AnotherPurl :: a knitter's life

[10 Tuesday] shopping... and a last nanowrimo

Today's writing prompt (and one for yesterday):
1) An impending cataclysm is approaching, causing all of the doomsday people to go completely around the bend. However, no one in the science community has noticed anything approaching. What is the cataclysm and how does your hero deal with it as it approaches?

2) You just bought a house in a new neighborhood after a bad breakup. The professional painter you hired for the exterior painting turns out to be the now hunky younger brother of your best friend growing up. What kind of relationship develops between the two people?

I've been stupid tired for the past couple of days. I certainly cannot blame it on any work projects, so instead I'm blaming it on yard work. Sunday I lay on the couch, snoozing off and on during football. Last night, I went to bed shortly after 9 pm only to wake up at 2:30 am. So, I got up and started painting the trim in the guest room. I'm about a fifth of the way done (if I am generous), but I will have more time on Wednesday to do it after work. There is just enough moulding detail on the door frames that I cannot really use a roller, even a tiny one, on most of the surfaces, so I did my work this morning with a 1-inch brush. Probably way smaller than I should be using, but I can change it up tomorrow and see if I make more progress.

This week's 10 for Tuesday is about our favorite places to shop. It is that time of year, I suppose, when people do a lot of extra shopping. Mine still manage to be mostly yarn shops for those times when I am knitting as many gifts as I am buying. So, here goes nothing!

1. Thinkgeek. Everything from tshirts to wacky comestibles (not that I will eat any of the random bacon things) can be found here. I've had my eye on things like the molecular gastronomy kit for a while, though I probably wouldn't get as much use out of it as I would like. I just want to say I've tried it.

2. Delight.com. I have bought a couple of things from there in the past couple of years, including minispeakers for the various iPods in the house. Great if you can have your music on in the office without disturbing anybody. They also have a gent-focused store with interesting cuff links and fun memorabilia and stuff.

3. Threadless. Now, I will admit that I haven't shopped here yet, but I keep picking out shirts for my friends (and then not getting around to buying them). There are enough interesting tshirts to match any of my tshirt-wearing friends interests. This one would be especially cute for a couple of my friend's kids!

4. The Loopy Ewe. Well, it is one of my favorite places to shop for yarn. They also have a solid line that is new this year that would be excellent for small knitted toys, because it really is pretty much every color under the sun.

5. Au Chocolat. Ignore the web site. This is the chocolate shop I work at each Valentine's Day, and I love his selection. Right now he has these gingerbread candies that have a crunch like a malt ball, but don't taste like a malt ball. They are really tasty! He also has candy cane caramels and other seasonal sweets.

6. Tealuxe. I was there on Black Friday and had one of the herbal (read: naturally decaffeinated) dailies: the Unity Blend. It was a wonderful reminder that I do not need to have coffee all of the time!

7. Adagio. I've bought a number of teas from there and more importantly the Ingenuitea, which is now available in grocery stores. I love that you can make up your own blends if you have a little time and that there are people who have already done the same. Maybe someone you know needs Dr. Horrible's Tea of Evil for the holidays?

8. Papyrus. It is a great place for a fancy wedding card (actually it is the only place I go for wedding cards) and super fancy wrapping paper. While I try not to buy wrapping paper, I definitely succumb every year or two. The last time I got a gorgeous velvet flocked paper. A little hard to tape, but so pretty I forgave it instantly! I could definitely see using one of these papers as a fancy matte for a simple framed piece.

9. The grocery store. While the Milton Fruit Center is the nice fancy grocery store in the area, this is more about buying ingredients for a delicious dinner or tasty cookies for gift packages. I'm also lumping Michael's in there for tins and other things to safely mail your tasty treats. I also owe a couple of friends some chocolate peanut-butter treats!

10. Windsor Button. Hey, they had safety eyes for the toys I'm knitting for my friend's kids! Buttons for finished items, yarn and felt for interesting projects, embroidery floss for when I forget that I'm out of a color, hoops (umm, yeah, I forgot where I had stashed my hoops for a while), and other crafts that I have a bit less interest in.

nanowrimo day 28 Victor 1 Field Mouse 0

Today's writing prompt:
You are the first pro female football player. How do you get along with your teammates? Who are your fans? Your lovers? What is your position?

We were raking and adding leaves to our compost pile again this morning when I told Victor to stop sniffing around one of the piles of leaves. He seems to find anything to eat, and plenty of things I consider completely inedible (and not just because I'm a vegetarian). He lifted his head up and a field mouse was dangling from his jaws. Snap, and Victor had the mouse in his mouth. My husband and I cornered him when he went behind the shed and we pried open his jaws to pull out the mouse and toss it over the fence. I'm sure it was dead.

Yup, Victor, hunting dog, killer of vermin, eater of the ground food. 

nanowrimo day 27 a little late

Yesterday's writing prompt:
(because there will be another one today later)
A traveling poet has come to declaim hir verses in a large technology-focused city. Is there anything odd about this poet? How does the city change as the poet makes hir way through the city? 

