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I think I may have just used these in the wrong way, but I loved it:

Those are my Slipper Genies that I got for Christmas. Lala was was a little nervous when I opened them, lest I bop her over the head for getting me the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner, but she knows me well — I love them. 

I was just over at Amazon looking at them, and now I realize that you're supposed to dust mop with them. Are they crazy? We have a lot of animals and a lot of hardwood/tile. That kind of fur-real estate requires a huge dust mop and a Dyson and a Roomba (when it's running). Two little slippers wouldn't do the trick in our house, even if I wore them all the time, and if I did, then I certainly wouldn't want to fold my legs up under myself because EW.

But check this out: I have a cleaning solution that I use for just about everything. It's one part white vinegar, two parts water, (plus a healthy squirt of your favorite kind of Dr. Bronner's soap — I like lavender). I put it in a spray bottle and it works on hardwood floors, tile, kitchen counter tops, tables, all surfaces, the bathroom, even glass and mirrors. The only thing I don't use it on is the tub and the toilet (the toilet gets a half-vinegar-half-water mixture and the tub gets…. whatever. I hate our tub. Someday we will have a nice tub. Until then, I've given up. Lala handles it). I love my cleaner because it's totally non-toxic, TOTALLY cheap, and if you accidentally spritz the apples with it, who cares?

So today, I got out the spray bottle, put on the slippers, and danced around the house, spraying and mopping with my feet. It was AWESOME. (I am a cleaning nerd.) Then I ripped off the velcro bottoms and threw them in the washer with the towels, and they are scrub-a-dubbing right now. 

That's the kind of thing that lights my fire. It makes me want to get three more pairs, which is ridiculous. I will stick with this one pair. That, my homemade cleaning solution, and knitted dishcloths, and I'm a happy girl.

I really like doing this little Year In Review thing-a-majig, so here we go!

January:

I started going to Loka Yoga, the studio that is now my yoga home. I loved Alice immediately, and she kicked my ass just as quickly.

We also took up rock-climbing!

 

And I went skiing by myself! That was amazing.

 
  
So we were quite fit. You know January and all.

February:

I got a fish! Harper! (He didn't live that long — I think I forgot to tell you he died a few months later. Sigh. RIP.)

The Whoreshoes broke up. RIP the Whoreshoes, too.

Made Lala's Shooter sweater:

March:

I edited a lot. The recession hit our house and Lala lost her job. Heavy sigh. But I did make a sweater I really loved (Colette):

April:

My book title became How to Knit a Love Song, which I liked at first, and now I ADORE. We went to Bolinas and Pt. Reyes for our anniversary, which was wonderful. We spent time at the beach with wet, sandy, happy dogs:

May:

 I made a LOT of bread. I ran the worst Bay to Breakers ever (TOO HOT TOO HOT TOO HOT) with my sister Christy.

 

June:

I GOT A NEPHEW! Isaac!

 

(Strangely, he didn't come out looking like that. But that's the picture closest to hand.)

I ganged up with a posse of hard-livin', gun-totin' (see the site for photographic evidence!), good-writin' women, known as the PensFatales. I still don't really know how I got tapped to be part of this group, but every day I'm thankful that I did. I blog there every other Tuesday, and those seven women are the smartest, savviest, kindest, most driven writers I know. I'm honored and so happy to be a part of the group.

My car got stolen. And then returned with extra gas, a pair of binoculars, a crap-load of Watchtower magazines, and a car cell-phone charger (which worked for my phone, and which I'd been needing). SWEET!

I hiked a lot with Clara in the hills. (I need to do that more. Huh.)

July:

Birthday treasure hunt!

RWA National in DC!

* Reaffirming to myself again that romance is the bomb. Romance is where it's at. Romance sells more than science fiction and mystery combined. Nora Roberts sells more than Stephen King and John Grisham. And as Sarah Wendell said when asked why feminists should read romance: 

It’s a 50-plus-year-old industry comprised mostly of women writers operating their own businesses and producing a genre about women’s self-actualization, pursuit of autonomy, and acquisition of sexual agency for an audience made mostly of women, who buy over $1.4 billion dollars worth of books a year. No, no, nothing feminist or even subversive about that.

