More March 18, 2012

Today, I wandered. I got lost countless times, which still surprises me. It's like getting lost in Oakland -- I feel as if I know it so well, and then I turn around, and I can't find my way out. But by getting lost, I found a great grocery store (hard to find sometimes here) and a few glasses of spritz in squares I've never been to before. 

I'm going to try to put up new pictures every day or two at Flickr, if you want to go visit there. It's easier to load them there than here (the internet connection is spotty, and I swear it shifts with the wind). 

One for you from today: 

And some knitting: 

(This place, where I bought two spritzes, has the best bathroom view, perhaps in the whole world. Will try to sneak a picture another day. I'm the MASTER of toilets in Venice, I'm telling you.) 

And perhaps one more video to show you what Venice sounds like: 

 

In VeniceMarch 17, 2012

It's been a wonderful, if very long, day. 

I'm sitting at a little table, with Wifi that works, and I'm listening to the water lap in the lagoon outside the window. 

Seriously, right outside (this is from my window):

Today, in the time that I've been awake, I've gotten off work, driven home and packed, spent three hours at SFO, taken an 11 hour flight followed by another hour-long one, then taken an hour-long boat ride to find where I'm staying, then walked about a million miles, just exploring and getting lost in Venice. I've been up for about 33 hours now (and I only got 6 hours of sleep in the previous 48) so I think I'm probably tired, but I don't really feel it yet. I've had three glasses of wine, and instead of making me sleepy, they've simply stopped my hands shaking (NO, my hands don't shake when I don't drink. Please. But they do shake when I'm this tired) and it's made made me red-cheeked. My slap-faced rosacea always blooms when I drink more than two glasses, especially when I'm tired. You know the only thing that helps? Extremely bright lipstick: 

I just got done dealing with the aftermath of forgetting to send a cancel on a reservation (I thought I had! But it was still sitting there in Drafts). So my cheap lodging just got quite a bit more expensive. 

But you know what? I've accepted that. I'm in the place I love best (I do love Oakland, with all my heart -- but my soul belongs to Venice). I realized something today (again): It's good not to worry about things before they happen. See, I dream at least four or five times a year about trying to get to Venice, and I can never quite make it. I get close (to Mestre, or some equally awful approximation) and then fumble around, never able to figure out how the boats work before I wake up. 

So it was natural to try to worry about getting here today. But I didn't. 

I could have worried about the taxi not coming (okay, I did, for a minute, quite violently, but I got over it). It came. Mr. Singh smelled like vanilla and coconut oil, and he drove like a saint on rollerskates. 

I could have worried about not making the flight. But I did, with thirty minutes to spare (that was with building in 3 extra hours, thank god for them). 

I could have worried about the fact that SFO wasn't able to print me a boarding pass from Frankfurt to Venice (Frankfurt is my least favorite airport in the world -- it's HUGE and busy and I've missed flights there before). But when I got to Frankfurt (after a lovely flight seated next to people who were the perfect combo of chattty/silent), I got my boarding pass within minutes, and I was standing at the gate already, on accident, with ten minutes to spare. 

I could have worried about the fact that Christina didn't answer her phone when I called her -- she was picking me up after two more boat rides to take me to the apartment. But I didn't worry. I just got on the first boat. At Fondamente Nuova, I looked for a phone to try her again, but there wasn't one. Period. Anywhere. 

So I asked at a bar. And bless them, they let me phone Christina from there. I hopped another boat, and I finally realized this: even without worrying, I hadn't really thought I would make it here. I never think I'll make it back. And I did. I'm here. 

And I'm so goddamn happy. 

Wanna see where I'm staying? (OH! The ambulance boat just went by, code three, lights and sirens. That's always fun.) 

And just a few more that I shot from the window while I was making dinner (usually I go out at night to eat, but tonight I was just too tired to do so): 

Aw, hell. I'm just TOO tired to add any more here. In between writing this and posting it, I went for a long, dark walk to try to stay awake just a little longer. I chased after some students who obviously knew where they were going, and I found a section of town I'd never seen. (The Witch's Garden, that's where I'm going for dinner tomorrow night.) But now the exhaustion has set in.  Flickr set being built here. Love to you all -- more to come. Lots more! I'm home! 

Venice-bound AgainMarch 15, 2012

"In Venice you may occasionally see a man thrown forcibly from a bar, all arms and muddled protests, just like in the films; and rollicking are the songs the Venetian students sing, when they have some wine inside them. I once heard a pair of inebriates passing my window at four o'clock on a May morning, and looking out into the Rio San Trovaso I saw them riding by in a gondola. They were sitting on the floor of the boat, drumming on its floor-boards, banging its seats, singing and shouting incoherently at the tops of their thickened voices: but on the poop of the gondola, rowing with an easy, dry, worldly stroke, an elderly grey-haired gondolier propelled them aloofly toward the dawn." 

This kind of writing (from The World of Venice) is why I love Jan Morris (she has a Tumblr! I am exceedingly excited and fan-girly about this). I saw her speak once at Berkeley years ago, and she was lovely, intensely interesting, and smart as hell. On her recommendation, I'm going to (probably) explore my way through Croatia to Trieste for a day or two while I'm in Venice. Of course, I might not, also. 

The last time I was there, I was very blonde.

This is what I will do in Venice: 

Read. Walk. Sleep. Eat. Ride boats, lots of them. Drink coffee until it is time to drink wine. Take photographs. (Oh, and write. But do you see how that's rather low on the list? This will be a real vacation. I swear.)

I leave tomorrow. Expect either radio silence or tons of pictures if the wifi actually works. I almost hope it doesn't. It would be nice to be disconnected, I think. 

* Travel writer Jan Morris has a fascinating backstory -- he was born James Morris, and he married his wife in 1949, had five children, and then transitioned to female in 1964, when it was a very big deal to do so. Doctors in Britain refused to do the surgery unless he divorced his wife (!), so he went to Morocco for the surgery. Later, they did in fact divorce but remained together, and get this: in 2008, they were legally partnered again when it became legal to do so in a civil partnership. Awwww. She's 85 now, and she's one of my heroes. 

** I finished my Venice Madness sweater, the one I cast on for ten days ago, in a fit of must-have-black-lace-sweater-for-trip (Rav link). Forgive the poor photos, I'll try to get better ones in la Serenissima.

VisionMarch 13, 2012

So I've been having trouble looking at computers and reading lately -- just vague, annoying eye strain, but my computer glasses with their four-year old prescription weren't helping, so I went back to the eye doctor. 

Am I the only one who thinks the whole getting-glasses thing is really woo-woo? I have to tell the doc which image is clearer? Doesn't she know? I can NEVER tell (and I tell her that). Based on me saying, "Um...maybe the first one? Or maybe the second?") she writes me a prescription? 

Anyway. I suppose I can accept that. What's harder to accept is that now I have to wear them all the time I'm in front of a computer or reading. This is, of course, ALL the time. So I need some cute frames. 

Luckily, we live in the future. I got my prescription in my hot little hand, measured my own pupillary distance (because I'm a knitter and I'm good at using a tape measure to measure difficult distances), and ordered a couple of glasses from EyeBuyDirect, hitting a BOGO offer, scoring two pair for $50. Total. Dude, that's $25 each, including prescription lenses. I love the internet. I ordered some kind of funky ones (I think -- I barely remember) because you know what? They were $25. I'll show you those when they come. 

I also ordered 5 pairs of Warby Parker glasses to try on at home (free trial!). These are more expensive, at $99 each, so I need help choosing. I think I know which pair I want but I want to hear from you, please, in case I'm really off the mark.

Poll below. 

#1: 

#2: 

3: 

4: 

5: 

For Fear the Hearts of Men Are FailingMarch 8, 2012

or as I like to call it, the longest band name in the world (says she whose book is title How to Knit a Heart Back Home). 

Lala's on this album! And in this video! They're funding their new album (titled The Wonderful Clatter, which is so great I wish I had thought of it) on Kickstarter. They're quirky and a little (a lot) weird and I love their sound. And I think this video is kind of adorable, especially Lala's last line. 

 

Recent Good ReadsMarch 4, 2012

I went through kind of a dry spell there. I was reading a stack'o'books for a contest and couldn't blog about them (which is fair, since I'm scoring them). But that was a month of reading that I couldn't write about. And while there were some good books in the pile, sadly, there was nothing astonishing that I felt like I had to break the rules to tell you about, so I was eager to get back to my planned reading.

And I'm back! Honestly, I'm loving being back on the Kindle--real books felt so heavy in my hands. Isn't that wussy? And the formatting kept distracting me. I love that on the Kindle all books read the same, formatting-wise (or should), so there's nothing to keep you from plunging into the story.

Horizon, by Sophie Littlefield 

This is the third book in Sophie's Aftertime series. Disclaimer: Sophie is one of my favorite people. She's who you call when you want to be good, and she's who you call when you want to be very bad. And when things go wrong? She's the first to call you. I'm honored to call her a friend. 

And it's a good thing she's a friend, because if she weren't, I'd have to hate her for her talent. She is the MASTER of emotion. She can wring so much out of a seemingly simple sentence that you just kind of sit there, stunned, asking "Where did that come from?" 

I'd say this: read the first one, Aftertime. It's scary and post-apocalyptic (not my usual fare but I gobbled it up) and wonderful. I won't tell you much more, but know this: you'll be hooked. I loved the second book, Rebirth, also. But Horizon blew me out of the water. It's an absolutely stunning conclusion. 

 

A Bad Idea I'm About To Do: True Tales of Seriously Poor Judgment and Stunningly Awkward Adventure, Chris Gethard

This one was a fluke. I can't remember where I read about it, but it was one of those sample chapters I threw at my Kindle while running by, and I loved it. It's a brief, painful, humorous memoir (the best kind) of a seriously funny manic-depressive. From chapters on his intestinal woes to pro-wrestling, he moved through a landscape that was so solidly male that if asked, I would have guessed it wouldn't have been a book for me. Too male, I would have thought. Too something. But his humility and capacity to relentlessly poke at himself made each chapter lovely, and I roared through it in a day in bed sick with the flu. 

 

 

Falling For Me: How I Hung Curtains, Learned to Cook, Traveled to Seville, and Fell in Love, Anna David

Confession: If a memoir is about a privileged 30-something woman learning to do something we all think we should be able to do (but sometimes can't) on a journey of self-discovery framed by a device, no matter how clumsy said device might be, I'm IN* (see My Year With Eleanor, a book this one is reminding me of). Really, I'm in. Anna David finds Helen Gurley Brown's 60s classic Sex and the Single Girl and decided to try living her life by its tenets in order to see if she can figure herself out a little more (and maybe catch a man along the way. Okay, no, she establishes firmly that this is NOT what the experiment is about. But she's candid enough to share that the idea keeps rearing its head).

I'm not done with this one yet and I'm guessing by its subtle title that perhaps a man does come along, but I'm enjoying it enough that I'm sharing it now. 

*Oh, I just realized I'm so in, I wrote one of those myself. Hmmm. 

Now, since I'm in the light-hearted secretly-kind-of-deep memoir mood, Sophie's novel notwithstanding, anything you recommend? 

Nothing in The House Spicy Cabbage SoupFebruary 29, 2012

I just made the best soup, and as is my wont, I'm jotting it down here, because I guarantee if I don't, I'll never remember this. 

I'm still sick--this flu has beaten me to a sweaty, gibbering pulp (seriously, some people throw up every time they get the flu? I cry. I'm a crier. The more I cry, the more feverish I know I am, and the more pathetic I know I am. Luckily, I rarely get sick because no one wants to see me sitting in the bed WAILING over the fact that I'm out of Kleenex). 

Lala's out tonight and I could have had the chicken she made, but I wanted something garlicky to burn away my sore throat. And we have practically zero in the cupboards. But I pulled this together (almost magically!), and it is DELICIOUS. Seriously. Cabbage is rather a new thing to me--I thought it was stinky and bad. But it's not stinky, cooked like this: it's delectable, sweet and delicate. Mmmmm. 

Nothing in the House Spicy Cabbage Soup (to Cure What Ails You)

Heat 3tbs olive oil in a pot good for soup. Chop half an onion or a shallot and 3-6 cloves of garlic (I used the shallot and 6 cloves), cook and stir until the garlic starts to darken. Add 4 cups of water (or stock! I had none), a teaspon or so of salt, red chili flakes to taste, and pepper. Bring to boil. Add two handsful of chopped cabbage (I had the prechopped bag from TJ's), bring back to boil. Cook ten minutes at simmer. Add 1 tbs+ tomato paste and whatever else you like (I added a can of sweet peas which turned out to be a stunning addition), cook fifteen more minutes or so, till it tastes delicious. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream. 

Okay, now I'm exhausted from working so hard and rather than overdo it, I'm going to sit on the couch and maybe eat a little more of this stuff. Enjoy. 

Mutant February 27, 2012

Just a brief hello to whinge. I'm sick, people. Just run-of-the-mill flu sick, but I haven't had a cold or flu in so long I'd forgotten how crappy it feels to feel this crappy. 

Deep, innit? 

But THIS JUST IN: I just found a flashlight and took it in the bathroom and looked at my throat. I swear to god there are little prehensile* tonsils back there. 

Do you know how I jumped backward? Now, it's probably just that I'm sick and my throat is SUPER swollen. But I know from tonsils. I had mine out in 2002. And then again in 2007 after I had month-long bouts with tonsillitis for that went untouched by antibiotics. Yep, the regrowth can happen. Okay, I've only ever heard of it happening to my dad and my uncle, so apparently it can happen to Herrons, but tonsils regrowing twice? (Edited to add: I just googled it and there are quite a lot of people on the interwebs saying What the hell? Mine came back, too! Sneaky buggers!)

Anyway. I'm taking to bed as soon as I can (can't go there quite yet, but soon). And I'm going to think very clear, non-tonsily thoughts. 

