thank you

The news about my friend is very bad. The cancer has been found throughout her system and there is nothing that they can do except try and make her comfortable. Any good thoughts sent to her and those who love her are welcome.

Good Thoughts Welcomed; Reviewing; Designing; Life

A woman I consider a second mother was diagnosed with cancer not long (as in within the last few weeks) ago, and appears to have had a stroke a few days ago. All good thoughts for her and her loved ones are welcomed. She is a wonderful and giving person, who taught me and her own children many wonderful things as we grew up. I am saddened by my inability to travel and see them, but as I am fighting a chest cold or flu or something, I shouldn't expose them anyway. So I send my love.
In the meantime, I am keeping busy with things here. Out of the 23 books received for review on January 20th, I have read and created rough drafts for nine of them. Two reviews have been submitted, and I completed another review from an older book and will submit it when I am finished with the more urgent ones (Publishing dates from February through March). Next up will be the books published in January, then December, then November until more books come with urgent dates, or we approach the time to publish the April books I have for review. I also have a few books to review for a site called Paganreviewer.com that I want to complete by the end of the first week in February. I have become a member of Netgalley, so if by so chance I run out of books to review, I can request some directly from the publishers as ebooks, and review for other sites. I enjoy this gig, reading has been a method of escape and a widening of the world for me since I was about 4 years old and understood that d o o r meant "door".
I am test knitting a beautiful shawl design for Lynnie, and working on some new designs of my own.
Photo is of Moonie cat. The cats are lavishing me with love. I think they know I am sad today.

Weather

outside

inside

A very wonderful month

About a week ago, I posted about two wonderful boxes that arrived at our home containing presents and lots of fabulous yarn. After reading about my joy, one of my long-time blog readers contacted me on Ravelry, said she was destashing and asked me to pick whatever I wanted from her stash. I tried, but I could not choose. She has some seriously gorgeous fiber! So, I asked that she make the choice for me, and I was sure I could find a way to use what she sent. I expected a box of yarn that I could use to make samples, and then gift the hats and things to charity. I imagined I could share anything I can't use with friends who love yarn but don't have the finances to buy what they would like. What arrived at the door was in two LARGE boxes. Oscar took this photo. The quilt they are lying on measured 5 feet on a side. There is less than 6 inches of quilt left at the edges
I have enough yarn to make at least two sweaters, a dozen hats, gift to friends, and knit for samples and charity to my heart's content.
It is an understatement to say I am overwhelmed. I am jubilant, I am thankful, and I am having a wonderful time choosing the yarn to knit my pattern samples!
When working on stitch patterns often I will make a hat rather than a swatch, then donate it to SOS here in Ypsilanti. Thanks to the generosity of knitters, there will be lots more warm ears, necks and hands in town :-}

Decoded

A friend of mine is a HUGE Brad Meltzer fan.
I have never read one of his books, but really liked an internet video he put together (thanks Min!) where you input someone's name, and the video basically dedicates itself to them.
Then this series Decoded premiered last year. Oscar and I started DVRing it, and started watching it this month. Some of the shows are uneven, some of the regular 'decoders' ask ignorant questions, and some of the conclusions they reach I disagree with. But.We have learned so much about lots of things in the process of following the show's research. In one episode we learned about the Culper Ring. In another, we learned about the web bot that has been predicting the future for a few decades now. And those were just the two recent shows.
There are a lot of good things about my life, but one of the best is that Oscar and I both love watching shows on the History,Discovery and similar channels :-} I've always loved archaeology and ancient history, as well as learning obscure bits of historical fact, and Os is right there beside me, just as fascinated. We both believe a good day is one where you learn something new. We have some great conversations.

Perhaps a Half Day Off?

I am feeling a bit tired today. I thought about taking a day off, but really, I enjoy what I do for 'work' so what exactly would that entail? I guess I could spend the day playing games on the computer. But I would enjoy doing other things more. In the application of 'a change is as good as a rest' perhaps I should make today about house organization (I have some yarn to sort out) or getting a load of dishes run (I can load the dishwasher from my kitchen stool). Perhaps roasting some chicken breasts and adding the meat and broth to some pasta and broccoli rabe we made on Saturday, and putting it up in Oscar lunches would be good. (Do others still use the phrase 'putting up' to mean storing for later? When I was a kid and I helped mom can fruit and veggies, we were 'putting up' the tomatoes, for example, for winter.
All that sounds like work, but I like ending the day knowing I accomplished something. 
I am far from bored, but a little tired yet restless.
I think a true day off would include spinning or dying yarn. or both. Perhaps to celebrate a big thing, like completing a pattern. I will get out roving and my tools and spin for hours.
I really long to spin. I have a ©Sling-Blade Handspinner created and hand crafted by my friend Dreamspinner. The beauty of it is i can predraft the fiber, and spin all from a reclining position while still having the hands-on experience of rythmically adding twist to yarn. Someday I might get an electric spinner, but I adore my ©Sling-blade
Watch this video to see how fun it is! And look how small a motion she needs to make to create the spin. (the image above is some beautiful yarn I made with my blade)