August:

Harriet died. We had a very big sad, and we have it still. She was the very best dog ever.

 
September:

Strawberry Music Festival was all about the Avett Brothers (because I've been able to listen to no one else for about a year a half now. I'm rather pathetic, really).

I got my advanced reader copies and posted my first video of opening The Box. WOOT!

October:

Fall came. I love fall. I might have mentioned that.

Something I didn't talk much about was that we took Mom out to sea, as she'd requested. Sixteen months after she died, we finally tossed her ashes between the United States and New Zealand. I dreaded it, my friends, dreaded it with everything I had inside. I felt ill for days leading up to it, and fought a migraine on the drive to the City.

But Bethany had a sailor friend who took us out, and it was amazing. It was a little choppy making our way out through the Bay and under the bridge, and there were a few times that I was terrified (I seem to have inherited my mother's nervousness of sailboats — I was raised on and off them, but as a kid, one of us usually had to bail. I'm just saying). But once we made our way into open waters, the swells got larger and more easily ridden. Nicer. Christy played Edith Piaf. We spoke. I dropped the dedication page from my page-proofs into the water, and we tossed her ashes and some roses.

Then Dad sat on the front of the boat and played his mandolin and the three of us girls sang all the songs we grew up singing. I'm not kidding when I say that other sailboats caught up and paced us, listening. The guy who was captaining us asked if I wanted to sail under the Golden Gate. Still a little nervous, I declined. Then he said, "Really? You might never get this chance again." THOSE ARE GOOD WORDS TO SAY TO ME. I sailed under the Golden Gate, all the way to Alcatraz, singing Kingston Trio songs with my sisters and my Dad. It was the best memorial ever, and it was nothing like a funeral. It was a celebration.

November:

Nano. Need I say more?  

Also, I went to the Pigeon Point hostel to work:

 

December:

December is always hard to write about because it just happened, so you've just heard about it. Lots of writing! Eating! Yoga! There is some new ukulele obsession, which is EXTREMELY fun.

OVERVIEW:

Family: New baby! BEST NEWS EVER! It was very considerate of him to be born on Lala's birthday, also. A very nice gift. The loss of Harriet was a huge blow. But lots of love in many ways, all over town. And this will be a GREAT YEAR for Lala and her New Job which will be exciting and challenging and fun and will probably make her a millionaire. I'm just guessing. Can't wait to find out what it is! Yay!  

Writing: I have brought a book to completion, and I mean ALL THE WAY, from turning it in, to copy-edits, to page-proofs, to ARCs, until the job is well out of my hands. Only one more step remains, and that's holding the completed version in my hands, and that'll happen soon (SOON! March 2nd is the on-sale date! This year! Finally! This year!). This is the year I'll be in a bookstore near you! And that's super exciting.

Bowling: I don't bowl. I just thought I'd throw that in there. Maybe 2010 will be a year of bowling! Who knows?

Wishing you the very best year ever. HERE WE GO! xoxo

1.We got home later than normal, so Clara the border collie ate faster than normal, and now she's walking around the house burping. It's really pretty funny.

2. We got home late because we went to Alcatraz! I've been twice in two months! I seriously dig that place. Lala had never been, even though she's lived in the Bay Area for seventeen years. La Brainy Alison was in town and already had the night tour planned, so we attached ourselves. It's really the best tour in town, I think — creepy and interesting and well-run and worth the high price tag. The night tour is better than the day tour. Highly recommended.

3. My tummy hurts a little from all the food I put into it at Cha-cha-cha in the Mission. Mmmm. Caribbean tapas. Potatoes and jerk chicken and mushrooms and platanos.

4. I can't even imagine doing yoga tomorrow with this belly full of food right now. (I typoed toga instead of yoga. I can imagine doing toga. That's about all I can imagine doing. But hello, yoga, I need you. And perhaps a run or two.)

