I mentioned in my previous post that I've had some dental issues. Through the worst of it, the only way I felt at all well was to sit still and read. I read often, anyway, but I got in a habit of reading even more.
I've never been much of a SciFi reader, but after reading Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (on the recommendation of Mark), I decided to read the rest of the books in that series. Interesting. I would recommend Ender's Game for anyone who loves scifi, including teens (and more mature tweens), but the other three in the core series are like a whole different series. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed them, especially Speaker for the Dead, which, in my opinion, is a brilliant book. But the rest in the series delve more into philosophy, religion, society, and sciences. The last two in the series weren't as good as Speaker, but I read them anyway.
Then I went on to read the four core books of the Ender's Shadow series. After the first (again a different book than the rest), they deal with the machinations of war, family, redemption, and politics. Again, interesting.
My one big complaint with Card's writing is in characterization. I didn't always understand the actions his characters took. Ender's marriage was totally out of left field. It was hard to see why anyone would fall for the woman. For someone who gave up most of their life to help others, to marry someone who was so self-absorbed, didn't seem right. And the marriage seemed very forced.
And to have a child like Peter grow up to be a great man is almost laughable. He was torturing his siblings and small animals as a child - I can't see him growing up to be a empathic leader. Card tries to explain it, but it didn't float for me.
On the positive side, Card's imagination is staggering. The story lines and ideas he came up with are a wonder. He created interesting worlds and situations and saw them all through to the end.
I've purchased four more books that dovetail into the two series (some are short story collections) so I can finish my trek through the Ender world. I've yet to read them.
When I finished the Ender books, I picked up Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I'd heard about this book, and since it was written during Nanowrimo, it was one I was really interested in reading. Gruen is a master storyteller and a craftsman of believable, moving characters. If you want a masters class in characterization, just pick up this book. You won't be sorry. Amazing read. I'll probably go to see the movie (or wait until I can pick it up on PPV), but I'm not stoked about seeing it. Robert Pattinson plays the lead and I'm not a fan. And then I read how he took the role without ever reading the book and didn't even realize his role was the lead. What the heck? I thought actors did some research/reading before starting a role. Pffffttttt. Just makes me like him less.
I just finished reading A Game of Thrones. Enjoyable. A little hard to get into at first. The POV changes with chapter, but the chapter heading tells whose POV you'll be in, so it wasn't bothersome. I tended to skim through the war scenes. I'll read the rest, I'm sure. In fact, I have the next on order from the library (I'm not buying them - I've bought far too many books lately). I'd love to see how it's handled in the new series on HBO. Having Sean Bean in one of the leads doesn't hurt. When I think of the Lord of the Rings movies, the first thing I always think of is Boromir's death scene - Bean was fantastic. Oh, and if you read this, be wary of rape, murder, incest, and children marrying adults. Wow, that makes it sound pretty bad, doesn't it?
So that's my reading life lately! Are you sleeping yet?
I haven't started a new book yet, and it's driving me crazy! Do I grab an Orson Scott Card, or do I wait for that library book? Maybe I should go check my library account and see if it's in!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Flood: Part II
Oh, I haven't posted in so long. I had some dental problems that caused more than a month of horrible pain and now another month of lighter pain. *sigh*
Anyway, spring flood. Ack! The Black River overflowed its banks again after a couple of days of heavy rain. We live on a corner and at one point, both roads were flooded over. Our section of the road was closed. I had to drive around the barricade to get to work. This is the highest I've ever seen the water here. We still have water in the cellar (and it's raining again).
We usually have a large yard. Not so much last Friday morning.
This is looking down the road at the creek bridge:
And a close-up of the bridge as seen from our yard:
And finally, our visitors after the water receded:
Can we have some sun now, please??
Anyway, spring flood. Ack! The Black River overflowed its banks again after a couple of days of heavy rain. We live on a corner and at one point, both roads were flooded over. Our section of the road was closed. I had to drive around the barricade to get to work. This is the highest I've ever seen the water here. We still have water in the cellar (and it's raining again).
We usually have a large yard. Not so much last Friday morning.
Friday, February 25, 2011
It Was One of Those Days
Hey all!
Yesterday was one of those days. You know the kind I mean: one of those when stupid things happen that you just can't help but laugh at.
One little incident (I call it little, but I'm sure I won't ever live it down - if you know my family, you know what I mean), however, made me grin for reasons other than the actual incident (which really was funny in hindsight). What made me smile was the thought of how only someone living in a very rural area would have an experience like this.
Before I start on the story, here's a little backstory on the area I live in: Lewis County, NY, is in northern NY - much, much closer to Canada than to New York City. We are a county of a little more than 26,000 people. We're outnumbered by bovines: if you count cows, bulls, and calves, there are over 51,000. We even have an oversized, sometimes snazzily dressed cow (Lady LeWinDa MilkZalot).
I work in the county seat, Lowville, which is also the largest village in the county. If I counted right, the village has six stop lights - all on one street. Yes, we're very rural, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So on to my story. In my office, I hang my jacket on a doorknob behind my desk. This doorknob is also in the vicinity of the office paper shredder. Yesterday, as I was shredding some papers, I must have knocked into my jacket. The pretty brown scarf I wear with my jacket found its way into the teeth of the shredder. It only went in a couple of inches before the machine stalled. I turned the shredder off and tugged and pulled, but it wasn't letting go. I finally got smart and reversed the shredder, freeing my scarf. Of course, that also freed lots of bits of scarf that billowed all over.
Looking back on it, it was pretty funny, really. And one of those stupid things that happen.
I picked the little brown fibers off my cream wool coat, left the scarf at the office, and drove to the county hospital where I was scheduled for my yearly mammography. Now this is where being in a rural area comes in. Lewis County General Hospital is the only hospital in the county. Even so, it's not very big, but it is a good institution and I'm grateful we have it. Just after I signed into the diagnostic imaging lab, I heard someone calling my name. My mom was pushing Grandma in a wheelchair, taking her to the cafeteria, and just happened to see me. I told them my tale of scarfy-woe, got a chuckle out of them, and then we went on our seperate ways.
Within fifteen minutes, my test was done so I decided to run down to the cafeteria to say hi and goodbye to Mom and Grandma (Grandma lives at the hospital in the nursing home). On my way down the hall, I run into my sister, Kelly, coming from the cafeteria. She says, "Hey, Aim, where's your scarf?"
Of course, she'd already talked to Mom and Grandma. I walked into the tiny cafeteria, found my people immediately and sat down for a few minutes.
But that's what made me smile. For all of you who've spent time in larger hospitals, you know how impossible it would be to run into all these family members - you'd never see each other, I'm sure. And the cafeteria: in a larger hospital, it probably would have taken me forever to find the ladies, if I even did. Some have multiple large cafeterias - I'd be lost (again, if you know me, you'd not be surprised at my getting lost).
Like I said, I love living in a small area - my chances of running into people I know and love are so much higher. LOL!
Oh, and just before I left the cafeteria, Grandma says, "You have something on your coat, dear."
Yeah, Grandma, I know - it's part of my scarf....
Yesterday was one of those days. You know the kind I mean: one of those when stupid things happen that you just can't help but laugh at.
One little incident (I call it little, but I'm sure I won't ever live it down - if you know my family, you know what I mean), however, made me grin for reasons other than the actual incident (which really was funny in hindsight). What made me smile was the thought of how only someone living in a very rural area would have an experience like this.
Before I start on the story, here's a little backstory on the area I live in: Lewis County, NY, is in northern NY - much, much closer to Canada than to New York City. We are a county of a little more than 26,000 people. We're outnumbered by bovines: if you count cows, bulls, and calves, there are over 51,000. We even have an oversized, sometimes snazzily dressed cow (Lady LeWinDa MilkZalot).
I work in the county seat, Lowville, which is also the largest village in the county. If I counted right, the village has six stop lights - all on one street. Yes, we're very rural, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So on to my story. In my office, I hang my jacket on a doorknob behind my desk. This doorknob is also in the vicinity of the office paper shredder. Yesterday, as I was shredding some papers, I must have knocked into my jacket. The pretty brown scarf I wear with my jacket found its way into the teeth of the shredder. It only went in a couple of inches before the machine stalled. I turned the shredder off and tugged and pulled, but it wasn't letting go. I finally got smart and reversed the shredder, freeing my scarf. Of course, that also freed lots of bits of scarf that billowed all over.