* Lala reminds me that: You know that prehensile means they can be adapted for grasping or holding, right? Cause that's super creepy and probably means you're the host for some invading extraterrestrial species. Just sayin'. To her I say, My tonsils are much like Digit's extra toes. They both get stuck in the bedspread and make us grumpy. 

Officially a FanaticFebruary 21, 2012

So I've tumbled head over heels into the world of fiber preparation. 

I wasn't really ready, I know I wasn't. But I wanted a Cormo fleece because I'm so in love with the fiber itself lately. And I knew Brooke could get me one, a local one, a fleece from a sheep with a name, and then Kira kindly brought it to my sister's place, which is how I ended up with this much awesome in my house. 

This is from Karo (like the syrup! Five pounds of sweetness!): 

Look at that crimp! Could you die? That's what it looked like when I peeked into the bag. 

I did a bit of rudimentary research online (thanks, Ravelry!) and decided to go for the quick-and-dirty top-loader method of washing. I got the water in the washer as hot as I could (by turning off the cold tap entirely), added some liquid dish soap, and threw some fiber in to soak. (This isn't actually that much; I wasn't going to risk much of it, I swear. But it looks like a lot.) 

Oh, GOD, was it disgusting-looking in there. It got worse the wetter it got: 

That's poop, people. Okay, not much poop because it was beautifully skirted, but there's oil and vegetable matter and dirt from the field. Lemme ask you this: but do I want to re-skirt it before I wash more? I do plan on getting lingerie bags and using them instead of letting the fleece roam free in the washer. I didn't agitate it (of course), I just spun the water out for all five (FIVE!) soaks, but I was completely convinced I'd felted the whole thing, because you know what? When you pull wet fleece out of a washer, it's flat and thin and looks irreparably felted. I asked Twitter, which told me it was normal to think that and to stop panicking. 

And it WASN'T felted, as you can see here on my uber-classy drying rack. 

Uncarded, just dried Cormo. Almost clean. Ish. 

So: there's still a little dirt on some of the tips. Is this normal? Should I have clipped ALL the darker bits out before washing? 

And for something like this, how do you prepare it? I bought two dog combs, figuring worst-case scenario we'd have better-groomed dogs, and I've decided that making rolags is what I like best at this point:

 

I think the way I washed it caused me to lose too much of the lock definition to flick it, so carding it what I should do, right? (Ignore the little neps you see. I think that's because I over-carded that bit. As in, I carded it about forty times instead of five. I'm getting better at the motion.) 

And here's the first bit, spun up: 

I'm thinking three-ply. Oh, yeah. 

(For those of you who warned me against starting with Cormo, bless you. Yep, I see what you mean. But you know me, I like to jump in with both feet until I'm underwater and fighting my way back up to the surface. It makes breaking into daylight and fresh air that much sweeter.) 

Rain and WritingFebruary 15, 2012

Mmm. It's pouring outside. We have the window open, and the occasional shuuush of late-night drivers going by punctuates the tapping of the rain. I love it. What is it about rain and writing? 

It reminds me of something I learned not all that long ago when I was walking one evening with Lala in Rockridge. It was that magic moment when lights come on inside houses but the curtains are still open, when you can see fathers coming home, kids racing around living rooms, mothers putting fresh-baked bread on tables (yes, because this is the way I was raised, my brain still sees the world this way although it decidedly is not this way in most cases). I love that moment, spying on that snapshot of families being together. 

Every once in a while when you're walking at that time of night, you'll notice a light shining, high above in a third story window. You can see the ceiling, and maybe the top of a painting, but from that angle you can't quite make out what else or who's in the room. 

In my head, there is always a writer at that window. I think there's always been a writer at that window for me, ever since I was a child, and I mentioned it that night to Lala. 

"You know," she said, "not everyone thinks there's a writer up there." 

"Really? No, of course they do." 

"Nope."

She's an artist, so I asked, "Do you think there's an artist there?" 

"Sometimes. Sometimes I don't think about it." 

This was something I had never considered. That window was a beacon to me. That was the dream. Someday I'd have a garret window, and I'd sit at it, writing late into the night. 

Then I realized I did have that garret window once. When I was about ten, we moved into a farm house on an old, overgrown Christmas tree farm in a small, coastal town. We had a barn, and a horse, and chickens (oh, I hated those chickens). I had the attic bedroom, a tiny cramped space with sloped walls and rafters that even at ten, I had to duck to avoid. It was tight and compact, and I loved it. The back of the chimney formed the back wall of my closet so on cold winter mornings, my clothes were pre-heated for me.

Even at that age, I sat at that window and stared out at the canyon late at night, and I felt what I should write. I attempted it, over and over again. "Once upon a time..." I'd get two or three pages in and I would fail to convey what I'd meant to, and I'd give up and get back in bed with a book, a real one, one that told the story to me the right way. 

But I tried again, over and over again. In a way, I'm still sitting there, even though I usually write in the cafe now, or in my car, or on my breaks at work. No garret window necessary. The writing gets done anyway. But I still long for that, to sit at a high window overlooking over a rainy street filled with pedestrian traffic. And maybe, just maybe, the people below would be wondering if up there behind the glass was a writer, or an artist, or a photographer, hoping for a window of their own, too.

IndieBoundFebruary 12, 2012

Okay, this is awesome. I just found the IndieBound app! I put the app on my iPhone (it will work on other smartphones, too, as well as the tablets, iPad, etc.), then I went to the website for my favorite local bookstore (which at this point is Books Inc. but I have so many awesome local bookstores that it's hard to choose) and ordered a Google ebook (Journal of Best Practices, a memoir about marriage and Aspergers's). 

Then, on my phone (while on Books Inc's website), I downloaded the book, and it opened automatically in the IndieBound app. 

I don't read a lot on my iPhone, but many times I use it to read what I'm reading on my Kindle. Now that's over. I'm hereby vowing to read more on my iPhone when out and about, and I'm only going to read books I've downloaded from local stores. 

Confession: I still love my Kindle (and its intuitiveness -- I had to fight my way through the first purchase I just made, above, but it will be easier now that I know how to do it). But I can make a little, tiny difference this way. And we know this: tiny things add up to big things over time: words add up to a book, stitches add up to sweaters. Buy local more often than you do now, and create change in YOUR world. 

Thus endeth my soapbox. On tap today: writing (natch), and some accordion playing, I think! I'm gonna be playing around with Garage Band with my friend Camilla, who can be seen here singing with Female Trouble, Lala's band (Camilla is the piano player, La's on the far left). 

"I'm running out of tissues and you're boring me to tears." (Worth watching past the minute mark, when they start ROCKIN'. As they are wont to do.)

Some Things I'm LovingFebruary 5, 2012

First: the winner of Extra Yarn is Samantha E. Woot! Congratulations!

[Edited to add: Mac will be SIGNING Extra Yarn at Copperfields in Petaluma (and they'll be yarn bombing the store, contact them if you want to help) on March 4th at 2pm. You should totally go if you have a chance.]

Now I want to list a few things that I've been loving lately that you might like too. Some are free, some aren't, and all are things I think are worth it, whatever the cost is.

1. Sanebox.

Casey of Ravelry first turned me on to this. It's a program that works on any email platform, and it makes your inbox sane. And seriously, that's exactly what it does.

This is what my inbox looks like right now. It's hard to see, but I have nothing in my inbox, 1 in SaneLater and 1 in SaneNews. (Often I have 50+ in each, it just so happens I just cleared both.)

See that? It creates labels (for Gmail -- I think it does other things appropriate for other clients) ALL ON ITS OWN. I don't know how it knows that it should stuff all my Twitter and Flickr and yarn store sales into SaneLater, but it does know that. All my newsletters go automagically into the SaneNews label. And all the good stuff? The important stuff? From friends, family, readers, editors, my agent, and my bank (oh-so-important)? They go into my inbox, where I can see them without looking around the clutter.

If it messes up, you can train it easily: just drag and drop the email into the right folder, and it won't make the same mistake twice. You don't have to learn the system -- it's intuitive, which is somthing they tout, and something that I've found to be true.

So I easily keep on top of my inbox, and once every other day or so, I flip through my Later and my News labels to make sure I haven't missed anything (usually I delete everything in there, but I want to look at them, at least briefly).

Bonus: Best thing? You can defer email, send it away, giving it a time to land BACK in your email inbox (Tuesday at 1pm, say) and get it OUT of your inbox. You don't have to remember to do whatever it is you have to do -- it just lands. We have dinner reservations tonight, and instead of leaving the email sitting in my box all day, I set it to re-land at 6pm tonight so at that point I can look up driving directions and delete it.

Cost: 4.95/month, FREE trial for 30 days. I just bought two years' worth -- that's how much I never want to be without this thing. (I think this is what Gmail was going for with its Priority sorting thing that I thought was such a ugly mess.) Sanebox = Highly Recommended.

 

2. Shoeboxed.

I've filed my taxes last week, they're all done and I can relax. However, pulling together all my receipts from last year was HORRIBLE. Every year, I vow I'll stay on top of them, and every year in January, I pull out my box of receipts that look like this:

Did you know that New York taxi cab receipts are almost unreadable after only a few months of being stored in this manner? I know! I was surprised, too!

With Shoeboxed, you can email yourself all those receipts you get in email (for example, I just send the receipt for my purchase of Sanebox to them), and they file a pdf image of it for you while stripping and logging the information. It already knew that I'd place that charge in my Computer/Internet category, it knows how I paid, and on what date.

If I get a paper receipt, I use the app on my iPhone to take a picture of it and it does the same thing, almost instantly. So, theoretically, by the time I get home from a business trip, I could have all my receipts logged already. I LOVE THIS.

It's not cheap, at 9.99/month, but for me, Shoeboxed is going to be worth it.

(Oh, and to celebrate the fact that we didn't owe money, I bought a pair of Fluevogs: Zazas)

Love.

 

3. Remember the Milk

I love this reminder app because I can have it loaded in my email, on my home screen or on my phone. I put everything into it, even things like Trash Out every Sunday. Every day it emails you with what you need to do that day, and it's so SATISFYING to cross things off.

Cost: I think they have a free version? But I got the Pro account, $25/year.

 

4. IAlertU

I just installed this, but I love the idea of it. It's a car alarm for your computer. I'm SO often at the cafe, and I stay there for long periods of time, and I drink a lot of coffee. Naturally, I gotta pee. Usually I ask someone to watch my computer for me (and I know most of the people sitting around me, at least by sight). Even though I do it, it still makes me nervous and I'm always relieved when it's still there when I come out.

IAlertU makes a squealing sound if your computer is moved or unplugged. You can set it so that it doesn't turn off even if the computer is closed. Oh, and it snaps a picture of the person who moved the computer and emails it to your phone!

I see the problem here, of course. I'll be in the bathroom and some kid will hit the table, setting it off, and then I'll be that jackass with the too-sensitive car alarm. But oh, well. (And I know a thief will grab and run and won't care that much, but at least people will notice. And hell, some thieves do that while you're sitting at the table with it, so you can't worry all the time, right?)

Cost: Free!

 

5. Prey Project

If the thief DOES get away with my computer, I'll get HIM. Using it, you can find where your computer is, see who's using it (and take pictures of them using the camera!), lock your info, take screenshots of their sessions (computers have been retrieved when the thieves log into their Facebook or email accounts). The recovery stories are fun on their site, and this story is fun, too.  Nosepicking thieves!

Cost: Free to install, $5/month if you need to activate it to find your computer.

 

So there you have it. My five favorite new computer finds. But really? My two all-time favorites remain Write Or Die ("putting the prod in productivity") and Mac Freedom (which removes me from the internet entirely for any length of time), without which I would get no writing done, ever. Lately I've been going in for 15 minute sessions, much shorter than I normally do, with a goal of 250 words. This is so easy I always blow past 250, get to 350 or so and realize it's not far to 500. Do this four times, 2000 words. It's like magic. I love tricks like this. (Both free.)

Anything else I need to have?

EXTRA YARN GiveawayFebruary 1, 2012

ALERT! This is important! There is a new kid's book in town, and it's AWESOME.

Extra Yarn

What happens when a little girl find a box of yarn THAT IS ALWAYS FULL?

Yeah, you want to know, right? It's pretty great. You'll love it.

And I have one to give away! Just leave me a comment below to be entered. (You know I never add commenters to my mailing list, right? That you have to do for yourself, up there in the upper right. But I do give presents from that list from time to time, too. Just sayin'.)

Because the author also lives in Oakland, I was able to drive to his house and knock on his front door until he answered (I knocked a really long time), and then, while he glared at me from his handknitted bathrobe, I asked him a few questions.*

1. First of all, where do I get a box that holds an unending supply of yarn? (No, really. WHERE?)

Oh that's easy. They're usually out in the field, just to the right of the old fence by the house with the barrel out front.


2. Do you knit?

No, but I did darn this sweater!

Interviewer's note: Nice job!

I probably should have put 20 Hipstamatic filters on that shot to make it feel cozier. I'm quite proud of my work, but to your readers that picture probably looks like one of those horrific botched plastic-surgery photos you see on gossip blogs.

3. Now that you're a New York Times bestselling author, will you take me up in your private plane?

Sure, here it is:




4. OAKLAND REPRESENT. What's your favorite thing in Oakland? (Interviewer's note: Mine is Mountain View Cemetery. No, it's not creepy! I swear! It's gorgeous! A great place to walk dogs or steal character names.)

That's a good graveyard. And it's close to Fenton's, for when all that death makes you feel like an ice cream. I think my favorite spot in Oakland is the Paramount Theater. It's a spectacular art-deco movie palace, and on certain Fridays they show classic films. Five dollars gets you an old picture, newsreel, Warner Brothers cartoon, Coming Attractions that may or may not come to the theater, and, of course, Dec-O-Win, a raffle presented by gentlemen in tuxedoes and ladies in evening gowns. My life dream is to win that raffle. I even tried bribing the staff by paying fifty bucks for a box of Red Vines. It didn't work. Those people have a lot of integrity.