Today there was game, and knitting, and stringing beads. But for all that I didn't do that many things all told, the one thing that sticks out is more raking and filling our yard waste barrels with tree branches that had fallen. We also moved all of the rocks that were our old path finally to the back end of our yard. I used an axe, which should frighten people who know me well, but some of the wood was so rotten that I hardly needed to use the axe at all. Tomorrow is more painting.

Obviously life has gotten in the way of my nanowrimo attempt this year, but I have some smut to show for it. After the holidays, I will take out my smut and dust it off and see if I can finish it over the next few months. I will water it and watch parts of it grow (Oh my!). I don't know if it will ever be truly finished, but I cannot let the story die because my attempt faltered.

One a.m. is past my bedtime, so off to sleepy land I go!

nanowrimo day 26 in the dark

Today's writing prompt:
You are a dog, traveling around outside. Describe everything you experience. Alternatively, you are a cat (house or outdoor) and describe your day.

I'm back inside from a long day of being out and about. Normally I hide during Black Friday, but I needed to go to Chameleon to have a professional put my conch piercing back in. I took it out for Sweeney Todd and without the piercing in, the skin and cartilage relaxed, making it impossible for me to put it back in on my own. The pierce had to use a taper to gently stretch the piercing enough to put the 14 gauge hoop back in.

My right ear is complete again!

Ahem. I went to a lot of different places, including a brief stop to water my plant. With so much time outside the house, I bought quite a few things, mostly coffee and tea - have to keep hydrated after all. I have a jelly bean jar at work, so I also bought some more jelly beans. I was thrilled to see both wild blackberry and pomegranate.

After I walked Victor, I took him out back to keep me company while I raked. We have this leaf vacuum tool that I remember using last year, but I obviously need to dig out the manual again. Victor decided the machine was his new friend, and barked at it with his butt in the playing position. His tongue was lolling out and he looked like he was having the time of his life. Of course, it made me mental to have him so close to this machine with rotors or blades. Not that I got it to work. So instead, I spent a few hours raking until it got to dark for me to make any noticeable progress. While our house has outdoor lights, they all time out if there is not movement within a certain amount of time. Raking is not quite vigorous enough to get the light to stay back on without jumping up and down for a bit to charge the light again.

I hope everyone else's day involved less yard work than mine and more pie.

nanowrimo day 25 Thanksgiving

Today's writing prompt:
It is a first Thanksgiving on an alien planet. How are you celebrating?

I have roasted pumpkin on the counter, potatoes waiting for mashing (and shallot addition) and cupcakes in the oven. Even when I don't get everything I want to do finished I am happy with what I got done.

Today I am grateful for many things:

1. My wonderful husband, Chris, who just cleaned off the counter so I can find the space to chop shallots.

2. My dog, Victor, who tried to eat my husband's lunch bag and failed and at least looked properly sheepish about it (we were gone from the house for less than 20 minutes).

3. My working kitchen. I have made food and while I don't know if it is all good, it is plentiful.

4. Potatoes. No, I really do love my mashed potatoes.

5. My job. I don't always show my appreciation, especially when I am stressed, but I love my job. It is interesting and a good blend of challenging and easy. 

6. The treadmill. I did my slow arse Turkey Trot on the treadmill today even though it was only a day after having my hair done. I need to remember that I like running and that there are things I can give up in order to find time to run.

The evidence?

I looked like I was leaking My Little Pony blood, but I am better now.

nanowrimo day 24 the beautified edition

Today's writing prompt:
Today is the day when you and all of the other members of the Polar Bear Club take a dive into the great blue that is the Atlantic Ocean. But wait, there are reports of a giant lobster reaching up and eating swimmers. It must be getting hungry as most of the normal swimmers departed months ago! What will you do to have your fun and keep from being eaten too?

I love my hair dresser. Emily crochets and is into interesting bands and is great fun to talk to. Better yet, she understands my need to play with my hair yet keep it subdued enough for a corporate workplace. Gone are the days when I was working in the tech industry and no one batted an eyelash about my bright pink bangs, but with Emily's help I can have fun with color and fun with shape.

Today I had a hair appointment, so I had fun. I am colorful and will probably have bleed out tomorrow when I run on the treadmill.  Yup, the biggest problem with unnaturally red hair is that I leak bloody looking streaks from my forehead when I run for the first day or two. Thank goodness for dark towels!

It is Victor walking time, so I can make dinner before my lovely hubby is released from work. Pumpkin apple soup and salad - light food to prep for the foodgasm that is Thanksgiving!

[10 Tuesday] a cook's holiday

Today's writing prompt:
You are a master chef and security officer charged with keeping the royal family safe at home. What are you making? What are you protecting them against?

I have a 35K weekend ahead of me (hey, you asked, Chris, and the answer is raking takes up tons of valuable writing time). Despite being behind in my nanowrimo-ing, I love this weekend, which is great because this week's 10 on Tuesday is 1o things you love about Thanksgiving.

1. Cooking. I love cooking for groups, and despite my Thanksgiving dinners being smaller now than when I had all of my vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends over it is still a lot of fun. Thanksgiving allows cooks to showcase all of the good things they can make from home food comforts to fancy meat and dessert things. This is the only time of year I feel like I can make cranberry juice. It's wonderfully tart and I know I am the only one in the house who will drink it.

