PoMo Golightly

Cookies!

My best pal from my NY days hopped in her car and drove to CT on Tuesday. After I collected final portfolios from my students, we met up for our annual cookie-baking extravaganza.

Nothing like a pile of cookies to get a girl in the holiday spirit!

Candy Corn Toast

I loved the Green Beer yarn from Beth at Sugar Spun Yarns so much that I had to pick up some Candy Corn, too.  I wanted a new pair of fingerless mitts to wear to work and running errands.  The ones I wear to walk the dogs...well, shall we just say they have more of an Oliver Twist feel than I really want them to have?  

After much deliberation on Ravelry, I settled on Toast as the perfect pattern to show off the scrump-delicious yarn.  I modified the pattern by not making a complete thumb, but added a little buttonhole thumb instead.  That mod is all over the Rav, so I take no credit.  I do love being able to wear these either way.  It is surprising just how much I like having them on with shorter sleeves.  I think they make a cute addition to my winter wardrobe, and they have real practical value, too.  What more could a girl want?

I finished these in October, but I haven't posted much (as you know) in the last month.  I have two other projects off the needles, and as soon as I get pictures, I'll show you!  Aren't you breathless with anticipation now???

Exuberant Imperfection

Last night, at around 5:00 p.m. or so, I typed "The End", verified my word count (50,079), and gave in to a few tears.  A little later, Neal cracked a bottle of bubbly (Martinelli's sparkling cider...not so big on the champagne around here) and set off some fireworks in the back yard.  It was a good way to celebrate the all-consuming 29 days of writing (well, I skipped two days.  Twenty-seven days of writing).  

The discipline of NaNoWriMo has, I hope, served me well.  I was able to get a character who had been hanging around since February on to the page.  I discovered that even with only half an hour to write, I can bang out close to 1,000 words if I really, really want to.  

More importantly, though, I rediscovered the fun of writing.  The adventure of it.  I loved my MFA program, but since graduating, my own work has seemed burdensome to me.  I have felt so serious about the novel I call my "serious" novel (hmmm...wonder why), and I have feared that the writing in that novel has suffered because of my own sense of gravity about it.  I'm ready to return to it (not for a week or two.  I need to attend to such things as house cleaning and short story submissions), and I want to write the next draft just like I wrote my NaNoWriMo draft:  fast and dirty.  No more fussing about every word.  Not for this draft.  

I feel like NaNoWriMo has given me back the gift that I learned to hone while out in New Mexico.  And that renewed joy in writing makes me feel like a champion.  Going forward, I'll have this bracelet on my wrist and a commitment to one thing: exuberant imperfection.

Congratulations to all my fellow winners.  Believe me: if you tried, you are a winner, no matter what your word count.

 

Abounds

Dear Blog,

Well, hey, there.  How have you been?  You've had that silly Night of the Living Dead picture from Halloween up for a while now.  Are you a little embarrassed about that?  I thought you might be. I'm sorry I left you like that for so long, but I'll tell you what I've been doing and maybe you'll feel more understanding.

Before I do that, though, I have to ask: did Typepad merge with Wordpress?  Because, you know I use both, and suddenly you look an awful lot like my Wordpress blogs.  Just here, on the dashboard page.  Curious, that.

I kind of wish I were a poet; I'd write you a poem.  I know you'd find that difficult to resist.  It would go something like this, only better:

Students. Conferences.  Papers.  Crises.  

I8-year-olds abound.

Words abound: NaNoWriMo

Hitting 15,000 was a triumph. Want 40,000 by Monday.

Story sucks, but still I write.

Froth intended. Darkness.  It abounds.

Trip to Tennessee to celebrate

MB

and visit dearest Sheila

Brother, niece and nephew, too.

Woke the week before

Determined that poor-no-name-slob of a Sony Vaio and I

must finally part

ways.  He found a loving home, 

I found Rupert and love.

Knitting. It is sparse.  

Pictures.  They will come.

November. It abounds.

I hope this letter finds you well.  If you have any other readers beyond me, give them my love.  

Your,

Beverly

Boo!

Crummy Little Orange Calculator

The first batch of grading is still underway.  I sometimes leave the house to grade, settling in at a coffeeshop, where the distractions don't really involve me.  No dogs to let out, no floors to clean, no husbands to chat with.  Just (sometimes good, sometimes bad) music and (sometimes good, sometimes bad) papers, a warm drink, and my optimism.

