According to my menu, dinner tonight is slated to be tacos. Since I used a crock pot liner yesterday, I can just throw the meat into the crock pot and let it cook down. I'm considering using another crock pot liner because it makes one less thing to wash. I'm going to be using a version of this recipe for dinner tonight. I'm going to use my handy dandy jar of chili powder, rather then mixing up the spices. (Because why do more work when I don't have to, am I right?)

We're low on soft taco shells, but I think Beloved will forgive me that. We've got some large tortillas in the freezer that I can just warm up. I'm looking forward to trying my fermented salsa today. It looks really tasty. It's a very basic, very mild salsa. I'm pretty sure that even the kids will eat it. I'm going to have some of the hard shells for my tacos and I am going to try giving the boys some for their dinner tonight.

They looked at the soft tacos with suspicion the last few times I tried serving them. I'm hoping that maybe the hard tacos will be more to their liking. It may just be that they're not interested in tacos.

Productive day, yay!

I have dinner going in the crock pot. I'm pretty sure that the boys will be delighted with pasta bake, even if it isn't out of the oven. I am going to be using it later this week to whip up taco meat. My goal is to use the crock pot for at least one meal a week. Since the kids have decided they love pasta bake, I am going to have a fairly easy time with that, I think.

I purchased a package of crock pot liners a little while back. I have to say, they are quite handy. At the same time, I feel that I need to come up with something that is more eco-friendly then the plastic bags. My crock pots both have enough texture to the inside that just spraying them with some oil isn't going to cut it. I am sure that as I scope out the different places I can find tips and tricks for how to get the most out of my crock pot, I'll stumble on to something.

I took three garbage bags of old clothes and toys that the kids no longer play with out to the thrift store. I confess, I was a little bit bad and I picked up a scarf, a wooden crate (tiny sized), and a tea pot. The tea pot that Heartfullofstars gave me a little while back was missing a top. It is a beautiful tea pot, but it just wasn't working right for me. Then, as I was window shopping through the aisles, I stumbled onto the PERFECT tea pot. It was just the right size, it looked beautiful, and it had the most important element, a lid. I am still going to use the tea pot that Heartfullofstars gave me.

Just as I took the tea pot that Snuggle Bug broke and I turned it into a planter, I am going to do the same with this one. I have a few plants that are trying to conquer the world. Taking some cuttings and rooting them should be incredibly easy. And since they're plants that like to be damp, the lack of drainage won't be a problem with this potting arrangement.

Knitting for fun and profit!

I've cast on and got a few inches knit of a shawl. I'm using a really basic pattern. It's just knitting a triangle. I'm using size 10 needles. My yarn is the Peaches n' Cream Ivy League color way. I'm optimistic that the two large balls that I have will be enough for this project. If not, I am fairly sure that more of this colorway will be easily available.

I've decided to take a break from my crochet squares for this month. I have been working on my crochet socks and I just started this knitting project. My goal is to get the shawl finished by the end of the season. I keep looking at my pile of squares and feel a little guilty for not seaming them together. I'll probably work on that next week. I really want to finish my socks before it's too warm for me to be wearing them. They're wool done in the bright pink colorway that Lion Brand calls 'cotton candy'.

My efforts with my fermented pickles have yielded results a little faster then I had expected. Snuggle Bug tried one of the carrot pickles and declared them to be yummy. I think I may have somebody to share my delight in these pickles with. :) The salsa is beginning to fizz a bit. I'm hopeful that it will prove especially tasty. Like a good witchy poo, I am writing down the recipes. I figure after a year of experimenting and such, I should have enough heritage recipes and techniques to put together a small cookbook.

Ginger, clove, and carrots!

I have a recipe that I was encouraged to try from some folks that I chat with via Facebook. It is another fermented pickle recipe. I had a bit of ginger that originally I was going to use to make a 'ginger bug' and then attempt a fermented beverage with it. When Beloved voiced is disagreement with my taking up brewing at this time, I pounced on the next thing I was planning on doing with ginger - these carrot pickles.

I guess it was about two months ago that I stumbled on to the Vlasic Farmer's Garden pickles. Now, I'm not usually one to bandy about name brand products. I must confess, when I picked up these new pickles it was expecting an indifferent to disappointed response. The cucumbers that were in the batch were like normal pickles. Then I got to the other vegetables and made an extraordinary discovery. I LOVE pickled carrots.

Last year, when I made the fermented pickles, I was quite delighted with how they came out. I remembered how easy they were to make and I decided that I had to try out making some fermented pickled carrots. Upon reading some of the directions that folks have shared for how to make 'em, I took out my supplies and whipped this together. The carrots have only just begun their fermenting period. The directions that I have been reading says that at their earliest they'll be ready in three days. I am eagerly awaiting when they are ready.

In the meantime, I have my sauerkraut to enjoy. If I can find where I put the other quart jar, I am going to whip up a batch of fermented salsa. I'll probably inoculate the salsa like I did the carrots, with a tablespoon of the liquid from the sauerkraut. It has the lactobacillus culture that I want in my pickles. I've read about other people having success in getting their ferments going well based off of an inoculation from another ferment, so I'm hopeful that this one will be successful as well.

Here's the recipe (approximately).

1 1/2 in ginger, cut into slices
5 medium carrots, cut into slices
1 tsp whole clove

Combine all the above into a quart sized jar. Add 2 tbsp salt (or a bit of the liquid from another fermented pickle you've got going). Let it sit at room temperature, covered with a bit of cheesecloth for 3 days. Weigh your carrots down to keep them from acquiring mold.

I'll post my results from this 'experiment' in a few days. I expect it to be delicious.

Doing some housekeeping.

I am going through stuff I have posted on Triond to pull the material relating to The Red Chair. This is in preparation for getting the manuscript ready to send off to the editor. The project has been languishing for almost a year because I hit a block. Now that the block is cleared, I think I can have it completed in a few weeks.

I'm actually taking a break from working on it right now to eat lunch. A cup of tea and some ramen noodles makes up my lunch today. Tonight was supposed to be pizza night but I have discovered that we're missing some of the ingredients that I usually use for making the pizza. So, we're going to be having tacos, which was originally on the menu for yesterday but it got skipped in favor of taking the kids out for ice cream. Yes, I spoiled my boys and on the day that it was 75 in April, we had ice cream for dinner. And you know what, it was glorious!