 

So, thanks, Mac! And readers: leave a comment to be entered to win (I'll draw on Sunday morning) or just go buy the book at your favorite bookseller. You won't be disappointed.

* This is not technically true. But he does live in Oakland. Or at least he says he does. (What if he said that to all the reviewers? Yeah, I live in Tulsa/Peoria/Brooklyn. That would totally WORK.)

Fountain Pen ShawlJanuary 30, 2012

Hello, my name is Rachael, and I'm addicted to knitting lace.

I always swore it would never happen. I am NOT that knitter. I can't see the order in the stitches (like I can with cables -- I can knit cables underwater in the dark. Though, really, I don't like to do it that way).

But it did. I blame Cassie and Romi the most. Enablers, both of them, of the highest order. Cassie taught me that stitch markers are your friend (tiny rubber bands! You can get them on the hair product aisle, 300 count, like four bucks. They're awesome) and Romi taught me that lace can be nothing short of entrancing (her designs are magical).

This is the Fountain Pen shawl. When I saw the name, I HAD to knit it, right? (I'm still one of those writers who loves her fountain pens, pretentious as they may seem. I just love the angle they make on the page.)

You can see why it's called that here: see the shape of the nib?

And in the nib's breather hole is a nupp. (That's just a fun sentence to write.)

I, unlike many knitters, like nupps. But I'm a loose knitter, so that makes everything easier (if you know what I mean, BA-DUM-BUM).

Ravelry link here. Yarn: Holiday Yarns Skinny Ewe, one skein, on US5.

I am seriously looking forward to wearing this in Italy.

Let's Talk CleaningJanuary 28, 2012

No, really, let's. I've been meaning to get to the post for a long time. In fact, sometimes when I can't sleep, I lie in bed and think about cleaning products, and I think, I've got to tell the blog this! They'll love it! And then I realize that normal people sleep when they're in bed; they don't fantasize about scrubbing the tub.

Back when Harriet (RIP, best dog in the world) was, shall we say, on the somewhat graceless but cute nonetheless slide downhill, she became incontinent. Well, it wasn't as much incontinent as she made very clear decisions that yes, she had to pee, so that must mean she was outside! Let's pee outside in the living room! Doggie woot! It was fun for her, I think. Not so much for us, but it was one of those things you work around. You know. Love is love, and pee isn't a very big deal.

But it still needs to be cleaned up. (Pictured: Harriet in the living room.)

We don't have much carpet, only in the bedrooms, so during the better part of every day she was on either tile or hardwood (thank god). I was like most people, and had always loved my paper towels even though I knew they were dead trees. But when you suddenly transition to using SO many paper towels (seriously, a roll a day some days), and going through bottles and bottles of Nature's Miracle and 409, it starts to take a moral toll on your faintly green soul.

So I poked around on the internet and found an idea as old as the hills: Towels.

Towels? Hell yes, we had tons of them, and they were beaters already. Somehow, though, it grossed me out. I was used to cleaning messes and then throwing the whole mess in the trash.

Turned out it was awesome. And MILES easier. A large puddle takes lots of paper towels, but just one real towel.

I was on to something. Surely there had to be something cheaper and better than buying bottles of 409 all the time.

I'm pleased to tell you that I found and still use THE PERFECT RECIPE for household cleaner. It cleans everything, hardwood, tile, counters, bathrooms, and even mirrors. Even the greasy stove! The only thing you might find a little unpleasant about it at first is the smell of vinegar, but that dissipates to nothing as it dries (really!) and now, years later, I find that faint smell of vinegar to mean The House Is Clean.

My favorite cleaning things.

Rachael's Household Clean It Up Recipe

1. Get a great spray bottle. This is harder than it sounds! Know the best place to look? Your local nursery or the plant section of your hardware store. The plant spray bottles are built to last -- don't ask me why.

2. Fill the bottle 1/3 of the way with white vinegar. I get mine at our local CVS in the gallon size.

3. Add a good dollop (about a tablespoon, if I were to measure it, which I don't) of Dr. Bronner's liquid castille soap in your favorite flavor (I like lavender, but Trader Joe's only carried the big size in peppermint, which is a nice cheery clean scent). It will go cloudy when it hits the vinegar -- don't worry, it should.

4. (Optional) Add a few drops of tea tree oil. I like it for its disinfectant qualities, and I like the smell, but your taste may vary.

5. Fill the rest of the bottle up with water, and Bob's your clean uncle.

 

What I like about this stuff:

You can spray it on everything, everywhere, and not worry about a thing. Spray the table and hit the fruit bowl lightly on accident? Who cares?

And this: It flipping WORKS. It gets everything soooo clean and shiny. I use rags for cleaning now, big ones for floors and little ones for counters (and knitted dishrags for dishes! Nothing better!). I love taking a clean rag and making it dirty and then throwing it in the washer (it strikes me that this cleaning method wouldn't work that well if you had to throw the dirty things into a clothes basket if you don't have in-house laundry and I'm sorry about that). And then, when you do your regular laundry, just throw it on top and wash it all together (unless you've got seriously grungy greasy rags, which deserve a wash on their own).

Other Favorite Cleaning Tricks

Bathtub: Oh, my gosh, did I come up with a good recipe for this. This is cobbled together out of things I've found on the internet over the years, refined by something I read recently on Crunchy Betty's site (if you enjoy this kind of thing, hop over there and lose a few wonderful hours).

This is great for a grimy tub. I hate our bathtub (it's rusted on the bottom and is an awkward shape so I tend to ignore it until I can't live with the grime anymore).

1. Fill tub with the hottest water you can run. Add a pot of boiling water for extra oomph. Add a cup (or two!) of white vinegar.

2. Let it sit for a while, until the water is cool enough again for you to pull the plug (but still warm).

3. While tub drains, mix together: 1/2 cup of baking soda, one large squirt of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, a little tea tree oil, and enough water to make a good thick paste.

4. Use a rag or your favorite plastic scrubby (I have one a friend knitted me out of plastic twine that I LOVE), and liberally apply the paste. Swirl, and BAM. That grime is lifted away. It's awesome. (Obviously, check somewhere to make sure this doesn't ruin your tub's coating. It makes mine shiny and clean again, but I don't worry about ruining mine very much.)

Floors: I recently got one of those steam machines (a Monster -- that thing cleans HOT) and I love it. But for a quick floor clean? Nothing beats walking around, spraying the heck out of your Clean It Up bottle, followed up by standing on a large towel and dancing around, using the weight of your body to clean. Fast! Easy! Remarkably satisfying! Towel gets dirty? Throw it in the washer and start with another one!

(There is something in me that thinks this is, somehow, cheating, and that I should be ashamed of it. I'm not sure why. A cleaning cheat that works can't be wrong, and I'm proud to share.)

 Takeaway:

Using fabric instead of paper is the BOMB. Making your own cleaning products is dead easy, and dead cheap. And cleaning is, truly, satisfying.

RainJanuary 23, 2012

I love rain so much. I'm one of those people who would be actually, truly happy in Seattle. I wouldn't mind only seeing the sun every once in a while. Bright sun and blue skies make my sensitive eyes hurt, anyway. And it's not like I'm super outdoorsy (surprise!). Give me a chair by the window and my computer or a notebook (and best of all worlds, a cup of coffee thick with cream), and I'm a happy girl.

I'm going into a three day weekend (my schedule is never like the rest of the world's) and I'm hoping the rain keeps up. I dislike driving in the rain, because Californians believe that either their cars will float away on any puddle bigger than three inches across and slow to six miles per hour on the freeway or they think that rain doesn't matter and go their normal ninety. But everything else? Sitting on the couch? Lying in bed? Lovely. Oh, and the best? Sitting in the cafe, writing, watching people come and go, shaking off their hoods and umbrellas, greeting friends and laughing.

So today, I wish for the sound of rain to accompany my writing (and hopefully, my nap). There will be cats for laps, and blankets for shoulders, and oh, it makes me happy just thinking about it.     

What I've Been ReadingJanuary 15, 2012

Oooh, I've been reading a lot lately. Isn't it odd how urges take us over for certain periods of time? For weeks, I'll crave new music, and I'll buy and download everything I can get my hands on. I'll binge on music blogs, throwing songs into my iTunes as fast as it can gobble them. Or I'll spend weeks dreaming about lace, fantasizing about watching the patterns grow (who knew THAT would ever happen? Sheesh). Or I'll spin and knit and spin and knit until I can clothe the whole household, right down to tiny Miss Idaho.

I'm always reading, but lately I've been tearing through books like the Great Book Famine is coming. (It's not, by the way. There is SO much good stuff out there that even that whole pesky Mayan apocalypse thing won't get in the way.) I like to tell you about the books I LOVE (not the ones I merely like -- who has the time for that?), so here you go.

1. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle. Of course, I read this approximately one billionty times when I was a kid (I read all of them, over and over again. I wrote a fan letter to ML'E, and SHE WROTE BACK.) But I reread this because I wanted to read the second book on this list and everyone said to brush up on Wrinkle before I did. And I'm so glad I did. It was wonderful, falling back into the book, and I was Meg, all over again.

2. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead. This is the story of a girl finding out what friendship means while figuring out the very nature of time (I thought figuring out the time between bells at high school was bad enough). The novel repeatedly references A Wrinkle In Time -- the main character loves the book as much as I did when I was her age, and there was something so endearing about that, the way her book was tattered as much as mine was. I'm not surprised this won the Newberry in 2010. (How lovely that must be, to follow in L'Engle's footsteps like that. Can you imagine? Loving a book that much, and being able to honor it that way? Oh, it gives me goosebumps.)  Also, it was fun reading a book set when I was growing up -- it was so firmly grounded in that time period I could almost smell the plastic on the unicorn decals.

3. Learning to Swim, Sara J. Henry. I'm not quite finished with this, but I'm adoring it. Premise (without spoilers -- this all happens within the first few pages): The main character witnesses a little boy tossed off the end of a ferry.
She swims to save him, and then tries to figure out who would throw away a child. Henry writes so well, and I'm almost done and I haven't yet figured out how it will end. Delicious.

(Thanks to all of you who suggested books HERE, and feel free to leave me more suggestions for your most recent favorite.)

* Amazon links for convenience -- feel free to email your local indie bookstore, though! They'll even mail them to you, just like Amazon does!

Congrats and TravelsJanuary 11, 2012

Congratulations to the winner of Sweet Shawlettes, LindaW! I've emailed you, letting you know. Thanks, all, for playing along! (By the way, if you leave a comment I don't automatically sign you up for my mailing list. That would be cheeky. If you DO want to be on my ever so sporadic mailing list (from which I do draw random winners or random things from time to time) the link is there to the right.)

And now I'm off to have more wicked fun. The amazing Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania brought me, Juliet Blackwell, and Sophie Littlefield out to talk to their graduate students in their MFA program (they have a wonderful one, Writing Popular Fiction). We spoke to them about revision (oh, I could wax eloquent for DAYS about revision) and gender bias in publishing (which made for a fascinating conversation even if I stuttered a bit. I've never been on a panel and seen so many raised, waving, eager hands).

Here we are on the dais, about to try to sound smart.

I look tall! I'm not, but I enjoy the illusion. (Also, new haircut! You like?)

Today we're still in Greensburg. We're actually all going to get some writing done, and go to an alumni lunch and take our lovely hostess Nicole Peeler out to dinner. I feel lucky and grateful and sometimes completely gobsmacked that I get to hang out with friends like these and talk about what I love to do.

(I have to tell you one thing--there was a darling woman there, Symantha, and I recognized her. It turned out that I'd met her at Stitches West two years ago, before my first book came out. She'd been so excited to see the book flier I'd been passing out then, and it turns out I was the first real author she'd ever met. It convinced her that authors didn't live in some fancy castle in another world, and that she could try to be one, and it's part of the reason SHE is now in the program at Seton Hill. That thrilled me to my handknit-clad toes.)

So we'll write today, and maybe I'll knit (I'm LOVING the Fountain Pen shawl -- how had I not seen this one before?) and be with friends, and I'm happy.

Sweet ShawlettesJanuary 5, 2012

I'm happy to be hosting Jean Moss today who is talking about her new beautiful book, Sweet Shawlettes. Since I'm all about spinning right now, and what better to use handspun for but shawls, I was honored to get a preview copy (it's gorgeous) and the chance to ask her a few questions.

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the book! I'll draw a random winner on Monday.

1.    What made you interested in writing this particular book?

The book came to me out of the blue when Erica Sanders-Foege, then a senior editor at The Taunton Press, rang to ask if I would consider doing it. The working title was Sweet Shawlettes, but Erica  assured me I could change it if I didn't like it.  However, for me the title had a certain broad brush appeal – whimsical, feminine,  could even be ironic - or it might have been that I'm just addicted to alliteration, but knowing how difficult it is to come up with decent book titles, I quickly applied the if it's not broken, don't fix it principle.  

I agreed to submit a synopsis and by the time I'd finished it I was completely hooked on the idea.  Previously most of my books have concentrated mainly on sweaters, and this gave me the opportunity to explore a totally different form.  Shawls, capes, cowls, furbelows or anything that can be worn around the neck was the brief and I was thrilled to explore as many ways of interpreting it as I could. 

I was given complete control over yarns, stitches, colours, styles, techniques - something I really value.  I was kept in the loop about each process of the book's production, consulted on the book's design and to my utmost surprise and great relief the editors at Taunton actually listened.  In a previous hardcover book that shall be nameless (I should add with a different publisher), in the same situation I was treated like a jobbing author and ended up with a book I hated, where the images reflected completely different sweaters to the ones I'd designed.  

