The Crow's Nest

While You Were Out

2006-10-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

My mother was visiting us for the last week, and she wanted to work on a crafty type project while she was here. We decided to decorate Cerra's room like an aquarium, because she loves the movie Finding Nemo. Two walls of her room were ugly dark "wood" panelling (the stuff was put up throughout our house); the other two were painted an off-white.

I had found some pretty tropical fish fabric to use for curtains, so we based our paint color choices off of that. We ended up with a turquoise blue for the walls, bright green and orange for the trim and doors, and a sandy pinkish color for the baseboard (to look like sand). We also found coral accent wallpaper and Finding Nemo wall stickers. The two non-panelling walls would be painted using glaze to thin it down, so that it would be lighter the higher it went. The other walls would just be covered with the full-strength blue paint. The ceiling would be painted a blue that was heavily diluted with glaze, and then a rag-roller would be used to make ripples so that it would look like it was under water. We figured that we could get it done in about four days: 1) Prime walls, 2) Paint walls, 3) Paint ceiling and trim, and 4) Touch up paint and apply wallpaper and stickers. The curtains would be sewn while we were waiting for the paint to dry.

A couple of weeks ago, I had tried removing some of the panelling in the spare room to see if it would be feasible to remove it from Cerra's room prior to painting. This was not a good idea. The plaster underneath was in really bad condition, so I decided to leave the panelling up and just paint over it. I used a liquid sander before priming to remove the gloss from the panelling.

We experimented a bit with the paint+glaze combination, and decided that it would be best to paint the walls with the mixture, and then remove it with a cloth to achieve the shading effect. One of the walls was a practice wall because it would be mostly hidden by furniture. I found that scrubbing off the paint and then blotting away the rub marks with a clean cloth gave me the look that I wanted.

The ceiling turned out to be very easy. I had a lot of fun moving the rag-roller randomly to create the look of ripples.

Here are before and after pictures of the room:

Farm Work

2006-08-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Tiger spent last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with her grandparents, so Corvus and I spent a lot of time out at the land. Earlier in the week, he had hired a guy to rototill about a third of an acre, so he was busy planting. Here are a few photos of the freshly tilled area.

I spent the time building a fence around the garden area. Eventually we plan to have all of the land fenced, but for now that's the most important section. Thursday I spent the entire day driving T-posts into the ground. At the end of the day I had put 65 of them in, and only needed two more to complete the circuit.

Several months ago, I had seen in a catalogue T-post brace adaptors, that allowed you to brace a corner T-post with other T-posts. That seemed like a good solution, so I asked the farm supply store if they carried them. The guy at the counter was very disparaging of them, saying that they weren't strong enough to support woven wire fencing. So I decided to go with the traditional braced wooden post corner. This meant that I had to pull out three T-posts at each corner and dig three post holes. I spend Friday doing that.

Saturday, we only planned to work a half day, so I managed to completely finish one corner. Here is a photo.

I have three more corners plus the sides of a gate to build. After that, Corvus and I will have to work together to attach the woven wire fence.

Pictures of house and land

2006-07-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is the front of our house.

This is the left side, with the garage entrance. Above the garage is our library and Corvus's office.

This is the right side. The steps go up to the sunroom, which is our pantry.

This is the back. The bottom part is the garage, which connects to the basement.

Our land, looking south from the northern end.

Some of the forest on our land. This is near the creek.

More forest, this time near the road.

Looking north from the southern end of the cleared area, just past the start of the trees.

One view of our creek. It defines one long side of our property, while the road defines the other long side. They're roughly parallel. In this photo, the creek is higher and muddier than it normally is because there had been a lot of rainfall over the previous few days.

More linen closet

2006-07-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

Corollary to Mel's Law of Renovation #1: Things will always cost more than you expect.

I picked up the lumber for the linen closet shelves yesterday. It ended up being around $65. I could have bought cheaper wood, but it was all pitted and rough. Since these are indoor shelves, I decided that the paint-grade boards were the best bet.

After I got home, I realized that I had bought one shelf too few. However, I think I'll just leave the top shelf off. This will give more space for bulky things like quilts, of which we have a lot.

Today I started prying off the old shelves. Apparently, underneath the tar-stuff and two layers of paint there were nails holding the shelves onto the braces. Obviously, there was no way I could get at those nails so I ended up banging on the underside of the shelves with a hammer until they came up. So far, I've removed two levels, with three more to go.

Linen Closet Woes

2006-07-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

Our house has the advantage of a very large linen closet in the upstairs bathroom. The disadvantage is that there was mildew on the walls. So I bought some anti-mildew bathroom paint and set to work scrubbing the walls down with a bleach solution. There was some nastiness when I had to scrub a spot where large quantities of soap had been spilled. It had soaked into the shelves and it took several changes of water in the bucket to get it all. There was also a spot with mysterious black stuff that appeared to be coming from under the old paint. Yuck.

The wooden shelves had strips of metal screwed to the edges, so I set about unscrewing them. That way I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the paint off of the metal. Unfortunately, many of the screws were so tight and of such a soft metal that they preferred to strip rather than unscrew.

I took a break to survey what I had done so far. I noticed that on the shelves where I had managed to remove the metal strips, it was obvious that there was some sort of black layer on top of the wood. It turned out to be some sort of foam cover that was glued to the shelf with something resembling tar. Aha! So that was the black stuff I had tried in vain to clean earlier! Underneath this cover there were at least two layers of paint. I know this because one of the layers came with the foam when I pried it up. If this stuff had been applied to bare wood, I don't think I could have moved it at all. At least not without some sort of softening chemical. As it was, there are still gobs of the tar-like adhesive stuck to the shelf.

At this point, I think it would be easier to rip the shelves out and replace them. They look like simple 1X8 boards, so that should be easy enough.

Mel's Law of Renovation #1: Every repair will take far longer than expected, and be more complicated than it at first seemed.

Fixing a Hole (and Scraping Some Putty)

2006-07-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Now that we are in our new house (see Corvus's blog for details), I suspect that most of my posts will now be about the renovations and repairs that I am doing.

A few days ago I noticed that the drain pipe near the basement stairs was leaking just a little, particularly when large amounts of water were draining at once (such as emptying the bathtub). According to the book "Renovating Old Houses," the way to fix it was to apply a "bandage" of alternating layers of cloth and plaster of Paris. So today we went to Lowes and bought plaster and a putty knife to apply it with. I quickly learned that a putty knife doesn't work well when applying plaster to a curved surface such as a pipe. I ended up just scooping it up and smoothing it with my fingers (protected inside rubber gloves, of course). The bandage seems to be working nicely.

When we first moved in, all of the windows had been caulked shut by the previous tenants. According to the neighbors, this was in an effort to keep warm. Now, I don't know how warm they were trying to keep the house, but caulking the windows isn't going to help much. At first, Corvus and I were thinking that we'd need to completely replace the windows, but now I'm not so sure. I've been reading up renovating old windows, and I think it's doable.

I've been taking the windows apart and removing the sashes in order to scrape the caulking off. Of course the sash cords are all broken, so the windows are difficult to lift and don't stay up without being braced. Also, the cord pulleys have all been painted over, and in some cases the opening was stuffed with newspaper before hand. I was beginning to get a bit worried that the counterweights would be missing, because those aren't available anymore (except at antique shops and the like). However, tonight I opened up the access panel in one of the windows and found that the weight was still there, frayed cord and all. So I think it's likely that the rest of the windows still have their counterweights too.