103

This has been an interesting month so far.
I managed to keep up with the 365 project for 10 or 11 days, but realized I was using foot time to get photos, and had to dial back. I will change my goal to posting photos on my photowise 365 blog, but not one per day necessarily.
I cranked up my review writing and learned I have more writing discipline than I thought.
My 103rd book review was just published, and staggeringly, 22 of them have been published in January. I wonder how many I can get done this month?
The stack of yet-to-be-reviewed books from last year in the photo above has been drastically reduced, and I have a few boxes of brand new books headed my way this week.
This month has taught me I have the discipline to buckle down and write, whether it be book reviews, fiction or patterns. It has also taught me I have somehow found the wisdom not to push myself physically just to fulfill a resolution.  Some of those book reviews were written on foggy brain days... the difference is I let them sit on my hard drive until I had a CLEAR brain day to edit them. The hard work was done, but I needed a good mind to add the polish.
I don't claim to be the best writer of anything, but I have been able to see my skills improve, due in large part to the requirements of writing this blog, and those book reviews.
It seems a strange dichotomy. The health issues that keep me isolated at home create the very circumstance that allows me the time to do what I love.

Unexpected Gifts

This week something incredible happened.
Oscar stepped out to get the mail and came in with two huge boxes, for me!
One was a box from Raveler BuffyJoseph. She had heard about the furnace repair eating into the gift fund and decided to wrap some presents and ship them to me! She had no way of knowing that I had lived in Japan, yet many of her gifts were Japanese in origin! Including some much needed bookmarks. There were three bookmarks on the card you can see on the back right side, but two of them are already in use!
The second box turned out to be something called a Yarn Storm. Someone (I know not who) nominated me for a Yarn Storm. How it works is; Ravelers send unwanted stash to a specific central address, probably along with some money to help shipping costs. Then when someone is nominated, the central person crams as much yarn as a big priority box will hold, and ships out to the lucky recipient! I hadn't even heard of them before the box landed on our doorstep, What a wonderful surprise, and how cool that they both arrived the same day, and Oscar enjoyed my surprise and the yarn petting and cooing that commenced.
Look, just look at my new treasures!!! (thanks go to Oscar for taking the photos for me, he did a great job)

Yarn Stormed

Yule in a Box

An Abundance of Tasks

I am participating in a group on Ravelry that is focussed on resolutions.
I often make personal and spiritual resolutions on my birthday each year, but this year, I thought New Year's Day would be a good time to focus on resolutions related to business and creativity, like writing and designing.
I am doing pretty well. I found that I really like breaking down the resolutions by month, then by week. It seems to help me stay on track. I did not succeed in accomplishing all I wished to do the first week of January, but I did get a LOT done.
My list looked something like this:
1. Put up a photo each day for the 365project. DONE
2. Get a new pattern ready for the Free Pattern Tester's group on Ravelry
- I got a good start on it, but the pattern has been expanded into 4 pieces, in 4 sizes. I plan to offer it as a mini-collection. I am waiting on yarn to finish the samples, but have 2.5 samples done now.
3. Get my shaped ruana pattern ready for pattern testing.
- spent all my time with the other pattern this week. But it is on the list for next week.
4. Get my website updated
- all I did was establish which patterns need to be added (there are 8 at this time)
5. Get 10 book reviews submitted to Freshfiction. DONE plus an additional 2. I have 4 books read for the upcoming week. I now have 96 reviews listed there :-}

-Another item got added to the list for the Jan/Feb resolutions. I had a pattern proposal accepted by Knit Picks which means they will be sending yarn for me to use in making the samples. I want to have that completed by mid-March.
-I promised to help test a new pattern from my Sis-in-love, and that has become ready for Beta testing as of yesterday. I am enjoying the heck out of it! I will spend today working on adding my input to her pattern, and knitting, then knit a bit on it each day.
-Before the end of next week, I will be spending a bit of time each day writing fiction.

So add to that some knitting for friends (Sharon and her mom) and I have an action packed knitting schedule this month!
But I am healthy, and happy.
(and hungry, I just realized I missed lunch entirely and it is almost 6:30 p.m.!)

Fave Photos

A few of my favorite shots from our second visit to FlatTop Grill.

Kiss

Oscar

Cooking

the energizer penguin?