Looking back on it, it was pretty funny, really. And one of those stupid things that happen.
I picked the little brown fibers off my cream wool coat, left the scarf at the office, and drove to the county hospital where I was scheduled for my yearly mammography. Now this is where being in a rural area comes in. Lewis County General Hospital is the only hospital in the county. Even so, it's not very big, but it is a good institution and I'm grateful we have it. Just after I signed into the diagnostic imaging lab, I heard someone calling my name. My mom was pushing Grandma in a wheelchair, taking her to the cafeteria, and just happened to see me. I told them my tale of scarfy-woe, got a chuckle out of them, and then we went on our seperate ways.
Within fifteen minutes, my test was done so I decided to run down to the cafeteria to say hi and goodbye to Mom and Grandma (Grandma lives at the hospital in the nursing home). On my way down the hall, I run into my sister, Kelly, coming from the cafeteria. She says, "Hey, Aim, where's your scarf?"
Of course, she'd already talked to Mom and Grandma. I walked into the tiny cafeteria, found my people immediately and sat down for a few minutes.
But that's what made me smile. For all of you who've spent time in larger hospitals, you know how impossible it would be to run into all these family members - you'd never see each other, I'm sure. And the cafeteria: in a larger hospital, it probably would have taken me forever to find the ladies, if I even did. Some have multiple large cafeterias - I'd be lost (again, if you know me, you'd not be surprised at my getting lost).
Like I said, I love living in a small area - my chances of running into people I know and love are so much higher. LOL!
Oh, and just before I left the cafeteria, Grandma says, "You have something on your coat, dear."
Yeah, Grandma, I know - it's part of my scarf....
Friday, February 18, 2011
Realistic Plot and Characters - Black Creek Crossing by John Saul
What I'm writing: Working on editing In the Shadow of Olympus, plus working on a YA Dystopia short story and doing a major headdesk because I can't come up with a suitable story idea for the last week of Y2K
What I'm reading: Black Creek Crossing by John Saul
What I'm knitting: I'm stalled at the moment.
In an earlier blog I touched on the need for a realistic ending (in regards to the wonderful novel, Ender's Game - which absolutely gave a great ending). In reading Black Creek Crossing by John Saul I'm getting more and more amused by the inconsistencies throughout the whole darn book. I'm about half-way through and I'll finish it because I care enough about the two protagonists to see how their story ends, but I find myself chuckling at the bad grammar and inconstant plotting and characterization to find the book at all scary.
I'll believe in any world an author creates as long at they are consistent in their handling of that world and can justify their plot points. Witches - Sure! Ghosts- why not? Aliens who look like goats, smell like dogs, and talk like humans - Convince me! In fact, I love to be convinced, to get sucked into an alternate reality and not question its existence. Brilliant stuff!
But then there are books like Black Creek Crossing. I remember reading something of Saul's when I was a teen and liking it, so when I saw this book at a used book sale, I figured I'd give it a go. It's a fast-paced, engaging read.... except when it isn't. Here's what I mean: it's hard to stay engaged when the author writes one of his characters out-of-character, or uses a plot twist that just doesn't make sense in the context of the story - it pushes the reader right out of the tale and back to reality.
A couple of examples:
One character, the father of one of the protagonists, is a son-of-a-___. He's alcoholic, verbally abusive, borderline incestuous, and arrogant. His wife and daughter are justifiably terrified of him. So why is it that he's in a drunken rage and when his wife yells at him to clean up his mess, he bows his head and does as he's told? Um... no idea. It's a good example of a character being so completely out-of-character that the reader is tossed out of the story. I would have expected him to backhand his wife, or to scream and stomp off to pop a top again... but not go clean the kitchen!
As for plot inconsistencies: There's a cat in the novel - a black witch's familiar type cat. (and this next part is spoilerey enough that if you plan on reading the book - which I highly don't recommend - you probably shouldn't read the rest of this paragraph). The cat is shown to be able to get in and out of locked rooms, closed closets, etc. It's not explained how - but that's okay because it runs true with the mystery of the book. The cat even attacks three antagonists (teen boy bullies), making them think kitty is going to kill them, that they'll surely bleed to death from the inflicted scratches (or have their throat torn out - can a house cat tear out the throat of a teenaged boy???). Of course, when the attack is over, there's not a scratch on them. Anyway, the three aforementioned boys trap the cat in a backpack and smash him against various hard surfaces to kill poor kitty. The thing is - if kitty can magically morph through walls, can appear and disappear at will, why can't he get out of a nylon rucksack? I need that justified. And from what I've read so far- it isn't.
Don't get me wrong - I know why Saul killed the cat off, I just don't agree with the gaping plot hole that was his way of doing it. He killed poor kitty off to advance the plot, because if he didn't he'd have to find another reason for the protagonists to begin dabbling in witchcraft (they bring the cat back to life with a bit of water, a few drops of blood, grave dirt, and tears - who knew it was so easy?? Not even an incantation needed.).
Writers always need to find that spark that moves a plot forward - the crisis that causes the hero to lash out at the dragon, but, darn it, that spark better be believable. It takes thought, and planning, and second-guessing, and rewriting, but really, even the most crazy sounding plot point can work IF it's justified and within the character's motivations. Like I said before: convince me! Please!
There are also spots of shabby writing and grammar errors that I won't touch upon.
And finally (and I bet you thought I'd never stop ranting), most of the characters in the book are cookie-cutter. They're either evil or they're good - they're not fallible humans trying their best. There are horrible abusive fathers, spineless mothers, sadistic bullies, and shrinking victims. All black and white -not a single shade of gray.
So that's my take on making plot and characters either believable or unbelievable.
Now I'm wondering why the heck I'm going to finish reading this book!!
What I'm reading: Black Creek Crossing by John Saul
What I'm knitting: I'm stalled at the moment.
In an earlier blog I touched on the need for a realistic ending (in regards to the wonderful novel, Ender's Game - which absolutely gave a great ending). In reading Black Creek Crossing by John Saul I'm getting more and more amused by the inconsistencies throughout the whole darn book. I'm about half-way through and I'll finish it because I care enough about the two protagonists to see how their story ends, but I find myself chuckling at the bad grammar and inconstant plotting and characterization to find the book at all scary.
I'll believe in any world an author creates as long at they are consistent in their handling of that world and can justify their plot points. Witches - Sure! Ghosts- why not? Aliens who look like goats, smell like dogs, and talk like humans - Convince me! In fact, I love to be convinced, to get sucked into an alternate reality and not question its existence. Brilliant stuff!
But then there are books like Black Creek Crossing. I remember reading something of Saul's when I was a teen and liking it, so when I saw this book at a used book sale, I figured I'd give it a go. It's a fast-paced, engaging read.... except when it isn't. Here's what I mean: it's hard to stay engaged when the author writes one of his characters out-of-character, or uses a plot twist that just doesn't make sense in the context of the story - it pushes the reader right out of the tale and back to reality.
A couple of examples:
One character, the father of one of the protagonists, is a son-of-a-___. He's alcoholic, verbally abusive, borderline incestuous, and arrogant. His wife and daughter are justifiably terrified of him. So why is it that he's in a drunken rage and when his wife yells at him to clean up his mess, he bows his head and does as he's told? Um... no idea. It's a good example of a character being so completely out-of-character that the reader is tossed out of the story. I would have expected him to backhand his wife, or to scream and stomp off to pop a top again... but not go clean the kitchen!
As for plot inconsistencies: There's a cat in the novel - a black witch's familiar type cat. (and this next part is spoilerey enough that if you plan on reading the book - which I highly don't recommend - you probably shouldn't read the rest of this paragraph). The cat is shown to be able to get in and out of locked rooms, closed closets, etc. It's not explained how - but that's okay because it runs true with the mystery of the book. The cat even attacks three antagonists (teen boy bullies), making them think kitty is going to kill them, that they'll surely bleed to death from the inflicted scratches (or have their throat torn out - can a house cat tear out the throat of a teenaged boy???). Of course, when the attack is over, there's not a scratch on them. Anyway, the three aforementioned boys trap the cat in a backpack and smash him against various hard surfaces to kill poor kitty. The thing is - if kitty can magically morph through walls, can appear and disappear at will, why can't he get out of a nylon rucksack? I need that justified. And from what I've read so far- it isn't.