I'm intrigued by the process of book-making from beginning to end – the shoot is the icing on the cake when you see your designs come alive.  With my two previous books, Wandering Spirits and In The Mood, I was given the freedom to deliver the completed print-ready book on disk, which I now admit could have been an absolute disaster!  However, a steep learning curve ensued and ultimately it was such an exhilarating and satisfying experience. Sweet Shawlettes was photographed in Connecticut, so for various reasons, not the least of which being that I live in the UK, it wasn't possible  for me to be there.  Consequently I was really nervous about the pictures and was mega-relieved when I saw Alexandra Grablewski's strong and beautiful images.  

I'm so glad I decided to write the book now.  It took me on an interesting journey exploring the construction, techniques, yarns and the history of neck wraps and I'll always be grateful to Taunton for offering me this opportunity.

2.    What's your favorite thing to knit when you're not working on knitting?

Not surprisingly I do enjoy making shawls.  Everyone in my family received one this Xmas – one size fits all, so no sweat about fitting. Recently there's been a baby boom in our family, so I've been doing a lot of tiny sweaters which have a built in feel good factor as you just know you're going to finish the project before something else grabs your attention – good for limiting the UFOs.  Oh and also I've knit my favourite shadow knit baby blanket about four times this year.

3.    What was your favorite part of pulling this book together?

Definitely the adrenalin rush that you get when there's a blank sheet in front of you and it's uncharted territory and you can either get totally paralysed or take the plunge.  It often takes me some time to get past the paralysis stage, but this is what I call the cooking time when the ideas are crystallising and I need displacement activities. I chop things down in the garden, make lots of food, play my guitar, or even clean the house, though that would only happen if I'd done everything else first! Sometimes I even dream about designs and have been known to get up in the middle of the night and rush upstairs to my office to dash off a quick sketch.  When I eventually do dive in, the first thing I do is to map out the book in detail, making lists of the types of designs, yarn, colours,  techniques, stitches, moods etc and then set about placing them in the relevant chapters, with the aim of getting an overall balance.  I then set about the swatching, which is always exciting as you can never tell how a yarn will behave with a particular stitch pattern until you knit it and you can usually count on some surprises.  

One of Britain's leading knitwear designers, Jean Moss's innovative combinations of texture, colour and styling have been widely influential over the years. A self-taught knitter, she has been producing her own unique collections of handknits for more than twenty years, as well as designing for Rowan Yarns and many international fashion houses such as Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley and Benetton. She teaches in the UK and Europe and is a regular visitor to the US.

Her new book Sweet Shawlettes is available at your local independent bookstore or from retailers like Amazon, Chapters, or directly from Taunton Press. The project gallery can be seen here.

2011 Year in ReviewDecember 31, 2011

This has been the year of . . . treading water. You know those years? Those years in which you paddle and stay afloat and pull some people up on your raft and have a wee, damp party with the champagne you stole from a passing cruise ship? A good, busy year, but an exhausting one sometimes. I'm happy it came, and just as happy to usher in a new one.

I like to sum up my years here on Ye Old Blogge, so here's 2011:

January:

We went to Hawaii for three days.

The view from our room.

You'd think going anywhere to relax for three days (not including travel time) wouldn't really work, but we did it SO well. The first day, we did nothing. The second day, we went snorkeling (the one thing Lala really wanted to do) which was great and we SWAM WITH A TURTLE. And then, to recuperate from the excitement of that and the bomb karaoke we found, we did nothing on the third day. I even beat a migraine while we were there, which I rarely do. It was wonderful, and just what we needed.

This, I think, was my favorite shot, because while lying on my back on the beach, this is what I saw when I opened my eyes.

Also in January, I came up with Four Rules for Creativity. Click there for the expanded version, and here are the Cliff's Notes:

1. Pick something already. Make a choice about what you're going to create. Don't worry about it being the wrong thing, because once you're DONE with this project, you can choose something else to do next.

2. Give yourself permission to navel-gaze. Being an artist is, by its very nature, somewhat narcissistic. Accept that and make something.

3. Give yourself permission to suck. And I mean, permission to REALLY suck. If it's the worst thing you ever made, sit back and say DAMN, that sucks. Then make it (or the next one) a little better. Fail some.

4. No excuses. If you want to write, then do it. Don't say you want to. (Everyone says that. You're not everyone. Are you?) If you want to draw, draw. If you want to play your ukulele until four in the morning, then do it with conviction. DO IT.

 

February:

I learned to weave. DAMN IT. (Nancy L, I haven't forgotten your scarf! It will happen! I promise!)

I didn't want to learn. I didn't want to go that far down the crazy train's line (really, isn't the last stop just getting sheep?). But I did. And I love it.

I made up the easiest spicy chicken soup for the crock pot, and I've made it many times since.

Also, my short story, "Honeymooning," came out.

 

March:

How to Knit a Heart Back Home came out! I wrote a little song for it.

Lala's parents took us to Disneyworld which was awesome. I was expecting it to be lowercase fun. But no, it was uppercase F.U.N. The weather in March in Florida is perfect (I'd only been to Orlando once before, in July, and the heat was oppressively awful, so this was a nice surprise.)

The Neph, first time in a pool.

At Hogwarts!

In Big News, I fell head over heels in love with an accordion. This was also very unexpected. I'm happy to report I'm still in love. Also, still not very good at it, but BOY do I adore it. I hear the accordion is the new knitting which was once the new black, so there's still time to hop on this trend, people. Do it!

 

April:

Romantic Times was in LA. I went and gave workshops and signed books and hung out with C.A.P.:

The PensFatales (four of them at least) were there, too, and there are tales still told of us in some dive bars down there.

I felted two cashmere shawls while washing a load of laundry. That was AWESOME.

I know you feel my pain.

KnittedWit brought out the Cypress Hollow Yarn named for the characters in the books. I love this stuff, and she is DARLING. 

 

May:

I switched to a standing desk! Okay, I didn't so much switch as built one for my office. I got a lot of work done at it, too. I type faster when standing, I wrote much of a first draft of a novel there. At the day job, too, I stood more often (since our desks can be raised there).

Then I kind of stopped. At the job, I still stand at least once a day for a while, but at home? Nah. Not so much. (Especially since I work so often at the cafe now. There is, however, a standing coffee bar there, and I could work there -- I've seen people do it, and I did it once. It was kind of weird.) But yeah, I've been bad about it. It occurs to me that perhaps I am just sedentary. Or perhaps I am just lazy. That's more likely, of course.

Also in May, I shared my Moleskine hack.

And as a bonus, I'll share my NEW Moleskine hack. Have you seen those tiny notebooks they make? They're just larger than a credit card, and often when I go out, I leave my purse at home. I stash my ID and debit card and one of those little notebooks in my back pocket (with my beloved tiny Fisher Space Pen in my front pocket). After a few times of pulling out the notebook and having my ID hit the floor, I came up with this little hack:

Isn't that neat? I used duct tape, and made a lined pocket to hold just the essentials. Now I can catch words wherever they find me. It ain't the most attractive solution, but I *am* very fond of duct tape, so this pleases me.

 

June:

In more Moleskine news, I upgraded to a computer that could fit into one:

That was the month we also discovered Lois the Pie Queen (which I've been to at least seven times since) for the best pie in the Bay Area (and the best chicken and waffles, in my book).

 

July:

I went to New York on business. I went to the HarperCollins party at the Central Park Boathouse. I felt kind of stunned to think that I was really doing it. I was really a writer.

I also set my agent's apartment on fire. You know. Like you do.

Also in July, I started my new day job, still doing the same thing, 911 fire/medical, at a new-to-me smaller agency. I'm glad I made the move. It's been good for me, even though it's always completely nerve-wracking to start a new job.

Also, I thought about the way we tangle ourselves up, in life, and in writing. And sometimes in jasmine vines.

 

August:

Big things! My memoir, A Life in Stitches came out! So did my first audio-book (all three Cypress Hollow novels are now available, didja know that?).  

I started running again, and 20 minutes later, stopped as I fell off a sidewalk and sprained my ankle.

I read The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, which I hereby declare My Favorite Book of 2011.

 

September:

Your cat Digit got his first chin infection. It's continued, off and on, since then, waxing and waning. I take him in every time he gets one, and they treat it, but there's not much else we can do, the vet says. It makes him very grumpy (Digit, not the vet). I mean, it makes him even grumpier than normal. Imagine THAT. Clementine lives in terror.

I did a bunch of readings. Oh, my, I'm glad that's over. I love being AT the readings, but getting there? I get easily overwhelmed with worry about them.

We went to Vegas! Just for a weekend, and BOY was it fun.

We stayed at the Venetian, because, well, you know. I love Venice, even the fake kind.

We had a party, and I played the accordion in my new dress. There isn't much happy that can compare to that.

 

October:

Wishes & Stitches came out! (For those of you playing at home, yes, I had three books come out this year. And nope, I'm still not over the excitement.) 

My pop got married to Lola! It was a gorgeous backyard luau, a lovely night for a lovely occasion.

And I did Project 333! Hey, I just realized tomorrow I get to go through my Love Box where I stored the few clothes I didn't keep in my Project List or give away. In the project, you wear 33 items for 3 months. I didn't include hand-knits, natch. It was easy and awesome, and it's led me to realize a couple of things: I need a couple more nice black V-neck shirts and a dress or two with sleeves (all mine are sleeveless, something I'd never noticed before). I can't wait to go though my closet and give away everything I didn't wear out of those 33 things, because they're in there. Isn't that wild? Also this: I felt better dressed during these last three months than I have in years, because I loved everything I wore.

 

November:

I did NaNoWriMo, the Rebel Remix, in which I edited 100,000 words. It worked!  This was Chris Baty's last year as its leader, so I really wanted to participate. Grateful that I did, and grateful to Our Fairygodmother for sending us to the Night of Writing Dangerously again. Thank you!

We participated in the General Strike, which was amazing. Even better, we had a knit-in at Occupy Oakland.  

I finally found my knitting mojo, but I fell for the Photo Fallacy. Again.  

I put together some of my ideas of How to Revise Your Novel. I played my accordion and my uke, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. I love doing that. I can lose myself in music in a way I can't in writing. It's a different kind of high.  

 

December:

A Life in Stitches came out in Australia and New Zealand! (There's quite a bit in the memoir about my New Zealander mother, so I'm very, very proud that this happened. Thanks, you lovely new readers.)

I fell in love with the Bed of Nails pillow, which has taken away my neck and shoulder pain, period. (It doesn't work for the hormonal migraines, I'm sad to say, but for the headaches that start from neck pain? Yes.)

I went indoor skydiving. IT WAS SO MUCH DAMN FUN.

At iFly in Union City.

(And if I may brag for a moment, I was good at it. I totally was. Lala was watching my DVD of it, and she didn't realize she was looking at me and said, "Hey, she's good!" And no, I'm never jumping out of a plane on purpose. This was enough to satisfy me.)

I spun a lot (on my new WooLee Winder, which is EVEN BETTER THAN I EVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE). I knitted a lot. I dreamed about Venice, and finally planned a trip for myself next March.

2012 is barreling in. My Australian and New Zealand readers are already there, and I haven't heard that they don't like it, so I'm willing to step forward.

Thank you, again, for being with me this year. It's meant the world.

For you, I wish this: That you will find your happiness and hold on tight. That you will take chances and make mistakes and find unexpected pockets of joy. That you will love and be loved. What could be better?

Venice, 2003December 29, 2011

So I'm going back to Venice. It's been what, three or four years now? [Runs to look at the blog.] Oh, my god, it's been five years. No WONDER I've been dreaming about it so much. I always dream about Venice, but it's usually along the lines of two or three times a year. Lately it's been almost weekly. I'm always trying to GET there, but something is holding me back -- I'm late for the plane or I don't have my passport, and I can see the plane, sparkling there, ready to take me, and I can't get on. Or worse, I'm in a city full of cars (Mestre?) just outside Venice and I can't find a boat that will take me. Only about once a year do I actually get to Venice in my dreams, but oh, it's lovely when I do.

I was just thinking about the time I stole a boat in Venice, about eight years ago. Okay, okay, I only kind of lied my way into borrowing it. IT WAS SO AWESOME. Here's the story (from the blog back in MyGlassHouse days):

Today!

First: I decided to release the Venetian mystery I had
been reading, a la bookcrossing.com, at Harry's Bar. I
had never been there, except for popping my head in
once or twice, and I wanted a Bellini. I happened to
arrive when it wasn't that busy, so I ordered a
Bellini and a small sandwich. What was that? Oh,
that'll be fine. Whoops. What I got was a
mayo/egg/anchovy sandwich. I ate it, though.

And I released the book, even though the very
attentive maitre'd chased me out, "Prego, signorina!"
Oh, that's not mine, but thank you! And I ran.

I stopped to breathe my anchovy
breath at a motor launch. I noticed it was the launch
for the Hotel Cipiriani, the exclusive resort across
the lagoon. This is when I got the idea.

I thought for a while. Then.

I walked out on the dock and used the phone that was
thoughtfully connected there to order the boat. Yep.
Eee!

When the gleaming boat arrived, driven by the gleaming
Lovely Man, I had my Italian all planned out. "What
time is it? Have you seen my friend? Small, beautiful?
We were supposed to meet an hour ago at the
restaurant."

Number one: I didn't know if the hotel even HAD a
restaurant, but I figured it was a good guess.

Number two: The driver had no English, and my Italian
varies, and today was an off day. I might have
actually been saying, "What time is it? Have you seen
my pickle? Beer, green? We were supposed to marry
yesterday on a ski."

But he seemed to understand, no, he had not seen my
friend dee ann, and he held his hand out to help me in
the boat. Which he then drove across the lagoon, ME
HIS ONLY PASSENGER. Me, in this limo of a boat. I sat
inside. I stood in the back. I stood in the middle. I
finally stood in the front with the Lovely Man who
obligingly stopped in the middle of the choppy water,
in the sun, to take a picture of me. Grinning me. I
was giddy.

