Sheer Bliss

Buddha used to perch on the back of my rocking recliner.. sometimes when I sat down she would tumble off the back, often onto my head with paws scrabbling.

So I sprinkled the back of the recliner with some highly-scented herbal flea repellent (she HATES having it put on her). It may not be the most effective method of repelling fleas but it repelled Buddha very well....especially when she found this towel Oscar carefully folded for his own use.
Three days later, it's still her favorite spot in the house.
(Photo taken by Oscar)

Otterwise Knit Tip Of the Day

-I sometimes have a small bit of something to knit. In this case, a swatch for Rae's Yarn Boutique.
-I don't like to use big long needles that swoop and swirl and threaten near-by cats as I switch from side to side, so I often use double pointed needles instead.. but I also don't like it when stitches slip off the end.
-So I have started using point protectors on the far ends of two double pointed needles, and use them like wee single points. Before getting point protectors, I wound a rubber band tightly around the far end. It worked well too.
-This is an eight-inch swatch done on #6 dpns. (From some wonderful hand-painted 100% merino yarn by Mirasol)

Most-used knitting pattern

As I was working on a gift for a friend, I realized that the pattern I was using, the Colorjoy 'Kristi's Comfort Wrap' was the pattern I had knitted more than any other.
I am not certain how many of these I've done, but it's more than ten, and not far from twenty.

Some have been for shop samples, and one was for me, but the vast majority have been for people whom I wished to hug, but could not. My arms just don't reach as far as my heart does.

As I knit them, my love and thoughts for their new owner go into every stitch. I believe in magic, you see. Especially that the love you put into something can be felt by others.

Here is a photo of the one finished yesterday, posed outside with the hibiscus bush.

Serendipitous flowers

About three years ago I bought a plant on ebay purposing to be a Korean Ginseng bush, a variety of viburnum...What bloomed the following year was a rather nice hibiscus with huge blossoms (see 1st image)
Last year, I had these lovely smaller local hibiscus show up. (very similar to what my mom always called a "Rose of Sharon" bush. (see 2nd image) This year I have two of the smaller-bloomed bushes, and of course my original hibiscus. It pretty nice to have effortless gardening :-} I wonder if I can use the flower for hibiscus tea? Anyone know?

Blame the environment

I seem to recall I was able to produce decent term papers back in the '80s fueled by two hours of sleep and youthful enthusiasm.
Today I'm writing really fun stuff full of sex and archeology and my brain stops dead in its tracks before more than a sentence or two drips out. Even though I must have gotten a good solid 3.75 hours of sleep last night (said with just a hint of sarcasm).

Maybe it's global warming.

Busy Busy Busy!

I started writing again on Sunday.
It's going pretty well, I'm on target so far.
Looking at it as a regular job, I feel more able to focus on the next task needed, less scattered by other tasks.
Sundays and Mondays are lighter days as far as writing is concerned, as Oscar is home. Tuesday is a transition day, used to work back into the solid writing days of Wednesday through Saturday.
So far I have created two book documents in Write Way Pro and brought in work done on those two books previously. I've also set up some of the characterization files for the two books.
The first book is one I will write someday, but feels like too huge a task until I have more experience. (It's set in modern Scotland, and will require quite a bit of research to 'feel' right.)
The second book is much closer to home, and I can focus on getting the story written down without the added threads of a foreign (to me) setting.

I am recovering from a tough couple of days. Wonderful days, but taxing.
Saturday I cleaned and cleared a trouble spot in the living room that had been bothering me a long time. I had been clearing away a few things at a time, but Saturday I really pushed hard and completed it. I had intended to rest afterward, but then the dog badly needed a bath.. REALLY badly.. so I did that too. Pushed too far.
Sunday I rested until we went out to eat with our friend Chris. I hadn't seen him for many months, and we wound up talking much longer than we'd planned. Another long time spent upright, which messed with my abdomen and ankle.
Monday was a wonderful day, but again, very taxing.
We went to Lansing to celebrate Liz's birthday and our 6th wedding anniversary. Liz is terrific, I always enjoy spending time with her. We had a lovely late lunch/early dinner at a Mongolian barbeque place, then I spent more time in Rae's yarn boutique, and then even more time at Liz's house talking with her and Fred. Again, wonderful wonderful time, but hard physically.
By the time I got home, I was paying for the three day 'spoon spending' spree.
Today I feel 7 on a scale of 10 regarding capability, which is better than I expected. One solid day spent writing and knitting with my feet up and reclining should put me right. I did do a little housework (loading the dishwasher, etc) but mostly I'm taking things easy. I want to rest up for our private wedding anniversary celebration tomorrow :-}

I am knitting up a storm, testing a new pattern from Lynn.. no details, just that it will be GORGEOUS! And Lynn bought me Cat Bordhi's new book as a thank you, so I am drooling over it, deciding which pattern to try out first. If you have an interest in knitting.. go snap up a copy. It will be in high demand!

Fur Faces

Buddha has a renewed interest in heights.
Lately she's been hauling herself up to the top of the china cabinet as we head for bed, and casually booting things off to make plenty of lounging room. The stuffed critters didn't disturb me too much, but the Star Trek (Original Series) lunch box made a pretty loud clatter in the middle of the night.
She was unrepentant.

Gearing Up

I begin my "new job" on August 12th. (New moon)
I'm looking at writing as a combination of college and employment.
To that end, I've been weaning my life of time-sucking distractions. Reducing the number of television shows I'm recording, going a day or two at a time with little or no television, etc. The first thing I did was reduce the number of email lists I belong to. That has saved me lots of time.
Another thing I'm going toward is checking email twice a day, answering urgent emails, and saving non-urgent ones to answer once a week. I also only reply to email lists once or twice a week. I've chosen Tuesday as 'email day'. It's essentially my first workday of the week, the day Oscar returns to work after his weekend. I may blog more often than once a week, but Tuesday will also be 'blog day'.
I've also been spending time reading books on writing, and have learned much. I will continue to read, for motivation and tips. Another wonderful resource I have is workshops, current and archived, on my RWAonline group. I plan to continuously study one of those at a time.
I am still determining the best way to structure each work-day, but I suspect a big chunk of writing time beginning as Oscar leaves for work will be key to getting the writing portion of the day started right.
Housework can happen while he is still home, and maybe a bit right after my mid-day meal. After writing a chunk of time, I can break and do some workshop stuff, have a meal, then plunge back into the second writing section.
Knitting? Knitting will be beside me to use as a way to let my subconscious work on any point where I get stuck. (Thanks Claire for the tip!)
After the writing part of the day is done, knitting and tv will be waiting for me, to keep me out of trouble.
I will write some every day, but the full-time 'turn the phone off' days will be Wednesday through Saturday.
I'm sure adjustments will happen, but that is my plan at this point.
(image is of tender grape shoots)