Don't get me wrong - I know why Saul killed the cat off, I just don't agree with the gaping plot hole that was his way of doing it. He killed poor kitty off to advance the plot, because if he didn't he'd have to find another reason for the protagonists to begin dabbling in witchcraft (they bring the cat back to life with a bit of water, a few drops of blood, grave dirt, and tears - who knew it was so easy?? Not even an incantation needed.).
Writers always need to find that spark that moves a plot forward - the crisis that causes the hero to lash out at the dragon, but, darn it, that spark better be believable. It takes thought, and planning, and second-guessing, and rewriting, but really, even the most crazy sounding plot point can work IF it's justified and within the character's motivations. Like I said before: convince me! Please!
There are also spots of shabby writing and grammar errors that I won't touch upon.
And finally (and I bet you thought I'd never stop ranting), most of the characters in the book are cookie-cutter. They're either evil or they're good - they're not fallible humans trying their best. There are horrible abusive fathers, spineless mothers, sadistic bullies, and shrinking victims. All black and white -not a single shade of gray.
So that's my take on making plot and characters either believable or unbelievable.
Now I'm wondering why the heck I'm going to finish reading this book!!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Lowville NY Fire and This 'n That
What I'm writing: I have three short stories I'm working on as well as editing In the Shadow of Olympus and doing homework for the F2K class.
What I'm reading: Finished a Dean Koontz book last night - Relentless - I liked the book right up until it got really, really stupid at the end. I'm a fan of Mr. Koontz, but sometimes even those we love to read can slip up.
What I'm knitting: Still working on that sweater. Front and back are done and I've started on sleeve one.
I'm a lover of history. I love antiques (from afar - I don't own many) and old books. I adore that sense of permancy that comes from an antiquated building.
And I mourn history when it's destroyed:
The building known as the Times Block in Lowville burned early Saturday morning - in the above photo, it's the one that's just a little taller than the rest.
A pizzeria and a real estate agency were located on the first floor, apartments up above. It looks like an 'improperly discarded smoking device' was to blame. One person is in the hospital with horrible burns - I hope for the best for him, but it'll be a slow recovery.
The buildings on either side have some water and smoke damage, but 130-year-old fire walls kept the damage from becoming extensive.
I work up and across the street from the building that burned. It's sad to see it every day, and even sadder to think of the person who was injured, those without their homes and belongings, and the businesses that are now closed.
And now I can't think of a segue into other topics.....................................
SOOOO.....
Saturday Brian helped run a youth tournament at the table tennis club he's a member of. It sounds like it was a success and nephew Brandon took 2nd in the under 16 division.
Work has been busy! There's just not enough time in the day, lately. But isn't that so much better than not having enough to do?
The F2K writing class I'm taking is going well. Two of my assigments have been highlighted in the F2K ezine, so that's cool. The first was writing for the senses. I posted my 'sense sentences' in an earlier blog, but I didn't post the paragraph I wrote for the assignment here. We were tasked with writing a paragraph that would stir each of the eight senses (the regular five plus time, space, and unknown). Here's mine:
The metal needles warm in my hands as the steady click, click, click almost soothes my nerves. Balls of rough wool transform into a blocked burst of color, lengthening with each completed row. Outside the window, swirls of white eddy and dance on gusts, before cascading to the ground, slick and beautiful. The tea beside me would be completely forgotten if a draft didn't occasionally carry chamomile. I ignore it. What I've already drank is tainting my tongue bitter. With each roar of an engine that doesn't slow for my driveway, my fingers fly faster. I hope I don't drop a stitch. Another row finished, another car speeds past, another tick of the clock, another moment alone.
And then for this week, we had to write a scene of 500 words or less that dealt with conflict: specifically, we had to show what appeared to be a small conflict swell into something more, but we were supposed to only hint at what was going on, not hit the reader over the head with it.
So, that's the update. How are you all doing?
What I'm reading: Finished a Dean Koontz book last night - Relentless - I liked the book right up until it got really, really stupid at the end. I'm a fan of Mr. Koontz, but sometimes even those we love to read can slip up.
What I'm knitting: Still working on that sweater. Front and back are done and I've started on sleeve one.
I'm a lover of history. I love antiques (from afar - I don't own many) and old books. I adore that sense of permancy that comes from an antiquated building.
And I mourn history when it's destroyed:
The building known as the Times Block in Lowville burned early Saturday morning - in the above photo, it's the one that's just a little taller than the rest.
I work up and across the street from the building that burned. It's sad to see it every day, and even sadder to think of the person who was injured, those without their homes and belongings, and the businesses that are now closed.
And now I can't think of a segue into other topics.....................................
SOOOO.....
Saturday Brian helped run a youth tournament at the table tennis club he's a member of. It sounds like it was a success and nephew Brandon took 2nd in the under 16 division.
Work has been busy! There's just not enough time in the day, lately. But isn't that so much better than not having enough to do?
The F2K writing class I'm taking is going well. Two of my assigments have been highlighted in the F2K ezine, so that's cool. The first was writing for the senses. I posted my 'sense sentences' in an earlier blog, but I didn't post the paragraph I wrote for the assignment here. We were tasked with writing a paragraph that would stir each of the eight senses (the regular five plus time, space, and unknown). Here's mine:
The metal needles warm in my hands as the steady click, click, click almost soothes my nerves. Balls of rough wool transform into a blocked burst of color, lengthening with each completed row. Outside the window, swirls of white eddy and dance on gusts, before cascading to the ground, slick and beautiful. The tea beside me would be completely forgotten if a draft didn't occasionally carry chamomile. I ignore it. What I've already drank is tainting my tongue bitter. With each roar of an engine that doesn't slow for my driveway, my fingers fly faster. I hope I don't drop a stitch. Another row finished, another car speeds past, another tick of the clock, another moment alone.
And then for this week, we had to write a scene of 500 words or less that dealt with conflict: specifically, we had to show what appeared to be a small conflict swell into something more, but we were supposed to only hint at what was going on, not hit the reader over the head with it.
Gary tossed the opened envelope onto the table and then watched Jenny sweep the kitchen floor. Her appearance hadn’t changed much over the years, except for the snowy hair. Finally, she turned around. When she saw him, she smiled and her eyes danced. "What's up?" Even her voice sounded young.
"Did you forget to pay the credit card bill?" He hated ruining her mood, but some things were best not put off.
The smile slid from her face, disappeared from her eyes. She waved her hand, turned her back to him, and resumed sweeping. "Of course not. I don't make the same mistake twice."
"I think you did."
She glanced over her shoulder. "I didn’t."
Gary picked up the envelope and unfolded the bill. "Late charge. Another thirty-five dollars. I know it's not much, but we’re on a fixed income, Jen."
Her mouth moved for a moment before she started talking, like she was practicing her words before saying them. "It must have gotten lost in the mail."
"Do you really think so?"
The broom clattered to the floor. Jenny turned fully toward him and put her hands on her hips, tapped her foot. "If I say I paid it, I paid it. Now stop questioning me. If I didn't know better, I'd think you don’t trust me anymore."
"Of course I trust you. I just don't trust…." Finishing that sentence would be tantamount to petting a rabid raccoon.
"What? What don't you trust?" Jenny took a step forward and then another, as if daring him to say it.
"Listen, why don't we just look at the checkbook and see if… see when you made out the check."
"If you trusted me, we wouldn’t have to."
He closed the distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you think you sent it out."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
If she was going to be stubborn, he’d have to change his tactic. "You have so much to do. Maybe I should take care of the bills."
Her face flamed. Her nostrils flared. "I've kept our checkbook for more than forty years. All you’d do is mess it up. Besides, this house isn’t nearly as much work as when the kids were around. Why, I used to do twice as much. Three times!"
There was no denying that, but the Jenny from then was far different than his Jenny today. "Jen, I’m sorry, but you're going to have to-"
She ducked out from under his arm, took several steps back. "Don't you dare tell me what I have to do!"
"You forget so much, lately. Too much. How old was your father when he started to-" He cut himself off. There was no sense finishing the sentence. Jenny had already banged out the door. As much as she’d hate for him to follow, he had no choice. He couldn’t stand it if she got lost again.
But, God, he was tired.
"Did you forget to pay the credit card bill?" He hated ruining her mood, but some things were best not put off.
The smile slid from her face, disappeared from her eyes. She waved her hand, turned her back to him, and resumed sweeping. "Of course not. I don't make the same mistake twice."