5. My desk is covered with edits. I can barely find my computer right now, and the book is almost all I think about. I'm on deadline, so if I'm a little quiet for a few weeks, forgive me. I'll be back!

6. Oh! Speaking of that! Alison said I should mention that How to Knit a Love Song is not only available for preorder here in the States (which you knew), but also in Canada now (which you might not have known).

7. And those of you Down Under, did you know that my book will be available under a different title in Australia and New Zealand? It's callled Eliza's Gift, and it's got a whole different look, and you can actually read it earlier, too — I JUST REALIZED I'll be an actual real-live published author on 1-3-2010, according to that site. Excuse me, that's next week. OH HOLY CRAP! Can we just ignore everything else I typed up there? I'm GOING TO BE PUBLISHED IN A WEEK! Nothing else matters!

8. AND JUST THAT FAST – NO, I'm NOT! I just realized that I read the site's publication date wrong. 1/3/10 means March 1st, 2010. So it comes out in Australia a day before it comes out here in America. DANG IT. I was so excited for a minute. I raced into the kitchen and did this excited Almost Published crazy dance routine, only it wasn't a dance routine, it was more of a bug-eyed worried what-now look. It must have looked quite odd.

9. Heh. That was a funny range of emotions to have in the span of three minutes.

10. Time for bed! Night!

I love Adriano Celentano. I first heard him in while eating dinner alone in a Venetian restaurant, looking out at the rain. A gorgeous voice sang overhead on the speakers, and I had to ask who it was. I remember my waiter was amused — I think it was the equivalent of asking who Frank Sinatra was while eating in a Brooklyn diner. Celentano's been around FOREVER, and I think some of his stuff is sexy as hell, and this song, while it's not really one of his sexiest, per se, is one of my favorites. And on this working Christmas, grumpy from lack of sleep and a ripped-off finger-nail (thank you, sneak-attack locker), it's exactly what I need.

It's his version of psuedo-English, gently mocking, and just think about this: it's 1973! This is SO cutting edge for the times. This is pre-rap, people. He was making this up.

And if you need subtitles for his bad English, you can get them here. Heh.

Merry Happy Whatnot!

*Oh! I am also cheered by the thought of one my many wonderful presents I got from Lala last night — my vibrating mascara.

** Just found this: the brilliant Sasha Frere-Jones wrote about this video last year.

*** Even though I miss my family and traditions like sisters jumping on my head with stockings to open and stollen to eat and dads playing mandolins until someone puts the Beatles on the stereo and I completely fucking lose it (OH THE HOLIDAYS) , I do love my job and my coworkers. I'm very lucky and I know it. Yay. And tonight my brother- and sister-in-law and the baby will come over and Lala is making dinner, so there will be a family Christmas. I will not miss it all.

THANK YOU! Almost all of that yarn sold, most of it within hours of posting that last blog. Know what that meant? It meant that we got in the car, and went to the Fifth String in Berkeley, and I picked out my new ukulele! It's a gorgeous Ohana concert ukulele, and it's everything I wanted, and it sounds SO pretty.

What? You want to know how pretty it sounds? A few of you asked me to put up a video, so here you go. I'm sorry it's so dark, but my office lights are dim, and it's nighttime, but I couldn't wait to show you. And, um, I forgot the name of the song in the heat of the filming. It's "Tonight You Belong To Me," a song from the '20s made famous in The Jerk (oh, I think that's one of the funniest moments in flim, when Bernadette Peters suddenly pulls out her trumpet and Steve Martin just gazes lovingly at her). 

Forgive the mistakes. But I LOVE THIS UKULELE! WOOT! I HAVE TO GO PLAY SOME MORE NOW. 

This is a very sad story about a lady who, quite suddenly decided to play her ukulele again. It was great! Fun! Plink, plink! It was funny to her, how it never sounded exactly right, even though she had a good ear, and the instrument was tuned perfectly.