When I began teaching in 2000, I had a really difficult time figuring out how to determine grades.  Now I use a 1,000 point scale, and all work has a maximum point value towards that perfect 1,000.  I'm a writer, people, not a mathlete!  My boss at the time gave me the tiny calculator pictured.  I have a cheat sheet on the back that lets me know how many points out of, say, 15, make a "B".  I've been using this calculator for almost ten years.

I came home from the coffeeshop on Monday and tore my tote bag and purse apart looking for it.  I was nearly brought to tears over its loss.  I called the coffeeshop, and what do you know?  Two hours after I left there, it was waiting for me on a table.  I had to laugh.  Here I was, acting like I'd left my laptop or iPhone behind.  I couldn't believe someone hadn't seen it and snagged it for themselves! This crummy calculator is just a little swag giveaway my old boss got years ago.  But it is orange.  It fits perfectly in my hand.  It has the cheat sheet.  It's the tool I've used to grade almost everything I've graded since that first class. 

I'm just a sentimental goofball, I guess. Do you have something like the little orange calculator?  Pretty worthless, but devastating if you lost it?  Tell me about it, will you?

Baby Ellie's Booties

What girl can't use a cute pair of shoes? Inspired by Sarah's adorable Saartje's Booties in angora, I made these for a new baby girl. The buttons are my favorite part--I totally want to knit a close fitting cardigan and use the same buttons on it.

We've had such a pretty fall weekend here in Connecticut.  I hope we have the same weather in Rhinebeck next weekend.  Yesterday after I finished up some grading and Neal some renovating, we hopped on our bikes and did a quick 14 miles on our nearby bike path.  As much as I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere in this little town and miss my city life, I am fortunate to have so many great places to play.  Neal took Africabike on the path while I rode Trixie Trek, and he fell hard for the fun, fun ride she provides.  I think there may be another townie bike in our future.

I'm off to do more grading.  I reward myself every few papers and after really painful-to-read papers with a few rows of knitting.  Hope your Sunday is restful and rewarding, too!

Green Beer

I'm usually more of a Guinness girl, but I couldn't resist a little something different.

The Clapotis and I had a little bit of a spat.  Okay, I got frustrated by knotty yarn and knowing that I could not finish for Rhinebeck unless I gave up, oh, everything else I do day to day.  Last weekend I cast on for Dandy using the Green Beer I purchased from Beth at Sugar Spun Yarns.  The color had the girls at SnB cooing, and the yarn's springiness has made knitting a pure pleasure.  Beth has more of her fabu handspun for sale--she's assured me that the Honey Mustard is from a similar batt and spun just like the Green Beer.  I just nabbed a little Candy Corn from her because I discovered over the summer that orange is my new pink. 

This weekend I'll be back in the grading frenzy.  I have a really nice group of students this year, even if the first paper I read had me shouting to Neal lines that were so fraught with meaninglessness that I had to stop for a few sips of Green Beer to relieve the pressure that threatened to make my brain drain from my ears.

Also?  I'm a little worried about the situation with NASA crashing into the moon.  I mean, I know they are smart people and all, but I can't help feeling alarmed, like this is going to set off the plot of a bad Sci-Fi novel.

Finally, I'll leave off by saying that I'm thrilled about President Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  The haters may get off on saying that he hasn't done "anything" yet, but I think a reading of the committee's statement makes it clear that the President was an excellent, timely choice for the prize.

Enjoy the weekend!  I'm looking forward to plowing through my grading and taking those Green Beer breaks regularly!

Granola

Neal and I both like granola, but the brands we prefer are a bit pricey.  Enter Mark Bittman's recipe and a trip to the local health food store, and we have a custom, economical version.  I left out the coconut as I'm not a fan, and I used pepitas, sunflower seeds, and almonds.  Next time I'll put in more dried fruit, and flax seed.  It's so yummy over yogurt (next on my list of make-it-myself foods), and really delish with milk and fresh berries.  Best of all?  I get super happy when I see the two jars up in my new (nearly finished) cabinet. 

What (vegetarian) recipes make you happy lately?

Get a Load of This, Mr. Jeffries, or Pup Pr*n

She may be older than the adorable Olive, but Coco feels that Mr. Jeffries (her no-longer-secret crush) should not squander all of his affections on a mere pup.  To entice him, she asked me to post  her recent bathing beauty photo.  If this doesn't catch his eye, she may resort to sending him half-dead beetles with which to amuse himself, or perhaps even a few slugs in which to roll and achieve that je ne sais quois she adores.

She even plans to donate to the Red Scarf Fund to prove her affection.