I'm actually getting pretty excited at the thought of renovating these windows. I'd much rather preserve the look of the house than have brand new windows that will look out of place.

My Hero, the Master of Google-Fu

2006-05-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

I've been tracking down out-of-print books from my childhood. Usually I only remember some of the plot, not the title or author. With the help of google, I had compiled a nearly comprehensive list of books that I wanted:

Balch, Glenn: Little Hawk and the Free Horses (Little Hawk must tame a band of mustangs to save his tribe from the white men and the Apaches. Probably incredibly not PC now, but one of my favorites when I was a kid.)
Bell, Thelma: Captain Ghost (A mysterious man teaches several children how to turn a fallen tree into a sailing ship.)
Brock, Betty: The Shades (People's shadows live lives of their own in an enchanted garden.)
Nash, Mary: Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians (When the three children don't like their new nanny, the youngest turns to magic.)

Still, there was one book that I had treasured that I could find no trace of. I remembered the title as "The Queen Bee, and Other Stories." It was a collection of nature fables that were rather twisted. Unfortunately, all of the keywords I could think of were not specific enough to find it on google.

A few days ago I was telling Corvus about the stories in this book. He also writes fables that tend to be twisted, so he was very interested. He rose to the challenge and applied his google-fu to the problem.

And, believe it or not, he found it. The book I remembered was The Spider and Other Stories by Carl Ewald, not "The Queen Bee." He also found the complete text for the story "The Queen Bee" in The Junior Classics, Volume 8, verifying that this was indeed the author we wanted.

I'm looking forward to finally getting my hands on this book that I've remembered for so long.

What a Haul!

2006-05-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

In the course of packing up our bookcases, Corvus and I found about four boxes of books we were willing to part with. We took them to Bookmans, a local used bookstore. I figured that we would have over $100 in trade credit, so we went crazy in the classics and children's sections. After all, the credits won't do us any good in West Virginia. Here is what we got:

Alexander, Lloyd: The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, The Foundling, Westmark
Babbitt, Natalie: Tuck Everlasting
Baum, L. Frank: The Wizard of Oz
Beowolf
Dahl, Roald: The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda
Grahame, Kenneth: The Wind in the Willows, The Golden Age
Howe, James: The Bunnicula series
Jackson, Shirley: The Haunting of Hill House
Kjelgaard, Jim: Irish Red, Outlaw Red (we already have Big Red)
Koehler, W.R.: The Koehler Method of Dog Training
Lovecraft, H.P.: The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories
Martin, George R.R.: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings
Milne, A.A.: The World of Pooh
Norton, Mary: The Borrowers, The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Aloft
Paterson, Katherine: Bridge to Terabithia
Sharp, Margery: The Turret (sequel to The Rescuers, which I already have)
Taylor, Theodore: The Cay, The Trouble With Tuck
White, E.B.: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan

All this for only $115 in trade credit. In the words of Happosai, what a haul!

How to Make Perfect Stovetop Popcorn

2006-05-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Don't skimp on the oil. There needs to be enough oil at the bottom of the pan to halfway submerge the kernels, otherwise the popcorn will be hard. Hard popcorn is the reason I've never really liked air-popped corn, and the reason I've been experimenting with stovetop popcorn.

A 4-quart pot is just the right size for a half cup of unpopped kernels. I prefer a taller pot to a wider one, but I don't have any rational reason to back that up. A gas stove is also incredibly helpful, but that's true of cooking in general. I don't know if I would attempt stove-top popcorn on an electric stove.

Pour enough oil into the bottom of the pot so that the kernels will be about halfway submerged when they are added. I've found that peanut oil is the tastiest of the oils we have on hand, but I want to order some cocanut oil. That's what they use at the movie theatres.

Toss three kernels into the pot, put the lid on, and turn the gas up to just past medium. Have the rest of your popcorn premeasured, because things will move fast once you get started. Likewise, have a bowl ready to put the finished popcorn into.

Once the three kernels have popped, add the rest of the kernels all at once. Put the lid back on and shake the pot to coat all of the kernels with oil. Turn the gas down lower--it's between 1 and 2 on my stove.

Once the corn starts popping, lift the lid up slightly (pointing away from you) to vent the steam. Trapped moisture will make the popcorn hard. Occasionally shake the pot so that the unpopped kernels will work their way to the bottom. When the popping slows to a second or two between pops, turn the gas off. The last few kernels will probably pop from the ambient heat. Carefully pour the popcorn into the bowl. With any luck, it won't be burned and there won't be too many unpopped kernels.

At this point, Corvus and I have become so good at popping corn on the stove that it's just as easy as using the air popper. And it tastes so much better.

Blogtagging

2006-04-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well, since I've been blogtagged by Joy, I suppose I should play the game. It seems a harmless enough meme. I have to tell you six interesting things about myself and tag six more people.

1. One of my ancestors fought in the Mexican-American War, and when he returned home he named his baby daughter after the battle of Cerro Gordo (which means Fat Hill). He feminized it (and mispelled it) to Cero Gorda (which means Fat Zero). That name has been passed down for generations, and it is my middle name. When I was married, I took the opportunity to fix the spelling and finish feminizing it. The final result: Cerra Gorda.

2. My eyes are usually grey, but they can be any combination of blue, green, and grey at other times.

3. My two favorite bands are Skyclad (from England) and The Dirty Three (from Australia). The Dirty Three are an instrumental band consisting of guitar, bass, drums, and violin. Yes, I know that's four. They added a member but didn't change their name. Soon after I had discovered The Dirty Three, they played in Tucson at a tiny warehouse/art gallery. That was the most amazing show I've been to.

4. Even though I read mostly science fiction and fantasy, for some reason I write mostly horror and straight fiction stories.

5. I enjoy dog obedience training, although I have had little practical experience. I've nearly finished teaching the novice on-leash exercises to our Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees cross, Phantom. He's been a tough one for a novice trainer like me, because those breeds haven't been selected for trainability like many companion breeds have been. Consequently, it takes significantly more effort and patience to get him to comprehend what I want, compared to other dogs I have worked with. However, once he understands an exercise he tends to be very solid on it in a short amount of time. Assuming that we'll be able to take him with us when we move, I plan to continue his training all the way to Utility if possible.

6. I like to do thread crochet, the smaller the better. I own the two smallest steel hooks available, which I have used to crochet cotton sewing thread. I have thought about trying to sell hand-made lace dollhouse furnishings such as curtains and tablecloths, but I have no idea how much of a market there would be for that.

I will now tag Corvus/Sadeq, TheoPhileo, El Pato, Deanna, HookerMama, and Silverfoot.

Phew. That pretty much exhausts my list of blogs that haven't already been tagged.

Tiger's Easter

2006-04-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Yuma to visit my mom and stepdad for Easter. Since we'll soon be moving out of state, it was nice to have this last holiday together.

We introduced Tiger to her basket on Saturday, and she loved it. Putting things into containers is one of her favorite activities right now, so we figured she'd have no problem with the Easter egg hunt.

She found the first egg with no problem, but then she became fascinated with shaking it. We had filled plastic eggs with graham crackers, animal crackers, and goldfish, so they rattled nicely. Tiger didn't quite get that she was supposed to put the egg in her basket and find more. So we lead her to the next one.

Rattly eggs were far more interesting than a basket, so she threw that down. Then we led her to the third egg, and she had a problem. There were more eggs than she had hands!

That's when the lightbulb went on. She could put the eggs in the basket! After that, she zoomed around the yard grabbing each egg as fast as she could.