I would have preferred to do home made salsa for dinner tonight but I don't have what I need for that either. So, it is a good thing that I bought jarred salsa when I got the taco fixings last week. I am pretty sure that Beloved won't miss the lettuce that I usually put in it. I completely forgot to get it when I was buying groceries. Some how I remembered the sour cream but forgot the lettuce.

I have started another batch of sauerkraut. This time it is using red cabbage. I know that the last batch was delicious. I'm hopeful that this one will be equally awesome. As I have been looking at recipes for different kinds of fermented pickles, I am finding myself strongly tempted to make ginger carrots. I accidentally discovered that I really enjoy pickled carrots. Since I like my homemade pickles, I am going to give making the carrots a try next week.

Beloved has quite firmly stated that he doesn't want me to take up brewing. To be honest, he has nothing but good reasons for his objections. With the possibility of the bottles exploding and making a disaster of the apartment, I can't exactly argue against his logic. I am seriously contemplating asking my friends who do brewing to make up a bottle of something special for me in return for some pickles and jam. I think it would only be fair to trade home made goodness for home made goodness.

I am not entirely pleased how things turned out with my second attempt at sourdough. That, however, was because of mistakes I made in how I was handling the starter. I got one good loaf of bread out of it. And then I forgot about the starter and it went bad on me. I think I need a better way to contain the starter then just a bowl. I am going to look into my options, but the prospect of using one of the wide mouth canning jars that I have kicking around is looking better by the minute.

I am planning to get an iced tea jug with a spout when those things go on clearance. I'm probably going to hunt down one of the plastic ones. I drink a lot of iced tea during the warmer seasons. Rather then dealing with a milk jug, I'm thinking that if I have one of those gallon jugs with a spigot that it will be easier to fill and tend and such. I have been looking at various flavored water recipes floating around on the internet. (See what I did there? LOL) While I am intrigued by them, I can't exactly justify buying a whole watermelon for that (for example). I am thinking that if I do a little planning, I can possibly get stuff that would do double duty.

But that's what's rambling around through my mind right now. Now I must gather up the pieces that I will be submitting for the art show and make myself another cup of tea. Then it's back to writing I go!

I'M PUBLISHED! W00000T!!!

Here's the link to the book. Please consider purchasing a copy! It is under one of my oldest pen names, Lady Brythwen Sinclair. This is the first of what is going to be a collection of work produced under this pen name. I am in the midst of compiling religious/mystical poetry that I've written. My plan is to publish this as a companion book to Rose Petals. Look for that in a few months.

I also plan on publishing some other material via this method. I have an old manuscript that I hand bound years ago for my cousins. I am going to recreate it and publish it. My plan is to send them copies for Yule. Considering that it is a children's book, I think that my cousin Alicia will get a lot of mileage out of it with her little boy. And the idea of this being something that gets carried on to another member of the family tickles me pink.

Folks who are following my erotica literature, by the end of the year, there will be a collection of short stories available. I will still be adding material to the blog. Some of the previously published material from the blog will be expanded and additional content will be added. It is my plan to have this finished by December of this year.

I am totally stoked right now! This is so exciting!

Thoughts on Boston Marathon Bombing.

I am fairly sure the blogosphere is entirely a twitter with people's thoughts and considerations on the events of yesterday. I have been thinking about it and about the way Facebook lit up with exhortations of people to pray for the victims (and first responders). I don't want to come off as a callous bastard but I sit here and all I can feel is disgust. Disgust for the people who perpetrated this heinous act, disgust for the knee jerk responses on Facebook, and disgust for the inevitable hatred that people will spew as they attempt to place blame for the act.

I recognize that what happened yesterday was a horrific thing. I feel badly that it happened but I can't bring myself to feel the awful sense of mourning that others seem to put on like an old coat, if you go by the frequency of requests of prayers, virtual candles, and similar sentiments posted on FB. I am relieved that none of my direct kin were affected by this. I am disappointed and disgusted by the act and the carnage. I am proud of those who put themselves into danger to help complete strangers. I sincerely hope that casualties will be limited and that all injured make a full recovery.

All of this said, what good does it do to post for quite possibly the 200th time in your friends' feeds that what happened was a bad thing? It is a statement of the obvious. Why are you asking them to pray for gods knows what iteration of that request you are? For the love of everything holy, refrain from this and put your sense of need to take action to rectify the problem into ACTION. Don't use pat statements to assuage your survivor's guilt or to assuage the nebulous sense of guilt that you feel obligated to have for not being directly affected by the events. Don't use FB posts to express your desire to have those harmed by this helped and leave it at that.

Pick yourself up and DO SOMETHING! If you feel obligated to pray for the injured parties, then pray. Don't announce to the world that you are doing it, spend your time engaged in it. It's one thing if you are letting people around you know that you are organizing something (ie 'hey guys, i'm going to donate blood, who's coming with me?' or 'i'm fund raising for the Red Cross, pls donate!' etc.). That is fantastic! Keep up the great work! Let more people know about your efforts offline to recruit as much assistance as you can for your cause. (I'm pro-activisim, even if it's for the opposite side of the causes I believe in because it means that you are standing up for your beliefs rather then paying lip service.)

With my ranting done, some may wonder just what I am doing in the wake of the tragedy. Some may ask if I don't want to help ease the suffering of those afflicted or if I don't want to see the perpetrators punished. I recognize that given the current circumstances of my family and life, I can do nothing more then pray for these people. I have done so. As for the punishment of the perpetrators, my feelings on that are the same as my feelings regarding ANY crime: the perpetrators should be apprehended and justice should be done. Note, I said justice. This means we allow the legal system to give them their day in court with a trial by jury, as is required by our laws.

Some may press the matter farther and demand that I agree with them that the offenders should be executed for their crimes. I would retort that their arguments, especially emotion based, are nothing more then a petty attempt at revenge, which is ultimately useless. Even the enormity of this crime does not make me support capital punishment. I refuse to support petty revenge, state sanctioned murder, or the execution of innocent people upon accident. So far, the arguments in favor of capital punishment boil down to approval of these things, if not the encouragement of the first in the list. I adamantly reject them.

Garden pics.

 Here are my tulips trying to come up.

