Day in the Life of an Idiot

 Sorry about that, you all. I did not, in fact, drop off the face of the Earth. I have, instead, been in a quiet panic brought on by the up-coming elections. So that does, in part, explain my complete absence from all things social media and internet.

We had a lovely Halloween. Here's the picture that Shawn took of our house dectoration and the pumpkins we carved.



Chez Roundhouse, Halloween 2024. Many pumpins and lights. 

The only other thing of note is that I have a new, highly seasonal job with the City of Saint Paul. I signed up to be the person who puts those annoying tickets under your windshield when you fail to move to the correct side of the street during a snow emergency. Fun times!  But it pays, and my writing really doesn't. Plus, given how LOATHE Saint Paul is to actually call snow emergencies who knows how often I'll even work.

I am weirdly excited by this job? I don't know why. I think I'm intregued to see how it all goes and I'm kind of thrilled at the prospect of being out in the world when very, very few others will be, you know? 

Otherwise, I have been completely ignoring the world and spending my time populating the various worlds of the role-playing games I'm running. I made actual MOVIES of found footage that my players *might* encounter. There's something seriously wrong with me. (I mean, I know what it is. It's stress over a potential second Trump presidency.) 

I'm also working on a crazy quilt for Shawn. I finished piecing it a couple of days ago, and now I'm on to hand quilting it.


Image: Quilt with many squares and rectangles of floral patterns.Nearly invisible Rhubarb for scale. 

So that's me. Still above the ground. So far.

How are y'all holding up?

 
Image: a nearly finished (piecing) bow-tie quilt over an armchair.

The other day, when Shawn was looking for a container to bring along on our upcoming road trip to Connecticut, she came across a bow-tie quilt project that she'd left unfinished. I immediately seized on it and said, "Oh! I can finish this up for you!" So, I spent the last couple of days finishing off squares and the like, 

You can tell the ones I finished because many of them are MUCH bolder and brighter than those Shawn did. Also, hers are machine sewn; mine are by hand. (Though I was surprised I couldn't automatically tell just by looking at the front, which was machine sewn. I had to check the stitches on the back to be sure.)

As part of another project, but in the same box, she had dozens of little squares the same size as the center of the tie. I am in the process of sewing those together to make a loop round the edge of this quilt. The neutral blue color is going to be the outer edge as well as the backing. 

Once again, this will only be the size of a small lap quilt. 

But it's yours, if you want it. 

Here's a look at it when it is laid out on the floor:


Same quilt, only more flat.

I'll probably have it all the way finished by the end of next week. If no one wants it, I get another lap quilt. But if it appeals to you, I'm very happy to send it along to someone who will enjoy it. Quilts are light and cheap to send anywhere in the US. International gets more pricey, but we can figure something out, if this is something you really like the look of and you live far away. As always, my caveats are: I have cats. There is, despite my best efforts cat hair sewn into this thing. Second, I am an amateur, so I'm not sure if I would my stitching to necessarily last in a washing machine? You could try it, with the understanding that it could all fall apart. 

Otherwise, feel free to admire it. I do this as a fun hobby, so no need to critique. It will only make me sad and you frustrated because I will not take instruction or advice very well. :-)

 Y'all were like "Oh, Lyda, SOMEONE will want the quilt you keep calling gaudy/ugly." We shall see, my friends. WE. SHALL. SEE.

I put this up for grabs on Facebook. I will be surprised if any one wants it, but I put a weird amount of work into it. My only comfort is that Buttercup loves sparkly things and if no one really wants it (and I can't find a charity that will take it), it's clear that he will love it.

Okay, I already have to eat my words. Someone has claimed it. I can not believe it.
( Read more... )

 
Image: TOS Engineering insignia. On the flipside of sabotabby 's gaming quilt

This weekend, I finished up Sabs' quilt--specifically, I made it fully reversible with this insignia on the back side--and packaged it up. It is now winging its way to its new home. Rather than start right away on bcholmes 's quilt, I am finishing up the Avenger-themed one that I think I've showed off here before? I ran out of the comic book fabric before it was even lap length. So I'd  set it aside as I pondered what to do to finish it off.  When Shawn and I were out getting bias tape, BY CHANCE,  at the fabric store in the remnant bin was actual, honest-to-god Avengers fabric. It was not at all similar except in terms of the characters and the fact that comic book characters come in standard, bright primary colors. But, I decided that the price was right (one dollar after our discount) and a sign that was too obvious to ignore. 

