(no subject)
Dec. 29th, 2008 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckNone of this stuff seemed to be worth independent entries. I mean, I could have posted them that way, but there're a lot of them.
So far, I have twice as many comments as I expected on the Yuletide fic I wrote. I didn't expect anything from anybody other than my recipient as the canon is quite obscure. (That does kind of narrow down the possibilities as to what I might have written, I realize, but I don't think anyone's desperately trying to figure out which fic I wrote.) Having low expectations about comments makes this year easier, I think.
I did get an unexpected comment on the NYR fic I wrote three or four years ago. The recipient suddenly realized that she'd not previously commented on it. I'd never been concerned about that as it's easy to miss seeing notices of NYR fics. They're not expected, so the message can easily go astray.
*****'
Honey mustard that's old enough to have crystallized is sadly inedible. It doesn't taste bad, but the crunching and the graininess are unpleasant. When I try to use it, my mouth and throat react as if the food's gone off.
*****'
Scott's parents gave me a backpack for Christmas. I've no idea why. It wasn't anything that I asked for or need. It's got wheels and a handle so that I can pull it along if I want to. If I had a receipt, I'd return it and get something I actually want. The frame for the handle and wheels adds enough weight to the dratted thing that I wouldn't be able to carry anything in it if I wore it as a backpack, and if I'm carrying things that will fit in a backpack, I'd much, much rather wear them on my back than pull them after me.
Anybody local want a wheeled backpack? I can trade it away, give it away or store it on the off chance that it will be useful some day.
*****'
Santa gave me and Cordelia a rock tumbler. We have it going right now. I find the noise a little irritating, but I'm getting used to it. Scott wanted to get one because he knew Cordelia would like it and because one of my childhood regrets has been that I was never allowed to use the one my grandparents gave to me and my sister. My mother said it would be too noisy, would use too much electricity and wouldn't do anything anyway. I tried, periodically, to talk her into it over the course of several years, but even when we moved to a house with a detached garage, she wouldn't budge.
Right now, we don't have a lot of rocks that will be pretty when polished. We'll have to look for some, come spring. I don't think I'll want to run the tumbler frequently. It's wearing even if it's not awful. I do look forward to seeing what we can produce, though. Maybe we can find some nice candidates for tumbling next time we visit my grandmother. Beaches can be good for that sometimes.
*****'
Yesterday, we went shopping. There were things on our Christmas wishlists that we actually needed and didn't get. We thought we'd try for some sales to see if we could fill in the gaps. We had some success but also bought some things that we didn't really need, only wanted.
Scott now has a bathrobe that's not in tatters. He got some work shirts and a couple of other items of clothing on sale. We didn't find the pillow for him that I wanted to get.
Cordelia has a new blanket. It's not as big as I wanted, but it's nicer than the ones she originally wanted. Cordelia also has a new pillow, one of those big ones for leaning against while sitting up in bed. We didn't find snow boots for her. Every place we tried was sold out. (Her old boots fit, but when she and Scott went sledding last week, her feet got so cold that they hurt. We were looking for something warmer.)
I got some luxuries at the Body Shop at Briarwood. Most of it was on sale, so I grabbed some things I wouldn't have otherwise. Now I've got three different types of shower gel that I want to use today (I'd have done it last night if it wouldn't have meant a second shower in the same day). I've got two different lotions, two bottles of unscented bath oil and two little bottles of Satsuma essential oil. Oh, and one bottle that I *think* is bubble bath-- the label says 'bath cream,' and it smells wonderfully gingery. I want to try that today, too.
*****'
Cordelia's sticking to soft foods for the most part recently. She's got loose teeth, and things like apples and carrots hurt enough that she won't eat them. We had some struggles over food before she finally told us that her teeth hurt. Scott keeps forgetting, though, and giving her things that she's had trouble with again-- Fresh pineapple and melon are both problems.
*****'
I need to find a cheerleader for "Rheotaxis."![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dormouse_in_tea is my usual cheerleader, and she doesn't care much for "Rheotaxis." She doesn't hate it, but if I never finished it, she wouldn't miss it.
I find that I write better, more productively, when someone else is with me, either in person or online, with whom I can share what I'm writing as I write and with whom I can discuss what I think I'm doing as I try to make it work.
"Rheotaxis" is hard in that direction because it's so long, because of the subject matter and because of the prolonged hiatus. I've lost track of my beta readers for it, too, but I think I can find people for that part. I just don't have anybody who knows the fic so far and is available to talk about it as I write.