 Yet more tulips and a few daffodils. I also have a wee bit of hyacinth trying to come up off to the side.

My daffodils trying to come up.

It's raining outside today. When the weather gets nice again, I am going to start cleaning up the flower bed. Then I am going to deal with my pots of soil and such. My plan is to get everything prepped for planting when the weather gets nice. I figure if I start on it now and work on it a little bit every chance I get, then I'll have a nice looking bit of container gardening and such in no time.

It's beginning to look like Spring!

I'll be posting pictures tomorrow, but my tulips, daffodils, and hyacinthe are sending up shoots. The lilac has put out green buds and the coltsfoot is blooming. I recognize that my allergies are going to be punishing this year, because they have already started bothering me.

Every so often...

Every so often, I get this crazy thought that I should take one of my notebooks and keep a running journal of my exercise, my food habits, and pretty much everything else attached to my health. Then I look at it all and go 'what am I thinking?' I don't know if I should do it or not. I know that I need to do a better job with my mood tracking. I don't know about a journal recording everything about my health.

I suppose it would be a good way for me to keep track of how much weight I am losing and how much I exercise. It feels like a lot of work with out much for a pay off. I honestly don't know if I should do this or not. Goodness knows I have blank notebooks to use for that.

Exercise means progress, right?

I just finished doing my little Yourself Fitness dvd from McDonald's. (Random side note: I kinda regret that I didn't get the other ones in the set. I am thinking about hunting down the rest of the set so that I have 'em all to rotate through.) I am torn between pleased that I did 15 minutes of exercise and disappointed that I am so out of shape that it was real work. I want to be healthier. I am struggling with this sense of shame that I'm no where near the shape I was in before I had Cuddle Bug.

I have decided that I am going to do that little 15 minute work out every day. The first few days of it are going to be murder, but I think it'll be worth it. This is something that I can do with the kids even. So, when they have their days off (like on the weekend or during this break coming up next week) we'll still get some exercise in them. Today, I was not pleased that it took me so long to get to doing any sort of exercise today.

I don't feel quite as stiff in the legs as I did this morning. I think it's because I got that bit of exercise in. Oddly enough, it is equally difficult to get the exercise in as it is to stick to my healthy diet. I am having a real struggle cutting sugar out of my diet. I thought that limiting the amount of coffee I drink (along with the sugar loaded creamer that tastes so good), that perhaps I would just cut down on sugar too. Then I realized how much sugar I put into my tea.

I want to set a good example for the kids. I want to get them to where they can eat stuff that is naturally sweet and truly enjoy it. I really do think that is why they love bananas. I want to get my self off of the sugar kick and cut out as much in the way of processed food as I can from our diets. It is not just that I want us to all be eating healthier. I also have noticed that as we cut out processed foods and I make more meals the old fashioned way, we are spending less on our food budget.

I am still trying to get that completely hammered out. (I learned the hard way that Tops markets is not my friend on that front. They proved to be one of the most expensive places to get groceries in the area last week. And that was with coupons.) I am seriously considering going back to shopping at Save-A-Lot in Lima. They were good to my budget and the service has always been excellent.

With my effort to cut out boxed foods, I need a less expensive source for things like meat and fresh veggies. My menu planning has helped some with controlling the food expenses but not enough. I also need to find a way to cut waste out of our food budget. I have a bag of salad sitting in the fridge that we need to eat tonight or it's going to have to be pitched. I have a tray of veggies waiting to go into the soup pot. And that doesn't count the partial bag of potatoes that I have sitting in there either.

I had a few 'misses' with the menu thing. I am apparently the only person in the whole house who will eat sauerkraut or cabbage. As a result, I wound up throwing away half a head of cabbage. Beloved and I are also the only ones who will touch corned beef. The boys really did not like it. It was not to the point of their response to the asparagus last night (where they tried scraping it off their tongues after taking a tiny nibble), but it was clear how they felt about it.

I don't feel like I am making progress. I clean up the house and then it gets dirty again. I clean up dishes, cook food, and have to wash dishes again. I know that it's a spiral that I'm moving on. That things just seem to be the same all the time, but that I am actually making forward progress. It is hard to really feel that, though. When I have mornings that I am just so exhausted that I take a nap after I put the kids on the bus to school, days that I feel like I'm utterly useless, or something else equally disheartening running through my mind, it is really hard to keep that forward progress in mind.

The thing that helps me keep moving is when Beloved tells me that he's pleased with what I've gotten done. When he tells me that he's proud of me and that I am vital to his success. When my boys are making huge strides with what their learning at school, in how they interact with other children, and in their life skills progress, that helps me too. Because I can see that what I am doing is making a difference.

It's hard being a stay at home mom because sometimes the differences made in the course of the day are so subtle that you will miss them.

Exercise and such.

Today, I did my walking. I got in just under a mile walking to the park, around the trail, and back. I am going to go out and walk every day that I can. At the minimum, I will walk there and back. On the days that the kids are home or that I am not able to go out to the park, I am going to do my aerobics exercises (ala the dvd i have). I am going to work myself up to doing those exercises on the days I go walking too, but I am not just going to jump into it right away.

I was a bit bad about my diet. I couldn't help myself, the potato chips were wonderful with my vegetable soup that I had for lunch today. I did remember to eat a nice, healthy breakfast today. This evening, I am making hamburgers, tatertots, and peas for dinner. I don't expect the kids to have much love for the peas, but they may surprise me.

I want to make myself healthier. I don't want to be feeling like my knees are being tortured or get short of breath when I have to move quickly. I sincerely hope that all of this exercise and careful monitoring of my diet will result in my having improvement with my lung function. With the spring weather coming, I know that my allergies are going to be a problem. Perhaps all of this exercise will help nip some of that problem in the bud.

I am struggling with the whole cutting excess sugars out of my diet. I told myself that I was going to stop eating junk food and drinking soda. This past weekend, however, I ate a fair amount of junk food and had soda. I recognize that some of this is because I went shopping hungry on Sunday. I also recognize that some of this is my body struggling with the effort to get myself off of sugar and refined foods.

An interesting thing I noticed last week as I was enjoying the sauerkraut is that with the probiotic rich foods, I have less problems with gas and my body does a better job of eliminating wastes (to put it delicately). I am fairly certain that the probiotics are the cause of this because that is the only major change I have successfully made to my diet. Now, I just need to get myself back into the habit of drinking a generous amount of water during the day.