I will have to post a picture once I finish the hemming tonight. It's... I mean, thematically, it works? The only thing is that it's kind of feels like I started with manga images and then finished off with the same story's anime, if you know what I mean? As nerdy quilts go, it's a fun one. I am still really pleased with it, generally. 

The other thing I'm doing is working on a second run of revisions. I got my editorial letter from Wizard's Tower and my editor spotted something I hadn't fully considered. I'm playing around with a character who is a solider and there's a kind a redemption arc and so I have to strike that balance of sins that can actually BE forgiven, you know? She had some thoughts and then I had tea and brainstorming with naomikritzer and so now I'm threading that idea throughout. I've already added about 500 words and am only half way through. I should have another draft by Wednesday, I hope. I'd like Mason, who is still home until the 22nd, to be my final reader. He's very good at asking the important plot questions, so if I'm too ham-handed (or, less likely, too subtle) in this pass, he'll let me know.

We briefly got a drifting of snow this afternoon. Just enough to have to sweep off the car before we went off to Shawn's kidney doctor check-in at 1 o'clock today. Today was a day of doctors, etc., for her. She got a temporary crown this morning at the ungodly hour of 7:10 am. However, I managed to get a bunch of errands done at the same time, including finally returning a huge stack of manga that I'd checked out from the library. I still have a decent amount left to read, but I'm pleased to have plowed through a bunch of it, including Boys Run The Riot about a trans boy who has dreams of starting a fashion line. I'd say it's a fun, feel-good read, but it actually triggered me a little? Our hero gets outed without his consent and I woke up dreaming about it several times last night. It hit me in the subconscious, apparently. But, I mean, it's a good manga. Unlike, say, One Piece, it's a complete story in 4 volumes. 

I'm still watching through some Star Trek TOS episodes. I watched "Squire of Gothos" mostly because I had no memory of it. It's one of those all-powerful beings who are actually children playing with us stories and... I mean, it's no dumber than say, "Mudd's Women," which I also recently rewatched. I've been thinking a lot about the various types of scientists on starships and I was reminded in this one that they have a ship's geologist. I don't even think he's the first one? We see another geologist in the terrible transporter accident one, "Enemy Within." I also finished watching all of the Star Trek: The Animated Series because Paramount+ has them. I'm now working my way through some Star Trek: Deep Space Nine until we drop our subscription.

I also picked up another correspondence RPG. This one is supposed to be played via email and, since I had such trouble doing "Stay in Touch" via email with my one friend, I thought we might try this. Wish us luck.

How was your weekend? Read or watch anything of note? 

 The dino quilt is in pieces now and the fabric has been set aside for some other day. I looked at for a long time and just decided that, even if I liked it (and the majority of people who commented on it had positive things to say), I was now going to associate it with a very dumb internet fight that made me feel bad. That's enough to kill the thing. So I did. It may seem petty, but it's actually self-care. 

A weird thing about me: I remember the shows, the conversations, the songs I listened to when I look at a quilt I've made. I can pick up a piece I worked on for months and get a full wave of sensory memories about the things that happened while I was making it. One of the baby quilts I sent to the UK? My strongest memory is working the actual quilt hook (for the first time, I think?) while listening to the podcast Wolf 359 with Mason.

So, I was never going to love that quilt the same way, even if I had been happier with it when I started it.

Alas.

Today is supposed to be "What Did You Read Wednesday" and I have a big pile of TBR manga in the other room (which I need to renew!) I could talk about one of them, which was Cat + Gamer, which was quite cute, but instead I want to talk about my newest evening routine. I've been picking one old Star Trek episode and rewatching it. Last night I watched "Mirror, Mirror," a classic. The night before was "The Turnabout Intruder." 

It's been interesting to watch these again. For me, it's the first time I've seen them in color. The TV I grew up with was black & white, which, no, I did not grow up in the 1950s. My parents were just very late adopters when it came to color television. If I remember correctly, they didn't get a color TV until I had moved out to go to college, so that's after 1985. 