Once he helped me out of the boat, I kinda had to keep
up the ruse, since he just sat in the boat and watched
me inside. I swept in, "Is my friend dee ann here? I'm
late, and she had to leave for Greece...." As far as I
know, dee ann is either in San Diego or headed up the
coast in a fast car, but she ain't in Italy (more's
the pity). But Perfectly Groomed Eyebrows merely
smiled, "We haven't seen your friend, madame. Did she
have a reservation?"

For it was a room about the size of my living room,
full of RICH Italians wearing fur and dripping
diamonds.

"Reservations? No, we don't do reservations. I'll just
wait here, if I might? A Bellini?" I don't know where
the words came from, I swear.

"Sadly, we only use fresh juice here, madame. Would
you like fresh-squeezed raspberry juice and prosecco
instead, while you wait?"

Oh, I guessed that would be all right. By the time I
drank my drink (you DON'T want to know what that one
cost) and thanked my genial host and washed my hands
in the gorgeous bathroom (and stole some of the teeny
guest soaps shaped like hearts, don't tell), I was
genuinely getting miffed that dee ann hadn't arrived.

I scare myself sometimes. Right now Mom is saying,
"Cheeky girl." But she would have been the first on
the boat, don't let her fool you.

The Gift of the Magi (But Without the Ironic Sense of Doom or Loss)December 26, 2011

So on Christmas Eve, Lala and I sat down to open our presents from each other. I gave her a nice little stack, and waited in anticipation for my prezzies.

She put one in front of me.

She opened some, and yay! She liked what I got her! I opened mine -- it was a cute sheep tee-shirt (this one, in fact). I loved it! Awesome!

But then she said, "I'm really sorry but I don't have anything else for you."

I goggled.

"I mean, I ordered you something but it didn't make it to the house."

Now, I've been working on not being passive aggressive. It's a bad, ugly trait, and I hate it when I get that way. So I took a deep breath and said, "Oh. I really like this shirt! But I have to admit, I'm disappointed. I planned your Christmas presents early, and I've been working on things for a while, and while I appreciate you've been busy, I have to let you know that my feelings are hurt."

She took it well. "Yes," she said. "I can understand that."

Fast forward to her brother's house. Our nephew Isaac was opening presents (okay, he opened one present, a book, and didn't have any interest in opening anything else. He loved the book). Lala gave me a box. Oops. I started to think that maybe I'd been played but then I opened the box, and I KNEW I'd been played. She totally shocked me and got me something I've never been able to justify purchasing for myself. 

A WOOLEE WINDER for my Ashford Joy. Dude! 

Okay, for those not in the know, attaching a Woolee Winder to your spinning wheel is like moving from a 1962 Fiat to a 2011 Lamborghini. The Fiat you have to futz with every few feet. You have to lift the hood. Add coolant every ten miles. Adjust the take-up, using hooks:

Whereas the Woolee Winder Lamborghini? It takes up BY ITSELF. We're talking SPEED, baby. I'm so excited about it I'm blogging before I use it, because I love to prolong anticipation. (Seriously, I cleaned the house before sitting down to write this blog.)

"I had it mailed here," she said. "Not to our house. You know all those studies I was doing? I used that money."

I was overcome. She did good.

Then I gave her her other present (and Isaac's too), so at least I didn't feel too shabby:

Hee. (It's the Mangyle pattern for her, and I just kind of made up his as I went along.)

And NOW I'm off to spin. I'm a little nervous! But I love to drive fast, so BRING IT.

Radiance ShawlDecember 22, 2011

I made a shawl! I haven't blocked it, and boy, it needs it, but I thought I'd show it to you now, since I think it's super cute when it's bouncy and flouncy like this:

Ravelry link here (I can't seem to find a non-Rav link for the pattern, so if you're not part of Ravelry, you should join!)

It took approximately forever to bind off (but in typical Rachael fashion, I put it away months ago, exHOSSted by it, and when I picked it up last week, I was HALF WAY THROUGH the bind off. Who does that? And then forgets about it? Sheesh).

It's out of Regia sock yarn, and I'm not even sure what kind (but I'll look it up).

Do you think that only knitters like shawls like this? I mean, really, think about it. It was pointed out to me that the only people below the age of 80 wearing shawls are knitters. Does that make us naturally uncool when we wear ours? Or does it make us more cool? I actually wonder this a lot, and while I wore this the other day, I vascillated between thinking I was ultra-hip and uber-out-of-it. I'm (obviously) more comfortable with the latter than I am with the former.

Bonus Digit shot!

To you: Happy holidays, if you celebrate, and if you don't, enjoy the days getting longer. Thanks for being a part of my life this very exciting year. xoox

Winners!December 16, 2011

The random winners of the knitting abaci are: C.C., Margaret W., and Haley. You've been emailed, and congratulations! Enjoy your useful bling.

Useful bling. Is there anything better? See, like this: 

See? Good looking AND it tells Digit where to find his favorite dog. (Clementine looks like she just saw Digit coming for her, doesn't she? Although she did not mind those ears AT ALL. She kept 'em on a long time.)

Knitting Abacus Bracelet Giveway! December 12, 2011

I absolutely love the knitting abacus bracelets from Hide and Sheep (list to the right to see all the bracelets) and they're giving THREE away to lucky commenters! Leave a comment below to be entered -- I'll draw the winners on Friday. Good luck!

Click HERE if the video doesn't play.

Bed of Nails UpdateDecember 8, 2011

(For those of you visiting for the first time, I swear I don't talk about acupuncture pillows much. Or ever. Nope, I can pretty safely say I've never done it before this last post. But forgive me -- it's just so awesome!)

I haven't had real neck/shoulder pain since I started using it. The other night I was weaving and I felt the tension start, so I immediately took ten minutes and used it, and the pain was GONE.

Yesterday, though, I got a doozy of a migraine that started in my sinuses (they often start in my neck but not this sneaky bastard). Since I didn't think impaling my face on the pillow would be a prudent (or attractive) idea, I didn't. The migraine came -- I was miserable. But later, after I got the shot at the doctor's office, when I was still nauseous and the pain had lodged in the base of my skull, I used the pillow and both that pain and the nausea subsided.

So for me, I'm still in love. It's not a cure-all (HA! typoed cure-ass first) but it's close.

For your reward, those of you not interested in painful pillows you can't sleep on, here's a picture of the scarf I wove (all handspun):

And what I warped last night (Noro Silk Garden Color S289):

(That's Willie on the floor, back right)

And I'm using this handspun for the weft:

And for those of you who neither spin nor impale yourself on thousands of pointy little pieces of sharp plastic, you can't deny the cutness that is Clementine's tongue:

(Post walk. Clara needs a cigarette.)

My Bed of NailsDecember 5, 2011

It's time for Rachael's Favorite Thing! Kind of like the defunct Oprah's Favorite Things, only mine is singular and there isn't one under your chair. I'm sorry about that.

This is what I'm lying on twice a day:

It's called the Bed of Nails acupuncture pillow, and I stumbled across it completely by accident.

See, I get neck and shoulder pain a lot. That's fine, we all do -- stress blah stress -- but my neck pain can quickly morph into a migraine (and often does). It had gotten to the point where I was almost not knitting at all because the tension in my neck would knot up tighter and tighter as I went. Also, the more I work on computers, the tighter the tension gets, and both my jobs require lots of screen time.

So late one night, out of desperation, I was prowling Amazon, researching things that came up when I searched for "neck pain."

This mat came up, along with the pillow. I thought, Who would be that crazypants? Those look sharp! Then I noticed all the 5-star reviews. I read, with amazement, as people said this actually helped their pain.

I've given it almost two weeks now.

This helps my pain.

This cray-cray pillow of (seriously) sharp needle-like plastic bits has helped me to the point that I've had about four ibuprofens in two weeks (instead of four every four hours).

Full disclosure: it hurts to start out. Yes, it does. I only got the pillow since my pain isn't in my lower back, and MAN the first time I used it I wondered if it was worth it. Then, about five minutes in, my neck started to warm up. Then my whole body relaxed. I can't explain this, it just worked. After fifteen minutes, I had to have Lala help me up, and then I tottered off to bed where I took a mammoth nap.

After about a week of using it, it gets easier to lie on -- any pain there is is gone within 60 seconds. Then the heat starts, and then the relaxation. I'm lying on it once during the day, and just before I got to sleep, 15 minutes each time, and I'm sleeping better than I have in SO long. It has literally chased away every headache I've gotten. (I don't know if it will chase away the hormonal migraine that I can never get away from. I'll keep you posted.)

I love it. Oh, that endorphin rush and the resulting warm happiness! I'm buying another one for my work locker so that if I forget it I'm not without it. Best purchase I've made in a very, very long time. Read the reviews. I bought the pink one, Bed of Nails brand, but all the brands look really similar. (Amazon links are mine, as always I get a teeny proceed from click-buy-throughs.)

Dear Australia and New Zealand,December 1, 2011

I have mailed you an early Christmas/Hannukah gift! It's the Down Under release of my collection of essays, A LIFE IN STITCHES! Out today! (Okay, I think it comes out next week for the Kiwis, but today is the day in the country with kangaroos!) It took many, many trips to the post office, and I've run out of packing tape, but I hope all your bookstores are pleased with the new delivery.

HarperCollins Australia ordering links HERE and you can get it digitally HERE.

(Unrelated aside -- as a half-Kiwi myself, I've noticed that many Americans think New Zealand has kangaroos and/or Koala bears. It does not. It DOES however, have, well, Kiwis. Both countries have many indigenous knitters. You can often spot them in the wild, leaping over fences and scurrying along at the sides of country roads, needles clenched firmly between their teeth, racing toward the nearest yarn shop. (We have them over here, too.))

And look! Our own Knitty Amy Singer's quote is on the front cover! WOOOT!

I hope you enjoy it. xoxo Rachael

 

On PedestriansNovember 29, 2011

Oh, it's foggy today, so lovely and drippy and heavy and dark, and I LOVE IT. This is my favorite time of year, and November is my favorite month. The trees are just now turning (we do have lovely colors here, just not in such abundance as other places) and the roads are shiny and everything is just so pretty.

I'm at the cafe, about to get my write on, but I just had a nice thing happen, and I thought I'd tell you about it. It was a tiny moment. While driving down Bancroft, I stopped for an older man who was waiting at the crosswalk. Now, I'm great at stopping for pedestrians. I believe people on foot have as much right to cross the street as I have to drive it, and unfortunately, sometimes that translates into total impatience when I'm the one waiting to walk across the street. I'm one of those people who marches into the crosswalk, feigning indifference to the cars. I'm never actually indifferent; I stop walking and don't get in front of them if they don't stop for me. I don't have a death wish, but I like to give drivers a little scare if they don't stop, a little oh-crap-shoulda-seen-her moment. I expect drivers to stop, and I know it shows in my walk. I give a little flip of the hand, a terse "thanks" with no real gratitude.

So a few moments ago, I stopped for the older man. I slowed early and waved at him to let him know I saw him.

He crossed. While he was crossing, he grinned hugely and waved at me. That was nice. I sat up straighter and smiled, waving back.

Then, when he got to the median, he turned around and gave me an even happier wave. It was lovely. I wanted to stop the car and get out and hug him, but that would have been taking the whole pedestrian/driver contract way too far. But it made me think: when I cross the street, maybe I can initiate those moments with drivers. A smile. A cheerful, thankful wave. Why is that too much to ask from myself? Yes, legally they should stop. But that doesn't prevent me from really thanking them for their courtesy. His wave and smile were just so awesome. He made my day and won't ever know it.

There. I took a seven second exchange and made it into 400 words. I can tell I'm doing the final pretty-word-pass of the current manuscript, reading it on my Kindle, because I'm craving the actual writing.

(If you haven't had enough of me, I'm also up at the PensFatales today, talking about leftovers.)

(Also, it's 9:26am, and there's a full on first coffee date happening in front of me. It's cute, but if that nice boy doesn't stop talking about nothing but himself, the pretty girl isn't going to call him back, I'm just saying. Friendly tip.)

Updates and SwingsNovember 28, 2011

Good morning! For you US people, happy day-back-to-work-after-a-holiday day. I know it's Cyber Monday, but let's not talk about that. (Oh, actually. Let's talk about that just for a minute. I've gotten really used to doing all my holiday shopping on Amazon -- it's seriously easy for a shift worker who hates stores at the best time of year, which this is not. But do you know what else is easy? Taking that shopping list out of Amazon and plopping it into an email to my local independent bookstore, Laurel Bookstore, and having them order everything for me. Yes, it's more money. Amazon gives such a deep discount on everything it's hard to argue with them. And I love my Kindle. But I'm going to argue with them about this. This year, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and keeping my cash local. This feels good and right.)

Down from the soapbox! Over to the Update Corner!

1. I've been writing a lot. I'm just about done with the book I've been working on, and I'm about to start another. This is, perhaps, my favorite part of writing, that point where the current work is almost as good as I can get it on my own, and the point where I'm dreaming about the plot of the next one, poking at it when I think I can get away with it (my conscious brain says, No! Don't plot while you're still finishing this one! but my unconscious says Add ponies to the next book! And explosions!).

2. I've been knitting, yes, but nothing very interesting. More important, I've been SPINNING. I'm spinning up a gorgeous 3-ply DK weight yarn in the most lovely natural gray Polwarth that I bought at SOAR about five years ago from a Canadian vendor who now appears closed (Rovings, anyone? Their website doesn't work anymore). I have 900 grams of it. SO MUCH GORGEOUS FIBER. I know the sweater I'll make from it will be cabled, but beyond that, I'm letting the ideas percolate.