Rambling thoughts.

So, in my grocery shopping, I picked up a bunch of veggies for the stock pot. I think I'll be making vegetable stock this week. I used my beef stock in some soup for my lunch last week. It was positively delightful. I threw in a bit of the sauerkraut when I zapped it up in the microwave. It was a wonderful addition.

It's a bit frustrating that I am the only one in the house who will eat cabbage. That said, I must confess, I don't mind not having competition when it comes to this sauerkraut. I think I am going to make another batch when I finish this off. But the second jar of sauerkraut that get's made, I am going to bring over to my grandparents. I figure bring that and a loaf of sourdough bread will be well received.

I am excited about the coming good weather. I have all these wonderful things that I want to grow. I am really, REALLY hoping that I can do well with tomatoes so that I can make my own salsa. I am interested in doing some small batch canning this summer/autumn. Among the things I want to make are salsa, chutney, and chicken soup. I think I prefer the fermented pickles to the vinegar packed ones, but I do want to try my hand as some vinegar packed pickles too.

I have been letting my cooking interests dictate what I plan on growing (as well as the lighting conditions). I still have some herbs dried from last year that I need to use up. I think that I will be using the mint and lemon balm to make some herbal teas. I am not exactly sure what I will do with the sage. I have seen things about how to make your own smudging bundles with it. I don't think I have enough to do much of a bundle, but I may make some ground incense with it.

I must go and do my cleaning in the kitchen before I go do laundry. I hope that my bread dough will rise properly. I hope that my sourdough starter revives after the feeding I just gave it. And, I hope that you all have a wonderful day.

Good Evening, folks.

Honestly, the last few days have gone really well. (With the sole exception being this nagging bit of a cold that I have, which I am on the mend from. I'm quite pleased with the fact that I didn't lose my voice today. Mayhaps, I'll be recovered tomorrow?)

My experiments in the kitchen have been bearing fruit. My sourdough starter made for a nice loaf of bread yesterday. I goofed up the measurements and screwed up a loaf today, but this is a learning process. My sauerkraut is beginning to smell like sauerkraut. I think it will be ready in the next day or two. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

I tried out the crock pot oatmeal recipe and discovered it made a huge mess in the crock pot. I then used one of those disposible plastic liners and made another batch. Clean up was a breeze. The oatmeal was tasty and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The kids, on the other hand, didn't feel like having any. It's going to be a bit of a process getting them converted to 'whole foods'.

My goal over this year is to transition away from packaged foods as much as possible. I see here that it will actually save us money if I do this. When I went grocery shopping last weekend, I only spent about $60. Unfortunately, some of the planning that I did blew up in my face. (Apparently, I am the only person in the house who will eat cabbage in any form. And the boys do NOT like corned beef.) In my efforts to get us 'back to basics' in our diet, I am working to revive some heritage recipes and techniques.

The way I see it, I am a housewife. I should have the skills that my foremothers did. Can I launder my own clothes? Can I preserve food? Can I cook from scratch? All of these things are skills that I feel are very important. While we're living in an apartment and I can't exactly go full bore on this stuff, there are things I can do.

In the course of my travels tomorrow, I plan on picking up a little wooden drying rack. I'm going to trade a bit of housework for the use of my neighbor's laundry machine. I figure I can put the drying rack in the tub and let stuff drip dry in there. I can't do a big huge load but every little bit counts. Flylady figures a load of laundry a day is what is needed to keep a household running smoothly.

My goal is after I get our laundry caught up (mid-week trip to the laundromat is in order here) that I just do that one load a day. Then on the weekends, I do what ever is left over. If I don't have to spend three hours at the laundromat to carry my own weight (and then some) in laundry around, that would be fantastic. Sure, you could say that I could walk down to the laundromat and do the wash. If I were doing that everyday, however, it would make it hard to keep up on other things. Though I suppose that is one way for me to start work on my training.

Yep, that's right. I am in training. I have decided that I am going to run in a marathon next year. I have given myself a year to train and get ready. I think I can do it. Right now, I am just doing exercises in the house because the weather and life haven't really been encouraging me to go out and attempt to start running. This summer, I plan on getting myself up to running a mile regularly. It means that I am going to have to get good sneakers and some appropriate clothes.

I don't have a scale to measure my weight loss. So, I am going to do so on the basis of what my measurements are. I am also going to try to write down my walking/exercise time for every day. When I see my doctor next month, I am going to bring up this stuff that I am working on. Who knows, maybe he'll have some suggestions for me.

But, that's what's up here.

Home-schooling trial run # 1

We missed the buses today. Rather then get all stressed out over getting the kids to school late, I decided that they could spend the day at home. We've been going by my summer home school plan. So far, it seems to be working ok. The boys are having a good day and I've kept them busy enough that they're not causing trouble. The walk this morning did all of us some good and we incorporated a bit of science time into it by looking for birds.

If it were just Cuddle Bear and I, it would be time to do music stuff after lunch. Because Snuggle Bug is home and he needs to nap, we are going to do some painting with the Color Wonder paints that I have here. I think we're going to make birds. Just because it feels like a good theme to focus on today. Honestly, I'm not sure if Snuggle Bug is going to nap.

In other news, Cuddle Bear's Spring Hat for school is finished.

Rambling.

I have a fantasy manuscript that I am totally stalled on. I'm very frustrated with this. I am struggling to write in several different projects. I'm trying to find comfort in my writing but I look at it and feel like it is just busy work. This business with my grandparents and their illnesses has been preying on my mind. I know that there really is nothing I can do to help them but I find myself running in mental circles going there has to be *something* I can do.

In the light of this struggle, it's amusing in it's own way that I am having some progress writing adult fiction. I am not complaining about this. But it does bewilder me. I am struggling with a mixture of self consciousness and the almost obsessive urge to edit this stuff into oblivion. I am doing my best to stick with the spirit of the project and just write that which comes to me (pun not intended).

2013 blanket project update

So, I realized that making a square every day was going to make an incredibly large blanket. At which point I decided that I'm just going to make 12 blankets. Above are January and February's throws, respectively. I am finally getting low on pink yarn. So, I'm going to use earth tones for this month's colors. I am considering adding flowers to the mix as well.