Later, she relaxed in her high chair and enjoyed the contents of a few of her eggs.

Writing Frenzy

2006-04-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

I've just pounded out the longest story I've ever written for a Liberty Hall Flash Challenge. Usually my stories run 300-500 words for these challenges, but this one went over 1000. And, it was good! Well, at least I think it was; I didn't have time to read it over before submitting, but I feel very good about this story. I would say more, but there are Liberty Hall denizens who read this blog so I'll keep my mouth shut. Wouldn't want to ruin the fun of guessing who wrote what.

I've been working on a rather literary scifi piece called "Sailor in a Jet Black Sea." Conrad flees to the depths of space to escape the voices that plague him, only to discover that he brought them along. It's one of my favorites, and I've gotten some good critiques that will help make it ready to send out to markets.

There has also been one more review of the Fall issue of Shimmer (and consequently, of "A Convocation of Clowns"). It's up at SF Site, but here is the relevant bit:

"Other highlights include..."A Convocation of Clowns" by Mel Cameron, a very creepy flash piece that is adequately summed up by its title."

The 120 days of Shimmer's exclusivity are over, so now "A Convocation of Clowns" is back on the market circuit as a reprint.

Goats are Popular!

2006-03-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Wow. We've been barraged with phone calls from people interested in our goats. This was the first time I've sold something through the newspaper, so I wasn't quite sure how to handle all these people. Things got complicated.

The first serious caller that I talked to was a man who was starting up a small goat dairy. He was only interested in Paprika and the free milking stand. This was quite the interesting fellow, because in the course of our conversation he told me of two other small businesses he owned/ran (a carpet cleaning service and gem/mineral store). He kept asking if I needed my carpets cleaned.

Strangeness aside, he seemed to be a serious caller, so we made plans for him to come look at the goats on Monday.

OK, now what do I do with all the other people calling in about Paprika and the milking stand? I didn't really want to make more appointments until after Mr. Entrepeneur came by, but I also didn't want to alienate potential buyers. So I took down names and numbers and promised to call back if the goats were still available after Monday.

Well, Mr. Entrepeneur never called on Monday. In fact, I haven't heard from him since our conversation last Sunday, so he's out. I had been playing phone tag with a woman who lived in our area, and I finally managed to connect with her on Tuesday. She was interested in all of the goats! She and her boyfriend came over to look at them that evening. She fell in love with the does, while he really liked Rhet. I have to admit, Rhet is a cute little guy:

They also want to buy the goats' houses, plus the fence panels for their pens. I have a deposit in hand, so they're definitely serious. They already have an Alpine and a few Nigerian dwarfs, so my three should fit in just fine. It's very cool to sell all of them in one pass.

Now we just need to find someone to buy our house.

Tiger's First Discipline

2006-03-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been told that this is a funny story and that I should post it. This happened a few weeks ago.

Tiger was in the habit of throwing her toys over the baby gate into the kitchen. She particularly did it when she was mad about something. I finally got tired of having to throw the toys back over every day when it was time to sweep. I figured that at 15 months, she was old enough to start learning some rules.

She watched me put her toys back over the gate and I told her that if she threw her toys over anymore, she would go to her room. I didn't think she would understand what I was saying, but I said it just in case. Of course, seconds after I told her this she threw a toy over.

"You threw a toy over the gate, so now you're going to your room," I said, and led her down the hall. She didn't protest, because she didn't know yet what was going on. I shut her in her room and set the kitchen timer for five minutes so that I couldn't forget her. She screamed at first, but by the time I went to let her out she was quiet.

I opened her door and she stood there with a wooden block in her hand. I told her she could come out, and she marched down the hall and threw the block over the gate, then looked at me defiantly. It was really hard to keep from laughing at her. I just turned her back around and put her back in her room.

The next time I let her out, she had gotten so mad that she cleaned up her room. Seriously. She had thrown all of the legos into their box and was busy putting the zoo animals in their bag. As soon as I opened the door she took the bag with her out into the living room and started picking up the animals out there.

I don't know why she thought that putting away her toys would be a good revenge. Too bad she won't continue to believe that when she gets older. At least my plan worked. She's only thrown a toy over the gate twice this week.

And we're live!

2006-03-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our house went on the market on Wednesday night, so the last few days have been a frenzy of cleaning. Well, they would have been a frenzy except that I didn't feel well yesterday. I managed to plod along and keep things from going downhill, at the least. Luckily, there weren't any showings until this morning when I was already feeling better.

It seems like they didn't stay very long. When Corvus and I were looking at homes we generally looked very closely at them and spent quite a bit of time really considering them. The only times we did a cursory examination were when we knew right away that it wasn't a house we wanted. But I have no idea how typical we are in this regard.

I've also put an ad in the paper to sell our goats. Paprika (the alpine doe) will be the easiest to sell, Rhet (the Nigerian dwarf buck) will probably be the hardest. I'm hoping to sell Juliette (Paprika's wild daughter) with Paprika as a companion, because otherwise she'll be a tough sell. She has never been milked, so her yield is unknown, plus she's too wild to be a pet. So if I have to sell her separately it will almost certainly have to be for meat. At least it's the right time of year for it; I've heard that there is a demand for goat meat just before Easter.

More reviews

2006-01-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just found another review of Shimmer's October 2005 issue, including "A Convocation of Clowns," here (scroll down).

"Last, "A Convocation of Clowns" by Mel Cameron will appeal to the clown-haters out there (which is probably most people.)"

Currently, I have two other stories submitted to markets, "Howard's Proposal" and "The Toppled Towers." They've both received very favorable comments from my fellow writers, so hopefully they will find a home soon.

It seems like every story idea I've been coming up with lately will require a novel to fully explore it. This is very strange to me, because I've had the most success with writing very short fiction. The most I've ever written was 5,000 words on my failed NaNoWriMo attempt, and most of that was garbage. The longest decent story I've written was around 3,100 words, but it needs some more work before I can send it out again.

The trigger for the current short story challenge at Liberty Hall has spawned yet another novel concept, but at least this time I think that the first section of the story would be an ok stand-alone. So my goal is to write at least that much by the time the story is due (Feb 1, I think). I'm hoping that it will be around 10,000 words.

Phew. I'd better get writing.

"A Convocation of Clowns" reviewed

2006-01-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Tangent Short Fiction Review has reviewed the October issue of Shimmer Magazine. The reviewer commented on all of the stories in the issue, including mine, "A Convocation of Clowns." Here is the relevant bit:

"'A Convocation of Clowns' by Mel Cameron confirms every fear I’ve ever had about the circus devils in a short scene where a tiny car of clowns arrives in a line of traffic. All seems fine, if a bit weird, as the clowns offer balloon animals to drivers. But then they pop them. This story was scary to read and worse to imagine. 'A Convocation of Clowns' should not be read before heading off to the fair."

It was also briefly mentioned in this review, by the Internet Review of Science Fiction.

"This is characteristic of the other material in Shimmerzine: contemporary fantasy with a dark edge, from capering death clowns to predators among sheep-like shoppers. The lightest piece here is a fun little take on the rapture."

Fame and fortune are sure to follow.

Scrapbooking Madness

2006-01-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

I spent the days after Christmas scrapbooking like a madwoman. It had been about a month since I'd done any work, so I was raring to go. My first project was Tiger's first Christmas (last year) for her baby scrapbook. I decided to design a series of photo frames that were shaped like Christmas decorations or toys. I spent nearly all of the first day drawing designs on cardstock, coloring them in, and cutting them out. It was exhausting, but I'm really proud of the final results.