"I think you did."
She glanced over her shoulder. "I didn’t."
Gary picked up the envelope and unfolded the bill. "Late charge. Another thirty-five dollars. I know it's not much, but we’re on a fixed income, Jen."
Her mouth moved for a moment before she started talking, like she was practicing her words before saying them. "It must have gotten lost in the mail."
"Do you really think so?"
The broom clattered to the floor. Jenny turned fully toward him and put her hands on her hips, tapped her foot. "If I say I paid it, I paid it. Now stop questioning me. If I didn't know better, I'd think you don’t trust me anymore."
"Of course I trust you. I just don't trust…." Finishing that sentence would be tantamount to petting a rabid raccoon.
"What? What don't you trust?" Jenny took a step forward and then another, as if daring him to say it.
"Listen, why don't we just look at the checkbook and see if… see when you made out the check."
"If you trusted me, we wouldn’t have to."
He closed the distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you think you sent it out."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
If she was going to be stubborn, he’d have to change his tactic. "You have so much to do. Maybe I should take care of the bills."
Her face flamed. Her nostrils flared. "I've kept our checkbook for more than forty years. All you’d do is mess it up. Besides, this house isn’t nearly as much work as when the kids were around. Why, I used to do twice as much. Three times!"
There was no denying that, but the Jenny from then was far different than his Jenny today. "Jen, I’m sorry, but you're going to have to-"
She ducked out from under his arm, took several steps back. "Don't you dare tell me what I have to do!"
"You forget so much, lately. Too much. How old was your father when he started to-" He cut himself off. There was no sense finishing the sentence. Jenny had already banged out the door. As much as she’d hate for him to follow, he had no choice. He couldn’t stand it if she got lost again.
But, God, he was tired.
So, that's the update. How are you all doing?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Writing to evoke the senses
What I'm writing: I've begun that edit of In the Shadow of Olympus - yay! Also working on a couple of short stories
What I'm reading: Still reading the same book as last post - haven't had a lot of time for reading in the last couple of days
What I'm knitting: Sweater - back is done, front is about a quarter done, sleeves not yet started.
I'm in the second week of lessons for the F2K free writing course. I'm really enjoying the course because the assignments so far have been challenging and though provoking and the social aspect, getting to chat with other writers, is great. I would definitely recommend this course to any writer. There will be classes starting in April and August.
For part of the second assignment, we had to write one sentence for each of the eight senses (yes, I said eight and will explain in a moment). Each sentence had to evoke the sense without coming right out and saying what it was. It was a fun experiment in writing descriptive sentences. It was so easy to get caught up in writing long, compound sentences so you could describe every last thing you wanted. But, of course, the simpler was better.
The senses: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell, Touch, Time (era, time of day, time of year, etc), Space (open or enclosed, crowded or empty, a certain place), Unknown (a sense of foreboding, danger, or anticipation).
So, would you like to play along? Can you guess which sense each sentence was written for? - Remember, it's one sense per sentence (hopefully even if more than one sense is hinted at, one will be more prevalent) and all eight senses are used. I'd love your feedback because the only way I know if it's a hit or a miss is if you tell me!
:)
1. His aftershave hung in the air, spicy and sweet.
2. The floor of the narrow path was sparsely dappled by stray sunlight penetrating the thick canopy.
3. Ten grasping fingers, ten tiny toes, a shock of red hair falling over eyes the color of sky – perfection.
4. The watermelon lip gloss didn't turn him off nearly as much as the undertone of garlic.
5. I admired the textured patchwork of worn fabric and careful stitches.
6. As she's airlifted above the warped wreckage, the chaos below is drowned out by a rhythmic thwump, thwump, thwump.
7. The lights blinked off, throwing the attic bedroom into inky darkness.
8. I pulled my cardigan more snugly around my chest and shuffled through the crinkling leaves.
Thanks for playing along!
What I'm reading: Still reading the same book as last post - haven't had a lot of time for reading in the last couple of days
What I'm knitting: Sweater - back is done, front is about a quarter done, sleeves not yet started.
I'm in the second week of lessons for the F2K free writing course. I'm really enjoying the course because the assignments so far have been challenging and though provoking and the social aspect, getting to chat with other writers, is great. I would definitely recommend this course to any writer. There will be classes starting in April and August.
For part of the second assignment, we had to write one sentence for each of the eight senses (yes, I said eight and will explain in a moment). Each sentence had to evoke the sense without coming right out and saying what it was. It was a fun experiment in writing descriptive sentences. It was so easy to get caught up in writing long, compound sentences so you could describe every last thing you wanted. But, of course, the simpler was better.
The senses: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell, Touch, Time (era, time of day, time of year, etc), Space (open or enclosed, crowded or empty, a certain place), Unknown (a sense of foreboding, danger, or anticipation).
So, would you like to play along? Can you guess which sense each sentence was written for? - Remember, it's one sense per sentence (hopefully even if more than one sense is hinted at, one will be more prevalent) and all eight senses are used. I'd love your feedback because the only way I know if it's a hit or a miss is if you tell me!
:)
1. His aftershave hung in the air, spicy and sweet.
2. The floor of the narrow path was sparsely dappled by stray sunlight penetrating the thick canopy.
3. Ten grasping fingers, ten tiny toes, a shock of red hair falling over eyes the color of sky – perfection.
4. The watermelon lip gloss didn't turn him off nearly as much as the undertone of garlic.
5. I admired the textured patchwork of worn fabric and careful stitches.
6. As she's airlifted above the warped wreckage, the chaos below is drowned out by a rhythmic thwump, thwump, thwump.
7. The lights blinked off, throwing the attic bedroom into inky darkness.
8. I pulled my cardigan more snugly around my chest and shuffled through the crinkling leaves.
Thanks for playing along!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Do You Need a Happy Ending? Ender's Game
What I'm writing: Assignments for F2K class
What I'm reading: Tough Cookie - Diane Mott Davidson
What I'm knitting: Sweater
My younger son, Mark, is an avid reader, but he doesn't recommend books for me to read. So when he said, "Mom, you should read Ender's Game (by Orson Scott Card)," I wasted no time in doing so. Now that I've finished it (but there are others in the series), I'm really glad I did.
For those who aren't familiar with the book, it's the tale of the Earth after it's been attacked by aliens twice. A third attack is expected, so some humans are bred specifically in the hope that a much-needed military genius will be found. Couples are only allowed to have two children, but if those children are close to what the government needs, but not quite right, they may be allowed (compelled?) to have a third. These Thirds are looked down upon by society.
The main character of the book, Ender, is one of these Thirds. He's taken away from his family (and oh, what a family) when he's six and put into training school. What happens from there is a web of training, lies, machinations, and violence. The adults all have an agenda and they'll push the children as far as they think they can to achieve their goals.
Without giving too much away (because if you haven't read it, you really should), I will tell you that the book, overall, is dark, with a few bright spots here and there to remind you there is still at least a little humanity.
Which brings me to the end of the book and the topic of this post (took me long enough, didn't it?). The book doesn't have a tie-it-in-a-yellow-bow happy ending. I don't think it could - not really. The ending is satisfying in a way that left me thinking: What would I do in Ender's shoes? Would I make the correct choices? Are there any correct choices?
Oh, how I love a book that makes me think!
Anyway, there's no They lived happily ever after or All was well. There's only resolution (some - but questions as well) and a hope that's so slight, and so far in the future, that it is, perhaps, negligible. For me that's enough.
I don't need sugar-and-spice endings. I need endings that fit with the story, that are a natural progression for the lives that were affected, the storyline that was created. In other words, I need realism. Even in science-fiction, even in fantasy, the ending has to be realistic to the world created and the characters' motivations. That doesn't mean it has to be realistic to this world, this time, this place, but it does have to ring true to its own canon.
Now, I love the Harry Potter books, but I think we could have all done without that epilogue to book seven. It never seemed quite reasonable that a child who was put through what Harry was - who was neglected by his family, used by nearly every other adult (whether they wanted to or not), expected, really, to be a killer - would grow up to be a well-rounded family man. Wouldn't he have issues? Wouldn't he have trouble trusting? And what would his parenting skills be??
Ender, on the other hand, is shown as broken. Not broken beyond repair, not someone who has no hope, but still, we can see the scars on his soul. Realistic. That's why I loved the ending. I could 'feel' a truth to it.