Summer Home Schooling Plans

Mornings:

1. Household skills - housework & cooking lessons
2. Gross Motor activities - park, walking, etc.
3. Science activities - garden, park, internet

Afternoons:

1. Fine arts activities - music, artwork, crafts
2. Reading activities
3. Mathematics activities
4. Gross Motor activities

Evenings:

1. Household skills
2. Free Play

A very rough plan of what the summer home schooling stuff is going to look like.

Now to start gathering workbooks and such.

19 days...

Nineteen days until the Equinox and the official start of Spring. I suppose I should sit down and draft out my plans for my plantings and such. The weather's been so rotten of late that it's been hard to remember that we're so close to Spring. I ache to be out in the warm sunshine puttering around my plants. I can't wait to smell the green scent of the sap running through the trees.

And I am all about taking the kids to the park to see the goslings and ducklings when they hatch. I'm tired of Winter. I hope that with all the snow, we've gotten what we needed for the water table to be where it should be. I hope that the people who've been suffering with droughts got some good out of the heavy weather this past month. Most of all, I hope that the coming season brings lots of good with it.

Adventures in parenting...

I am totally ready for school tomorrow. It's not that I don't love my children. I adore them. They are wonderful little boys and are generally really well behaved. I'm just at wits end from running around after them and trying to stay on top of house work, whilst managing them taking turns being sick. It has been a really, really long two weeks.

I am *so* thankful when Beloved walks in the door at 7pm. Sometimes, I am counting down the minutes because it's the only thing keeping me from climbing the ceiling in sheer frustration. Attempting to cook, clean, and watch children requires more then two arms and clearly more then just two eyes. I honestly have no idea how single parents do it. I have a rough time and I've got backup.

Today's adventures featured Snuggle Bug bursting into the bathroom excited as anything and literally scaring the crap out of me. It was a little awkward. I still have no idea what had him so terribly excited that he ran down the hall and burst into the room. He was babbling incoherently about something. Perhaps he saw a bird at the bird feeder or an interesting vehicle pass by on the road.

All I know is that having an excited toddler burst into the room while you're in the middle of a number two is entirely not a pleasant experience. Especially when you were dealing with the adult version of the stomach bug that had them sent home the day before. Pepto claims it works on diarrhea. Today, it failed for me. The chamomile tea, however, helped a lot. (I know that was all far more information then you really wanted to know. But, it's the end of a long day and I'm rambling. Don't expect deep thoughts from me when I am managing about at the goldfish end of the wit spectrum.)

My boys, I love them like crazy. Some days, I just don't know what to do with them. It's kinda funny. I test out as having a genius level IQ and my children make me feel dumb. It's not that I can't think, it just seems like I am not half as fast as they are. Some days, I really do think they're tag-teaming Beloved and I. Where on earth do they get all that energy? They must have the metabolism of humming birds or something.

I've been cooking!

Just look at this beautiful pot of chili and the lovely loaf of fresh, homemade bread! That's going to be dinner tomorrow night!

I posted up the recipe for the bread and the chili up on my Keen Blog! Check it out!

Momma's a man!

So, I get myself all dressed up for my turn out at the LARP Beloved and I play in. My eldest looked at me and said loudly (and with a giggle), "Momma's a man!" Apparently wearing a suit turns you into a man. Who knew!

Dear readers, I give you the Malkavian Cathy. One of her quirks is she dresses in men's clothes and always has a hat. It is a bit of a break from wearing scarves, though I feel a bit silly wearing hats. Even though I didn't get to enjoy game (because I came down with the stomach virus that laid the kids low last week), I got many compliments on my suit.

The most amusing thing was the number of people who told me that the flag pin was upside down. It was a subtle point that rankled several folks. At first people wanted to correct it, then I told them that it was intentional. It was, in short, quite the annoyance to others and a source of entertainment for myself.

Oh, my thrift shopping friends- all elements of this outfit, except for the jewlery, hat, and boots came from the thrift store. Total cost (sans mentioned items) $5.00! The suit consists of a blazer, slacks, and a vest in similar material. The most entertaining facet of this ensemble is the fact that the constituent parts were found in different sections and technically do not match. The vest does not button, but rather has a zipper. The tie, however, hides that quite nicely. (Thank you Beloved for lending and picking out the tie for this outfit!) The jacket and the shirt are a tad short in the sleeve, but it fits well enough that you can't really tell.

Aside from this suit, I also plan on wearing male business casual attire. Thus, I will be posting future pictures that go along with this character.

Vintage rambling.

I think this is from some time around 2008. I found it while I was cleaning. Just for laughs, I am posting it up here. It's rather maudlin.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I wish the words would pour out of me but the story is frozen. Images of its beauty will flit before me and I am not fast enough to pen them. Such is my curse.

Dreams of literary brilliance flame in my mind but my uncertain hand stops me from writing them. I stumble slow and stutter over my efforts only to be seized with the great desire to cast them all aside. Frustration is not a sufficent word for what I feel. Perhaps horror and disgust for what had once come so easily is now choked and reduced to wretched scratchings of a squalid pen blighted by uncertianty and fear.

Perhaps this is my fate. To be an old woman in a young one's body, filled with fear that my work may never succeed to present my visions or messages.

Inside all of us a story burns to be told. We each have our own voice and medium to tell it. But what on earth is mine?

2013 Blanket Project

January squares are all sewn together. There is one for each day, plus one to finish out the final row.

I have started work on February's squares. Odd days are going to be very basic looking squares made from a 1lb ball of acrylic that I have kicking around. Even days are going to have more color variety to them. And I'm going to make one fancy square a week. As this month has 28 days, I am going to need to make a few extra squares to make it match the length of what I have already done.

snood pattern (rough)

rnd1: ch 5, sl st into first chain to create a ring

rnd2: ch 3 (counts as first  dc) dc 5 times into the ring, sl st into third chain from beginning of round (6 st)

rnd3: ch 3, do 2 dc into each st (12 st) sl st into third chain at beg of round

rnd4: ch 3, *do 2 dc into next st, one dc into following st* rpt* around, sl st into 3rd chain at beg of round (18 st)

rnd5: ch 3, *2 dc into next st, one into next st, one into next st* rpt* around, sl st into chain at beg of round (24 st)

rnd6: *ch 5, sc into next st* rpt* around

rnd7: *sc into loop created, ch 5, sc into next loop* rpt* around

rnd8: *sc into loop created, ch5, sc into same loop, ch 5, sc into next loop*

rnd9+: rpt round 7 until desired length

final rnd: sc into all loops. sl st into first sc. bind off.

weave ribbon through final loops.

if you need to add more to the diameter of the snood, work rnd 8 multiple times until it is big enough around to sit comfortably on your head.