3. Um, that might be it. The house is mostly clean. The animals are mostly fine (Digit is still an ass). I'm getting better at sleeping in when I can, and I'm practicing as much as I can. I'm still a Very Bad Relaxer, but I think I was born this way, I'm sorry.

4. I got to swing on a swing the other day (an unexpected swing! Found while walking the dogs on a hill just above our house!).

Unexpected swings might be my new favorite thing.

How to Revise Your NovelNovember 21, 2011

(My workshop notes on my method for revising novels, placed here so I can find them again later. Perhaps they'll help you!)

First, FINISH THE NOVEL. This is your most important duty. Just finish. No excuses.

“You can fix a bad page; you can’t fix a blank one.” – Nora Roberts

Then, dance around for a while! You’re done! Put it away and read a good book or two. Come back later.

REVISION (aka The Fun Stuff)

1. Acceptance: everything might change, and that’s okay. Keep an open mind.

2. Triage: assessing what needs the most work.

Find your theme (distill your book into 1-4 words. Love heals. The inevitability of loss. Family is chosen.) Print this out—attach it to your computer or somewhere you can see it often.

3. Write your one-sentence elevator pitch.

4. Write your one-paragraph book jacket blurb.

5. Print out and reread your book. (Paper is better for this than reading on computer.)

For every scene, write one sentence about what happens. (Anna arrives home, sees Paul.)

Now is not the time for line-edits—you will make those changes later. If you must, circle things that are wrong, but move through.

For every thought you have about plot/character/setting that must be fixed, make a Post-it note.

6. Mark up the sentence outline with your fix ideas. Ask yourself The Big Questions (see below). Make generous use of the Post-its method (see below).

7. Open the file. 

8. “Save As” FilenameCUTS

9. Go back to original; start at first scene.

Ask yourself: Is this scene necessary? Does it do more than one thing (does it advance both plot and character development)? Start late, get out early.

If it is not exactly what you want, CUT it and place in Cuts file. Take what you want to save and move it back to working document, moving forward, sentence by sentence.

Pro-tip #1: At the end of every day, save your document as its name + date (ex: SundayMorning070511) so that you have copies of every day, in case you ever do want to revert or need to save something you cut (you won’t, but it helps a writer sleep better).

Pro-tip #2: Every day, when you sit down to work, read over all your Post-its to keep the questions/problems fresh in your mind.

10. Move forward. Ask the same difficult questions of each scene. Is there motion in both internal and external conflict? Are characters growing/changing while acting in a believable manner? Put anything that doesn’t work into the Cuts file and start again.

11. Juggle scenes as you come to them. Do not jump ahead. When you have great ideas about scenes to come, use the Post-it method. (It’s possible that when you get there, this idea won’t be right—don’t waste precious time writing it now.)

12. Remember that the beginning is the slowest. While you’re not jumping ahead to fix things, you are going backwards as you go, fixing things you’ve already worked on. But you are merely narrowing your egress. Your revision speed will pick up as you go, until by the end of the book, you’ll be flying.

13. On the last pass, concentrate on line edits. This is when you make sentences beautiful, now that you know you’re keeping them.

14. The final touches: Put the book into another form (print on paper in a new font, or put it on your Kindle). Read it aloud. Make the little changes. Check POV, grammar, spelling, repetitive words, continuity.

15. Kick it out. Send to your agent, your editor, or start writing that kick-ass query letter. Celebrate. Then start something new.

 

RACHAEL’S POST-IT METHOD

Buy a ton of the small Post-its (you’ll want to keep them close and handy, thus the small kind).

For every problem, big or small, write a Post-it. These can range from character problems (Make Nolan more alpha) to plot issues (Add scene with Ollie freaking out).

Attach these to an 81/2x11 piece of paper or into the pages of your notebook, anywhere where you can see them often.

Reread them every single time you sit to work on your novel. Add/move/subtract frequently.

Remember: Big fix-its can fit on small Post-its.

 

 

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Using your sentence outline, analyze the plot. Look for holes. Can you clearly identify the inciting incident? The turning points? The black moment? The resolution?

Do internal and external conflicts, goals, and motivations intersect and collide? Are they definable? (If not, consider defining them, so you as the author know exactly what they are.)

Are your characters believable? Individual? Are their goals/motivations/conflicts compelling enough to make the reader keep turning pages?

Are the main characters directly involved in creating/fixing/changing their internal and external plot conflicts?

Can you set your story anywhere else? If you can, make the setting mesh more cohesively with the characters, to make it matter.

Falling SlowlyNovember 18, 2011

I just lost my mind and spent two hours recording "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova on the ukulele and accordion. Wanna hear it? It's such a great song that it's hard to completely butcher it (although I gave it my best shot). Play it here, or right-clicking on it should allow you to save and open it in iTunes.

FallingSlowly

I am reminded that I don't mind making a semi-fool of myself in public (a total fool -- yes, I hate that. But I'm not shy about certain things, like having a great time making music as well as I can, all by myself).

For those who'd like the ukulele chords, they're C, F, Am, and G. Super simple.

(Also, if you haven't seen the movie "Once" from which this song is taken, you totally should.)

 

GraffNovember 13, 2011

I'm passionate about street art, especially that done by women. Oakland is a prime place for this kind of beautification, and I've meant for a long time to find a large mural done by women graffiti artists earlier this year. We found it today, and it's even more awesome than I'd imagined. Done by seventeen female artists from all over the country, it took three days to complete.

Isn't it incredible? It's down off Mandela Parkway, at about 22nd or so. More pictures at Flickr, and this is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of it from one of the artists, TooFly from New York.

Knit-InNovember 10, 2011

We had an amazing time knitting-in at Occupy Oakland the other day.

Kristine and Adrienne the Verb-ers came, bringing Cookie A and Ysolda.

Hi Kristine! Hi Cookie!

Also in attendance were Janine, Maia, and another woman who'd heard about us on Twitter (not sure she wanted her name used). And Alicia and Julianne (new knitters, both! Yay!) came with Margie (a long-time knitter). 

The best part? The new knitters we attracted. I love these photos.

This guy was working SO HARD at his new talent, and his face was nothing but delight as he realized he got to keep the needles and yarn.

And this is Alex and Janine (did he realize he had the best teacher in the world?). He came from Occupy Amsterdam after he heard what happened in Oakland last week. He was completely lovely and a total knitting natural.

Afterward, I took the hat I'd made out into the camp to find someone to give it to. It felt odd to do it that way, but it's what the supply tent had recommended we do. So I peered into people's lives from outside the tent-flap. I heard a couple of people arguing. Many were talking seriously and intelligently. A lot of people were laughing. I found this guy (another Alex) standing chatting with some women under a high pitched tarp. "Anyone here need a hat for nighttime?"

"Me!" he said. "Me!"

He loved it. He was a great hugger. And I love this photo:

Next time: we'll fry people's minds with spinning. Oh, yeah. I can't wait. (Thinking possibly of Friday the 18th for this, if the camp is still open and barring bad weather. Can you come?)

(It's going well, by the way. The conversation is really, really starting, and things like chat on this blog and out in the streets is exactly what we need. After the Oakland General Strike the other day, we were spending our dollars locally in our favorite Oakland bar, Baggy's. We were approached by a rather rough looking guy from the valley. He was union and had been sent to Oakland with his coworkers for the strike, but he had no idea what was going on or why we had participated. For THIS, we said. For this moment that a guy in a bar who wouldn't normally talk to our group approaches us (two of the three of my group were union, he was surprised to find out) to talk about how we, together, can make things better. How we can switch to credit unions. How we can keep our dollars local, pay in cash, insist on patronizing businesses who keep their business local. It was an extremely moving moment, and we had a connection. Just like I had that connection with both Alexes (Alexi?). Just like we have our connection here. Again, all polite comments welcomed! Thanks for being awesome.)

*Edited on 11-11 to add: I hope for the best for the camp. The shooting yesterday may make it harder for it to continue, but there is conversation now, at least. I'm proud of my city.

*Edited again at 0215hrs: they're saying the man killed was named Alex.

The Photo FallacyNovember 8, 2011

There are so many similarities between novel writing and knitting, and I've remarked on them before, but these things bear repeating:

1. Work done every day, even a few lines or a few stitches, adds up into books and sweaters.

2. Sometimes when you finish something, it's a piece of crap. That's when the tricky work comes: figuring whether it's salvageable and then working out HOW to do that.

I *almost* finished my Levenwick sweater last night. This is what it should look like:

(I just realized I fell for the photo fallacy again. This sweater, even if made right, would not suit me. And I'm just noticing that now. I just wanted to BE her. Grrr.)

I'm not going to show you what it DOES look like, not until I decide what to do with it. The arm scyes are way too deep -- apparently I was just knitting along and didn't notice that at all. The reverse stockinette rolls and flips in all the wrong places. The lace doesn't hold up, and I'm not sure blocking will help at all. I was SO FRUSTRATED and upset last night when I tried it on -- it's been a while since a sweater defeated me, and that's what this feels like happened.

I still have to knit the hem (which calls for applied i-cord -- HA! As if I would waste my time). I think what I'll do is slap-bang on a quick hem of some sort and weave the ends in loosely, and then wash the damn thing and block it. (Oh, how I resent the time I'll have to put in doing this.)

But I think, even when I do this: It's been a grand waste of time. I'll have to decide what to do with it. I won't frog it -- the idea of doing that gives me hives. It's nice, inexpensive yarn, nothing worth working hard to save. Maybe I'll donate it to someone at Occupy Oakland. (Hey! Knit-in tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1pm in the plaza, you're welcome to come -- knit something warm to give away.)

Now, when it comes to writing, I'm used to editing. It's my favorite part, actually. I love moving and deleting big blocks of words around and reworking them. In my current work-in-progress, I have 100,ooo words, with 50,000 unused words in the trash bin.That tells me I'm getting close.

But knitting? Anytime it doesn't come out exactly the way I want the first time, it feels like I've only been wasting my time. I don't quite understand why my brain feels like this, but it has something to do with TIME. I don't have enough time in this life to knit all the sweaters I want to knit, just like I'll never read every book that's on my list. It frustrates me to waste time reading crappy books or knitting sweaters that don't suit. I don't keep reading bad books to see if they get better, and if I'm not totally in love with a pattern, it doesn't do to reknit it.

I'd rather sit on the couch and figure out the math for my accordion sweater. At least if I screw that up, I can only blame myself. Also, it's FUN to do that kind of math.

New Goal! November 6, 2011

But first: new shawl.

This is the Lacy Baktus, and I made it in Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted Long Print LP (sexy name, right? Rolls right off the tongue) in Apple Prchid. Yes, that's the what the label says. That can't be Apple Orchid, since that doesn't make any sense. They mean Apple Orchard, don't they? Because that's the color I see in this.

It's fun. I haven't blocked it -- probably never will. It doesn't seem to need it.(And it was FAST! Not more than a couple of weeks of not much knitting.)

It even (and I didn't expect this, it being lacy and all) looked good on Lala.

I went out to lunch with Clara Parkes while wearing it, and she took this photo:

(Hang on! Did you see that thing I just dropped? Wait, let me get it; it was a name.... But I know. Clara Parkes! She's a peach. I mean a Prchea. And she wrote the lovely, lovely foreword for A Life in Stitches, and I'm lucky.)

NEW KNITTING GOAL

You know those old Mary Maxim patterns? Like this beauty?

And Hoedown, now out of print:

I WANT A MARY MAXIM-LIKE ACCORDION SWEATER. Can't you just see it? Musical notes, like Lala's, on the front. An image of my accordion on the back. Oh, be still my nerdy little heart. Easy to chart, right? Something like this (thanks to this fine program):

Except it would be in BLUE. Ahhh.

I have two sweaters and a scarf to finish before I can start this, but it's kind of all I can think about. Obsession. I haz it.

Occupy OaklandOctober 31, 2011

You already know I love my town. But I hella heart Oakland even harder this week.

It's not a movement for "hippies," although hippies are proudly involved. It's not a movement by slackers or the homeless (although the Occupy Wall Street camps are becoming known for medically treating and feeding those who need it).

This is important. It is about YOU.

I'm going to tell you what I'm planning on doing, right after I share what Thomas Friedman said in the New York Times yesterday.

Citigroup had to pay a $285 million fine to settle a case in which, with one hand, Citibank sold a package of toxic mortgage-backed securities to unsuspecting customers — securities that it knew were likely to go bust — and, with the other hand, shorted the same securities — that is, bet millions of dollars that they would go bust. [emphasis mine]

This is just one news story in a long list of wrongdoings that need to be addressed, solved, and changed. This is immoral. And wrong. And worth thinking about.

If you need a quick one-minute explanation of what this is all about, watch this. (Also, it's funny.)

 

I've been a union member for more years than I haven't been in my professional life, and I believe in the way they work. (Sometimes they don't work, but that's for another day and a different discussion.) So far, the SEIU, ILWU, Carpenters, Longshore, and AFSCME unions are supporting the General Strike. The Teamsters are providing food for the day. The Oakland Education association is endorsing the strike. The Oakland Teacher's Union has unanimously endorsed it.

So this Wednesday, for the General Strike, this is how I'm protesting: I'm going to Patelco, a local credit union, and I'm opening a joint household account with Lala, and a business account for myself. Then we'll go to Bank of America and have them wire all our funds to our new accounts. Then we'll go to Wells Fargo and do the same. 

I'd been loath to do this for a long time. Why? Because I was the slacker. I've been with Bank of America for more than fifteen years. All my bills are paid with a few clicks. It was too much hassle, I always said. I'd have to spend time setting up the bill pay at a new bank. We'd have to change our direct deposits. We'd have to change every auto-payment we have online. Moan, groan, grumble, moan.

Then I realized this: credit unions are locally owned, non-profit co-ops.