My second project was Tiger's first birthday. This went much faster, because I had a set of really cute stickers that caused the page to practically design itself. All I had to do was cut mats for the photos and arrange everything. My mother was quite impressed by how all the colors went together (yellow, pink, and purple on the page, and the pink in Tiger's outfit). Then I told her that I had bought the paper and stickers before her birthday and I had chosen her outfit to complement them. I think she was slightly disturbed by that level of planning and foresight.

The final page that I did was for a hike we had gone on in October. It was a very simple layout, but I took the opportunity to play with some different lettering styles.

All of these pages are for Tiger's baby book. I decided that events from the first year, plus each birthday after that, will go in each child's personal scrapbook. Other events will go into family scrapbooks.

All in all, it was a productive two days of scrapbooking.

Antique Shopping In Yuma, or, Two Birds in the Hand

2006-01-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

While I was in Yuma, my mom suggested that we go look at an antiques store in downtown Yuma. She had been there with her sister last month, and noticed that there was a section filled with Asian antiques. I'm very interested in Chinese language and culture, so she knew I would enjoy looking at the selection.

A lot of the stuff there was gaudy junk: cheap looking vases and plates. There were a few interesting pieces, though. There was a lovely mahogany tea cabinet that smelled wonderful. Unfortunately, it was $200--a little out of my price range.

On a shelf, surrounded by ugly vases, there was a pair of bronze birds. They were cranes standing upon turtles, and they caught my eye almost immediately. Only $35, and I could see myself actually using them as decoration. I left them there while I looked at the other offerings.

I found a very pretty photo album, which the tag said was from the Korean War. I liked it a lot, but I wasn't sure what I would do with it, so I left it alone.

After closely studying everything that had caught my eye, I still wasn't sure if I was going to buy anything or not. I happened to glance at the top of the shelf in front of me (it was about six feet tall) and I saw something I immediately wanted. It was a small bonsai pot on a ceramic stand. I have tried bonsai in the past, but was never able to find decent pots. This pot is only large enough for a miniature bonsai, but I still like it a lot. It cost $8.

Back to the birds. The more I thought about it, the more I liked them. They had a certain grace, and $35 wasn't really that much. So I decided to buy them.

It's clear that they are a pair, because they are mirror images of each other, not identical. One of the cranes is missing part of one toe, but otherwise they appear to be in perfect condition.

When I got back to Tucson, I showed them to Corvus. He was noncommittal: he knew I liked them, so he said they were nice. Later that night, he went to a meeting and I decided to see what I could find out about them online.

I learned that the figure of a crane standing on the back of a turtle was a symbol of longetivity, and it was used often in Buddhist temples. Often the crane would hold a lotus flower in its beak, and the stem of the flower would curve up to form a candle holder.

Finally, I found this site. This crane is nearly identical to the ones that I bought. The main difference is that it has something (an incense holder?) in its beak. Careful observation of my figures showed me that there might have been something in their beaks at some time. Also, the details of the feathers and the turtle's scales are slightly different.

I was stunned at how high the asking price was. $350 for a single, damaged crane-on-turtle figure? If that is a realistic price, and mine are authentic, then that means they are probably worth $700-$800! Wow. I think I did good.

Unfortunately, I could find no other listings for bronze cranes that were identical to mine. The others were more ornate, with the crane holding a lotus or the turtle wearing a dragon's head. They were all selling in the $350-$400 range, though.

When Corvus got home he saw the websites open on the computer, so he asked me how much my birds were worth. I told him, and he got a panicked look on his face as he asked, "How much did you pay for them?" Once I reassured him, he became very impressed with them.

Perhaps now he'll let me decorate the house in an Asian theme.

A New Year

2006-01-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

In lieu of celebrating New Year's Eve, I decided to actually get a full night's sleep for the first time in several weeks. Normally we would get some tasty snacks, like brie and summer sausage, and play a game or watch a movie until midnight. However, this year Corvus was scheduled for closing shift and I didn't really feel like celebrating alone. So I went to bed with a good book and got some reading done.

Tiger got lots of neat gifts for Christmas. Among them were a set of wooden blocks, which she loves. She's learned how to stack them into a tower. So far, she's gotten it four blocks high. Every time she tries to add the fifth block it falls over.

She also learned how to wave goodbye. She did this for the first time when we were getting ready to leave Yuma and were saying goodbye to Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Gaby.

Speaking of Jeremy, he took an absolutely gorgeous picture of Tiger a few months ago. I just got the print last week, and I have to show it off.

Shiny

2005-12-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Corvus and I had an exchange that went something like this:

Me (wistfully): So, can I buy Serenity for you for Christmas?
Corvus: Wait, you want to buy me a movie for a series that I've never watched?
Me: Well, yeah.
Corvus: Can I have the Christmas present I got you?
Me: Why, is it something you'd like?
Corvus: Yeah, actually.
Me: We could share...

For those of you who don't know, Serenity is the follow-up movie to a tv series called Firefly. It's a strange hybrid of science fiction and western that only made it half of a season before Fox cancelled it.

However, the show built up enough of a following that Joss Whedon (the creator) was able to make a movie to tie up the loose ends in the plot. As soon as Corvus finishes watching the tv episodes, we'll be watching Serenity together. Until then, it will sit under our Christmas tree, thoroughly wrapped to keep me from cheating and watching it first.

We Have Mexican Immigrants on our Property

2005-12-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Actually, I'm not sure if they're actually from Mexico, but there is a colony of Mexican Great-tailed Grackles forming on our land. This is the third winter we've lived here, and before now there hadn't been any grackles around. I think we would have heard them if any were in the neighborhood; they're quite loud.

About a month ago I saw a single male grackle sitting on the fence around the goat pens. He seemed to be surveying the land. Apparently he liked what he saw, and told all his friends, because by last Sunday there were a good dozen of them sitting in the trees in our picnic area.

They seem to mostly hang out in those trees and the goat pen. If Phantom doesn't eat all of his food right away, they hop right up and steal some.

This is in addition to the great variety of finches and sparrows that have flocked to Corvus's garden, also know as "The Oasis." They've gotten to the point where they're barely scared of him any more. Before too much longer, they might start perching on his hat while he waters the garden.

Tiger Update

2005-12-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today, Tiger took her first steps unassisted. She's been standing without support for months now, and happily walks as long as she has something to hold onto. Corvus was sitting at his computer, and I stood her up a few feet away from him. It was obvious from the way she looked at him that she really wanted to walk. He encouraged her, and then she took the two steps to reach him without holding onto anything. The great thing is that we were both there to see it. With Corvus's work schedule, that's nearly miraculous.

But that wasn't the only progress for the day! Her first molar has broken through, and it feels like the other three won't be too much longer. Soon she'll be eating pretty much everything in sight.

She also learned how to clap her hands a few days ago, and has been practicing that a lot. She gets so excited when she lines them up right and makes a sound.

Happy Birthday, Tiger

2005-11-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

It's her first birthday. We had a big party on Saturday, with lots of presents, balloons, and cake. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the presents at first, but with a bit of prompting she started to warm up.

Tiger did not like the way the cake and frosting felt on her fingers, so she refused to pick it up. If someone felt inclined to put a piece of cake in her mouth, she'd eat it, but she wasn't going to get her fingers sticky!

