To get into my hair again

- Uneasy in my easy chair

Man, I have just been the worst blogger this month. My apologies. Lots doing.

In my defense, I have been working finishing and writing up 4 different projects that I can’t give you the real details on because they’re being submitted for publication and you kow how prickly those publishers can be about original material, blah, blah, blah…

So what can I show you. hmmmm

I’ve been trying out ideas for a new hat, thinking and trying different bobbly stitch bits to see if I can make with yarn and hook what I see in my head. I should be done with with my “can’t talk about em” bits just after Halloween and then i can get to work on…

the holidays.

My bus broke down again this morning – some electrical fritz – this is the 3rd time in a month. argh!

I did manage to make it through that chapter and am now happily speeding through the rest of the book again. I read a line about something that Bree was wearing and laughed outloud to myself because the first thought that popped into my mind was… “I need to read through these books again and look for knit/crochet pattern inspiration!”

uh huh

Toots

I can read you even if my eyes are closed

– but I won’t allow you to haunt me the rest of my life

So, here I sit. On this page. Stuck.

I cannot read past this page. I have, but I can’t seem to do it again. Because I know what lies beyond.

If you are reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and have not yet read The Fiery Cross

STOP

 

 

DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! – seriously, you will hate yourself and probably me too.

 

 

Yes I know every woman who reads these books falls in love with Jamie – who wouldn’t, he’s a myth. But I adore Roger, I prefer him. In my mind he’s a combo of young Graham Nash and Ben Taylor – with Ben’s voice. 

That said. I am on my second read through of the series and I can’t read past this page.

I adore Roger.

As pissed off as I was when the door at Lallybroch opened and Loaghaire was standing there I was livid and heartbroken when Roger was hanged. As much as I feel for these characters and care for them I sobbed and sobbed but it was only the second time in the series that I actually cried – the first being when Jamie falls apart in Claire’s lap after seeing pictures of Bree. I was so hurt. It took a considerable amount of reassuring myself that I could trust the author to get me to go back and continue reading – and glad I am that I did.

I know that whats going to happen isn’t on the next page, I know he still has to go talk to Herman Husband and run into Morag and get caught by William but I can’t get his hanging out of my head and I hate it! I don’t want to go read anything else but I can’t move forward with this story.

So I’ll try to read this page again (the 4th time)  tonight after the girls go to bed and see if I can keep going. I have a very full weekend with birthday parties and soccer games and other social engagements so if I don’t get to read through my blockade till Monday, I won’t be too hard on myself.

At least I know that there is still plenty of Roger beyond that page, I’ll comfort myself with that.

Toots

Uncle Richard, me and James Earl Jones

– the world has more for you

I’m finishing up, and starting projects left and right lately. I have 3 patterns that I’m submitting for a Twilight knit/crochet inspired book. One is 1/2 done and has been/is being test knitted as we speak and I LURVE what my testers are turning out! Woot!!

The other 2 are crochet projects, I’m working up one this weekend and hope to have the pattern written and off to testers early next week and possibly get the last project started on Monday.

This is all I’ll show you of the one on the hook now, It reminds me of the episode of the original Star Trek series with the two opposite guys that couldn’t get along.

I also picked all the tomatos that were left on the giant plant that grew out of out compost. We had two morning frosts this week and all the foliage is dying. Now I just have to figure out what to do with 10 pounds of green cherry tomatos! Any ideas?

Oh and because he’s mentioned in the song lyric that I chose for a title today, I will leave you with links to 4 of my most favoritests JEJ movies. One, Two, Three and Four, and NO these are not award winning or even worthy performances, they’re just my favorites – go rent and enjoy

Toots

Can you say squee?

I have been quoted in The New York Times!

yeah, you read that right. Scroll down till you get to the entry for “kinnear”, it was last year and I’m just learning about it now – thanks Ms. Pearl-McPhee.

I entered it on Urban Dictionary – the 2nd entry – last fall.

I’m not quoted or anything but, its cool. SO cool

oh my little not-so-famous-except-here-in-my-own-house celebrity.

toots

* oh man – he was on Conan O’Brian – and he read MY WORDS!! WOOT!! – its in the third segment

**the esteemed NYT is not letting you access the article unless you become a registered member, but I assure you it exists.

But my heart is still unknown

- Now inches from the water, about to disappear

My week started off in a wonderful place. 

Patrick has had Mondays off all month and we’ve been able to spend some nice days in each others company. This week we took a slight road trip north for goodies.

See, Kristin mentioned awhile back that she and The Farmer had this amazing old abandoned apple orchard on their farm, then she went and said that if anybody wanted to come pick apples they could! We don’t live all that far away and I’ve been trying for 2 years to get together with her, so we decided we would go make a morning of it!

It was one of those great blustery autumn days with really warm sunny patches and cool breezy patches – just a beautiful day. We got there around 11, said hi to Kristin, the Farmer, lovely neighbors, the dogs, chickens, mamma sheep and their fall lambs, the guinea fowl and the orchard – oh that orchard.

They are the wildest apple trees, there is such life and a magic about them, all tangled together, gnarled, broken, canted, wild, rose covered – you should see al the little cuts on my hands and all the little thorns I pulled out that afternoon – and quiet, so quiet but alive with sound at the same time. I remember days like that as a child spent wandering the hills behind my grandparents place and spending hours without hearing human sounds. I loved every minute of it!

After an hour or so of picking we were at hauling capacity for our little station wagon and we headed back up to the house for a bit. Kristin showed us around, introducing us to the reasons for patricks newest blog posts, showing us her studio, piles of works in progress and recently returned test knits for her latest book-in-progress. Truly amazing stuff. She also gifted me with a nice little stack of postcards of some of her pictures and paintings – she has them for sale on her site scroll down a bit.

The apples were hard to get to in places and we only explored and picked in a very small portion of those 4000 trees. Most of the fruits are very high in the trees now – one of the reasons comercial orchards prune their trees is ease of picking – but we had a wonderful time and filled a huge bin with a falls worth of cider fodder! This weekend, when Patrick isn’t working on his sugar shack, we’ll be grinding and pressing apples. 

The girls have 3 soccer games this weekend but I’m sure I can get them to help me wash the apples inbetween. I can’t wait for that fresh cider!

Thank you Kristin!

Toots

a moment of silence

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks to those of you that called, stopped and e-mailed to see how I was yesterday.

A 2 year-old child was struck and killed by a school bus in my work district yesterday morning. 

I DO NOT want to imagine what the family and the driver are going through. Though we drove in the same district I did not know the driver personally but I am heartbroken for all involved.