Right now, I've got most of chapter 18 in rough draft and about a third of chapter 19. I just need to work on finishing them and making them work.
*****'
I'm still working on reading Yuletide. I stop every time that it starts to feel like a chore. I've been using a dice program to roll a d26 to decide which letter to read next. Any time a duplicate comes up, I just read the next letter in sequence that I haven't read yet. I've only had two duplicates so far which seems odd given that I've read sixteen letters (fifteen letters and the numbers, actually). I've skipped some fandoms that I'd have read in a thinner year. Maybe I'll go back and read them later. Maybe I won't. I'm trying to avoid having to force myself to keep going.
*****'
Scott made custom calendars for family gifts this year. He got people to give him photographs and used a program on his laptop to design the calendars, customizing them for each bit of the family. The printing service (through Apple somehow) used good paper. The calendars look very nice. We didn't get all of the calendars designed or shipped before Christmas. Some of them still haven't gotten done. Those who've seen the calendars are eager for theirs. It wasn't a cheaper option than shopping for people, not monetarily anyway, but it was something that could be done without leaving the house.
*****'
I need to sit down and do cards today. I've been putting it off. We still don't have the family cards made, and I've been using that as an excuse to put off the non-family cards. I think I need to stop that. I'm hoping to get to the post office tomorrow to send on the calendar for my sister that got shipped to us accidentally. That would be a good time to mail cards. I'd rather not ask the mail carrier to haul a dozen plus cards away all at once.
I should also make more Chex mix and work on cleaning the kitchen and dining room. We have so much junk all over the place, and I need to figure out where to put it away and which bits need to be thrown out or given away. We persuaded Cordelia to cull her toys. Scott gave her an incentive by offering her a gift card for a toy store. He thought that would teach her something about limited resources. She got two books and a small toy set in return for getting rid of a large box of toys and her easel. Scott and I spent a lot of time cleaning the easel. Cordelia and one of her friends put glitter glue all over it, and I wanted to get as much of it off as we could. Non-acetone nail polish remover worked moderately well. We worried about the possibility that it might damage the easel but decided that it couldn't be worse than the glitter glue. I'm not sure we could have donated it with the glitter glue globs still on it.
So far, I have twice as many comments as I expected on the Yuletide fic I wrote. I didn't expect anything from anybody other than my recipient as the canon is quite obscure. (That does kind of narrow down the possibilities as to what I might have written, I realize, but I don't think anyone's desperately trying to figure out which fic I wrote.) Having low expectations about comments makes this year easier, I think.
I did get an unexpected comment on the NYR fic I wrote three or four years ago. The recipient suddenly realized that she'd not previously commented on it. I'd never been concerned about that as it's easy to miss seeing notices of NYR fics. They're not expected, so the message can easily go astray.
*****'
Honey mustard that's old enough to have crystallized is sadly inedible. It doesn't taste bad, but the crunching and the graininess are unpleasant. When I try to use it, my mouth and throat react as if the food's gone off.
*****'
Scott's parents gave me a backpack for Christmas. I've no idea why. It wasn't anything that I asked for or need. It's got wheels and a handle so that I can pull it along if I want to. If I had a receipt, I'd return it and get something I actually want. The frame for the handle and wheels adds enough weight to the dratted thing that I wouldn't be able to carry anything in it if I wore it as a backpack, and if I'm carrying things that will fit in a backpack, I'd much, much rather wear them on my back than pull them after me.
Anybody local want a wheeled backpack? I can trade it away, give it away or store it on the off chance that it will be useful some day.
*****'
Santa gave me and Cordelia a rock tumbler. We have it going right now. I find the noise a little irritating, but I'm getting used to it. Scott wanted to get one because he knew Cordelia would like it and because one of my childhood regrets has been that I was never allowed to use the one my grandparents gave to me and my sister. My mother said it would be too noisy, would use too much electricity and wouldn't do anything anyway. I tried, periodically, to talk her into it over the course of several years, but even when we moved to a house with a detached garage, she wouldn't budge.
Right now, we don't have a lot of rocks that will be pretty when polished. We'll have to look for some, come spring. I don't think I'll want to run the tumbler frequently. It's wearing even if it's not awful. I do look forward to seeing what we can produce, though. Maybe we can find some nice candidates for tumbling next time we visit my grandmother. Beaches can be good for that sometimes.