It was as if the light bulb blinked on. Who do I want to support with my really hard-earned dollars? Wall Street? Or my local non-profit? It'll be a couple of hours of hassle. Big deal. And it will actually affect the outcome of all of this. (There's a good article here on a credit-union convert.)

(I have to admit, there's a small part of me that's concerned that I'll lose readers because I'm posting this. Not YOU, darling. Of course not you. But what about the people who have just read one of my books? The ones who pop by to see what I'm all about? And they find this? Clicking the Publish button is something that is difficult for me. It's a fear I have trouble letting go of. And I suppose it just comes down to this: I'm letting go of it. Right now. It's okay if the 1% don't like me. This is more important.)

The Best Article I've Read So Far

If you read one thing, read this. This is why the author Lili Loofbourow didn't buy into all of this uproar at first but eventually she "Got Off My Computer and Onto The Street At Occupy Oakland." She says (God, I could have written every one of these bullet points):

• I do not believe the police are evil.
• I do not believe in utopian societies.
• I distrust extremists of whatever stripe.
• I believe inflammatory rhetoric shuts down rational thought.
• I was (and remain) afraid of nighttime Oakland—the desperate Oakland that Occupy Oakland insisted on caring for and actually living with.
• I am lazy, prone to migraines, and unwilling to be cold, wet, uncomfortable and in constant danger of arrest.

In short, I'm a moderate: small, fearful, skeptical, selfish, with privilege aplenty...I have an iPhone, for heaven's sake. I am, moreover, a liberal with a lifelong habit of opting out of the political conversation—and out of most kinds of activism—because I find its language dishonest, combative and unjust.

But she changed her mind. The rest of her article, and what she found, is here. It's beautiful.

Follow the Occupy movement on Twitter by using the hashtag #ows for Occupy Wall Street or #occupyoakland for OccupyOakland. It moves fast; it's the best place to keep up.

Do not confuse the complexity of the issue with chaos.

Occupy.

(PS - Any kneejerk or rude comments will be deleted (and I'll make an extra donation to Occupy Wall Street in your honor). My blog, my rules. All kind, polite opinions of any variety, however, are welcomed and appreciated!)

Project 333 updateOctober 28, 2011

I'm into joining things. You might already know that (let's do a marathon after never having run a mile! Let's write a novel in November!). But then I'm into modifying the rules as I see fit (if possible -- it's quite easy to modify NaNo to suit a person, less easy to run a marathon with anything but 26.2 miles).

Project 333 is just up my alley, and easily (too easily?) modified. The goal is simple: for three months, wear only 33 items. That includes shoes, jewelry and accessories (excludes jewelry you never take off, underwear, inhome loungewear, and workout clothes used solely for workouts).

I was drowning in clothes I didn't like. I'm not a big shopper and rarely buy new clothes, but I love a good thrift store run. I can come home with bags of things that, because I didn't try them on, end up fitting badly or not at all. And thrift stores also inspire in me that surety that I can become a new person (like a person who wears overalls! Usually a bad idea!). I'm much more critical when it comes to new clothes, which are usually restricted to jeans, undies, and dresses. If I'm paying $25 for one item? It had better look good. (Yes, I'm cheap, except for certain weaknesses. Fluevogs, I'm looking at you.)

So I had a closet full of bad ideas. I was ready for 333.

I separated my clothes (and shoes) into piles:

1. Junk - 2 trash bags. It was astonishing, really, the amount of clothing I had that needed to be thrown away. Jeans ripped through the crotch. Old tee-shirts with so many holes at the belly-button that the breeze blew through. Broken flip flops. Why was I saving these? Just in case? In case of what? (And yes, I know I could have recycled these items, cut them up for rags or repurposed them somehow. I didn't, though. I barely carved out time for this project -- I had to remain realistic.)

2. Donate - 9 trash bags. This was the bulk of my clothing. If I didn't love it (and I mean LOVE it -- I had to be convinced I would practically die if I got rid of it), even if it still fit and was in good repair, I put it in the donate pile. (My sister Bethany came over that night and made out like a BANDIT, which was nice, since she just got a swank new job and needed new clothes anyway.)

3. Love - large stack. I didn't presort them into the 33 pile, I just piled the love (and treasured sentimental) items.

Then, once the majority of the bags were in the hallway, I started going through the Love items, trying to cull them down to 33. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT WAS? I had no idea it would be so hard, and I immediately started cheating. Using my cheats, I finally got the items to 33. You see that pink bin up there? It's larger than it looks in the photo. Everything that I loved that didn't make the 33 cut went in that bin and got stored in the top of my closet. In January, I'll donate what I haven't worn in my 33 pile (I'll bet there will be something) and then open the bin and decide if I want to cycle things in/out.

Oh, you want to know my cheats? Okay.

Rachael's Cheats:

Handknits - no WAY do those count, but it's true these are more frequently culled than anything else I own.

Uniform - This felt more like the allowed workout clothing of the project. I have to wear it one place, and one place only.

Jewelry - I don't have much, and it's all costume, but I'm trying to remember to wear it more. I did go through and get rid of a lot of it, everything I didn't love.

Belts - I only have four, but... okay, I have no excuse. I just don't count them.

Bags - I've gone down to carrying only two bags -- a large green shoulder bag when I'm working or writing (the laptop fits in it) and my poppy Queen Bee purse when I need something smaller.

Handmade things made AFTER the project began - The night after I did the culling, I needed to make a skirt from a Hawaiian shirt for my dad's wedding, so I'm enjoying that as a freebie.

Also, from all my wild thrift store purchases, I couldn't quite get rid of this.

Can't you just FEEL the velvety, shiny nap of that astonishingly ugly shirt? Yes, it's actually shiny in real life. It's amazing, right? I actually put the shirt in the bag to donate, thinking I'd never get around to repurposing it, but Bethany made me keep it (the only thing she made me keep) and she was right. It made the cutest skirt.

So this, shown below, is just about what I'm left with. (Two pair of jeans -- that fit -- are to the right of the folded skirts.)

For the extra curious (I always am), a list of everything I kept for the 33 is below in my own cryptic clothing shorthand.

Overall Findings So Far:

I am SO happy with this challenge. It's so enjoyable to go to the closet and love everything in it, to feel good in everything. Everything fits. Everything flatters. And I've been finding this surprising thing: I'm out of my perpetual day-off uniform -- sweatpants and torn tee-shirt. I still own those sweats and a few of the non-holey tees (inhome lounge wear! Honest!) but instead of wearing them around the house, I'm wearing real clothes. When I decide to run to the grocery store, I just grab my wallet and keys, instead of looking down at myself and saying, "Dang. Can't go out like this."

My mother trained me well: when you get home, change into play clothes so you don't ruin the good clothes. I'm 39 and have done this my whole life. But where did that leave me? With a bunch of nice clothes I didn't like and a lot of tee shirts with holes in them.

I should wear what I like, even if the items get covered with pet hair. And eventually (this is hard for me to admit, truly), the things I like will wear out and I will have to buy new things. And that's okay. That's just fine. That's what happens.

So yay. Thumbs up. I'll keep you posted.

List:

Shoes	Red cowboy boots
	Red Danskos
	Fluevog pumps
	Ruffle black heels
	Low Aerosole black mary jane
Tops	Gray scoop short sleeve cowl
	Purpe scoop short sleeve cowl
	Blue scoop short sleeve cowl
	Red Vee Ruched thin tee shirt
	Slouchy black thin blouse
	B/W thin pattern tee
	Polka dot b/w tank
	Ruffle black tank
Blouses	Plaid
	Safari blouse
	Grn/whi polka dot blouse
	Blue denim ruffle blouse
Skirts	Martini skirt
	Eddie Bauer plaid gray skirt
	Green/gray polkadot skirt
	simple black skirt
Hoody	Lexington
Pants	Jeans blue
	Jeans black
Overwear	Black thin shrug acrylic
	Gray sweater vest
	Black slouchy thing
	Grn plaid wool jacket
Dresses	Navy blue fancy
	Black dress
	Red/black dress
	JLo black dress
	b/w slouchy dress
Not Included:	Handknits
	Jewelry
	Underwear, belts
	Tanks, tees used in working out
	Sweatpants (lounge)
	Uniform
Made things	Hawaiian skirt
	skirt/cape - remake into skirt
	gold skirt

WinnersOctober 24, 2011

The randomly-drawn winners of Lisa's book (alerted via email) are: Connie, Helen, MaddyG, Cheryl, and RoseK. Huzzah! Thank you for commenting!

Me: Had a great time at Dad and Lola's wedding. She did all the catering and it was THE BEST FOOD I've ever had at a wedding. It was real, island food, and I'm still dying over the memory of that pork. And that lau-lau. Oh, lordy.

I haven't gotten permission yet to post photos of people, so please just believe me when I say that everyone was gorgeous in their Hawaiian garb, and the (cup)cake was amazing:

And Bethany gave me permission to post a couple of her pictures:

I look a wee bit confused, don't I? That's because I was! But so fun, it is SO much fun to play that thing. All in all, an awesome, happy time, and our biggest congrats to the new couple!

WhirlwindOctober 21, 2011

Whew! That was soooo fun! My little book tour is over, and I had the best time last night at Bookshop West Portal. PEOPLE CAME! Lovely, fun, wonderful people, and I soon as I saw that they were there, instead of relaxing, I got even MORE nervous, because wouldn't you want to impress a crowd like this?

My sister Bethany is making a face, so it's her own fault it gets posted like this--this cracked me UP. (Also, the Herrons, especially sister C, are MASTERS of the crazy-photo face).

I was beyond excited. Bookshop West Portal is where I gave my first reading, and it remains my favorite, because it always becomes a party. I bring wine and cookies, people nosh and gab and hang out and hug and I LOVE IT. It would do to remember this when I spend a whole afternoon sick with dread that no one will come.

(Apropos of nothing, if you find it hard to read the font on this new page, don't forget for all webpages you can hit Ctrl+ to make the font bigger, or on a Mac, Command+.)

So this: I hope you will read either/both of my new books. I will stop pushing them now, because really, I'm more comfortable pushing other books, and LOOK! Here's one now!

LISA BOGART

She has a new book out, Knit With Love, and she's DARLING, with the biggest grin you've ever seen. I got the chance to ask her a few questions about her book.

1. Out of everything you've ever knitted, what's your favorite, and why? (I know it's like asking a reader what her favorite book is, but give it a shot.)
    Gee, you start with the tough questions. This is going to take some thought. (Insert dramatic pause.) Okay. I’ve got it.
    When I was pregnant with my son I went through a nesting fit like most moms do. At the time I worked in a little needlework shop that featured needlepoint and knitting. There was a great knit group meeting on Tuesday mornings but I never joined in, I was a needlepointer then. I had stitched my baby-to-be a lovely needlepoint sampler and was just waiting for the name and date to finish it. But what I really wanted was something I could actually use when the baby was born. Barbara came to my rescue.
    Barbara was the knit guru of the Tuesday morning group. She insisted that I could knit a sweater for my baby. I hadn’t knit in years, in fact I had to be reminded how to cast on. But Barbara helped me pick out a pattern for a tiny cardigan. Then she patiently helped me with each phase of the sweater. I was so surprised as the little sweater grew on my needles. The how-to of knitting was still within me. It was exciting to have this skill reborn just as my son was about to be born.
    I finished the tiny cardigan. It’s (one of) my favorite knitted objects. I look at it and remember how scared I was to change colors, to set in the sleeves, and to make the buttonholes. I still marvel that it turned out so well. (It took me years before I knit myself an adult size sweater.) I love his little sweater. It reminds me of how knitting returned to my life, of my friend Barbara and of when my son was tiny. It also reminds me to be brave in my knitting, to take on a challenge.

2. What gave you the idea for your collection of essays?
    I had read Betty Christiansen’s book Knitting for Peace and I was fascinated by all stories behind different knitting charities. I started out looking for local stories like that. What I found were a lot of knitters very passionate about their craft. Not everyone knits for charity but it seems that every knitter has a big heart and is willing to share her time and wool with the world in some way. The stories that emerged were a collection of knitters caring for each other in so many many ways. It’s my hope that these tales will help knitters celebrate their joy in the craft as well as inspire them to share their labors with others, in whatever form that takes. And some of the stories were just too fun not to pass on.

3. What's your favorite kind of fiber?
    I like the fiber of the moment. I am more frequently drawn to the color of yarn than the fiber content. I love Pagewood Farms Denali, a cashmere sock yarn. Decadent. But this summer I knit a sweater and a skirt from cotton and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Cotton has this reputation for being difficult, stretching out and not having any give. And while those things can be true I had success knitting with it. My fiber of the moment right now is alpaca. I’m making an afghan for my son. He’s a freshman at Boston University and my California boy needs some warmth. I’m using Drops Alpaca in 15 different colors, my idea of fiber color bliss.

4. How long have you been writing?
    I’m one of those girls who wrote angst filled poetry as a teen. I kept journals and poured out every minute thought on the page. But just as my knitting was reborn with my son, so was my writing.
We lived a time zone away from family when my son was born. And I longed for the grandmas, aunts and uncles to see him grow up, but geography was keeping us apart. So I started writing down all the little things that were going on in our world. I documented his first steps. I wrote about his adorable adventures in the park. I told them all the silly things that happened. This was in the days before we were all connected online so I actually sent letters to all my relatives. The first seven years of my son’s life are chronicled in detail. (He’ll die someday when I show a girlfriend or fiancée. teehee.)

Giveaway:

In exciting news, Lisa's publisher has let me have FIVE of these books to give away, so leave a comment to enter.

(And now I'm off to my dad's luau wedding. Looking forward to the festivities! Aloha!)

The Final Reading! October 18, 2011

And the first!

