Spintastic

Last Wednesday I went to a spinning class with Nancy at a spiffy little shop in Chesapeake City, MD called Vulcan's Rest Fibers. It was also their weekly Knit Night, so I met lots of nice ladies who share my affinity to fiber and generally being crafty. I got to use a Louet S10 spinning wheel, which was fun. I did surprisingly well at it. I'd only ever used a wheel once before and that was months ago. Anyway, the point is, I didn't go there with the intention of bringing a wheel home with me. So, of course, that's exactly what I did. (Just a rental, but still... That lady who talked me into it knew what she was doing. I wannit!) Although I bought some fiber at Vulcan's Rest (duh), I haven't spun it yet. This is some wool Nancy gave me to try out. I think it's turning out pretty goodly. No clue what I'll do with it yet, though.

Wanna go!

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!



Edit: We're going! Yay!

Aerial Attack

Even Mother Nature hates President Bush.

Ouch

I finally got off my lazy ass to make an appointment with a physical therapist yesterday. I have my first appointment today after work and three times a week for the next month. You see, I have this shoulder issue that totally sucks of the ass. It's been going on for over a year. I have no idea what originally happened to it - I just woke up one day and thought I had pulled a muscle but it never got better. I had an MRI done a few weeks ago, (which by the way is a SUPER fun thing to do when you're just getting over bronchitis and you keep coughing every five seconds) and it appears I have inflammation in my rotator cuff, bursitis and tendonitis. At least the rotator cuff isn't torn so I don't have to have surgery yet (unless the physical therapy doesn't help, which I doubt it will because I already HAD a month of physical therapy last year). I can't raise my left arm higher than shoulder height without pain. I can't put my hair in a ponytail or fasten/unfasten my unmentionable lady garmets without pain, either. Apparently there's some bone up in there that has little pointy bits on it and when I move my arm in a certain way (or, really, at all) the muscles or tendons or something meaty and full of pain receptors gets pinched and it causes inflammation. And did I mention pain? Apparently the cure for this condition is letting strangers yank on my arm and contort it into all sorts of interesting positions until I want to cry or punch said stranger in the neck, or maybe both. FUN!

Ridonkulous

Hah. I'm dumb. See that heart? That heart I was so proud of? Upside down. Look at me! I can't read directions! Start from the bottom? Wha? Dur-dee-dur.

Crafty

I thought I'd post my most recent yarn-related project. This is (supposedly) going to be a cell phone case. The pattern is in this book. Which, I might add, is a great book for beginners such as myself. When I started I had no clue what a garter stitch was or how to do Fair Isle, which apparently I do now. Sweet. I still don't know how to bind off, but there's a section covering it in the book and I have my mom-in-law who is like the Yoda of knitting, so I will figure it out when the time comes. I've yet to actually finish a project, but I think this time will be different. (I didn't even giggle as I typed that!) I picked this one because it is short and sweet and I think my attention span can sustain it.

Edit: Isn't my ignorance charming? This technique isn't Fair Isle, it's Intarsia. Just so ya know.

Shifting Sands

Note: Another SS snippet, different POV. Like the last snippet I posted here, this is not the main POV and may not even be included in the final draft.

Debra sat in a daze beside her husband. Around her the shuttle jostled as it struggled to take off. Lights flickered behind translucent panels running along the wall that curved up over their heads. She clung to Steven’s hand and felt his nails digging into her skin, but she didn’t protest.

His hand was an anchor holding her inside her body. Without him, she thought she might dissipate. She could just let the static in her head take over, push her out. The static muffled everything, glazed her eyes and filled her ears.

She’d seen hundreds, maybe thousands of people die. The Krill had made sure of that. But never had it been by her own hand. Never on purpose. Already she was haunted by her decision, but she’d seen no alternative.

Slowly, she became aware of Steven’s voice. He was saying her name, shaking her arm. Then a burst of white light filled the cabin, bringing with it confusion and pain. She passed out.

When Debra woke there was more pain. Her eyelids felt heavy and it took all of her effort just to open them. She found she was on her side, still strapped into her seat. Large leafy plants surrounded her and she realized she was no longer in the shuttle. She didn’t see Steven or anyone else in her immediate field of vision. She needed to unstrap herself from the seat and find him. She tried to move her left arm, the one that wasn’t pinned down, but the pain made her vision dim and she thought she might pass out. Instead, she groaned and threw up a little onto the jungle floor in front of her.

Fire crackled somewhere and the acrid smell of smoke burned Debra’s lungs and stung her eyes. She didn’t see flames, but she knew they must be out there. And where there were flames, there was likely the shuttle and her husband. She needed to find Steven. She grit her teeth and tried to move her free arm again, determined to unbuckle herself and if necessary, crawl to the remains of the shuttle. The second attempt proved no more fruitful than the first. In fact, this time the darkness won. Her eyes closed.

She noticed the fear and static that had moments ago filled her head were gone. They were replaced by thoughts of her life, her children and Steven. As the blackness enveloped her, she wondered if she would ever see them again.

Paring Down

One person doesn't need 6,473 blogs (that are never updated and no one reads anyway). Truly. I've already quit posting everywhere except here and Scintilla and I think I'll stop with Scintilla. Since I'm participating in Holly Lisle's Friday Snippets (assuming I actually remember to participate) I will just post my snippets here. Gives me some content, anyway.

Speaking of Friday Snippets, I'd like to say that the bit I posted last Friday is not quite representative of the full story (workingly titled Shifting Sands). Not yet anyway. It's just a very small portion that I rather liked. I'm not sure if I will get much new writing done on it in the next week since I'm working on moving it over to Liquid Story Binder and re-working the plot and outline and basically the whole thing. And, oh yeah, FINALS are coming up and work is winding down for the summer. Much the same way a tornado winds through a trailor park, I might add. When May is over, you won't KNOW me from happy. And my parents are coming to visit in June. Yay parents! Yay June!

Irrelevant Side Note: I tried to pare down on my use of parentheses in this post. I had about five sets, but I've narrowed it down to three. So put that in your hat and smoke it.

That reminds me...

W: I told her, "She said you'd know what I want." You being her and she being you.
Me: Could you possibly find a more confusing way to explain that?
...
Moe: Ok here's the plan. This little model car will represent my car, and this olive will represent you.
Homer: (Homer eats the olive) Mmmmm. Me.
Moe: (angry) Oh Great. Now the model car will have to represent you (pulls out toy) and this little toy man will have to represent the car.