For Sale/Barter/Trade

I'm cleaning out my project room. This means that I have items that I am going to get rid of. Here's a list of what I have to offer.

Books:

• Learn to Knit     Author: unknown     Editor: unknown     Publisher: Leisure Arts     Copyright: 2011    This is a fair book for beginning knitters. It has step by step directions for 10 easy projects. Gives directions for left handed knitters as well as right handed. My rating: 6/10  Asking: $4.00
• The Complete Encyclopedia of Crafts Vol 2    Author: unknown    Editor: unknown                  Publisher: Columbia House   Copyright: 1975        Filled with craft ideas. I don't have the other volumes of this set. I haven't used it for anything, but it runs the gamut from wood working to embroidery to basket weaving.   My rating: 4/10  Asking: $4.00
• The Prayer Shawl Ministry Vol 2     Author: --    Editor: Susan White Sullivan, et al.                        Publisher: Leisure Arts     Copyright: 2008     Filled with really good shawl patterns that are accessible to pretty much any skill level.  My rating: 7/10    Asking: $4.00
• Gothic Gargoyles   Author: Bill Yenne  Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books    Copyright: 2000             A beautiful photo book of gothic gargoyles from around the world. Has minor wear and tear. My rating: 7/10  Asking: $5.00
• Baltimore: Then and Now     Author: Alexander D. Mitchell   Publisher: Thunder Bay Press    Copyright: 2001     A lovely photo book comparing images of the city of Baltimore, Maryland (USA) (as of the time of publication) to past images. In very good condition. Missing the dust jacket. My rating 7/10   Asking: $5.00
• The Secret of the Shadow    Author: Debbie Ford      Publisher: Harper Collins     Copyright: 2002    A pleasant read with some novel concepts on how to work with one's shadow aspects. In good condition. Missing dust jacket. My rating: 6/10    Asking: $7.00

Knifty Knitter set - includes 4 round looms, one long loom, and a bloom loom. also includes picks, project book, 1 ball acrylic (baby fingering weight) and 2 balls wool (sport weight) yarn.  Asking: $30.00

Claimed

I had a clean...

I had a clean kitchen ...   then I had to cook something.
I had clean laundry ....     then I had to get dressed.
I had a clean living room ....    then the kids got home from school.
I had a clean mind ....   then Beloved grinned at me.


I am pretty sure I could add to the list but I need to go clean something now.

New hat!

I'm going to blog a bit about the costuming I do for my LARP characters. I have one that is a madwoman. She has a few quirks. One of them is that she dresses in men's clothes. I'm not talking about just jeans and a sweater (though it is an option). I have a black suit that looks much like Beloved's. I'm planning on wearing that suit, a button down shirt, a tie (borrowed from Beloved), my leather long coat, and a hat.

Last month, I didn't have the suit. I was just doing the jeans and man's sweater. I had my leather long coat and my leather cowboy hat. As I was out grocery shopping last weekend, I snagged a plastic, velour covered top hat. My plan is to wear it next session with the suit and everything. I'm not going to be making it to January's session for the game, but that's ok. It gives me the time to get everything I need together.

If I can manage it, I'm going to borrow Beloved's tie tack and cufflinks. If not, that's ok. I'll still find away to make it work.

Here's my new hat! If I can manage it, I'll locate a real hat in this style at a second hand shop or something in a size smaller. Either way, this is going to be part of my rotation for this character. I also have my velvet fedora as an option. Who knows, maybe I'll manage to find some other awesome hats for dirt cheap. This thing only cost one buck.

2013 Blanket Project: Week 1

It will be interesting if I wind up with twelve blankets on the basis of the size of these squares. They are each 8 in long. So, this may add up quickly. I am still going to make one square each day, however. If I wind up with twelve blankets, I honestly have no idea what I am going to do with them.

Here are week one's squares:

Novel update!

Word Count: 35,474     Total Words Added Thus Far:  5,418     Total Needed for Goal:  64,526

I have a new character. His name is Fish-eye. He is a low level brute but he is going to serve as my eyes into how Askemb's men function. Fish-eye may not last long. I haven't decided it yet. Right now, I'm just trying to get back into the story.

First Novel of the Year!

I have picked up an unfinished manuscript and started work on finishing it up.

My starting word count is 30,056. My current word count is 33,054. My goal is 100 K by the end of the month. Wish me luck everyone.

Work, work, work!

So far today, I have put away all the kids clothes. I have made good strides on my crochet projects. I have gotten a fair amount of my paperwork stuff finished. I also have done a good amount of planning for my next children's manuscript. All I really have left to do on that front is start writing.

I feel like I could have done more, but each of these things took their own amount of time. I need to focus on quality of work versus quantity of it. From the quality angle, I have done very well today. And it is just now lunch time.

Educational listening.

I'm sitting here working on my crochet squares for today. As I do so, I am listening to TED talks. So far, I have learned about the importance of vultures in the ecosystem. I have listened to an inspiring story about a paraplegic regaining her ability to walk and acquiring her pilot's license (three times over). I have also listened to an interesting discussion on the value of fear.

I believe this is going to be my new 'thing'. As I work on my crochet squares, I am going to listen to something educational and learn something. An unofficial goal for myself is to learn something new every day. I think this will be an excellent way to meet that goal. It has made for a truly enjoyable morning.

So far, I have one square finished. I hope to finish the second soon. The work goes by faster when I am listening to something interesting. I changed my plan for the second square. I am just going to do half double crochet for the whole square. I believe I am going to make some very basic squares before I do anything complicated. This way I have a logical progression to my crochet squares.

Happy New Year!

Dear Readers,

I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! I am going to do something a little bit trite here and list my resolutions for the year. I will be revisiting this post and crossing things off as I complete them. It is my hope that I will have all of these things accomplished this time next year and a new list of twelve items. In no particular order of importance, here is my list of twelve resolutions for 2013!