And don't get me wrong. I love a happy ending. But only when it fits, and only when we know that the happiness is for this moment, that there are still battles and worries... and LIFE out there waiting.
How about you? Do you crave a happy ending for every book you read? Do you enjoy a 'happier' novel or are you satisfied reading something darker?
And if you're a writer, do you feel like you have to create a happy ending? Are you always conscious of the realism of your characters' actions, reactions, and story?
Let me know what you think....
What I'm reading: Tough Cookie - Diane Mott Davidson
What I'm knitting: Sweater
My younger son, Mark, is an avid reader, but he doesn't recommend books for me to read. So when he said, "Mom, you should read Ender's Game (by Orson Scott Card)," I wasted no time in doing so. Now that I've finished it (but there are others in the series), I'm really glad I did.
For those who aren't familiar with the book, it's the tale of the Earth after it's been attacked by aliens twice. A third attack is expected, so some humans are bred specifically in the hope that a much-needed military genius will be found. Couples are only allowed to have two children, but if those children are close to what the government needs, but not quite right, they may be allowed (compelled?) to have a third. These Thirds are looked down upon by society.
The main character of the book, Ender, is one of these Thirds. He's taken away from his family (and oh, what a family) when he's six and put into training school. What happens from there is a web of training, lies, machinations, and violence. The adults all have an agenda and they'll push the children as far as they think they can to achieve their goals.
Without giving too much away (because if you haven't read it, you really should), I will tell you that the book, overall, is dark, with a few bright spots here and there to remind you there is still at least a little humanity.
Which brings me to the end of the book and the topic of this post (took me long enough, didn't it?). The book doesn't have a tie-it-in-a-yellow-bow happy ending. I don't think it could - not really. The ending is satisfying in a way that left me thinking: What would I do in Ender's shoes? Would I make the correct choices? Are there any correct choices?
Oh, how I love a book that makes me think!
Anyway, there's no They lived happily ever after or All was well. There's only resolution (some - but questions as well) and a hope that's so slight, and so far in the future, that it is, perhaps, negligible. For me that's enough.
I don't need sugar-and-spice endings. I need endings that fit with the story, that are a natural progression for the lives that were affected, the storyline that was created. In other words, I need realism. Even in science-fiction, even in fantasy, the ending has to be realistic to the world created and the characters' motivations. That doesn't mean it has to be realistic to this world, this time, this place, but it does have to ring true to its own canon.
Now, I love the Harry Potter books, but I think we could have all done without that epilogue to book seven. It never seemed quite reasonable that a child who was put through what Harry was - who was neglected by his family, used by nearly every other adult (whether they wanted to or not), expected, really, to be a killer - would grow up to be a well-rounded family man. Wouldn't he have issues? Wouldn't he have trouble trusting? And what would his parenting skills be??
Ender, on the other hand, is shown as broken. Not broken beyond repair, not someone who has no hope, but still, we can see the scars on his soul. Realistic. That's why I loved the ending. I could 'feel' a truth to it.
And don't get me wrong. I love a happy ending. But only when it fits, and only when we know that the happiness is for this moment, that there are still battles and worries... and LIFE out there waiting.
How about you? Do you crave a happy ending for every book you read? Do you enjoy a 'happier' novel or are you satisfied reading something darker?
And if you're a writer, do you feel like you have to create a happy ending? Are you always conscious of the realism of your characters' actions, reactions, and story?
Let me know what you think....
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Literary Head Hopping - Stieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy
What I'm Writing: Concentrating on a couple of short stories
What I'm Reading: Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire
What I'm Knitting: My sweater - the back is finished and I've just started on the front
What I'm Reading: Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire
What I'm Knitting: My sweater - the back is finished and I've just started on the front
Reading Stieg Larrson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and (half-way through) The Girl Who Played With Fire makes me think in terms of Points of View. Larsson wrote his novels so the reader was constantly hopping from one character's head into another – the POV switches as quickly as the scenes do (and sometimes more so as we jump from head-to-head from thought-to-thought within a single scene). Sometimes it reads as omniscient, other times as simple POV switches. It works in a high energy/action novel like those in the Millennium Trilogy, but even so, it's not the way I write, and not the way I usually like to read.
I tend to write a close third-person POV. I hop into the head of my POV character and stick with him/her to the end. The reader knows the POV character's thoughts, but can't know anything the POV character doesn't know. What ever's a mystery to the POV character is a mystery to the reader. Think of the Harry Potter books – other than a couple of very short forays (think Snape, Bellatrix, and Narcissa at Spinner's End), the books were told completely from Harry's point of view. We didn't know anything he didn't know. Because we were in his head we generally liked who he liked, hated who he hated – right or wrong.
If J.K. Rowling had written from multiple POV's, we may have never had the question/debate of whether Snape was good or bad, whether Dumbledore was really dead, etc. It makes for great 'Aha!' moments when we, and the character, find out the truth. The reader often gets more emotionally connected as well.
As I'm reading the Millennium Trilogy, I find myself enjoying the books, but not really connecting on an emotional level with the characters. And I'll be damned if I can figure out why every woman seems to be a former, current, or future lover for Blomkvist. LOL. I haven't seen anything in his character that's overly attractive. Every time a new female character shows an interest in him, I shake my head.
So, Larsson gets us all used to jumping about, to knowing what every damned person is thinking (even secondary characters who really shouldn't matter enough to be shown their POV), and then he goes and pulls the rug out from under us. We've been hopping into one main character's head all through the first book and the first part of the second book, but then, just when it really matters, just when we want to know what this character thinks of the mess they've fallen into, we suddenly don't go back into that head – at least not in the hundred or more pages I've gotten through since the crime was committed. Sheesh!
Dean Koontz is an author whose POV changes I enjoy. He sticks to the POV of the two (sometimes three) main characters and sticks just to them. He keeps a POV throughout chapters and doesn't switch mid-way through. In many of his books, the MCs don't meet right away, so we switch between them, anxiously waiting for them to finally meet. I really love that format, but my husband, Jon, doesn't so much. He doesn't like getting involved with one character and then getting switched to another. I told him he really doesn't want to read Lord of the Rings, then. I've been known to groan, loudly, when POV switches in LotR after hundreds and hundreds of pages of being in the same character's head. NO!! Bring me back to Frodo!!!
I do realize that many readers don't even take note of POV switches and are probably rolling their eyes at me for being so picky about them, but, hey, it's just the way I am. And I didn't even touch on First, Second, and Third person POV – now there's another whole post! And tense… I could write and write about tense.
How about you? Do you have a POV type you'd rather read. Do you mind jumping from head to head while you're reading? Do you even notice it? If you think about your favorite book, do you know whose POV it's written in? What difference would it have made if it were written in a different point of view? (Yes, I want to know!).
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Day Out and Mark Guitar Videos
What I'm Writing: I'm about to jump into the edit of In the Shadow of Olympus. I'm also brainstorming a short story and getting ready for a writing class to start tomorrow - YIKES!
What I'm Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - almost finished with it
What I'm Knitting: My funky geometric sweater - I didn't knit as much on it during the long weekend because I was getting toward the first decrease and wasn't sure how easy/hard I would find it to continue the pattern through decreases - but I finally took the leap last night only to find it was fairly easy.
Yesterday was a day off for Jon, Brian, and me. Mark went back to school yesterday after 11 days off (doesn't that figure? The rest of us have a day off and he's in school.). The day before, we had decided to all go to the casino and then to an indoor flea market I like. Well, Brian stayed up too late, so he left us a note not to wake him (he knew we'd leave early), so Jon and I set out. We hit Rome and decided to go to the Walmart there because it's bigger than out local Walmart and I was trying to find hot salsa for Brian - the best we can get in our area is medium. I found it (Yay). We then decided we'd hit the Salvation Army thrift store before heading to the casino. I love thrift stores - I often sell the treasures I find on ebay.
I bypassed the racks and racks of clothes and headed toward the back where they keep all non-clothing merchandise. Over the last few weeks, Jon and I have been looking into buying and elliptical - we both really need to get into shape - but we hadn't taken the plunge of spending close to $1000 (or more) on new exercise apparatus. Well, lo and behold, sitting at the Salvation Army was a Tony Little Gazelle - do you remember those from a few years back? They're something like an elliptical. This one was in great shape and the store was asking $15 for it. Jon and I looked it all over and decided we might as well buy it. If we like it, great, if we don't, we're not out much.
