up close

When you get right up close to it, some days aren't pretty. So, I've decided (in the absence of any knitting I can show) to talk smack about some other stuff here.
<--Sally gets up close and personal

First, I am leaving town for a wedding really soon. I haven't gotten any stockings yet, I'll need those. A week ago, I thought, I'm not prepared for this trip. I took a close look in the mirror, and dang! It ain't pretty. (Nothing's changed in the last week.) My desktop computer is old, and has suddenly decided it will go so slowly as to be nearly useless. I am working on that. Deleting excess audiobooks? That's a start. I've already listened to them, but sadly, I am comforted by clutter. Turns out old desktops are not.

It was recently suggested to me that I might do better if I ate more meat. I try not to eat lots of meat, after all, I want every one of those animals to have lived a decent life, etc. I'm sure you've heard that drill. I'm so sensitive to the retooling that I've given my body via this slight change in diet and this tiny bit of acupuncture that I'm experiencing what it might be like to be "laid back." Honestly, I wouldn't know what that was like--can we say type A personality, over here?--but yesterday, I sat absolutely still in a twenty minute traffic jam and said something like, "Oh well." No wonder I'm slow on the draw these days? Not ready for a trip to Chicago? Don't know what knitting to take? (Am I still me in here?!)

<-Sally says, "Get a move on, Harry! Wake up around here!"

This morning, we woke up to find our picket fence vandalized AGAIN in two places. By the time I got to it at 7:45, the kind construction guys who are banging (ahem) working on the old house across the street found our pickets and placed them in a safe place so the nails wouldn't puncture anybody. The cops aren't focused on finding vandals in a southern college town (let's focus on the meth labs?), but good thing for my recent zen attitude adjustment. Otherwise I'd be pretty darn angry.

The om approach has been working in my worklife, too. I want to try to sell fiction someday, and in order to do that, I need an agent. (it's worked very well not to have an agent for the knitting-related non-fiction, but for fiction, it's nearly impossible.) Anyhow, I'm slowly sending out feelers for that one. Last time I did this, I think I had between 50-70 rejections from agents before I found one. This time around, I'm doing a "soft" search. Not obsessing. Not reading those ding letters too carefully...but, you know, if you just happened to be an agent or know one and you read my blog? Do drop me a line! (I've won a short story contest. I try hard. Novel manuscript here, ready to go...)

One of my friends (Hi Angela!) asked if I would catalog my books and reading habits online so she could pick my brain about some good books to read. In the absence of a personality that would allow for cataloging to that degree...(observe, no stash on Ravelry, no online Joanne's library...I'm not ever going to be that kind of organized) I'll give you a list of "Novelists I have recently enjoyed:"
JoAnn Mapson, Elizabeth Gaskell, Dorothy Sayers, Diana Abu-Jaber, Ellen Litman, John Galsworthy, Diane Mott Davidson....that's a start. That would be enough for a few good reads?

That's some of the excitement around here. Is it any wonder that a snow storm and some dog pawprints made everything seem wonderful for a day or two? Small things. Small things make all the difference. I'm off to eat lunch. Or maybe...find some pantyhose or something. Yeah. Whatever. I might even keep knitting those polka dots for that deadline. Hmm. Good one.
PS: Any good yarn shops or blog readers to meet in Chicago? I know about the pizza and the Art Institute. Other tips are definitely welcome!