Flat Top Grill: Food Choice Friendly Restaurant

Oscar and I had a lovely day last week. He took me to give Barnes and Noble's new NookColor a whirl and see if it is something I can use to make my life better. (It is, I loved it, and we are saving up for one.)
Then we decided to give a restaurant in the same shopping center a whirl; the FlatTop Grill.
It is based on the ubiquitous Mongolian-Style barbeque restaurants where you load up your bowl with your own mix of ingredients and a grill-cook prepares them in front of you before you take your booty back to the table and chow down. But the FlatTop Grill has a few key differences.
First, they saw me coming in my chair and had both doors wide open to help me get in with out any jostling against the door frame. They guided us to a spacious seating area and made me feel at home.
Then we mentioned allergies to our server. She hurried off, returning with a thick black binder, in which every. single. ingredient. of each and every sauce and condiment is listed. I was able to easily find choices safe for me to eat, as was Oscar. They also single out combinations safe for vegetarians, vegans, and those on restricted diets like reduced sodium, and dishes safe for diabetics, and suggestions for those with specific allergies not often  paid heed to by a restaurant (more details on that can be found on the site here),
The server even remembered that the meat was marinated and offered me a few options. She would go back and talk with the cook, and determine if the marinade was safe for me OR she could be sure non-marinated meat of my choice was available.
We loaded up our bowls with brown rice (one of several choices for the starch part of our meal), our chosen ingredients and sauces, then handed our bowls to the cook. We then returned to our seats, as, at the FlatTop, the server is the one who brings the food to you, rather than having to jostle and wait in line.
Our food was delicious. The sauces seemed freshly-made, not purchased ready-mixed. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and included choices like sweet potato and black beans as well as the more usual broccoli and onion (see photos below) . The meat available included squid as well as chicken, beef and pork, and the vegan choices were wonderful too; including quorn and seitan as well as the more usual tofu. (And I will go vegan when we eat there tomorrow with Amanda, Tommy and Sean).
It was wonderful to be treated as a welcome patron rather than an oddity with allergies.
And the price was very reasonable, too.

Learning Experience

It's about 10 minutes to 5 in the morning, and I haven't slept yet.
In my anger a few days ago I posted so carelessly that I unintentionally hurt a friend deeply.
It was very easy for them to think what I wrote was being directed at them specifically, when the person/people I saw in my mind as I typed those angry words were echoes from a painful past. My friend had no way of knowing that the post they made on Ravelry illuminated my knee-jerk anger and caused me to examine it, then post about that type of occurrence and my feelings about those incidents, and instead understandably saw my post as a direct and personal accusation and attack relating to the post they made. My clumsy use of language made it easy to think that anger was directed at them, instead of at the people in my past, or perhaps more accurately (if more obscurely), at myself and the sucky parts of my life as it is these days.
Long time readers of this blog probably know I usually have upbeat posts, but I do have darker days. Right or wrong I made a promise to myself not to hide my bad days here, in the hope that someone else will not feel alone in their bad days, but the result is some of my posts get downright whiny at times.
Anyway, the bottom line is I am guilty of the very thing that I posted so vehemently against. I hurt someone by the thoughtless words I used, and I am sorrier than I can adequately express. It may have cost me a dear friend, who did not in any way deserve the pain I gave them. I have apologized but realize that apology cannot erase the harm I have caused. The foremost tenant of my faith is to harm none, and it strikes deeply that I caused such pain. In the interests of honesty, I thought it best to share this part of the journey, too.

Unburied Treasures

 I received my copy of Piecework Magazine in the mail today. It is one of my favorite issues, the yearly Historical Knitting issue. This time, there was a short article about a fantastic collection of knitting resources to be found in the Knitting Reference Library at the Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton in Winchester, Hampshire, England. They have compiled references and items from the collections of three outstanding individuals in the knitting field: Montse Stanley, Richard Rutt and Jane Waller.

And part of that amazing collection has been digitized and is available online.

I love living in the computer age!

First Day

I am beginning the new year with the resolution to use my time wisely, and keep up to date on my reviewing, website and pattern writing. Before my birthday in October, (deep breath, this is scary stuff) I resolve to have a short story written and ready for submission.

I got up today raring to get started on some reviews and found the freshfiction.com site down. Never mind, after a few hours work (maybe three?), I now have 10 book reviews rough drafted and ready (almost all ready) for a final polish before uploading them for the editor when the site comes back.

I have the seeds (and rough drafts) of two brand new patterns I will be working on this week. With any luck at all I will be able to have one of those patterns ready for testing by the end of next week. I am almost done with a pattern I have been working on for more than a year. I want to have that one ready for testing next week, too.

I have also decided to participate in the 365 Photo Project this year, thanks to encouragement from my friend Leslie.

The biggest challenge for me will be in the restrictive nature of my life. I will need to take a photo every day, but 6 days out of seven I spend my time here at home. Good thing we have plenty of stuff! Like the restrictions of writing a sonnet or haiku I hope the boundaries will encourage even more creative thinking.

I also want to make the photo each day somehow tie in to that day's spirit, energy or mood.

I will be posting the photos on a brand new blog, Photowise 365, as well as flickr.

I decided to start a new blog for the purpose because Otterwise is a more general blog about daily life, writing, and my designs.

Today's Otterwise photo is the same I posted for Photowise, but that will not often be the case. Tomorrow, for example I plan to blog about a new allergen-friendly restaurant Oscar and I discovered yesterday. (yummmmmy. and safe!)