This is the final stop on my little book tour, but it's the actual official first reading for Wishes & Stitches. I love Bookshop West Portal, and they've been so kind to me, and I'd love you to come on Thursday night at 7pm if you're local. I'll bring wine and a gift or two to give away.

Bookshop West Portal
80 West Portal, San Francisco, CA
October 20th, 7pm

Then I'll be done telling you how nervous I get about these things and how I have dreams that I will show up with various important parts of my clothing missing and/or in disarray. (I've dreamed I've showed up in an ACRYLIC STOREBOUGHT SWEATER. Can you imagine? I'll give every person who attends ten dollars if that ever happens. I swear.)

Project 333October 13, 2011

Project 333: I'm thinking about doing it. I know people who have (I'm looking at you, PoMoGolightly), and have loved it.

It goes like this: You clean out your closet, trashing the trashed clothes, donating the ones that don't fit you or your style, keeping only the things that you LOVE. From those, you winnow them down into 33 things (including shoes, purse, jewelry) to wear for the next three months. Three months later, you can reevaluate, going through your LOVE box, pulling out, tossing, putting away.

In this, I wouldn't (couldn't) include my uniform clothes, and you also don't include things like underwear, sleepwear, workout clothes. As a Knitter, I will aslo exclude knitted items that I have no intention of getting rid of, which will open it up a bit. (I make the rules! Yes, I do!) What you're looking at is your everyday wardrobe. Wouldn't it be freeing to have limited choices, all of which you love? My closet is impossibly small (I mean TINY) and I'm constantly irritated by how much I have to fight to keep the clothes corralled.

Oooh, I like this article on Living in the Land of Enough - Space.

This could be interesting. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'm off to the store to buy jeans that fit, because I've been complaining about my one pair of jeans for EONS (they're too big, have always been too big, and I hate wearing them, but wear them I do). 

Also: Just got a very nice review in the New York Journal of Books -  "Wishes and Stitches delivers a heroine with enough issues to be convincingly difficult to love, a hero who’s immensely likeable, several steamy love scenes, and a comfortably familiar small town setting. All in all, a pleasant read for a fall afternoon."

I like that the reviewer found Naomi difficult to love. That was the trickiest part of writing her, and this is my prediction: extroverted people (Jasmin!) will find her difficult to understand and shy people (Gigi!) will empathize with her problems. Tell me what you think!

Wishes & StitchesOctober 11, 2011

It's here!

It's my new book! The third novel in the Cypress Hollow Yarn series!

And honestly, as I just admitted in my newsletter (go HERE to sign up in case you're not on the list), I love it best of all my novels (I know I'm not supposed to admit that, but I can't help it. It's just true). It's about what happens when a misunderstood shy doctor (Naomi) meets a guy with true bedside manner (Rig).

You'll get to see Cade and Abigail again, as well as Lucy and Owen. Eliza has a few words of wisdom, and I'm happy to say Toots walks through again, too.

But if you haven't read the previous two books, this is a great spot from which to jump into Cypress Hollow. I hope you enjoy it -- I sure loved writing it.

I miss it. I miss all my books when I'm done, but I really miss this one.

Available at your favorite indie bookseller and here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Powells
Indiebound

There's a little excerpt over here, too, iffen you're interested. Enjoy. And let me know what you think.

*  Edited to add: The audiobook of Wishes & Stitches is out today, too! Yay! Link here.

 
Larch Knitalong!

 Also, in fun news, we're doing a Larch cardie knitalong, courtesy of the lovely KnittedWit -- here's a Ravelry link to the pattern, and here is where her gorgeous yarn is (click on the size, and then there are pictures of the different colors, or more color pics here -- I'm doing mine in Naomi green). Ravely group here.

This Sunday! October 6, 2011

You know what I love about Books, Inc. in Alameda?

1. It's in Alameda, a city I worked in/for a LOT of years.I know all the streets. I know many stories of many things that have happened there and can drive around and recite facts that are interesting to probably no one but me.

2. It's big and bright and carries really good books.

3. The very, very, very first time I ever saw my first book in a Real Live Bookstore, it was there. The PensFatales and I had gone out book hunting and I never actually thought there would be a copy there, but there it was! Really, truly on the shelf!

4. I'll be reading and signing there this Sunday! I promise to be funny. Or at least funny-looking. Please come if you can -- 6pm. (PSSST - I'll have one or two ARCs of the next book, Wishes & Stitches, which, if you won one, you could read two days early!)

We Are Doing It AgainOctober 5, 2011

My sister Bethany and I are committing to the insanity that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). We're going to write another novel in the moth of November. We'll head full tilt down that crazy hill and not stop till we get to the bottom, even if we trip and fall and roll the last few feet.

The best thing about NaNo? You write a novel in a month. 1667 words a day, that's all! (Usually I like to write 2k/day so I have a little cushion on the days I cannot get it together. This year I'll try to write 4k/day because I'm completely insane.)

The worst thing about NaNo? You write a novel in a month. All the words in your head come out your fingertips and hit the keyboard, and you know what's left over for talking to other people? Nothing. Your wife says, "What do you want for dinner?" and you say, "Are you tapas bar? Cry on leftist bank of saints and inchworms! Jessh!"

It can be (well) argued that 50,000 words does not an entire novel make. That's true. Most YA novels are bigger than that nowadays. You know what I say to that argument? Write the WHOLE book then! (Watch the arguer backpedal: No, no, 50,000 is a lot of words, I'll be fine with that....) Me, I'm going to try to write a whole book. All 100,000 words. Stop it. I am. (Eeek!)

Um. I suppose I should come up with a plot. Soon. (You can preplan, but not prewrite.) Sigh. Can I borrow one from somebody? (I'm just kidding. YOU write your story! Do it! Do it! I wanna hear about THAT!)

So I'm committing to raising money for the Night of Writing Dangerously, NaNoWriMo's fundraiser for their Young Writers Program (more than 2000 classrooms will be writing along in November for NaNo!). Usually it's Bethany's pledge page and then she lets me tag along, but this year, I beat her to the punch! But she'll be my guest if we raise $350.

Bethany and I both want to say this, humbly:

Dear Fairy Godmother, We know the economy is hard and even though you've sent us to this for the last few years, you do NOT HAVE TO send us again. Really. We love you, no matter what!

Everyone else, We know the economy is hard and even $5 makes a difference to this program. It's something we really, really, really believe in. Words are magic, and they are giving the gift of the belief in words to kids. That's amazing.

CLICK ON CHRIS BATY TO DONATE --->

*Edited to add:
CARTWHEELS. She did it again. Writes our darling FG: Dear Rachael and Bethany, It wouldn't be Nanowrimo if I didn't know you were at the Night of Writing Dangerously. Have a great time! Your Fairy Godmother

We are so happy and so grateful. We will make you proud.

Welcome to the New Digs! October 3, 2011

Hiya! What do you think? I'm just settling in, unpacking the furniture and hanging the pictures. Darling Carrieoke did this on top of my old, kludged [Technical Term] site. I'm really pleased with the Books page.

What's doing over here: I've been sitting at the dining room table for hours, working on entering line edits (taking a first draft from embarrassing to readable). The first rain of the season has started, and I've been so happy, eating my seaweed snacks (addicted!), listening to it come down outside. An hour ago, I poured myself a glass of wine.

I've just realized that I'm exhausted (perhaps the wine helped me realize this?). I'm going to go lie on the couch with a book and do nothing but read. Oh, and I'll see how many animals I can get on the couch with me*. A coup is six. Almost unheard of is seven (since Clara takes her jobs very seriously, and sitting with us on the couch is NOT one of them). I made her get up once, and all nine of us were on the couch for just one brief second, long enough to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Aside - did you know that a group of cats is a clowder? I love that. It's right up there with a murder of crows and Lala's new term, a shame of exes.

*Sometimes we really do look around and wonder out loud, "How did this happen to us?" Today I was talking with a coworker who has four kids under the age of five and he says he and his wife say the same thing.

ParTAY!September 27, 2011

We had a party the other day. (Let me say this up front: If we like each other and normally hang out and you weren't invited it is because Evite apparently ate half the invitations. I tried to clean it up via email where I could, but still, people fell through the cracks and I will continue to feel badly about that. But I am moving on. There. Hugs.)

It was by far the best party we've ever thrown (and we've thrown some doozies). It included some of each of my favorite knitters and writers and musicians (and isn't it awesome when someone lands in all three categories?). But that mix is normal for a Chez Hehu party (normal and AWESOME). This is why it was my favorite party:

I gave up hostessing.

In the past, I've always felt that my role as the Party Thrower should be making sure everyone is having fun. I must talk to everyone for at least long enough for them to feel heard but not to the point of neglecting anyone else. I must make sure glasses are filled. I must make sure food continues to come out and be consumed. I must mingle and introduce people (my least-liked task since having to make an introduction stresses me out to the point of forgetting my own name let alone those of the people I'm introducing). I'm a social person, and I like parties. But I vastly like attending parties at other people's houses, so I don't have to be the person who is taking care of everything (or worse, the person who feels like she has to take care of everything but actually doesn't).

So at this last party? I played music.

I got out the accordion early in the evening, and I was still playing it on the back porch close to midnight (luckily, the neighbors were invited and present). We had a clutch of rotating musicians: Lala played the standup bass and the banjo (and the guitar, I think), and Tom kicked ass on the guitar, Rom played a blow-organ (I don't know if I'd ever seen a melodica in action before), Laura played the fiddle, Carol played the uke, and others jumped in and out. Camilla, who brought the KEG of beer (!), rocked OUT on the accordion and I just kind of tried to back her up.

Now, people. A two-accordion party is perhaps one more accordion than any party needs. But I was in love and having a ball. I've never really jammed on the accordion to anything but my iTunes library, so it was a rush (and I don't think I sucked too badly. I wasn't good, no -- but I kept up sometimes with my simple playing).

And I finally got it. I'd kind of felt it with my uke playing, but this cemented it. All those times you've wondered if the musicians have more fun at the party than you do? They do. It was more fun.

It kept my hands busy. It kept my worried-hostess-mind mostly quiet (it still squawked every once in a while -- I should be mingling more! I should put more white wine in the fridge!) and it was just plain damn fun.

I didn't knit much. I didn't talk writing much. But I looked around at my friends and saw them doing the things they loved, and I saw them all talking and laughing with each other, and I was so happy.

ReadingsSeptember 23, 2011

I got some times wrong on the below post! (They are now fixed, but do make a note if you were planning on coming to Berkeley or Alameda. Please come?)

Also added:

Sunday October 16th, Keplers, Menlo Park, 1pm

And in MORE fun news: Have you read this yet?

I haven't read it yet, but I'm going to dig into it tonight. I know it's a special issue from Piece Work, but how many of these have there been? I think I've only seen one other one, but this says Fall 2011. Anyone know? Am I hopelessly out of the loop?

And Digit says he's not too old to hold paws in bed:

Polydactyl paw!

 

The ClaremontSeptember 21, 2011

Hola!

I realize I'd almost forgotten to tell you that I have three more readings scheduled, and I'd love it if you could come. So far they're only in the SF Bay Area (sorry about that!) but I'll let you know if roam farther afield.

Sunday, Oct 2, Mrs. Dalloways, Berkeley, 4pm

Sunday Oct 9 Books Inc., Alameda, 6pm

Thursday Oct 20 Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco, 7pm

Oh, and Lambtown Oct 1st! 2-5 at Piedmont Yarn's booth.

More details here. I would LOVE it if you came. I give nice things away, randomly. You might get lucky!

Speaking of lucky, I'm going out for drinks tonight at the Claremont Hotel with my dad. Now, that whole sentence is so strange to me. Do you know the Claremont?

It's a fancy-schmancy place in the Berkeley Hills. Once I went to a police department party there, and I wouldn't let the guy valet my car. I parked across the street so no one would have to deal with my janky electric windows and locks that only go up/down/lock every second Tuesday at 11:37 am.

Growing up, we stayed at the Motel 6, yo. I remember parking in the far side of the lot. We'd hide with Mom in the car until Dad got the key and then we'd sneak into the room and stay there under his Single price. We camped, sleeping in the VW van. We stayed on friends' floors. I can't remember a single fancy hotel stay in my life.

So to have my dad call and say, "I'm going to be in town. Let's get a drink at the Claremont." Well, that's just weird. That's like saying, "Here, let me pour some Coors into that crystal goblet you're holding." And I am ALL about that. Contradictions. I like them. (Turns out he's at a conference, but I'm still looking forward to seeing how the other half live. Eavesdropping on the rich is a LURVELY thing to do.)

Before I go out there, I'm planning on doing a little shopping (gah, hate shopping) and some writing (yay, love writing). If I'm lucky? A nap. A good day. What are you doing?

HowdySeptember 19, 2011

It's been busy round Chez Hehu these days. I've been doing a bunch of interviews lately (my favorite of which so far is THIS ONE with Lisa Davis of It's Your Health. She is a doll, a total delight, her husband is a writer, and she's my new BFF. I swear I want to go to Boston just to hang out with her).

I've been working long shifts at the day job (which is great! yay new job!), so I'm concentrating on HAVING FUN when I get home. Yesterday I got home around 2pm, and I managed to fit in a nap,  a walk with the dogs at the cemetery, a nephew sighting, a little writing, a delicious dinner with La (she made Indian spiced salmon), and a viewing of Thor. Now that I think about it, maybe THAT'S why I didn't fall in love with the movie. I liked it, but I thought it was super-cheesy, and I can appreciate cheese on a normal day.

Gratuitous picture of Clementine's tongue:

HA! And a new pic of my party dress (Vivien of Holloway, in case you're curious -- I got the crinoline there, too, and it's amazing, floofy but not starched).

Please ignore the dusty mirror. It lives in the hallway and we actually never use it. I had to haul it out and prop it on a chair to get a full-length view of myself.

And now, back to plotting mischief! (Never fear, it's the fictional kind.)