Star Trek is pretty startling in color, I have to say. The colors are so vibrant that a lot of the special effects actually feel like they stand the test of time. I mean, some don't, of course, but a shocking number actually look very good. Like, almost believable. Which, feels counterintuitive? My brain apparently only remembers the very obviously Styrofoam rocks or whatever. But, the transporter looks fine. The planets, at least when the Enterprise first goes into orbit, look good, honestly.

Things I had forgotten include things like, how much time is spent discussing mutiny in "The Turnabout Intruder." I remember it for all the reasons I'm sure most of you do, which is how grossly anti-trans it is, how sexist it is, and how badly Shatner hams up being inhabited by a woman (see point number one). 

In "Mirror, Mirror," I had forgotten how sleezy a captain Kirk is once he returns to our dimension, In the final scenes (actually as the credits start rolling), he OVERTLY hits on an ensign who has been transferred who happens to be the counterpart (at least visually) to the woman who was "the Captain's woman" in the Mirror, Mirror 'verse. Bleh. The episode was decently good up to that point, for all its cheese. 

Tonight I am considering either "Who Mourns for Adonis?" or "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." I am taking recommendations. Do you have a favorite that I should rewatch?

Image: Willow claiming the Lisa's Star Trek quilt.

Hope you're not allergic to cats, lcohen!  Willow has claimed your quilt.  Also, even though Willow is by no means a smol cat, you can see that it's really not much more than a lap quilt. It does, at least, have a nice fleece backing and so it's extra warm and snuggly.

Anyway, hello, all. I am writing to you in the throes of Thanksgiving prep. The first of our guests are arriving within an hour or two. Since Mason came home yesterday we have been prepping like crazy. Yesterday was the rolling and grilling of the lefse. (No, we are not Norwegian, but we live in Minnesota. Lefse has ended up as part of our holiday staples via osmosis.)  We initially bought a lefse grill with the intention of making crepes on it, but then we were like... WAIT, this also makes lefse, so why not?? For you lefse experts out there, no we don't make it from scratch. We use Aunt Lena's mix. It has fake mashed potatoes. Sneer all you want, the lefse is still hand rolled and comes off fresh from the grill I'm sure yours is better, but we have only so many spoons during the holidays.

Mason is our expert with the lefse stick. So, it was fun to all be in the kitchen yesterday.

Today, Shawn made two pumpkin pies and got the cranberry sauce made. We used to be canned jellied cranberry aficionados, but then Shawn inherited a recipe that involves alcohol and its become a family (and made family) favorite. We have also been making nibbles for around the house for months--cookies of all sorts and almond bark dipped pretzels. 

We do all the cooking for our made family/friends, so Thanksgiving has long been a favorite holiday of ours. 

I'm going to go try to sneak in a nap before people show up, however. Wish me luck!

Many months (maybe even as long as a year) ago, I posted about starting a sea-themed quilt for Mason, who, despite being born and raised in the Midwest, has always loved the ocean. WELL. I finally finished piecing it. Now, all that's left is finding a backing for it. I have something I'm sure will fit as batting (the in-between layer). Depending on whether or not I have to buy a piece for the back, I'm thinking I'll have it done for him as he's headed back to university.  If he wants, he can use it on his dorm bed.. I'm thrilled that this thing is finally headed into the final phases as it were! 

With this big one almost done, I'm starting to think about the next project. I've got two in mind. One, another Star Trek gaming quilt for lcohen And now that I'm done with Mason's quilt, I have a surplus of all these really cool ocean/sea life fabrics. I just offered up something with some octopuses and it was immediately snapped up. 



Image: blue, yellow, pink, and green octopuses on white fabric with coral in between


THEN, I found out today that another friend is expecting a grand daughter in November, so I have another quilt I can make for her! I've had some cartoon fish that I've been kind of waiting for a smol to want, so I'm really excited that one is expected. Here's that fabric:


Image: fun fish!

I'm so happy that my addiction is appreciated by others. 

 
Image: newest quilting project. This one features a jellyfish in the center. 

Ironically, if I'd known that I had this piece of jellyfish fabric left over, I would have used it as the centerpiece of my previous quilting project. The person that I was making that one for loves jellies in particular, but I only unearthed this piece from the depths of my fabric chest long after I'd sent that one. Alas!  