*****'
Yesterday, we went shopping. There were things on our Christmas wishlists that we actually needed and didn't get. We thought we'd try for some sales to see if we could fill in the gaps. We had some success but also bought some things that we didn't really need, only wanted.
Scott now has a bathrobe that's not in tatters. He got some work shirts and a couple of other items of clothing on sale. We didn't find the pillow for him that I wanted to get.
Cordelia has a new blanket. It's not as big as I wanted, but it's nicer than the ones she originally wanted. Cordelia also has a new pillow, one of those big ones for leaning against while sitting up in bed. We didn't find snow boots for her. Every place we tried was sold out. (Her old boots fit, but when she and Scott went sledding last week, her feet got so cold that they hurt. We were looking for something warmer.)
I got some luxuries at the Body Shop at Briarwood. Most of it was on sale, so I grabbed some things I wouldn't have otherwise. Now I've got three different types of shower gel that I want to use today (I'd have done it last night if it wouldn't have meant a second shower in the same day). I've got two different lotions, two bottles of unscented bath oil and two little bottles of Satsuma essential oil. Oh, and one bottle that I *think* is bubble bath-- the label says 'bath cream,' and it smells wonderfully gingery. I want to try that today, too.
*****'
Cordelia's sticking to soft foods for the most part recently. She's got loose teeth, and things like apples and carrots hurt enough that she won't eat them. We had some struggles over food before she finally told us that her teeth hurt. Scott keeps forgetting, though, and giving her things that she's had trouble with again-- Fresh pineapple and melon are both problems.
*****'
I need to find a cheerleader for "Rheotaxis."
dormouse_in_tea is my usual cheerleader, and she doesn't care much for "Rheotaxis." She doesn't hate it, but if I never finished it, she wouldn't miss it. I find that I write better, more productively, when someone else is with me, either in person or online, with whom I can share what I'm writing as I write and with whom I can discuss what I think I'm doing as I try to make it work.
"Rheotaxis" is hard in that direction because it's so long, because of the subject matter and because of the prolonged hiatus. I've lost track of my beta readers for it, too, but I think I can find people for that part. I just don't have anybody who knows the fic so far and is available to talk about it as I write.
Right now, I've got most of chapter 18 in rough draft and about a third of chapter 19. I just need to work on finishing them and making them work.
*****'
I'm still working on reading Yuletide. I stop every time that it starts to feel like a chore. I've been using a dice program to roll a d26 to decide which letter to read next. Any time a duplicate comes up, I just read the next letter in sequence that I haven't read yet. I've only had two duplicates so far which seems odd given that I've read sixteen letters (fifteen letters and the numbers, actually). I've skipped some fandoms that I'd have read in a thinner year. Maybe I'll go back and read them later. Maybe I won't. I'm trying to avoid having to force myself to keep going.
*****'
Scott made custom calendars for family gifts this year. He got people to give him photographs and used a program on his laptop to design the calendars, customizing them for each bit of the family. The printing service (through Apple somehow) used good paper. The calendars look very nice. We didn't get all of the calendars designed or shipped before Christmas. Some of them still haven't gotten done. Those who've seen the calendars are eager for theirs. It wasn't a cheaper option than shopping for people, not monetarily anyway, but it was something that could be done without leaving the house.
*****'
I need to sit down and do cards today. I've been putting it off. We still don't have the family cards made, and I've been using that as an excuse to put off the non-family cards. I think I need to stop that. I'm hoping to get to the post office tomorrow to send on the calendar for my sister that got shipped to us accidentally. That would be a good time to mail cards. I'd rather not ask the mail carrier to haul a dozen plus cards away all at once.
I should also make more Chex mix and work on cleaning the kitchen and dining room. We have so much junk all over the place, and I need to figure out where to put it away and which bits need to be thrown out or given away. We persuaded Cordelia to cull her toys. Scott gave her an incentive by offering her a gift card for a toy store. He thought that would teach her something about limited resources. She got two books and a small toy set in return for getting rid of a large box of toys and her easel. Scott and I spent a lot of time cleaning the easel. Cordelia and one of her friends put glitter glue all over it, and I wanted to get as much of it off as we could. Non-acetone nail polish remover worked moderately well. We worried about the possibility that it might damage the easel but decided that it couldn't be worse than the glitter glue. I'm not sure we could have donated it with the glitter glue globs still on it.
