SciFi is running a Firefly marathon all day, so EXTRA happy Friday to me
Speaking of Whedon, Dollhouse is getting very good early buzz, and Fox announced that they are going to present it with reduced commercial breaks. The only bad news is that they’re holding off until mid-season (or whatever you call it) to start the show. Still, good buzz is promising.
Since it’s on topic, there is a new Buffy tarot deck being released. I’m not thinking I can use a deck with Willow on it, but I really like the little mythology they cooked up:
Lost hundreds of years ago, the Slayer’s tarot is an important artifact from Slayer history that came into existence after a group of women shared a vision of a rogue Slayer who would love a vampire and who would be aided in her fight against evil by a group of mystical allies. The heretical prophecy led to the suppression of the deck by the Watcher’s Council.
Cute, right?
In crochet, I started my first blanket, a little baby blanket for charity and practice of my ripples. It is interesting so far–the pattern doesn’t tell me whether I do a turning chain or not, so I’m kind of winging it. Turns out, I pretty much always wing it, bwah.
I leave you with this:
Zoe: “Don’t you think [that big ass group of alliance soliders] changes the mission a bit?”
Mal: “I surely do. Makes it more fun.”
Zoe: “Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing.”
Thanks for all your supportive comments yesterday! I managed to write about 1500 words (not counting the pie) at a coffee shop yesterday, so it must have been good mojo in the end. I have opened manuscripts and just stared and stared, but finally the words came yesterday. We’ll see how it goes.
Part of the problem, I think, is that I’m uber scattered. I have a LOT to do, but nothing is particularly pressing or particularly time consuming. It’s like I’m being eaten by tiny hamsters, one tiny bite at a time. Each one bite is no big deal, but the fucking hamsters are eating my braaaaaaaain!
I’ve tried about 100000 ways to manage my time, but I have this weird conglomorated (so what if I made it up, I’m a writer) life that doesn’t fit in to one category or another. I don’t get a block of time to say “this is what I’m doing now” because I”m constantly doing a bunch of unrelated things. I believe this is the fate of work-at-home (that includes mom-at-home, because being a house manager is a job, damn it, and that doesn’t even count the kid part) folks in general, so I know I’m not alone out there. Lemme tell ya–it isn’t a bad gig at all but some days I feel totally at a loss as to how to move forward. Maybe it’s the PMS today.
Unrelated–I LOVE Pushing Daisies! Great show, wish it was still on and I am crossing my fingers for another season. I was just trying to sell folks on it the other day–honestly, I’m surprised it made it on TV at all, given how awesomely strange and unique it is! I consider it a high honor to be compared
I’ve been struggling with that “I hate every word I write” syndrome pretty hardcore, and I decided to loosen up with some flash fic exercises. Can’t promise they’ll be good, but at least they’ll be… something to read?
I just heard the term “sheket bevakasha” today, and MAN did that send me back to hebrew school. It pretty much means SHUT UP. I felt like a little kid misbehaving during trope exercises again. Crazy how a little thing can bring up so many memories.
In other news, it is my month to post the weekly hotties at the Wicked Whispers, and I found some nice ones today (why yes, I am a day late, sigh). I’ve decided Drew Goddard is my new crush.
I started the second panel of my LOST purse now that I finished the mother’s day gifts, and after that I might have to try a blanket since I promised one to my brother for his birthday. And… if certain friends who love Avatar weren’t motivated to learn crochet already, this should convince them *cough moon_fox cough*. I’m totally making one, we could have a crochet-a-long!
Lately, Emily from Ghost of a Chance, that novel I was gonna write but got sidetracked by NaNo and the fact that it wasn’t a romance, is bugging me a lot. I think she’s ready to go, and who am I to argue. I just have to finish Maya first!
Why do I keep dreaming about runaway elevators? It’s freaky.
I totally totally don’t understand computers. Or math. Also, I need a bigger Ipod. These are all related, but in an embarrassing way I’m choosing not to mock myself by sharing here. Just sayin’.
