Transcendental pinning

March 13, 2013March 13, 20132 Comments

Walt Whitman’s use of free verse became appreciated by composers seeking a more fluid approach to setting text. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, a couple of hours ago, I was happily scrolling through my Pinterest feed when I came across a quote by Walt Whitman. I thought up some clever quip to use in the description field, hit the Repin button, and then decided to double-check something before I posted it for all the world to see. It’s a good thing I did, because as it turns out, I had my nineteenth-century American authors mixed up. (I always get Whitman, Emerson, and Thoreau confused.)

Of course now, after having spent the last couple of hours reading about Walt Whitman, the Washingtonians, “O Captain! My Captain!“, the Wilmot Proviso, and a few other random things on Wikipedia, I have absolutely no idea what that clever quip I thought up was anymore. Heck, I couldn’t even remember why I was reading about Walt Whitman in the first place till I clicked over to my Pinterest tab and saw that I was in the middle of pinning something.

But I guess that’s just the way it goes. This has been one of the longest weeks in recent memory and I don’t suppose it will get much better in the next day or so. But! Come Friday, I’ll be entering Pitch Madness, so that’s gotta count for something, right?

Okay, that whole last paragraph doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’m tired. I’ll blame the time change. And then I’ll go to bed. 😀

When Oscar Met Walt: Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman, January 1882 (irishamericancivilwar.com)

Time suck

March 10, 2013March 10, 201316 Comments

DST

Only someone as evil as Count Rugen could have developed a system that deprives me of an hour of my precious, precious sleep every spring.

Star Trek quilting frenzy!

March 8, 2013March 8, 20132 Comments

In an unusual turn of events, a recent home remodeling project led to a crafty weekend of sorts. How, you may be asking? Well, I’ll tell you. And to keep it from getting boring, I’ve got pictures!

The last weekend of February, Seymour and I loaded up the zoo and took a road trip to visit his parents in the bustling metropolis of Ankeny. On a quest to find some stencils to use in our bedroom, we headed to Jo Ann Fabrics. That was a very bad idea. We left much poorer than we went in, our arms full of fabric. But oh, was it ever cool fabric!

We left with two types of fabric and two types of projects in mind. Project number one: Tie blankets. I’ve made one before, and it was fairly simple. I felt confident that I could help Seymour’s mom figure it out, especially since Thumper has one in his crib and we were going to make the blankets together (no more doing things long-distance like the time we tried to make a fitted sheet for his cradle mattress). Project number two: Pillow cases! Because what good would a new blanket be without a new pillow case to go with it?

Winter in Iowa

March 5, 2013March 10, 20139 Comments

Snow Cat (Photo credit: clickclique)

I’ve had it with winter. Specifically, I’ve had it with all the white crap Mother Nature keeps dumping on us. I nearly got stuck at work yesterday because the city does such a lousy job clearing the streets, and the same thing happened again today. After narrowly avoiding the embarrassment of having to ask my boss to give me a push, what happened? I came home and promptly got stuck in the mouth of my driveway, with the back end of my van sticking out into our very narrow street.

I was stuck so tight that after the kids and I tried to get out for about ten minutes, I went across the street and asked the neighbor for help (Seymour wasn’t home yet). It took the two of us a good half hour and maybe a little more to get my van free. The city I live in (yes, I know, it’s a small town, but that’s how we refer to our municipal government) doesn’t do any better when it comes to cleaning streets than the city I work in. So in short, I’ve had it with winter.

Now, don’t get me wrong. When the sun shines on newly fallen snow and it sparkles like a thousand diamonds, I love it as much as the next person. I appreciate the beauty of snow. However, I hate dealing with it. I hate driving in it. I hate shoveling it. I hate cleaning it off of my car.

But at times like these, I often think of a joke my dad shared with me once. It’s about winter in Iowa and, given the trials I’ve had with the snow today and the fact that it was three years ago today that I lost him, this seems like a good time to share it again. I’ve posted it before, but here it is again in all its snowy glory:

Dear Diary. . .

Castle of Dreams

March 1, 20131 Comment

Today I had the pleasure of guest posting over on my good friend Andrea Baker’s blog. She’s been running a series called Castle of Dreams and I’m delighted to participate in it. My contribution concerns the palace in Lokana, where my book The Lokana Chronicles and my current WIP are set. It was a whole lot of fun to write.

I hope you’ll head on over and check it out. While you’re there, have a look at some of the other entries in the series. Not all are fictitious entries; there are also posts about very real castles, including Kenilworth Castle, which figures prominently in Andrea’s book, Worlds Apart – Leah, recently published by Taylor Street Publishing.

And now, I’m off to bed. It’s been a long and busy day, full of work and good food and good friends and great family and fun and I am exhausted! Happy Friday! 🙂