1. Use up all of my stashed wool yarn.
2. Re-teach myself Spanish.
3. Exercise 15 minutes a day.
4. Write daily in my journal.
5. Write according to schedule on my projects.
6. Submit two manuscripts to publishers by July.
7. Finish my fantasy manuscript.
8. Crochet one square a day.
9. Spin a mile of thread.
10. Donate to charity.
11. Stick with the FlyLady method of organization.
12. Fix my sewing machine.

I'm making a singificant amount of progress on goal number one. My scrapghan is coming out nicely. I plan on sending it off to Njordsheart soon. Here is what I have done so far. It is using all handspun yarns. Some of mine is included but most of this is from a random grab bag that my MIL gave me a while back.

My crochet square for today hasn't been made. I am going to make a very basic 8 inch granny square tomorrow. I am thinking about making an 8 inch square in basketweave stitch for my square for tomorrow as well. My goal with the crochet squares is to make enough to sew into a blanket by the end of the year.

Over the last week, I have been busy using up my acrylic stash. I made three lap scrapghans and a shawl. I'm not sure what to do with them. They are pictured below.

My youngest claimed the stripy one. I don't know what I'm going to do with the other two. Beloved tossed out the possibility of my selling them on etsy. I'm also considering sending one of them off to one of the women I correspond with as part of the Secret Sisters thing that we do.

I expect that as I progress forward in making squares for this eventual blanket, I am going to have a tidy pile of scraps to make into something else. I am putting up my current project and such for the night, however. It has been a long day today. Running around after children tends to wear a body out.

I hope that everybody stays toasty warm this frigid night. Everyone who is some place warm, think happy thoughts for those of us who are cold. May the gods bless you all with good fortune and health this year.

Christmas Eve (at ground zero)

I suppose patient zero may be more accurate but it feels like things have gone explody over the course of the last few days. My efforts to try to make my Grandfather's wish to see the whole family together for the holidays went down the crapper. All it took was one tiny little virus to do it.

Laughibly (and predictably) Beloved has the sniffles and I've been dragging myself around like some sort of zombie. My youngest, who was home from school last Wednesday with this bug, has been just this side of climbing the ceiling. Snuggle Bug, where do you get your energy from? Cuddle Bear has caught this thing too and he's just a ball of energy. Congested and coughing, but just on the run from the word go.

It seems, however, the divine providence may have been at play on this one. Apparently there are members of the extended family on my side who would have taken offense at my presence and the presence of my sister-in-law. So, it may just be that the gods decided to protect us all from an enormous cluster fuck of a holiday disaster. Because she had stuff come up too.

My holiday baking has been greatly reduced because of a double whammy of this stupid virus and a mild depressive episode. This evening, for the first time all day, I felt up to doing some housework. So I cleaned the kitchen, because it really needed it. I'm going to try to rope the boys into picking up the living room 'for Santa.' I'm thinking if I put it that way, they may actually do it.

I've been busy over the last few weeks working on Yule/Christmas gifts. I have a box full of stuff to give to people and I'm not going to be seeing them until after the holidays. I am not pleased. I was really looking forward to the kids' reactions to the hats I made them. I made slippers for my boys. I have a feeling this is going to be turning into something of a tradition for me. I made them slippers last year. Those slippers, however, went missing. Thus I made them new slippers.

I've something special for Beloved. I'm pretty sure that he's going to get a big laugh out of it. If I felt better, I'd probably make something else for the kids. They're getting books, a couple games, and a toy car each. I feel kinda bad that I'm not giving them more substantial toys. At the same time, we've purged unused toys (made them part of a care package for an impoverished family down the road) and life has continued with out even a slight hiccough. This tells me that there is just too much 'stuff' in the house.

My other big project this season was the surprise care package for the family up the road. Shortly after they moved in the wife said to me that she was concerned about Christmas. She told me about how they were looking at having to choose between groceries and gifts. Now, the school and their church did give them care packages. I had decided before I had even heard about this to put together one for her.

In the care package went a pair of stroller blankies for the baby (which she'd found out she was pregnant with shortly before their move), a handmade rattle for the baby, household goods, a handmade washcloth for each person in the house, and some holiday hats for her girls (who are the same ages as Snuggle Bug and Cuddle Bear). We had extra winter coats, so I gave those to her as well because they had only light jackets for the girls. I also took out the nifty felt bag that my Grandmother down in FL had sent presents up for Cuddle Bear in one year. I filled it up with toys that the boys just don't even touch. Thus, we sent over a very nice train set and a teddy bear for each child (including a Winnie the Pooh for the coming baby).

The woman was expecting the first bag. I figured she had enough chaos going on that springing this as a complete surprise was going to be bad. When I handed it to her, she teared up and gave me a hug. Then I pulled the bag full of toys out from behind my back and she just stared in wonder. She said that she couldn't repay me. I told her that it was a gift from my kids to hers. And that sometime down the road, when she meets someone in need, help them out.

I'm pleased with the results of this. I am also pleased that there is one more surprise waiting for the girls. E. and her girls went out and got them My Little Pony ponies. I'm planning on dropping them off with a 'Santa made a mistake, this comes here.' line. I'm really looking forward to seeing the delight and excitement on the girls' faces.

My boys have been getting excited about Yule/Christmas. For Yule, we put out some sugar and oats for Silepnir. Into their stockings, which we hung at the foot of their beds with some solemnity, they each got a little toy from Odin. Cuddle Bear still is talking about the magic horsie. He could care less about the All Father but he's really fond of Silepnir.

They've been making noises about Santa Claus. School has been getting them riled up on that front. It started with talk of Christmas Trees and went from there. So, tonight before the boys go to bed, we're going to put out a plate with a special cookie for Santa and a glass of milk. I'm going to try to hunt down one of my electric candles to put on the altar so Santa can find our house. ;)

I'd add more but I have miles to go before I sleep tonight.

Novel Excerpt

Armand fixed Johnathan with a penetrating gaze. “You are in pain. We must get Penelope to bring you your medication,” he said. Armand pushed away from the table and walked down the hall. Johnathan stared woodenly at the table attempting to take in the magnitude of the last month's worth of events. It boggled his mind how he could have gone from overjoyed at his plot with Margaret to reunite with Vivian to how he found him sitting in Louis Abril's house with Armand Pariseau as master of the household and Louis buried somewhere on the property.