Later, we went to the Golden Corral for dinner. Tiger ate lots of pears and crackers, but refused anything else. Even though she's perfectly happy eating pureed carrots or green beans that are fed to her, she was not the least bit interested in eating pieces. In fact, when I put carrots in front of her she daintily picked them up and dropped them on the floor. She despised even the very sight of them!

All in all, the party went well, and now Tiger is enjoying all of her new toys.

A Criminal, or Just Misunderstood?

2005-11-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, Alice Cooper has an evening radio show, and it is quickly becoming my favorite show*. Even though I would be hard-pressed to name any Alice Cooper song, I've found that he is a very funny man with good taste in music. Well, except that at the moment he is playing Peter Frampton, but only because it was requested by a fan.

He plays mostly classic rock, with occassional forays into the 80s and 90s, as well as a few dusty, forgotten old songs per night. It's a great chance to hear some songs you might not have heard in a while, if ever.

Check out his site at http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com to find out if a radio station near you plays his show. He's on 7pm-midnight, Monday through Friday.

*Breakfast With the Beatles on Sunday mornings is still my top favorite.

Motivation and Correction, the Two Halves of Training

2005-11-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Phantom is coming along nicely in his training. I learned two things about him which have helped me make the training regimen more effective. First, he loves to be petted, which makes it a strong motivator for him. Second, when he doesn't understand what he's supposed to do, he shuts down and refuses to do anything. The second thing was why he was refusing to walk: anytime a heel correction showed him what he was NOT supposed to do, he gave up. My solution was to have him stop, sit and be praised/petted anytime he walked a few steps in the proper heel position. Verbally praising him was not enough.

Over the last few days I have been lengthening the amount of time he has to heel properly to get his praise. Consequently I have had far fewer heel corrections as he is actively trying to stay in the proper position to earn his praise. So the frequent praise has kept his motivation high enough that the occasional corrections don't shut him down.

I have also used this technique to build up his confidence when we leave our property. At first he was very leery of walking down the road away from the goats, but this morning he cheerfully heeled to the edge of the property with no visible nervousness. I also took him up the wash, where we have never gone before. Less than a week ago he would have balked at that, but today he handled it beautifully.

Starting in December I want to start taking him on hikes to build up his confidence further. It will give me a chance to work with him in strange environments that don't have a lot of people or other dogs around. Then I will start taking him through urban environments, increasing in intensity as he progresses. One of the final places will probably be PetSmart, because there will be plenty of ill-behaved yet leashed dogs there to test his training.

I'm very pleased with the progress that he has been making. I'm still very much a novice trainer, so it's exciting to be able to see just what I need to do to help him learn effectively. I see a lot of potential in this dog; I think he will be able to learn a lot.

From a Bust of Pallas

2005-11-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Corvus has decided to start his own blog, which he has titled "From a Bust of Pallas, or, the Wisdom of Ravens." You can read it here. Note that he is using the name Sadeq for his blog.

And we're off!

2005-11-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) began today. The goal is to have 50,000 words of a novel completed by November 30.

I am treating this as a month-long flash challenge. In other words, I have done almost no planning before-hand, and I'll just be following where the story leads me.

I have started with a house that I invented during a Liberty Hall writing exercise based on the words "tarnished walnut panelling." I also have a title, provided by Corvus: "The Pervasive Aroma of Pesto."

So far today I've written around 600 words. I've discovered that my main character's name is Tony, and that his mother has disappeared. There is also crazy Uncle Al and a mysterious embroidered shower curtain that is sure to be the key to everything.

I have a feeling that it will be heading into the realms of urban fantasy very quickly, which is fine by me. I'm looking forward to finding out what's going on, and why Tony's mother disappeared.

Dog Training

2005-10-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today I started a training regimen for our Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees cross dog, Phantom. It's finally cool enough to go outside at any time of day, so that I can train him during either of Tiger's two naps.

He's had a little bit of work over the summer, enough that he doesn't freak out when leashed and he'll sit on command most of the time. He's still reluctant to walk very far from his goats, though. It's definitely a workout to drag a hundred pound dog who doesn't want to walk. Of course he gets lots of praise and a loose leash when he walks by my side.

I really should have started training him when he was a puppy, but his breeder told us to handle him as little as possible so that he'd remain attached to his goats. Eventually I did a bit of research and found that that advice is best if the dog will be left alone with his flock in a range situation. There wasn't much information about training a livestock guard dog in a small farm situation, where the land is fenced and the dog is expected to guard everything, not just the livestock. The few accounts I found seemed to indicate that it was preferable to have a well-trained dog in that situation, and that his guarding abilities would be improved, not hindered, by developing a strong bond with his owners.

I also have to take into consideration the fact that we will be moving next summer. Whether we are able to take Phantom with us or we have to sell him, either option will go more smoothly if he is obedience trained.

And so I'm setting out to instill in Phantom the basic obedience lessons of Heel, Sit, Stay, Down, Stand and Come. If I consistently work every day, he should be solid on Heel, Sit, Sit-Stay, Down, and Down-Stay by the end of November.

Snowflakes and Thread Crochet

2005-10-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy crocheting with thread, the smaller the better. Last year I bought the two smallest hooks I could find (.5mm and .4mm, respectively) from Lacis.com. The .5mm hook with #50 cotton sewing thread has become my favorite combination; anything bigger feels so bulky and unwieldy. I would really like to experiment with the smaller hook, but I would have to special order any cotton thread smaller than #50. Lacis has down to size #185! Hopefully someday soon I'll get a chance to order some thread from them. I'm thinking that #120 will probably be about right for my hook.

Snowflake Christmas ornaments are fun to crochet. I have a few that I made for sale in my shop at Etsy.com. My shop is called "Delicate Designs" and I plan to add other thread crochet items soon. Possibilities include tiny snowflake earrings and doilies and lace for scrapbooking.

"A Convocation of Clowns" in audio

2005-10-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Shimmer magazine has recorded "A Convocation of Clowns" in audio. Mary Robinette Kowal did the reading, and I really like how it sounds.

They are planning to unveil a "Goodies" section of their website in January, and presumably this will be one of the goodies. I believe that section will only be open to people who buy a subscription, but they haven't finalized that yet.

My Christmas List

2005-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

For family members who are wondering what I want for Christmas, I have set up a wishlist here. You can also get to that link at any time by looking in my profile under "Wishlist."

A Screw Loose and Seduced by Paper

2005-10-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

So, finding the proper screws for my sewing machine was anticlimacticly easy. Cathey's Vac and Sew just happened to have a 70's Kenmore sewing machine, so they took the screws out and gave them to me. They didn't even charge. I feel kind of silly for making so much drama out of the process.

--

On Friday, Lesley and I went to a big scrapbooking sale at the fairgrounds. They were advertising supplies at 50-75% off retail. I don't do much scrapbooking, but I can't resist interesting paper. At first I thought I would be safe, because all of the paper there was 12" X 12", and I've only worked with 8 1/2" X 11". But there was so much neat paper there that I finally broke down and decided to switch to the larger size.

We spent a couple of hours there visually devouring the displays, until Tiger decided she had seen enough. I left with a lot of paper and some embellishments for pages I plan to make: baby, Tiger's first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I also plan to start a publication scrapbook for myself, with a page for each short story that I have published.

Of course, looking at all these supplies inspired us, so I went over to her apartment the next day to scrapbook. In five hours I managed to finish two pages. *sigh* Scrapbooking is such a time-consuming craft, but I like it anyway.

Sewing Machine Woes, Part 1

2005-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Or, ACE is (not) the place!