3 year olds are amazingly inventive. The plastic mast of a pirate ship has been a horse, a steering wheel, a sword and a magic wand this week. He also informed me I was making him a hat. I didn’t know that, but apparently I was to make him a purple and green hat post haste. He even reminded me I made his brother a hat. So I whipped up a quick beanie this morning, which he promptly used to put a bunch of pirates in and refused to wear. Hee. Toddler hats are FAST, though, so charity work is definitely a doable thing.
Deep breathing really DOES improve my patience levels. Enough not to go postal, anyway. Good thing, too.
There is a beautiful storm brewing that I totally didn’t expect this afternoon. The temperatures dropped to sane levels and the wind is kicking up all the pollen. Most of this is a good thing
So I buy this HUGE, and I mean HUGE lot of industrial yarn from a woman on craigslist. Like so huge I need another room in my house to hold it all. My husband picked it up and when he gets home, it turns out she meant thread and lace weight yarn. BAH. There isn’t a whole lot I can crochet with this type of thing unless I do thread crochet doilies and crap, and I could spend my whole life working on that and never get through the thread I bought.
But.
It turns out that the shawls you can KNIT with lace weight yarn are stunning. Like, lay down stunning. Which of course leads me to… I have to learn to knit. As if I don’t have enough to do, LOL. But dudes, stunning. I can’t even describe how pretty these shawls are. Sigh.
I’m going to turn the thread around on ebay, I hope, with the husband’s help, and get my money back because I got a screamin’ deal on the stuff. The lace weight yarn is going in my stash. And then…I’m going to buy the klutz knitting book, lol. At least I can’t say I have idle hands, right?
(x-posted to Wicked Whispers today–I had fun writing this one so I figured a cross post never hurt anyone)
I’m busily planning my own Beltane celebration, and let me tell you it isn’t as easy that it looks.
Beltane is a fertility holiday. According to some traditions, this is the time that the God and Goddess consort together, creating the world anew in anticipation of the full harvest in the fall. Celebrated on or around May 1st, Beltane is also the first fire festival of the summer months for Celts, and many traditions come from Germanic festivals too. We’re midway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice–some traditions celebrate on the full moon nearest this time.
As the symbolism around Ostara is all about new life and babies, the symbolism of Beltane is all about…well…sex. You tell me how I’m going to explain the Beltane symbols of the Maypole (yeah, that’s a big penis being wrapped in a nice silky vagina), ripened fruits like figs and seasonings like cinnamon for heat and lust, the reenactment of the “Great Rite” that involves dipping the blade in the chalice, well you get the idea. It’s a pretty heady affair. I imagine my kids will get the, er, short version of the explanation this year!
Of course, we’re not the types to get naked and dance around in a circle (I live in the desert–the rocks would hurt my feet), but I’m all about a holiday that celebrates fertility and lushness. I’m well done having children myself, but I’m all about creating passion and fertile growth in other ways. My ritual will incorporate some things I’d like to bear fruit, some wishes I planted on Ostara need a check in and perhaps some encouragement and “labor” to come to fruition. My garden could use some encouragement to grow during the hot summer months (my summer has already started, people, bah!) And we always try to give back, too, to the Earth for the gifts we receive.
Will I enact my own version of the great rite? Mm…probably
In any case, the late spring is a good time to start putting into motion those plans you have been allowing to bud and seed during the spring. Summer is a time of labor and pushing through until the harvest can be sown in the fall. Consider what you can do to help your trees bear fruit this week.
Look what I got while on my short vacation (shorcation?):
5/5 from Fallen Angel Reviews. LeeAnn said: “There is a great sense of humor blended into Ms. June’s work that helps draw the reader into her world. At times I was reminded of Buck Rogers, but the heat rises a lot hotter. The plot weaves quickly between taut action, then a seductive romp between the sheets, keeping the reader anxious to turn the next page. The characters are strangely believable in their imaginary setting, and you cheer for them to find the happy ending they so richly deserve.”
Thanks LeeAnn for the wonderful review. I love to hear when people enjoy the humor and fun of Jason!
In other news, I have no voice left at all and my feet are killing me. But it was so totally worth it