Then she played a good ukulele, one that cost more than $24.99. Quite a bit more, in fact. She should never have done that.

(Okay, I've ridden the third person as far as I could. Back to first.)

It turns out I actually don't suck as much as I thought on the ukulele — it's just that a better instrument is… better. Who knew? In writing, a pen is a pen, and no matter how much I tell myself a better computer will make me a better writer, I know it won't. But after playing my crap-tastic high-action Mahalo all day yesterday (and playing some really great songs with Lala on the bass last night), I'm DYING to get a real ukulele.

Unfortunately, this month, as I've said, has been rather calamitous to cars, animals, and our bank account.

So what do musicians do when they want a new instrument? (I know this from being married to one.) They sell an instrument!

What do knitters do? They have a yarn sale!

Woot! Here we go!  (EDITED TO ADD – ALL SOLD OUT! WOOT! I GOT A UKE!)

(Lots sold together, please — email yarnagogo@gmail.com if interested. Paypal is easiest, I think. I can get the yarn in the mail the day after you buy it! Shipping charges combined on multiple purchases, of course.) 

I'm starting with my favorite, the stuff I've never been able to let myself let go: The Cascade Indulgence. Sigh… Remember it? The softest stuff in the world. These are the old, double-sized skeins. They were originally $18, I got them at $16 on sale. I'm selling them for $12 each.

Lot 1: 6 complete skeins (1 rolled into 2 balls) Cascade Indulgence (70% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Angora), color 517, 100 grams, 246 yards, 5st/in on US 7.        $12/ea = $72 + $5 shipping.   SOLD!!!  🙂

 

Lot 2: 4 skeins Cascade Indulgence
(70% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Angora), color 507, 100 grams, 246 yards,
5st/in on US 7.        $12/ea = $48 + $5 shipping.  SOLD!

 

Lot 3: 3 skeins Cascade Indulgence
(70% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Angora), color 509, 100 grams, 246 yards,
5st/in on US 7.        $12/ea = $36 + $5 shipping. SOLD!

 

Lot 4: 1 skein Cascade Indulgence
(70% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Angora), color 515, 100 grams, 246 yards,
5st/in on US 7.        $12 + $2 shipping.    SOLD!

Lot 5: 1 skein Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool (100% Wool), color Clearwater, 4oz, 250 yds, 4st/in on US6-7.   (Normally $21.50)    $15 + $2 shipping. SOLD!

 

Lot 6: (Sorry, hard to photograph. This is really purpley and gorgeous in person.) 2 skeins Mountain Colors 4/8's Wool (100% Wool), color Midnight Sapphire, 4oz, 250 yds, 4st/in on US6-7.   (Normally $21.50 each)    $30 +
$4 shipping.  SOLD!

 

Lot 7: (Am I really selling this one? Yes, yes, I am.) Purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool a while back, 1 skein of the gorgeous Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm (100% Alpaca), 15 oz, 1250 yards, light dk weight. Originally $80.00.   Now $55 + $5 shipping.  SOLD!

Lot 8. Also hard to photograph, but lovely. Purchased at New York Sheep and Wool. 2 skeins Tintagel Farm (50% Kid Mohair/50% Fine Wool), 200 yds, 4 oz, light worsted weight.  Originally $12 each.   $16 for both + $3 shipping.  SOLD!

 

Lot 9: 6 skeins Noro Kureyon (100% Wool), 50grams, 100 meters, 4-5 st/inch, color 95. Normally $8.95.    $5 ea,  $30 +$5 shipping.   SOLD

 

Lot 10: 3 skeins Noro Kureyon (100% Wool), 50grams, 100 meters, 4-5 st/inch, color 124. Normally $8.95.    $5 ea,  $15 +$3 shipping.      SOLD

(Tomato to show relative redness — hard to photograph)

Lot 11: Discontinued classic. 7 skeins Tahki Sable (70% Merino Wool/30% Angora), 50grams, 140 yards, 5st/in on US 6. (Originally $7.50)   $5/ea     $35 + $5 shipping   SOLD!