My sewing machine is an anvil. It is a 1962 Model 90 Kenmore with a very nice cabinet. Back then they built things to last, and this sewing machine is no exception. The only problem is that I am missing two little screws that keep the machine from falling out of the cabinet when it is folded down.

Recently I discussed this machine at an online forum, and the resulting conversation motivated me to find replacement screws so that I can finally close the cabinet.

The user manual was little help. It referred to them as "hinge screws" in the section on how to install the machine in the cabinet, but then never mentioned them again. There were no part numbers or illustrations to help me with my quest.

So this morning I left Tiger with Corvus and hauled the fifty pound chunk of metal down to the nearest ACE hardware store. Several months ago, my mother had bought several different sizes of screws from ACE, but none of them fit. I wanted to be sure I got the right kind this time.

Soon after entering the store, with my sewing machine stashed in a shopping cart, I found two employees standing next to the screw section. They both became quite excited when I told them what I was looking for, and immediately started opening drawers and pulling out different kinds of screws. Terms such as machine screws, threads, and metric were bandied about. They debated whether the sewing machine had possibly been manufactured in Europe. I just stood back, nodded and smiled.

After about ten minutes, they slowly ran out of steam. Not one screw had fit. They apologetically told me that my best bet would be a sewing machine repair shop. One suggested Cathey's Vac and Sew. I assured them that I appreciated their efforts, and headed back to my car.

I didn't have time to go all the way into town, because I needed to be back when Tiger's morning nap had ended. Cathey's Vac and Sew would have to wait for another opportunity.

Will Mel finally find her missing screws? Be sure to read "Sewing Machine Woes, Part 2" to find out!

Fun with Chemical Reactions

2005-09-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Recipe for Orange Fizzy:

One glass of orange juice (I use unsweetened pulp-free for this)
One squirt of lemon juice
grenadine to taste (optional)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a glass and stir. Watch the bubbles. Drink.

This makes a lightly carbonated orange drink that is quite tasty. You can add baking soda to any acidic drink for a similar effect.

The Gnostic Gospels

2005-09-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

My church is offering a class on the gnostic gospels on Wednesday nights. This is a continuation of last year's class, which covered Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. There was such overwhelming interest that the pastor is now offering this class.

Unfortunately, I missed the first session due to some confusion over the church's website calendar. It doesn't look like I missed much, though. We are currently working our way through the first chapter of "Irenaeus: Against Heresies," Book 1, which was written about the followers of Valentinus, a Christian heretic. (See sidebar for link to online copy.)

In the first chapter, Irenaeus sets out the geneology of the pantheon that the Valentinus sect of gnosticism believed in. I'm not really sure if pantheon is the right word, though, because supposedly these spirits aren't really gods, but something beyond gods. The gnostics called them "AEons." Here is a graphical representation of the geneology. Under the Greek/Latin names I put the meaning. Keep in mind that these are all spirits/concepts. Matter has not been created yet at this point in the mythology. The male spirits are in blue, the female in red. Click on the picture for one that is big enough to actually read.

The first tetrad (Proarche, Sige, Nous, and Aletheia) are all equally powerful, even though Nous and Aletheia were created by Proarche and Sige. Also, Nous is the only AEon that is capable of understanding/perceiving Proarche. Confused yet?

All together, there are thirty AEons, called the Pleroma. The gnostics thought that this was the reason why Jesus didn't begin his ministry until he was thirty years old: the thirty years was a way to reveal the nature of the AEons. To quote from Irenaeus, "Such are the thirty Aeons in the erroneous system of these men; and they are described as being wrapped up, so to speak, in silence, and known to none [except these professing teachers]. Moreover, they declare that this invisible and spiritual Pleroma of theirs is tripartite, being divided into an Ogdoad, a Decad, and a Duodecad. And for this reason they affirm it was that the "Saviour"-for they do not please to call Him "Lord"-did no work in public during the space of thirty years, thus setting forth the mystery of these Aeons. They maintain also, that these thirty Aeons are most plainly indicated in the parable of the labourers sent into the vineyard. For some are sent about the first hour, others about the third hour, others about the sixth hour, others about the ninth hour, and others about the eleventh hour. Now, if we add up the numbers of the hours here mentioned, the sum total will be thirty: for one, three, six, nine, and eleven, when added together, form thirty. And by the hours, they hold that the Aeons were pointed out; while they maintain that these are great, and wonderful, and hitherto unspeakable mysteries which it is their special function to develop; and so they proceed when they find anything in the multitude of things contained in the Scriptures which they can adopt and accommodate to their baseless speculations." (Chapter 1, Paragraph 3)

Although Irenaeus is tough going, the things he described are fascinating. This gnostic view is a rich mine for a spec-fic writer, especially since it is not as well known as the Greek or Roman pantheons. I already have a few ideas, although I don't know which stories they will go in.

After we finish Irenaeus, we will be reading as many of the gnostic gospels as we have time for, starting with the Gospel of Thomas.

It's ready!

2005-09-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Fall 2005 issue of Shimmer magazine is now available for pre-order. My short story "A Convocation of Clowns" will be appearing in this issue. I've seen the proofs for it, and it looks really good! If you like speculative fiction, then Shimmer is the magazine for you.

Starting Over

2005-09-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

At less than 2000 words I stalled out on my TriMo novel. I hated it and couldn't stand the thought of writing any more. I finally decided that it needs to be urban fantasy instead of straight fantasy. Now I'm getting excited again.

I'm not going to talk much about what I plan to write, because I've found that if I do that my mind thinks that the story has already been told and I can't write it anymore. But I will say this: I'm planning to use some of the interesting legends I've discovered while living in Tucson as the basis for some of the fantasy elements. Most of the basic plot will be the same as what I had planned originally.

It's hard to find the time to write, though, because Corvus is going to be gone for the next two weeks and I have his chores as well as my own to take care of. Oh, well, I'll manage.

TriMoNaNo, Day 1

2005-09-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

During Tiger's first nap I sat down and pounded out the first 1000 words of my novel. Actually, it was 1062 words to be exact, and it took just over an hour to complete. After about 300 words I was getting the strong urge to go do something else, but I forced myself to continue. At around 750 words I really got into the flow of it and the last 300 words were a piece of cake.

My rule is that I can't stop writing until I finish 1000 words and the scene that I'm currently working on. I'm not allowed to stop in the middle of a scene, even if I have already hit the day's wordcount goal. This way I will get into the habit of finishing scenes, even if they are longer than I had expected.

Only two scenes into the prologue of the novel, and already I have been inventing cool things about the Faerie realm that will become important later. This is why outlining never works for me: I am at my most creative when I'm simply writing; outlining is too analytical. I have a one page synopsis of the plot that I developed through the snowflake method, and a handful of important characters. Overall, I know where the story is going, but it's going to be an interesting ride getting there.

Seafood Sticker Shock

2005-08-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

On Monday I decided to try my hand at making sushi. I had bought a book and a bunch of serving ware at World Market, and I was ready to go. California rolls sounded like a good beginner's sushi, because there is no raw fish (it contains roe, cucumber, avocado, and shrimp).

Now, normally I would shop for groceries at the commissary on base, but that is about a 35 minute drive each way. Since it was already Monday afternoon by the time I went in search of ingredients, I decided to just go to the Safeway that is only about 20 minutes away. I figured that I would save enough money on gas to make up for the higher prices. Boy was I wrong.

