I hit the 25,000 word mark today with the word "out," which is, I think, ironically funny for my straight romance novel.
*Edited to add — oh, my GOD, look at the date! I worked so hard to reach 25,000 because I thought it was the 15th! It’s not! It’s the 14th! YAY!
I’m having a fantastic weekend. It’s one of those weekends where I’ve been doing things, but I feel leisurely (and it lasts until Thursday night this week! Hurrah!). I’ve hung out with Lala more than usual, that might be helping my mood. I dyed my hair yesterday and gave it a cut (pic later? I’ll try to get to it). I’d forgotten how much I like the DIY hairstyle — how fun it is to hack at your hair with scissors in your bathroom. I just can’t justify $80 on a color/cut anymore. Not right now, anyway. Maybe someday. I do love having my hair done.
And I got up early, and my words are done, and all the dogs have gone back to sleep, and we’ll go to the beach later, and I’m meeting up with someone who wants me to teach a sweater class in the spring, which is kinda freaky, since I don’t teach as much try to talk other people into realizing that mistakes are okay and no one will ever notice, just keep going. And I might spin and bake blueberry muffins. And maybe roast a chicken with rosemary and lemon and garlic.
And I’m making mittens, for the first time ever — I’ve never been out in the cold, really, living in California, going from car to house to car to work. But now that I take the dogs out everyday, it’s different. I realized on the beach yesterday, in the pouring cold rain, that my hat, scarf, and wool/angora sweater were all well and good, but my hands were wet and salty and sandy and freezing. Mittens, good throwabout sand-filled mittens will help. Made one last night watching TV, will finish the other today in time for the beach. It’s sunny today. But dude, if I have new mittens (first pair of mittens since I was wee, I think), I’ll wear them, sweaty hands and all. Pics of those later, too.
If I were a responsible blogger, I’d go take pictures. That’s what you’d like, huh? Well, call me responsible, then. Hang on, I’ll be right back.
My First Mitten.
I didn’t really use a pattern — I found some numbers online but it wasn’t till I sat on the couch that I realized it was written in the flat, so I just started knitting in the round on two circs. Size 5 needles, 28 stitches k2p2 for an inch or so, increase to 31 st, knit to 3 inch from cuff, increase for thumb gusset by making two every other round until 11 stitches have been added, place waste yarn for thumb hole, keep going until it fits my hand, throwing in stripes where it felt fun. I’m using Korean wool that was a gift from my wonderful and beautiful sister-in-law Won-Ju. (But I’m only telling you how I made them out of interest, for the love of god don’t follow these as a pattern — there are plenty of free ones online. Follow one of those, not this jumble.)
Harriet likes it as a hat.
Miss Idaho likes it as proof she is Very Small.
Ridiculous Clara would like to chew on it. Big surprise!
So, in other Hehu news, the other night Lala was bleaching in the bathroom. She, however, was bleaching beer bottles.
Hey, Lala!
How’s it going down there?
Good, good. She’s making beer, y’see, and I’m supposed to help bottle tonight. That should be fun. I will try to keep my WHY IS THAT DRIPPING OVER THERE kinda comments to myself. I really will.
So while she likes to bleach bottles, I’m now a bottle-blonde bleacher.
I went from this delightfully trashy look:
ROOTS!
to this:
That shot tickles me so. As does this one:
Loreal Feria, Extra Bleach Blonde, if anyone’s wondering.
I cut it to this length:
Please notice my shirt:
1/2 way done, baybee!
And just a couple more gratuitous dog shots for the road:
Ridiculous Clara wants to know WHY we don’t like it when she eats potting soil:
And Harriet gets the last word. As usual.
I read your excerpt last night. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to seeing where you go with it.
Yay for doggies! I’m feeling a bit drawn towards getting a dog, but can’t do it right now, so I’m enjoying other peoples’.
you and lala live a very charmed life 🙂 let me know how the beer goes (what kind is lala brewing, anyway?).
miss idaho and harriet are good doggies. and clara? stay, girl, stay! now that’s a good girl.
Congratulations! Halfway there is AWESOME! (Love the t-shirt, too.)
Hi Rachael… I’m delurking to say nice looking mittens, love your models. Here’s a helpful link for mittens http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/kidsmittens.htm I’ve done several pairs from this pattern and it’s an easy knit. You’d probably want to use the one with the 32 stitch cast-on.
What a wonderful day–you obviously are feeling very light! Hey, I’m on a borrowed computer so I don’t have your email address with me–write me to discuss this weekend’s plans, OK?
Miss Idaho looks as if she’d like to kick that mitten’s ass. Love, love, LOVE your doggies! Cool hair too. Reminds me, I need to put the red back in mine!
I’ve made (and bottled) wine, but never beer. What kind are you making? Or is it an “original”?
Love the 40’s blonde look! And I used to make home made ROOT BEER..does that count?
Miss Idaho is as small as a mitten! I love the new ‘do, and congrats on the halfway mark in your writing — on the 14th, no less. Tres impressive!
Potting soil is DELICIOUS! You are such a soil snob… 🙂
Fingerless mitts are also fun to make and once you know the things that need to be done, you can wing it anyway you want. They are good for dogwalking.
What kind of beer is she making? My Dad used to make beer, and it was very stinky, and then it would sit in the corner of the dining room and burp at us as it fermented. The cheapest caps he could find were for Orange Crush, so he had the bitterest, blackest stout with silly caps.
I hope Harriet is all better!
Love the gratuitous dog shots, especially Miss Clara the potting soil-eater.
Thought you’d be amused: http://www.americanelf.com/
(If the obvious Nano comic isn’t up anymore, the direct link is http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users/americanelf/comics/americanelf2006/11-13-06-efytu.gif
btw, do you know any places that publish seriously cheesy non-straight romance novels? I’ve had a horribly, entertainingly clichéd one in my head for nearly a decade.
Hmm, make that
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/
users/americanelf/comics/
americanelf2006/11-13-06-efytu.gif
Or maybe an embedded link will work.
Congratulations on hitting the halfway point! I’m sort of treading water at the moment and hoping to catch up a bunch this weekend.
I am most definitely not half done…and I got my new spindle and a lovely gift of roving in the mail today. Woe is me, I don’t want to write, I want to spin!
Fortunately my husband is going to be away for a few days at the end of the month, if I have to, I can race to the finish without distraction then.
You know, those really should be my fingerprints on that shirt.
hey! I’ve been stalking your blog for a while now– I like your writing style, very honest and fresh. Thought about you when Leno had his bit on tonite about dummies who call 911. One lady was swearing, and wanted either her dollar or her taco.
You are fun. You are just FUN.
Does Lala have any beer brewing recommendations? Any books I could get for HE Johnny or other recs? I know you are both swamped but if you think to ask her I’d appreciate it!!