As we were looking at the Gazelle, I caught sight of two wooden CD racks. Mark's CD collection has outgrown the rack he has and I've been looking for something bigger. We bought both of those as well - I estimate they each hold about 250 CDs - so Mark isn't even close to filling one of them, but we'll have the second for back-up if we need it.
I also found a Joe Satriani cassette tape for Mark (he has the apparatus to play CDs, Cassettes, and LPs in his room - if he had an 8-track tape player, I think he'd be all set), a cute lamp, and two horse riding-toys for the granddaughter.
In the meantime, a man gave Jon a coupon that he wasn't going to be able to use ($7 off a $25 purchase). So we ended up with all that stuff for $38. Pretty cool.
We got it all home and cleaned it up. The Gazelle is already a family favorite and Mark has started filling one of the CD racks.
After all that shopping, we left the Salvation Army store and decided we really didn't want to go to the casino after all - and at that point, we really didn't have car space to go looking too heavily at the flea market. So instead, we drove to Utica to return a present and then toddled on home. It was actually lots of fun (isn't it always great to hang out with a loved one AND save money?? LOL).
So that was our day.
Speaking of buying used items, Jon bought an IPod from Brian's friend, Zach, the other day - he loves it. And Mark bought his cousin, Heather's, acoustic guitar she didn't play (which he also loves).
I filmed Mark playing three of his guitars last night (he has a fourth of his own, but also keeps an old guitar of Brian's and one of Jon's (a lefty that Mark restrung so he can play it right-handed), as well as his grandfather's old Bass in his room). Now, I don't want you to think we totally spoil the kid with all these guitars (though he is kinda spoiled). He's bought them all himself with the money he makes from working in the summer, except for the Randy Rhodes Jackson we bought him for Christmas.
The vids are on Youtube if you want to see how he's progressing -
This first one is with his new Acoustic guitar.
This one is with his Les Paul gold-top.
And this is the Randy Rhodes guitar.
The videos are a little dark.
Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!
What I'm Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - almost finished with it
What I'm Knitting: My funky geometric sweater - I didn't knit as much on it during the long weekend because I was getting toward the first decrease and wasn't sure how easy/hard I would find it to continue the pattern through decreases - but I finally took the leap last night only to find it was fairly easy.
Yesterday was a day off for Jon, Brian, and me. Mark went back to school yesterday after 11 days off (doesn't that figure? The rest of us have a day off and he's in school.). The day before, we had decided to all go to the casino and then to an indoor flea market I like. Well, Brian stayed up too late, so he left us a note not to wake him (he knew we'd leave early), so Jon and I set out. We hit Rome and decided to go to the Walmart there because it's bigger than out local Walmart and I was trying to find hot salsa for Brian - the best we can get in our area is medium. I found it (Yay). We then decided we'd hit the Salvation Army thrift store before heading to the casino. I love thrift stores - I often sell the treasures I find on ebay.
I bypassed the racks and racks of clothes and headed toward the back where they keep all non-clothing merchandise. Over the last few weeks, Jon and I have been looking into buying and elliptical - we both really need to get into shape - but we hadn't taken the plunge of spending close to $1000 (or more) on new exercise apparatus. Well, lo and behold, sitting at the Salvation Army was a Tony Little Gazelle - do you remember those from a few years back? They're something like an elliptical. This one was in great shape and the store was asking $15 for it. Jon and I looked it all over and decided we might as well buy it. If we like it, great, if we don't, we're not out much.
As we were looking at the Gazelle, I caught sight of two wooden CD racks. Mark's CD collection has outgrown the rack he has and I've been looking for something bigger. We bought both of those as well - I estimate they each hold about 250 CDs - so Mark isn't even close to filling one of them, but we'll have the second for back-up if we need it.
I also found a Joe Satriani cassette tape for Mark (he has the apparatus to play CDs, Cassettes, and LPs in his room - if he had an 8-track tape player, I think he'd be all set), a cute lamp, and two horse riding-toys for the granddaughter.
In the meantime, a man gave Jon a coupon that he wasn't going to be able to use ($7 off a $25 purchase). So we ended up with all that stuff for $38. Pretty cool.
We got it all home and cleaned it up. The Gazelle is already a family favorite and Mark has started filling one of the CD racks.
After all that shopping, we left the Salvation Army store and decided we really didn't want to go to the casino after all - and at that point, we really didn't have car space to go looking too heavily at the flea market. So instead, we drove to Utica to return a present and then toddled on home. It was actually lots of fun (isn't it always great to hang out with a loved one AND save money?? LOL).
So that was our day.
Speaking of buying used items, Jon bought an IPod from Brian's friend, Zach, the other day - he loves it. And Mark bought his cousin, Heather's, acoustic guitar she didn't play (which he also loves).
I filmed Mark playing three of his guitars last night (he has a fourth of his own, but also keeps an old guitar of Brian's and one of Jon's (a lefty that Mark restrung so he can play it right-handed), as well as his grandfather's old Bass in his room). Now, I don't want you to think we totally spoil the kid with all these guitars (though he is kinda spoiled). He's bought them all himself with the money he makes from working in the summer, except for the Randy Rhodes Jackson we bought him for Christmas.
The vids are on Youtube if you want to see how he's progressing -
This first one is with his new Acoustic guitar.
This one is with his Les Paul gold-top.
And this is the Randy Rhodes guitar.
The videos are a little dark.
Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Free Writing Course
What I'm Writing: I'm betwixt and between
What I'm Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
What I'm Knitting: A sweater for me with this funky retro geometric design
Happy New Year!
I've signed up for a free writing course that starts January 5th. It's called F2K Social (because, like Nanowrimo in a way, it also attempts to get the writers socializing at some level - writing is a lonely endeavor, so it's never a bad thing to connect to other writers). The class starts January 5th, so there's still time to sign up.
A little info from the website:
F2K is a free online creative writing course sponsored by Writers' Village University and staffed by volunteer Mentors.
The course includes seven one-week fiction writing lessons and is designed for beginning writers; however, intermediate and advanced writers are encouraged to take the course as a refresher or to socialize with and encourage beginning writers. Thousands of writers have discovered that F2K is a great way to break writers block.
I've been considering joining Writer's Village University with a one-year subscription, but I thought I'd get my feet wet first with the free course.
In other writing news - I've kind of slacked off on my editing of Gods Willing. It wasn't holding my attention and if it's not holding mine, it's not going to hold anyone else's. I do believe I'll start the editing on In the Shadow of Olympus and then come back to Gods Willing with a fresh perspective later on. I think it's a good story, but I just haven't found that spark it needs yet.
I'm also looking at a few short story contests to enter. I really do need to spread my wings more if I want to tackle the literary world.
In the mean time, I'm wishing you all the best in your 2011!
What I'm Reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
What I'm Knitting: A sweater for me with this funky retro geometric design
Happy New Year!
I've signed up for a free writing course that starts January 5th. It's called F2K Social (because, like Nanowrimo in a way, it also attempts to get the writers socializing at some level - writing is a lonely endeavor, so it's never a bad thing to connect to other writers). The class starts January 5th, so there's still time to sign up.
A little info from the website:
What is F2K?
F2K: Fiction Writing for the New Millennium
F2K is a free online creative writing course sponsored by Writers' Village University and staffed by volunteer Mentors.
The course includes seven one-week fiction writing lessons and is designed for beginning writers; however, intermediate and advanced writers are encouraged to take the course as a refresher or to socialize with and encourage beginning writers. Thousands of writers have discovered that F2K is a great way to break writers block.
I've been considering joining Writer's Village University with a one-year subscription, but I thought I'd get my feet wet first with the free course.
In other writing news - I've kind of slacked off on my editing of Gods Willing. It wasn't holding my attention and if it's not holding mine, it's not going to hold anyone else's. I do believe I'll start the editing on In the Shadow of Olympus and then come back to Gods Willing with a fresh perspective later on. I think it's a good story, but I just haven't found that spark it needs yet.
I'm also looking at a few short story contests to enter. I really do need to spread my wings more if I want to tackle the literary world.
In the mean time, I'm wishing you all the best in your 2011!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Year in Knitting
What I'm writing: Gods Willing edit
What I'm reading: Nothing at the moment
What I'm knitting: Just finished the last mitten - either a sweater or socks (for me) next
First off:
Happy Holidays!!