The cheapest frozen jumbo shrimp at Safeway were $13.50 per pound! I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew shrimp was expensive, but that was just too much. Plus, they didn't have roe of any kind at Safeway. So I drove to the commissary after all.

At the commissary, the shrimp was a much more reasonable $4.50/lb. They also did not have the kind of roe I was looking for (smelt, flying fish, or ocean trout) but at least they did have caviar (black lumpfish). I figured that was close enough.

I arrived home with my ingredients and opened the sushi book, only to discover that the rice needed to be rinsed and then drained for 30 minutes. At this point it was already 5:30. I plopped Tiger into her highchair and gave her a snack to play with while I ran around like a madwoman putting everything together.

We finally ate at around 7pm, but it was definitely worth the wait. The caviar did taste a little bit strange, but otherwise the rolls turned out quite good. We sipped warm sake with our meal and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

In the future, I most likely will plan a little better before making sushi. For example, I just found a place online where I can buy masago, the kind of roe I needed. If you are strongly detail oriented and you feel like a little adventure, you might try making sushi. Just don't shop at Safeway if you do.

Nature's Bounty, At Last

2005-08-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Or so we hope.

It is difficult to garden in the desert. Not only are the summers hot and dry, but there is an abundance of hungry pests. Every night, the cottontail rabbits come out and nibble their way through the garden. You can put up a fence, but that won't stop the round-tailed ground squirrels from getting in and eating your greens. And if that weren't enough, there are the dreaded harvester ants. These ants assiduously remove any foliage within a 5-20 foot radius from their nest. They also dig up seeds and carry them away. The ants have caused more damage to our gardens than the other pests combined.

But finally, after nearly two years of failed gardening attempts, it looks like we'll actually get a decent harvest this year. Allow me to take you on a virtual tour of some of our plots. But, first, I must mention that we use the square foot method of gardening, as described in Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. This method allows you to fit a lot of plants in a small space, and it drastically reduces the amount of time and effort involved in caring for a garden, compared to traditional rows. I highly recommend this book and the method. All blocks are 4'x4'.

This is the corn block. The corn is much taller than it was last year, and it seems to all be producing pollen at approximately the same time, so hopefully this year the corn will actually have kernels on the cob! Last year we had to go out of town for a week in August, and so the corn only got rainwater that week. It didn't die, but it did end up significantly smaller than this year.

Here is the densely planted bean plot. About three quarters of it wasn't fenced at first, so rabbits ate all of the unprotected plants. But after the plot was fenced, the eaten plants put out fresh leaves. That is why the beans are at two different levels. Also, Corvus finished up several different packets of beans and then raided the pantry when he was planting this plot. There are green beans, wax beans, burgundy beans, Tohono O'odham beans, and pinto beans. We'll be definitely making some strange hybrids, but we don't intend to plant any of our harvest next year so it's not an issue. Behind the beans you can see Corvus' pumpkins.

Corvus is immensely proud of his pumpkin patch. He has four plants in there and they are HUGE. They are starting to produce male flowers. There is no need to fence pumpkins, because rabbits and ground squirrels aren't interested in eating anything in the squash family. At least, they aren't interested in eating the leaves. Last year I had some troubles with something eating the flowers.

That's why I'm training my pumpkins up a fence. This is something I learned from the square foot book. If you train your climbing plants like squash and cucumbers up a trellis, they will be much healthier. And they take up considerably less space! He tested squashes as large as hubbard squash, and found that they had no difficulty supporting their fruit. All of our pumpkins are the small pie variety, so there shouldn't be any problems. And unless rabbits can start climbing fences, I shouldn't have any problems with my flowers this year.

These are cucumbers in Corvus' garden. They are already starting to put out flowers, so soon we will have lots of cucumbers! He planted the Straight Eight variety of slicing cucumbers, while I planted pickling cucumbers between my pumpkins on the fence. They haven't come up yet, so no pictures of them.

Writing a Novel in 60 Days

2005-08-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

A writing site that I belong to, Notebored, will be hosting a three-month novel writing session. It is based on the concept of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in November each year. Participants sign up to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel in the month of November. Those who make it get their names on the list. It is a fun way to force a novel out of your psyche and onto paper.

One of the Notebored members had this to say: "If I can write a really bad novel in one month, what about spending three months on it to make it good?" And so, TriMoNaNo has been born. Currently 14 people have signed up to spend September, October, and November writing a novel of at least 50,000 words. A small group of us (myself included) have an even bigger goal: to write the TriMo novel in the first two months, and then jump into NaNoWriMo in November with a completely new story. If all goes well, we will then have completed two novels in three months. We probably won't be coherent by the end of it, but there you go.

So beginning in September, my posts will probably be limited to daily wordcounts and not much else. My goal is 1000 words per day in September, 1500 words per day in October, and 2000 words per day in November. Yikes!

But this isn't as bad as it seems. Earlier today I wrote over 700 words in 45 minutes for a writing challenge. That works out to about 1000 per hour. So if I work during Tiger's two naptimes every day, I should be fine. Plus, my speed should improve as I get used to writing that much in one sitting.

Only four more days to go. It's going to be quite the ride.

Returning a Defective Goat

2005-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, we will be returning our goat Nutmeg to her original owner. We had been told that she was pregnant when we bought her. Well, the due date came and went, and there were no kids. At this point I was pretty sure that she was not pregnant, but I called the vet just to be certain. One ultrasound and eighty dollars later, the vet confirmed it.

Not long after I bought the goat, I had looked through her medical records (such as they were) and discovered that she had never had a successful pregnancy. Of course the owner mentioned none of this when we were looking at the goats. Since we keep goats for dairy, I found it highly unlikely that this goat would ever be worth the feed she eats. Luckily, the previous owner agreed to take her back for a full refund. This is just as well, because Nutmeg is a big bully to the other does. She doesn't allow them to eat at the same time as her, even though there is plenty of space at the feeder.

We have learned a couple of lessons from this fiasco. One, always read the medical records before you buy the goat (or any other animal.) Two, if the owner claims that the animal is pregnant, insist that a vet confirms this with an ultrasound, at the owners expense.

A Trip to the Mall

2005-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Corvus, Tiger, and I went to the mall. The main order of business was to get new tires for my car, as I will be driving to Yuma and back this weekend. We dropped the car off at Sears then wandered off to the rest of the mall. Tiger had a lot of fun holding onto a set of socks her daddy was buying (and chewing on them too!)

I decided to get my hair trimmed, as it had been over a year since the last time. This was the worst haircut I've ever gotten. My hair was past my waist, and I told the woman to cut off six inches. This would be enough to get rid of the split ends and even it up. I suppose I should have been worried when she didn't know how long six inches was. "As long as this comb?" she asked. The comb was about the right length, so I told her yes.

Well, I knew when she was done that she had cut off more than I wanted, but I was so focused on getting my car fixed and keeping Tiger happy (she was getting tired), that I didn't really notice how short it was until I got home. I had Corvus measure the difference in lengths, and she had cut off ten inches! Sheesh. Now my hair is at the really obnoxious mid-back length: not short enough to be any easier to take care of, but too short to do any of the neat hair tricks that I like.

So if any Tucsonans are reading this, don't go to Planet Hair Care at the Park Place Mall.

As for the car, not only did it need new tires, but the front brakes were worn down to the metal. So they had to keep it another couple of hours to replace the brake pads. By the time it was ready, we were thoroughly sick of the mall. But at least I'll make it though Telegraph Pass now.