I'm struggling a bit with how I want to finish this one off, but it's nearly finished. Then, the plan is to do another queer while gaming quilt. Did I show off that one here? I know I posted the fabrics, but it's finished and ready to ship off to my god daughter once she's back in New York after she finishes the play she's starring in. I can attest to how soft and warm that one is because WE GOT SNOW THIS LAST WEEKEND, WHY?

Though not as much as my parents did in LaCrosse, WI. Wow.

It all seems so very weird, but lately, for some unknown reason, I've been clicking on the "Facebok memories" options and, reading those, I'm surprised by how many mid-April OMG, SNOW!! posts I've posted over the years. So, I guess that part isn't quite as unusual as it feels.

In other news, Denny Lein died. Denny is Terry Garey's husband among many other things, and, while I never knew him very well, the suddenness of his passing has haunted me. I think, particularly, because, by chance, when I was at Minicon I ended up picking up a bunch of the old Rune fanzines that someone had left on the freebie pages and he's, of course, all over in those since he edited the zine for awhile and was a regular contributor. I was glad to hear that he made it to Minicon and was even able to participate in the revised performance of Midwest Side Story, which I'm lead to believe he helped write. 

It's all so weird. 

 The first thing I want to report is that I revised a short story I've been working on for a shared-world anthology, and have now sent it off to my second writers' group for critique. Hooray!

Secondly, it seems that my Loft Zoom class is finally settling into a good rhythm, I think. We had a great class last night, at any rate. I was actually able to prod people to talk, possibly because I like to teach plotting by using my own failures to create story as an example. I have a very specific story idea that should work, but refuses to gel that I will trot out for class. I think people generally like to offer advice, and so when I say, "Please help me fix this broken thing and let's talk about why it's broken," works actually fairly well as a method to get people to really think about what elements have to come together to start a story.

Then, I had them watch a YouTube video recording of Kurt Vonnegut talking about story plots, so we pretended we had a posthumous guest lecturer.  

The last half of the class was the first time we rolled up our sleeves and started critiquing and that went very well, as well. Like I say, a success all around.

In other news I am putting the finishing touches on the sheep + octopus quilt and then it will be on to the next one, which will be deep-sea themed.


Image: deep sea fabric

 Saint Paul only just now called a snow emergency, which means they won't even start plowing side streets until 9 pm. I just shoveled an additional 7 inches of snow from my sidewalk. Shawn and I estimate that about ten or eleven inches. (25.4 cm or 30 cm) fell in the last day.


Image: the snow covered tree in front of our house. (The little blue sign is our "We protect the Mississippi," thing which really just means that Mason adopted a storm drain when he needed a volunteer project a few years ago in order to get into the honors program in high school. I think his favorite part of that program was getting to name the drain. These are in Rochester, but explain what I mean: https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/funny-storm-drain-names-grate)

So, yeah, it snowed? 

I have not tried to move the car, nor do I intend to. Since St. Paul won't even be dusting off the plows until after 9 pm today, I am parked on the "night plow" side of the street and that's where I plan to stay. Technically, D&D is tonight, but I am hopeful that either we will ALL move to Discord or they can let me "phone it in," as it were.

All this snow started falling yesterday. Shawn was supposed to go into work for her performance review, but that meeting got shifted to virtual so she bailed at around 11 am.  She worked from home all day yesterday, but Mason and I (neither of us who normally have work do to right now) treated it as a snow day and spent the day watching TV (he is re-watching and I'm watching for the first time FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I'd seen FullMetal Alchemist a long time ago, but, even though everyone TOLD me how much better "Brotherhood" is, I never got around to watching it. GUYS, IT'S A WHOLE LOT BETTER.)  I tried to do some quilting, but was stymied by the angry peanut.


Image: Rhubarb (who is actually very sweet these days) loafing in the middle of the quilting hoop.

I should say that even though Willow and Rhubarb still stalk each other around the house, we have mostly settled into a détente. Rhubarb no longer holds any ill-will towards the people. I can't remember the last time she swiped at us with claws out. It's all been play bats. Willow would still like it very much if this interloper would move along, but she's settled back into snoozing under the covers by my legs at night, and otherwise TOLERATING this other cat. Buttercup is still baffled why his two favorite black-haired ladies don't love each other as much as he loves them.

I hope you are all being safe out there, if you are also experiencing snow (and even if you're not.)