I hope each and every one of you has a joyous and safe holiday season.
Other than little notes in my header, I don't believe I've ever talked about my knitting here. I love knitting. I taught myself to knit when I was in my early twenties (and we won't talk about how many, many years ago that was). I've tried crochet, tatting, etc - but I just can't seem to get it like I do with knitting. My Grandma Wilcox knitted for most of her life and has passed down many of her supplies to me (including the hefty McCall's pattern book in which I got the pattern for all those double knit mittens I worked on this year). Now in her 90s, I know Grandma wishes she could still knit, but really can't anymore. I think I can understand how she feels - I'd miss the soothing motions and the light clack of the needles if I could no longer knit.
Anyway, I worked on several projects this year. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are a few:
Those Mittens!! (double knit with wool blend yarn)
A shirt/dress for the granddaughter - it's a bit too big still, but I'll give it to her probably on her birthday:
(junior jacquard yarn)
Socks! For me! (Jacquard sock yarn)
And the 'big' project this year: it's only a lap blanket size, but the pattern was detailed enough that it took me several months to finish. I finally finished it in early fall and I don't care how geeky it sounds, I really think I'll enter it into next year's county fair.
And a closer view:
Some things I've learned about knitting this year: I really, really don't like intarsia work and I'm also not that fond of making knit bobbles (from the afghan). Also, after years of thinking knitting with four double pointed needles would be difficult, I found I really like it (the socks).
Now I have to decide whether I'm going to use the leftover yarn from the mittens, combine it with some beautiful cream Aran I have and make myself a sweater - or will I make another pair of socks... I'm not sure.
If any knitters want to know what patterns and yarns I used in any of these projects, just ask!
What I'm reading: Nothing at the moment
What I'm knitting: Just finished the last mitten - either a sweater or socks (for me) next
First off:
Happy Holidays!!
I hope each and every one of you has a joyous and safe holiday season.
Other than little notes in my header, I don't believe I've ever talked about my knitting here. I love knitting. I taught myself to knit when I was in my early twenties (and we won't talk about how many, many years ago that was). I've tried crochet, tatting, etc - but I just can't seem to get it like I do with knitting. My Grandma Wilcox knitted for most of her life and has passed down many of her supplies to me (including the hefty McCall's pattern book in which I got the pattern for all those double knit mittens I worked on this year). Now in her 90s, I know Grandma wishes she could still knit, but really can't anymore. I think I can understand how she feels - I'd miss the soothing motions and the light clack of the needles if I could no longer knit.
Anyway, I worked on several projects this year. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are a few:
Those Mittens!! (double knit with wool blend yarn)
A shirt/dress for the granddaughter - it's a bit too big still, but I'll give it to her probably on her birthday:
(junior jacquard yarn)
Socks! For me! (Jacquard sock yarn)
And the 'big' project this year: it's only a lap blanket size, but the pattern was detailed enough that it took me several months to finish. I finally finished it in early fall and I don't care how geeky it sounds, I really think I'll enter it into next year's county fair.
Some things I've learned about knitting this year: I really, really don't like intarsia work and I'm also not that fond of making knit bobbles (from the afghan). Also, after years of thinking knitting with four double pointed needles would be difficult, I found I really like it (the socks).
Now I have to decide whether I'm going to use the leftover yarn from the mittens, combine it with some beautiful cream Aran I have and make myself a sweater - or will I make another pair of socks... I'm not sure.
If any knitters want to know what patterns and yarns I used in any of these projects, just ask!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Mark Mayhem
There's a saying in our house, "If it's going to happen to anyone, it'll happen to Mark," meaning that, well, the strangest things happen to that boy. He gets injured in odd ways, but also finds unexpected good luck.
He seems to get chosen for things or have the luck to win things (half-time show at the only college basketball game he's ever attended, guitar store commercial, 50/50 drawings, $100 from Cap'n Crunch cereal, etc).
But with the odd good things come the strange bad things. At 15 he's already broken a leg and an arm (though he's not at all a daredevil child), been hospitalized with pneumonia, been rushed to the ER for a severe allergic reaction from trying on school clothes, and many other smaller bumps, bruises, and bangs.
Saturday night was just another on the list. Mark has had problems with his leg muscles cramping since he was an infant. He's slept with a hot water bottle to relieve the pains for the last ten years or so. On Saturday night, I'd filled the bottle (our water is very hot due to the fact that we use an outdoor wood boiler for heat and hot water), given it to him, and went to bed. It wasn't long after that he knocked on our door, "The hot water bottle exploded and my feet are burned."
*sigh*
He had his socks on, so the right foot, the one whose sock he got off first, wasn't in bad shape - just a little red. The left foot - the one the sock remained on longer - suffered second degree burns over probably about 20% of it. He was swollen and blistered and red. We discussed going to the ER, but in the end, we didn't. I talked to the ER nurse and realized they'd do for him what we would do at home - and Mark was in such pain whenever he took his foot out of cool water, that a trip to town would have been horrid.
We all stayed up until around 2 am, and then Mark fell asleep on the sofa, his foot dangling off into a pot of water.
I kept him home from school yesterday, but sent him today, hobbling out the door. I might have let him stay home another day, except he'd missed school on Friday as well. That was for sharp pains in his side, that were, thankfully, not caused by his appendix.
I love the kid dearly, but sometimes it's tiring to be his parent!!
He seems to get chosen for things or have the luck to win things (half-time show at the only college basketball game he's ever attended, guitar store commercial, 50/50 drawings, $100 from Cap'n Crunch cereal, etc).
But with the odd good things come the strange bad things. At 15 he's already broken a leg and an arm (though he's not at all a daredevil child), been hospitalized with pneumonia, been rushed to the ER for a severe allergic reaction from trying on school clothes, and many other smaller bumps, bruises, and bangs.
Saturday night was just another on the list. Mark has had problems with his leg muscles cramping since he was an infant. He's slept with a hot water bottle to relieve the pains for the last ten years or so. On Saturday night, I'd filled the bottle (our water is very hot due to the fact that we use an outdoor wood boiler for heat and hot water), given it to him, and went to bed. It wasn't long after that he knocked on our door, "The hot water bottle exploded and my feet are burned."
*sigh*
He had his socks on, so the right foot, the one whose sock he got off first, wasn't in bad shape - just a little red. The left foot - the one the sock remained on longer - suffered second degree burns over probably about 20% of it. He was swollen and blistered and red. We discussed going to the ER, but in the end, we didn't. I talked to the ER nurse and realized they'd do for him what we would do at home - and Mark was in such pain whenever he took his foot out of cool water, that a trip to town would have been horrid.
We all stayed up until around 2 am, and then Mark fell asleep on the sofa, his foot dangling off into a pot of water.
I kept him home from school yesterday, but sent him today, hobbling out the door. I might have let him stay home another day, except he'd missed school on Friday as well. That was for sharp pains in his side, that were, thankfully, not caused by his appendix.
I love the kid dearly, but sometimes it's tiring to be his parent!!
Blogging the Classics - The Great Gatsby
What I'm Writing: Editing Gods Willing
What I'm Reading: One of Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy mysteries – can't remember which one and I don’t have it with me
What I'm Knitting: Mittens, mittens, mittens (and, yes, I should be well done with these by now, but I'm getting so tired of knitting them, I'm barely working on them)
I finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald last night. I really, really enjoyed it. It's a short book – more of a novella than a novel – but packs an emotional punch.
Let me just start by saying the Fitzgerald's writing is lyrical to the point of beauty. He may be writing about infidelity, amoralism, jealousy, and greed, but the words themselves – the flow and cadence and balance – are lovely. Reading this work, I felt the author's choice of words was often surprising but always brilliant.
"He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself."- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , Ch.
The tale itself could be a soap-opera storyline full of parties, wealth, cheating, and lying, but it is, under the surface, so much more. We see a time in the history of America Americana
The narrator, Nick, is a Midwestern boy, fresh from war, come to NYC to make his fortune. His life gets tangled with that of his neighbor, Gatsby, his cousin, Daisy and her husband, Tom, and the famous golfer, Jordan. In the beginning, I think, Nick is bothered by the actions of those around him: Gatsby's parties, Tom's infidelity, Jordan
He dates Jordan
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The GreatGatsby , Ch.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great
He spends time with Gatsby, being drawn into his circle, never sure whether to believe Gatsby's tales or not. Even when the stories are too wild to be true, Gatsby's charisma fools Nick. In the end, however, though Gatsby was the one who was derided for making money illegally, he was the character (other than Nick) who at least stood for something – the one who chased dreams and believed in love.