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson (no spoilers)

2005-08-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson, a science fiction novel. Here is the beginning of the publisher's description:

One night in October when he was ten years old, Tyler Dupree stood in his back yard and watched the stars go out. They all flared into brilliance at once, then disappeared, replaced by a flat, empty black barrier. He and his best friends, Jason and Diane Lawton, had seen what became known as the Big Blackout. It would shape their lives.

I first saw this book when it was reviewed by John Joseph Adams at The Slush God Speaketh. I was thoroughly hooked just by the blurb!

For the most part this book was wonderful, although it suffered from a weak ending. It is in first person, with about a third of the book devoted to the current action and two-thirds devoted to backstory. There is a plausible reason for this: at the beginning of the book, Tyler takes a drug that has one side-effect of graphomania, or a strong desire to write.

Unfortunately, the back story is far more interesting than the current action. This leads the reader to expect that at the end of the book we would discover who the aliens were and what they wanted, and that would be the climax. But really, the forestory (I don't know if that's a word, but I'm going to use it) is about Tyler and Diane trying to escape Earth because the United States Government is after them. The only problem is, we don't discover that until around three-quarters through the forestory (and almost finished with the book). I think that if that information had been shared at the beginning then the ending would have been more satisfying. Since the author wouldn't tell what the point of the story was, I had to guess. The backstory got far more words, so it was natural that I would guess that the end of the book would answer the questions, "Who are these aliens? What do they want?"

However, even with that flaw, Wilson pulls off a darn good story. The characters are interesting and believable.

A warning: there is occasional profanity in the dialogue. It's not overwhelming but it is there. Also, characters engage in casual sex several times in the book, although none of it is graphicly described. Some of Orson Scott Card's writing is racier than what you will find in Spin.

Relatives can breathe a sigh of relief...

2005-08-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

...because they don't have to worry about getting Pickled Devil's Claw for Christmas anymore. A few nights ago we decided to try some of the devil's claw to see what they tasted like. I whipped up some tasty cajun batter and fried them like okra. Oh my, they were bitter. I couldn't eat them, although Corvus said that with ranch dressing they were edible.

I really doubt that pickling them will improve the flavor, so I think I'll just compost the rest. Supposedly you can eat the dried seeds from a fully-ripened devil's claw, so we'll probably try that later in the season.

However, the prickly pear juice actually tastes pretty good. I bought some pectin and will try making jam this weekend. So you're not off the hook yet. You may get prickly pear jam for Christmas instead.

Magic Street, with minimal spoilers

2005-08-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just finished Orson Scott Card's latest novel, Magic Street. It was okay, but rather disappointing.

The majority of the book was written in a rather distant voice, so I never felt like I was solidly in the head of the main character, Mack Street. Consequently, I found that I didn't really care about him, or whether things turned out the way he wanted.

The pacing seemed a bit off as well. The first two-thirds of the book was a long, slow setup that covered seventeen years. Then, Mack suddenly finds out what is going on, the good guys make their plans, and the last third of the book was a flurry of activity covering maybe 24 hours.

Mack was a pretty passive character. I never really felt in touch with what he wanted, his deepest desires. This may have been deliberate, given who and what Mack turns out to be. Still, it would have been nice if he had at least noticed how he didn't have any desires and wondered about it.

I'm really glad that Word found redemption, and didn't turn out like Reverend Thrower in the Alvin Maker series.

This was an entertaining read, but unfortunately not particularly special. Here's hoping that Card recovers his spark for the next novel.

History Rant

2005-08-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I was one of those kids who hated history in school. I'm sure part of the reason is because I have a horrible time remembering names. Here is a typical introduction for me:

Stranger: "Hi, I'm [insert name here]."
Me: "Hi, nice to meet you." OK, I'm gonna remember it this time...
Stranger: [insert small talk here]
Me: Oh no, I already forgot it!

And then I panic. You can see how this would make history class less than enjoyable. I have been trying to remedy my appalling lack of historical knowledge lately, starting with Chinese history. Look, I like a challenge, ok?

I just finished The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another and am now working on a biography of Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi in Mandarin). I've noticed that the authors of these two books seemed to have been trying to borrow techniques from fiction in order to make the material more interesting. However, since they aren't actually fiction writers, they make typical newbie mistakes.

Both books start with an exciting event at the end of the timeline they will be working with. It's clear that they are trying to "hook" the reader into reading the rest of the book to find out what led up to that event. This is the equivalent of starting a fictional story at the most exciting moment and then immediately flashing back to the rest of the story. This is a big no-no. A big reason is because the reader is forced to face the excitement and emotions of the scene without knowing who the characters are or why it is so important to them.

Unfortunately, in "The Opium Wars" the authors also used such a beginning for spin. They describe in great detail how the British army sacked the Summer Palace outside of Beijing, destroying incredible wealth and culture. After several chapters of this, they mention (in an offhand manner) that the reason the British did this was because the Chinese had tortured to death several POWs. I lost a lot of respect for the authors after that.

Unfortunately, I'm beginning to suspect that the "start with the exciting event and then go back" is a popular writing method amongst historians. Well, I shall struggle on. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to work with a historian to produce a book that really is readable.

On the domestic front, Tiger's eighth tooth is breaking through. This would be the second bottom incisor on the right.

Napolean Dynamite VS Rushmore

2005-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

At the urging of my sister-in-law, we recently watched Napolean Dynamite. I had thought that it sounded very similar to Rushmore, a movie that I love. Well, yes. Both are about high school misfits who gain acceptance of a sort by the end of the movie. Utimately, though, I found Rushmore to be the more satisfying movie. In Napolean Dynamite, the characters are caricatures and we are shown very few glimpses into their deeper motivations. In Rushmore, although the characters are almost as strange, they feel so much more real.

Utimately, Napolean Dynamite is an entertaining piece of fluff, but Rushmore is entertaining and satisfying.

But, try them both and see which one you like better.

Desert Harvest

2005-08-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

The devil's claws are setting their fruit. The prickly pears are ripening. The mesquite pods are turning yellow. This year, we are determined to harvest the wild foods growing on our property. Yesterday Corvus collected a bucket full of prickly pears, and hardly made a dent in one cactus. He describes the flavor as "a little bit of watermelon, some pears, raspberries and citrus."

This year we have gotten some good rain, so the devil's claws are growing profusely. I've read that the immature fruit can be treated like okra. I'm hoping it will be good pickled. Now there's something cool to have in your pantry: Pickled Devil's Claw. I think that would make an excellent Christmas gift. OK, I'm kidding. You hope.

On the domestic front, Tiger has begun to crawl and now she is getting into everything. She is definitely geek material: she loves the stereo and the computers. Yikes! Also, she sat up on her own for the first time on Wednesday.

Crow's Nest weather sighting: Blue skies with scattered clouds to the east.

Dramatis Personae

2005-08-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

Cast:

Mel - the mildly OCD writer/mother/attempted farmer/animal lover
Corvus - the talkative raven
Tiger - the baby who is too smart for her own good

'Mokey - the curmudgeonly old cat
Spirit - the cuddly calico
Spook - the aloof tortoise-shell
Nemo and Fluffy - the obsessive nest-building zebra finches
Speck, Normal, and Wraith - the baby zebra finches
Houdini - the bunny

Phantom - the livestock guard puppy
Paprika - the milk goat
Nutmeg - the queen goat
Rhet Butler - the epitome of billy goat sexiness
Juliette - Paprika and Rhet's wild daughter

The Ducks, may they rest in peace - eaten by badgers