Category Archives: Uncategorized

Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me…

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If you don’t remember Hee Haw, then count yourself lucky poor you. My dad was a big fan, which meant we watched it every weekend.

We had family in last week, and that was lots of fun. I finished up a pair of socks while they were here and gave them to my aunt. She was surprised but was really pleased with them. I just love knitting for people who really enjoy getting the gifts. Don’t you?

The day they left, we saw the new Spiderman movie. My husband loves spiderman, which means we see all the movies, multiple times. I thought the movie was a bit of a slow starter, but it was good overall. Spoiler warning!! I really liked that Harry redeemed himself at the end, but I was upset that he died. What’s the deal with that? I think he’s arguably a more interesting character than Peter Parker, but for goodness sakes, don’t tell my husband.

I’m terribly behind on blogging, but I have a good excuse. I’ve got a wisdom tooth going (well, gone) bad, and the damn thing is killing me. I’ve got an appointment to get it out, and I’m popping pills to deal with it, but I really don’t feel well. Funny how something so small can make you so miserable.
I’ve gotten a fantastic package from my secret pal, but I just don’t feel up to doing the pics tonight. I’ll enlist my husband’s help and get them up tomorrow. The stuff is very pretty, so you’ll definitely want to see the pictures! Lots of hand knit goodness too, which I love.
Hopefully I’ll feel better after getting a little more antibiotic in me (and maybe a touch more pain medicine too…). I owe you lots of updates, pics and responses to comments. Let’s not even talk about how much blog reading I need to do. Thanks for sticking with me!

Amazing Footage of an Underwater Nuke

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Okay, maybe this isn’t writing related, but the video is amazing. Assuming that the ships in the foreground are really there and not photoshopped in, can you imagine being on one of them? Of course, I don’t want to imagine what happens to the ocean environment in these tests.

Now we can see where godzilla comes from!

read more | digg story

Knitting Secret Pal

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As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy knitting. This year, I decided to sign up for the Secret Pal exchange here. I’m excited to pick out some interesting things for my pal, as well as receive some things I might not necessarily choose for myself.

As a part of the exchange, everyone posts answers to these questions, so here goes.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like just about anything, except the fun fur, baubled, novelty yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
This makes me sound so unorganized, but they’re just loose in one of my yarn drawers.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting about two years. I learned some basics in a craft store class, and I’ve picked up other techniques from books and web sites. I’d consider myself intermediate, barely!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, but listing it will give away my name….I’m not sure if that’s “allowed.”

5. What’s your favorite scent?
Citrus and lavender, but not necessarily together.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Sweet tooth? Oh yeah, I have one! Chocolate is my favorite, in just about any form as long as there are no nuts.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I crochet, but I find I don’t like it as much as knitting. I want to learn to spin this year, but I haven’t gotten started or tried anything yet.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
My tastes in music are pretty eclectic. Oldies are a good choice for me.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?

I like yellow, orange, greens, browns. Anything that is reminiscent of fall foliage. Any colors are okay though.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married, no kids. We have two dogs, two cats, one guinea pig and one rabbit.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear everything but the ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I’ve done scarves and socks so far, and I really enjoy doing socks. I want to do my first sweater this year, but I’m trying to work up my courage for that.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A pair of self-striping socks for my husband. It’s my own “pattern,” which is really the sock template from Knitting Rules. His feet are 13 wides, so he’s excited to get a pair of socks that actually fit!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Oh, yeah. Who doesn’t?

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I use both straight and circular, and I don’t have a preference either way. Bamboo are my favorite, but I’ll knit on anything.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Neither, unless you count my husband. :-)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
About two years old. It’s a sweater I started and then chickened out on.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I buy tons of books (fiction mostly, but some knitting as well.) I also like gargoyles. Weird, I know.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don’t have any magazine subscriptions; I just pick up whatever at the bookstore looks interesting. As for books, I have Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears and really like it, so anything by her is great.

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?
Knitting from the top down. Color work (so far, I haven’t tried working in multiple colors). Following charts (haven’t tried that yet either). Lace shawls.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love knitting socks.  I’m not sure about the measurements, but I wear a woman’s 8 1/2 regular width.

23. When is your birthday?

May 6

What type of men do your characters go for?

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This is interesting. According to this study, women prefer masculine looking men (romance novel material) for short term relationships, but prefer more feminine looking men for marriage and long term relationships.

It makes me think about how I match people up in my novels. I don’t write romance, but my characters do often have romantic relationships. I’m wondering how realistic my writing is. Let’s face it, few people are romance novel material, so it’s better to include a few pot bellies and receding hairlines too.

read more | digg story

‘Blooker Prize’ rewards books based on blogs | News.blog | CNET News.com

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Link: ‘Blooker Prize’ rewards books based on blogs | News.blog | CNET News.com.

Can’t say that I’ve heard "blook" before, but I am familiar with the idea.

On a similar note, since I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, I plan on posting the novel here as it develops. Yes, the rough, warts-and-all version will come up daily as I write it.  A little scary for me, but if you’re interested in what a newborn novel looks like, this is your chance.

If you’re doing NaNo online as well and would like me to post a link to your blog or site, just add your url to the comments here and I’ll add links to the page.

National Novel Writing Month – National Novel Writing Month

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Link: National Novel Writing Month – National Novel Writing Month.

Here’s a reminder to everyone who’s considering participating in the National Novel Writing Month this year. It begins November first, so it’s time to start getting mentally prepared for the event.

I participated last year for the first time, and it was a lot of fun. Frustrating, exhausting, and challenging, but still definitely fun. If you’ve had problems finishing your work (like I have), this is quite possibly the solution. Last year, I concentrated so much on achieving the 50,000 word goal, I had no time to consider the quality — or lack thereof. I found it to be freeing and even a little inspiring.

By the way, I managed to finish my first novel because of NaNo, so I’ll be taking another go at it this year. Join me?

Another writing prompt…

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Here’s another creativity booster for those of you who like them.

Think about the funniest thing that’s happened to you in the last year. Now, write it.

  1. Try writing it first while trying to be funny. I’m guessing that this approach will fizzle very quickly.
  2. Next, try writing the same scene very seriously. This may work better, but you may find that it’s so serious some readers miss the funny part.
  3. Finally, try to sprinkle in a few of the phrases from your first attempt into your second attempt.

In my experience, writing something funny is the hardest type of writing you can do. It also happens to me one of the most fun types of writing you can do, so give it a shot anyway!