Daisy and Tom both had blood on their hands, but were unrepentant. I doubt they'd think they'd done anything wrong, really. And Jordan
Nick was changed, though at least he realized the change and knew he had to leave those surroundings in order to get himself back.
And Gatsby? Well, Gatsby didn't survive the summer. Perhaps, even had he not been killed, he might not have survived anyway. The man was broken, or at least would be once he finally admitted Daisy wasn't his.
Gatsby's funeral was one of the sadder moments. This man who people had flocked to in life, the one who they leeched from for their parties and booze, was forgotten in death. He was an embarrassment. No one wanted to admit they were part of his life, of his scene. Only Nick stayed by his side. It was touching how Nick tried to save Gatsby's father from the truth – to let the older man live in his fairytale where his son was a rich gentleman.
Perhaps, in the end, that's what this book is about – the truth – avoiding it, maneuvering around it, and finally, maybe (for some characters), facing it.
Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone wanting to delve into the classics – or anyone just looking for a good, quick read.
Which classic should I read next? Let me know!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A Glee Christmas Quicky
Just a quick post (you thought quicky might mean something else, didn't you? tsk tsk) to say I loved the Glee Christmas episode.
Spoiler Alert! Don't read any farther if you don't want to know.
If I'm going to bash them when I don't agree with the writing, then I better damn well praise them when I do.
There was nothing about this episode I didn't like. Sue as the Grinch was brilliant. I was smiling through the whole skit. Bravo! (And take that Ed O'Neil after your petty remarks about Sue Sylvester/Jane Lynch).
The Finn/Rachel break-up seemed very realistic. I hope they have Finn stay in that 'bruised' mindset for a while.
And Coach Bieste, first with Brittney and then the gift for Artie. Loved it! It's just the kind of Schmoop I want in my Christmas viewing.
This felt more like last year's Glee then any previous episode this season.
One thing I would have loved to see, just for that extra 'awww' moment, would have been for Coach Bieste to also be at Will's on Christmas Eve. Everyone else was, why not her?
Bravo Glee!
Spoiler Alert! Don't read any farther if you don't want to know.
If I'm going to bash them when I don't agree with the writing, then I better damn well praise them when I do.
There was nothing about this episode I didn't like. Sue as the Grinch was brilliant. I was smiling through the whole skit. Bravo! (And take that Ed O'Neil after your petty remarks about Sue Sylvester/Jane Lynch).
The Finn/Rachel break-up seemed very realistic. I hope they have Finn stay in that 'bruised' mindset for a while.
And Coach Bieste, first with Brittney and then the gift for Artie. Loved it! It's just the kind of Schmoop I want in my Christmas viewing.
This felt more like last year's Glee then any previous episode this season.
One thing I would have loved to see, just for that extra 'awww' moment, would have been for Coach Bieste to also be at Will's on Christmas Eve. Everyone else was, why not her?
Bravo Glee!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Glee: A Cop-Out?
What I'm writing: Writing and reading are the same right now as I finish the first read-through of Gods Willing
What I'm reading:
What I'm knitting: I don't want to sound like abroken record CD IPod
*Contains Spoilers for the November 30, 2010 Glee Episode - Don't read if you don't want to know*
I love Glee. Really, I do. I think that's why when the writing isn't as strong as I expect, I really notice it.
This week's Glee was a fun episode, even without the spectacular Jane Lynch. Much of the ep seemed to hark back to those snarky, wonderful episodes of last season - dealing with relationships within the club and without. And my complaint from earlier this season about Creepy Will seems to have been corrected (behold the power of a blogger with... what?... two readers? Excuse me for a moment while I go work this magic on the power ball jackpot). So, yeah, all good.
It was the very end that killed me. My younger son had wandered into the room a few minutes earlier, so he was there when I yelled, "What a cop-out!" I mean, really, maybe the writers have some huge twist in mind that caused them to create a tie for Sectional winner, or maybe it was just lazy writing (it just killed me a little to write that because I often think the Glee writers are brilliant). I wonder if they sat around the conference table saying, New Direction has to win Sectionals, but we want Kurt there, too. What do we do? Well, how 'bout a tie! People will think that's so clever - they'll be in tears!"
I'm sure there are other, more creative, ways to put Kurt and the Warblers and New Direction all into the Regionals. Let's see:
How 'bout New Direction loses to the Warblers, but there's still one more chance - a Wild Card competition that draws from all the teams that came in second in their Sectionals. They'd have to sing their a$$es off and maybe even be the underdog again.
Or New Direction wins, Kurt comes back to school (there are many ways to make that happen, and don't we all just know that'll happen anyway) and they have to fight tooth-n-nail to get him accepted as one of their performers for Regionals - after all, would he really be allowed to jump ship after the Sectionals?
Or, we dash the dreams of someone - doesn't that happen in real life? I've heard it does. New Direction wins and Kurt is emo for a while, or the Warblers win and the New Direction crew have to pick up the pieces and re-evaluate their actions. I kind of like this one as it would feel more like Karma after how fractured the kids' relationships have been.
I'm sure there are more and better scenarios out there as well - Give me your ideas - I'd love to hear them.
And don't get me wrong, there were great moments in the show. Emma telling Rachel, "Maybe you could storm out." LOL The whole Finn/Rachel drama. Puck realizing he can't hurt Finn like he did before. Good stuff.
Although having the senior citizen singers at Sectionals? I know they are billing it as 'any glee chorus can enter,' but it seems strange not to have it as only high schools - that's what Sectionals usually are, as far as I know - and isn't that the way they had it last year?
Tell me what you think!
What I'm reading:
What I'm knitting: I don't want to sound like a
*Contains Spoilers for the November 30, 2010 Glee Episode - Don't read if you don't want to know*
I love Glee. Really, I do. I think that's why when the writing isn't as strong as I expect, I really notice it.
This week's Glee was a fun episode, even without the spectacular Jane Lynch. Much of the ep seemed to hark back to those snarky, wonderful episodes of last season - dealing with relationships within the club and without. And my complaint from earlier this season about Creepy Will seems to have been corrected (behold the power of a blogger with... what?... two readers? Excuse me for a moment while I go work this magic on the power ball jackpot). So, yeah, all good.
It was the very end that killed me. My younger son had wandered into the room a few minutes earlier, so he was there when I yelled, "What a cop-out!" I mean, really, maybe the writers have some huge twist in mind that caused them to create a tie for Sectional winner, or maybe it was just lazy writing (it just killed me a little to write that because I often think the Glee writers are brilliant). I wonder if they sat around the conference table saying, New Direction has to win Sectionals, but we want Kurt there, too. What do we do? Well, how 'bout a tie! People will think that's so clever - they'll be in tears!"
I'm sure there are other, more creative, ways to put Kurt and the Warblers and New Direction all into the Regionals. Let's see:
How 'bout New Direction loses to the Warblers, but there's still one more chance - a Wild Card competition that draws from all the teams that came in second in their Sectionals. They'd have to sing their a$$es off and maybe even be the underdog again.
Or New Direction wins, Kurt comes back to school (there are many ways to make that happen, and don't we all just know that'll happen anyway) and they have to fight tooth-n-nail to get him accepted as one of their performers for Regionals - after all, would he really be allowed to jump ship after the Sectionals?
Or, we dash the dreams of someone - doesn't that happen in real life? I've heard it does. New Direction wins and Kurt is emo for a while, or the Warblers win and the New Direction crew have to pick up the pieces and re-evaluate their actions. I kind of like this one as it would feel more like Karma after how fractured the kids' relationships have been.
I'm sure there are more and better scenarios out there as well - Give me your ideas - I'd love to hear them.
And don't get me wrong, there were great moments in the show. Emma telling Rachel, "Maybe you could storm out." LOL The whole Finn/Rachel drama. Puck realizing he can't hurt Finn like he did before. Good stuff.
Although having the senior citizen singers at Sectionals? I know they are billing it as 'any glee chorus can enter,' but it seems strange not to have it as only high schools - that's what Sectionals usually are, as far as I know - and isn't that the way they had it last year?
Tell me what you think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)