Still caught in contemplation, Johnathan absentmindedly noted Armand's return with Penny by his side. Penny took out of her pocket an amber colored bottle. She shook a few pills into the palm of her hand and offered them to Johnathan. He picked up one of them and held it up in front of himself. He muttered quietly, “To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.”

“If you must quote Shakespeare at your medication, must it be so maudlin?” Armand said lightly, “The world's mine oyster. A far superior quote,” Armand chided. Johnathan gave him an annoyed look.

“The words of a buffoon...” Johnathan stared when Armand cut him off.

“Are more welcome during a time of trial then those of a prophet of doom,” he retorted, “Take your medication. Then we are bundling you off to bed with your lovely maiden. And this sweet creature shall ensure bold Andrew's rest.” Armand looked over at the rifle in his hand. Johnathan was half expecting him to make some sort of comment about it being an uncivilized weapon. Instead, he looked at it with a critical eye. “It was good that this was not needed today. It needs cleaned,” Armand said.

He thrust the rifle into Penny's hands as Johnathan took the pills. As he was swallowing down another mouthful of coffee, Armand returned with a cloth and a gun cleaning kit. With all the care of a surgeon preparing for his trade, Armand laid the cloth out and readied his supplies. Gingerly, as though taking a newborn, Armand took the weapon from Penny. As he began the task of disassembling the firearm, he looked closely at the various parts.

“Louis, Louis, Louis,” he muttered in disappointment. Armand was half way through cleaning the weapon when Andrew and Granville returned. He absorbed in his work, he ignored the arrival of the two men. Granville set the keys down on the table and walked back into the kitchen. There he sat down with his wife.

Andrew looked at Armand as he was cleaning the gun. “Penny said that the scope was off,” Andrew said. Armand nodded. Andrew looked over at Johnathan, who was glaring bleary eyed into his almost empty coffee cup. The medication had taken the edge off of his wits and left his thoughts just disjointed enough that he could not adequately express the utter disgust and disappointment he felt with the situation. Johnathan wanted to rage but he found he simply had no energy left for it. “You look exhausted,” Andrew said quietly.

Johnathan looked up at him. “I suppose I am,” he said, “If anything, we must check on Vivian.” Johnathan stood and started towards the front stairwell. He paused and looked over at Armand. “What is the plan if some one decides to come looking for us here?” he asked.

“They will simply have to discuss the matter with Louis,” Armand said, not looking up from his work. Andrew frowned but said nothing. The two men walked to the foot of the stairs. Andrew started to go up the steps behind Johnathan when he waved him off. Andrew watched as his master made his way up the stairs. Once satisfied that the man wasn't going to tumble to the ground, Andrew went off in search of something to eat. He hated to admit it, but stress had a terrible habit of making him hungry.

NaBloPoMo # 8

I'm so proud of myself. Today I broke the 4k writing mark in total words written for the day. I'm sitting over here doing a happy dance. I also learned something important today, burning 4 sticks of incense, no matter how nice it smells, does not agree with my lungs. It also fails to cover up the wretched smell that is in the entryway. Seriously, it smells like something died out there but neither I or Beloved can figure out what the source of the stench is. I am displeased.

NaBloPoMo # 6

Well, it's my birthday. My gift to myself was meeting my writing goal for today. I added two thousand words to my manuscript. I've a fair amount of housework that has been languishing but that can be dealt with easily. If I can manage it, I'm going to squeeze in more writing time tonight. I am two days ahead of schedule. I am going to see if I can make it three by the time I head to bed tonight.

NaBloPoMo # 5

I don't think I wrote anything in here yesterday. It's been a wacky day here. I fell about sixty words short of my writing goal for NaNoWriMo today. I am not upset, however, because I finally moved through the land of 'how the hell does this fit my plot?' It is my hope that despite the running around I need to do tomorrow, that I will get a good amount written. As the characters reveal themselves to me, I am finding myself unexpectedly charmed by some of them. The character of Andrew is proving to be delightful. What was going to just be a bit of proverbial eye candy has proven to have greater depth then I expected. It makes me hope to see more interesting bits develop as I work on this.

(Edited to Add: Apparently I did write in here, I just forgot about it. LOL)

Excerpt from this year's NaNoWriMo novel

“I saw god,” he said, “There was no heavenly choir or pearly gates, like my mother said there'd be. There was an old man dressed in BDUs holding a rifle with a bayonet fixed. Looked almost like our old gunnery Sargent, actually. He had one eye, the other was a bloody mess. He had no insignia of rank or anything. He pointed at me with his freehand and said 'report to Midgard, maggot.' Next thing I know, I'm laying on the ground coughing up blood.”

NaBloPoMo #3

I'm highly annoyed that the candle plate I have sitting on my altar cracked. I will need to safely clean up the broken glass after the incense burner is done. In the meantime, I'm just going to sit here and be irritated. A part of me says that I should have realized that the glass wasn't going to handle the temperature of the incense burner. Another part of me says that I couldn't have know for certain that it would have handled it. All I know is that the next time I decide that I'm going to burn incense in this fashion, I am putting the clay trivet under it. I know that can handle higher temperatures.

NaBloPoMo #2

I slept a good chunk of the day away this morning. I didn't sleep well last night. For some reason, I was having nightmares of the boys freaking out over us having a pet cow. I think it's just some addled nonsense that my brain came up with. Aside from having that nightmare a few times, I dreamed that I was writing. As I was writing, my words turned to utter gibberish. The then began deleting themselves when I paused to drink my cup of coffee. I think this is a manifestation of my fear that this year's manuscript is going to be utter garbage. I am pretty sure that fear was part of the reason why I was having a hard time writing this afternoon.

NaNoWriMo & NaBloPoMo

I'm participating in both. This is my first entry for NaBloPoMo. I'm pleased with the fact that thus far today, I've got almost 3 k words in on the manuscript. I'm hoping to add to it this evening after the kids go to bed. My goal is to try to average three to four thousand words a day. I will be milking my days free of children for as much writing time as I can swing. I am also going to be making an effort to get my three journaling pages done before I sit down to type here at the computer.

In other news, I have gotten more yule gifts for people. I am absolutely certian that one of my neices is going to go SQUEEEE over what I'm giving her. :)