2. Leftovers. I love latkes and my family's method involved making 2 million pounds of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving and then using the leftovers to make latkes later over the weekend. Among the meat eaters I know, the Thanksgiving sandwich (turkey, stuffing, potatoes, with or without cranberry sauce between slices of bread) is almost a tradition unto itself.

3. Football. I know it is crazy, but I like football so much more when I started playing fantasy football. It is an external reason to follow the game as a whole rather than just your local (or favorite) team and has resulted in me knowing a lot more about the ins and outs of the game.

4. It's sort of already been covered, but Mashed Potatoes. This year I am making mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots, but I like them with butter and milk or cream just as well as with shallots or garlic. I know it isn't a wonder food, but for me it should be.

5. Dessert. One of the last year's I did a big group Thanksgiving, I had more desserts than I had people. I have done fruitcake fudge as well as cranberry, maple and eggnog. I've made caramel and tried my hand at the sugar stained glass. I've made cakes and pies and pumpkin ice cream pie and pumpkin mousse (which is a lot lighter than pumpkin pie). Sweets are my passion and my downfall and probably the only thing consistently keeping me away from the size 4 I know is lurking somewhere in this body of mine.

6. Hiding from Black Friday. Yup. I do most of my shopping on the Internet (cue music). Of course, this year I'm going to Chameleon and seeing if I can get my piercing back in. I took one of my cartilage piercings out for Sweeney Todd back in August and I haven't been able to get it back in. Even my hair dresser who has as many ear piercings as I couldn't get it back in.

7. The turkey trot. Now, I have never run a turkey trot, because I'm usually too busy cooking (umm, the year I made white chocolate and orange cheesecake I did not sleep the day before Thanksgiving, because it took me about 12 hours to make the cheesecake from beginning to end). This year we have a treadmill and I am going to do my turkey trot at home. Less comraderie that way, but I would like to burn at least the calories in dessert before I go to meet friends for food.

8. Raking. Our last yard waste pickup is this Saturday, so part of Thanksgiving is raking leaves. We have 18 bags and barrels in the driveway and about 20 to go easily in the back yard. As long as we do this together, it is fun and quick. It's only when it is one of us working our way through the piles on our lonesome that it is a chore.

9. Playing video games. I'm still playing Dragon Quest IX, which is mostly a commute game, but Chris will play video games and run Victor out around the back yard. 

10. Writing. I have a lot of writing to do. I don't anticipate that I will win Nanowrimo, but I'm going to keep trying. I have enough story in my head, but apparently the aperture that the story must exit is pretty small. I'll squeeze some more story out and see if I can write scenes instead of writing plot from beginning to end to get a bit more done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

nanowrimo day 22 brains?

Today's writing prompt:
You are being abused by your partner. A friend is noticing this and and tries to help. Do you except the help?  How does your friend try to help? 

Umm, monkeys? I'm still tired from watching Harry Potter on Sunday. As a knitter, HP7.1 was a paradise. There were tons of different sweaters and I fully expect to be able to recreate Hermione's hat once I have the brain and time to do something other than go to work, walk the dog and pretend to cook (I was tired enough tonight that I used a mix for pizza dough).

Oh, and I am a luminary. Or so Dragon Quest IX tells me.

nanowrimo day 21 under the wire

Today's writing prompt:
Magic is real and you just found out. How did you find out? Do you have magic? What is your family's reaction? Your best friend?

Yup. Today was busy, but not writing busy. It was painting a room, cleaning a bit, and raking. Lots of raking. We did not get to the back yard, but before we left to see HP and the Quest for the Magic McGuffin Pt. 1 I counted 18 bags and barrels. I know what I am doing in lieu of a Turkey Trot this week.

I see that my Friday will look like this:

1. Get up and walk Victor.

2. Go to Harvard Square and get my cartilage piercing put back in (the earring has been out since Sweeney Todd, and I'm tired of it).

3. Come home and put Victor in the back yard. Rake.

4. Write and make dinner.

5. Rake.

6. Write with knitting breaks once an hour (unless I get on a roll), because my life is full of deadlines.

7. Rake.

8. Oh, walk Victor again before deciding I have done enough raking.

nanowrimo day 20 starting the count down

Today's writing prompt:
You are an evil librarian. What is your goal? Do you have any allies (evil English teachers)? Who is your arch enemy? And how close is your scheme to fruition?

Today, I'm thanking Chris for encouragement and the link to this lovely nano pep talk.  

I also thank my friend, E, and her family for coming by today. Together we put together a peg board and a shelf, so I can reclaim some of my kitchen from large items like pots and pans and the crockpot of doom. We also primed a room, so my hubby and I can presumably start actual painting tomorrow.

I do not thank Victor, who was so excited by my friend's kids and all of the extra people that he peed on the floor twice. Victor also ate an entire box of wafery cracker/cookies and chewed up one of my books. I feel bad for saying this, but I'm glad that Anne Logston's Shadow wasn't super popular, because it is a cheap item to replace.